Round 19 Spirituality

I definitely believe in God. Who can witness the cycle of life and not consider the miracles of birth, wounds healing, breathing, and heartbeats? Some higher being had to orchestrate the miraculous functions of nature, no matter what you name him or her. While I no longer regularly attend church services, my beliefs are strong. I hope that the years I did attend church helped me to learn to be a better person.

Now, my sprituality is practiced more when I do yoga. It helps me really meditate and connect with myself. I just really need to get back into doing it more regularly. I haven't been able to practice yoga during school terms because I always feel like I should be reading, researching, or on the discussion board.

The Mayo Clinic article, Spirituality and Stress Relief: Make the Connection was a big help for me. It taught me that spirituality "arises from your connection with yourself and with others, the development of your personal value system, and your search for meaning in life."

These questions from the article will help me define my spirituality
*What are your important relationships?
*Where have you found comfort?
*What gives you hope?
*What brings you joy?
*What are your three most memorable experiences?
*If you have survived losses in your life, how have you done so?
*What do you believe will happen to you when your physical life ends, and how do you feel about that?
*Describe a time when you felt comfortable and all was right with the world.
*Describe a time when your life was filled with a sense of meaning or you were filled with a sense of awe.

For the next several nights I will contemplate these as I move through some of my favorite relaxing yoga poses.

Round 18 - Service

I'd like to get more involved with volunteering in the community. One interest I've had is with our township historical society. I'll have to consider that after graduation.

Games That Give is a fun site. I like to play games online and knowing that the time I spend on the site benefits charities I don't feel guilty about taking the time to play.

I also had a lot of fun on the Just Free Stuff website clicking on various links to donate kibble, mamograms, food for the hungry and other worthy charitable organizations. While there I saw one of the advertisers had a product that is perfect for little children who like trucks and construction equipment. Now that company may sell 2 sets of Constructive Eating Utensils as a result of that charitable click. In addition, money is donated to improve child health for each purchase.

Round 17 - Service and Spirituality

“Body, mind, and spirit all work together to create wellness.”
This is what the OCL Health and Wellness Challenge is all about.

I do find I feel better when I do something for someone else. I frequently stop my car to allow drivers to make a left turn or pull into traffice knowing that eventually I will be hoping someone will stop in the long line of approaching traffic to allow me to get on my way. It makes me smile knowing I made someone else's drive a little easier.

At work, I really enjoy helping people with their fines and lost items. They always appreciate the extra help with their finances, especially in these difficult times and I'm happy that the patron is able to use the library services again. I always hope these people somehow pass on the little kindness they received today as I am passing on those little kindnesses I've benefitted from.

Round 16 - Last Fun Roundup

I tried out the online pictionary game. It was fun, but the computer I was on was slow and I couldn't catch up with the game. And just forget about my drawing ability with the mouse.

I am beginning my Happines Project today. I am also adding a link for that to my blog page.

I like this advice which inspires me to clean out my closet and stop saving those clothes that I haven't worn in a while just in case I find something to go with it. It also makes getting ready for work a little easier.
--"You like to have a few things that you really like, instead of lots of choices." Okay, this advice might not be widely applicable, but it was a huge revelation to me about my own nature. My mother made this comment in the context of clothes, but it's true in many areas of my life.

One hobby that I enjoy is making jewelry. I purchased several animal totem stones and planned to make fetish necklaces for family but only got 4 done so far. I need some extra time in my life to enjoy my hobbies.
My biggest problem is that I'm putting everything fun off until I'm done with school in September 2010. I've got to enjoy my life now too.

Round 15 - The Fun Continues

I like that "Learn Something Everyday" site. It was a bit tricky finding the RSS feed, but now I'll get it on my bloglines account. I'm having a lot of fun with the Wordle site making a poster in anticipation of the birth of my first grandchild, Kaelyn.
I just returned from a long weekend of hiking, biking, and camping in Vermont. As expected I had a great time with my cousins and in-laws. The first day we biked 9 miles and hiked 4 miles into town and back. Fortunately, the path we biked on is a carriage road so it is pretty much level with minimal inclines. The second day we hiked about 8 miles and then 1 mile up a little mountain and another back down. That was quite a workout for me. We also biked about 6 miles. The last day we hiked and biked a bit more. I could feel the results in a couple of days and I want to continue to work out like that at home. There are plenty of places to hike and bike in Ocean county, I just have to get motivated.

Round 14 - More Fun Activities to Explore

I am reminded to take breaks during the workday, which I do not do because I want to get through that to-do list. Glen on LifeDev is right though, my mind is not clear if it is overworked. I'm going to make a conscious effort to walk around the block or something that doesn't involve brainwork, like homework, puzzles, or reading when I take a break. Since my brain is strongly engaged 7 to 10 hours each day between work and graduate school, I really need to take some breaks. When I am puzzling through time sheets every other week I play peaceful music at my desk, which helps me concentrate and leaves me feeling rested not stressed.

Round 13 - Time For Some Fun

This past weekend we went to our neighbors' house for the last summer party. They had a DJ and everyone was dancing in the garden. We had a great time dancing and watching the younger crowd do those kinds of dances we can't figure out how to do. How do they get their bodies to move in so many directions at once? That is a great memory and the most fun of all is we will be getting together with these folks for some more dancing at their son's wedding in a couple of weeks.
We love to watch funny movies and recently enjoyed Fired Up! It's a movie filled with young adult humor something along the lines of American Pie.
We are leaving for a camping vacation in Vermont tomorrow. We'll be sharing some great laughs with my hilarious cousin and her husband as we sip wine around the campfire. We'll also get in some exercise hiking and biking. Tubing is out since the weather is already pretty cool up there.

Round 12 - Moving Right Along

Well, I'm not moving very much. I spend a great deal of time working at my desk during the day, then I go home and concentrate on homework for another 3 hours each night. I can feel myself spreading outward.
One of the articles in this week's challenge is about building strong bones through exercise. The article mentions that casual walks don't help improve bone density, but when I get the chance to walk my pace is aboout 3 m.p.h. I wonder if that helps.
I'll be done with this class in a couple weeks, then I go on a camping/hiking vacation. Lots of walking for 4 days. We'll work in some river tubing and fishing too.

Round 11 - Keep Moving

I would like to start running. I promised my cousin I would walk/jog with her while we are on vacation next week. I tried to jog a mile with my cub scouts many years ago and was upset that I couldn't make it a mile. I will apply the concepts of easing into a running program that I've read in The Couch-to-5K Running Plan article. I am hoping that running/jogging will help my lung capacity so I can avoid having asthma which seems to afflict the women in my family. I'll let you know how it goes when I get back from vacation. I'll have lots of company beginning this weekend, so I'll sure be busy and running around anyway.

Round 10 - Vacation!

I look forward to getting more exercise when I'm on vacation. My typical vacation usually centers around either hiking or laying on the beach. If I'm laying on the beach, that is only part of the day, I love to take long walks on the beach, especially in the morning. I always choose the stairs over the elevator when on a cruise or in a hotel.
My sister-in-law, a certified yoga instructor, and another sister-in-law were on the last cruise my husband and I went on. One sister brought her laptop, I had yoga DVDs, and we all brought our yoga mats. We worked through some routines together in the gym during the cruise. It was great to work out together. The cruise line offered an extremely short, basic yoga class, so we were very glad to have our own private instructor.