I turned 14 years old on May 30th and I don't feel any different...still playing with my toys and getting into trouble once in a while. I do seem to be going to the vet more often though. And I notice Jill complaining about all the perscriptions. But for me it's okay, I get more of the little meatballs that hide the pills. One thing dogs are really good at is adapting to change. You don't see us getting stressed out as easily as humans. We don't worry about the future...we live in the moment.
But dogs do feel sad, lonely, and depressed at times, just like humans. Why? Very often dogs are picking up unconscious signals from their human family, especially the person they have chosen to bond with. It's those mirror neurons in the doggy brain, sometimes called empathy brain cells. Mirror neurons cause your pet to feel what you are feeling. Humans have mirror neurons too, which is why they can feel compassion for each other...and their pets. So if your dog is acting a little sad, then do a self assessment, and see if that emotion is a reflection of what is happening inside you. Unlike dogs, humans can choose their moods.
Molly
Did you realize that for adults, healthy sleep consumes one third of our life? For many years I had a difficult time accepting that I needed more than 5 hours of sleep a night. But the evidence is overwhelming, we need at least 7 hours of quality sleep each night.
When I came to that realization several years ago, I decided to take charge of my sleep and use sleep time to my advantage. Our conscious mind, or thinking mind, is the part that requires rest. Our unconscious mind, the part that dreams, holds our memories and creativity, and runs our body, will continue its activities 24 hours a day. It never sleeps.
With practice, I learned to relax my thinking mind and tap into the creativity and imagination of my unconscious mind to solve problems, generate new ideas, heal my body, and motivate myself to do things like exercise or walk the dog…the list goes on and on. Now this is exciting! I could go to bed at night and tell my unconscious mind what I wanted it to work on. Then I would put that issue away, turning it over to my creative intelligence, and fall asleep. Sometime the next morning, or within a few days, I would get the response I wanted. New, creative ideas would pop into my head, or I would suddenly find a solution to a problem. Believe me it works, and it is that simple!
It may take a few attempts to find a technique that will relax your conscious mind and allow it to go to sleep, particularly if you are dealing with a major stressful life event. Habitual thoughts usually consist of replaying uncomfortable past experiences or imagining what will happen in the future. Therefore, you want to place your attention on something relaxing. You have the power to choose where to place your attention and manage your mind.
This is an individual preference and may include: listening to calming music or a guided imagery CD, praying, meditation, reading an inspirational book, writing in your journal, imagining a healing light moving through your body relaxing each muscle group, or visualizing yourself in a natural setting, feeling content and peaceful.
Experiencing quality sleep night after night is in your control, and there is help, using time-tested and proven techniques. Above and beyond the normal health reasons, you have an opportunity to use sleep time to become more inventive and find seemingly spontaneous solutions to life’s complex situations.
Jill Jones
As a Man Thinketh, by James Allen
Scientific American Mind Magazine