Monthly Archives: April 2015

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Navigating Narrow Streets & Desired Landing-Places

To a non-local, figuring out Istanbul’s public transportation can be a daunting experience. Oftentimes I needed to ask 4 or 5 people before locating someone that spoke enough English to direct me where I wanted to go. The hotel concierge gave me directions to a metro station by saying: ‘turn left and another left and keep on going down ’til you get to the metro’.

The problem was that after I took the two lefts there was no down, and I needed to ask around again to figure out the general direction of the metro station.
One of the people I came across was a young man that told me he’s a student from Serbia, and that he’d be happy to walk me to my destination. After many turns in the narrow streets downtown, I was relieved to discover that we’d finally arrived.
I went down the long escalator and again needed to ask who spoke English, as I didn’t see the name of my desired stop. A young Turkish woman understood where I needed to go and said, to my dismay, that I was in the completely wrong Metro and I needed to go back up to the street, take a bus to the right one, and then continue on to my destination.
As I came up the escalators I thought I’d ask for help once more before exiting the building. I was informed that it truly wasn’t the ideal tram rail, but it could work if I just got on for two stops and then walked for ten minutes. You can imagine the elation I felt discovering such an easy solution!

Lesson:
You need to be clear about where you’re headed.
It’s important to fully communicate the final destination, just as I needed to be clearer with the Serbian student that guided me in the first place!

How do we go about it?
The steps:
*Be crystal clear;
*Find a knowledgeable guide that can help you to the right path;
*Stay the course until your destination.

These steps may seem simple, and maybe you’re already aware of them. Perhaps you’re wondering how important it is to actually follow them.
Well, what if it meant the difference between arriving at your destination, or not…?

Of course, goals take us near and far: to any number of proverbial metros, and many other (perhaps more esoteric) landmarks along the way.

So…. what is Your destination?
And even more importantly: how clear are you (with yourself, first) about where you want to go?

If it’s easier, write some things down really fast.

hill_mind conceive achieve

Some more questions to ponder:
What challenges, if any, remain in your way?
Are there people in your life that misdirect you? …Consciously or subconsciously?
How do you know when to follow their guidance, and when to seek another guide?

Please Share Your Thoughts!
Feel free to either reply to me directly (via email) or write your comments above. 🙂

Thank you so much for joining me on this adventure.
May we all arrive smiling at our desired destinations, and enjoy every step of the journey as well!

Yours in Calmness,
Dr. Inessa
Calmness.com

Connecting With The Spiritual Realm

The Persistence and Kindness Connection

These past few weeks in Israel have been full of excitement and life’s circumstances falling into place. I reconnected with a handful of friends from High School. I hadn’t seen them nor spoken to them in thirty years! The friendship and human connection is really something… In many ways we didn’t really feel our three-decades apart and we just picked up where we left off!
I think that when you create meaningful links, they become something special on which time has no bearing.

I also had a strong desire to catch up with someone I hadn’t spoken to in about 5 years and she was initially very hard to reach. I wanted the opportunity to uplift her a bit, and I’d actually been trying since before my trip to touch base but to no avail. Somehow, on my last day in the area, following my intuitions caused us to fortuitously make contact and see each other!

I found myself reflecting on how patience and persistence often go hand in hand.
One must have persistence to achieve some unique and seeming impossibilities, and also the patience to see them through! If one has only persistence and couples it with impatience, then one is prone to feel inadequacy in the huge world. But when one has goodwill, persistence, AND patience… well, the evidence of how huge an impact one has can be dazzling at any given moment!

And I experienced another first that night in Tel Aviv – yoga on a rooftop.
As I basked in the awesomeness of Life, I brimmed with appreciation for Life’s gifting nature, and for how it rewards patience, persistence and (most of all) kindness. Sometimes these rewards are nearly immediate, as in this case… after yoga, the event offered a dip in a hot tub (also on the roof). The instructor informed me that usually there is a line for the Jacuzzi, since there’s a six person capacity. Apparently the weather that night was chillier than usual, as no one remained except the instructor and I! Half a Jacuzzi to myself, a breathtaking view, and wonderfully relaxing conversation to boot!

At other times rewards may take longer to reveal themselves…
Though I have noticed that in the interim, all the miracles I experience daily seem to shine and radiate with an ever more brilliant intensity.

Onward to the Istanbul leg of my adventure… Turkey is a country I haven’t yet visited, and this is bound to be a beautiful continuation of my travels. Goodbye for now Israel, thank you for the great new local connections. I’m looking forward to branching out and working with war veterans to facilitate healing and help them relieve PTSD.

Along the lines of daily miracles, this lovely quadruple rainbow presented itself this morning in the States not too far from home (Long Island)… 100% real photograph, raw & unedited:
Long Island quadRainbow 4.21

Have a wonderful week. 🙂
May you be guided by rainbows, goodwill, patience, and the sweet nectar of your kind persistence all along the way!

Yours in Calmness,
Dr. Inessa
Calmness.com

Stress Tips

A Middle Eastern Kind of Serene

Last week I began my month-long Spring adventure in the Middle East and on Friday I landed in Israel. Before I left for the trip I had inquired as to the weather and I was told that it was hot, sunny and basically summer… So, of course, I packed all summer clothes and only one jacket.

calligraphy and flowers serenity

Israel welcomed me with dark, heavy clouds.
That evening, when I went for a two-mile walk, I was reassured that even if the rain did start it would only drizzle lightly. When I was at my walk’s most distant point, the heavens indeed opened up and it rained so hard that it was impossible for me to see ahead more than a few inches at a time! I needed to run back to the house trusting I would make it safely, without the luxury of seeing where I was stepping or if there was a car approaching when I crossed every street. And Israeli drivers are really reckless sometimes!
Needless to say, I was completely soaked when I got back. My body shivered all night on the cold, hard bed in this super cold house with open windows, and no heat.
I reflected on how pampered I am back in the USA… living in a heated house, sleeping on a heated bed that’s always soft and comfortable… using accurate and to-the-minute weather predictions to ensure I’m prepared…
But back to the present moment. The heavy rains and chilly temperatures continued all through the weekend! And this isn’t even a rant about meteorologists.

I’m so thankful to be here and to able to recount my rainy excitement with you…!
As I penned it, I realized it’s one of those times I’ve intimately experienced the Serenity Prayer.
I’ve been working on accepting these things that I cannot change and yes, of course, it’s easier said than done, but that’s the beautiful challenge of it.
I’m brimming with gratitude and peace and could not help but share this reminder: the proficiency for Serenity and Wisdom is a process. You’re doing the best you can!
Remain loving and patient with yourself as you continue developing and fulfilling all that you seek!

Yours in Calmness,
Dr. Inessa
Calmness.com

keep-calm-and-say-the-serenity-prayer

Stress Tips

Unwind While On The Grind ~ Part Two

As I mentioned in Part One, occupational stress can be harmful to our psyche and our health. Even though we usually spend less time at work than at home, stress from work spills over into our personal lives.

Work stress can lead to sleeplessness, irritability with family and friends, increased usage of inebriants, as well as eroding away at feelings of self-worth. Before women entered the workforce, statistics showed that women outlived men because work-related stress led men to an early grave – usually by way of heart attacks and strokes.
But Be Of Good Cheer!
There are so many ways to gradually lessen the load!

Here are some more tips for maintaining a calm disposition at work.

— Learn to say “No,” and don’t over-commit. This is an especially challenging area, because sometimes it’s hard saying “NO” to taking on additional work that’s presented. Learn how to tactfully explain that other assignments are priorities, and you’re not able to take on additional work at the time. In the long run, it’s worth more to be honest and productive than to put too much on your plate and then deliver sub-par results.

— Take time outs for deep breaths and to stretch. Many of us work on computers or similar devices a lot of the time. It’s important to force yourself to take a break from computer work and do something else, such as filing and organizing. This helps prevent your eyes and wrists from becoming strained.

— Leave ten to fifteen minutes earlier for work. It is very stressful to have to race to work and hope that you make it on time. When you rush to your job, tension is magnified because you miss out on a peaceful transition from restfulness to work-fulness. When you arrive early, you have time to properly set up and get ready for the tasks at hand.

smiles per gallon

These tips are simple to incorporate, but they show we truly can alleviate work-related stress bit by bit. Also, they show it’s within our grasp to find more joy in every waking moment! When it comes down to it, isn’t one of life’s ultimate goals to be productive and happy at the same time?

I hope you really do find all of your days becoming better and better, whether you’re at work or not!

Yours in Calmness,
Dr. Inessa
Calmness.com