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Intuition—A Pathway to Wellness

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

Intuition is one of those elusive concepts that many of us know we should be using to enhance our opportunities for healing, but often, don’t quite know how to access. I remember a friend that had been a meditator for many years asking me how he would know when his intuition was speaking to him.

I was taken aback. I had assumed that because he had been an active meditator at one time in his life, that he would automatically be open to and recognize his intuitive wisdom, but that was not the case.

Because he did not have a relationship with his own intuitive insight, he spent countless hours researching about various allopathic and alternative approaches to the treatment of his medical condition, and made logical deductions about which of those treatments gave him the best chance of success—all without the benefit of his intuition.

I can’t personally imagine a more challenging approach. Had I been him, I would have been constantly wondering if I had made the right choice. When I base my decisions on good research and intuitive guidance, I don’t worry about whether or not my choice is right because: 1) I trust my intuition to put me on the right and best path for me and 2) I trust my research will show me how to get the most out of the path I have chosen.

Intuition can be profoundly subtle, and that is one of the reasons we miss its messages. Many of us have not been taught to recognize our intuition when it is speaking to us, so we can feel as though we are intuitionally challenged, and as a result, lean more heavily on our deductive reasoning.

Even if we do recognize it, if the message doesn’t seem logical, we may disregard it. Have you ever had one of those moments where you were arguing with yourself and finally chose the more logical course of action, only to discover later,that the part of yourself you were arguing with actually had a clearer picture about what was going on and what you needed to realize or do?

Whoever coined the words, “the little voice in the back of your head” did a great job of describing the subtle nature of intuition. It can be so faint that intuition can be very easy to dismiss. To get the intuitive message, you really have to become aware of the subtle responses your mind and body make in regard to questions, dilemmas and concerns about your health.

I’ve learned to really pay attention when I have a thought that comes up in response to a decision I need to make, particularly if it is counter to what I normally would choose. I really pay attention if that thought is persistent. And I pay extra special attention when my predominant thought or the little voice in the back of my head is having a visceral effect on my body. Those are signs of intuition trying to break through my habitual thoughts, assumptions, and sometimes, through my logical deductions.

Hunches, gut feelings, tingling, or a tightening belly, for example, are more tell-tale signs of intuition at work. By becoming a more astute observer of your subtle thoughts, feelings, and bodily sensations, you start recognizing intuitive insights.

Your awareness of intuitive messages gets stronger as you pay attention to how your intuition speaks through you. Act on your intuition, and you’ll notice the insights even more frequently because you will have developed faith in your inner wisdom.

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Sound Healing Tip # 1 – Sound Your Feelings

Saturday, July 10th, 2010

Some of you are aware that my healing took a huge leap forward when I discovered that my own sounds could heal. So I’ve decided to share some Sound Healing Tips from time to time here at Self-Healing Secrets. Let me suggest you get on the mailing list or check back here regularly if you would like to learn some of the secrets of Sound Healing that I have taught to hundreds of healers across the country.

One of the first skills I teach new sound healers to develop is the ability to sound their feelings. Why?

Sounds express pain in a way that goes beyond what you can state in words. It expresses feelings from past lives, other realities, and from the full and total experiences of your soul’s journey. Sounding doesn’t necessarily segment into specific circumstances, as you do with other forms of healing. It goes to source feelings that have been experienced in multiple settings. Sound also gets to layers of feelings beneath the surface of what is immediately apparent to you.

With sound you don’t have to understand the reason for the feeling or where it has come from. This is not about the mind figuring anything out. This is about raw emotion being honored and recognized, so you need absolute honesty with yourself.

You must have courage when you sound your feelings. If you want real healing to occur by sounding your feelings, you must be truthful with the sounds that are longing to be expressed. Not all healing sounds are pretty. Some of them sound downright ugly.

A sound is not good or bad because it is hurtful, mournful or angry. It is simply a feeling that is stuck inside you and wants to be acknowledged. You can’t skirt the edges because a certain sound makes you uncomfortable. If a certain sound is your truth, it is your truth.

One of the great gifts that occurs in sounding your feelings truthfully is that a part of you that has been in pain finally gets to be fully understood. The outcome of witnessing yourself at such a deep level is absolute peace.

Imagine for a moment that you are the only person in the world that can truly understand the absolute depths of your pain and joy. Imagine that you become not only the ultimate person expressing that depth, but you are also the ultimate witness. Consider how relieved your subconscious mind becomes when you are witnessed with love at the very core of who you are.

Within moments, years and years of pent-up sorrow and anger can be voiced and released. You do not feed the anger or sorrow–you express its true nature in your loving truth and in doing so, those feelings are free to transform into an honest state of rest and peace.

No longer are you “trying” peace on for size. You are no longer affirming a serene reality that you aren’t feeling on the inside. You actually have released the pent-up emotions so that you can feel peace naturally.

You’ll need a private place in which to sound, unless you want to be witnessed by someone that is willing to hold space for you. I’ve had students that have driven their car to a private place, because that was the best way for them to be away from people and feel safe enough to make their sounds. The shower is another place in which many people feel safe enough to give voice to their true feelings in the moment. And still others choose to muffle their sounds in a pillow (used only for discharging negative feelings).

When you finish discharging your feelings of anger, sorrow and hurt, be sure to linger in sounds of peacefulness. It is best if these sounds come directly from you, but if you are too spent to make another sound, put on some tranquil music and bathe in the restful state it inspires. You need this last step in order to transform the discharged energy in your space and in you into balance before you continue in your day.

If you choose to apply this simple and powerful Sound Healing technique, I suggest you come back here and share your experience as a way of affirming your dedication to your self-healing journey.

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The Healing Freedom of Truth

Monday, June 14th, 2010

A teacher once said to me, “Most people are lying to themselves most of the time.”

“Yah, right,” I thought as I blew off the concept as nonsense.

However, that kind of statement has a way of sticking with you, and I couldn’t get it out of my thoughts. “How often am I lying to myself?” I wondered.

I started monitoring my thoughts and my words. I would catch myself frequently speaking the truth—almost. I’d hear myself saying things like, “I always show up on time to an event if I’m going there alone.” “I never say bad things about my family.” “I’m completely over my family of origin issues.” If something happened twice, I would exaggerate and make it sound like it happened all the time.

Some of what I was saying was true, but exaggerated. Yes, I was usually on time when I went to an event alone, but not always. I didn’t usually say bad things about my family anymore, but I wasn’t completely immune to gossiping. About the time I thought I was completely over anything, I usually ended up pulling up some new corner of the carpet only to find some dust bunnies that had not yet been cleaned out. Somehow I thought in order to make my point, I needed to make it sound more dramatic in order to ensure I would be heard.

With my most intimate friends I would act like everything was okay, when I was really upset about something. When I was angry with my partner, through gritted teeth, I would tell him everything was just fine and turn my back on him. When it came to healing, here was the worst one: I told myself I really felt great, as though my subconscious mind didn’t know I was lying to myself.

Then I started listening to other people. I listened with my inner, spiritual ears, not just my outer ones. I could tell when someone told me everything was fine and it wasn’t. With just a few compassionate questions, I frequently discovered what a person was really feeling and experiencing inside. I listened to my friends exaggerate stories about situations, where I had been present and knew what had really happened. I listened to people make excuses in order to feel better about themselves.

I wasn’t the only one lying to myself.

Now I’m not advocating a life of moping and complaining. I’m not suggesting that positive affirmations can’t help you make changes in beliefs and behavior. And I’m not suggesting that a little exaggeration in story-telling should be banned.

What I discovered was that lying to myself didn’t help me feel any better and it didn’t meet the need that I most longed to have met. I wanted to be heard and deeply understood. So my little lies were ways in which I was trying to get attention.

Thank goodness for talking circles. By sitting with others in circle and agreeing to speak only truth, I soon realized that it is far more fulfilling to hear my real truth. As I learned to tell the truth more and more, I discovered that I trusted myself more and I created more authentic, trusting relationships with other.

In healing, I soon discovered that stating I didn’t feel well, was quite different than complaining or whining about it. By stating it plainly, I was acknowledging what was real and in doing so, I discovered I was more invested in making a change. When I complained or exaggerating how I felt, in retrospect, I realize I was feeding the illness. Pretending I was feeling okay was a form of denial and didn’t establish trust between my conscious and subconscious mind.

Simply telling the truth was all I needed to motivate me to act with greater conviction on my own behalf. I used affirmations that were more honest in my healing. I’m drinking this medicinal tea so that I will feel better, and I am grateful for the healing energy of this herb. I give thanks for its soothing nature and how my body receives its healing gifts. I felt what I was saying as I spoke, honestly and with hope.

Maybe he was right. Maybe most people are lying to themselves most of the time. I certainly found that my little lies were holding me back from true healing freedom. Truth is a powerful healer, and now that I know that, I do my best to courageously speak my real truth so that my subconscious mind and conscious mind can work together for my greater health.

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Chronic Illness—I Just Want Someone to Tell Me How to Fix It

Monday, June 14th, 2010

I was at a party recently where I was telling someone about my book. Not everyone is enamored with the concept of self-healing and taking full responsibility for your healing journey.

In this case, the woman I was speaking with said out loud what I believe a lot of us really want but don’t admit. She candidly admitted, “I don’t really want to figure it for myself. I want someone to tell me what is wrong and how to fix it.”

She was making it pretty clear that she isn’t looking for someone else to fix her without needing to assume any self-responsibility. She realizes she needs to play a role in her healing process. However, she is still looking for someone to make the diagnosis and prescription without her involvement.

Now, sometimes you are fortunate enough to find a doctor or healer that really is able to nail it the first time. They know exactly what is wrong and exactly what treatment solves the problem. You do what they say and you heal. This can happen often enough, that you could easily believe this is the best way to approach healing all of the time.

However sometimes, as many of us know who have experienced chronic illnesses, diagnosis is more challenging than it might appear, and you end up going to one doctor after another and one healer after another, perhaps getting some relief, but never quite getting complete healing.

In these cases, “I just want someone to tell me what is wrong and how to fix it,” doesn’t work. Symptoms of one illness can look just like the symptoms of another illness. Test results can sometimes be unclear or inconclusive. Treatment options can have a range of results and can even create more symptoms.

Even though it would be easier to receive an accurate diagnosis immediately along with the perfect treatment, it doesn’t always happen. In those cases, what most of us have learned to do is treatment shop. We try one doctor and then another, one treatment and then another—often with little to no results.

Finally, when we are about to give up, in a moment of awakening we realize we had better get a little more personally involved. We decide that perhaps we need to get a better understanding about what is going on with our bodies and how to get ourselves into a state of health. And just maybe we need to get some insights from a higher dimension.

That’s when we finally surrender the search for someone to fix us, and when we stop shopping and get involved, the healing journey actually begins. Healers call it a journey for a reason. We’ve had enough experience to know that illness is most often a confluence of emotional wounds from past abuse, subconscious needs being met, out-dated beliefs that have become part of our mind-set, patterns of behavior needing to be addressed honestly, physical predispositions and weak functioning, as well as physical stressors and exposure to toxins.

Sometimes the cure to chronic illness isn’t happening because the “fix it” solution isn’t broad enough to address all of the component parts. When you finally stop shopping for a moment and get still enough to notice what is really happening from the wisdom of your body and soul, you get new perspectives. Here are some ways you can acquire personal perspective about your journey:

Meditating
Quiet contemplation in nature
Dream work
Journey work
Intuitive writing and journaling
Artistic expression
Self-exploration

For some lovely insights and reflections received by spending time in nature, read Susan Amari Gold’s thoughts at a A Spiritual Walk in the Woods: http://newdreamfoundation.com/forums/index.php/board,61.0.html

Meditative, spiritual and artistic exploration of your inner awareness provide avenues of deeper insight into the real you and the part of you that is crying out for your greater awakening through physical pain. You aren’t going to get intuitive healing wisdom through a “fix it” answer. You get those perspectives through quiet reflection on your body, feelings, and thoughts.

You can actually take your new perspectives and form a more comprehensive approach to healing. You can even offer your insights to doctors and healers willing to consider your inner wisdom in recommending treatment options. Now you are in the journey. You are discovering you and what it takes to become your most whole self.

Rather than expecting someone else to figure it out and provide you with an answer to your chronic illness, you become the orchestrator of your healing at every level, addressing all the aspects that are at the root of your illness. Your intuitive wisdom opens up and you find yourself naturally drawn to the healers and treatments that will take you to your ultimate healing.

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Discovering Your Inutition for Self-Healing

Monday, June 14th, 2010

Someone recently asked me, “As an intuitive, how do you make decisions about what medical or healing care to receive? When I’m not feeling well or I’ve had an injury, I just go to the doctor. How do you figure out what to do?”

No one had ever asked me that question. I really had to think about it. I made an agreement with Spirit many years ago that I would continue to strengthen my sound healing gift for the service of others. In return I expected that when I needed healing or medical help it would be obvious to me and the right help would be there at the right time.

That has held true. I either know I need to do my own healing work, or I know in an instant who I need to call or see for help. If the person I call doesn’t think they can help, they usually have the perfect referral.

Shortly after making the agreement, I remember tripping over a concrete block and falling on my hands and knees in a parking lot. Several of the women with me were Reiki masters and within seconds there were healing hands on me. Months later, I cut my finger deeply (deep enough to require stitches) as I was cutting vegetables, and the only healer in the house was me. So I sang the cut closed. Some years later when I had digestive problems, I knew I needed to see a friend of mine that is a Naturopathic MD. Within days, my problem was cured.

As long as I listen to my intuition and trust it, I’m fine. I’ve learned to pay close attention to my dreams because they often provide me with insights about what is going on in my body and/or what I need to do about it. I meditate and open my heart and mind to intuitive wisdom that guides me, and I do my best to avoid making any assumptions about what is going on and what I need to do until I have received clear guidance, and if needed medical assessment.

After listening to me go on for a while as I attempted to answer her questions, she finally piped up and said, “Oh, you do it like the rest of us, on a case-by-case basis.” Well, there you have it I thought.

Isn’t that what most of us do. If you bump your head, you have to decide whether it is serious enough to see your doctor or visit an emergency room, whether you want to give it some healing energy of your own, or whether you just want to put some ice on it to help take the swelling down. You assess the situation to the best of your ability in the moment and make the decision that seems best to you. Now that I use my intuition consciously, I simply add those insights into my assessment.

Where many of us get tripped up in the beginning is in learning to recognize and trust our intuition. It is there for all of us, but few of us have been taught how to access it for our own well-being. It is not difficult to do, but it does take awareness and practice.

To become aware of your intuition, I recommend that you reflect upon a time in your life when your intuition guided you to make a choice that was absolutely right for you. How did the insight come to you? How did you know it was true? What was it like to act on that hunch and witness the outcome?

How did you respond to that incident later? Did you think it was an accident? Did anyone tell you it was just a coincidence? Did you trust your intuition again or did you shut it down?

Watch for New Dream Foundation’s upcoming class on Intuitive Wisdom starting the end of August at http://www.NewDreamFoundation.com

Ask yourself, “How could I stimulate my intuition awake now?” Allow the question itself to become a quest for greater clarity in your healing journey.

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Health and the Power of Right Now

Wednesday, June 2nd, 2010

Have you ever considered making a change you knew would probably positively and significantly improve your health, and then chose not to do it?

I know I have. Those are moments that became regrets. Those are the illnesses I suffered longer than necessary because I was ignoring the discomfort, hoping it would go away because I was too busy to deal with it. Even though I know better, I actually did that with a headache today.

My head hurt and I took something for it that usually helps immediately. Nothing happened. So instead of lying down and resting, or meditating with it to get a clearer sense about the cause (such as whether it is stress, hormones or sinuses), I kept plowing ahead with work I wanted to accomplish. Finally the headache got the best of me and I laid down to sleep for a while.

When I got up, I kept my activities light and was feeling much better. Recognizing it was probably a combination of hormones and reaction to the pollen in the air, I did some yoga stretches, and immediately felt relief.

Here is was caught up in habits and bit of self-importance (ie. I have so much that needs to be done, I can’t take time out for a headache right now). And I show people to listen to their body/soul wisdom, honor it and act on it. I teach this stuff! Yet, here I was ignoring my own health.

Are you as stubborn as I am? Do you find yourself doing what is normal and familiar, rather than doing what you know you need to do in order to get better?

So today, I asked myself, “Is my writing really so important that taking an hour or even a day off would create a cataclysmic hole in the matrix of the universe so big that humanity would never recover?” Yes, I’m poking fun at myself because I know it will make me laugh and shake the absurdity out of me! Yes, my work is important, but it is not more important than my health, and neither is yours.

Let me ask you, “Are any of your patterns, habits, work, or service more important than your health?” “How about your family? Are their needs more important than your health?” “Is your job and your sense of being needed more important than your health.”

Now ask yourself this, “Are really able to be of your best service to your family or job when you feel awful?”

Tough questions, I know. But how else do we break-through our tendency to do what is familiar? You know the answer. Either we ask ourselves some tough questions and make some changes or we get so sick that we have to make changes.

If you are like me, maybe there are times when you wait until you are feeling desperate before you make change. It occurred to me some time ago that desperate action meant I had missed earlier opportunities to make easier, more loving choices for myself. I decided it was a far more enjoyable journey to act from inspiration rather than desperation.

Sometimes I still wait until I’m a little desperate before I act, like I did in waiting to address my headache. But wouldn’t it have been wiser to act from a little inspiration early on? Wouldn’t it have made sense to listen to my body/soul immediately, and have gotten into a quiet and soothing healing meditation, acting on the insights I received immediately? I could have nipped that headache immediately. I could have enjoyed more of my day.

I hope you will allow my confession to be inspiration for you. Don’t wait until later on to honor your body. Ask a friend or family member to take care of the family for a while. Take time off work or ease up on your goals so that you can focus more energy on your healing. Take advantage of the summer weather. Spend some days away from the chaos and demands of home.

Give yourself time to slow down, reflect and listen to your body. Then have the courage to take the action that you need to take immediately. You deserve to feel better right now.

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Healing Is Difficult! Or Is It?

Tuesday, May 18th, 2010

An excerpt from my free report—“Beating the Odds: How to Identify 10 Beliefs that Can Short-Circuit Your Healing.”

You’ve probably thought it or heard somebody imply that healing is difficult. If we don’t get an immediate positive response from a drug, herb, remedy, healing therapy, surgery or intervention, it is easy for us to assume healing is difficult. But is it really difficult, or has our social consciousness come to expect quick-fixes, and when the fix isn’t quick then the path is difficult? Have we come to expect that somebody else will fix us up and we won’t have to expend any more effort than going to a doctor or healer?

The following is an excerpt from a free report I wrote, http://selfempoweredhealthseminar.com/, exposing some of the common beliefs that can inhibit our healing progress, including the belief that healing is difficult. Sometimes these beliefs are lingering in the back of our minds—not obvious—but present and affecting the results we are longing for yet not getting. Here are some insights from the report about healing being difficult.

Actually, there is some truth to this. Healing requires effort, but I’m not sure I would say difficult, nor would I assume it is difficult in every instance. In fact, some of the best healing I have ever experienced was downright pleasant, and occurred with a measure of ease.

Some years ago, I cut my finger very deeply—enough so that it would have been appropriate to have had stitches. I cleaned my cut, bandaged it up and started singing a healing song to it. I sang to it off and on, intensely, throughout the afternoon, evening and next morning.

The next day, I asked a friend that had come over to help me change my bandage. After she unwrapped my finger, she turned it a couple of times and asked me where the cut was supposed to be. All we could see was a scratch where a cut had been.

The effort required for that healing was not difficult; however, it did require the intensity of my focus and clear determination to heal. The process itself was actually pleasant because the song was delightful to the ear.

More effort was required as I addressed my doubt and fear of failure. Initially, I had to address my doubt several times before I finally relaxed into a profound sense of trust that cleaning the wound and using my sound medicine was all that was required to heal.

Another area in which healing can provide a challenge is when you experience a Herxheimer reaction. This is where your symptoms actually increase for a period of time as your body detoxes. This is also called a healing crisis and though it can be intense, it is often of shorter duration than the illness itself. I think it is safe to say that Herxheimer reaction could be difficult. But let’s put this into perspective. Is a short duration of increased symptoms more difficult than living with a serious illness day after day without an end in sight?

The deeper you go into accessing the core of your healing power, the less difficult it becomes. In my opinion, stitches would have been more difficult and more traumatic than my sound medicine. I enjoyed the sounds and I enjoyed the rise of energy I felt coursing through me as I focused my intention on healing. By comparison, sound medicine was actually enjoyable.

Healing requires effort—focused effort. Whether you are accessing your own energetic healing abilities or drawing in the right professionals and treatments, you need to be fully invested in the process, but it doesn’t have to be difficult. Quite frankly, pain and long-term illness are likely to be far more difficult than making the concerted effort required to heal.

How about you? Have you found healing to be difficult?

Check back here at Self-Healing Secrets for more on this topic. In the next article we’ll take a look at the degree of difficulty (or ease) in finding the right doctor and/or professionals to help you heal.

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Looking for Miracles is Different than Believing in Them

Tuesday, May 11th, 2010

When someone comes to me looking for an instantaneous healing, I know we are not likely to make very much progress. Are you wondering why? Doesn’t it seem to make sense that the more the person is able to believe in instant healing, the more likely it is going to happen?

Indeed, I love to offer healing sounds and support to people that believe in the power of energetic healing because we are most likely to get results. However, there is a difference between believing in miracles and looking for them.

Someone looking for miracles is usually desperately hunting to find a solution. If you have been suffering with an illness or condition, it makes complete sense doesn’t it, that you want relief and you want it now? However, here are some of the kinds of beliefs that typically accompany you when you are on the hunt for a miracle that actually limit miraculous opportunities:

1) Somebody out there must have the answer;
2) Well, that didn’t work right away, so I’ll have to find something else;
3) That healer must not be very powerful because I’m still sick;
4) If nobody can heal it, then maybe I’m just supposed to live with this;
5) Let’s see what this person can do, because the last person I saw didn’t help;
6) God will make me well if he wants me to be well;
7) If I can just find the right cure everything will be okay; and
8) I want somebody to tell me what is going on and how to fix it quickly.

Do any of these beliefs sound familiar to you? If you believe in any of these above ideas or similar ones, you are still hunting for a cure. I used to hunt, and I now understand that seeking was unsuccessfully using up energy that I could have been using to actually heal myself!

Each of us came here to earth with the ability to access inner healing power. Yep, even you! Yes, some of us are more practiced, and some of us get results a little faster, and yes, you do have to devote time and energy into developing your abilities, but they are there.

This is not a gift handed out to a rare few of us and the rest of you just have to scramble to find the right healer and methodology. That would be a pretty sadistic reality, wouldn’t it? Yet, isn’t it interesting how many of us have grown up believing that’s how it works.

You do not have to say exactly the right prayer to God at exactly the right time, making exactly the right sacrifice, catching him/her in a good mood in order to receive a miracle. I know that is what a lot of us grew up believing, and that is not how it works!

With all due respect, that is how children think life works when they are dependent upon their parents. You have to catch mom or dad in the right mood with the right question, and maybe even offer to do something in return, and then you are lucky and you get what you want. Or there you are as a kid, stuck with a problem. So you seek someone else (often an adult) who can help you find the answer to your problem. Sometimes you are really fortunate to find just the right person with the information you are seeking and voila—you have an answer to your problem.

There is nothing wrong with either of these scenarios. They can happen and we have years of evidence demonstrating to us that this is how you manifest what you need.

But what do you do when that doesn’t work anymore? What do you do when you have been to several healers and doctors, and tried scores of treatments and therapies, but you are still feeling bad? Most of us keep looking for an answer somewhere, but in the mean time, we are building up a huge mountain of doubt and disappointment, and that is the energy we personally bring to our own healing.

Miracles don’t actually start outside of you. That’s why looking for them rarely works. Miracles start on inside and are manifested on the outside. Miracles start happening when you reframe your search into one of discovery about your spiritual/healing gift.

You might ask yourself if your hands get hot when you are around people that are ill or you are not feeling well. You might wonder if those songs you have been singing all your life actually have some healing power. Consider whether your ability to visualize so easily might just be a gift you could be applying to your healing starting right now. Maybe you regularly have dreams that are significant and you could be taking a question into your dream-time.

Ask yourself, how the Divine could and does best speak through you. That is where your miracles live. So let me suggest you stop looking for miracles and replace the hunt outside yourself with a deep and meaningful exploration of the real you that is longing to be discovered. Believe in the person that you are and the hidden gifts waiting to be uncovered and used, so that you will be fostering an internal environment of belief where miracles can truly occur.

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Eliminating the Internal Complaint Department

Friday, April 30th, 2010

A while back my husband and I were in a class where we were asked to spend a day keeping a tally of how often we complained. I thought I was a pretty positive person so this exercise would be pretty easy to do. Oh my gosh, was I surprised to discover how often I was thinking complaining thoughts, though I wasn’t expressing them. I was complaining all right, just not out loud.

We were also asked to notice our patterns of thoughts. Did we tend to complain about other friends, co-workers, politics, our bodies, our helplessness, injustice, past abuses, lovers, etc.? As the class talked about our various thought patterns, it was amazing to realize that we tended to complain about certain types of events or people in our lives with great consistency.

Once I knew my particular pattern, which was complaining about people that didn’t live up to my expectations, I was able to zero in on my internal complaint department and reduce the number of harmful thoughts I was having.

I consciously attended to the nature of my thoughts. The minute I had a negative or blaming thought, I paused long enough to notice the emotion attached to the thought, and then held that emotion in compassion.

In the end, it didn’t matter whether the emotion was connected to me, another person, a group, a political or spiritual view a situation or a concept, simply holding the emotion in compassion diffused it. Once there was no longer any emotional charge, I could then hold the person, situation or concept in love.

Within days, I noticed a dramatic change in my thought habits. I also noticed a dramatic change in my interactions. Rather than responding to people from assumptions I had drawn, I was more inclined to ask questions that would help me gain greater clarity about them and their situations. Of course, there were times when I was still disappointed, but approaching people with compassion, created space for me to help people work through the challenges they were having that were ultimately leading to my disappointment.

Instead of being cranky, I found myself laughing with them about their foibles, working toward creative solutions, adjusting unreasonable expectations, and using the challenges as opportunities for me to respond in more conscious ways.

As a healer, I know that the more energy we put into negative or limiting thoughts about others or ourselves, the more likely we are to create a limiting and negative reality. The converse, of course, is also true. The more energy we put into loving, caring thoughts, the more we attract that reality into our lives.

If I’m blaming someone or something outside of myself for my illness or if I’m angry with myself for my current state of health, I’m distracting myself from the opportunity to access my personal healing energy. I become so engaged and absorbed in the negative energy and the assumptions that usually come with it that I’m denying myself the kind of pure, compassionate feelings that lead to healing discoveries, assistance and desired outcomes. I know because I’ve done it. I’ve been so angry that I have exacerbated injuries and illness. I have also found enough compassion to love myself into wellness.

The exercise was a great reminder that it is wise to periodically check in on your internal complaint department. If it is still in operation, it might be time to change the energy. Perhaps a well-founded complaint is at times appropriate. Perhaps eliminating the complaint department isn’t necessary, but keeping it down to a level where it isn’t frequent or running our thoughts, can only lead to greater peace and opportunities for solutions to the challenges we face.

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Discover The Natural Healing Gift of Negative Ions

Thursday, April 15th, 2010

wave1To date, I haven’t met anyone that has told me they can see them, taste them or smell negative ions. Yet, in nature, they are there all around us.

Visit the ocean and you are in the company of negative ions. Visit the mountains, splash around in a stream, or take a walk in the woods and you’ll be breathing in negative ions.

How do you know when you are in the presence of negative ions? You feel better. You relax and you feel more at ease with yourself and with life. That’s because negative ions increase the levels of serotonin in your body. Serotonin affects your moods, and you may find it lifting stress and even, depression. Some people become energized in the presence of negative ions.

Consider this excerpt about negative ions from The Root of All Healing:

“… quite a bit of medical research has been done demonstrating that negative
ions help us simultaneously relax, reduce stress and energize us. Ecstatic, Ltd. in the United Kingdom commissioned a review of literature on the effects of air ions and concluded: ‘The consensus of the literature reviewed is that environmental air ion concentration levels and balance can affect a wide range of biological organisms, including humans. Elevated negative air ion levels are widely reported to have beneficial effects on humans including enhanced feeling of relaxation, and reduced tiredness, stress levels, irritability, depression, and tenseness.’”

http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/negative-ions-create-positive-vibes

If you are having difficulty sleeping, concentrating, feeling energized, relaxing, enjoying life, and opening up to your greatest healing—one of the simplest, sweetest ways to enhance your healing is to spend more time with Mother Earth.

I recommend getting out in nature every day. That’s right. Every day. That’s how beneficial nature is in the healing journey. It is one of the most over-looked prescriptions for healing, and it can be among the most powerful.

Nature slows down those hurried paces we think we have to keep up. Those rushed speeds and stressful lives are contributing to our discomfort and preventing us from relaxing enough for healing to occur.

As I share in my book, “You don’t get to physical health, inner peace or joy through stress and tension.” In order to heal you have to slow down and getting out there in those negative ions is one of the best ways to relax and discover a greater natural source for balanced energy.

You can read more about the benefits of spending time in nature in my book, The Root of All Healing: 7 Steps to Healing Anything— http://misahopkins.com/therootofallhealing/

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