The more connected we are with:
- Other people
- Mother Nature
- Animals
- Ourselves
The better we perceive our lives. And since the quality of your life directly correlates to how long you’ll live, how happy you’ll be, and how loving you’ll be, that’s our topic of conversation today.
Here are some examples of deep ways to connect with others:
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traffic, and other ambient noises) and tap into all five senses:
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Hone in on all five senses, one at a time, and I suspect you’ll be surprised by how drawn you are to repeat this exercise next time you’re outside. The world slows down, so does your nervous system, and you begin to relax. Relaxation comes from connectedness, which is another form of peace.
Connecting with other animals is natural. Even if you don’t consider yourself an “animal lover”, this doesn’t mean you have to walk through life with a wall around you. For instance:
- You can watch a beaver build a damn and be in awe.
- You might see a bird flying in the air and daydream about what this experience would be like.
- You might see a school of fish swimming and think about collective consciousness and how that applies to your life. How is it they swim with the synchronicity they do, dodging anything in their way, but moving rhythmically, together, and all at once?
- Or perhaps you’ll see a dolphin, whale, turtle or manatee gracefully move through the water and get a child-like feeling of being gravity-free and capable of anything.
- You can even connect with an animal every time you take a sip of milk, have a bite of cheese, cook with butter, have an egg, or eat meat. Honor the foods you’re putting in your mouth and your connection with other animals builds.
You see, you don’t have to be outside, have a pet at home, or make an effort to connect with other animals in nature; all you have to do is pay attention when they are around, or be thankful for the meal you’re eating and your position on the food chain. As you build your connection with animals, I suspect you’ll find out you’re not alone, and you never were.
Last, but certainly not least, is your connection with yourself. This is perhaps the most ignored and undervalued aspect of connection. A new and good friend of mine, James Goodin, suggests a great exercise: look in the mirror and say “I love you.” If at first you don’t believe the words you say, or you have trouble saying them, write them on the mirror and read them back to yourself until you believe the words as they leave your mouth.
Your first — and maybe only — duty in life is to learn to love yourself deeply. If you’re anything like me, you might have a tendency to be critical, judgmental, and hard on yourself at times. Well, that doesn’t make any sense, for it’s a misguided method with the intention of self-improvement. Being hard on yourself is not how you get to know yourself better, how you improve upon previous efforts, or how to learn self-respect; conversely, being too easy on yourself is not how you build solid relationships, achieve in aspects of life that mean something to you, or give love in situations that require patience and selflessness.
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I’m so grateful for you,
About Author
Dr. Kareem Samhouri
Dr. Kareem Samhour is known as (perhaps) the best Doctor of Physical Therapy & Kinesiologist on the internet. People come to him for results when other methods fail, injury gets in the way, or health situation is more complicated. Dr. Kareem Samhouri exercising In fact, he and his companies reach a combined total of 1.5 MILLION people on a daily basis to help them with their health. If you ever saw Dr. Kareem on the street and mentioned something was going on with your health, however, he would volunteer and offer to help you for free... that's the Dr. Kareem way.