Damn Fine Cure for a Headache!

I was away for a few days recently abroad and on the day I arrived I’d been up since five in the morning and had a slight headache all day. 

I think it was partially from being up early, partially from being dehydrated, partially form I don’t know what else.

Anyway that night me and my girlfriend arrived back at the hotel and went to bed around 9ish. 

I couldn’t get to sleep at all because of the slight discomfort of the headache. It wasn’t that it was painful more so very uncomfortable, and distracting. I couldn’t relax or drift to sleep at all.

As time went on it got worse and worse. I had no medication or anything with me. I suspected it could be partially from dehydration so I drank water but that didn’t help at all.

It was like all along inside my head, just under my skull was this throbbing pain.  It was horribly uncomfortable and getting worse all the time.

I had this idea that maybe there was swelling or something associated with a headache so maybe cold water would help. I wet a towel with cold water and it only got worse. So then I decided to try hot water.

I ran the hot tap until it got good and hot and drenched the middle of the towel. I squeezed it out a little, then went back to bed and draped the towel across the top of my head.

It was amazing.

It was wonderful.

It was one of the greatest moments of my life.

It’ll always be one of my fondest memories.

Instant relief.

I felt almost like the inside of my head was being massaged or something.

Within minutes the towel was cold again. I wondered was that because of heat going into my head or does a hot towel get cold so fast anyway…forgive the amateur scientist…

I went back and did the procedure again and it was so so wonderful. 

I cannot recommend it highly enough. 

Better than any cure I’ve ever tried, and I’m sure it’s a 100% natural remedy!

I did this for hours while listening to my audio book and hoping the water wouldn’t get into my earphones. 

Eventually I was nice and relaxed, head feeling much much better and I was able to lie down and drift off to a nice sleep. 

Even the next day I felt so much better. 

It’s something I’ll try again, even just for relaxation, it worked so well.

I had intended to take a picture of my special towel but I forgot.

So there you go, try it! I’m not mad, not entirely anyway!

Reacting to worry

I worry a lot.

I am calm a lot.

I think I picked it up from my father who is a champion worrier. He worries so much that he rarely sleeps. I remember being young and feeling sorry for him, also being terrified of being that way, and vowing never to be that way.

When I sense worry or stress approching I deflect. It has become such a habit for me now that I do it automatically, without even realising I’m doing it.

In other words, I find distractions. I watch television, I play video games, I read web pages, I respond immediately when anyone has a problem. All of these things are to distract me from the things I really don’t want to face or deal with myself. Eventually they weigh me down.

I think I started doing this as a child. I REacted. I decided I don’t want to worry. I want to avoid worry and I did everything in my power to do that, even though deep down I’m worrying all the time anyway and it tends to paralyse me in ways.

If I had been able to think about it PROactively as a child rather than REactively I would have decided instead to seek out the cause of the worry and eliminate it. I would have, in other words, ensured that I had no cause to worry.

That’s a very hard thing to change when you’ve been at it your whole life.

I think most people do it to some extent.

Do you?

You probably tell yourself you’re tired or whatever and you’ll just watch TV for a few minutes but that’s an ego lie. It’s just a way of deflecting.

It’s hard to change that. It’s hard even to admit the truth to yourself.

Don’t try to change it. Don’t use your willpower to force things to change. It takes extraordinary willpower to change lifelong habits and most of us don’t possess that willpower.

Relax and Redivert

Instead relax and redivert your energies. Allow your awareness to grow.

One way of doing this is to remove all distractions for one day per week. No TV, no games, no Alcohol, etc. Cut out everything that you use as a distraction spend time with your own awareness of reality. 

Let your real inner strength come through.

You’ll have to face your worries but you’ll also start to notice things. You’ll see things clearer. The way forward will become apparent to you. You’ll start to see what you want in life rather than what you want to avoid.

As the awareness grows your desires will grow stronger.

Then you won’t need willpower to make them happen.

The power will just come to you.

Then you can make your life what you want. 

There’s too much good stuff out there to miss in avoidance.

Most of all, enjoy it!

Shane.

Just for today, accept everything that happens

That old guy driving in front of you…don’t get yourself all het up and annoyed, no matter how late you are. 

Just say to yourself – I accept this reality completely.

Your toast falls butter side on the floor. Don’t get annoyed, no matter how hungry you are.

Just say to yourself – I accept this reality completely.

You walk into a door in public (because you’re rushing?) 

Just say to yourself – I accept this reality completely.

A lot of our day to day stress comes from us refusing to accept situations. Acceptance means letting go. These things annoy you and stress you out because they’re not the way they’re meant to be (in your mind). So you’re trying to force them to be the way you envision them. This doesn’t happen, and you are stressed, and then more stressed, and then more stressed.

Decide that just for today you’re going to accept everything…

…and enjoy one lovely calm stress free day!

A Simple Meditation to Quiet a busy Mind

Try using this for example if you’re having difficulty sleeping because of thoughts racing through your mind, or even during the day if you need to calm and destress.

It’s probably best to close your eyes as you imagine each setting.

Perhaps read through the whole thing a couple of times and then try to follow the path in your mind with your eyes closed.