Loving Words of Wisdom

Choose Love

What would your life be like if every decision, every word you spoke aloud and to yourself, and every deed first went through a filter of love? Imagine letting go of conditioned patterns of defensiveness, fear, or anger ― freeing yourself to choose new responses that allow more love and joy to flow through all your experiences. The Sufi poet Hafiz declares, "When all your desires are distilled, you will cast just two votes: to love more, and be happy."

Whether your expression of love is physical, spiritual, or emotional, remember that the energy born of love is creative. It makes everything it touches new. To see how passionate you are, look around and see what you have created.

When your first response is love – for others and for yourself – the world becomes a sweeter, more forgiving, joyous place. You can begin right now by looking in the mirror, gazing with compassion into your eyes. Look at yourself and see that even if there is pain or sadness, your soul is also looking back at you with the light and innocence of the child you once were. Now holding your hand over your heart, say “I love you. I accept you. I deserve to be happy.” Try it. How does that feel? Practice this exercise regularly, for it is a powerful way to connect to your essential, loving nature.

Regardless of whatever else is going on in your life right now or whatever regrets you have, you are an amazing, beautiful being . . . divine in design and universal in spirit. It took you years to create the patterns that make you who you are. It can take but a few seconds each day to begin the shift back to the whole, sweet perfection from which you first entered the earth plane – to a state of pure love.

The next time your viewpoint is challenged – express love to your challenger. The next time you feel anger towards someone – give them a hug. The next time you are about to lash out – understand that the person could benefit from compassion. And most important, the next time you are about to blame yourself or beat yourself up for feeling “less than,” remember that you are worth all the love in the world – give yourself some credit because you are love.

(The Chopra Center)

“Please bring your heart near me.
For all I care about
Is quenching your thirst for freedom!
All a sane man can ever care about
Is giving Love!”
~ Hafiz

“What keeps us alive, what allows us to endure?
I think it is the hope of loving, or being loved.”
~ Meister Eckhart

"Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place." ~ Zora Neale Hurston

“Let the lover be disgraceful, crazy, absentminded.
Someone sober will worry about things going badly.
Let the lover be.”
~ Rumi

“Love in its essence is spiritual fire.”
~ Emanuel Swedenborg

“Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength,
while loving someone deeply gives you courage.”
~ Lao Tzu

“In everyone's life, at some time, our inner fire goes out. It is then burst into flame by an encounter with another human being. We should all be thankful for those people who rekindle the inner spirit.”
~ Albert Schweitzer

“There is only one happiness in life: to love and be loved.”
~ George Sand

“Healing is love, a deep wish is love. God’s attention is love.”
~ Deepak Chopra

“The important thing is not to think much but to love much;
do, then, whatever most arouses you to love.”
~ St. Teresa of Avila

Yoga for Everybody: Sitting Sun Salutations

In yoga, the Sun Salutation is a classic series of poses that enhance strength, flexibility, and balance. Here is a modified version that you can do in your seat to relieve tension in your spine, enhance circulation, and ease sore muscles during your flight.

1. Sit comfortably in your chair, with your spine erect, pressing your palms together in front of your heart. Focus your awareness on your body, breathing easily.
2. Reach your arms up, stretching your shoulders and upper back as you inhale.
3. Bend forward as you exhale, letting your hands rest on the floor next to your feet, relaxing your neck, and resting your chest on your thighs.
4. Grasp your left knee with interlaced fingers. Straighten and arch your back as you extend your arms, inhaling.
5. Begin to exhale while bringing your chin down to your left knee and rolling your shoulders, upper back, and neck forward. Fully exhale as you release your leg and return your foot to the floor.
6. Repeat the sequence with your right leg.
7. Stretch both hands towards the sky, extending your spine and fully inhaling.
8. Return to the first pose, with hands at heart center. Feel the sensations in your body with your full attention, breathing easily.

Maintaining a strong immune system during cold & flu season

The miserable symptoms of a cold or the flu are actually signs that your immune system is working to fight off the offending virus. You get a fever, for example, because your immune system's cells work better at a higher body temperature, while germs don't reproduce as well at higher temperatures. The swelling in your sinuses is due to the fact that armies of immune cells are rushing to the area to fight the germs. A runny nose allows your body to flush out germs along with mucus.
Your immune system is your best defense against infectious illnesses. Keep it in optimum shape with health-living strategies such as these:

-Don't smoke. If you already smoke, try to quit, even if you've been unsuccessful at kicking the habit in the past.
-Eat a diet high in fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, and low in saturated fat.
-Take a multivitamin if you suspect that you may not be getting all the nutrients you need through your diet
-Exercise regularly
-Maintain a healthy body weight
-Control your stress level
-Control your blood pressure
-Do not drink alcohol
-Get adequate sleep
-Take steps to avoid infection, such as washing your hands frequently and cooking meats thoroughly
Get regular medical screening tests for people in your age group and risk category.

----Cold and Flu, a 10 minute consult from Harvard Medical School