Shape life ❤fully!
Do you live to eat or eat to live?
I must confess I am no foodie,never carried any food fixation so far. Never craved too much for any particular food. Perhaps an occasional sweet treat was all I indulged in. Much to my surprise today I see a generation of food lovers around me who perhaps are growing in numbers as write this .Many of my friends bake amazing treats, some love watching food videos and others chocolate.
Children today are spoilt by choices more than ever before . And with the media at their fingertips most are happy to order and eat whatever food they want by the click of a finger through apps.
Food to me was to nourish my body and keep me healthy. As I grew up I realized even more the value of eating nutritious clean and healthy fresh food and at the right time.
Concepts of eating, then and now has drastically changed. People are ready to eat convenience foods.at the touch of a button. Many want food delivered without the hassles of preparation.
No one has interest in conversations much. With a food of their choice delivered to them wherever they are, and a mobile phone in their hands convenience has reached a new high.
Family dinners were a place where all used to connect with each other … Now they are quieter affairs with every one glued to their phones and television.
In fact the concept of eating together is slowly vanishing. Most people eat watching a movie on Netflix or a sport on television.
Today life moves at a much faster pace where time is a precious commodity.
Changing times calls for major alterations and adjustments in lifestyle choices.
In knowing to strike a mid point where both the palate and the plate gets a healthy makeover says much about the necessity for change in today’s times.
True happiness is an inside job and what is felt within reflects on the outside.
Savvy
Expression is our birthright It makes us who we are…
In being able to move without fear or favour,
The life manifesting through us,
Art speaks from the heart of our soul.
Bringing forth our soulful expressions.
Savvy
Soak in the serenity of silence
You can create your own calm
Stay free from strain and stress
Sense the peace within.
Inspite of the reigning chaos
Whatever happens around you
Hold on to your inner sense of calm
The solution is within you to know
Sense the peace within.
Savvy
There is always something we can learn to do…
We can learn to be more understanding and empathetic.
We can learn to be caring and not controlling.
We can learn to love than be lackadaisical of another’s needs.
We can learn to be trustful.
We can learn to believe in evolving together.
We can learn to see the wisdom in the challenges.
We can learn to trade our fears for faith.
We can learn to stop those bullying another into submission.
We can learn to live and let live.
No one owns us and we certainly do not own another.
Savvy
I come from light
Born with the infinite in me
Learning through it all
To move from deepest insecurities to dare
To rise like a phoenix beyond fear.
To see the world in a heartbeat
To turn the tide of pain to pleasure
To awaken the dormant awareness
To hope beyond despair
To give hope to the hopeless.
And when the mood strikes
To take flights of fancy in the light of imagination
Into the world of creativity and dream on
In surrealistic idealism.
To revel, celebrate and enthuse
In the creativity of thoughts words & deeds
To be conscious of my glorious truths
To feel free and yet deeply interwoven
To the fabric of conscious intentions
To denote the goodwill in the endowment
To mark the fleeting time with grace.
To leave footprints in benevolence.
In joyous acceptance of the potential within
Of endless beginning in possibilities
Of Infinity expressing itself through me.
©Savvy Raj
Three rules to make and get the best out of life
Past
Past is already passed you by.
Good or bad,
They are simply memories.
Use them as a point of reference
But dwell not solely on them.
Present
Treat this now with respect
The magic is in the now.
Dare to be all that you can be
The present is meant for you to live.
Be alive to this moment.
Future
What is yet to come
Is not fretting about
Over planning messes the now
Quit worrying about tommorow
Loose not this now at hand.
Savvy
Stillness within
The whirling wisdom
Centers within
The search for being
In a knowing balance
Of within and without.
The gaze is never a stare
The moves are never a dare
In fact the flow is sublime
One leads unto another
Nothing marked nothing missed
Nothing focused nothing lost.
In such a state of flow
Where wholeness of being
Is the strength of a circle
That creates unto itself
There is a knowing
Of a space within
An inward glance
Into the souls calling
Springing forth
The sounds of Silence.
Savvy
In continuation to my earlier post
Here are some very interesting facts.
The average length of a hug between two people is 3 seconds. But the researchers have discovered something fantastic. When a hug lasts 20 seconds, there is a therapeutic effect on the body and mind. The reason is that a sincere embrace produces a hormone called “oxytocin”, also known as the love hormone. This substance has many benefits in our physical and mental health, helps us, among other things, to relax, to feel safe and calm our fears and anxiety. This wonderful tranquilizer is offered free of charge every time we have a person in our arms, who cradled a child, who cherish a dog or a cat, that we are dancing with our partner, the closer we get to someone or simply hold the Shoulders of a friend.
A famous quote by psychotherapist Virginia Satir goes, “We need 4 hugs a day for survival. We need 8 hugs a day for maintenance. We need 12 hugs a day for growth.”
Whether those exact numbers have been scientifically proven remains to be seen, but there is a great deal of scientific evidence related to the importance of hugs and physical contact. Here are some reasons why we should hug::
1. STIMULATES OXYTOCIN
Oxytocin is a neurotransmitter that acts on the limbic system, the brain’s emotional centre, promoting feelings of contentment, reducing anxiety and stress, and even making mammals monogamous. It is the hormone responsible for us all being here today. You see this little gem is released during childbirth, making our mothers forget about all of the excruciating pain they endured expelling us from their bodies and making them want to still love and spend time with us. New research from the University of California suggests that it has a similarly civilising effect on human males, making them more affectionate and better at forming relationships and social bonding. When we hug someone, oxytocin is released into our bodies by our pituitary gland, lowering both our heart rates and our cortisol levels. Cortisol is the hormone responsible for stress, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
2. CULTIVATES PATIENCE
Connections are fostered when people take the time to appreciate and acknowledge one another. A hug is one of the easiest ways to show appreciation and acknowledgement of another person. The world is a busy, hustle-bustle place and we’re constantly rushing to the next task. By slowing down and taking a moment to offer sincere hugs throughout the day, we’re benefiting ourselves, others, and cultivating better patience within ourselves.
3. PREVENTS DISEASE
Affection also has a direct response on the reduction of stress which prevents many diseases. The Touch Research Institute at the University of Miami School of Medicine says it has carried out more than 100 studies into touch and found evidence of significant effects, including faster growth in premature babies, reduced pain, decreased autoimmune disease symptoms, lowered glucose levels in children with diabetes, and improved immune systems in people with cancer.
4. STIMULATES THYMUS GLAND
Hugs strengthen the immune system. The gentle pressure on the sternum and the emotional charge this creates activates the Solar Plexus Chakra. This stimulates the thymus gland, which regulates and balances the body’s production of white blood cells, which keep you healthy and disease free.
5. COMMUNICATION WITHOUT SAYING A WORD
Almost 70 percent of communication is nonverbal. The interpretation of body language can be based on a single gesture and hugging is an excellent method of expressing yourself nonverbally to another human being or animal. Not only can they feel the love and care in your embrace, but they can actually be receptive enough to pay it forward to others based on your initiative alone.
6. SELF-ESTEEM
Hugging boosts self-esteem, especially in children. The tactile sense is all-important in infants. A baby recognizes its parents initially by touch. From the time we’re born our family’s touch shows us that we’re loved and special. The associations of self-worth and tactile sensations from our early years are still imbedded in our nervous system as adults. The cuddles we received from our Mom and Dad while growing up remain imprinted at a cellular level, and hugs remind us at a somatic level of that. Hugs, therefore, connect us to our ability to self love.
7. STIMULATES DOPAMINE
Everything everyone does involves protecting and triggering dopamine flow. Low dopamine levels play a role in the neurodegenerative disease Parkinson’s as well as mood disorders such as depression. Dopamine is responsible for giving us that feel-good feeling, and it’s also responsible for motivation! Hugs stimulate brains to release dopamine, the pleasure hormone. Dopamine sensors are the areas that many stimulating drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine target. The presence of a certain kinds of dopamine receptors are also associated with sensation-seeking.
8. STIMULATES SEROTONIN
Reaching out and hugging releases endorphins and serotonin into the blood vessels and the released endorphins and serotonin cause pleasure and negate pain and sadness and decrease the chances of getting heart problems, helps fight excess weight and prolongs life. Even the cuddling of pets has a soothing effect that reduces the stress levels. Hugging for an extended time lifts one’s serotonin levels, elevating mood and creating happiness.
9. PARASYMPATHETIC BALANCE
Hugs balance out the nervous system. The skin contains a network of tiny, egg-shaped pressure centres called Pacinian corpuscles that can sense touch and which are in contact with the brain through the vagus nerve. The galvanic skin response of someone receiving and giving a hug shows a change in skin conductance. The effect in moisture and electricity in the skin suggests a more balanced state in the nervous system – parasympathetic.
Quite a bit of indepth information on the healing powers in a simple hug.
Such is the magic in a warm embrace
Embrace, embrace with your heart.
When you are hugging a child, always be the last one to let go. You never know how long they need it. ~Author Unknown
Secrets of a beautiful life
Lies in the spirit of living….
Sense every moment like it is new
Such is the power of enthusiasm
Enthuse yourself to recognise
The joy at this moment.
All becomes significantly brighter
Should you choose to see it so!
You have the power of enthusiasm within you
Make life come alive in every moment.
Recognize the spirit within, like a child
That sees the world with wonder.
Savvy
Grateful for this moment
With this day I complete 300 days of writing continously and publishing my works on WordPress.
Gratitude for the creativity from within and thankful for the experiences that allowed me to go into witness mode.
As a writer there is a space for thoughts to collect and flow as and when you feel like it.
This gathering of thoughts is moments of reflections in ruminations
Of life experiences
Of circumstances
Of happenings
Of situations
Of silences
All resounding reverberations in the responses to the resonances.
Writers need to be grateful…
Writers without pressure
Are at ease to allow thoughts
To seed as they germinate
And settle as they arise in time.
A far cry from spoken words
That simply must happen
When the speaking happens
For it its often relentless in the flow
Unchangeable and undoable
My gratitude extends
To writers and my readers alike
For in the flow of these words
Forged are many friendships
Linked in through these inked expressions.
For the buds of creativity blooms and thrives
In support and appreciation
So grateful to be able to write.
Savvy
Would you spare a thought
For the way your appear
Yes indeed
People spend millions
For the way they look
Beauty is big business
Image consultancy is huge now.
But would you spare a thought
On the way you make another feel
Your words
Be it in written or spoken
Have immense power
To hurt or heal
For words leave lasting impressions.
Tune in to the way you sound
Check your pitch and tone
As you speak to another
Reread the words you write
Remember words live on in eternity
Think twice and check
If what you write can make a difference
To someone somewhere
Spare a thought
As you take a step
Every step leaves a trail
That another may follow
Choose to step well.
Thoughts to action
Words to deeds
Each play a role
For all are significant
In life and living.
Savvy
Are you where your feet are?
Can your heart and mind meet as one?
Can your thoughts & deeds mean the same ?
Are your words from the heart?
Are you comfortable in your own skin?
Do you feel one with yourself?
Are you grounded enough?
Are you where your feet are?
Are you truly in this now?
Savvy
A painting by Savvy Raj
For every you, there is another you caught in the crosswinds
In fact, there could be many more reflections of you…life will throw you the hints
Fanning the flames only arouses the spirit
To arise and evolve more than we give merit
To deeper levels of conscious awareness
Breathe in the wisdom of knowing in all fairness
Of the freeflow of movements as it unfolds
The crosswinds breathe fire of life into souls
To breathe in the the energy of consciousness sublime
Trust the trysts of destiny in the eternality of time
To have a reason all their own
Cause it is preordained like seeds of life already sown.
Savvy Raj
Painting & Artwork by Savvy Raj
You Can!
If you only could see the myriad patterns and colors of life you will live to create
If you could believe in the vividity of the moment
If you could only sense the magic that life is meant to be
You will…
Paint your life with joy in the flow!
Unwrap this gift of life lovingly!
Just believe you can.
You can!
Savvy
Savvy Raj 
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