happy birthday patricia

happy birthday patricia
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Adkins girls pine island

Adkins girls pine island
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3floating @ pine island

3floating @ pine island
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Relaxation Technique: Labyrinths

Labyrinths have been a part of human culture for more than 4000 years. The earliest recorded labyrinth was located in King Nesters’ palace Pylos about 1200 BC. Nearly every developing culture in the world from Native Americans to the Greeks to Celtic clans has built them.

Although, there are many designs the most common you find today is the seven circuit type. As you walk a seven circuit labyrinth you will find yourself making a 180 degree turn each time you enter a new segment. As you change your direction, you often change your thought patterns. This is one reason it helps to dissipate your stress levels.

You have to wonder if this is why Disney chooses to put you through a 180 degree turn every 25 feet you walk in line.

Harvard Medical School research has indicated walking meditations connected with labyrinths are effective at reducing anxiety. This effect has long term health benefits such as lowering blood pressure and breathing rates as well as reducing incidents of chronic pain and alleviating insomnia. In fact, most forms of meditation lead to improved concentration and a heightened sense of self control.

Follow this link to the World Wide Labyrinth Locator.

Relaxation Technique: Qigong

Heal the body, calm the mind, and reconnect with the spirit.

One: Choose a specific Qigong exercise to practice. There are many different forms and each one has its own particular benefits.

My favorite has to do with placing my arms around a very large imaginary ball which is at chest height in front of me. Although, you may do this in a seated position I prefer to stand with my knees slightly bent and my feet a little more than shoulder width apart. From this position I move the imaginary ball in a circular orbit in front of me. Then I move it to each side and behind my head as far as I can reach in each respective direction. But as I say, you must find the exercise that works best for you.

Two: Clear your mind. You must be open and receptive to achieve the results you seek.

Three: Fully fill and empty your lungs when breathing. Form is not important here. Natural even rhythm is.

Four: Visualize yourself physically releasing your tensions in paper form and watch them flutter away.

Five: Complete each movement deliberately but in a relaxed manner.

Six: Be aware of each bend and twist and the sensation it brings.

Seven: Visualize yourself relaxed, well rested and ready for any challenge.

Eight: Alternately visualize your healing energy being directed to different parts of your body, giving particular attention to tight shoulders or pinched necks.

Nine: Feel the way each breath dispenses energy bringing oxygen to the portions of your body you concentrate on.

Ten: Don’t stress it. Enjoy the exercise and don’t worry too much about form.

For me, the best things about Qigong are that no equipment is required and I don't have to go to a gym to do it.

Relaxation Techniques: Hot Springs

If you are in search of inner peace and tranquility (and who among us isn't?) I am compiling a few suggestions for your benefit. It is important to consider each of the techniques to find one that best matches your underlying temperament. First, I will explore hot springs.

Hot Springs

By the time the first European settlers arrived in what is now West Virginia in the early 1740’s the Native Americans had been taking advantage of the warm mineral springs there (Berkeley Springs) for centuries. These peoples prized the springs for their healing and regenerative powers. The springs were so prized that the area was designated a neutral zone so that no one tribe could monopolize its benefits.

If you are of a temperament that is able to spend extended periods in pressure situations with only and occasional retreat to process and relax, yet are able to graphically recall the rejuvenation in the interim, this may be the ideal relaxation strategy for you.

There are many excellent springs of this type throughout the United States.

This link will take you to a site that lists all the hot springs registered by the US Geological Service, alphabetically by state.

Irresponsible Interaction at Work

Why is there so much irresponsible behavior and interaction at work?

We have become a sedentary race. Our greatest resource, our creative minds, have become the avenue for much of our down fall. We are so keen in our problem solving and "better mouse trap" abilities that it is possible to spend the entirety of our work day without moving from our computer workstation.

The return swing of the pendulum is a large portion of our population going quite mad at the lack of physical activity. Human beings have an in born underlying need to move, to touch and handle things and to express themselves physically.

When these urges can no longer be suppressed we categorize people as attention deficit, hyper active and unfocused. At this point they are a distraction and the positive flow of energy in the work place is severely disrupted for all.

What preventative steps can avoid this issue?

1. Movement is a must. Require staff members to take their breaks away from their work station, and on another floor if possible. The movement diffuses anxiety and aids in heightened focus when the break is over.

2. Initiate a walking program. Provide incentives for staff who devote a portion of their lunch break to a measured walking goal. Incentives might include extra lunch break time, early release coupons, even cash incentives pay themselves back in long term benefits to the group.

3. Encourage shared interest groups. Before and after work runner clubs are excellent ways to burn off pent up energies.

What if you take the preventive steps and the disruptions still occur?

1. Remove Distractions. On the surface it may seem counter to the preventative strategies listed above. But closer examination will illuminate the difference. In the preventative steps the person is carrying out the activities, thus it is internal. In this step external stimulation (i.e. distraction is removed).

2. Interval Intensity. Channel high energy people into the most focused activities. This is somewhat like the interval training done by premier athletes in which burst of intense action on alternated with a slower pace.

3. Buffer Zones. High energy people can become anxious and distracting when they complete work ahead of schedule. Provide "Buffer Zones" which are those ongoing projects that must be maintained on an ongoing basis. Professional development plans always need tweaking, client support activities, and project management calendars are always in need of update and revision.

Providing the individuals the opportunity to choose the most productive path, accompanied with redirection and restructuring are the best techniques for this temperament.

Temper Outburst At Work

Have you ever witnessed an adult temper tantrum? It can be an embarrassing experience. Even so, it is becoming an ever more frequent occurrence, and for good (bad?) reason.

Reason One: The age of automation has removed from us the necessity of the more mundane tasks. We don't go to the mail room for our messages, they arrive via email on our computer screens; We don't get together to discus calendars, we share our Outlook files. The point being, with the extra time we are harvesting, we place ever greater demands on ourselves to be even more productive. The pressure for ever greater productivity will eventually create an overwhelm which may trigger an out burst of temper.

Reason Two: Psychological Neoteny (Peter Pan Syndrome) as we continue on with an ever greater need for education we assume the characteristics of one who is being educated, namely a child. Since children have little or no control or input into the daily operations of their lives they occasionally have out bursts of temper. Adults, under the same circumstances demonstrate similar behaviors.

Reason Three: Not every bully stayed on the school yard. You may think that bullying is something that ended with 3rd grade or at the latest in high-school or maybe even with college hazing. But, it hasn't. Bullying, as demonstrated by angry people (covertly or overtly) is an ongoing phenomenon.

So, how do you deal with it? First and foremost, if you are the supervisor you must take steps to insure the individuals receiving the brunt of the temper outbursts are having their rights and safety protected.

Key elements to remember:

Individuals equipped with the tools to handle anger and frustration are less disruptive and hostile.

Individuals who are permitted to express displeasure and disagreement in an appropriate manner are less likely to be disruptively hostile and angry.

What preventative steps can you take with an individual who may have difficulty with anger?

1. Segment their work load. Shifting focus regularly from one task to another is a good tool to alleviating frustration.


2. Coach them in positive ways of expressing their disagreement. "I understand what you are saying, I don't happen to agree..."


3. Take steps to maintain a friendly work environment. Create opportunities for group work on some projects. Encourage moderate personalization of work areas. Provide a clear and easy to use employee handbook.

What proactive response steps can you take when difficulty arises?

1. Isolate and Elaborate. When you have observed a temper outburst, take the person aside and draw them out. Likely the incident that ignited the outburst had very little to do with the underlying cause of the outburst. Don't be afraid of silence. Once you ask for an elaboration be prepared to be quiet and wait. It often takes time for a person to work through emotion to the cause of disturbance.


2. Distraction. The human brain can only hold on to so many concepts at the same time. Adults will often respond to something like, "I see this has very really worked up right now. Instead of beating our heads against this wall, let's change focus and work on..."


3. Remote Outpost. Sometimes it is simpler to just temporarily assign the angry person a task at a different location. Often removal from the stimulation for the anger will allow the anger time to dissipate.


4. Humor. If we work in an environment where humor is part of our daily norm, anger has difficulty maintaining a foothold. One sign of a healthy productive work environment is the encouragement of the "we don't take ourselves too seriously" attitude. If we have the ability to laugh at ourselves and our situation we have an excellent tool to deal with anger.

Our responses to disruption will be haphazard if we don't have a plan in place. This plan is severely limited if it does not take into account the perspective of the individual creating the disruption. This article should help you develop consistent and practical solutions.

Hiding from Challenges at Work

Accommodating those who shirk their responsibilities can create a dysfunctional work environment even for those who fulfill their responsibilities. Conduct such as tardiness, absenteeism, and insubordination can become common place if left unchecked.

Unfortunately, standard interventions (threats, negotiations, cajoling, pleading) are universally ineffective. The tremendous experience involved in firing the current staff member, replacing them and retraining a new staff member is equally undesirable.

The ultimate cause of this behavior is almost never examined. Thus a completely a salvageable, and potentially valuable, team member is lost from his path.

The key is to understand that the vast majority of this problem is due to the intense fear the person has of failure.

The problem is exacerbated when the temperament of the person has a low need for control. Controlling a situation is a terrifying responsibility to someone who fears failure. A productive team member can be rendered completely ineffective if forced into assuming more control than they feel ready to take on. It doesn't matter that you are completely certain of their ability; their own self doubt overwhelms them.

Here are some tailored strategies for keeping this person performing, contributing and growing.

• Team Work. Pair this person with someone who is a natural risk take. The two temperaments will compliment each other beautifully.



• Raise Them Up. When you see them beginning to falter and riddle themselves with self doubt take a few minutes to acknowledge the excellent job that have just completed.



• Sew The Seed. Take every opportunity they present to acknowledge them for presenting a positive comment. This will encourage the positive behavior to take root more deeply and begin to replicate itself. Promote their optimism every time they offer it.



• Confidential Counsel. If one of their projects is not up to an acceptable standard, make sure to provide their structured feedback in private. Take care to emphasize the positive aspects of the work to build upon, rather than condemning that which is not up to standard.

Elemental Value Added Truth: Those who know they can be successful don't avoid performing.