Category: health

Who am I really?

by Karen, posted in He and me, health, italian, love and marriage, Marriage, no fear, relationships

My husband was very inspired this year with his choice of birthday gift for me.

He got me the MyHeritage DNA kit.

 

Me: How did you know I wanted to do that?!

He: Because every time a commercial for it came on or anyone was saying they did it for the last year, you said, “I want to do that!”

Me: Oh. Right.

Lesson: Repetition is your friend, married people. 🙂

Anyway, this will be the gift that keeps on giving, because I decided to write about it. I did the (pretty easy) test the next morning. The directions said not to eat or drink anything for an hour before you do it, so first thing upon arising was my best bet. Sure, I had to defer my first sip of morning coffee for twenty minutes, but it’s a small price to pay! I am going to find out what I’m made of!

Fear: What if I’m not really Italian?

I am feeling the fear! I am doing it anyway!

Stay tuned.

The BRAVE Interview #3 October 2016: Sheila Brownlow

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, Being BRAVE, Catching women being brave, friends, health, Interviews, The BRAVE Interviews

Here is #3 in The BRAVE Interview series! It’s the Who, What, When, Where, How,  (and sometimes Why) of YOUR ‘one brave thing’! November’s interview is with Sheila Brownlow!

scale

WHO AM I?  Sheila Brownlow

MY ONE BRAVE THING—when, where, with whom:  I have stopped discussing eating, how upset I am at my eating, how much I weigh, whether I am peeved at myself for overeating, how awful I am for not weighing 110 lbs., whined about how I can’t eat like a normal person anymore at age 55, or otherwise wasting time – precious time – talking with my friends, so many good friends….about eating and weight.  Not in person, not online.  For one month. 

WHY DO I THINK THIS IS BRAVE?  I’m at this age/stage of my life where I’ve felt compelled to start every interaction with a justification of how I look and why I don’t look like a 30-year old anymore. It’s not ok to essentially apologizing for myself to start every interaction.  To me it’s brave because I have completely shifted my lens on the world.

WHY:  Because I waste so much time and energy where I could be helping others, learning things, doing things, having meaningful conversations, being supportive, just being in the moment…with all this constant food and weight talk I am taking away from the productive possibilities of my life and my friends’ lives. 

So how do I feel about this?  Well, I miss commiserating, and I’m still working on not “leading” with that foot in every conversation (“let’s talk about food, eating, how much, when, regrets…again?”).  I think I am listening better rather than just winding up to say how upset I am about this that or the other weight thing. 

Can I continue?  I don’t know.  Maybe if we all spent a month on something other than our food and body appearance we could make a lot of changes in the world.

Thank you so much, Sheila!

The Dempsey Challenge 2016

by Karen, posted in good grief, health, no fear, Reiki

I volunteered again this year at The Dempsey Challenge in the Reiki Tent.
dempsey2What a wonderful group of people there!  This was my second year volunteering, and I plan to be part of this wonderful event next year as well.

“Every dollar raised by Dempsey Challenge participants directly benefits the Dempsey Center.”

As Ina Garten would say: How great is that?

The only glitch was that when I arrived, they only had size 2XL volunteer T-shirts left. And there I was, without my sash. Anyway, I rocked it!

After my volunteer shift in the tent was over, I went to write my parents’ names, Mary and John Maffeo, on the memory wall. They both died from cancer many years ago, but as anyone knows who has lost a loved one knows all too well, time is nothing. It felt as fresh right then as it ever was. As I stood there looking at their names, my eyes teared up, so I hurried to my car to cry in private.

And then I went back. I walked by the river. I talked to some people. I danced with Mary Dempsey, whom I met at last year’s challenge and who, by the way, is a good dancer!

And this year, I got to meet Patrick Dempsey. I even got a selfie and an autograph! (NOTE: Thank you to the teenaged girl in front of me who gave me that idea!)

How great is that?

🙂

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Trying something new

by Karen, posted in Angels, fitness, my one word, yoga

I have not been practicing yoga much these past few weeks, since my yoga teacher (you know who llamasyou are!) moved to NC . I drove the road to North Berwick to get to yoga, about a half hour away, over and over and over, and was happy to do it.

I wasn’t familiar with that area at all when I first started going, but I got to know it well enough. It was a nice ride. I got to meet some wonderful women that I might not have met otherwise. I went to shops that I liked on the way home sometimes. It also gave me the opportunity to listen to my audiobook of the moment, which was a nice bonus. (Oh, did I mention I passed a Dunkin Donuts on my way…? I always invite coffee to my yoga practice :).)

Change is hard.

Anyway, I decided to try a new yoga class, and (since I was out of my comfort zone already) a new yoga (to me) entirely: Holy Yoga. My class is in Sanford, and is taught by Susan Hampton (find her website here: soulfulstretch.com).

I was the first to arrive (hello? I am a first-born) and as I was waiting, I started reading the notices on the bulletin board.

It’s important to note here that I am always looking for clues to know that I am in the right place and doing the right thing.

This is what I saw on the board:

  1. Llamas. I LOVE llamas. My husband and I have a collection of about a million (conservative estimate) of them, all different sizes, shapes, colors with one noteable exception: living. None of them are living.
  2. Another posting said something about Brave Girls and my one word this year is BRAVE!
  3. There was a posting about a Drumming Circle and not too long ago someone suggested that I try drumming.

Do you think those are enough clues?? Plus, Susan is a fabulous teacher: welcoming, funny, and caring. All of the other women were lovely. It was a pleasure to be in this class.

 

Wherever I go, there they are

by Karen, posted in Crystals, education, friends, He and me, health, Metaphysical healing, Travel

image

For a long time now, every time I go to the beach, a particular kind of blue stone calls to me: Karen!! Yoohoo! Here I am! “Pick me! Choose me! Love me!” (borrowed this quote from a movie but at the moment it escapes me which one). For over a year this has been happening. I have all different shapes (even heart-shaped!) and sizes of these beautiful blue rocks, so many that before last winter I brought some of them outside and scattered them in my yard.

A few weeks ago, I heard them calling to me again and I retrieved a few and brought them back inside (was that wrong??).

Over the past several months, I have been wanting to know exactly what these stones are. I have tortured my friends with questions about them (But what do you really think it is?). I have scoured books and the internet for pictures resembling my stones with no success. I have asked the stones themselves to tell me what they are (they told me they were quartz). I thought, “BUT YOU ARE BLUE!” Is there such a thing as blue quartz?

So, I packed up my stones and  my husband and I went to Bethel and met Maggie (I hope I spelled her name correctly!) at the Maine Mineral and Gem Museum. I showed her my rocks. She knew right away what they were.

Smoky Quartz!

So, I said, “But why are they BLUE? Smoky quartz is not blue!” Without missing a beat, she asked, “Did you find these near a river or the ocean?”

🙂

I did.

It turns out that being in the ocean, over time, turns smoky quartz blue. When I told her these rocks are following me everywhere, she said, “Maybe you need some grounding…”

Who, me?

 

Go with the flow

by Karen, posted in education, Functional Health, health, Metaphysical healing, the beach

ocean clouds 3I attended a chakra class at the Portsmouth Regional Hospital this weekend. Chakras, as you may know, are energy centers in the body that energy flows through, often described as spinning discs of different colors. Find out more about chakras here: Anodea Judith’s Wheels of Life

One thing that came up in the class was that taking a walk on the beach is one of the best ways to ground oneself, because all of one sense’s are engaged in this process.

GREAT IDEA!

As soon as the class ended, I headed to my favorite beach. So what if it was only in the 60’s? I arrived and was dismayed to see that the water was almost to the wall; there wasn’t enough remaining beach to support my intention to walk on it.

I have recently been told that I should consider working on my ability to ‘go with the flow’. Apparently, I am not great at this (what? what?). I decided to seize the opportunity to practice. So what if I couldn’t go walk on the beach? I could stand on it until the tide came all the way in.

So I did. I stood in the water. I stood on a rock. I stood in the sand. I literally went with the flow.

I highly recommend it.

🙂

 

Reiki, baby

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, Meditation, my one word, no fear, Reiki, SoulCollage

crystals and rocksI have just completed my Reiki II class and I loved it! Chris Ann from Wells was my teacher. Truly, there is nothing like spending a day with like-minded individuals to make the time fly by. At no point did I even feel the urge to see what time it was. I didn’t even think about eating lunch until Chris mentioned that it was about 12:30 and asked when did we want to eat. Please note: I never am not thinking about food! Except when I am fully absorbed in what I am doing. Like when I am spending time with family or friends, or working on my SoulCollage cards, or reading, or writing…now I can add practicing Reiki to the list.

What I didn’t expect was that the class would incorporate so many of my favorite things!

 

  1. I am a member of the ‘First do no harm’ branch of health care (yes, we are a small group…small but growing), and Reiki is perfectly aligned with my philosophy.
  2. We can use crystals in Reiki healing (I. Love. Rocks.) I am a collector of rocks and crystals. They are all over my house. In the pockets of most of my clothing. On nearly every window sill. Scattered on my desk. Edging my bookcase. I have a heart rock garden. No plants…just heart shaped rocks. 🙂
  3. Meditation is part of the process. Mediation is my new BFF.
  4. Did I mention being with like-minded individuals is awesome?
  5. Aromatherapy can be incorporated into Reiki healing sessions. I have studied and used Aromatherapy for more than twenty years. Lavender, Tea Tree, and Peppermint are part of my daily life. A bottle of Lavender Essential Oil shares the windowsill (with the rocks) in my kitchen (you know, near the stove?) and is my go-to remedy for burns. Okay, so I have two bottles in the kitchen. Better safe than sorry.

Those are just some of the great bonuses I received along with my attunement Sunday. The biggest bonus, however, is this: I am stepping out of my comfort zone this year. I am being brave and taking chances. I am remembering “My One Word” this year for more than just the first month.
🙂

 

Meditation 101

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, health, Meditate

FullSizeRenderI started meditating a few months ago as part of giveit100.com  I put in my 100 days and then guess what! I didn’t stop. I kept on going. I meditate every day now (sometimes more than once).

I am a meditator.

What was different about this time? I got out of my own way. I stopped defining ‘meditation’ and surrounding it with rules. I just practiced it.

Everything is hard before it is easy (paraphrased from a Jack Canfield book The Success Principles).

What do you need? Just to practice it.

I have recently decided that it’s okay to sip coffee in meditation. No one is looking. Or cares.

I love meditation because you already have everything you need: body? Check! Breath? Check! Coffee? YES! Sometimes!

 

Lemons

by Karen, posted in Adult children, family, fitness, teens

IMG_2067I got up early on the Sunday of Daylight Savings Time, the way I (almost) always do. Time to make the donuts…

No wait! That’s not right! Time to feed the chickens….I threw on my coat over my PJ’s and bumped into my daughter on the way out. She said she was getting in the shower, and then inexplicably, picked up her phone and went on to the bathroom and shut the door. I went out the back door and the moment I shut it…I got the universal sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that one gets when they realize they just locked themselves out.

I called my daughter on said phone-no answer. I fed the chickens. I got the paper. I called her again. No answer. I texted her. Nothing. I called my other sleeping child on his cell. Nada. In desperation, I even called the land line.

Right. Nothing.

I stood on the porch, wishing I had put my jeans on as the 4 degrees seeped through my thin pajama pants. Let’s face it, a teenager’s shower could potentially take an hour.

I decided to (take my life in my hands and) take a walk. In the snow. And the ice. On my Very. Narrow. Street.

I made limoncello out of lemons! I am the type of woman who does that!

Of course, 3 minutes into the walk she called me, and I turned around and went right back.

 

My 100th day

by Karen, posted in health, no fear, yoga

IMG_0933Today is my 100th consecutive day of meditating.

One hundredth. Consecutive. Day.

I know, right?

Prior to this, my meditation practice never lasted more than a few moments, if it occurred to me to do it at all, and then sometimes it consisted only of the thought,”Gee, I really should meditate,” or even better (or worse), “Meditate”.

But this time I really did it. Every day.

What I learned:

  1. There really are benefits to a daily meditation practice.
  2. I notice myself taking long, deep, full breaths now throughout the day, autonomically, not purposefully.
  3. I can be calmer during (some) storms-during an awful situation recently, I had the very clear thought: “Even though this is happening all around me right now, I am okay.” Of course, at first I was annoyed that I couldn’t remember what the circumstances were but now I see that this forgetting is the gift. Remembering that I knew that I was still OKAY, THAT is the lesson. The upsetting events don’t matter in the end.
  4. Like I learned with NaNoWriMo, I am a gal that needs structure. The structure of giveit100.com.
  5. My blood pressure prior to the 100 days was hovering around 180/110. Midway through it had dropped to 118/76. Hello? Can you say NORMAL? For the first time in years?

My yoga teacher and friend, Kristen, told me that meditation would be good for me and that I should make it a regular part of my yoga practice. Seven years ago.

Who says I’m slow to change?

Oh yeah, my husband. So, shhh.