Archive for the ‘Beverly Goldsmith’ Tag
At this time of year, life can be very hectic. Holidays are over. It’s back-to-school and back-to-work time for many families. Teachers are making preparations. Parents are working hard to establish a smooth daily routine that enables them to get their children up and out-the-door on time. Such an undertaking can be a challenge! As one father said, “Getting kids ready for school each day would test the patience of a Saint”. What’s the answer? Have MORE patience. It’s good for your health.
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HAVE MORE PATIENCE
Teachers, parents, and child-minding grandparents, often need truckloads of patience. Why? Because this relationship-smoothing, health-giving quality of thought produces well-balanced, harmonious, daily activity. It fosters calmness, and enables us to be tolerant of delays or problems, without becoming angry or upset. Patience is so valuable and needed these days that it’s considered to be a virtue – a character trait that’s not only morally good, but very desirable in every person.
TIPS
– Overcome frustrating family situations with patience. Stay calm. Don’t let anyone or anything upset you.
– Master the art of patience. Embrace it more fully. Patience helps build emotional and spiritual maturity. It produces a better balanced mental state and attitude to family life. It enables you to move through stressful times with grace and poise.
– Have patience with learning, and with learners. Be prepared to teach kids what they have to do as part of the daily routine. Establish a logical order for the day ahead. In time you’ll build helpful attitudes and practices, and achieve a smooth running household.
– In dealing with a difficult, or grumpy family member, resist the impulse to react. Stay calm-and-collected. “Be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry” Bible James 1:19
– Remind yourself that you have an abundance of self-control. You have patience. You’ve been created a cool, composed, unruffled person. You have equanimity – evenness of mind. You’re mentally balanced.
– If confronted with willfulness or disobedience, take a deep breath. Stay loving. A loving attitude helps you stay patient, calm. It helps you keep an emotional balance. Love “…is not easily provoked”. Bible 1 Corinthians 13:5
– Remember what’s most needed from all of us – parents, children and teachers, is “… growth in grace, expressed in patience, meekness, love, and good deeds.” – Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health p.4
– Be calm. Resolve delays or problems without becoming angry or upset. Be proactive. Have MORE patience. You’ll find it’s good for your health.
This article was contributed by Beverly Goldsmith who is a former secondary school teacher and is now a health blogger and a practitioner and teacher of Christian Science healing.
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What would you think if you went along to a doctor and you were prescribed a self-help book instead of medication? Well, that’s not so far-fetched as you might think.
A new project initiated by the UK’s The Reading Agency called the Reading Well Books on Prescription scheme, has doctors now prescribing books to patients with mental health problems such as anger, anxiety, binge eating, depression, obsessions and compulsions, panic attacks, phobias, self-esteem, stress and worry.
The scheme, which works within the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence guidelines, and is backed by the Royal Colleges of GPs, Nursing and Psychiatry, the British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies and the Department of Health, aims to bring reading’s healing benefits to sufferers of anxiety and depression.
According to the Reading Agency, “there is growing evidence showing that self-help reading can help people with certain mental health conditions get better.” GPs and mental health professionals can prescribe patients a visit to the library, where they show their prescription for one or more of 30 endorsed books with acknowledged cognitive behavioural therapy benefits.
Books on Prescription has made it to New Zealand. It’s also being implemented at Boab Health Services in outback Australia’s Kimberley region. Boab says, “… the best self-help books can be highly effective … Many practitioners regularly recommend particular books to their clients or patients … The use of self-help books is known as ‘bibliotherapy’.” … a coined term “for the therapeutic use of books in the treatment of illness or personal problems. Evidence in the UK, suggests that bibliotherapy has a therapeutic benefit for people experiencing common mental health issues.”
Books as medicine, sounds like it could be good news for many in the community. Some people have told me that being treated with drugs for mental health issues has led to other problems, such as adverse side-effects and dependency. With that in mind, reading a self-help book could just be “what the doctor ordered”.
But help can’t be found in just any old tome. If you want to improve your mental wellbeing, you might want to choose a book that has a proven track record. For example, it could be one that’s been around for a long time, has been read by many people around the world, and has perhaps even received testimonials regarding its practicality and effectiveness.
Another way to gauge a good self-help book is to ask if it’s one that brings inspiration, gives you a lift, encourages you to change your thinking or life-style, shows you how to be fearless and calm in difficult situations, or strengthens your mental resilience.
I can certainly testify that reading a self-help book is beneficial. Over the years I’ve referred to my two all-time favourites – the Scriptures and Science and Health, almost every day. These books have provided me with lots of practical ideas and helped me focus my thinking on life-changing spiritual ideas. As a result, many times my exact need has been met. I’ve found uplifting, empowering concepts that have enabled me to beat anxiety or stress and lead a happier, healthier life.
Today, a growing number of people are turning to books that discuss the mind-body connection or explain the relationship between consciousness and experience. This can be seen in the burgeoning number of books and magazines devoted to such topics. It seems that there is even a desire to explore a spiritually mental approach to mental and emotional health issues through books on meditation and prayer.
All of this interest augers well for the future of mental health. It’s quite possible that somewhere down the track, books will also be prescribed to people who suffer chronic pain or fatigue, or perhaps have relationship problems. Stay tuned for more news on this front. Books as medicine? I can’t think of a better prescription.
This article by Beverly Goldsmith was originally published on her blog site Spirituality and Health Connect. Beverly is a Melbourne-based health writer who provides a diversity of health content on how spirituality and thought affect health.
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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 will have more 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 Connect by Beverly Goldsmith. Beverly is a Melbourne-based health writer who provides a diversity of health content on how spirituality and thought affect health.
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How do you wake up in the morning? Are you mentally alert, raring to go, ready to leap out of bed? Do you open your eyes looking forward to the day ahead, or is yours perhaps a more lack-lustre, pedestrian, or even sluggish awakening? There’s a way to put more pep into your life, and it doesn’t necessarily have to come out of a bottle or a packet.
● Start from the “inside-out”.
Finding the sparkling energy that gets you up out of bed and carries you effortlessly through the day, starts with what you’re thinking about when you first open your eyes. Rather than taking the “outside –in” approach – that is, trying to energize the body, people have found success by energizing their thoughts. Educational psychologist Kendra Cherry says research is finding many benefits to an “inside-out” mental approach.
The reason for starting with one’s thinking, is that physicality is a bit like a car parked in the garage. The vehicle has all the working parts, but it remains inactive. It doesn’t move until a person gets in and drives it. The same can be said about one’s physical state. What one thinks about the body, can push it towards experiencing good or bad health outcomes.
In an interview about best health practice, Dr Mimi Guarneri, author of The Heart Speaks: A Cardiologist Reveals the Secret Language of Healing, discusses how to achieve greater wellbeing. Described as a catalyst in the field of integrative medicine, Guarneri says, “…I firmly believe when people have peace inside, when they go in and they feel connected to something larger than themselves. …They start to have healthier behaviours. I have really changed from looking at health from a physical outside-in to a spiritual inside-out.”
TIP: To get more zip-and-zing into your life, start the day in the driver’s seat. “Take possession of your body and govern its feeling and action” (Science and Health p393). Don’t slow your energy levels down by rehashing negative thoughts and fears. Worry is weighty thinking. Set yourself free from any jaded and humdrum thoughts. Engage in activities that excite or energize you. Do something you love. Cultivate meaningful relationships. Be proactive. Keep mentally energized.
● Practice, practice, practice.
Henry David Thoreau famously once said, “As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.”
To possess a zest for life, and express vitality from sunrise to sunset, requires a hands-on approach. In other words, it takes practice. Your choices, thoughts and actions can influence your level of vim and perkiness. Perhaps that’s why staff at the Mayo Clinic believe that “People who strive to meet a goal or fulfil a mission — whether it’s growing a garden, caring for children or finding one’s spirituality — are happier than those who don’t have such aspirations.”
TIP: Boost your energy levels. Think positively about your physical state. Invigorate your thinking with glad-to-be-alive, optimistic, hopeful thoughts. Practice putting a spring in your step by staying mentally energized every second of every day.
Once you get the knack of putting this approach into action, you’ll probably find yourself practicing it frequently. After all, who wouldn’t want to enjoy increased physical well-being and better mental health?
This article was originally posted on August 5, 2013 on Spirituality and Health Connect by Beverly Goldsmith. Beverly is a Melbourne-based health writer who provides a diversity of health content on how spirituality and thought affect health.
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Christian Science Canberra 