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    • Meditation / Relaxation / Breathing

    Does this beach paradise hold the secret for long life?

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    Does this beach paradise hold the secret for long life?

    And what does this have in common with

    “Stay grounded and listen to your Dad?

    I watched a wonderful show on CNN, it is Bill Weir’s The Wonder List. Each week he visits different places and cultures, mainly ones that have tradition and have not changed very much over time, treasures of the world that are not well known. He mentions that he wants to visit these unique and special places while they are still there, before they change.

    Meeting Dan Buettner, BlueZones.com, and listening to his adventure stories, Bill learned some very interesting things. One being a statistic from the World Health Organization that claimed that Okinawa Japan had the longest disability-free life expectancy in the world. They lived longer and healthier. This became his kick off for this interesting series.
    The question, after looking at United States longevity statistics is, ‘How do we get those extra 13 years?”

    The episode that I am writing about here is his visit to Ikaria, a small island off Greece where people live well into their 90’s and 100’s.

    Being in touch with life while slowing down to enjoy it, lots of movement and their diet, are major factors of their long lives.
    Growing their own food means that for every meal they are bending, picking doing some form of movement to gather and prepare. They did not know what Organic was as they have never used anything on the plants they grow.
    Meat’s a rare treat and a tomato is a snack with their diets being mainly 95% plants.
    Interaction across generations is common with Grandparents watching and playing with children.

    A few general comments from the Island were:
    Having a sense of value, feeling needed.
    Hiking, walking, dancing
    A life of service
    Moderation for everything
    Here, life is slow.
    Longevity is 25% genetics. 75% comes from where and how you live.
    Daily routines that help with stress
    Eat a plant based diet

    Does this beach paradise hold the secret for long life?

    This is the opening line on the CNN page about longevity on the island of Ikaria.

    “Stay grounded and listen to your Dad”
    This is Bill Weir’s comment to his daughter at her very young stage of aging.
    He is watching his daughter grow up, become independent much too soon and, from my perspective, wondering about his own longevity and hers, maybe without him to guide her.

    So the common bond, of these seemingly unrelated two statements, is the unknown question of how long will we live?

    He also mentions the following statement, as a side note, because his daughter is included as he personalizes his story.

    “The real lesson is, when they reach a certain age of freedom your kid is going to ignore everything you have ever said.” Bill Weir

    Out of Your Mind Creativity

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    One of the main focus points in the self coaching section on ecPathways is to use meditations and other exercises to help us calm our busy minds and slow down our thoughts. Feeling healthy and generally good about your self is an important part.

    30715766We all know that lack of sleep, movement and exercise affects our mood and focus ability. So do many things that we put into our bodies without thinking of their nutritional or hydrating value. We seem to spend even less time being aware of the thoughts we have,  the words we use and how they can affect and change our state of being.

    Here is a quote from Debra Kaye in her book Red Thread Thinking

    “Fresh ideas come when your brain is relaxed and engaged in something other than the particular problem you’re embroiled in

    Long showers, soaks in a tub, long walks, or doing chores are frequently when those “synapses” that find alternative solutions to a problem in new ways all hit together so that the big idea can spring.”

    In other words when we are doing something besides thinking, we tend to have out best, brightest ideas and aha’s.

    Much of our stress in day to day life can be managed by awareness and mastering of our thought process. Many of our thoughts are the same ones we had yesterday and even a few minutes ago. Creativity will naturally arise when we focus on something other than our thoughts. 

    Mindfulness is about being present in the moment, in other words being aware of where you are, what you are doing and how you are being.  Having activities that demand our attention,  just enough so that we are not thinking with our random, often useless thoughts, opens us to our intuitive and naturally instinctive self.  This is the place, or state of being, where most great ideas and new possibilities get their beginning.

    Here is a statement from best selling author Stephen King.   “We are writers, and we never ask each other where we get our ideas; we know we don’t know.“

    “We know we don’t know”.  An awareness of not knowing, or not thinking that we know, to open up to our natural, personal resources that are there waiting for us to discover them. Our inner coach, mentor and intuitive self are on always on duty , if we are or have learned  to be aware of them.

     

    A Mesmerizing Meditation – Romancing The Wind

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    34829931Now here is a 5 minute inspiring meditation that will keep your focus, create a sense of peacefulness and just plain feel good.

    This whole 5 minutes is mesmerizing- watch the end landing
    Romancing The Wind

    The guy flying the 3 kites is in his 80s, and he’s from Canada. He comes to the Washington State International Kite Festival every year. His skin is like leather as he normally flies with his shirt off. He is deaf, so when he flies we hold our hands up and wave them for applause.

    You must watch to the end to see the amazing landing of that last kite!
    http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=nr9KrqN_lIg