In this uplifting 3 minute talk Deborah talks about why she is hopeful about the new year. She shares the reasons her hope is not just wishful thinking but is based on Biblical promises.
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While some of us are still dealing with the influx of visitors, festivities and sun-soaked holidays, in the back of our minds is the niggling thought that 2015 has already begun and now is the time to make our New Year’s resolutions, before it’s too late.
Some are choosing to eat healthier and exercise more. That certainly can make us feel better.
Two other resolutions that go hand-in-hand will not only increase your health but be game-changers in your life: always opt for the positive viewpoint over the negative and choose to be kinder to others.
A friend related how his acquaintance was in hospital recently, suffering from a life-threatening illness.
Things were looking pretty grim and it seemed that he was hanging on by a thread. Then his heart stopped and he ceased breathing.
At that moment, the medical staff on duty in that area of the hospital noticed that he was passing on and began to congregate around his bed …. not rushing to him with defibrillator or drip, but unexpectedly telling jokes, laughing and talking loudly and animatedly about everyday things.
They continued by his bedside including everyone in the ward in the jovial conversation until he began to regain consciousness. The man made a full recovery.
What happened? Did the nurses and doctors know that their confident and caring presence was more effective than apparatus or medication? Yes.
Something similar is at play when a teacher disregards the negative ‘label’ attached to the child and responds with love and recognition of that child’s higher nature and abilities, bringing a turnaround in attitude at school.
Or when a brick wall tumbles down between two people who haven’t spoken to each other for years as one reaches out with forgiveness.
The reasons for such changes for the better spring from (1) choosing a positive, solution-based approach, and (2) trusting our instinct to be warm and caring, despite a temptation to take an impersonal, defeatist or hard-line approach.
Lissa Rankin MD, sought-after TEDx presenter and one of the keynote speakers at the Byron Bay Uplift Festival a few weeks ago, urges us to strip back everything that isn’t really us that we’ve learned in the world of hard knocks, to find that inner pilot light or divine spark of love within.
Research results from studies on cancer recovery and remission support her claim to the beneficial effects of this practice.
Rankin also cites conclusive evidence that an essential part of any successful treatment is engaging a health practitioner who is reassuring, gentle and kind, and treats patients with compassion.
Did Jesus mean in his well-known parable, that the warmth and care that the Good Samaritan showed had as much to do with the traveller’s recovery (who was robbed and beaten by thieves) as the bandages, oil and wine provided?
Mary Baker Eddy believed so and based her scientific, healing method on this premise. An important researcher into how consciousness affects health, she discovered in her investigations and successful treatments through prayer that…
Forgetting ourselves and putting others first really FEELS divine and invariably makes us glow with happiness.
I hope your 2015 takes wings. Seems it’s sure to do so if you choose to take this two-pronged approach to a happier, healthier year ahead – adopting a positive, solution-based viewpoint, and actively and warmly caring for yourself and others.
Kay is a freelance writer focussing on the undeniable connection between our thinking and our health. She writes for metropolitan and regional news media throughout Australia and beyond, and is a regular contributor to Australia’s national forum, Online Opinion.
New Year resolutions! They’re what you promise yourself to do during the year to improve your life. And while we all want to do that, such resolutions also have a bonus. They’re good for your health. Having said that, let’s be honest, healthy or not, how likely are we to keep those good intentions going right through 2014?
Could it be that our glowing resolve to live a happy, healthy life fades because we think it requires an “all or nothing” approach. If so, take heart. Leslie Spry, M.D. believes there’s another way for sticking to our plans for self-improvement and achieving better health. According to Spry, “When it comes to establishing a healthy lifestyle, small changes can make a big difference.”
Spry could just be right. Making small changes to the way we think, could prevent our New Year resolutions from being washed away by the incoming tide of life. That’s why resolutions based on the idea of “more” and “less”, could add up to rock-solid success.
Resolution:I willhavemore gratitude, less grumbling.
The problem with complaining about one’s affairs is that it often obscures the good that’s close at hand.
This echoes the now familiar proverb “Can’t see the forest for the trees”, included in John Heywood’s collection back in 1546. A common expression, it describes someone who is too involved in the details of a problem to look at the situation as a whole.
During a phone conversation, a friend of mine broke into tears. “I just feel so poor”, she lamented. In helping to lift her spirits, I asked if she and her kids currently had a roof over their heads, beds to sleep in, clothes to put on, some food for dinner, and at least one coin left in her shopping purse? When she answered yes to each question, I gently said, “Then you’re actually more rich, and less poor.” I heard in her voice a small change of thought when she responded with, “Then I need more gratitude for the good I have, and to do less complaining.”
TIP:
● Be more prepared to make a small change in thought.
● Complain less. Look at your whole life, not just an unhappy bit of it.
● Be more grateful for the good already received. Such gratitude is good for your health.
● Take advantage of the blessings you have at hand, and “thus be fitted to receive more.” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health p. 3)
Resolution: I will be more positive, less negative.
It’s easy to slip into a state of thinking that constantly sees the “glass half empty” as the saying goes. You know the kind of thing, “I won’t be able to buy what I need. I’m worried I won’t be able to make ends meet”. With a small change in attitude, it’s possible to have less negative expectations and more beneficial, happiness-bringing ones.
When my mother needed an item for the house, herself or the family, instead of being sick with worry about her limited resources, she’d leave home with the positive expectation that her shopping needs would be met. Many times, although she had little money in her purse, no credit card at her disposal, and no internet to help her locate the best deals, she’d find the exact right thing at the price she could afford.
TIP:
● Be more optimistic, confident that your needs will be met.
● Be heartened by this ancient wisdom: “Certainly, goodness and mercy will stay close to me all the days of my life”.
● Encourage yourself to have more peace of mind, less worry.
New Year resolutions for happier, healthier living can be made – and kept. With small changes in the way we think, every excellent intention and aspiration to live a better, health-filled life can be achieved.
This article was originally posted on December 27, 2013 on Spirituality and Health Connectby Beverly Goldsmith. Beverly is a Melbourne-based health writer who provides a diversity of health content on how spirituality and thought affect health.
While some of us are still dealing with the influx of visitors, festivities and sun-soaked holidays, in the back of our minds is the niggling thought that 2015 has already begun and now is the time to make our New Year’s resolutions, before it’s too late.
Christian Science Canberra 