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Are you having a near-life experience?

July 28, 2015 By christianscienceminnesota Leave a Comment

© GLOW IMAGES (model used for illustrative purposes only)
© GLOW IMAGES (model used for illustrative purposes only)

The famous John Lennon quote, “Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans,” makes us question if we’re really living in the present.  Have the ever-increasing speed of life and the growing options technology provides caused us to opt out of appreciating today?  Wendy Margolese, my north of the Minnesota border colleague up in Ontario, shares some practical and healing insights to help our day-to-day experience become more real and satisfying.  Here’s Wendy…

The pace of life has picked up speed – and most of us feel like we are always running to catch up.  Some days pass in a blur of phone calls, text messages, and kids’ activities – maybe all at the same time!

Author Max Strom has coined the phrase ‘near-life experience’ in his recent book, ‘There Is No App for Happiness’.  This type of life is characterized by experiences we are not completely engaged in and present with; a life that leaves us feeling that something is missing despite how busy we are.

Advances in technology have led to constant connectivity to information and to people.  Although this has brought some good things into our lives (I can Skype with my family living in another country), statistics say we do not feel a sense of satisfaction in life.  If anything, we have become dissatisfied; and stress has become a constant companion.  And that’s not good for our health.

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#GratitudeChallenge: From the Trivial to the Transformational

November 26, 2014 By christianscienceminnesota Leave a Comment

@Glowimages MEE00810.
© GLOW IMAGES

My Massachusetts colleague, Ingrid Peschke, examines current gratitude fads.  She drills down to the profound, healing impact that true thanksgiving can have on our health and happiness.

She observes, “I’ve found that gratitude can be most beneficial when it feels as though there’s nothing to be grateful for.  In those dark moments, I’ve gotten better at detecting a deceptive view of my circumstances and focusing on the good instead.”  Here’s Ingrid…

My Facebook feed this summer included a steady stream of lists from friends who accepted one of the numerous gratitude challenges circulating social media spheres.  I read their posts with curious interest, but I secretly hoped I wouldn’t be asked to take on the challenge, too!

Sharing gratitude in an open forum can sometimes come off as trite.  Besides, people seem to be popping gratitude like it’s the latest wonder drug.  A recent Salon.com article addresses the current Western trend toward gratitude and mindfulness as a kind of “spiritual meritocracy,” or spirituality lite.  The author writes:

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The health benefits of gratitude (beyond Thanksgiving)

December 4, 2012 By christianscienceminnesota Leave a Comment

© GLOW IMAGESThanksgiving is over.  Now what?  Where does all that gratefulness go?  Do we just move on and dive right into Christmas shopping?

I once overheard this comment on a bus in New York City on Thanksgiving Day:  “There should be 364 days a year of thanks-giving and one day for griping.”  What a wonderful idea!

With each passing year, it seems that Thanksgiving, the holiday, faces stronger and ever earlier competition from Christmas and the consumerism that is so aggressively urged on us.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the true meaning of Christmas.  But when two of my local radio stations start playing only Christmas music starting November 1st!, gratitude tends to get drown out.

Giving thanks needn’t be relegated to just a day or even a season.  We can do it every day.  In addition to having us identify the good in our lives, which can help ward off the depression that we hear is more prevalent at this time of year; gratitude is healthy in other ways.

In fact the health-giving effect of acknowledging our blessings and has been so widely studied and proven, it can literally be said that gratitude is good medicine.

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Also featured in the West Central Tribune

About Joel

Joel Magnes Hi, I’m Joel Magnes, writing about the connection between our thinking and our health -- focusing on how spirituality and prayer can have a positive impact on our well-being.   I'm a practitioner of Christian Science, with over 25 years of expertise and experience in prayer-based healing.  And I serve as the Christian Science Committee on Publication for Minnesota; the church's media and legislative liaison. Contact Joel HERE.

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