Archive for the ‘Advanced Skills’ Category

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You Can Only Get There From Here!

April 1, 2010

Crusty New Englanders might want to pull an April Fool on you on a muddy road somewhere and tell you that you can’t get theah from heah. But if your work depends on the accuracy of your perceptions, or you are on a journey of self-actualization, you can ge3t anywhere, but only if you start from here – where you are, right now. It doesn’t matter if your goal is to enhance the joy in your life, increase productivity, communicate more effectively, be a healer, develop your intuition, or feel better in your body. True perception requires knowing where you are in space and in your physical body. You must have your awareness open, clear, and firmly planted in the present. Only then can you be accurate about what you perceive, where it originated, and what it means. Is it yours or are you picking up someone else’s emotional state? Is it an intuition, or a reaction triggered by your past? Is it a response to a preoccupation or passing thought, or is it an insight into the situation that you are exploring?

We all unknowingly try to soothe ourselves by distancing ourselves from discomfort or pain. We also get thrown off when we are not aware that we are being swayed by others. As Ramorrah said in a class in which I taught coaches to use Energy Work, “Our bodies are crucial to help us know when we’re authentic, aren’t they?” By connecting with our present bodily experience, we land ourselves in the real present, not philosophically, but concretely.

Our bodies are the locus of all the information we receive. By being willing to be present in our bodies, we connect more fully with the present moment. We also are more able to release blocks, and to countering distortions in perception, including those caused by the past. It is the most direct way to become more adept. The best way to come home to our bodies, to relieve any discomfort we find there, to increase our awareness, is through our breath.

Try this: For the next two weeks, when some discomfort makes you want to get away from your present reality, take several deep breaths instead. Stand still for a few moments and simply feel the sensations of breathing. See what happens. Muddy roads or no, you can get anywhere from here!

For breath is life, and if you breathe well, you will live long on earth.  ~Sanskrit Proverb

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Posted in Be Present, Breathing, Clearing Old Energy Patterns, Creating The Life You Want, Crucial Skills, Energy Work, Healing, Life, Mindfulness, Releasing Anxiety | Leave a Comment »

Savoring

March 15, 2010

Many of us react to successes and pleasures by worrying. “Pride goeth before the fall!” we’ll mutter. Or we’ll look for the other shoe to drop, or worry that others will resent our good fortune.  We may decide that we don’t really deserve the good that came our way.

Not everyone reacts this way. Some folks savor their experiences, sinking into the good feelings, exploring and relishing them. Positive psychology researchers have found that those who “derive pleasure through such strategies as anticipating positive events in the future, relishing them in the moment, and reminiscing about those in the past…Those who habitually savor are indeed happier and more satisfied in general with life…more optimistic…and less depressed…than those who do not savor. (Chris Peterson, A Primer of Positive Psychology)

If you tend more toward the worrying type, the good news is that you can increase your happiness by practicing savoring. The next time receive a gift or compliment, win an award or long-sought accomplishment, or you simply notice that it’s a beautiful day, instead of hurrying on by it, enhance your experience by trying these strategies:

  • Sharing with others: You can seek out others to share the experience. If that is not possible, tell others how much you valued the moment.
  • Memory Building: Take mental photographs or even a physical souvenir…and reminisce about it later with others.
  • Self-Congratulation: Do not be afraid of pride. Tell yourself how impressed others are and remember how long you have waited for this to happen.
  • Sharpening Perceptions: focus on certain elements…and block out others.
  • Absorptions: Let yourself get totally immersed in the pleasure and try not to think about other matters.  (Peterson, ibid)

I’d also suggest that savoring requires that us slow down when something brings you joy. We’ll find that we feel fuller and more nourished by life if we spend more time and attention appreciating one thing at a time than if we go for all the goodies that we can pack into an event. Kids at winter solstice holidays are a perfect example. When they receive so much, they often end up unhappy and frantic at the overload.

So, try not distracting yourself from the joy in your accomplishments and in each moment. As Dr. Peterson says, “Don’t be a kill-joy, because it would be (your) own joy that (you are) killing.”

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Posted in Life, Releasing Anxiety, Uncovering Joy | Leave a Comment »

What is Joy?

January 14, 2010

Joy is a deep, abiding feeling of happiness grounded in peace and bliss. It is our felt perception of the the creative and sustaining energy that the Universe is made of. When we are centered deeply within ourselves, we feel true joy. It does not depend on any external circumstance. When we are settled in the still place and in that feeling, we feel nourished and held, even when circumstances around us are less than optimal. Enlightenment is being able to experience this on an on-going basis.

Joy comes as a result of our effort, effectively applied. The paradox is that joy is always present in us. Under all the layers of pain, unresolved feelings, and beliefs that life is hard and we don’t deserve to have it be easy, there it is. Waiting. As soon as we do the work, sometimes, just a piece of it, we can be flooded with contentment, gratitude, and yes, joy. It doesn’t matter what we’ve been up against before, or even what our life circumstances are now. There it is.

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Posted in Advanced Skills, Energy Work, Healing, Life, Uncovering Joy | 9 Comments »

On practicing being centered

August 31, 2009

Here’s a quote from the chapter on centering.  In the chapter, I explain what centering really is, what happens when you’re not centered, how your experiences change when you are, and then how actually to do it – no vague hoping it’ll happen, but the steps to take. Then, I talk about what happens neurologically as you practice – how you change your preset buttons.

Here’s the quote:

“Getting to the point of asking, ‘How do I know who I am’ means that you have succeeded in growing and changing in the direction of your own well-being. People constantly, just below the level of awareness, check their experience against an internal set of perceptions of what constitutes everything-is-in-its-usual-place. Voicing this existential dilemma means that your sense of yourself has been shaken up enough that you are not settling for old (and inaccurate, because too limited) answers. You are attending to an internal experience that is so new and raw that the landscape is not yet filled in. New landmarks must be built. By being centered, you build awareness of your true Self, one kinesthetic experience at a time. You build internal structure, changing the old ways of perceiving and holding yourself neurologically, physically, emotionally, and psychologically. When folks build this new internal structure by practicing being centered, I have seen people clear up old health issues and release results of their previous experiences. They can burn away old trauma, rewrite old history (in the sense that the effect that it had on their lives is changed) and thereby release karma.”

What do you think?

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Posted in Advanced Skills, Crucial Skills, Energy Medicine | 2 Comments »

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