Worldview – Page 2 – Andrea Arthur Owan

How Feeling Active Improves Happiness

I had an interesting email show up in my inbox a couple of weeks ago from the Greater Good Science Center. The subject line of how being alone can increase happiness snagged my attention. But there was a lot more information in the email that lead to additional cogitating.

In the article, which I clicked through to, Greater Good Magazine managing editor, Kira Newman, highlighted three main (revelations-to-her) takeaways from her recent excursion to Melbourne, where researchers from over 60 countries gathered for the International Positive Psychology Association’s 6^th World Congress. She said that the findings the researchers shared “added depth and complexity to our understanding of major keys to a flourishing life.”

The second point Newman highlighted in her article is what I want to share with you today.

It centered on the positive emotion—or perception—of feeling active.

Benefits of positive emotions—

Researchers have discovered that people who experience more positive emotions benefit in numerous areas. They tend to enjoy—

Stronger immune systems
More frequent exercise engagement
Lower risks of heart disease
Longer lives

Researcher Sarah Pressman wanted to answer another question about feelings and emotions:

What role does “feeling active” play in our health and well-being?

Pressman and her colleagues found a sizable link between positive emotions and different health measures. As Newman notes in her post:

“For men, feeling active was the positive emotion that predicted how long they lived.”

That finding gives me a lot of insight as to why my formerly athletic husband consistently complains about “not getting enough exercise” and not feeling accomplished at work, even though he has—by all observations—accomplished much and has a very successful and distinguished career.

But there was another interesting finding in the research:

Feeling active didn’t necessarily correspond to how physically active people actually are.

Translation?

It doesn’t just matter how physically active you are but how active—energetic, vigorous, and vital—you feel. It’s all about your psychology state.

Most of the research in this area has been derived from workplace settings and what psychologists refer to as relational energy—how some people rev us up while others drain and exhaust us.

Personally, my feeling active quotient has been in the tank lately, and it’s negatively affecting every aspect of my life, from my family relationships to friendships and beyond. I don’t feel active. I feel like a slug. A broken-down, washed up and washed out slug. Most of the time, anyway. As my injuries improve, the pain subsides, and my energy level increases, I feel more active. But I know I’m more active than the average person, so my feeling active meter might look a lot different than someone else’s.

**Future feeling active research—**

What do researchers want to learn about this feeling active measurement and perception in the future? These might be some things they look at:

What makes us feel active?
How is that beneficial in other ways? (What other areas of life does this feeling affect?)
Can we get happier just by “boosting the pep in our step”? In other words, I guess, can we fake it ‘til we make it?

Your turn—

If you’re up for it, get a journal and write down all of the activities, hobbies, interactions, etc. that make you feel active? As the old sixties’ saying goes: What turns you on?

Conversely, what turns you off? What drags you down emotionally, physically and spiritually? Since research is more and more proving the inter-relationship of these life components, it’s an important consideration.

NEXT WEEK we’ll look at how future hopes, dreams and planning increase your happiness.

Got any daydreams you’d like to turn into real happenings?

Until then, remember, the joy of the Lord is your strength. All of this other stuff we’re learning to help us enjoy life more is simply icing on the cake!

Blessings,

Andrea


Andrea Arthur Owan is an award-winning inspirational writer, fitness pro and chaplain. She writes and works to help people live their best lives—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Positive (Productive) Solitude—How Being Alone Can Make You Happy

A recent Greater Good Science Center on-line magazine article really caught my attention. Although the post’s title, “Three Emerging Insights About Happiness,” could have been a ho-hum trigger, the email subject line snagged me:

“How Being Alone Can Make You Happy.”

I perked up and quickly clicked through.

Why?

Because I tend to like being alone, even though I extol the virtues of socializing.

I know. That sounds disingenuous and a little dishonest. But it’s true.

Let me explain.

Although many people would swear on a Bible that I’m a total extrovert, I’m not. In fact, I’ve taken several personality tests—including one when I entered graduate school eons ago, and another one maybe a handful of years ago—that indicated I was borderline sometimes-extrovert, sometimes-introvert. It just depended upon my mood and the social situation. And it still does.

Maybe my initial college introversion came more from being insecure about whether or not I actually deserved to be attending graduate school where I was; and being downright terrified about whether I had the brains to actually be successful in graduate school.

I loved socializing and could chat up a storm (still can) and can easily and comfortably work my way around and through groups of people. But I grew up an only child and learned to spend a lot of time alone. Spending hours in a gym, working out alone (with just my dad or another coach) simply re-enforced my aloneness. I didn’t always like it, (I often loathed the isolation); and it made it difficult to develop friendships, but I learned and adapted.

As a writer, I spend hours alone in a VERY quiet house every day, except when my Shetland sheepdog Dolly ruins my eardrums barking.

So with all of that in mind, I read the article with tremendous interest, trying to glean insights for those of you who would like to spend time alone, learn to spend time alone, need time alone, and would love to know what benefits you can get from that alone time.

Greater Good Magazine managing editor, Kira Newman, highlighted three main (revelations-to-her) takeaways from her recent excursion to Melbourne, where researchers from over 60 countries gathered for the International Positive Psychology Association’s 6^th World Congress. She said that the findings the researchers shared “added depth and complexity to our understanding of major keys to a flourishing life.”

Newman went on to say that attendees heard about when kindness makes you happier, and when it doesn’t. Now the latter part of that statement in itself—especially with the “Be Kind” movement in full swing—is a revelation for many.

She also noted:

“Researchers also addressed modern obstacles to happiness—from the way we’re hooked on technology to a widespread sense of disconnection and loneliness.”

**Defining positive solitude—**

It is well known that social connection is one of the keys to happiness and longevity. For many, feelings of being separated from others—on the outside or forgotten—equals loneliness and disconnection.

But a group of researchers—Martin Lynch, Sergeyt Ishanov, and Dmitry Leontiev—at Russia’s National Research University Higher School of Economics—have investigated “the phenomenon of positive or ‘productive solitude.’”

Newman asks,

“Does solitude have to be a negative experience? Can time alone feed our well-being?”

She explains that positive, or productive solitude is in contrast with the more unpleasant experience of being alone.

“Productive solitude doesn’t occur because we fell disconnected from others; it’s something that we deliberately seek out.”

Productive or positive solitude is when we use the solitary time not for negative ruminating or feeling sorry for ourselves because we’re alone, but using the time for

Contemplation
Reflection, or
Creativity

In other words, it’s time spent being intentionally productive engaging in something that will enrich your life physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually.

The benefits of productive (positive) solitude—

Researchers note that people who practice periods or times of positive solitude tend to feel more positive emotions, like:

Relaxation
Calm
Greater pleasure
Greater meaning
Less of a sense of void in their lives.

Who benefits most from productive (positive) solitude?

It’s not surprising to learn that introverts tend to benefit most from practicing productive solitude. After all, introverts easily tire from too much social stimulation, or having to socialize with large groups of people, and get re-energize with alone time.

But another group also benefits:

Those who enjoy emotional and psychological maturity.

Would you count yourself in that category—an emotionally and psychologically mature person?

That’s one of the primary goals of my website, which hosts this blog—for all of us to grow into emotional, psychological (and spiritual) maturity.

Tips for achieving positive solitude effects—

Deliberately schedule alone time to do something you enjoy, without interruption.
Spend solitary time in a peaceful setting, like nature.
Disconnect from social media, turn off your phone and computer, tuck them away and focus on something else—like prayer, drawing, meditating, stretching, thinking, daydreaming, doodling, coloring. Even cleaning out a room or closet can reap positive solitude rewards, especially if that chaotic space makes it difficult for you to feel peace and tranquility or achieve any type of productivity.

What positive/productive solitude isn’t—

Positive solitude isn’t time spent alone doing regular work or trying to catch up on office demands.

Deterrents to positive solitude—

If you aren’t used to practicing positive solitude, you may find your normally busy or over-stimulated brain challenged, and rebelling. The brain loathes change and habit-correction.

But persevere! It may take you a few attempts (or many) to discover what you’d like to do during your alone time, or determining what activity gives you the most bang-for-your-time buck.

If you must, set up a positive solitude reward. Your choice.
Deliberately schedule alone time for doing something you enjoy.
Think of it as time spent cultivating new attitudes, and growing happier!

Again, persevere!

Happiness gained from positive solitude awaits you!

NEXT WEEK: What does “feeling active” have to do with your happiness factor?

If you have any tips for other readers on how you spend positive solitude time, please share them, so we can grow and explore together!

Until next week, enjoy your solitude.

Blessings,

Andrea


Andrea Arthur Owan is an award-winning inspirational writer, fitness pro and chaplain. She writes and works to help people live their best lives—physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Notre Dame: A Sign of Hope in the Midst of Grief

An uplifting Palm Sunday turned to a heartbreaking Monday.

For any Christ-follower—Catholic or Protestant—watching the grand dame of them all perish in flames was surreal and devastating. As one eyewitness said, “I feel as though my guts were ripped out.”

Exactly. Gut wrenching.

Even for Parisians, who are largely a secular citizenry, the site was more than they could fathom. Some referred to its history, its French historical significance, the artwork it contained, the architecture, and its significance in French literature. Notre Dame is part of their national identity.

Then there was the impromptu group that formed and sang Ave Maria as they watched it burned, a reminder that there is always a reason to hope and pray in the midst of pain and sorrow.

I couldn’t contain tears when the picture popped up on my computer screen. My husband and I were speechless as we watched the scene on our television. We couldn’t get our minds wrapped around it.

If you’ve never seen the cathedral in person, toured the interior, tried to absorb the artwork, carvings and glory, or witnessed the magical, ethereal, soul-grabbing sound of the organ or cantor as the notes lift and rise to the arches, you might not have been fully capable of grasping the horror and profound sadness some of us experienced.

I felt deeply, deeply grateful for having those experiences just six months ago after finishing our Camino de Santiago walk.

And I felt deeply sorrowful for those who looked forward to seeing it and will likely never have the opportunity. Like my younger son.

And I was also reminded that this building was a mere symbol of something greater. That we are connected to God through His Holy Spirit, not buildings and icons and reliquaries; and we worship in spirit and in truth.

But that’s hard to do. It’s often easier to worship when there’s something tangible, to see, to touch.

And I wondered if what we experienced might be a little like what the Jews experienced as they watched their beloved temple—the site of their communing with God, their identity—being destroyed.

Their shock and anguish must have been unimaginable.

Yet, this week is also a reminder that we no longer need the temple because Jesus paid the ultimate sacrifice over 2,000 years ago so that separating curtain could be split and God could take up residence in our hearts.

How wonderful it is that Passover begins this week, a time for Jews and Christians to remember what God has done in their lives. How he has preserved and blessed us.

I had some profound words to write for this week’s Meditation Monday post, but a weekend full of tax computation robbed me of my time and energy. And then yesterday threatened to rob a piece of my heart.

Last night, though, I went to bed with the image of Notre Dame’s gold altar cross radiating brightly amidst the ruins, right behind the marble pieta of Jesus draped across Mary’s lap.

A gorgeous reminder that, in spite of grief, He still makes hope available.

And that’s what this week is about—a promise fulfilled, eternity bought, and hope offered.

Amen.

Andrea

“Certainly there was an Eden….We all long for it, and we are constantly glimpsing it.” —J.R.R. Tolkien

There will be no Workout Wednesday blog, but rejoin me for Good Friday for a few Holy Week-centered words.

Perhaps Today! Actively (and Expectantly) Awaiting Jesus’ Return

I’m a mug junkie. I have mugs overflowing around our house. Mugs in the cupboards. Mugs on a special shelf in our solarium-breakfast room. I even had my husband add another shelf to one of our kitchen cabinets to accommodate all of them. The cabinet right above the coffee maker. The cabinet stuffed with mugs, tea, and coffee-making supplies. It’s gotten to be a family joke.

I don’t remember when I started “collecting” them. I had a few mugs scattered around, special ones I’d picked up at seminars, (with conference logos and company promo material), national park mugs, and mugs from Hawaii with our Anglicized-Hawaiian names on them. But when I gave up collecting vacation-spot T-shirts, I gravitated toward mugs, which are much more difficult to haul home (unbroken) in a suitcase!

Now I have “retired” mugs on display on a special shelf, the ones I don’t want to break or wear down any longer through usage; and the noteworthy cracked ones I can’t bear to part with. And I have several secreted away that no one else is allowed to use but me. The mugs given as extra-special gifts, or the ones that remind me of sweet times Chris and I have spent together at some charming Bed and Breakfast.

But there’s one mug I’ve never used. It’s been prominently displayed on my writing desk for over 25 years. The blue marble-look mug I received after donating to a well-known ministry. The words on it remind me of something I should keep forefront in my mind. Every day. Words especially appropriate for this month when we celebrate the Resurrection of our Lord.

Perhaps Today!

Can you guess what those words reference?

They’re a reminder that our Lord will return one day. They’re a hope that perhaps today will be that glorious day—when He’ll return, subdue the earth, vanquish his foes, and lift up and resurrect the faithful.

Jesus’ Second Coming—

Of course, not everyone believes He will return. And not everyone harbors the hope within his or her heart that He will. Some are terrified it might be true.

I thought about my “Perhaps Today!” mug when reading a chapter from Max Lucado’s book And the Angels Were Silent: The Final Week of Jesus. Reading that book has been my Lenten practice nearly every year the last 23 years.

The particular chapter that brought the mug to mind is titled “Be Ready.” The verse associated with the chapter is Matthew 24:42:

“So always be ready, because you don’t know the day your Lord will come.”

It’s a winsome (and stark) reminder that being ready for His return is a way of life. A critical one.

Jesus’ Last Sermon on Earth—

In his book, Lucado examines what Jesus says and does (and doesn’t say and do) the last week of His earthly life. It’s a lesson—when time and distractions are stripped away—on what’s important. This particular chapter looks at the topic of Jesus’ last sermon.

What would you think a last-sermon topic would be? Like Lucado, we’d probably preach on love, or family, or church attendance, ministry support. Spreading the Gospel. Doing good and being good. Marching for some social justice issue.

But Jesus focuses on something He evidently believes is far more important.

He focuses on being prepared.

Or, as Lucado bluntly puts it:

“He preached on being ready for heaven and staying out of hell.”

Hell. Now there’s a word many recoil at. “Does anyone believe in hell anymore?” you might ask.

Jesus is a firm believer in it. If you haven’t tallied up the numbers, He talked about hell and money more than anything else while He was on earth.

But it’s become a passé or quaint subject. An idea reserved for the undereducated or simple-minded. As Lucado points out:

“We don’t like to talk about hell, do we? In intellectual circles the topic of hell is regarded as primitive and foolish. It’s not logical. ‘A loving God wouldn’t send people to hell.’ So we dismiss it.

But to dismiss it is to dismiss a core teaching of Jesus. The doctrine of hell is not one developed by Paul, Peter, or John. It is taught by Jesus himself.

And to dismiss it is to dismiss much more. It is to dismiss the presence of a loving God and the privilege of a free choice.”

And that’s the point: we all have a free choice. To choose heaven or hell. And God will honor what we choose.

Where will you choose to spend eternity?

God talks a lot about what we’ll gain by going to heaven, how we can get there, and what consequences we face if we choose poorly.

And that leaves me with one more point Lucado made. An ironclad argument against this idea that there is a heaven but no opposite place—hell—in existence.

“To reject the dualistic outcome of history and say there is no hell leaves gaping holes in any banner of a just God. To say there is not hell is to say God condones the rebellious, unrepentant heart. To say there is no hell is to portray God will eyes blind to the hunger and evil in the world. To say there is no hell is to say that God doesn’t care that people are beaten and massacred, that he doesn’t care that women are raped or families wrecked. To say there is no hell is to say God has no justice, no sense of right and wrong, and eventually to say God has no love. For true love hates evil.

Hell is the ultimate expression of a just Creator.”

I’ll add one more thought: If there is no hell, why would Jesus have to endure humiliation, abandonment, torture, and a cruel Roman cross to provide a way for us to enter and enjoy heaven? Was that all just one big wasted event?

Surprisingly, staying out of hell and making the choice for Him and an eternal life in heaven, is the same topic he preached on during His first sermon.

He constantly warned people to be prepared. He focused on the subject the last week of His life, three short days before His death.

And I believe it’s a subject we need to return to today. Not by standing on street corners with signs, pointing angry fingers at people and shouting at them through angry, twisted lips and with blazing eyes that they’re headed for doom.

I think it’s something we need to continue talking about in a loving, firm way. With hearts of concern for the rejecters or uncommitted. As I’ve heard pastors say, “If you saw someone in a burning building, wouldn’t you try to do everything you could to save them? Or would you just walk by and say, ‘Oh well?'”

I know many think we believers-in-hell are feeble-minded, duped, or downright nuts. But that’s okay with me. I’d rather it weren’t true; I’d like to believe that God just says, “Okay. I’m going to let everyone into heaven, even if they’ve rejected me. Or just annihilate them so they’ll never know what they’re missing. That’s a belief to which many faithful are now subscribing. It just sounds nicer.

But I can’t have it my way. I don’t make the rules. God does. And I don’t think He would have spent so much time warning against it if it were just some big cosmic joke. A “just kidding” discussion.

What to do while we’re waiting—

Does looking forward to His second coming mean I do nothing but twiddle my thumbs until it happens? Many people that laugh at us, thinking that’s what we’re do.

But when I think “Perhaps Today!” my looking forward to it in anticipation should drive me closer to preparation, being found busy and active, as Jesus instructs us to be. Doing His work down here, like a faithful ambassador, until He returns.

So, along with the “Perhaps Today” thought, I try to start every day with a Jewish adage I learned some years ago: “Rise up like a lion in the service of the Lord.”

You never know when or at what hour you might be called. You might as well be busy during the waiting and anticipation process.

And then it will be too late.

May God grant you a happy, expectant “Perhaps Today!” heart as you prepare for the commemoration of His final week, crucifixion and glorious Resurrection, and live every day of your life until He returns!

Until next time,

Shalom!

Andrea

“Certainly there was an Eden….We all long for it, and we are constantly glimpsing it.” —J.R.R. Tolkien

How to Experience the Power of Praying the Scriptures

There are so many ways to pray. You can pray what’s known as “The Lord’s Prayer.” You can use table graces and heartfelt, meaningful prayers of the saints who have gone before us. You can pray what the Spirit brings to mind; groan when you are at a loss for words.

And you can use God’s word—Scripture—to reach the heart of God.

What’s so special about using Scripture to pray?

Making a habit of using Scripture to pray has many advantages. Here’s a list of the major things that come to mind.

Praying Scripture:

Reduces anxiety.
Helps you focus and hone in on specific needs and problems.
Molds your thoughts and guides your conversations.
Gives you the tools to pray more specifically and with a holy focus.
Allows you to pray more effectively in God’s language.
Can draw you closer to the heart of God and sooth your soul when you personalize His word.
Can give rest to your soul.
Gives you the opportunity to be steeped in it. And that has a profound effect on how you respond to life’s circumstances—good or bad.

A Scripture-Praying Case Study—

It invigorates me to use Scripture to pray specifically for my family, friends, church and myself. It seems to add power to my praying. But I haven’t always prayed that way.

I remember the first time my family and I used personalized Scripture praying. It was an eye-opening experience.

We were home schooling our two boys and gathering together nightly for family worship time. A time where we sang worship songs, chatted, read a Bible lesson and prayed together.

One night I selected some verses—I think from Psalms or Proverbs—and had each of the four of us use these verses to pray specifically, inserting our names into the passage where a name could be inserted.

When we finished praying aloud, we lifted our heads, looked at one another and let out a collective “Wow!” Each of us agreed it was powerful. Hearing our own voices and the voices of others speak Scripture directed to ourselves made a deep impression.

Ever since that experience so many years ago, I’ve tried to pray Scripture for my husband, my sons, my daughter-in-law (who joined our family in 2016), friends and other family, and myself.

Example of praying the Scriptures:

There are so many Scriptures I could use as examples, but a couple of my favorites are:

Psalm 1:1-3 (personalized)

Lord, I want my sons and daughter-in-law, (I name them individually), to walk in the counsel of the godly, not in the path of sinners, nor in the seat of the scornful, so that you may bless them.

May they each (again, I name them individually) delight in your law, God, and meditate upon it day and night.

So they may be like trees, planted by the rivers of waters, and bring forth fruit in their seasons. May they be trees whose leaves do not wither; and may they prosper in whatever they do!

Another favorite of mine to pray is Colossians 1:9-12 (personalized).

Lord, May I be filled with the knowledge of your will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding. May I walk in a manner worthy of my Lord Jesus Christ. May I please you, God, in all respects and bear fruit in every good work. I want to increasingly grow in the knowledge of you, O God, and be strengthened with all might, according to your glorious power! May my life express joyous thanks to you, Father, for your grace to me.

In four verses, this prayer acknowledges God’s power, authority, wisdom and blessings. And it’s a prayer that seeks to be blessed by God, to be strengthened by Him, and to grow in grace and live a well-lived, pleasing-to-God life.

It’s also a prayer of praise and thanksgiving. One that leaves your heart awed, humbled, grateful, and happy!

If you’ve never before prayed the Scriptures, I hope this gives you encouragement to do so and a place to start.

Please let me—and others—know how it impacts you and your prayer life!

Until next week, when we’ll embark on a new topic for the month of February, speak God’s word back to Him. He promises it will never return void. Knowing that promise emboldens your convictions and enriches your heart in unexpected ways!

Blessings,

Andrea

“Certainly there was an Eden….We all long for it, and we are constantly glimpsing it.” —J.R.R. Tolkien