1/9/15
The first day of spring. And it’s pouring down! It’s been a while since my last post, but I have not forgotten about my blog in that time. I have been taking notice of things so that I could give a good report when the time came.
I’ve been seeing taking a tonic from my medial herbalist for the last 2.5 months and without the word of a lie I am feeling really good health wise with more energy, plus generally speaking the symptoms of the god-awful endometriosis have reduced, sometimes significantly which is delightful and money well spent! And I have felt generally happier too overall.
I took on board her advice about reducing my caffeine intake, and now have less caffeine too per day, often none, at the most 2. Instead I drink yummy rooibos tea, which is a non-caffeine hot drink, very nice and you have milk with it so easily passes for a ‘normal’ cuppa. Caffeine and grog both stimulate the adrenal glands and make the body systems stress, so by reducing that intake I am feeling the benefits (believe me). I’ve been grazing on the protein a lot too at the advice of my herbalist. Things have definitely improved for me health wise in mind and body – as we all know the two are interconnected.
I was just reading about serotonin and the impact that diet has on our moods, I’ve never really been too disciplined with what I eat before, aside from being a relatively healthy eater. Sure, I know about fish and nuts and seeds and green vege and all that, but with the improvements I’ve actually felt in the last 6 weeks with my protein-filled diet, I am more inclined to experiment to see what else can bring improvement. I shall stay in consult with my herbalist on that.
I’ve got my half marathon in 2 weeks’ time, did a 2 hour run on Saturday and felt pretty good. I’ve been training steadily for the last 2months plus, will need new sneakers after it! So yes, 2 weeks from now my race will have been run. I’m looking forward to it and the accomplishment of having completed it!
We’ve been running a course at the Buddhist Centre for the last 5 weeks called ‘Buddhism for Ordinary People’ and it has been a lovely programme. We have covered some of the main elements of what the Buddha taught, mindfulness; loving kindness and the 10 ways in which we can train ourselves to live more honourable lives (they’re called ‘Virtuous Actions’). We’ve had a great bunch of new students join in, each with their own reasons for joining . The Buddha’s teachings are so robust and applicable to today’s world. Buddhism is the best thing I have ever come across and a wonderful guide in my life. Life is so much better with it, have been practising for about 7 years now, yeeha.
In a few weeks’ time our Tibetan Rinpoche returns to Nelson from Tibet to conduct some teachings on Bodhichitta which is a fundamental teaching on loving kindness. I will be going to see him, it is an honour to simply be in the same room as him, let alone receive teachings from him. If anyone is interested in coming along, have a look at Nelson Buddhist Centre website for details.
Over the last few months, I’ve planted some more native trees and shrubs and grasses in my back yard, the end result in my mind will be a lovely naturally enclosed area, allows all the sun to still shine through yet creates that ‘secret garden’ feeling. Being relatively new to gardening, I just hope that I have planned right and that the outcome is as good as my intention. Guess I need to be prepared for either really. I’ve got a dear pal who gardens a lot and she says that that is all part and parcel of gardening, you put things in the ground with the best intention but some of the time you’ve got to tweak, chop, trim and pull out if the outcome isn’t as planned and your plants fail to thrive or on the other hand go berserk. At any rate, I’m happy to have got started at least, the natives will bring in more birds and bees and my next planting plan is for my vege and flower garden. Oh yes, to create something that is manageable for me and brings in new growth and life will be just the ticket!
Here’s to good health and happy days. Tiff