Balancing Minerals = A Balancing Act

I've been away from home for two weeks. The first week I, along with a team from our church, participated in an outreach ministry in the Tinderloin district of San Fransisco. It was hard work all day, but very rewarding. We met wonderful people who work in the ministry, people who receive help from the ministry and those who run a local business in the neighborhood because they want to be part of the solution.

By the end of the week my body was spent. I had taken my multi-vitamin along and my thyroid supplements, but the other things I left at home. Getting my body back into the rhythm of life has been a challenge. I realize from reading "Healthy Healing," the section on muscle cramps, spasms and twitches, that I'm probably lacking minerals. Linda Page writes, "Muscle spasms, cramps, twitches and tics are usually a result of body vitamin and mineral deficiencies or imbalances. Most cramping occurs at night as minerals move between blood, muscles and bones." It seemed like I could feel every bit of movement those minerals made as I lay still trying to sleep. "Avoid refined sugars, processed and preserved foods. Food sensitivities to these are often the cause of twitches and spasms," Page notes. She also mentions the need for increased Vitamin C in women.

We can't just take a lot of extra minerals in supplement form because it can be too much for the body to process.

"Minerals must be acquired by food. Our bodies do not make them. Although we would hope we could get them from the foods we eat, today’s diets do not contain the minerals we need even if you are eating a pristine diet. A deficiency of a single mineral can negatively impact the entire chain of life, rendering other nutrients ineffective and useless. What about supplements? Most of them are ineffective because they are not coming in a full spectrum form or from a food form. Many are synthetic and can not be properly digested or absorbed, which lead to even further problems. All minerals work together. When you affect one it affects the other." ~InspiringHealth.net

Good foods such as green leafy vegetables, nuts and seeds, and seafoods will take us a long way in replacing needed minerals.

Good health is such a balancing act, if we tip too far to one side and neglect the other, we lose our balance and can quickly fall. A healthy lifestyle includes deep breathing, plenty of clean water, a healthy diet including the vitamins and minerals we need, and a spiritual discipline as well. So here's a shameless plug for my ebook, which discusses each of these areas in a short, easy-to-read format. "Mid-Life NOT a Crisis" Click for NOOK. And for Kindle.

So, I'm upping my mineral intake along with some Vitamin C and taking much more water. I've also gotten back to my regular diet and begun to exercise again. It's so easy to relax our standards of health when we're out of town!

Here's an informative page about Minerals put out by the US National Library of Medicine, if you're interested in reading more.

What do you do when your muscles twitch, your bones hurt and/or you're just plain exhausted?

Little Foxes and Big Frogs

"It's the little foxes that spoil the vine."

Ever heard this phrase? It refers to the things we might ignore because they're seemingly insignificant but they become destructive left to themselves. 

There are so many applications for this little illustration. I think of the employee that cuts corners on the details to accomplish more of the visible or "important" jobs, then is later dismissed due to carelessness. Or the student who rarely studies and does't bother to turn in small assignments so she can work harder on the large projects, but in the end all those little assignments, averaged against the big one, cost her a scholarship. Or the novelist who didn't take the time to do the research and remains unpublished due to laziness. 

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We can make it more personal, more eternal. Think of the things we skip every day like reading the Bible because we slept late and only had time for one verse before rushing out the door. Soon more days pass, until we don't even remember we were going to spend time with God. Or the little lie we told at work to keep ourself in the good graces of our boss. The next time we may be willing to overlook a sin that is just a tiny bit bigger. Over time we become hardened to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and no longer hear His wooing. Like Sampson, we don't even realize we've lost our relationship with God and our eternal position. Or the times we felt the need to pray for someone and shot up a quick, "Lord bless them." Later we discover some terrible sin or tragedy that occurred in their lives and we wonder what might've been the outcome if we had prayed as we'd been prompted. 

Another Lesson:

"If you have to eat a frog, don't look at it too long.

If you have to eat a bunch of frogs, eat the big ones first."

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Here's another illustration. I can't even find who said it, but it teaches us to do first the things we'd rather not do at all. And if there are a lot of things we loathe doing, we should do the worst ones first and get them out of the way. 

The longer we look at a task we don't want to do, the harder it will seem and the longer it will take of our precious time. We lose so much by leaving things we hate hanging over our heads. They rob the things we love because we can't focus on them, knowing the dreaded task still awaits our attention. 

Jesus said, "The Truth will set you free." Obviously He's referring to Himself, but also to any given truth. The truth is, if we do the things we have to do, do them completely and do them quickly, then we'll have time to enjoy the things we love without worry or dread. 

Both of these phrases teach us discipline. This discipline is for our own good. It will free us and prosper us. It will pad our reputation with integrity and prepare us to hear our Savior say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into your rest."

T'ai Chi and Happy New Year

Recently my husband and I along with a couple of friends attended the Chinese New Year celebration at the Twin Cities T'ai Chi Ch'uan studio in St. Paul. My T'ai Chi instructor, Julie Cisler, is very involved there and participated in some of the performances.

T'ai Chi is a Chinese martial art, which is very beneficial for health, strength and focus. It is the only martial art that can be continued late in life, some have even kept up the discipline through their nineties. 

Here's what Dr. Andrew Weil said about T'ai Chi in his blog today:

"Another option [to strengthen the core] is tai chi, a gentle form of movement, perfect for those with osteoarthritis or other musculoskeletal impairments [as well as the rest of us]. It can build core strength and musculature of the lower limbs, as well as improve posture, balance, flexibility, and mobility. Tai chi can also facilitate relaxation and focus even while executing the moves. And it synchronizes the musculoskeletal and nervous systems, helping to develop concentration and coordination and so reducing risk of falls."

T'ai Chi is varied and keeps your interest. There is enough to learn that you really can keep learning for 40-60+ years. After learning the solo form you can also learn the two person form, which demonstrates how the postures would work in an actual conflict with another person. You may also learn the sword form, fan form and spear form, which are all very cool and beautiful. 

This is my instructor, Julie, demonstrating one of the postures in the solo form. 

Chinese New Year was February 10 this year, so our celebration was a little late, but . . . HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Here's to Your Success

Do you feel successful?

To answer that we need to know what success means to our individual life.

Off the top of my head, my answer is: I'd like to know I follow the plans God has for me and that I'm pleasing Him along the way. I'd like to use fiction writing and my interest in natural things to generate income. I'd like to earn enough money so that my husband and I could travel and visit family on a regular basis. I'd also like to be involved in our local community.

What does success look like to you?

Discovering your deepest, most valued goals takes time, time to think, ponder and pray. Here's where we Americans lock ourselves in a "no-success" closet. We rush through our day trying to check off as many things from our to-do list as possible. We rush through our meals, wishing food could be faster, then run to our evening activities. Finally we plop into bed and set the alarm to begin again.

If we don't schedule quiet time for prayer, meditation and just plain thinking, we'll never discover our real goals. Without this quiet time, we can't create either. It takes time to develop new ideas.

Try this exercise: Find a quiet place in the house where you won't be disturbed for at least 20 minutes. Sit comfortably. Breath slowly, allowing your breath to go deep into your abdomen. Think about the sounds around you for a moment. Now block out those sounds and think about your breath, slow and deep. Next focus your thoughts on an aspect of God's character, or on an idea you'd like to develop. Ask God to bless your thoughts and give you insight. Don't push your mind to hurry and come up with all the answers. Just relax. Breath. Ponder.

Once you decide what you really want, then you must make judgements about every opportunity that comes your way. This means saying "No." That one little word will enable your success more than any other single word or act. Read the last two sentences again. . . Ponder that!

You have to say "No" to everything that does not directly or indirectly feed your goals.

Another thing that increases creativity and productivity is allowing time for the basic necessities of life. We need to schedule time in our day to brush our teeth, bathe, clean house, organize our papers, pay the bills, check our emails, etc. (Be careful not to get sucked into Google search-land while on the computer. #1 Time-waster). These are the things that can bog us down and halt our creativity and thought life if we let them get out of control. And please don't forget sleep, water, and proper nutrition. Without these our brain doesn't function at optimal capacity.

It really is okay to take care of yourself.

So, to sum up:
1. Schedule time to pray and think. Use breathing exercises to help you relax and focus.
2. Decide on your goals
3. Say "No" to those things that don't fit in with your goals.
4. Keep up on the basics: neatness, cleanliness, exercise, drinking water, eating healthy food and sleeping.

Success isn't the biggest house with the most/best stuff in it. Success ins't working 60+ hours a week or even having the most prestigious title at the company. Success is accomplishing your own personal goals, while maintaining good relationships with those you love (first of all God), and enjoying good health along the way.

Time-Wasters or Time-Savers?

The disciplines take so much time. I rarely notice that they help me and I feel I have so much work to accomplish.

Does it ever seem like you're wasting time?

Let me give you a few examples. It feels like an enormous waste of time to exercise and I don't notice results at the time. However, if I don't exercise I will notice the bad effects over time. The daily discipline of exercise will slow the aging process in my body. It may prevent bone loss and strengthen my heart as well as other muscles.

Brushing teeth, picking up a mess immediately, washing the dishes as soon as they're dirtied. Don't these sometimes feel like time-wasters? Of course, we reason to ourselves that they're not. We know that if we don't do them we could get gum disease or end up spending more time later when we've gathered a mountain of dishes or a whole house that needs to be cleaned.

Recently I was challenged again to journal--the kind of journaling where you just dump out everything in your head onto a page. I know it helps me think more clearly. I accomplish so much more in the time I have when my thoughts aren't flitting here and there. If I can get it out on paper beforehand, my mind can focus.

But brain-dumping feels like a waste of time. If I have an hour to pray or meditate, taking 15 minutes to write nonsense in a journal seems like a waste. But I must reason to myself, remind myself that the other 45 minutes will be far more productive if I take the 15 minutes for brain-dumping.

I see this as a principle in every area of life. The things we seek we won't accomplish if we jump straight in to accomplish them. Like writing an article without research. We must first put in some serious leg-work.

I hear Hathi, the commanding elephant of the Elephant Brigade in the cartoon movie Jungle Book saying, "Discipline...discipline is the thing." Although he had no purpose for his discipline of marching around the jungle, we do have a purpose. So as I remind myself, I hope to encourage you too: Your discipline is for a purpose, it is NOT wasting time.