emotional sustainability

Hello to who-ever is out there reading this. This is another 'message in a bottle' cast from the shores of New Zealand, deep in the South Pacific. Here are some ideas that I have been thinking about for those of you that are feeling emotionally depleted. Life can be challenging and sometimes our circumstances make us feel stuck, depleted, tired. When we find ourselves in that state it can be very difficult to follow our dreams and to feel hope for the future. What we do in this circumstance has the power to escalate or de-escalate this state. I have been listening to some rather old Tony Robbins CDs. Here is a very simple suggestion that he makes to start with. Change your posture, your facial expression, your breathing, your movements. 1. Stand up tall right now and look upwards towards the ceiling. 2. Smile widely. 3. Breathe fully and deeply. 4. Do some sudden and emphatic movements with your body e. g. clapping. (maybe shout). Try this and you will find that it is almost impossible to feel low. Your facial muscles and body are sending you a new message. What was your level of hope before you did this exercise and what is it now. Wow. What an amazing simple exercise...and how immediately effective! I wouldn't have believed it. Those CDs looked so unappealing to me in terms of my preferred culture. I am humbled by some of the content. This is not merely pop-psychology. In my next blog I will talk about the mindful approach to living that leads to emotional sustainability. See you then! Let me know what happens if you do the above exercise several times during your day! Peace to your heart. Sandy