physical

The Price To Not Pay Is Steep (Health)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Holistic health has been on my mind as of late dear readers.

 

You see, I have this theory that there is a strong connection between art, healing, and health. And I think holistic health holds the key to that connection.

Holistic health is a type of healing process which considers the whole human being and not just the body parts and/or symptoms. As we strive towards optimal health and wellness, considerations of the body, mind, spirit, and emotions are all relevant.

I like to believe that we can address each of those aspects of ourselves with some basic activities. For the body, there is exercise. When it comes to the mind, reading things and a variety of things covers it off, emotions are founded in both positive relationships and pursuing our passions, but spirit is the most difficult to address.

To put it simply, I think that art is key to addressing the spirit, and if we ignore this part of ourselves, we suffer all the more for it.

Medicine For The Heart

 

The interesting part of this theory is that there is evidence out there which suggests a healing connection between art and the spirit, but it is not given nearly as much research as other disciplines, but it certainly can provide value. The point we need to consider most in this discussion is that each of us is drawn to different forms of art, so what heals me might not heal you as easily. And I think that has to do with our preferred learning styles.

  • Visual learners prefer two dimensional forms of art like drawing, painting, and photography.
  • Kinesthetic learners should look towards performance arts, like dance, magic, and theatre.
  • Auditory learners are best served by music, writing, and narration.

Now, outlining the reasons why I think art has the power to heal our spirit will take up far more time than a single post can give, so rather than diving deeply into it today, I will share a few of my favourite videos on the power of art for affecting the spirit.

Namely this one.

 

And also this one.

And definitely this one.

Health Matters

If it hasn’t been made clear yet, the aim of this post is to address health as it relates to the OECD index, making this the eighth entry in the Wellness Factors of Life series inspired by Postconsumers.

Artists matter, and I know in my heart of hearts that I will always advocate for the arts, no matter where I am or whatever the context that I am making the argument in. But timotheories isn’t just about me, it’s also about providing you with the resources you need to fight the good fight. As art makers, art facilitators, art collectors, and art enthusiasts, each of us has a responsibility to share with the world the merits of working on creative projects, from economics, to health, to politics, to entertainment, you creative cuties know that art has the power to heal. Physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

The spirit is the key in all of this.

 

theories Summarized

It is absolutely essential to reconsider the notion of the starving artist, and start to consider the notion of the starving souls who do not support the arts nor make room for creativity within their lives, it takes time to establish yourself creatively, no different than any other specialization.

Doctors, engineers, lawyers, scientists, politicians, professors, and teachers, I’m looking squarely at you.

So let’s invest in art, because it’s good for us.

And yes, I am theoried out for the night, so I’m gonna settle into bed with a good book, after a night of exercise, writing, and communicating with my lovely girlfriend, and know that I met all of my wellness needs. Another day, another theory satisfied.

Tim!

A Product Of Time (Exercise)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Ah yes, physical exercise. You know that process wherein you harm yourself through activity to strengthen or maintain your fitness level?

When we get right down to it, fitness means being able to perform physical activity. But that’s not all of it. Now I know you know that I know that you want to know what else it also means, so let’s be honest with ourselves for once – having that energy and strength to feel as good as possible doing what you want to do is crucial. Gaining in fitness, even a little bit, is good for your overall health after all. It’s important when you decide to lift that 5 x 6 strainer, it’s important when you decide to hit the high notes, and it’s sure as shit important when you decide to perform that headspin or barrel roll.

I know what you’re thinking my friends.

It’s probably very strange to come to a website which proclaims it focuses on the arts, and which also admits that it sometimes dabbles in philosophy, sociology, marketing, and even psychology because of course theories are not unique to the arts. This I know. But writing about exercise? What does exercise have to do with anything timotheories? But I promise you that what I’m heading towards is important.

I’m going to share a quote from a Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Arnold: The Education of A Bodybuilder. Mostly because I want to make a point, but also because I intend to read the book and this is a good reminder that I should share it with you in the near future.

It was the summer I turned fifteen, a magical season for me because that year I’d discovered exactly what I wanted to do with my life. It was more than a young boy’s mere pipe dream of a distant, hazy future – confused fantasies of being a fireman, detective, sailor, test pilot, or spy. I knew I was going to be a bodybuilder. It wasn’t simply that either. I would be the best bodybuilder in the world, the greatest, the best-built man.

He later admits that family, friends, and strangers all thought he was crazy. It wasn’t a popular sport at the time, but he burned with purpose and passion for life. It was an exhilarating experience for him every time he did it. He did it despite all of the criticism. This is how you should feel whenever you are making anything creative. Do it for you and no one else, that is your day to day motivation. We’ve gone down this path before friends.

Now when you think of your higher purpose, you should make work that is meaningful and important, and people will begin to reach out to you.

But it’s not that simple, after all.

Your motivation is fickle, your mind is weak. It cannot handle stress and pressure without proper support. No matter how much strength of will you think you have, taking care of your physical self is key to maintenance.

You see dear readers, exercise affects your body in so many different ways than just strength and energy. It also forces your lungs to work faster and increase your maximum capacity of oxygen. Your heart becomes more efficient at supplying properly oxygenated blood to you, and your resting heart rate improves too – Not to mention your decreased blood pressure. And osteoporosis is a real problem as we age, but when we exercise with weights we can better maintain healthy bone mass. Last, but most definitely not least, your brain health is directly related to exercise.

Our brains release a protein called BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) when under stress, and exercise stresses our brains. After the exercise is complete BDNF provides repair and protection to our neurons and calms us down.

AND our brains release endorphins when we exercise. So we get post-workout euphoria and reduced physical pain and discomfort while exercising.

BDNF and endorphins are triggered by regular exercise which will help with your mood and better your cognitive abilities. That’s why you need to exercise routinely. Exercise allows you to be the best version of yourself, for yourself, so that you can lift those canvases and drop those beats. It’s essential.

But you know what, that’s just a theory.

Tim!

The 5 Love Languages (Gary D. Chapman)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Wednesday is typically a day for wisdom here on timotheories, as you know, dear readers.

It’s the day I share ideas from famous artists, motivational pieces of art, give suggestions on things you can do to make your life more fulfilling, and sometimes I dole out my own theories of global wisdom. For example, on one post in particular, I decided to construct my own reading list and then I came up with a catchy theme to describe the different types of books I would draw from to grow and shape my own journey. Like Liu Kang.

liu_kang

I even called it The Reading List. Not like Liu Kang.

Which makes perfect sense to me, even if it is a bit obvious. Like Liu Kang. But then as mentioned I took the post a bit further and came up with a conceptual framework to flesh out the types of books I would be reading going forward.

I called that concept the The 5 L’s of Language, not to be confused with the name of a book called The Five Love Languages, and which is authored by one Gary D. Chapman. Who happens to be this week’s featured author.

Just in case you forgot, this is what The 5 L’s of Language look like –

 

I will read one book a month from the 5 groupings below, slowly expanding the number of books read so that I reach the point of 5 books a month. A book for each group

  1. LIFE – Biographies/Art/Music
  2. LOVE – Classic Fiction/Non-Fiction/Graphic Novels
  3. LEARN – Business/Leadership/Self-Help
  4. LABEL – Philosophy/Sociology/Psychology
  5. LEET– The Internet

If you haven’t figured it out just yet, the topic o’ the day is LEARN. As In you need to learn your own unique primary love language as well as how the other four work. You do this so that you can properly love yourself, a romantic partner, and even manage other relationships better, whether you are single, married, a child, teenager, or even just a man.

Gary D. Chapman, Five Kinds of Love

Gary D. Chapman has authored at least five books related to the concept of five love languages and co-authored two books on the languages of apology and appreciation. He originally came up with the idea of The Five Love Languages after looking into twelve years worth of his own notes on common patterns he witnessed when counselling couples. He asked a very simple question – when someone feels unloved by their spouse, what do they want from them? And thus five categories of answers emerged.

If you can learn to appreciate the difference between words of affirmation, physical touch, acts of service, quality time, and gift giving, then you’re working towards a rather positive and generous view of love and how to share it.

I bet you’re hoping for more of a definition of each term, so that you can go out and apply these ideas ASAP. Well, okay, but I recommend that you read the book first, and then run a legit profile through Chapman’s website.

With that mentioned here is a quick overview of each language –

  • Words of Affirmation: spoken affection, praise, or appreciation.
  • Acts of Service: actions, rather than words, used to show and receive love.
  • Receiving Gifts: giving gifts that are meaningful.
  • Quality Time: expressing affection with undivided attention.
  • Physical Touch: sex, holding hands, hugs – affection via touch.

As you get comfortable with the languages friends, you’ll learn which of the five is most important to you, and then you begin to implement the philosophy into your own life.

For example, if your primary love language is “quality time” like me, that means you should spend time for yourself on meaningful activities, whether those activities include another party or two is up to you, but if you make art, you’ll like enjoy doing it on your lonesome. Or if physical touch is important to you, maybe you spend time in dance classes, making theatre with friends or regularly hugging your friends and family. But that’s just a theory.

Tim!

Reflection Injection (Positive Affirmations & Happiness)

Posted on by Tim Kuefler

Our days our filled with observations and analysis.

Whether it’s dealing with social hoops of family and friends, the inherent differences between the opposite sex or the tedium of the work week, we have to take in a ton of information and process it rather rapidly, so that we can then move onto the next thing.

As someone who is always thinking about things critically, this can be especially frustrating for me to personally deal with, and I know that we are all victims of our own over-analysis. What we really should be doing, is separating ourselves from our problems and reflecting on the week, REGULARLY, so that we can apply the critical model to ourselves.

But in order to get there, we have to be receptive to the process.

6FUl7

That means looking into healing practices so that you can properly begin the process of self-reflection, and I just so happen to have a couple of tricks up my sleeve to make that happen for you without too much effort, and right out of the gate to boot!

Positive Affirmations and Mindful Meditations

Introspection is an amazing thing dear readers, but you don’t know what you don’t know, as they say. Who are they anyway? Well, let’s not get sidetracked, the word they is just a generalization to avoid citing sources.

So you want to be more introspective folks, because as you examine those negative thoughts, feelings, and insights, you’ll start to feel overwhelmed. And listening to pre-recored audio affirmations that you voice yourself will train your brain to listen to yourself in a different way. As you do this each day, when you wake up and then before you go to bed, your brain sub-consciously takes in these ideas and shifts away from negative self-talk to more positive self-talk.

This next part is important – You need to make declarations, especially ones that you don’t believe at the moment.

The reason for this is that these statements will slowly become things that you believe about yourself over time, and because it is as simple as listening to the statements, you aren’t working to accomplish anything. But they need to be statements that without an end or a goal. Statements of being, identity and purpose.

It’s kind of difficult to explain so rather than dwell on it, I’ll show you. For example, this is my list and it’ll help contextualize the purpose of the exercise.

I am a child of God with infinite worth.
I am always taken care of.
God loves me and accepts me.
I am always more than enough.
The worth of my soul is great.
I now fully accept myself.
My body is now in perfect balance.
I am always healthy and strong.
Everything I touch prospers.
Other people experience their worth when they are in my presence.
Everything works together for my good.

Now I don’t think you need any of the points around a spiritual purpose, but it is important to be balanced in terms of mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual needs. So if you have a belief system or you have no belief system, you can replace “God” with whatever works for you. If you are an atheist for instance turn “I am a child of God with infinite worth” into “I am child of humanity with infinite worth”, and “God loves me and accepts me” into “I am loved and accepted.”

Another key component to consider is that when you are recording these statements, you should replace I with you where appropriate so that you are saying these messages back to yourself, and it has been shown that classical music elevates the mind, so why not put some Mozart, Bach, or Beethoven as a backing track?

Next, loop the audio track so that it comes in at about 15 minutes, and export the mp3. You have the basis for your positivity. If you can commit to this process over a month, you’ll be shocked at how much of a difference it makes in your mood, and then see how you feel after three months.

Yes, I know that this wasn’t entirely a “timely” post friends, but this is routine something that I recently got back into myself, and coming off the heels of a break-up, I’ve felt significantly better following this protocol than I would’ve if I had just kept my thoughts to myself.

The results are truly staggering, but that’s just a theory.

Tim!