Wednesday, April 23, 2014

Change is Going to Come...

Change.  Its challenge lies in our response to it and is not something inherent to change itself.  The only way to make change manageable is by relating to it differently.

     A couple of months ago, Stephen was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (I suspect triggered by the flu shot he got late last year).  We were completely shocked by the diagnosis because he’s thin, fit, a healthful eater, has no family history, and is over age 40, so he had none of the predictors for any type of diabetes.  The first few days were swallowed up by urgent care and emergency room visits, so there wasn’t time to sit down and process it all. 
     Since then it’s occurred to me that this condition forces consciousness. Granted I’m not the one enduring the changes to schedule and the disruption to my lifestyle, but as our thoughts create our reality, what if we adopt the perspective that this diagnosis is empowering? 
     Here’s what I mean: every moment since before birth our organs and systems have been working tirelessly carrying out vital life functions. Most of these functions go unnoticed by us until there’s some malfunction.  Developing a chronic condition like diabetes requires that someone or Stephen, in this case, now has, for all intents and purposes, to function as his pancreas.
     From a mindfulness perspective this is an awakening.  Not just in the sense of realizing life’s impermanence, but also because it requires a more engaged and conscious approach to living life.  For instance: whereas in the past, he might have been able to eat a slice of pizza and not wonder how his body was digesting it, now he has to, in advance, be aware of what it takes for the body to process a slice of pizza.   
     It’s almost as if his world’s turned inside out.  Now every time he eats carbohydrates, he has to manually give himself the insulin that his pancreas would have automatically squirted out to maintain homeostasis. For those of us who don’t have diabetes, our pancreas continually produces the right amount of insulin to allow our cells to use the sugar in our blood. So whether we eat mindfully or indiscriminately, we aren’t reminded – except perhaps with minor discomfort – of the ramification of our actions.  We can continue mindless of the effort exerted by the body to maintain balance.
     For Stephen, I see how he has to factor into his mind and day all that he’s doing, eating and undergoing.  Every bit of exercise he does, food he eats, drink he imbibes, stress he undergoes, sleep he loses, he can now read the effect in his blood glucose reading.  Where my mind may peripherally or wholly miss what’s going on in and around me, Stephen’s suddenly been given the power to see the influence of his life choices on his body and mind.  This is empowering because it helps with making mindful choices.
     Please don’t misunderstand me –I’m not romanticizing the diabetic condition.  It must surely be daunting to anticipate a lifetime of pricking one’s fingers at least three times a day, finding non-scarred fingertips for blood draws, figuring out meals and insulin dosages, searching for new injection sites on the body, and always having snacks and glucose boosters on hand. 
     In our short experience with dealing with diabetes, it seems to me it provides the opportunity to see the direct effect of our actions on ourselves.  The upshot of this is that we can use difficult situations such as learning we have a chronic condition, or other admittedly destabilizing episodes like divorces and deaths, as a reminder to keep an open mind. 
     Whether we learn from a painful situation or not reveals much about ourselves. Trauma and difficulty make us stronger.  They also show us where we are stuck in our reactivity, habits and mindset.  One component of acceptance is dealing with the physical demands of life changing episodes and another is facing and working with its emotional toll. It is important to address all aspects of such change. 
     As change is a normal part of living, we can train ourselves to pay attention to whether we embrace, reject or ignore the changes that arise in our life.  Then we can practise developing a new relationship to those things that we find difficult. 
     The best way to form a new perspective on a sticky issue is to develop interest and curiosity about it. Trying to look at what’s occurring with detachment, fosters the ability to let go and to recognize what’s within our control and not in our control.  When you are able to do this, you begin to expand your knowledge about life and yourself.

     May you be open to life’s constant change. 

Friday, April 4, 2014

How Well Do You Know Yourself?

If you've been struggling with:
                       being present in the moment, and/or
                       find yourself reacting in the same manner over and over again,
and you'd like to learn about or change these habits, then you may be interested in this class...

Mindfulness: Practices to Grow Self Knowledge.  
Beginning - April 19 at 9h15

Go to the Cambell Adult Community Education to sign up for this class (7026)  http://www.cace.cuhsd.org/domain/29

If you are interested in learning more about Mindfulness, click 

Don't miss out on this opportunity to expand your awareness and learn more about yourself.  

Class is filling up quickly, register early.