Sweaters Completed...finally

Finally sewed them together and they're done. What a great feeling. The purple one is the most delicious Freia Handpaint I found in a darling shop in Bend, OR on vacay last year.  The blue one is a summer cotton done just in time to wear next year 😋. Oh well, such is the life of the knitter! It's a bit of a strain getting it over my fat head but often the story of my life. I chalk it up to a cranium full of a very large brain🤓

Knitting as Mindfulness Practice

Stress affects every cell in our body and is responsible for 60% of all illnesses from colds to cancer. Our current focus in the healthcare arena on healing illness is clearly not working.  We need a seismic shift to wellness, prevention, and an overall sense of well-being.  The statistics on how stress is affecting us is staggering.  According to the American Institute of Stress, 75% of all doctor visits are related to stress; stressed people have a 25% increase risk of heart attack and 50% increase risk of stroke.  

Untreated stress can progress to mental illness like anxiety and depression.  According to the World Health Organization, mental illnesses are the largest cause of disability in any developed nation.  Stress levels are at epic proportions.  

We continue to conduct research on new medications, surgical procedures, and invasive testing to cure when we should be focusing our efforts on what is causing the problem in the first place.  STRESS!  Providing people with tools for managing their stress is paramount in a healthy society.  Learning to illicit a relaxation response such as that achieved with knitting can counteract stress, according to Dr. Herbert Benson from The Mind/Body Medicine Institute as Massachusetts General Hospital.  The rhythmic and repetitive motions of knitting are thought to be calming by increasing serotonin levels in the brain. Inducing a meditative state by using both hands, crossing the midline of the body, is consistent with mindfulness.

That's what The Happiness Knitting Project is all about.  Teaching people to use knitting as  a mindfulness practice.  There is a growing body of research that knitting can be therapeutic.  Initially, it can be frustrating like learning anything new can be.  But once you get in the rhythm of it, feel the yarn fibers flowing through your fingers, even being mindful of the animal who's fleece you are using...are all mindful activities.  Go ahead, give it a try.  You'll be infinitely glad you did.  

To read some of the latest research, go to stitchlinks.com

Leadership

What are your thoughts on what makes a good leader?  Is it the same as a manager?  I think they're very different styles and philosophies.  To me, a leader is someone who shows by example those behaviors she wants others to emulate.  Walks the walk, so to speak.  A good leader encourages the accomplishments of others and makes sure they are acknowledged as THEIR accomplishments not an extension of her own.  A manager tells people the behaviors she expects them to exhibit, maybe exhibiting them herself, maybe not. The do as I say not as I do model.  An exceptional leader has well developed social intelligence.  Is able to meet people where they're at in a non-judgmental way.  She fully understands that everyone has a reason for behaving the way they do and it isn't because they woke up that morning deciding to make mistakes.  An empathic demeanor is the leader who takes the time to understand how each person learns, what makes them tick and how they can be mentored in the positive skills they have.  She does not focus on what's wrong, their qualities that need fixing.  A good leader works to her staff's strengths not their weaknesses.  Hmmm, these are qualities of a good spouse, parent, and friend as well.  Think about it.

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction

MBSR (mindfulness based stress reduction).  Much of the research is based on mindful meditation, an "inner technology" that everyone possesses. The premise is that greater attention, awareness, and acceptance can facilitate more flexible, adaptive responses to stress.

The latest scientific research on mindfulness has demonstrated beneficial effects on several aspects of whole-person health, including the mind, the brain, the body, and behavior.Clinical trials and laboratory studies alike suggest that the mechanisms of mindfulness involve not only relaxation, but important shifts in cognition, emotion, biology, and behavior that may work synergistically to improve health. There is also emerging evidence that mindfulness training is associated with greater meaning and peace in one’s life(spirituality) as well as enhanced relationships with others. (Greeson, 2009, p. 17)

University of Massachusetts and UCLA have information on their mindful awareness centers on their websites. There are many formal training programs across the country to lead mindfulness based stress reduction groups. Many of us incorporate a lot of these strategies in our practices. However it was interesting to hear of the formal training and the evidenced - based practices.

Greeson, J. M. (2009). Mindfulness based research update: 2008. Complementary Health Practice Review 14 (1), 10-18.

Journey-Into-Wellness.com

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Using a Mandala for Meditation

A mandala is the perfect symbol to depict our constant ebb and flow of energy that is multidirectional; a circle with no beginning and no end.  It is a Sanskrit word meaning circle.  Often used in ancient religions like Hindu and Buddhism, mandalas are depicted by a square with 4 gates, each with a circular center point.  They are thought of as a spiritual method to assist in meditation and concentration.

One of the origins of mandalas is in the philosophy of alchemy.  Carl Jung, who used mandalas extensively, believed that alchemy was a spiritual path toward individuation.  This process of self-discovery is how a person becomes their true self.   In alchemy it represents the synthesis of the four elements (mind/body/spirit/emotion) which are always tending toward disintegration.  Carl Jung thought of alchemy as a spiritual path of individuation.  

Purpose of Mandala Use

A circular image compensates for the disorder and confusion of the mind through the construction of a central point to which everything is related.  This is an attempt at self-healing on the part of nature, an instinctive impulse.  Transformations are a part of every life journey.  By creating a mandala for our own self-care, we are able to support ourselves through the lifespan in a sacred and holistic way.  It is a unique and easy tool to improve/enhance our ability for stress management.  Using a mandala can support the importance of setting intention by having a tangible symbol for centering your thoughts.   When we think in terms of stress management, utilizing the mind/body/spirit/emotion components of holism, examples include:

1. Mind-examples:  journaling, meditation, lifelong learning, reading
2. Body-examples:  yoga, tai chi, massage, mindful eating
3. Spirit-examples:  meditation, practice gratitude, prayer, music, fulfilling life purpose
4. Emotion-examples:  time with loved ones, laughter, positive attitude

A mandala could be made using any type of media like paint, paper, or textiles.  For ideas to put in each of the 4 spheres, you could draw from the above examples that resonate with you or come up with ideas of your own.  Making it personal is the key to its usefulness.

The Pursuit of Happiness

I don’t much believe in the pursuit of happiness.  The reason is you never seem to get there, hence pursuit.  I think happiness is what you make it.  If you spend all your time waiting for people or things to make you happy, you’ll spend your life in pursuit.  However, if you take pleasure in the little things everyday like grinding your own wheat into flour to make homemade bread, that’s good for your soul.

I was once told that I sucked all the happiness out of the world leaving none for anyone else.  I wondered how this could be since my happiness was in my soul not somewhere outside of me in the world.  Your life is what you make of it and you can chose to be miserable and see misery in everything or you can choose to enjoy the little things each day that make your spirit soar.  I think in the end, it’s a life made up of the little things and your pure enjoyment of them that true happiness is found.

I didn’t come at this naturally.  I mean, like all Americans we memorized the basic tenants of our constitution of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness and we’ve spent over 200 years engaged in that pursuit only to find out it’s a figment of our imagination.  You cannot pursue your own self.   If you chose happiness then you’re happy that’s that.  There’s no pursuit.  No searching. No pot at the end of the rainbow where riches and thus happiness lies.  

Once you come to realize you - like Dorothy in the wizard of oz who had the power within her to get home all along - control all the happiness any human being could ever want, you can stop searching.  It’s a choice, as simple as that.  I’m not being pollyanish, I’m being a realist albeit an optimist.  Choose right now that from here on out you will be happy and you will be amazed how happiness will come to you like a magnet.  Just like those who choose to be miserable, attract misery.  It’s some strange universal law, the law of attraction.

I’m happy and will continue to enjoy grinding my own wheat, kneading my own bread, a bubble bath with candles, a homemade dinner on a weeknight.  The world be damned if I’m hated for it.  I say go find your own happiness, stop trying to take mine.