Great thread Nat!!!!!
I've always considered myself an optimist. Like many, i try to always see the bright side of things. It can backfire when you are around negative people however and come across as being silly or immature or an airhead. I have no doubt that my journey of being a joyful and happy person gets on many nerves. LOL. That's ok, i can live with that.
My mom, for instance, says i'm too optimistic and refers to me as an ostrich putting my head in the sand when things are not so great. I don't see it that way and of course there are times when i am hateful, pissed, angry and my temper gets the best of me.
I believe everything we do and how we impact others' lives is a choice and we can choose whatever we want. In other words, i CHOOSE to be joyful. I certainly don't have to be. I also believe anyone can choose it as well. Meditating, of sorts, can lead me back to this "place" when i've faltered and let negative energy into my life. I just sit and honestly feel that place inside of my psyche that smiles. I let her grow and grow until she consumes me and i feel whole again. I have no doubt it is endorphins that allow me to feel wonderful.
Being joyful in life is a wonderful place to be. Even if i regress and my surroundings or people lead me to that darker existence, i am aware that i can reach that wonderful home of happy and will climb any mountain to reach it.
I found the link provided while looking around on the webs. Even though it is one of those "company" paid events that promise your employers a much happier work place, it does examine how that joyful place in our minds has a lot of positive effects and not just for the smile we wear on our faces. It helps with fighting disease and so on.
Also being around sick folks most of my time, i have found so much that being joyful can do when we share it. A soft touch, a smile even in our darkest, scariest times in life can really do much more than medication and can help people achieve a better life, even if it is just for a little while.
I remember i had a patient who was dying of cancer. His kidneys had already failed and he knew he only had a few days left. Holding his hand and praying with him one day, he said to me "You are the only person that has been around me in weeks that has smiled. People just seem to look at me and cry. You have no idea what that means to me." That really was a huge impact on my life and i hope on his.
I believe, one day, we will find that being joyful and happy can be much more important than any medication any man can produce.
http://www.emotionalhealthcentre.com...eak%20Peek.pdf
Endorphin Effect Strategies and EFT – Martine Moorby
Endorphins are the natural feel good hormones that every cell of our body is capable of producing. Their function is to relax tissue, eliminate pain, create feelings of pleasure and facilitate healing.
It is possible to produce endorphins deliberately. Attitude and focus are as important as the activity that you choose to undertake to release endorphins. When we educate ourselves and our clients to become more aware of our bodies and its sensations, when we and they understand how our attitudes support or undermine our relationship with our body, we can make healthier choices that increase our resilience and allow us to flourish in times of stress.
One way we trigger our chemistry is through the thoughts we have. You can easily check this for yourself.
-Imagine holding a lemon, feel its waxy, smooth, cool shape in your hand. Contemplate its bright yellow colour. Imagine cutting through it. See the cool juice squirting as the knife cuts through.
Now imagine biting into the lemon. Take a generous open-mouthed bite into the half you have just cut... and tune into your body.
You may be surprised by your chemical response.
In the same way, now recall a pleasurable memory. Tune into your body and give yourself permission to enjoy any pleasurable sensations that may have arisen.
Many people do not stop long enough to enjoy the endorphins they are producing in that moment. If anything, many of my clients find it harder to feel and allow pleasure to land and linger in their body, than to experience the immediate discomfort of the taste of tart lemon in their mouths.
This is where EFT is a wonderfully helpful tool, helping remove the blocks to allowing pleasure to land. These blocks are often what Gary Craig refers to as “the Writing on our Walls”, or the beliefs that have arisen from our history and the stories we tell ourselves. By changing our thoughts, we can change our experiences, and allow deep healing and transformation to take place.
Combining the Endorphin Effect Strategies with EFT allows you to take powerful, empowering transformative steps on your journey to wholeness.