Spiritual Steps to Mental Health: Connectedness With Doc Snipes
Part of the Happiness Isn’t Brain Surgery Podcast
Finding Order and Connection
~ Spirituality helps us try understand the world and life and understand that we cannot know or understand everything.
~ How does a tiny tomato seed become a sprawling tomato plant?
~ How do we form from two cells and how do the cells “know” how to differentiate to become skin, bone etc.
~ What is beyond the universe?
~ If God made everything, then who made him?
~ If the big bang created everything, where did the stuff come from that made the big bang?
Finding Connection and Interdependence
~ We are impacted by
~ Our friends
~ Our neighbors
~ Technology
~ Our culture
~ The media
~ Our environment
~ Our health
~ Our attitude
~ Our mood
~ Our past
What Kind of World Do You Want
~ Describe the people
~ Describe the cultural values
~ Describe the environment
~ Describe the activities
~ Little House on the Prairie
~ The Jetsons
~ In what ways does that world already exist for you?
The Ripple Effect
~ Any small actions on your part will ripple outwards and create a wave of similar effects
~ Everything you do has consequences
~ You smile at someone
~ You help someone at work
~ You choose to let go of a grudge
Negative Example
~ You read less than objective news… (NOTE: This is an example and not true!)
~ “President decides to cut funding for Medicaid in half. Millions will lose their heath insurance.” (What it didn’t say was that he was creating an alternative voucher program to better meet the needs of the recipients so they wouldn’t have to find a doctor who accepted Medicaid.)
~ You spread less than objective news
~ Other people read and spread the less than objective news
~ People form opinions and attitudes based on less than objective news
~ People start to get panicky and upset
~ It impacts relationships, work productivity, health and mental health.
Negative Example
~ Ebola/Flu Outbreak
~ Repeated stories of healthy people dying
~ Spreads fear
~ People start staying home which hurts the businesses that rely on them like restaurants, shops
~ People start getting panicked the minute they start to feel sick
~ Schools and businesses have to close because people are out sick
~ Hourly employees lose wages which increases their stress
Interventions
~ Always try to see the other side
~ What other information is there that this source left out?
~ Can I find the original document to see for myself?
~ We generally don’t like change, but step back and ask yourself, realistically, could this work?
~ You have probably already read either the best possible scenario or the worst, so, what is the middle ground —that is much more likely to occur.
~ What can you do to constructively address the situation?
~ Before I share this, it is true, necessary, helpful and/or kind?
Interventions
~ The Bible says: “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” (John 7:38).
~ Rivers carry fresh, life-giving water because it flows out.
~ Swamps are stagnant and life-devouring. A swamp collects, retains and putrefies water that comes its way.
~ Don’t accumulate too much before allowing a little to flow through.
Note: Thirst can be for a Higher Power or for Wisdom
~ Have an attitude of gratitude, identifying blessings and those responsible for your blessings
~ Find deeper meanings in your experiences by asking, how can I use this as an opportunity to grow and/or improve the world around me?
Ripple Effect Activity
~ I did _____________________
~ It impacted me
~ Emotionally
~ Mentally
~ Physically
~ Socially
~ Environmentally
~ Spiritually (Hope, faith, connectedness, courage)
~ Which had the following effects on other people I contacted that day
~ Which had the following effects on the people they contacted that day
Meditation
~ Meditation
~ What was your impact on the world today?
~ People
~ Environment
~ Knowledge
~ How did the world impact you today?
~ Mood
~ Attitude
~ Sense of purpose and belonging
~ Sense of pride and self-control
~ What could you do to make the world more like you envision?
Increasing Connectedness and Hope
~ Compassion/kindness/brotherly love
~ Donating
~ Helping
~ Volunteering
~ Advocating
~ Safety
~ See something, say something
~ Assist others in house repairs
~ Offer a friend a ride
~ Faith in others
~ Demonstrate that people can be honest and trustworthy
~ Healthy earth
~ Recycle
~ Pick up litter
~ Go organic
~ Mother Teresa of Calcutta advised: “Spread love everywhere you go: First of all in your own house. . . . Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God’s kindness; kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile, kindness in your warm greeting.”
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