Fireflies of Hope

Nurturing: cultivating your gift to give (and receive) love

 

Would that life's experiences were all as gentle as the bath these babies receive from the woman in this Paris hospital. It reminds me that we all deserve kindness and gentleness from others, and that we deserve to treat ourselves with self-compassion. Every person is unique and special, especially to our Heavenly Father!

Oh, that every baby could start life being mothered, bathed and cared for in the same way as the babies in this video. Come to think of it, we all need to be nurtured and offer nurture no matter how old we are.

Since life is not always this gentle we MUST learn to care for and nurture our own self and those around us with love, tenderness and respect. If we don't, something within us shrinks and hardens. Wouldn't the world, wouldn't WE, feel full of more light, peace and joy if we learned to treat ourselves kindly and send that same kindness to the people around us? 

We all came into this world deserving of every good thing, and so did those around us. Nothing has changed in that regard. God is not a respecter of persons. He wants the best for every one of his children. Regardless of what we have done or what has been done to us since birth, we deserve to be loved and we need to give love; love is the single most healing verb we could give or receive.

Imagine the hope that our Heavenly Father has and feels for us. I believe God wants us to have the experience of being filled with light and joy. I believe He is pleased when we thank him for giving us life and for giving us mortal experiences (even if some of them are difficult). I believe He wants us to use the gift he gave us to change: the ability to become the fullest measure of our creation; of who we are meant to be. I believe he hopes we will take the opportunity and make the effort to learn to see others and see ourselves with the same love and compassion He has for us.

We can all change. We can cultivate the gift to nurture, whether we offer it to a plant or a person or our own remarkable selves. Something literally changes in our heart when we offer and receive love.

Shinrin-yoku: Have You Been "Forest Bathing" Today?

 

I keep a wildlife journal. On the days I walk to the nearby river I usually spy a bird or an animal that makes me stop in my tracks. I smell the fragrant air, I feel the crunch of autumn leaves underfoot, or snow falling on my eyelashes and I hear the water gurgling or rushing by depending on the time of year.

Something magical happens when I'm on these walks. My busy mind slows wayyyyy down. My stress level decreases and I feel really, really good and grounded. In Japan they call a short, leisurely nature walk like this "forest bathing" (shinrin-yoku). Isn't that an awesome name?

I also spend a great deal of time on the bridge facing downstream and I imagine my stress floating away, or I say a prayer. Then, I spend an equal amount of time facing upstream to allow good feelings, thoughts and blessings to fill that newly emptied space.

Forest bathing trips are popular "medicine" in Japan, proposed by the Japanese Forest Agency in 1984, to help some of the overworked, overstressed population de-stress, and lower things like high blood pressure and anxiety. If you have ever wandered around having NO agenda in nature . . . you have taken a forest bath.

Part of a forest bath is engaging all five senses. For the sense of taste part you can bring along a thermos of tea, so you don't have to risk eating something potenially dangerous. In Japan, scientists often monitor blood pressure before and after shinrin-yoku to see if it goes down after being among the trees. It does.

Since Japan has the 3rd highest suicide rate in the developed world, Japanese scientists and their govornment are researching, and funding, this forest bathing (shinrin-yoku) as a way to counteract all that. So far they have 48 official forest therapy trails (shooting for 100 official trails).

If you want to be inspired to do some sinrin-yoku yourself, you can

EMDR therapy: faster relief for overcoming trauma

photo via iamcocoa

Many people dealing with emotional pain search for trained counselors or therapists to help them. Some therapy it isn't that helpful. One particularly effective approach that has been getting more mainstream attention is called EMDR therapy. It stands for Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing. 

Yes, daily prayer and faith in the Atonement of Jesus Christ, can bless and fill us with a measure of hope and peace. However, it can come to a point when professional help is needed to find greater relief and make sense of lingering pain. 

If you are looking for immediate relief from emotional pain that traumatic events can cause (rather than slower relief from prolonged "talk therapy") many people are turning to EMDR over all other therapies. Click here to find an EMDR therapist near you. 

EMDR therapy is a very effective approach for overcoming "chronic pain, phobias, depression, panic attacks, eating disorders and poor self-image, stress, worry, stage fright, performance anxiety, recovery from sexual abuse and traumatic incidents" [emdr website].

The common talk therapy approach can be very painful and progress can be slow. After EMDR many people find they can finally