Today it occurred to me how important each component of my Big Four is.  My Big Four is JV Life Tracker, meditation or mindfulness, Cronometer, and my blog.  I have decided to add FMTV, reading and studying, and interacting with others on Facebook.  I also want to take 21 to 30 entries at a time, design them into a story, and make a Kindle book with them so I can preserve them.  That way I can leave a legacy when I am gone.  That gives me my Big Eight.

 

Will people be interested in my writing once I am gone?  I am going to assume that they may be.  I am going to write with that intention.  However, I am only 57 years old, so it may be a while before I leave.  It is good to plan ahead however.

 

My JV Life Tracker app may become obsolete if Google keeps changing their rules, and they can be counted on to do that.  Amazon may dump its old books.  However, that is less likely.  There may be something better than Cronometer in the future.  I will keep my eyes on what emerges.

 

The last few days have been challenging for me.  Fortunately, my SAMe arrived in the mail.  That allowed me to take action against the depression that has been afflicting me the past several weeks.  Sometimes a little extra chemical help is necessary.  I probably have the tendency to under-methylate as described by William J. Walsh, PhD in Nutrient Power, Heal Your Biochemistry and Heal Your Brain.  SAMe helps the body perform methylation reactions.  The exact mechanism for how SAMe affects depression is unknown, but it is believed to be a co-factor in converting amino acids to neurotransmitters.

 

Writing the last few blog posts, I have touched more heavily on aspects of bipolar.  I think the topic is interesting and I certainly have a lot to write about it, but doing so sometimes gets a little emotional for me.  I often wish I had handled the disorder better throughout my life.  However, to give myself credit, I have often done very well.  Bipolar is more of a challenge than I would wish on anyone, even for the sake of developing character or self-discipline.

 

It does me no good though to regret what I have not been able to achieve in the past.  I can think of the future, but I can get lost in dreaming.  The important thing to focus on is the present.  I watched a movie on FMTV, Mindfulness Be Happy Now, this morning.  It featured Deepak Chopra and Buddhist monk, Thich Nhat Hanh.  The movie was released in 2015, which is the same year Chopra published the book Super Genes with Rudolph Tanzi.  Many of his comments in the movie I remember from that book.  I was impressed with what can be achieved with mindfulness.  Mindfulness is not just for when you have your eyes shut.  You can have mindfulness in every step and every bite of food and perhaps in every stroke of the keyboard.

 

I think I understand now why the Lord did not encourage me to subscribe to Insight Timer, though it is a wonderful app.  Insight Timer keeps me tethered to my Android.  I can literally practice mindfulness all the time and probably should.  

 

When I was young, I was known for being absent-minded.  Some people even called me “absent-minded professor.”  My husband though says he has not noticed that behavior in me, so perhaps I have overcome it.

 

 

The last few days, I let go of Cronometer–just as I was starting to lose weight again.  Tomorrow, I plan to get back on board.  I want to use Cronometer as a diet diary, an exercise log, for Trend reports, for blog graphics, to stay within my calorie budget, for losing weight, for reaching nutrient targets, and to record and analyze recipes for myself, my blog, and my books.

 

 

SAMe arrived yesterday; I can get out of my depression. FMTV taught me some benefits of mindfulness. Cronometer. gratitude itself; it helps prevent depression, my brief success meditation. my JV Life Tracker app. the benefits of mindfulness

 

I have decided that today I will get back on track.

 

	0-100	comments
mood:	40	I am still struggling with feelings of depression.  However, with SAMe, I should be able to get out of them.
energy:	75	I feel more energetic after taking SAMe.

	accomplishment	reason it is important	next action(s)
1	Finished reading Human By Design by Gregg Braden.	Spirituality	Realize that blind chance will not get your blog written either.
2	Started reading Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins	Motivation	Apply the principles.
3	Finished reading The Honeymoon Effect by Bruce Lipton	Marriage relationship	Be grateful for your marriage.
4	Finished reading a book about weight loss plateaus by Heather Tucker	Weight Loss	Stay consistent about staying within calorie budget, even if you hit plateaus for a time.
5	Stayed steady with medication despite all the side effects.  Started taking SAMe for depression.	Bipolar can derail your life.  Overcome it.	Continue on!

 

 

AFTERNOON Prayer

Dear Lord,   I am so grateful the depression that afflicted me for several weeks has lifted.  I credit the food supplement SAMe for making the difference.   I have been perusing Awaken the Giant Within by Anthony Robbins.  One thing he noted was the definition of a true decision.  A true decision results in action, and it is not followed by a re-consideration, and a re-consideration, and a reconsideration.  I have wasted a lot of time and focus in my life by second guessing decisions and going through all the pros and cons over and over again.  Tony says that people who decide quickly without changing their mind are more successful than those who take a long time to make a decision then change their minds frequently.   I thought about my decision to use Cronometer.  I have been through the pros and cons of using it and decided it is worth the effort.  However, sometimes I revisit that decision and waste time by evaluating it over and over again.  Instead, I must make a true decision and reap the benefits of using Cronometer by staying steady with it.  It works far better when I am consistent with it.   Tony mentions the fact that humans can associate pain with pleasurable things and vice versa.  Because of our ability to associate like that, we can get ourselves to do things that may be painful at first.   I have a friend who associates pain with eating nutritious foods.  I am not sure just when the associations started, but until he can associate pleasure with nutritious foods, he is probably going to avoid them.   I never figured out how to teach him to switch his associations the other way, but now I realize it is possible to do.  I think education about the benefits of nutritious food may help.  He seems to avoid nutrition education, which he has probably associated with being painful, or perhaps he has defined his self-image to say, “nutrition education is not for me.”   It took me a long time to train myself to like beets, but now I can eat them.  I learned they contain TMG which is a biochemical connected to mood.  I signed up for a CSA called Farmer Next Door.   They delivered farm-fresh white and red beets, which I baked and ate.  They tasted okay.  I noticed that they lifted my mood considerably.  Beets are still not my favorite, but I will not discard them as I did before.  I have associated them with good mood.   With mindful eating, we can note the effects foods have on our bodies and lives, helping us to choose the healthy and discard the unhealthy.   Amen.

 

If you would like to join me in this journey from the beginning, please start with Day One.