It all starts with the breath

This is a great video. It highlights the power of the breath, the power of mind-body medicine and the power of community in creating change. I t makes you realise we all have the power to make a difference just by our everyday interactions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sp6KvUZVIbg&feature=player_embedded

New Ways of Thinking

Dr. James Oschman on Energy Medicine

The Mirror.

This is one of my favourite poems. The Mirror.

So often we compliment, complain and criticize those around us whether we know them or not. 

We push people aside because we don't like aspects of who they are. 

We draw people closer because they have qualities that make us feel warm and energised.

They are a reflection  of you.

To often though, we forget that we can only see in others what we are ourselves.

What do you see?

These experiences of what we find in others helps us connect to one and other, to facilitate a greater understanding and compassion for others. As we are all the same.

THE MIRROR

---

The good you find in others, is in you too.
The faults you find in others, are your faults as well.
After all, to recognize something you must know it.
The possibilities you see in others, are possible for you as well.
The beauty you see around you, is your beauty.
The world around you is a reflection, a mirror showing you the person you are.
To change your world, you must change yourself.
To blame and complain will only make matters worse.
Whatever you care about, is your responsibility.
What you see in others, shows you yourself.
See the best in others,and you will be your best.
Give to others, and you give to yourself.
Appreciate beauty, and you will be beautiful.
Admire creativity, and you will be creative.
Love, and you will be loved.
Seek to understand, and you will be understood.
Listen, and your voice will be heard.
Teach, and you will learn.
Show your best face to the mirror,
and you'll be happy with the face looking back at you.
~~ Author Unknown ~~

Daily Om

I always say life is full of small pleasures. One of my small pleasures in life is The Daily Om. It always grounds me, keeps me inspired and reminds me of truth.

I was reading the new book from the Daily Om by Madisyn Taylor, Learning to Live. It is like an instruction manual for life, and I one of her 'instructions' talks about 'whole-self well-being'. As I read about this concept, as she writes about it,  I kept on thinking this sounds like all the things I learn and practice in kinesiology. So I shall share it with you, to share one of life's small pleasure. Enjoy, it gets you thinking about the role you play in your maintaining wellness and being balanced.

Whole-Self Well-being

How the body clears energy

"Whole-self well-being is, in part, the result of a harmonious flow of energy between our physical and mental selves. When this flow is thrown out of balance for any reason, the body and mind react to one another, rather than act cooperatively. Ongoing stress, saddened, anxiety, excitement, and fear can overwhelm the cerebral self, causing traumatic energy to be channeled into the body, which then responds by taking steps to organically dispel the burdening energy and expressing it by means of physical symptom's such as illness, fatigue, or disease. In some cases, these symptoms can simply be allowed to run their natural course, and recovery will come naturally. In most instances, however, health and wellness can only be restored by a dual course of treatment that acknowledges both the physical manifestations of energy clearing and the underlying emotional causes.

Many ailments you experience over the course of your life can be indicative of the body's attempts to process intellectual and emotional energy. Swollen glands, for example, can signal that you are going through a period of emotional cleansing. Even something as simple as a pimple can indicate that your body is ridding itself of toxins and old energy.

In Chinese medicine, intensive emotions are held in the body's organs as a matter of course. Grief lurks in the lungs, anger inhabits the liver, fretfulness lingers in the heart, worry is held in the stomach, and the kidneys harbor fright. Coughs or bronchitis can signify that the physical self is clearing away grief, while a loss of appetite may signal that worry is being actively addressed.

When you feel ill or imbalanced, treating your whole self rather than the physical self alone can empower you to determine the root cause of sickness. Since you understand that your physical symptoms may be an expression of emotional discomfort, you can establish a balanced treatment regimen to ensure that you quickly recover your good health"

Experiencing the balance!

Do you find that too often you focus on the end outcome and forget about the process of experiencing the journey? 

I know I do.

Today, as I walked through the sun filled street at the beginning of a new path in my journey I took a big deep breath and filled my lungs with the fresh air. Breathing in new life and experiences, the old walls and boundaries melt down into the earth and allow a sense of freedom to infuse my step.

I feel nourished. I have a fire burning in my belly. There is a sense of knowing that these steps are the right steps.

Of course, as with all new things a I feel butterflies dancing in my stomach (excited butterflies they must be). As part of  human nature we always want to know what the path will look like, how many bends there will be, who will we meet. Yet, I have made  a conscious effort to let go and flow like water and take one step at a time.

The process, the journey is the experience that guides us. Often we have a feeling of uncertainty, but within this the fundamentals of truth - fire, earth, metal, water and wood, lie. These elements thrive, dance, evolve, play and shift as we experience the journey. The fundamentals act and react to the steps we take on our path and provide the spirit, emotion and energy that we need to experience balance in our life.

The Fundamentals

FIRE, EARTH, METAL, WATER and WOOD.

In eastern philosophy and traditional Chinese medicine, these 5 elements are what constitutes all things. All these elements are apart of each everything and everyone. They guide all actions, reactions, creations, phases and evolution. This is basis of all.

Everything, including you and me have all the elements within us. Although, as each day comes and goes, we move through these elements, we wax and wane.

Sometimes we have a little bit too much fire in our belly. Other times we are stuck, by being too grounded and not using our natural resources. Then other times we need to breath in new life to move forward and then let go so we go with flow, like water and move into new phases. Once we move through letting go, it enables us to grow and reach our goals, like the tall tree in the forest reaching for the sky.

Let’s look at plant, say, Lavendar. FIRE. It grows with passion and creative to bring joy. EARTH. It receives nutrients from the soil and digests these to grow strong. METAL. It uses it energies wisely to grow, knowing to hold onto it’s energy when things are hard and cold. WATER. It sways in the breeze and takes the weather elements as they come and keeps on growing. WOOD. It gives birth to lovely scents to help calm and relax us.

Look around and you will always ‘see’ one of the five elements showing it’s true color in all things.

What do you see?

Courage and Change

We all go through change. Every new moment in time there is change.

With every new moment the wind changes, the sun moves closer to sunset, our minds think a new thought and a new feeling engulfs our body. Change is the one thing in life that is guaranteed. Change is inevitable. So why do we freak out when things change in our world?

During a week of many great changes for myself I freaked out, I cried, I laughed and ran around in circles flailing my arms in panic, then I stopped.

Change is inevitable and is always, but we can change how we respond. I STOPPED. I thought what do I need to do to accept and flow with change? COURAGE.

So, I stopped and I asked what does courage mean to me? This is what I found...

Continue to walk towards your destiny Outshine yourself from within Unify all parts of who you are Reach for your highest potential Actions speak louder than words Give to yourself and others (and be kind) Expect great things What does courage mean to you? Miss Creative gave me a lovely pendant a while back to remind me of this.

Creating harmony and balance...

Following a week of many extremes, I am in the midst of create some balance in my world.

Last week was my final day of 'having' to go to work. I took back some power and gave myself the freedom to be independent. So I chose a weekend of music, dancing and sunshine at the wonderful Jazz Fest in New Orleans. Full of colour, light and high spirits.

Now it is time to create some balance.

To help re-create my balance after a week of extremes I have began a detox. Day 1 is almost complete. Which in itself has created extremes of feeling great, to also feeling less than great as my body asks where it's morning coffee is. It has been over 10 years that I have not had my morning cup of coffee.

Creating balance to maintain harmony is a task, it takes courage, respect and clarity.

I am excited to see how this detox experience will offer harmony within my world. If all we do is work (or play) our family, friends, plants and animals suffer. We create the suffering by choosing extremes. This dis-harmony we create by living in extremes trickles into our relationships, emotions and well-being. To witness the trickle effect, that when you nurture one part of your soul, the other parts quickly flow as well. Nurturing your body and allowing it the space to cleanse, rejuvenate also creates space in your world. As old habits dissolve, it offers room for new experiences intended towards creating harmony and balance.

With juice in hand, here is a cheers to creating harmony and balance within our worlds.

In mid-air

I feel like I am flying.

There is space, there is chaos, there are possibilities

Work is coming to a close, with many possibilities ahead.

I finished my Energy Kinesiology program, which is only just the beginning.

I have that moment when you stop and you contemplate where you are at.

In one mind, I feel as though I have thrown all my cards in the air and have a sense of complete freedom. Like when you go skydiving. You take a leap of faith. As you plummet towards the earth, you have a sense of stillness, complete freedom.

Yet, at the same time another part of the mind is in complete chaos. Trying to control and figure out the next steps. It worries about the future and the past. It blindly tries to grasp to something tangible.

I am finding myself between these two minds lately. One of stillness, one of chaos.

All I know is it feels right. There is a sense of clearness and clarity. Every fiber of my muscles, every nucleus of my community of cells that work together to be me, knows that all is good.

As the talented (and very insightful) Miss Creative always says, everything is ALWAYS OK!

So as I head into the stillness and chaos of life and experience what transpires my aim is to keep an open heart and clarity of mind to follow my intuition.

Making room for the garden to grow!

It has been a BIG week…

After a trip to the beautiful city of Portland (City of Roses) I decided to clear some space and resigned from my position as a Staff Nurse after 5 years of service. At the same time I am graduating from my Kinesiology course from ICOHA after having completed my final case studies (yippee)!

The time had come to create some space for my passion of wellness in healthcare rather than the focus being on ‘dis-ease’. Also, to create room for me to practice kinesiology and help facilitate some positive energy out there in the world.

So now...

I embark on a new journey of the unknown. I feel a little bit like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz (an all time fave). I know this is a path I must walk, not really knowing what may come or where it might lead, but that is OK. It is invigorating to have that feeling of endless possibilities and the world at your feet.

I feel as though the seeds have been planted in my garden.

I am ready to nurture my garden, as the roses bloom and flourish and maybe even a few surprises, a tulip or gardenia…

So now I venture down my path as my garden sprouts with a sense of excitement, anticipation and hope…knowing that the best is yet to come!

So how does one at consciously?

You are most probably thinking how does one eat consciously.

Maybe you are thinking ‘of course I am conscious when I eat, other wise I would be sleeping right’.

Well, there is another way to look at it, some people may call it intuitive eating. But what it really means is to pay attention to your body and mind in regards to how you nourish your body.

By paying attention to our mind and body we can reconnect and learn what our body REALLY needs, not what we want to satisfy our mind. We can learn what our body is trying to connect with. Is the chocolate bar at 4 pm a replacement for a nourishing hug? Or the Thai dinner an attempt to create some spice in your life?

Learning about our instincts can help us reconnect with our inner selves, which enables us to come from our true nature. Which instinctually nourishes us for our needs.

So how can you eat consciously? I hear you ask.

Well the following are a few simple things you can do every day (you most probably do them already, but we often ignore what we know is best)

Pay attention to when you are hungry, and if you are EAT. Who cares what time it is, your body is saying it is hungry. LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Meal times serve a great purpose for bringing people together, creating social interaction and give structure but they do not need to rule your life and dictate to you when you are hungry.

Secondly, SLOW DOWN. How often do you ignore your hunger because you are to busy or it’s not lunchtime (yet). Then, when you do have time or it is ‘time to eat’, you are sooooo hungry that you eat so fast it is as though you are possessed. And then inevitably you eat too much and feel ‘stuffed’ (the feeling of being over full is a whole other story). Do you know that is takes 20 minutes for your stomach to tell your brain that is has been fed and it is satisfied? The moral of the story is slow down.

And remember to ENJOY your food. Food is one of the few things that is necessary for life, just like water and air. It was of the greatest pleasures life offers us on so many levels. Respect the process.

CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT. An environment that enables to enjoy the food, take it slow and respect the concept that you are taking time to nourish your body. Respect yourself and reconnect the mind with the body. When you nourish yourself you are in a much better place physical, emotionally and spiritually to nourish others in your world.

Lastly, REMEMBER your experiences. Pay attention to what foods, environments, people felt good, made you feel good and nourished. Opposingly, pay attention to what made you feel bad, gave you that sinking, heavy feeling or made you wake up the next day feeling groggy and with no energy.

Just ONE WEEK of paying attention and offering yourself the respect to pay attention and reconnect can have a profound impact on your awareness. (Why not try it, just for one week)

Nourish yourself wisely!

My Year to Flourishing

Energy flows were attention goes. Wayne Dyer often talks about being careful what you contemplate, as that is what you will create. He makes a great point "The Wright brothers didn’t contemplate the staying on the ground of things. Alexander Graham Bell didn’t contemplate the noncommunication of things. Thomas Edison didn’t contemplate the darkness of things" So, what you focus on, talk about each day, put your time and energy into everyday is what you will create.That can either be a good thing or a less than ideal thing. The choice is always our at every given moment. Hence, I decided to direct my attention to create, sustain and flourish this year!Which is were this little video sprouted from. Way back in November 2008, when my dear twin sister was reading 'The Secret' and was all into creating a mind-mapping video she decided that I should make one too. Not much happened there. And the little video was forgotten about. Until recently, I stumbled upon that little video once again from way back then. And had a moment of WOW, I forgot all about this. I think it may be time to finish this thing off. Hence, here I am with my little video that I decided to direct some focused energy into putting my mind-map into a pictorial format. So my energy can flow where my attention is going. I am a rather excited.

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Conscious Eating – What do you think about when you are eating?

To continue on with the theme of you are what you eat. Have you ever paid attention to what you are thinking when you eating? - Why you chose to eat that double cheeseburger, cookie or even a salad? - What drove you to eat your lunch today (besides hunger)? - Have you ever stopped to pay attention to what your body is telling you? We are the experts of our own bodies, we know what it needs to be it’s best. Although often we do not treat our bodies with the respect and acknowledge that it has a great deal to tell us to help us make the better choices. Sometimes we forget that our bodies (not our minds) knows what fuel it needs. (food is fuel for the body) We have the responsibility of taking care of our bodies, to pay attention to what fuel it needs to get you through your day, to go to the gym, thrive during that meeting and dance till dawn! Often though, we make our nutritional choices based on what our brain wants, not what our bodies need. These choices are usually driven by our emotions, based on our beliefs, values and desires. For example, mum’s roast dinner conjures up all those warm feelings of Sunday evenings sitting around the table with the family. Or that ice-cream cone you had every summer day at the beach when you were a kid, or the chocolate to mend a lonely heart. How much to these feelings and emotions drive your nutritional choices? Even sometimes, we are so disconnected that despite having the best intentions of being healthy and nourishing our bodies, we have the mac’n’cheese (with extra sauce) or the chocolate (with whipped cream) to fuel our emotions, instead of fueling our bodies. How often do we stop and pay attention to what is driving our nutritional choices, is it our bodies or our emotions that we are fueling? Paying attention to the answers to this question can offer us invaluable insight into what is driving our nutritional choices and help us to increase our awareness and be more connected and in-line with who we truly are and can become? Tom Venuto of Burn the Fat talks about four stages of nutritional awareness to help you understand where your Conscious Eating level is at. Stage 1: Unconscious incompetence - you are eating the wrong foods in the wrong amounts and you’re not even aware of it. (You don’t know what you’re doing and you don’t know that you don’t know what you’re doing) Stage 2: Conscious incompetence - you are eating the wrong foods in the wrong amounts, but for some reason, you now become aware of it. This is often because of a “hitting bottom” experience or an “I’m not gonna live like this anymore” epiphany. (You don’t know what you’re doing and now you know that you don’t know what you’re doing!) Stage 3: Conscious competence - you educate yourself and begin to eat the right foods, but it takes a lot of thought and effort to eat the right things in the right amounts. (You know what you’re doing, but you have to think about it and work very hard to make it happen because you’re using willpower and still learning)

Stage 4: Unconscious competence - you’ve made the conscious effort to eat the right foods in the right amounts and you’ve counted calories and kept a nutrition journal for long enough and with enough repetition that these behaviors become habits and a part of your lifestyle. (You know what you’re doing and you do it easily and automatically without having to think about it).

Where would you say your awareness is at? Why not tomorrow or you next meal, take a moment and pay attention to how your body feels, what your mind is thinking, what is going on around you that is making you make the choice you are making? Increasing our awareness about what we are putting in our bodies, help us nourish our-selves on so many levels - physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. Once we start to raise our awareness and connect with our bodies, not only do we instinctively make healthier choices, but out bodies flourish and our minds become clearer. You are helping to create healthier, more vibrant you just by paying attention to the fuel you choice to nourish your body with. Next time, I will share some tips on HOW to eat consciously and improve your fuel.

You are what you eat…

Everyone has heard the saying ‘you are what you eat’, so why do so many of us each day decided to nourish ourselves with foods that do not make us look and feel so good. How good do you think that processed hot dog covered in fructose corn syrup ketchup along with the refined striped of all it’s natural goodness wheat roll (don’t forget the soda and chips on the side) is going to nourish your body. Let’s take a walk down this nutritional path… You’re starving so you stop at the hot dog stand and grab a bite. Mmm, tastes so good and this is the pleasurable part right! You were hungry so you ate some food, now your brain is telling you are full and you enjoyed the process. Have you every wondered what happens after that. Well, this processed hot dog, your stomach mulches high fructose corn syrup ketchup and some artificial bread up and it all goes along its merry path along the intestines. This is where the body is searching (it really is trying it’s hardest) to find some nutrients to nourish the body. It finds a few nutrients with the rations it was given and gives this out to the needy cells. These cells are crying out for some wholesome food so they can go about there business of keep us energized, vibrant, healthy and get rid of the toxins from our environment, foods and lifestyle. Most importantly though, these nutrients that the body reaps form our diet helps our little cells deal with all the negative chemicals left behind by the negative emotions we feel everyday. Candice Pert is a leader in the field on psychoimmunoneurology that delves into the world of the effect thoughts and emotions have on our physical body. It is fascinating stuff! When you give yourself foods that nourish your body, your cells are vibrant, exciting powerhouses, ready to take on whatever the day may bring. When our cells lack that nourishment they feel fatigue, lethargic and maybe even a little grumpy that they can’t do everything we demand of them. Would you expect your car to run on empty tank with cheap and nasty gasoline? Our bodies have a great way of telling us what it likes and doesn’t like, what makes it feel good or bad, we just have to listen. Food is vital for life and it is something that we get to do everyday and enjoy. It is an art, science and passion. So, as you go down your path and the next time your tummy is telling you that it is hungry, maybe think about is the choice you make controlled by what your brain thinks will taste good at this moment? And what can you can give your body to nourish those little cells so it can bound through the day in tip top shape (as we are just one package of A LOT of those little cells). Nourish, thrive and grow!

Same pie, just a different slice...

Do you find that everything is always connected? Nothing is ever isolated or alone? How many times have you been speaking to a friend over coffee and you are talking about a class and she knows the ladies son that teaches the class. Or you are reading a book and your brother, mum, friend starts talking about the same concept? I experience these synchronicities (if that is what they are called) and they always make me chuckle. The world really is a small place or they are nice reminders that we are walking the right path or the same path. These small but significant interactions can remind us that we are supported and we are not alone. We sometimes just need to pay attention to these subtle synchronicities and see them as a guide to opening up our worlds. They remind us we are connected to other people, situations and knowledge. Remember a time when a person ridiculed you about the job you did, the beliefs you had or the way you even walked (people can be funny sometimes), there always seemed to be that moment when a person (the wise, nice one) that would come along and offer the support you needed at the time. As happened today, I am at work in my nursing job looking after the acute cardiac patients (I am also studying energy medicine) and I begin talking to a patient. She tells me she left her book in the waiting area, so off I go to fetch the book. It happens to be a book about energy medicine, I also happen to be reading a book co-authored by the same Dr. (too funny). Hence, we get into a chat and all the similarities start coming out, she knows my teacher, she has completed the course I am looking into undertaking. This evolves into a discussion about energy medicine; it’s basis, origins, and leaders in the field, different techniques. After and hour of discussion we came to realize, all these energy techniques, from ancient Chinese and Hindu methods, reiki, herbalism and kinesiology are all from the same origin and source. They are all part of the same pie, but just a different slice. Just like human beings, in essence we are all the same. Everyday I am taught, shown and experience that everything is just a part of the same pie. As we consume our slice we come across those that also like our slice, but also like the other slices. These are the true guides in our life that help expand the journey of seeing the whole pie. As in the great movie Waitress, she bakes a pie of passion and love that come into the life of that one person that eats it when they need it. All made from love and kindness. So what flavor is your slice of pie? (I like mine sweet and warm)

Following your Intuition

One of my goals is to always be connected, to always listen to the feeling inside that knows what is best for you. So, when MondoBeyondo asked this this week:

Where have your best impulses taken you?

Have you ever had a time where listening to your gut totally paid off?  What was the situation?  How did you know that you knew what to do next? I got a little excited......here is my story!

One of the biggest and easiest decisions of my life was when I moved to the US from Australia. My sister rang me up from new york, which she was going to make her new home and said 'come and live in new york with me'. Now, for me this was HUGE. I was the quiet girl, I had never traveled overseas, but there was something inside of me that said 'Just go'.

Six weeks later, a one way ticket to New York and a backpack I was on my way. I had quit my job, vacated my apartment and was off for a big (and scary) adventure.

I rationalised that it it doesn't work out I will just go back home to Australia. I knew in my heart of hearts that if I had that return ticket readily available inmy pocket, I would be on the next flight back to Oz as soon as it all got a little much in the big world of overseas and newness in New York.

So I plunged into with engines on fire!

Needless to say, after inviting me over with the best of intentions my sister left 6 weeks after I got here, she didn't like it at all. I been yelled at far too mnay times to count for either walking up the steps in the wrong side , not moving quick enough in the post office line, fallen in love and had my heart broken, managed to survive a year on the lowest of wages whilst I waited for my nursing license (but had the best time EVER).

I am still here 5 years later and still adoring every moment. Things keep getting better. Every now and then I let myself wonder what would be if I had not taken that leap of faith. It was a giant leap. I recognise how much it has changed my path, taught and evolve me. Then I also recognise that the small leaps of faith we all take everyday by following that inner guide, that gut feeling, that niggle in the heart, that impacts us just as greatly and has just the same effect as those big moments we clearly remember. It is always one of my wishes, intentions and gratitude, to always being connected.

Words to live by...

Starting to dream!

So the first exercise for the e-course was to create a word the inspires our intention for the year. It used the 'Word of the Year Discovery Tool' created by  Christine Kane


My word for the year is  flourish

With the seeds I have been planting I shall nurture my garden and let it grow. A garden full of blossoming beautiful scented roses.

Dreaming into the future

As the new year rolls in and we all get back to our lives after the indulgences of the holiday season, it is evident all around that people do not change.

All the talk of resolutions and good intentions fall by the way side and people continue to do what they have always done, and then June hits and people bask in the glory of summer. Winter rolls around again and people contemplate the year gone by and wonder why nothing change.

Wise Words

"The mind experiences and the brain records".
Valerie V. Hunt

New Beginnings

A new day, a new year and a new decade! What better opportunity to share the ever eternal journey for achieving balance. New Years is such a funny time. One feels excited as there is a whole new year to create possibilities, dream big and create new visions.

One also feels a sense sadness of what has been whether they were good times had that are now memories or over opportunities missed, words not spoken or actions left beyond due to our own fear. They say one can not dwell on the past and move forward which is why I think New Years offers us the perfect chance to reflect on what was and what will be. So as strolled the streets doing my groceries and going for a run, I reflected on my time gone by this year and the time to come.

All around couples kissed with the pleasure of sharing there first day of the year together. The bitter people angry that they are once again alone on such an auspicious day wonder why this is happening to them again (I wonder if they every ask, what can I do to change this situation?

I suppose they never do as they walk by still grumbling to themselves). I realise I was also one of those walking along by myself but I realised, I chose this moment and I am happy with it. I love the blanket of snow across the trees, the crispness in the air and most important I have freedom both physically in the 'real' world and emotionally.

I looked back at where I was 365 days ago and a sense of 'oh my god' ran through my body, my how I have change. Along with this came a realisation of awe, I certainly did a lot of work this year, but it was fun and I became excited about where next year will lead me and where I will lead myself.

So many choices, so many possibilities. I am a different person to who I was a year ago, a decade ago and a day ago. What choice do you have today to make it a better one?