New Year’s Resolutions

Communication Matters

January 11, 2017 By Alex Gellman

Are you happy with how you communicate? Too afraid to speak up sometimes, or conversely, find yourself shouting loud to be heard and recognized? Can you engage others when expressing your ideas, or do you receive blank stares and mumbled responses?

I recently had a patient who complained of chronic sore throat that made her hoarse and uncomfortable. We determined after months of work, that she was channeling energy into repressing memories of abuse and not acknowledging fears and losses and this contributed to having her voice literally suppressed. By being honest and dealing with her issues her voice was freed and she was able to pursue her interest in singing and joined a choir.

Singing – an ideal therapy for the throat chakra, whether it’s done just for yourself in the shower or with an organized choir or band. Go for it. And try to be honest – it can be therapeutic, and here’s an amusing account of radical honesty.

Another easy throat remedy is the Back flower remedy: Holly. Take 7 drops for 7 days. Allow yourself to feel the real pain and acknowledge its source because that is what leads to the anger and frustration that disrupts your voice. And here’s a short quiz to rate your communication skills.

The Road to Happiness—Questions and Answers

January 27, 2014 By Alex Gellman

You’ve probably done some assessing as to how you feel physically recently. That’s why you’re here. Whether you’ve managed to take any steps towards a more optimum physique or physical wellbeing may be predicated on how you are feeling mentally.

How is your self-esteem? Are you able to keep a positive outlook? Feeling confident in general? Enjoying quality sleep? Any enlightening dreams? How’s your sex life? Do you have kids? If not, are you happy with that? And if you have offspring, how is your relationship with your child or children? Do you devote as much time to them as you think they need, and what about your needs? You may want that time with them more than you realize. How is your emotional health, and are you doing anything to increase your emotional quotient?

Wow, the questions are endless and all worth contemplating but oddly enough, studies have shown that silencing all the questions through a mindful exercise of meditation can actually alleviate that nagging “seasonal affective disorder” and deeper-rooted depression.

Meditation, like everything else, improves with daily practice.

And while practice makes perfect there may be more to it than that.

No less an expert than Anders Ericsson, the Florida State University psychologist whose research on expertise spawned the 10,000-hour rule of thumb, says, “You don’t get benefits from mechanical repetition, but by adjusting your execution over and over to get closer to your goal.” “You have to tweak the system by pushing,” he adds, “allowing for more errors at first as you increase your limits.”

The main predictor of success is deliberate practice – persistent training to which you give your full concentration rather than just your time, often guided by a skilled expert, coach, or mentor. It’s a qualitative difference in how you pay attention, not a quantitative measure of clocking in the hours.

There seems to be a fine line between total focus and the structured approach to letting go of focus and structure through meditation. Regardless, if you want to reap the benefits of meditation, take some coaching and then practice properly as much as possible, as regularly as possible.

This holds true for any undertaking. What is it you seek right now? Ahh, more questions, eternally, more questions. Look here for answers – and within.

Home is Where the Heart Is – but Only if You Make it So.

January 19, 2014 By Alex Gellman

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Is 2014 the year to make your home a priority? Is it time to make your abode more than just a place to hang your hat? Do you need to change locale, go bigger, or downsize? Maybe de-cluttering is in order? Uprooting is a big decision and shouldn’t be spur of the moment, so take some time now to prioritize.

My suggestion in this area for 2014 is to draw up a floor plan of your residence to analyze the space. Plan to de-clutter and give away anything you haven’t used in a year and get rid of broken or “past the due date” items. (Such items can block the flow of energy.) Don’t try to do it all in one day. Plan out a section per week. We only have so much energy and time so use it wisely, making sure to still fit in time for pleasures, creativity and rest.

Take six months or so for this process and then evaluate how you feel about your place. You may find your outlook for your future living arrangements may be very different from what it is today. To help this cleansing of the soul process,I recommend the Bach flower remedy walnut. Take 3 drops for three days or every time you undertake de-cluttering a section of your house.

Creativity Can Free You From the Doldrums

January 15, 2014 By Alex Gellman

It’s 2 weeks into the New Year and are your resolutions already falling by the wayside? Well, it’s early in the game, so rather than obsess and despair, why not try to connect with your creativity?

Get up off the couch and indulge your curiousity and go somewhere you’ve never been – perhaps a museum or art gallery or just an area of town you’ve never visited. Or, attend a lecture on a topic about which you know nothing, or – the internet puts the world at your doorstep – so even just listen to a few TEDTalks.

It’s winter and you may be stuck inside a lot so make that a blessing by expanding your universe with creative expression. It may be as simple as putting pen to paper to recount an amusing or annoying episode from your day. Or consider taking a class on photography or drawing or painting or dance. Or try some free form poetry, or even just craft a friendly email to someone you care about – go ahead, make their day! (and you will!). A little creative exploration of your creativity can energize you during the long dark winter and help you find your path to realizing your dreams. Find the light inside and go for it.

Let Go of the Past, Connect with Yourself, to Wake Up, and be Present

January 4, 2014 By Alex Gellman

Step 1: Deal with Sibling Rivalry

Do you have a relationship at all with your siblings? Carrying the weight of family grievances that reach back to your childhood can compromise your health today by literally becoming extra weight around your middle. That weight around the middle is known as visceral fat and is now a leading benchmark to evaluate your predisposition toward chronic illness..

The greatest gift you can give yourself is to let that weight go – i.e. both physically and mentally. In fact you may have to tackle the mental part before the physical will budge.

This is a great affirmation to shoot for in your quest to realize your new year’s resolutions. An effective tool for you to gain self knowledge that will facilitate your personal growth, is to take the Enneagram Test. Check here to learn more about your personality at the Enneagram Institute World Headquarters site.

Enneagram

Which (if any) tips helped you stay trim over the holidays?

December 31, 2013 By Alex Gellman

Let me know – and whatever your outcome, help is here to make resolutions stick.