Living with COPD is undoubtedly challenging and there are days, like today, when I just don't feel well and taking a breath is real work. Times like this can slap me down ~ hard. At those times, it is so important for us to go to the place that brings us home, reminding us of how much living we have still to do; Exposing us to the great wonders in our lives. Walking the correct pathway; serving the Highest Good.
In that spirit, I wish to share a wonderful mini-video that is so inspiring it leaves me in awe each time I watch it.
I hope you, too, enjoy this and share with me in feeling better, breathing better, and refocusing on coming home to ourselves and living right out loud~in vibrant colors.
http://positivepause.com/
{{{{{{{{{{{{Hugs}}}}}}}}}}}}
Peace and sweetest blessings,
Kasey
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
COPD - Let Me Hug You
The following is a post I made a couple of years ago. It was at a forum and in response to someone who had COPD and had posted about being frightened and depressed, feeling life was over. The forum has now posted this in their "stories" section. LOL I thought I would share it here and hope that someone will be helped in some way. We're in this together!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Feeling overwhelmed… discouraged…hopeless?
Come here and let me hug you...{{{{{{{{{{{O}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}.
Yes, dear one, I know what you mean and have been down myself the past couple of days, feeling like what I do doesn't matter. Then I make another blessings list and have a chat with my inner self.
You know, sometimes we do get caught in the net of focusing only on what we can no longer do, the things we can still do but have to make adjustments to do them, the ways in which we must alter our lifestyles when everyone around us can just go on about their ways without any real changes, without really thinking about it; on autopilot. Then, we see how it affects our families and the many ways they, too, must change because of us ~ our disease.
It's vicious, isn't it? But, then I remember that each time I hear a baby cry, God/dess has not yet tired of man and He/She has not yet tired of me. I (and you) are here for a reason.
We may be paying the consequences of having made some bad choices when it comes to our health, but we are strong...stronger I think, because of the dis-ease. We fight tooth and nail and we get so tired. So very tired. But we press onward, forward. We are here, my friend. We are strong in spite of the dis-ease. We are super intelligent in making changes and finding ways to hold on to our quality of life and our independence.
AND, we have family who love us enough to stand with us through those changes and make changes with us. Not everyone of us has that family. We are living, moving, BREATHING examples of how courage, strength, perseverance, determination and grit "look" and "feel" to the world.
We walk around with plastic prongs in our noses and sometimes
people look at us funny but, know what? WE are still standing. We are still moving. We are sending messages and helping our fellow man. We are strong. We are living out loud.
We make a difference in this world; perhaps, in some way, even
because of the COPD.
Overwhelming? Yes. Frustrating? Oh, yes. Sad? Yes, that too. Downright
depressing, maddening and angering too. But, my dear friend, you are so valuable to this Universe, to the people here and around you. Don't ever forget your worth and contributions. It all matters. YOU matter. You make a difference, even though you may not always see it or feel it. Believe me. It is truth or you would not be here asking "why?" right now. Spirit would not have moved you to do so if you did not make a difference. Even now in sorrow, you are serving the Highest Good and searching for the way to make yourself stronger still.
You are in my prayers. I do hope something here has helped you in some way.
Sweetest blessings,
Kasey
(Authored by Kasey Hunter)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Feeling overwhelmed… discouraged…hopeless?
Come here and let me hug you...{{{{{{{{{{{O}}}}}}}}}}}}}}}.
Yes, dear one, I know what you mean and have been down myself the past couple of days, feeling like what I do doesn't matter. Then I make another blessings list and have a chat with my inner self.
You know, sometimes we do get caught in the net of focusing only on what we can no longer do, the things we can still do but have to make adjustments to do them, the ways in which we must alter our lifestyles when everyone around us can just go on about their ways without any real changes, without really thinking about it; on autopilot. Then, we see how it affects our families and the many ways they, too, must change because of us ~ our disease.
It's vicious, isn't it? But, then I remember that each time I hear a baby cry, God/dess has not yet tired of man and He/She has not yet tired of me. I (and you) are here for a reason.
We may be paying the consequences of having made some bad choices when it comes to our health, but we are strong...stronger I think, because of the dis-ease. We fight tooth and nail and we get so tired. So very tired. But we press onward, forward. We are here, my friend. We are strong in spite of the dis-ease. We are super intelligent in making changes and finding ways to hold on to our quality of life and our independence.
AND, we have family who love us enough to stand with us through those changes and make changes with us. Not everyone of us has that family. We are living, moving, BREATHING examples of how courage, strength, perseverance, determination and grit "look" and "feel" to the world.
We walk around with plastic prongs in our noses and sometimes
people look at us funny but, know what? WE are still standing. We are still moving. We are sending messages and helping our fellow man. We are strong. We are living out loud.
We make a difference in this world; perhaps, in some way, even
because of the COPD.
Overwhelming? Yes. Frustrating? Oh, yes. Sad? Yes, that too. Downright
depressing, maddening and angering too. But, my dear friend, you are so valuable to this Universe, to the people here and around you. Don't ever forget your worth and contributions. It all matters. YOU matter. You make a difference, even though you may not always see it or feel it. Believe me. It is truth or you would not be here asking "why?" right now. Spirit would not have moved you to do so if you did not make a difference. Even now in sorrow, you are serving the Highest Good and searching for the way to make yourself stronger still.
You are in my prayers. I do hope something here has helped you in some way.
Sweetest blessings,
Kasey
(Authored by Kasey Hunter)
Monday, October 27, 2008
Slowing It Down and Living Better
Wow! My computer totally crashed. Crashed and burned. So, I am back online now after weeks and weeks of dinking around with Dell Tech. I won't buy Dell again! This is the 2nd time they have replaced the mother board, hard drive and memory. I give much thanks for the 3 year warranty that came with this computer.
Until I get my notes together, I thought I would share this with you which means a great deal to me and came in a newsletter to me.
Enjoy and I will post soon.
Blessings,
Kasey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Let's slow it down and treat ourselves better!
Ironically, over time, the more we "do," the less we achieve.
All that effort takes its toll on our physical, mental, and emotional health. It disconnects us from our deeper needs, leaving us empty and dull.
Now imagine a different, more pleasant scenario. You come to work determined to remember to log off your computer, take a short walk, drink a glass of water, and moisturize your skin every thirty minutes.
Instead of "grabbing" an indifferent lunch, you bring fresh fruit, yogurt, and a whole-grain sandwich from home. You don't take coffee breaks, you take exercise breaks.
In treating yourself well for a day, you achieved both doing less and being more.
In the literal sense, you still "did" things; you did not sit idle. But what you did was gloriously different from what you had been doing for so long. You let yourself slow down instead of driving yourself hard. You did not misuse your body and you did not pressure your mind. You began the process of healing.
EXCERPTED FROM: Ayurveda is a Verb
by Shubhra Krishan.
Until I get my notes together, I thought I would share this with you which means a great deal to me and came in a newsletter to me.
Enjoy and I will post soon.
Blessings,
Kasey
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Let's slow it down and treat ourselves better!
Ironically, over time, the more we "do," the less we achieve.
All that effort takes its toll on our physical, mental, and emotional health. It disconnects us from our deeper needs, leaving us empty and dull.
Now imagine a different, more pleasant scenario. You come to work determined to remember to log off your computer, take a short walk, drink a glass of water, and moisturize your skin every thirty minutes.
Instead of "grabbing" an indifferent lunch, you bring fresh fruit, yogurt, and a whole-grain sandwich from home. You don't take coffee breaks, you take exercise breaks.
In treating yourself well for a day, you achieved both doing less and being more.
In the literal sense, you still "did" things; you did not sit idle. But what you did was gloriously different from what you had been doing for so long. You let yourself slow down instead of driving yourself hard. You did not misuse your body and you did not pressure your mind. You began the process of healing.
EXCERPTED FROM: Ayurveda is a Verb
by Shubhra Krishan.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Coloring Away the COPD
I am in the process of redecorating my home. What fun!!! The redecorating of my home is so helpful to me and to my health. My breathing is coming easier than it has in a long while. I owe that to color. I would like to share some insight about color. Some of it is excertped from an article and some of it is my own insight.
Color can nurture your soul as food nourishes your body.
Color can be a tremendous Ch'i enhancement when you love it, or cause a real depletion in energy if you don't.
If a color bugs you, get rid of it. It could save your marriage or your sanity or both.
What color is the COPD that lives in your body? You know what to do with that color, right? Color it and release it to the Universe. They know what to do with disease out there in the Universe. Inhale the colors that feed your health. Exhale the colored COPD.
Determine what colors are your favorites. Which ones feed you right down to your bones, and energize and heal you? Whatever colors they are, make sure that you have them somewhere in your environment. Make sure you breathe them into your lungs, those healthy colors that heal and energize.
Choose items in your colors, such as fabrics, vases, dishes, and flowers, and place them where they can feed you with a glance.
Stay within the palette you are attracted to, and your color choices will create an atmosphere you'll enjoy every day.
Be sure to choose those colors that make you feel healthier for in feeling healthier, you become healthier.
Portions excerpted from the article:Color, Nature, & Sound for a harmonious home by Kathryn Collins.
Color can nurture your soul as food nourishes your body.
Color can be a tremendous Ch'i enhancement when you love it, or cause a real depletion in energy if you don't.
If a color bugs you, get rid of it. It could save your marriage or your sanity or both.
What color is the COPD that lives in your body? You know what to do with that color, right? Color it and release it to the Universe. They know what to do with disease out there in the Universe. Inhale the colors that feed your health. Exhale the colored COPD.
Determine what colors are your favorites. Which ones feed you right down to your bones, and energize and heal you? Whatever colors they are, make sure that you have them somewhere in your environment. Make sure you breathe them into your lungs, those healthy colors that heal and energize.
Choose items in your colors, such as fabrics, vases, dishes, and flowers, and place them where they can feed you with a glance.
Stay within the palette you are attracted to, and your color choices will create an atmosphere you'll enjoy every day.
Be sure to choose those colors that make you feel healthier for in feeling healthier, you become healthier.
Portions excerpted from the article:Color, Nature, & Sound for a harmonious home by Kathryn Collins.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Listen Up, Big Pharma
It seems like more and more often we are learning that the drugs most of us COPD'ers and Asthmatics have been using and taking into our bodies for years are actually quite harmful to other organs, such as our hearts and livers. It is discouraging as we need these medicines to breathe. As science advances as studies conclude, we learn that there may be heart, liver, kidney, brain, eye, muscle, memory, blood damage. However, we can't overlook the good attributes of the meds. We must, however, learn to accomodate for the damage the drugs may do to other organs or look into the possibilities of alternative medicines, which I personally prefer until we can get the FDA and the drug manufacturers to be more responsible about our health and bodies. I'm worth more to me than the $$ big Pharma makes. We've got to live out loud and put a stop to this!
The following is an article that I am putting here because it is significant and I want to put the word out, too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Older emphysema drug linked to heart deaths
Tue Sep 16, 2008 1:37pm EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A drug once commonly used for emphysema and other forms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease may raise the risk of heart death by a third, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.
The drug, called ipratropium, is made by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc under the brand names Atrovent and Combivent. It has largely been replaced by Pfizer Inc's Spiriva. It prevents bronchospasms, attacks in which the airways narrow, making breathing difficult.
"This medication may be having some systemic cardiovascular effect that is increasing the risk of death in COPD patients," said Todd Lee of Northwestern University in Chicago, who led the study.
Lee's team found that military veterans with recently diagnosed COPD who used Atrovent or Combivent were 34 percent more likely to die of a heart attack or arrhythmia than COPD patients using only a similar product called albuterol, or those who did not take any drugs.
Writing in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the researchers said they looked at the cause of death of 145,000 veterans with newly diagnosed COPD from 1999 to 2003.
Lee said doctors and patients should be aware of the potential risk.
COPD is an umbrella term for respiratory diseases including emphysema and chronic bronchitis and is mostly caused by smoking. An estimated 12 million people in the United States have COPD, the fourth-leading cause of death.
"The safety of drugs for COPD patients has flown under the radar," Lee said.
In March the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said another COPD drug called Spiriva, marketed by Pfizer Inc and Boehringer Ingelheim, may increase the risk of stroke.
(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Bill Trott)
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN1641119720080916
The following is an article that I am putting here because it is significant and I want to put the word out, too.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Older emphysema drug linked to heart deaths
Tue Sep 16, 2008 1:37pm EDT
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A drug once commonly used for emphysema and other forms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease may raise the risk of heart death by a third, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.
The drug, called ipratropium, is made by Boehringer Ingelheim Pharmaceuticals Inc under the brand names Atrovent and Combivent. It has largely been replaced by Pfizer Inc's Spiriva. It prevents bronchospasms, attacks in which the airways narrow, making breathing difficult.
"This medication may be having some systemic cardiovascular effect that is increasing the risk of death in COPD patients," said Todd Lee of Northwestern University in Chicago, who led the study.
Lee's team found that military veterans with recently diagnosed COPD who used Atrovent or Combivent were 34 percent more likely to die of a heart attack or arrhythmia than COPD patients using only a similar product called albuterol, or those who did not take any drugs.
Writing in the Annals of Internal Medicine, the researchers said they looked at the cause of death of 145,000 veterans with newly diagnosed COPD from 1999 to 2003.
Lee said doctors and patients should be aware of the potential risk.
COPD is an umbrella term for respiratory diseases including emphysema and chronic bronchitis and is mostly caused by smoking. An estimated 12 million people in the United States have COPD, the fourth-leading cause of death.
"The safety of drugs for COPD patients has flown under the radar," Lee said.
In March the U.S. Food and Drug Administration said another COPD drug called Spiriva, marketed by Pfizer Inc and Boehringer Ingelheim, may increase the risk of stroke.
(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Bill Trott)
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSN1641119720080916
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Healing
Very recently has come the beginning of understanding that unless we address and restore the very health of the earth , our own health, inner health and symptoms will grow worse and worse. Mother Earth’s health and our own inner health are one and the same.
In our world, nothing is meant to be apart from the whole. With separation comes loneliness of spirit and disconnection. We must reconnect now. Our very survival could truly depend upon the reconnection. All there is~ is in some way connected.
I believe that at this point we are finally “getting it” that the harming of nature and our planet adversely affects all life and not least of all our own selves.
Let us return to those values of the earth for we are a part of them, not apart from them. The time has come to spiritually reconnect with all things that are natural and teach our children these values as well. The time has come that we must honor the preciousness of earth and life and pass it on. We are the responsible parties for the foul ups. Let us be wise enough to make the repairs and celebrate with this revival of our renewal of excellent values and healing the earth and, in turn, ourselves.
COPD makes it very hard to breathe. I want to heal the earth and myself so that I may breathe better and better. Join me?
Sweetest blessings,
Kasey
In our world, nothing is meant to be apart from the whole. With separation comes loneliness of spirit and disconnection. We must reconnect now. Our very survival could truly depend upon the reconnection. All there is~ is in some way connected.
I believe that at this point we are finally “getting it” that the harming of nature and our planet adversely affects all life and not least of all our own selves.
Let us return to those values of the earth for we are a part of them, not apart from them. The time has come to spiritually reconnect with all things that are natural and teach our children these values as well. The time has come that we must honor the preciousness of earth and life and pass it on. We are the responsible parties for the foul ups. Let us be wise enough to make the repairs and celebrate with this revival of our renewal of excellent values and healing the earth and, in turn, ourselves.
COPD makes it very hard to breathe. I want to heal the earth and myself so that I may breathe better and better. Join me?
Sweetest blessings,
Kasey
Friday, September 5, 2008
Let The Good Times Roll
Hi there and welcome to the maiden voyage of Living Out Loud with COPD. This is a different sort of blog and is not limited to COPD but will share my day to day experiences, challenges, good times, Wisdom, weirdness ~ the full monty of living with this dis-ease. By sharing this info, I will be helped and hopefully someone out there will be helped. Maybe even share some helpful info of their own. If you'd like to do that, simply email me and I will arrange for you to post it here. Just a thought. I like to share.
Well, to begin with I'd like to share some Navajos wisdom that helps me each day. The next blog may be about my new dog, Ty (pictured here),
and how he helps me cope. He really does! Or how I am coping with my former 02 provider who is trying to rip me off,. Or about the bird that got into my house and decided to land on my head. Or how people react when they see me with my oxygen out in public and how I cope with that, too. I've got lots to share and I hope you do, too.
We are all in this together so Please come back often.
OK, the Navajo wisdom.......Enjoy this sacred wisdom and let us be grateful for the sharing. Blessings!
Navajos believe in "Walking in Beauty" -- a worldview in which everything in life is connected and influences everything else.
A stone thrown into a pond can influence the life of a deer in the forest, a human voice and a spoken word can influence events around the world, and all things possess spirit and power.
Their belief system sees sickness as a result of things falling out of balance, of losing one's way on the path of beauty. So Navajos make every effort to live in harmony and balance with everyone and everything else.
EXCERPTED FROM the InnerSelf article:
Chantways: A Song for Healing
by Lori Arviso Alvord, M.D.
Sweetest blessings to all who enter here,
Kasey
Well, to begin with I'd like to share some Navajos wisdom that helps me each day. The next blog may be about my new dog, Ty (pictured here),
and how he helps me cope. He really does! Or how I am coping with my former 02 provider who is trying to rip me off,
We are all in this together so Please come back often.
OK, the Navajo wisdom.......Enjoy this sacred wisdom and let us be grateful for the sharing. Blessings!
Navajos believe in "Walking in Beauty" -- a worldview in which everything in life is connected and influences everything else.
A stone thrown into a pond can influence the life of a deer in the forest, a human voice and a spoken word can influence events around the world, and all things possess spirit and power.
Their belief system sees sickness as a result of things falling out of balance, of losing one's way on the path of beauty. So Navajos make every effort to live in harmony and balance with everyone and everything else.
EXCERPTED FROM the InnerSelf article:
Chantways: A Song for Healing
by Lori Arviso Alvord, M.D.
Sweetest blessings to all who enter here,
Kasey
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
