Body, Mind & Spirit Practices
A Prayer of Thanksgiving: When I think of Jesus and the Last Supper, and his desire that we should remember him, I think of sharing a nice meal with friends in the warmth and glow of his love. Here is an interfaith prayer to share at such a time:
Creator and Sustainer, you feed the creatures of the Universe through your goodness, kindness and creativity; being created in your image, may we find a way to feed each hungry soul here on Earth in the same way. We thank you for this food, may it nourish and strengthen us. We thank you for this day and this opportunity to gather in your name, may we be enlightened and enriched by your Spirit of Truth. In thanksgiving and in remembrance of Jesus, we pray. Amen.
Body – Healthy Breakfast Foods: Let's talk about food – in particular, let's talk about Breakfast Food. Below are some healthy breakfast foods that you may wish to incorporate into your day. We all know that breakfast is supposed to be the most important meal of the day and that we should make it a healthy one – so no need to belabor this point. In addition to the ideas below, please share some of your healthy breakfast ideas by leaving a comment.
Healthy Breakfast Ideas – Control your own portions and remember - everything in moderation.
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Oatmeal or Healthy Cereal with Nuts, Seeds and Fruits (Sweeten with a bit of Cinnamon & Honey if desired), Milk or Almond Milk, Coffee, Tea, Diluted Juice
Scrambled Eggs or Omelet with Favorite Veggies (Spinach-Red Pepper-Broccoli-Tomato?), Fruit or Healthy Juice, Slice of Toast (Whole Grain with Butter or similar), Coffee, Tea, Diluted Juice
Whole Grain Toast with Natural Peanut or Almond Butter(or a Slice of Cheese or Tomato Slices), ½ Grapefruit or Whole Orange (or other Fruit), Coffee, Tea, Diluted Juice
Cottage Cheese or Yogurt, Fruit, Whole Grain Cracker (like Wasa Crackers), Coffee, Tea, Diluted Juice
Poached, Fried or Hard Boiled Eggs, Whole Grain Toast with Tomato Slices, Coffee, Tea, Diluted Juice
- Baked Squash, Potato,Sweet Potato or Brown Rice with Butter, add dried fruit or sweeten with a bit of Cinnamon & Honey if desired, Slice of Toast (Whole Grain with Butter or similar), Coffee, Tea, Diluted Juice
Interfaith Spirit Quest
Mind - Brain Rule #1- Exercise:
The following tips are from the book
Brain Rules: 12 Principles for Surviving and Thriving at Work, Home, and School - by John Medina.
Exercise? Why are we talking about exercise? Because it's good for the body and the brain. Besides improving and maintaining our health, exercise helps eliminate harmful stress chemicals, improves our problem-solving and planning skills, and our attention spans. Besides the tremendous physical body benefits, studies show that exercise can also boost brain power by up to 42%!!!
Ways to incorporate exercise into a rather sedentary lifestyle:
Take a recess twice a day for a minimum of 15 minutes each. Allow yourself to spend 30 minutes a day on exercising your body and improving your health. I am challenging myself to do this and I am also challenging you. | To begin with, pick anything that will get your body moving and increase the blood supply to your brain. Walk – Dance – Run - Jump Rope –Climb the Stairs - Jump on a Rebounder (small trampoline) – Swim – or Aerobics. | If you have a laptop and a treadmill, consider building a platform for your laptop on top of your treadmill and learn to coordinate walking and typing at the same time – according to the author of Brain Rules – it took him about 15 minutes – he's a molecular biologist – so OK, maybe it will take us an extra minute – but we can do it. |
John Medina wonders what if students or employees walked on treadmills while they were in the classroom or at work. Maybe this is why they make us stand up in church so much, they want to get our blood flowing! | Exercise with fitness guru, Jack LaLanne. Watch one of his easy to find online exercise videos or look for his program on cable. The exercises are really easy. Jack must be doing something right because he's 93 years old (born in 1916) and still going strong. | Have fun! Play Speedminton (a faster form of Badminton) – Volleyball – Racquetball – Tennis – Basketball – Football – anything with a ball! Pick any sport! Do strength training – lift weights. Enjoy yourself! |
Insert your own exercise ideas here. Purchase a copy of Brain Rules here.
Spiritual Hospitality
Enhances: Tolerance
Balances/Counters: Hostility, Criticalness
The Basic Practice
We are practicing hospitality when we welcome guests — including strangers and enemies — into our lives with graciousness. An open house reveals certain things about us: we are well-disposed toward others, we focus on the positive, and we believe the universe is basically a friendly place. Sometimes hospitality requires that we cross boundaries and dismantle some of the barriers erected in our society to keep "the other" out. Sometimes it means entertaining ideas that might be alien to us.
To be hospitable, you need to accept pluralism as a natural condition in the world. Celebrate the diversity of the Creation. One particularly valuable spin-off of hospitality is inter-religious dialogue. Spirit speaks in many languages, and this spiritual practice helps us receive these multiple messages.
Why This Practice May Be For You
Hospitality and hostility are both derived from the same word root — but they couldn't be more different. Whereas hospitality is about welcoming all, hostility thrives on insider/outsider conflicts. Practice the former to increase your tolerance of the various groups in our society and their distinctive lifestyles.
On an interpersonal level, hospitality is a good prescription to balance a tendency to be critical of and unaccommodating to others. People who are distrustful of the world, who become fearful and paranoid when strangers approach, or who are suspicious of ideas unlike their own will also benefit from this practice.
--From Spirituality & Practice -- Part of the 37 Spiritual Practices, or the Alphabet of Spiritual Literacy – By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussa. Find much more here:
http://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/practices/practices.php?id=13 -----------------------------------------------------------
Interfaith Spirit Quest Discussion Questions:
- Can you remember a time when someone showed hospitality toward you? What did they do to make you feel welcome and comfortable? _________________________________________________________________________________________
- In a similar vein, please share a memorable spiritual encounter you've had with another religion — a conversation with a religious/spiritual person, a visit to a sacred site, attendance at a ritual, or a faith practice — and what you learned from the experience. _________________________________________________________________________________________
- What about a time when someone excluded you, or made you feel unwelcome? How did this make you feel? _________________________________________________________________________________________
- In addition to the above, what are some ways we can be more hospitable toward each other? _________________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you for stopping by - please check back often for future Body, Mind and Spirit posts.
Interfaith Spirit Quest
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