health — EMPOWERED TIMES BLOG

Life as an Experimental QUEST

I am a recovering pendulum swinger. Extreme behaviors, on both ends of the continuum, have punctuated my life. All or nothing has often been the name of my game. This approach can feel unsustainable and counterproductive at times, and has challenged me to explore more effective ways to approach life.

Rather than taking an absolute attitude toward goal setting, what if we viewed our aspirations as a quest for discovery and understanding? Using the acronym Q.U.E.S.T. invokes a more more playful and experimental perspective. When we bring a sense of childlike curiosity and openness to our endeavors, there is less pressure and more space to enjoy our exploration without fear or expectation. An experimenter is willing to try something new, take chances, and reroute or improvise when necessary. This approach encourages us to observe and influence change, rather than forcing it.

Will you accept this invitation to to experiment, to play, and to get curious about creating potential and possibility in your life?

Finding Happiness in the Micro-Adjustments

Award winning playwright, Tom Stoppard said, “Happiness is equilibrium. Shift your weight.”

Discovering our equilibrium (aka balance) is a dynamic process. Life is constantly changing. What felt like a good balance yesterday might not feel relevant today or next week/month/year. When we are standing on one leg, our muscles automatically make infinite micro-adjustments to help us find our balance. Psychologically speaking, micro-adjustments can be equally effective in helping us discover equilibrium. Deepening our understanding of ourselves and our relationship with balance helps us to identify what feels off kilter so we can shift our weight accordingly. Even minor adjustments in how we think and how we approach life have the potential to influence our experiences in significant and powerful ways and tip our scale toward increased fulfillment and happiness.

Cultivating Security ~ Part 3: Strengthening Your Core from Within

Strengthening our abdominal muscles helps to reduce the risk of falls and injury. Fortifying our psychological core helps to to cultivate security from within. These exercises include: 1) identifying what makes you feel authentically safe, 2) exploring your internal landscape to better understand your experiences, and 3) establishing consistent practices to reinforce your sense of security. From a solid, strong center, we are able to move our body with greater agility and balance. Similarly, when we actively practice engaging our internal psychological strength, we have better capacity to respond with flexibility and confidence. To do this we must take personal responsibility. We don’t get six-pack abs by watching someone else do crunches!

Redefining Forgiveness and How to Heal Without It

“Forgiveness makes me feel weak and vulnerable.” We can be hurt in a plethora of ways, from overt abuse and injustice, to social infractions and insensitive oversights. The latin word for forgive is “perdonare,” which means “to give completely, without reservation.” This literal and limited definition seems to disregard context. Sometimes it is not possible to offer forgiveness to another person, either because they are no longer alive or accessible, or because it doesn’t feel safe or appropriate for us to do so. If we disqualified the term “forgiveness” from any given transgression, what would be our goal for resolving it? In prioritizing resolution instead of reconciliation, healing rather than pardoning, we may discover more clarity of our own experience.

Why Winter is the Right Time for Reflection

The hum of the holiday season is past, and along with it, the social festivities and whirl of excitement and anticipation. Midwinter represents a season of contrasts—cold and cozy, dark and light, death and life. We might find ourselves more susceptible to physical illness, depression, fear, or anxiety during the winter. Yet, this season also offers us an opportunity to reflect, restore our energy and resources, and focus more on what nourishes us. Inside this article are six interesting ways to inspire your winter refections…

~~ Expanding Inside Out: Part 1 ~~ When We're Closed

As different as our modern life may be in comparison to the primitive threats to survival our ancient ancestors faced, we still encounter a plethora of real and perceived attacks—natural disasters, social and economic injustices, political rivalries, bullying in schools and social media, viruses run amok, and perhaps above all, vastly conflicting views on how to address those threats. When we feel threatened, we contract—physically, emotionally, and mentally. In this defensive position, we tend to operate from a place of fear, judgment toward others (or ourselves), and a need to protect or preserve what we have. What causes us to feel closed, cautious, and uncertain?

Breathing in a Better Life

“Just take a deep breath." It’s the most commonly distributed advice when we are stressed or anxious, angry or uncertain, unable to concentrate, or unable to sleep. It seems too simple and too mundane to actually work. Yet the art of mindful breathing boasts many physical, psychological, and cognitive benefits. In Chinese medicine, the lungs are associated with the season of autumn which makes this the perfect time to create your own breath practice. Take a look at my video for a guided practice as we explore seven different breathwork strategies and how they help to calm, restore and enhance our overall sense of wellness.

2020: The Year of the Breath

Lately, the breath has gotten a lot of press. 2020 seems to be the year of the breath, or perhaps more accurately, lack thereof. COVID-19, the global pandemic has affected millions of people across the world who have contracted the virus and struggled for breath. People have lost their lives, their loved ones, their livelihoods. In the midst of the virus crisis, we heard the haunting words, “I can’t breathe,” uttered by George Floyd as he was suffocated and publicly murdered under the knee of a white police officer. Our sense of physical and psychological safety has been severely compromised on a number of levels. The often overlooked luxury of breath has become the symbol of health, freedom, justice, and aliveness. As DJ D-Nice regularly reminded us this year, “Let it breathe.”

Cultivating WellnessErin MasonDecember 18, 2020adversity, current events, covid, freedom, health, breathe, breath, healing, justice, perspective, equity, racism, resilience, repair

The Power is in Our Response

The Corona virus and its far reaching implications have had an impact on each of us. Our routines have been rocked, and we have had to modify our lives in the face of unexpected changes as schools, restaurants, events, gyms, and places of work shut down. These disruptions can be disconcerting, especially considering we still don’t yet understand the severity or how long this will last. However, within this challenge, as we navigate the unknown, we also encounter an opportunity. An opportunity to deliberately choose how we respond. An opportunity to emerge from this moment more united and resilient. In our response, we discover our power.

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