​By the President of the United States of America. a Proclamation.
Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor—and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me “to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness.”
Now therefore I do recommend and assign Thursday the 26th day of November next to be devoted by the People of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being, who is the beneficent Author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be—That we may then all unite in rendering unto him our sincere and humble thanks—for his kind care and protection of the People of this Country previous to their becoming a Nation—for the signal and manifold mercies, and the favorable interpositions of his Providence which we experienced in the course and conclusion of the late war—for the great degree of tranquillity, union, and plenty, which we have since enjoyed—for the peaceable and rational manner, in which we have been enabled to establish constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national One now lately instituted—for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed; and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge; and in general for all the great and various favors which he hath been pleased to confer upon us.
and also that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech him to pardon our national and other transgressions—to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually—to render our national government a blessing to all the people, by constantly being a Government of wise, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed—to protect and guide all Sovereigns and Nations (especially such as have shewn kindness unto us) and to bless them with good government, peace, and concord—To promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the encrease of science among them and us—and generally to grant unto all Mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.
Given under my hand at the City of New-York the third day of October in the year of our Lord 1789.
Go: Washington

Washington issued a proclamation on October 3, 1789, designating Thursday, November 26 as a national day of thanks. In his proclamation, Washington declared that the necessity for such a day sprung from the Almighty’s care of Americans prior to the Revolution, assistance to them in achieving independence, and help in establishing the constitutional government. Source:  Mount Vernon

When President Lincoln made his Thanksgiving proclamation in 1863, the last Thursday of November became standard. Source: Wikipedia

Describing something ad nauseum will surely exhaust its credibility. It may even blend into the mobbed, congested network of our over-stimulated lives; thus, its crucial and precious lesson goes unlearned, unpracticed. Such is the case with Mindfulness. Everywhere you turn someone is talking about mindfulness, even me, right now! But I’m going to tell you the real deal about mindfulness. It’s not complicated.

When we think of mindfulness we invoke images of Yogi’s levitating, eyes drawn back so only
the whites are visible, chanting harmoniously, ohm…ohm…ohm. This is not so. Mindfulness means being present at a precise moment. It is when all your consideration is focused on what you are doing, feeling, saying, enjoying, and being. Mindfulness can be freeing and inspire growth! 

Forced to Face
Mindfulness can also be classified as Attention. And attention leads to Control and Balance. We all want control and balance in our lives. It all starts with mindfulness. Mindfulness leads to an altruistic life. You cannot hide from yourself whilst existing in attendance with your thoughts. Being present influences you to evaluate and scrutinize your life; it forces you to face any deficiencies. After that only two things can happen. You can disregard what needs to be changed or fixed in your life or take control and resolve any issues that have become apparent. Thus, growth is inevitable with mindfulness. But, it doesn’t come easy. Consistency is the key!

Practice Makes…Pretty Good
Mindfulness is a skill. It takes time to master like any other ability worth learning. You will never be perfect at being present; there is always room to grow. But you can master it until it becomes second nature. Epictetus was a Stoic philosopher who came to be known in the early second century C.E. He lived first in Rome as a student, and then as a teacher with his own school in Nicopolis, Greece. Epictetus explains in his writing how important it is to practice mindfulness. He told his students once they have let their attention lapse, it is very difficult to recover it, “Do you not realize that when once you have let your mind go wandering, it is no longer in your power to recall it, to bring it back to what is right, to self- respect, to moderation?” We must not allow “life” to influence us and take us away from mindfulness. Being mindful is being in control. Regularity in practice is essential but don’t think school ends any time soon. You’re here for the long haul!

You’re Going to Be Here a While
It is a war not just a battle. Take your time. Making our way through this life is difficult. It starts
with our first breath and ends with our last. We are thrown into this world innocent, clueless;
immediately we search to make sense of our surroundings. We continue this our entire lives. Epictetus proposed, “It’s a lifelong series of subtle readjustments of our character. We fine-tune our thoughts, words, and deeds in a progressively wholesome direction. When you actively engage in gradually refining yourself, you retreat from your lazy ways of covering yourself or making excuses.” When we are actively engaged in our lives, we are being mindful. And when we are mindful, we have no choice but to grow.

Getting Started
Try this exercise. You can use a raisin or any other small edible like, nuts, berries, grapes, etc. For
this exercise I will use a raisin.

First, take a raisin and hold it in the palm of your hand or between your finger and thumb. Squeeze it gently. Take note of the texture.

Next, take time to really focus on it; gaze at the raisin with full attention—imagine that you are
from another planet and have never seen anything like this before. Reconnoiter every part of it,
examining the highlights where the light shines, the darker caverns, the folds and crests, and any unique features. Now, Close your eyes and turn the raisin over between your fingers, squeeze gently.

Take a whiff! Hold the raisin beneath your nose. Inhale. Envelop your nose with the aroma and
fragrance. Take note of what may be happening with other senses. Notice your tongue.

Now slowly bring the raisin up to your mouth. Delicately press it to your lips. Feel the texture on
your lips. Softly place the raisin in your mouth; do not chew it! Spend a few minutes focusing on the
raisin in your mouth. Explore it with your tongue. You should begin to taste it. Try to pick out the sweet and tart sensations. Then, after a few minutes take one bite. Let it continue to roll around your mouth. Notice what exactly happened. How did it split? Did it squish? How big are the remaining pieces? Continue to chew noticing all the changes.

When you are ready to swallow the raisin, first detect the intent to swallow. Experience the pre-
swallow activity, an increase in saliva. Be very conscious as you swallow the raisin. Follow it down until you cannot feel it any longer.

You can apply this same technique to anything in life. Riding a bike, exercising, eating a meal,
making love (being mindful during love making increases the pleasure tenfold!), or any other activity in life. One of the best ways to be mindful is to just sit with your thoughts. Don’t try to deflect, deny, or ignore them. Engage with your thoughts. Yes, this can be scary-at first. But after a while it is most
assuredly freeing. Be one with yourself. Be good to yourself.

Courtesy of - Khronology -Functional Fitness and Nutrition - kronologyfit.com
Helping you age well and heal through food, movement and a healthy lifestyle!

It goes without saying that we need to sleep in order to function at optimal levels. Sleeping well improves your appearance, brainpower, memory and other vital body functions. It also reduces your risk of gaining weight, feeling fatigued or developing chronic health conditions. Both adults and children need 6 or more hours of sleep every night for optimal health. However, just because you’re getting the recommended hours of sleep each day does not mean that your body is getting the rest that it needs. A lot of people toss and turn all night, don’t feel like getting out of bed in the morning and drink plenty of coffee to avoid drowsiness during the day. If you’re suffering from such sleep problems, then you need to improve the quality of your sleep. Here are a few top tips on how to boost your sleep quality.
 
1 – Sleep in a Cool, Dark & Quiet Room
 
Sleeping with the lights on is one of the major causes of sleep deprivation. When your eyes are exposed to light, neurons are aroused and this disrupts your sleep. Research has also shown that light exposure before sleep suppresses the production of melatonin – the hormone that controls your sleep and wake cycles. A reduction in this hormone at night normally leads to varying levels of sleeplessness. To avoid sleep disruption due to nighttime exposure to light, always sleep with all the lights off. This includes the light emitted from electronic devices, so make sure your computer, phone, tablet and other light producing equipment are either turned off or stored outside the bedroom.
 
Too much heat can also disrupt your sleep quality. To keep cool while you sleep, make sure you keep the window open and ensure the room is well ventilated. If you still find that you’re too warm after doing this, go to bed wearing lighter clothing and consider investing in a lighter duvet or even sleeping on top of the covers.
 
Noise is yet another thing that can have a detrimental impact on the quality of your sleep. To minimize the amount of noise in your room, make sure there’s nothing in the bedroom that could potentially make noises while you sleep. If it’s noisy outside your bedroom, try sleeping with earplugs.
 
2 – Avoid Caffeine In The Evening
 
As you probably know, coffee is a rich source of caffeine. This chemical changes the brain’s chemistry by binding with sleep inducing receptors known as adenosine in order to keep you awake. The stimulating effects of caffeine can wreak havoc on your sleep because they take hours to wear off. Therefore, if you are an avid coffee drinker, you might want to avoid your favorite beverage a few hours before going to bed.
 
3 – Get Comfortable Before You Sleep
 
There are many ways to get comfortable before going to bed and these can improve the quality of your sleep. For instance, taking a hot shower raises your core body temperature and this helps to improve sleep. Alternatively, having a hot bath can relax your muscles and help you have a soothing night of sleep.
 
4 – Try Essential Oils
 
Essential oils such as cedar wood, roman chamomile, sandalwood, valerian or lavender oil are all natural relaxants and can help you have an amazing night’s sleep. If you’re having a bath before bed, try putting a few drops of your favorite essential oils from the above list into the bath and then allow the aromas to work their magic. Alternatively, you can add a few drops of these essential oils to a diffuser, place it in your bedroom and let the relaxing scents slowly spread around the room while you sleep.
 
5 – Unwind Before Bed
 
One final way to maximize your sleep quality is to start unwinding and getting ready for bed a few hours before you sleep. You can do this by disconnecting from the Internet, switching off the TV and your other electronic devices and then spending the last few hour of the day doing a relaxing activity. Then for the last 30 minutes of the day, stop everything, empty your mind and focus fully on getting ready for sleep.

The National Sleep Foundation (NSF) recently released the key indicators of good sleep quality, as established by a panel of experts.

The key determinants of quality sleep are included in a report published in Sleep Health. They include:

• Sleeping more time while in bed (at least 85 percent of the total time)
• Falling asleep in 30 minutes or less
• Waking up no more than once per night; and
• Being awake for 20 minutes or less after initially falling asleep.

Summary
If you’ve been struggling to get a good night’s sleep, I hope the advice in this article helps to enhance your sleep quality. These 5 tips are very simple to implement but surprisingly effective. So give them a try today and start enjoying the best sleep of your life.

Click here for 10 Tips for Better Sleep!

Thankful Tree #1
(Pinterest)