spiritual thinking

Enjoy Christmas! It’s good for your health.

December 1, 2016 By Beverly Goldsmith Leave a Comment

It’s December. The countdown is on. Excitement is building. The pace is quickening. Life is getting hectic. There’s end-of-school activities, office parties, Christmas break-ups, and holiday plans to make; not to mention, shopping, gift wrapping, mailing items, putting up the decorations, cooking and preparing for the all-important family Christmas dinner. With so much to do – especially for Mums, it can take the shine off this happy festive season. Yet it’s possible to maintain the sparkle of joyous anticipation, remain stress-free, and really enjoy Christmas. What’s more it’s good for your health.

KISS: KEEP IT SWEET’N SIMPLE

Often the race to an enjoyable Christmas – one that’s filled with pleasure, is thought to be secured by the amount of time, energy and money devoted to it. This isn’t necessarily true. A happy occasion can be achieved equally as well with thoughtful, humble effort and modest expense.

TIP:

– Don’t get caught up in the “I need to do it all” mindset. Whatever you need to do, keep it sweet and simple. Your peace of mind is what matters on the day.

– Enjoy Christmas with your loved ones. Look forward to spending a joyous time together. Count your blessings.

– Don’t stress-out over having everything “just right”. Stay calm. Relax. “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his lifespan? So if you cannot do such a small thing, why do you worry about the rest?” – Bible, Luke 12:25, and 26.

– Give thanks for the good gifts of life you have at hand – a loving family, kind friends, a safe home, peace.

STAY BALANCED

The Christmas season isn’t solely about festivities, or the shop-‘til-you-drop rush for gifts or toys. It’s also about love, peace and “good will to men”. Everyone yearns for that tender expression of heart-felt love which Christmas often inspires in people. Such love is more than words on a card. It’s the active, caring kind that can ultimately lead to a love-filled, enjoyable Christmas.

TIP:

– This year place love at the top of your Christmas wish-list – to give and receive.

– Keep in mind that “The basis of Christmas is love loving its enemies, returning good for evil, love that “suffereth long, and is kind”.” – Mary Baker Eddy. Miscellany p.260

– Show others you care. Spend extra time with your kids. Do something thoughtful for those you love.

– Be an unhurried friend, unharried shopper, unruffled neighbour, and an unflustered family member.

– Remember, enjoy Christmas! You’ll find it’s good for your health.

This article has been published on Motherpedia . Read more by me on Motherpedia…

Also published in the December edition of Around Point Cook , Around Hoppers Crossing , and Around Altona community newspapers in print and online via Issuu.

Happy mothering! It’s good for your health.

May 2, 2016 By Beverly Goldsmith 4 Comments

Today’s woman is multi-faceted. She can be a wife, daughter, sister, aunt, mother and grandmother. As a mum, she juggles her life with raising children, running a home, work or study. As a grandmother, she often plays an important role in looking-after her grandchildren. For these women, mothering is a serious responsibility and a treasured privilege. While it’s a demanding life, it can be made easier when it incorporates happy mothering which is good for your health.

Celebrate Happy Mothering

Each year Mother’s Day celebrates the contribution women make to family life and acknowledges the importance of mothering. My earliest participation in this celebration, was the morning I proudly carried the breakfast tray into my mother’s room for the first time. Serving my Mum breakfast in bed was my way of thanking her for the love and caring she was giving me. Of course, I didn’t fully appreciate all she was doing to raise me to be a happy, healthy, good person. Yet my mother did this each day with boundless grace and love.

TIPS:

– Relish the challenges of parenting. Be pleased that you’re doing your best as a mother.

– Take pleasure in the fact that you get your children to school each day so that they can receive a good education; that you’re able to feed, clothe, and give them a safe, loving home; that through your efforts you are giving them a good start in life.

– Be glad to “Direct your children onto the right path (so that), when they are older, they will not leave it.” The Bible, Proverbs 22:6.

– Feel satisfied that through your spiritual values and example, your children will become model citizens, knowing right from wrong, treating everyone with respect and kindness, and being a blessing to others at home, school and in the community.

– Have inner contentment. Find joy in allowing meditation or prayer help you be a happy mother. “Take time to be holy, Be calm in thy soul; Each thought and each motive beneath His control.” – W.D. Longstaff .

– Be grateful for your mother’s nurturing and the selfless caring that women around the world give their own children and others. “Happiness is spiritual, born of Truth and Love. It is unselfish; therefore it cannot exist alone, but requires all mankind to share it.” Science and Health p. 57 – Mary Baker Eddy.

– Be joyous. With the help of a divine Mother-love you can fulfill your parenting tasks with poise and grace, and celebrate happy mothering.

This article has been published on Motherpedia. Read more by me on Motherpedia…

Also published in Around Point Cook and Around Hoppers Crossing Community newspapers in print and online via Issuu.

Nourish your thinking! It’s good for your health.

February 24, 2016 By Beverly Goldsmith 4 Comments

In the whirlwind-of-life that we call our daily routine, every minute seems to be accounted for. There’s the family to attend to, trips to the supermarket, household chores, work commitments, and yes, emails and Facebook posts to catch up with. How does one cope with the hectic pace of life and stay mentally on top? One way, is to make time to nourish your thinking at home and work. What’s more, it’s good for your health.

NOURISH YOUR THINKING AT HOME AND WORK.

Recently I witnessed the benefits of undertaking “nourishing” action. In my garden a number of beautiful rose bushes planted by a previous home-owner, suddenly started failing. A friend inquired if I was regularly nourishing the roses with proper food and water? I hadn’t been doing so. When I did, they revived immediately and have bloomed more profusely than ever.

In the comfort of our home, we may have appropriate food and water each day for our bodily needs. But what about our thinking? It also requires attention. Old, worn-out, negative thoughts need to be over-hauled and refreshed, and our thinking capacity nourished with fresh, robust, constructive ideas. Such mental nourishing leads to a healthier state of mind. We’re able to relax more, sleep better, and respond to challenges from a position of strength.

SIX TIPS TO HELP YOU NOURISH YOUR THINKING

1. Before you leap out of bed in the morning, take a moment to nurture your inner self. Affirm that you are loved, lovable and loving. You are a special person. You can accomplish much good.

2. Cherish yourself by remembering that an ever-present Love is constantly watching over you, guiding you through each day, and keeping you safe. – Bible Psalm 121

3. If you’re thirsty for caring or companionship, drink-in thoughts of hope and encouragement. Happiness and contentment are within your reach.

4. When feeling under pressure at work, do what a friend of mine does. Take a mental pause and feed your thinking with “beautiful images of thought”. Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health p. 248

5. Use the gentle imagery of the beautiful 23^rd Psalm, and picture yourself in a peaceful green meadow, resting beside a calm stream. This comforting, tranquil thought-image, will soon refresh and restore your peace of mind.

6. If you’re someone who likes to pray, or meditate, feed your thinking with gratitude for the good that is already in your life. Gratitude definitely gives you a boost. It nourishes your thinking, puts a spring-in-your-step, and is good for your health.

This article was first published on my previous blog site spiritualityandhealthconnect.com

Look forward to a better life! It’s good for your health.

December 30, 2015 By Beverly Goldsmith 8 Comments

At the start of a New Year everyone is abuzz with high hopes for a better life ahead. There’s a feeling that the past is done-and-dusted and it’s time to look forward to new opportunities. There’s great hope for stronger family ties, friendships, better health, as well as happier days. Such hopeful “looking forward” is beneficial, and it’s good for your health.

Many of us stand ready to farewell the old year and eager to embrace a fresh start – a new beginning. There’s excitement in the air as we anticipate what might come along in the weeks ahead. Yet as each day of a New Year rolls on, such joyous expectancy often begins to diminish. The glow of happy prospects can seem short-lived. They may even appear to evaporate entirely in the routine of everyday living.

KEEP LOOKING FORWARD

Despite thoughts to the contrary, you can hold on to that pleasurable “look forward” expectancy. Indeed, there’s no need to lose that New Year sparkle. It’s possible to keep it all year long. How? In looking forward to a better life of health and happiness, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, Mary Baker Eddy, shared her experience in her ground breaking book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures p. 426. She wrote that she “finds the path less difficult when she has the high goal always before her thoughts, than when she counts her footsteps in endeavouring to reach it.”

EIGHT TIPS TO HELP YOU KEEP LOOKING FORWAWRD

1. Even though life may be challenging, keep thought focused on achieving health and happiness. Don’t let this goal mentally fade from sight.

2. Drop old ways of negative thinking. Make way for fresh, inspiring ,new ideas. In this way “Old things are passed away; behold all things are become new.” The Bible, II Corinthians Chapter 5:17

3. Keep mentally looking ahead. Don’t look back on past hurts and disappointments. Leave last year’s baggage behind!

4. Be continually pleased that each day can bring evidence of warmth and caring – a welcoming smile, an unexpected kind gesture, a friendly greeting. Such goodness is everywhere.

5. Give a little joy, get a little joy. Remember that each hour brings fresh opportunity for joyfulness.

6. Breathe a silent blessing on everyone you pass. Your small gift of love will lift your heart and theirs.

7. Develop an attitude of gratitude. Give thanks for the good that’s right at hand, and what is yet to come.

8. Every morning, wake to a brand new day! Look forward to a better life. Take the next step to achieving something bigger and better than your current situation. It’s good for your health!

This article was first published on my previous blog site spiritualityandhealthconnect.com.

Give the gift of peace! It’s good for your health

December 2, 2015 By Beverly Goldsmith 8 Comments

Australians love to celebrate Christmas Day. The first one in this country, most likely occurred at Sydney Cove on December 25^th, 1788, when initial white settlers enacted their homeland traditions.

Since then, it’s been traditional in the weeks leading up to the “big day” for family homes to be decorated, Christmas trees installed and greeting cards sent out. On Christmas Eve, carols are sung and church services held, while children anticipate a visit from Santa Clause. On Christmas Day, family and friends gather to exchange gifts and enjoy special Christmas food.

THE GIFT OF PEACE

Giving gifts during special celebrations occurs in many cultures, and faith traditions including Muslim Ramadan, Jewish Hanukkah, African American Kwanzaa, and Ta Chiu. However, there’s one special gift that can be exchanged year round with people of every race and creed. It’s the universal gift of peace.

Peace is not just the absence of war, hostility, violence, fear, or anger. Peace is harmony, contentment, calmness, quiet, rest. It’s a state of mind that finds expression in peaceful and friendly actions on our roads, at home, school, and in the workplace. It’s a spiritual quality of thought springing from a divine Love, and it resides within us.

TIP:

– Be generous. Give the gift of peace – patience, kindness, goodwill to everyone you meet each day.

– Unwrap gratitude for living in a peaceful community. As one recent arrival said, “I’m so grateful to live in peace. All I’ve ever wanted is a peaceful life for me and my family.”

– Give and receive the gifts of respect and tolerance.

– Offer appreciation to parents for the way they educate, house, feed, clothe and teach their kids to live harmoniously alongside neighbours, and work cooperatively with others.

BE A PEACEMAKER

A wise man once commented, “Many wish for peace, and talk loudly for it, who do not follow the things that make for peace. Meekness, humility, self-denial, and love, make for peace. We cannot edify one another, while quarrelling and contending”. – Matthew Henry

TIP:

– Be a peacemaker. Speak gently. Be patient at work, home, and school.

– Nurture unselfishness and compassion in yourself and others. Foster a spirit of unity.

– Be a good neighbour. Help everyone to live peaceably in “secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places”. Bible Isaiah 32:17

– Join with others in planting seeds of peace and reaping the harvest of harmonious, safe neighbourhoods. Bible Isaiah/32-17. and James 3:18

– Let the much-loved Christmas nativity story told in the Bible, Luke, Chapter 2, inspire you to give the gift of peace now, and all year round. Such gift-giving, is good for everyone’s health.

This article was first published on spiritualityandhealthconnect.com