Articles from prior issues of The Advocate

September/October, 2000

LIFE CENTRICS: Creating Balance and Energy in Your Life
by Tamara Kastanas, Missouri DDS

Carol Lett from Life Centrics gave a presentation on creating balance in your life and nurturing the “Six Dimensions of Well Being”. A philosophy she shared with the audience was to “View Life as a Series of Special Interactions” and to use the “Stay Focused” principle rather than the “Outcome Focus”. Stay focused on what is going on around you and being present in the moment, rather than to continue to ignore signals from your environment that contribute to the stress and discomfort to your life. Ms. Lett cited the Six Dimensions of Well Being for creating Balance in your life:

1. Physical Health - eating; the best advice, eat healthy as you are what you eat. Movement - exercise to release stress and renew energy.

2. Emotional Health - know your self, your body, your words, witness emotions and emotional triggers, learn responsibility for your emotional expression, express yourself clearly and often, use relaxation, visualization and quiet time to renew emotional energies, develop and practice the skill of deep breathing (very effective in relieving stress).

3. Mental Health - be mindful of individual perception and interpretation, give attention to that which you want to grow, stop worry-learn to quiet your mind, write down and visualize intentions, focus on the process vs. the outcome, choose health. Use the power of visualization and imagery.

4. Occupational Health - identify and utilize your unique gifts and talents, practice and encourage creativity, find meaning and joy in daily tasks, plan rejuvenation activities, plan for financial security. Identify personal values and align those with your occupational choices.

5. Social Health - identify primary relationships as energy giving and energy taking, schedule time with primary relationships-family and close friends, use healthy communication at all times with all people, nurture your relationship with yourself, reach out to secondary relationships (work and community). Practice Active Listening.

6. Spiritual Health - take stock of your life and listen to your heart, create a spiritual support system, let go and BE, connect with nature, make healthy choices in all 6 dimensions, love yourself and others.

Learn and practice the art of Restful Alertness.

Another tool in relieving stress is writing down thoughts and feelings about particularly stressful situations. This can help or maintain mental, emotional and physical health. The last item that Carol Lett spoke of was the necessary element for intentional living:

Desire + Belief + Acceptance = Manifestations of Intentions.

1. Desire - “Do I truly, in my heart, desire this intention to be realized?”

2. Belief - “Do I believe that it is possible for me to manifest this desire?”

3. Acceptance - “Am I really willing to have this completely?”

Giving Energy to your Intentions

1. Write your intentions on paper.

2. Read your intentions 3 times each day: morning, noon, and evening.

3. Visualize the full manifestation of your intentions as often as possible.

4. Keep your intentions private.

5. Stay connected to your intentions through meditation.

6. Give your intentions over to your Higher power and let go of the outcome.