Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – Meditation Benefits

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Benefits, Focus, Less Anxiety, Less Chronic Pain, Lower Blood Pressure, Meditation, Relaxation, spirituality

Mayo Mindfulness: Meditation is good medicine

The above link will take you to a terrific article about the benefits of meditation. I highly recommend taking a quick look if you have any doubts about this practice. Just 10 minutes a day can have a tremendous impact on your memory, your sleep, and your concentration. It can reduce your blood pressure, improve your mood, and sometimes, reduce chronic pain (Sparks, 2019).

There are quite a few apps that can help you with meditation, like Calm and Headspace. You can take courses on Mindfulness and meditation on Coursera. You can also find many guided meditations on YouTube. So what’s holding you back?

Meditation is a good workout for your brain, just like a good workout in the gym. It’s something you can do first thing in the morning or late at night. You can do it during a lunch break.

Personally, I would recommend using an app. Yeah, it’ll cost you a few bucks, but there is a lot of competition and the apps offer a great deal of content for the price. Content includes various meditations, meditation programs for reducing stress, productivity, or even self-care. Most of them will also have meditations specific to improving sleep. Calm’s sleep stories are awesome!

Anyone can meditate. It is just closing your eyes and concentrating on your breath and only your breath (It’s harder than you think). One of the shocking things I discovered is how crazy the mind really is. It is so hard to focus on the breath initially, but it will get easier over time.

If you haven’t meditated before, try the apps or YouTube. It’ll be worth your while. Articles like I provided above and cited below, provided by the Mayo Clinic, are beyond credible. Give it a whirl, you won’t be disappointed.

That’s all I got today, folks. I wish you great success with your new meditation practice.

Until next time…

Dave

Reference

Sparks, D. (2019). Mayo Mindfulness: Meditation is good medicine. Retrieved from: https://newsnetwork.mayoclinic.org/discussion/mayo-mindfulness-meditation-is-good-medicine/?cauid=100503&geo=national&linkId=71697218&mc_id=us&placementsite=enterprise

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Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – Video Games and Netflix

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Dead Space, Dead Space 2, Dead Space 3, Enjoyment, Entertainment, Fun, Netflix, Recuperation, Relaxation, The West Wing

Image by QuentinLGH from Pixabay

I enjoy my relaxation time as much as I do the work I do. Currently, I am playing a video game called Dead Space. I am also watching a series on Netflix called The West Wing. If you have not played Dead Space, I highly recommend it. I won’t offer any spoilers but it is one great game. It has some really scary scenes and has a great back story. I love video games with a great back story. The West Wing is a television show that was very popular. The series is about a President (Martin Sheen) and a whole host of great characters who really make the show. The writing is superb and I enjoy it tremendously.

If you are into video games, try out Dead Space. It is re-engineered to work on the Xbox One and will set you back $15. It also has two more games beyond the original–Dead Space 2 and Dead Space 3. I’m going to play the heck out of Dead Space this month and will jump into Dead Space 2 next month. It’s $19.99.

That’s it, folks. I just wanted to spread the word about two great things I do when I relax. I hope you give them a whirl if you are into Netflix and video games. They are a real treat!

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Motivation Monday – Another Day of Relaxation

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Chilling, Easter Sunday, family, Relaxation, Sri Lanka, Terrorist Bombing, Time off

Hello, all!

I had a great Easter weekend with family and really enjoyed the downtime. It’s nice to have a break from the day-to-day once in a while and I took advantage of it. Today, will be another day of rest and recuperation to spend my sister’s last day here. Subsequently, today’s post will be short. I’m up early getting things done before the rest of the family wakes up.

On a sad note, my heart goes out to the people of Sri Lanka today. According to the news, terrorist bombs killed 200 people and injured many more yesterday. There were some American casualties but authorities have not released the names. When you read about horrors like this, it wakes you up to the savagery ever-present in the world.

On a lighter note, I’ll be back on track with my daily habits and rituals tomorrow. I hope each of you has a terrific week. Keep pushing forward with your goals. Remember, one small step at a time. Each step gets you closer.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content – Happy Easter!

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Easter, family, Friends, Holiday, Relaxation, Religious, vacation, Worship

Today is Easter! For those of you who celebrate, I wish you a terrific Easter Sunday! I love holidays because it’s the one time during the year we can celebrate together with family and friends. My sister is visiting and Dad and I are having a great time with her. My Mom is in Minneapolis this weekend for ECKANKAR’s Springtime Seminar. She enjoys going to the major seminars to reconnect with friends she has made on Facebook and to pitch in on discussion round tables that are held at these events.

I wish all of you a terrific day wherever you are in the world. If you have any Easter memories to share, please do so in the comments below.

Until next time…

Dave

 

Daily Ramblings – Spiritual Saturday – The HU Chant

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Calm, Focus, Good Habits, HU Chant, Meditation, Relaxation, simplicity

Have you ever thought about meditation? There are many benefits to this practice, particularly the benefits of calm and focus. Another benefit is the simplicity of the act. You can close your eyes and meditate anywhere, provided you are comfortable and the place you choose is remote or away from noise.

Here are the basics:

• Sit down or lay down on a bed or couch
• Close your eyes
• Focus on your breath (breathe in and breath out)

If you would like to use another technique to keep your focus you can chant silently to yourself or out loud, depending on where you are. If you chant, use the word HU. HU is an ancient name for God and pronounced like the word “hue”. Chant this word for whatever period you have available. I recommend 10 minutes for starters.

Chanting HU can help you in times of stress or trouble. Chanting HU is not religious. You can use the HU chant if you are Jewish, Christian, Muslim, or any other religion.

Try it. Many people, the world over, use the HU chant daily. I do this in the early morning, before I head to the gym. Other people I know do the HU chant during their lunch break or right before they go to bed. Start small. 10-20 minutes is all you need.

If you try this out or have questions, comment below.

Have a great Saturday folks!

Until next time…

Dave

 

 

Daily Ramblings – Funny Friday

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Chuckle, Friday, Funny, Giggle, Henny Youngman, Laughter, Relaxation, Weekend

“Do you know what it means to come home at night to a woman who’ll give you a little love, a little affection, a little tenderness? It means you’re in the wrong house, that’s what it means.” ― Henny Youngman

Enjoy your Friday!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Bonus Content

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Bandersnatch, family, Netflix, Relaxation, Sister, vacation

I’m up late and felt like writing a bit.

It was a great four days spending time with my sister at her new place. We ate some steaks, watched television shows, and relaxed. It was a great time hanging out with my sister.

We watched a movie that was awesome. The title was Black Mirror: Bandersnatch. If you haven’t watched this film yet I highly recommend it. This movie allows you, the consumer, to make choices with your TV controller throughout the film which affect the outcomes of the movie. It was so much fun!

I hope all of you had a nice day off yesterday with the Martin Luther King Holiday. We’re scheduled to get some more snow tomorrow. It’ll be a nice slow drive home. I am really loving the snow right now. It is so clean, crisp, and awesome outside. The sky, the last few days was so clear.

Well, that’s it for now. I’ll get my Ted Talk posting up later today.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Merry Christmas!

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Board Games, Christmas, Christmas Eve, family, Friends, Good Food, Laughter, Relaxation

I’ll forego my typical Motivation Monday posting to wish all of you a Merry Christmas! My sister and her boyfriend are on the way, Mom is in the kitchen preparing the meal, and Dad is reading the paper in his favorite rocking chair.

The family dog is where she always is, relaxing at the foot of my desk as I compose this posting.

As a retired veteran, I would be remiss if I forgot to wish all the men and women of our Armed Forces a Merry Christmas too! I was separated from family many times throughout my career and it was nice to hear from folks back home, wishing me well. One year, a judge from my hometown wrote me a letter, explaining that he had served in the Korean War and missed quite a few Christmas holidays with his family. His letter meant a lot to me, particularly since I was reading it from a guard post on Christmas Eve at the now-disassembled Spandau Prison in W. Berlin, guarding Rudolph Hess, one of the last minions of Hitler’s inner circle.

I also want to wish our first-responders a Merry Christmas. Many of them will be working tonight, while we are sleeping, to keep us safe. I hope all of you have a quiet night and get home safe and sound to celebrate the day with your families.

I hope all of you have the time to think about 2018 and all of the great things you’ve accomplished. I also hope you take some time to begin thinking about all of the great things that lay ahead for you in 2019.

Use this time to enjoy your families, your pets, and your friends. Recharge your batteries and get ready for a great year!

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Phoenix – Day 12

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2136 trilogy, Amazon, Barbados, Netflix, Phoenix Trip, Relaxation, To-do List, vacation

My brother and nephew took off this morning for a week in Barbados. I have my brother’s house to myself and looking forward to just relaxing and doing nothing but knocking out my daily to-dos and watching some shows on Amazon and Netflix.

Yeah, I know. It’s lazy, but that is what vacations are for. I’m also going to get in some reading today. I’m reading the 2136 trilogy and for an Indy writer it is really good. Well, that’s it for today.

Until next time…

Dave

Daily Ramblings – Phoenix – Day 8

Tags

family, Friends, Gaming, Good Food, reconnecting, Relaxation, TV Series

Yesterday was a day of watching Amazon Prime, playing some video games with my brother, and meeting some friends for dinner. We met at Los Dos Malinos in Phoenix. Boy, talk about some great Mexican food. I had the carnitas plate with rice and beans and it was tremendous. It was really nice meeting with my friends yesterday, getting caught up in their lives and enjoying our time together.

Today, my brother and I are chilling out, watching some more of Patriot, playing Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and heading out to a favorite restaurant for fried chicken. Then, we are heading over to one of my brother’s favorite cigar bars, called Magnums. I’m meeting one of my previous programming consultants. We have been friends a long time.

Well, that’s it for today, folks. I realize my posts have been short, but want to enjoy as much time with my brother and friends as possible. Enjoy your Thursday!

Until next time…

Dave