I was recently moved by watching the documentary movie, Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead and reading the accompanying book Reboot by Joe Cross, which basically tells the first-hand account of his recovery from a state of excessive overweight and ill health, with auto-immune disorders and heart disease, to one of health and vibrance through juicing and life-style changes. I believe that we all have access to the innate healing of our bodies and minds, but it is taking the time to pause and listen to our hearts and bodies…and to press the Reboot button.
The human nervous system is hard-wired from our earliest of days for fight or flight. It was this mode that kept us alive and safe, ‘on the edge’ so that we were prepared to fight for our survival or flee if our adversary was too fierce. The autonomic nervous system, intended to save our lives under such dire circumstances has a pre-determined set of conditions that get us out of immediate danger; we sweat, respiration increases, our blood platelets thicken in case of injury, our blood pressure increases and we produce massive amounts of the stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol. These factors when applied to a truly dangerous situation, may help to give us that edge of extra focus and strength required to get to safety, but in today’s modern society we are under different kinds of prolonged ongoing stress. And the ‘stress response’ of the body is responding to modern situations in our work and home environments as if we were still in danger. Over time the body, and emotional well-being of a person under this continuous stress begins to break down, developing heart disease, digestive disorders, chronic high blood pressure, sleep disorders, anxiety and depression, to name a few.
How often would you say that you are able to take time for yourself? On a daily basis? Weekly? Or even less than that? Are the demands of your work, your family, your home responsibilities keeping you so busy that you never sit down? Are you the constant gardener who never sits to enjoy their lovely garden? Are you always saying, I need to learn to relax? Or, if I could just get time, to rest or take care of myself than I know things would change. What will it take for you to stop, just stop, and listen to your heart? I know intimately the challenges of ramping myself up so much with my to-do list of ‘musts’ and ‘shoulds’…that there is little room left for hearing the heart. At the end of your life, if you could look back over the course of your life, would you say, “I wish I had stopped to smell the roses more often.”? Why bother to grow a garden if you can’t actually relax enough to enjoy it? Ask yourself, “Who and what is important in my life?” And begin to realize that only you can make the time for the gratitude and appreciation of those experiences. The change truly begins within.
Remember, there is nowhere that you need to be but in the present. Eckhart Tolle says, “Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have.” Easy for him to say, right? Living in the present moment, seizing the day, listening to your heart…these all DO require effort. As one of my early teachers in Japan always said, “The spiritual path is simple, not easy, but simple.” In getting closer to what your heart wants, imagine what would change in your life if you could carve out the time to make the changes necessary to make your life more full-filling and full of well-being?

There are a number of ways that you could Reboot your system and begin to make positive and lasting change in your life:

  1. Eat a healthy diet including a variety of locally grown fresh vegetables and fruits
  2. Cut out, or minimize deep fried, processed foods, caffeine and alcohol
  3. Drink at least 2 litres of fresh water per day
  4. Diminish the time spent on social media and computers
  5. Invite regular moderate exercise or movement into your daily and weekly routines
  6. Fill your mind with healthy nutriments (ie.- reading inspiring motivational, self-empowerment or spiritual books)
  7. Take the time to ‘Know’ Yourself, Journaling and reflecting to notice your thoughts, and create change
  8. Seek care for your physical body with a Naturopathic doctor, Nutritionist, RMT, Osteopath etc.
  9. Create opportunities to Reset the body through proper rest, quiet time and creative activities
  10. Establish a daily meditation practice to Reboot the body-mind completely

Meditation can effectively reboot our entire nervous system, taking it out of fight or flight mode, and reversing the effects of being in long-term fight or flight mode. In addition to thinning our blood platelets, decreasing blood pressure, decreasing the production of cortisol and adrenaline, and increasing blood flow to the digestive organs, meditation also actually change the physiology of the brain, increasing areas of the brain that assist with memory, spatial learning and problem solving. And meditation can bolster our immune system. Even without these amazing effects, wouldn’t you like to feel less stress, feel more capable of handling problems, be less reactive and feel more calm? Meditation is the ultimate Reboot for this. Just like pressing the ‘restart’ on your computer, meditation has the capacity to bring us into the present moment with a fresh, calm perspective. And learning meditation is like learning to ride a bike, everyone can do it…it just takes practice. I always tell my students, “Thoughts are normal. They will happen. Just let them pass like clouds.”. But it’s those pauses and spaces in between the thoughts and the breaths in a meditation that are the pure gems. The glorious moments we are actually able to press that restart button, and just BE!
So today, I urge you to ask the challenging question, what do I want in my life? And then encourage you to Reboot, and take action…even just 5 minutes a day, to create the life you want.

In Peace,
Sarah
 

Sarah Ritchie

BA, BEd., RMT, Reiki Master, Certified davidji Masters of Wisdom and Meditation Teacher