April 2015 | Continuum Healing

The Story of Plantain

Angela McElroy, Children, Medicinal Herbs and FoodNo comments

The Story of Plantain from A Kids Herb Book by Leslie Tierra

Once there was a fluffy cloud that lived high in the sky. Every so often the cloud would grow dark as it filled with water from the earth and then uncontrollably rain upon all the plants and creatures below. Now the cloud could have lived happily ever after just like all the other clouds in the sky, except one day it realized it could not be fully happy so long as someone below was unhappy. This usually happened when Cloud released rain when people were not ready for it. Cloud was silly to wish that it could only rain when everyone was ready because it is impossible for everyone to be happy at the same time. So, no matter what, Cloud was left no choice but to feel unhappy every time it released a shower.

One day Cloud thought long and hard about this problem. It heard a rumor going around in the heavens. The news spread from stars to the moon, and the moon to the planets that a special event was about to happen. This rumor was that the sun and moon were going to shine …

What Your Breathing Says About You

Geoff Lamden, Mind Body and SpiritNo comments

Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Repeat as necessary. Most of us do this our whole lives in some sort of variation. However you find yourself breathing can tell you a good deal about how your life is going. BREATHE IN, breathe out Sometimes we take in a lot and don’t release it: built-up stress, too many creative ideas and no production, or a big education with nowhere to share it, for example. Sometimes we take in a little and release too much of it: cooking for others and not eating any of it ourselves, overspending on credit cards, all work and no play. breathe in, BREATHE OUT

We notice our breath when meditating, doing yoga, singing, maybe while going to sleep. Breathe But what if we noticed our breath at all times? Breathe This does not mean changing our breath to our perfect way of breathing, which is different for all of us at different times. breathe It means being mindful of our breath. Do you breathe in fully? To your stomach or your shoulders? breathe Is your in breath or out breath longer? breathe Which one is more relaxed feeling? Is there …

How’s Your Conversational Health?

Guest Post, MindNo comments

It’s common sense to attend to our physical and emotional health. But what about conversational health–is this also relevant?

Think back to the last time you experienced conflict. Did you have a desire to work things out with the other person, but they preferred to sweep the issue under the rug? Maybe it was the other way around? How did this conflict impact your mood, stress levels and ability to be productive? If you are anything like me, your mood went south, your stress went through the roof and your productivity tanked.

Harvard medical doctor Matthew Budd claims our habitual ways of using language contribute to many of our conflicts. In You Are What You Say, Dr. Budd points out five common conversational breakdowns that “not only create ineffectiveness and friction between people, but also produce negative mood states” and leave patients “exhausted, burned out and depressed.” Dr. Budd labels these conversational breakdowns linguistic viruses. Five of the most common are:

Living with uncommunicated expectations
Not making requests
Making unclear requests
Not declining requests
Promising even when you aren’t clear what was requested

How many of these viruses live in your conversations? And, how can you avoid these viruses …

Month: April 2015

The Story of Plantain

What Your Breathing Says About You

How’s Your Conversational Health?