This picture was taken in a moment of being present earlier this week.
The NM sky seen through the sunroof in my car. I paused to embrace
the present before heading to work. Find more articles from Dr. Fleg's blog series, Writing to Heal, by clicking here. Find Dr. Fleg's book, Writing to Heal by clicking here.
If I were younger, I might follow that five-word sentence with “#truth”. My life experience and my experience as a physician tells me that the best prescription is to move. Movement in a physical sense, of course. A way to clear the mind, an invitation to breathe deep, a chance to let life slow.
Movement Heals in Other Ways
When we move things emotionally, we heal in other ways. We push past those things holding us back, letting go of things that no longer serve our Highest Self. This is not always easy, often requiring us to face things we have tried to suppress and ignore.
Movement is not always easy. But movement always heals.
Energetic and Spiritual Movement
We can also create movement energetically and spiritually. These are the moments where we face our deepest thoughts and identity, connecting to the sacredness of life. Prayer, meditation, and service are some of the many modes of transportation in this realm of movement.
Writing to Heal
When I think of Writing to Heal, I think of movement. The book is inspired by movement of physical, emotional and spiritual varieties. Many of the pieces written in my heart during runs. The process of writing itself was movement for me toward healing all of the wounds inflicted by COVID. I always reminded myself of this – the writing would be strengthened if I didn’t worry about writing for others and instead wrote as movement for myself. I trusted that this would translate to helping others move.
I am excited to share this pandemic journey to healing with my brothers and sisters. I expect that Writing To Heal will be an antidote for stagnation in all of our lives.
As the younger ones would say, #movement heals #writing_to_heal_book Find more information about my book Writing to Heal here…
Anthony Fleg, MD / MPH
Anthony Fleg is a family medicine physician, a healer whose work is grounded in love, culture and community. He is originally from Baltimore, MD and has three younger brothers…Anthony lives in Albuquerque, NM with his wife Shannon, a Dine’ (Navajo) woman who guides him in life’s adventures. They co-direct the Native Health Initiative and have four children (Nizhoni, Bah’Hozhooni, Shandiin and Sihasin) that are the center of their lives
A few months ago, I was busy planning Reviva’s longest tour yet heading out west on a 5 state journey. I was reading the news about an outbreak going on in Wuhan China, and quickly texted the guys that I didn’t think the tour was going to happen. As March is typically one of our busiest months, I was working a lot and felt burnt out between my day job and organizing all the details of a 2 weeks stint away. While I was disappointed that we would never get to play venues that we had dreamt of playing for years, I realized that as things slowed down, it may provide some opportunities for me to press the “reset” button and spend some time with my inner voice. Like many people, I struggle with anxiety and issues related to PTSD, and have found time during the pandemic to explore ways to manage it the best that I can. While it took some time to find a disciplined routine, I want to share some things that have been quite useful as we continue to live in the new world of Covid-19.
Equanimity
The first thing that I do every morning is a 10 minute meditation. This is not a religious meditation of any sort, but rather a way to slow my mind down and allow thoughts to flow in and out of my mind without being attached or affected by them. This naturally takes away some of the stress that comes with pressures from work, responsibilities at home, and fears about the future or regrets from the past. My favorite meditation is called Equanimity, and it goes like this: “May you be safe, light, and secure. Free from aversion, attachment, and anxiety. Full of love, joy, compassion, and equanimity.”
You are supposed to say the meditation for 4 people every day: Yourself, Someone you love, Someone who is neutral or whom you don’t know, and Someone who you consider to be an enemy. It is hard to send good vibes to someone you really dislike or who has hurt you, but this part of is probably the most important.
Virtual Yoga
I also have finally found an online Yoga training that has really helped me to be in the moment. It is a series of YouTube videos from the channel “Breathe and Flow”. There is a series of Men’s Yoga Flow that has become my go to as I am finally seeing the mental and physical benefits of doing yoga daily. I now alternate my exercise routine between weights, yoga, and running. Whenever I take more than one day off, I really start to feel more anxiety and thus have learned that physical exercise is key to maintaining mental health.
Other than those two practices, there are a few other things that are important to do as it looks that the pandemic is not slowing down anytime soon. First, I find time every day to connect with family and friends. Whether through a phone call or virtual visit, we all have a few minutes to tell our loved ones we are thinking about them. Second, I spend time every day outside, especially in my garden. We recently took a band trip up to northern NM, and just breathing the fresh air and getting away from the pavement was super healing.
Legislating Peace
Finally, I make sure to find time to laugh about something every day. I really like to keep up on the news and know what’s going on. But now is a time for deeper reflection as to how things will look when we get out of this. As I was sitting with my friend in the park during a Juneteenth event this weekend, I couldn’t help but think that we are somehow going to figure out a society that is more equitable for everyone. But even if we pass legislation and vote in the right people, it is up to each of us to continue on our inner journey to peace. No justice no peace is so true. But as Geshe Gyatso said, “Without inner peace, outer peace is impossible.” Read more about and articles from Chris Brennan
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Nationally recognized author, performer and Poet Laureate of Albuquerque (2012-2014), Bellamy will perform at 7:30. An on- air host for the New Mexico PBS show ¡COLORES!, Bellamy’s multimedia performance will address the intersection of young Black male bodies and institutional racism/violence. He responds in poetic verse to video of a talking circle with young Black men less than two days after the Charleston Massacre. His performance will also include Acapella Hip-Hop poetry/theater pieces.
Black Mantra: A Meditation on Healing is a multimedia hip hop performance piece born from talking circles with young men around issues of identity and masculinity. Originally organized to take place on June 19th, 2015, the first talking circle with young Black men was preempted by the massacre of nine parishioners of Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Based on content sourced from real conversations about issues impacting contemporary notions of masculinity, Black Mantra wrestles with the notion of “art as mirror” and “art as window” to conversations young Black men often only have in the confidence of one another, if the event they are fortunate enough to have them at all. This performance copes with the human impact of lived (historical) and perceived (media) trauma on our fathers, spouses, brothers, sons and loved ones. Black Mantra is the performance of being seen. #DialogueDrivenTheater
The performance on Friday, November 3rd at 7pm (@ the African American Performing Arts Center NM Expo) will also feature the live appearance of young men who participated in the talking circles two years ago. Audience members will have the opportunity to hear from them in a moderated discussion panel and Q & A.
Featured Guests (co-creators): Fernando Barrios, Deshaun Summers, Siddiq Muhammad & Zavier Thompson
This event coincides with “The Music and The Muse: Art by Reginald Gammon” Opening Reception at the African American Performing Arts Center Gallery (across the hall from the auditorium)
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When people hunger for change they romanticize chaos. It is fulfilling to theorize how this chaos will ensue. Many filmmakers over the years have successfully depicted a chaotic earth dystopia. It has become apparent over the years how important and necessary chaos is and how it is part of the cycle of change. I have many times felt like the bringer of chaos, having acted so many times as the catalyst. Most of the time when the chaos period has passed, I have been able to witness the situation (or person) reform in a stronger way because of the chaos that was endured. Many of us, if not all of us, crave change at the beginning of a new year.
The mistake that we make is that we expect a dramatic astrological reading, Mayan prophecy, or the flying spaghetti monster to bring about the change we want to see in our lives. There is so much that we can do when we take back our power and even more that we can do with others who have the same goals and passions as ourselves. We do not need to rely on outside forces to create the change we want to see or even wait in general for change to happen. There is so much power in daily practice. There is a very sad perception that many of us have, that we will be able to do something about our discontent tomorrow. What we tend to forget is that tomorrow doesn’t exist.
Transcendence
I have had so many people tell me over the years how I should do things and at the end of the day I figured out that I had to do what felt right to me; even if this did not make sense to anyone but me. Never let anyone place their limitations on you, always question everything, and approach everything as if you will master it AND transcend it. If you do these things not only will you master all that you do, you will also discover that there is something even better afterwards. The universe is infinite, what do you choose to master?
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Pan Bourcier Hidalgo is a Dancer who is originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Her blog series, Pan’s Labyrinth, discusses Self-Discovery and Personal Evolution.
Blog bomb is all about the hustle which is why every few weeks we update you with some suggestive aspects of being a modern (hu)man. This edition focuses on strategies to plan our professional day and to stay productive while staying happy and healthy.
MAKE A PLAN
For me, I have so many varying aspects to my professional and private life and everyday can get a bit overwhelming if I don’t organize and plan out my approach. That is why each day I rise with a purpose and take a look at my scheduled events for the day. Then I map out a plan. To best be effective and NOT get lost in a mountain of tasks. It is too easy to get lost and off take if you do not make a conscious and sweeping effort to be organized and professional. Heck, even in non-professional affairs it pays to always take the professional approach.
Time to Reflect
Once each beautiful day has reached the end it is good to take a restful moment of zen and look back over the day you just had. Embrace all you have accomplished and simply point out the things that you did not get to. This helps us to personally acknowledge our progress and to guide the plan for the next day to come. Daily reflection and meditation are imperative for us all.
Make Time for Yourself
Yeah you may have a ton of stuff to do but you must always make time for your own health and well being. Start off the day with a few minutes of meditation and breathing if you can. Give yourself time periodically throughout the day for brief moments of YOU time. I’m a big proponent of exercise as a part of daily routine. It is important to make time for movement whether it’s stretching, yoga, organized sport, weight training, even a walk with your dog. This will make your body happy and your mind stimulated ergo a more effective day.
Don’t get lost in the things you have to do and let them define your day. Do what feels good and define your day on your own terms. This means make time for proper nutrition and water and even a break every hour or so to ground yourself. What good are you to your own needs if you are maxed out and over worked.
If you wish to be successful in your daily approach then follow these simple suggestions. Thanks for listening.
Nick “Furious” Meyers 505-515-4458 CEO FuriousStylz Entertainment
And BNN Music http://www.bandwidthnoname.com
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Nick “Furious” Meyers
Nick “Furious” Meyers is a longtime veteran of the New Mexico Music scene. Nick has worked with Community Publishing in the past, having served as the Audio Engineer on the multimedia children’s book, Fiona the Funkadelic Freckile Fairy. Nick is currently working working as the Audio Engineer on the Animated multimedia book, Bella the Caterpillar (written by 7yr old Marisol Paramo) to be published in the late Fall by Community Publishing: From the Community For the Community!
Curated by Mary Ann Gilbreth, Ed.D., Department of Teacher Education, Educational Leadership and Policy, at the University of New Mexico. This collections includes the work of her students from several of her Reading Methods Classes, promoting cultural diversity in the classroom.
