Refocusing Our Emotions

I get caught up in "what if" scenarios sometimes. I build up whole trains of thought based upon "what if?" Usually it has me upset with what others might be thinking and doing that I may not agree with, or with what others are actually doing. Either way, I really do not have any control over what others think or do or say. The only thing I have control over is my reaction to said situations. So when I received this in my email, I thought I would pass it along. It seems timely with all that is happening in the world, and all that is happening on an energetic level in most people's lives. Stress seems a part of the world right now, especially in personal relationships. It also reminded me of Eckhart Tolle's advice to step into the void when you feel yourself careening out of control. From the Institute of Heart Math:

The Power of Neutral - A Tool to Refocus Your Emotions

An important first step in transforming emotional stress is cleaning up strong, negative emotions and judgements as they come up. As soon as you start to feel your energy going sideways, you can use Neutral to refocus within yourself and go back to the heart. This will clear your emotions as you go and start building your empowerment to clear even more.

Once your emotions become disturbed, your mind will tend to jump in with judgements toward yourself or others. The mind, like a computer, starts a process of analyzing why, calculating next steps, and bringing up memories of what happened when you felt like that before. The Power of Neutral tool helps  put this mental momentum on pause so you can neutralize your reactions and thoughts. The Power of Neutral allows the guidance of your heart, your heart intelligence, to come in and stop the energy drain.

Judging yourself or others causes energy to back up in your system and feels bad. It doesn't bring helpful solutions. It only makes us feel disappointed in ourselves, which drains more energy. We can stop this in its tracks by using The Power of Neutral.

Practicing The Power of Neutral helps bring your mind, emotions and physiology to a state of neutral. Think of neutral as a "time-out zone" where you can step back, neutralize your emotions and see more options with objective clarity.

The Power of Neutral Tool

1. Take a time out. Breathe slow and deeply. Imagine the air entering and leaving through your heart area in the center of your chest.
2. Try to disengage from your stressful thoughts and feelings as you continue breathing.
3. Continue until you have chilled out and neutralized the emotional charge.

Use Step 1 as soon as you feel your emotions starting to amp up. First take a time out by choosing to step back from your emotions. The heart breathing in Step 1 will help you draw the energy out of your head, where negative thoughts and feelings get amplified. Breathe slowly and deeply in a casual way as you pretend the breath is going in and out through your heart area.

In Step 2, disengage from your stressful thoughts and feelings as you continue to breathe. Just having the intent to disengage can help you release a lot of the emotional energy.

In Step 3, you continue the process until you have chilled out and neutralized the emotional charge. This doesn't mean irritability, anxiety, or other stressful feelings will have totally evaporated. It merely means the charged energy has been taken out and you have stopped accumulating stress. Even if you can't totally neutralize a reaction in the moment, simply making the effort to shift into neutral will stop the accumulation of anxiety or stress about it. It will give you a change to regroup your energies and refocus.

One of the things that can help you get to neutral is asking yourself, "Do I really want to keep draining energy and stressing about the situation or how bad I feel?" For example, right before a situation that normally makes you anxious or stressed, you may start negatively projecting the idea you will blow it or be judged by others. This is the perfect time to use The Power of Neutral. Otherwise, your emotional reaction will kick in and drain you. And even if you don't get completely calm, going to Neutral still reduces a lot of stress and helps you refocus.

As you build your ability to use this tool, you will acquire a new type of emotional energy maintenance. This translates into more energy to do the things you really want to do.

The Heart, Contd.

In relation to my newest learning curve, how the heart may actually have a mind of its own, I've learned a few things I thought I would pass along. But first let me say - I have been finding more and more references to the heart and how it will play a very different role in the future then it does now. Most of us see the heart as an organ, nothing more. It pumps blood throughout our system and keeps us alive - without it, we die. That is certainly true.

But for years we've heard stories of people with heart transplants having the memories of the donor through Cellular Memory. This theory postulates that the brain is not the only organ that stores memories or personality traits. In fact there are documented cases where transplant recipients awaken with mild personality changes, cravings, opinions, and tastes, that they didn't have before the surgery. One classic example of this is Claire Sylvia, who after a heart and lung transplant in the 1970's wrote the book A Change of Heart.

So if we entertain the idea that the heart may also be more than just an organ that pumps blood and keeps us alive, what else might that mean? Here are a few things to consider:

• A new discipline of neurocardiology has confirmed that the heart is a sensory organ, and can actually learn, remember, and make independent functional decisions that does not involve the cerebral cortex. 
• Emotions that we once thought only originated in the brain are now known to be a product of both the brain and the body acting together.
• Feelings of appreciation are good for your heart. 
• Our nervous system acts as an antenna and responds to the magnetic fields produced by the hearts of others.
• Data has shown that it is possible for the magnetic signals of the heart to influence the brain rhythms of others at conversational distances.
• We can learn techniques that can help us stabilize internally in order to be less vulnerable to being affected negatively by the fields coming from others.
• Your heart can synchronize with your loved one in your sleep.

So I will continue my study, but I hope I've piqued your interest. There are several websites out there that talk about this subject. My favorite so far, mostly because it is scientifically based, is the Institute of HeartMath, which had been referenced in other reading I've been doing lately. I bought their book on Transforming Anxiety for someone else, and I downloaded The Energetic Heart for myself. Most of the above information comes from that e-book. I would highly recommend it for anyone wanting to understand more about the heart and its effect on your overall health, and the health of others.

All of this reinforces my belief that we are so much more than we ever could have imagined. We only use 10% of our brains,  so maybe the other 90% actually comes from our heart...

Billy's Greens

I watched an interview on Conscious Media Network a while back with Billy Merritt of Billy's Greens. Greens have become a big thing with people focused on good health and nutrition.

This young man has quite a story. Plagued with brain tumors and resulting seizures, he went on a quest to try and heal himself. He tried drugs, looked into surgery, but found nothing was working. Unable to work, or live a normal life, he started eating better, mostly raw foods, fresh fruits and vegetables. His health improved some.

He also spent time every morning meditating. It was during this time that he started praying, hours and hours of prayer, during his day.  He would let God know of his desire for health and then he said he would listen, believing that we need to let the Universe know what we need and then pay attention to strong hunches, instincts, those ideas that say go this way - go that way. He was reluctant to admit, but finally did during the interview, that at one point he heard a small quiet voice that said he must drop everything and "go to Nepal." He said he has only heard voices a couple of times in his life - so it's not like he hears them all of the time - but this one time he followed his instincts and did exactly that - he dropped everything and went to Nepal. After hiking 300 miles in the mountains from one guest lodge to another, he was still having seizures and felt the journey was for nothing. Sad and dispirited, he booked a return flight through the Bangkok airport for home.

It was during time of protests in Bangkok, that included the airport, and flights were canceled. He decided to spend time in Laos, admitting he had never felt so alone and sad. The food in Laos was not what he was used to so he ate coconuts for two weeks. And guess what? He cured his seizures! Something in the coconuts!

This sent him on a path that continues to this day. At 22 years old he has his own business, honed by trying different combinations of algaes, herbs, botanicals, probiotics, enzymes, and superfoods into nutrient-dense combinations that he found to be incredibly effective while working and perfecting his blends at the Ashram Health Retreat of Calabasas, CA.

I came across this interview while concerned for my own health. Struggling with one major virus after another, a feeling that something was wrong, or going to be wrong very soon, I went to his website and ordered a couple of his products. I felt, instinctively, that I needed an immune booster. I have to admit to feeling better - much better. Is it from the superfoods? I don't know. It could be because I'm eating better and exercising again, but I did order some for my family. They just received it, so I haven't had any reports so far.

I think Billy's story is one that proves we have what we need to help us in this world. Paying attention to God, Spirit, Higher Self,  or whatever you want to call it - is the answer. Going within with our questions,  and most of all - listening to the answers. They don't always come in word form. It could be hunches, ideas, synchronicities, something we read, something we hear, someone who comes into our life at just the right moment, symbols, music, pictures. The important thing is to pay attention and remain open.

For me, at this time in my life, it was Billy. I'm now looking at my health from a nutrition standpoint that will include products that help me in this endeavor.

Besides, I believe in supporting grass-roots businesses that feel they are lead by Spirit. Billy proves we don't need to rely on big corporations to meet our needs. This is our future.

Phobias

Phobias are one of those things that I think everyone has - at least one. In my case it's doctors, doctor's offices, medical equipment, nurses, or anything that has to do with messing with my body, short of having a hot stone massage. I find myself either surly, or worse in my opinion, desperately insecure, whenever I have to visit the doctor. My blood pressure rises and I have a hard time sitting still while waiting. And waiting is something you do when visiting the doctor. My phobia even as a name - Iatrophobia - a fear of doctors.

At any rate, I am of the age where one has to have preventative tests. The usual mammogram, blood tests, and colonoscopy. Somehow I have managed to dance around not getting any of these tests for two years. I've had good excuses. At one point we were not sure when our insurance would be canceled from a company that had merged with my husband's company and had a contract to pay our insurance for two years. Unfortunately that company went bankrupt six months after the merge. So for the next year we waited to be canceled. Not a good time to have tests that might preclude being able to get insurance at all. We all know insurance companies would like nothing better than to exclude you from any policy for a pre-existing condition. Our health care is now in corporate hands, not doctors.

The dreaded colonoscopy I've managed to avoid for six years. Each year I visit the doctor and the doctor writes an "order" to have it done. I would put it off and, lucky for me, I would move and then have to start all over again. But now I'm back to my original doctor, the one I had six years ago that first sent me  to have it done. I ignored last year's, telling her our insurance had been canceled, which was true, just not at the time she wrote the order. But this year I had absolutely no excuse. I was caught with no way out. I had put it off long enough, and with colon cancer in the family, it was just plain irresponsible.

Phobias are debilitating. They often have absolutely nothing to do with reality, but they keep us from doing things that are in our best interest. And there are many, many different types of phobias, from a phobia of erect penises, Medorthophobia, to gaiety, Cherophobia. You can find a complete list here. Chances are you have a problem with something on the list.

Phobias are treated in a number of ways, some listed here. But I have found from my own experience that using relaxation techniques, combined with actually facing the fear, works well for my phobias. Simply put yourself in a relaxed state and walk through the fear. Do it over and over. In my case, I walked myself through the entire colonoscopy procedure in my mind. I watched myself get up, shower, get dressed, get in the car, etc., all the while feeling relaxed and free of fear. Did it work? Yes. It worked enough to get me there and do what I needed to do without freaking out.

My point is that fear is something that is constructed in the mind, and the mind can help you release the fear. It's more a matter of controlling the thoughts and programming our brains to think the thoughts we want it to be thinking. The body's autonomic nervous system will follow the directions from the brain, and the brain will follow directions from the mind. Does that make any sense?

What about you - any phobias?

Paying Attention

So many of us ask for answers to our questions, but how often do we listen for the answers?

My younger daughter has been struggling with what she wants to do for post-graduate studies. She is leaning toward nursing school, and has started the process to begin the pre-requisites to apply. But she isn't totally sure that she doesn't want to go into Naturopathic Medicine, of which there is a really good school in Portland. It is exactly like entering medical school, in terms of curriculum and cost. Not a decision to make unless one is fully engaged.

Yesterday she was buying some veggies from a fruit and vegetable stand when the man behind the counter said he was a clairvoyant/psychic and was picking up on her "frequencies." He said he saw her doing something with healing, children, and plants. He saw plant starts, but didn't know what kind. He also said her father's father was around her.

Now for someone to say these things out of the blue is odd, but what is even more odd is that her grandfather passed away a year ago and was a doctor who, while being an Internist, believed in preventative care to the extreme. This daughter is very interested in plants and sustainable gardening, asking to attend the Master Gardner program as a recent graduation gift. She took this as a possible answer to her question - nursing school or naturopathic medicine.

My point is that we often ask questions to difficult questions, but don't always pay attention when the answers come our way. We expect them to come verbally, or in some way definitive. I think we need to pay attention to subtle cues and gentle reminders that often come to us in obscure ways. Whether or not you believe this man to be a psychic, he gave her information that she needed. Her desire to heal and her love of plants can be combined in a naturopathic way, which is something I see for the future as more and more people become aware of the inherent risks of a pharma-based medical system.

Which makes me wonder how many of my own questions could be answered if only I were paying attention?

Guidelines

http://www.terragalleria.com/index.html

I have always admired Gary Zukov.  The Seat of the Soul was one of those books that resonated with me in a very big way. I read it sometime in the early 1990's, when it first came out, and have re-read it every few years. He and his partner Linda Frances give workshops, have written a new book, and put out an occasional newsletter. I was reminded of their "guidelines" which I had posted on my bulletin board in our last house and need to print and put on my Intention Board here. I think I may have printed them in some form or other in a previous post. They are reminders to live our life with intention and awareness. Since it's a new year, I thought you might be interested in perusing them:

Practice using these Guidelines everywhere – at home, with family, with friends, with adversaries, at work, and at play. 

• COMMITMENT – MAKING MY SPIRITUAL GROWTH (CREATING AUTHENTIC POWER) MY HIGHEST PRIORITY
• Focus on what I can learn about myself all the time, especially from my reactions (such as anger, fear, jealousy, resentment, and impatience), instead of judging or blaming others or myself.
• Pay attention to my emotions by feeling the physical sensations in my energy centers (such as my chest, solar plexus, and throat areas).
• Pay attention to my thoughts (such as judging, analyzing, comparing, daydreaming, planning my reply, etc., or thoughts of gratitude, appreciation, contentment, openness to Life, etc.)
• Pay attention to my intention (such as blaming, judging, needing to be right, seeking admiration, escaping into thoughts (intellectualizing), trying to convince, etc., or cooperating, sharing, creating harmony, and revering Life).

• COURAGE – STRETCHING MYSELF BEYOND THE LIMITED PERSPECTIVES OF THE FRIGHTENED PARTS OF MY PERSONALITY
• Take responsibility for my feelings, experiences, and actions (no blaming).
• Practice integrity at all times (often requires action, such as speaking when frightened parts of my personality don’t want to speak and not speaking when they feel compelled to speak).
• Say or do what is most difficult (sharing what I notice, if appropriate, when someone speaks or acts from a frightened part of his or her personality; sharing about myself what I am frightened to say and know that I need to say.)

• COMPASSION –SEEING MYSELF AND OTHERS AS SOULS WHO SOMETIMES HAVE FRIGHTENED PARTS OF THEIR PERSONALITIES ACTIVE
• Change my perspective from fearful to loving (choose to see myself and others in a loving or appreciative way).
• Release any distance I feel from anyone.
• Be present while others are speaking (not preparing replies, judging, etc.)

• CONSCIOUS COMMUNICATIONS AND ACTIONS – STRIVING TO MAKE ALL MY INTERACTIONS CONSCIOUS AND LOVING

• Consult my intuition.
• Choose my intention before I speak or act.
• Act from the healthiest part of my personality that I can access (rather than caretaking, fixing, teaching, judging, blaming, gossiping, etc.)
• Speak personally and specifically rather than generally and abstractly (use “I” statements rather than “we” or “you” statements).
• Release attachment to the outcome (trust the Universe).  If I find myself attached, begin again with Commitment, Courage, Compassion.

And remember to enjoy yourself!

Copyright © 2009 The Seat of the Soul Institute

Bloginar

I have found a new website (through one of you, but I can't remember who exactly), that is having a "bloginar" on energy and healing. Over the years I have read many things on energy and the mind/body connection and this series synthesises complex information very well. Some of this information is now being taught in mainstream courses. Many general practicioner offices now have Naturopathic doctors on staff, utilzing them for preventive health and alternative medicines.

Humans have an innate ability to heal themselves, and moving away from the pharma-based system we now depend on may be where healthcare needs to go in order to be sustainable. Utilizing alternatives, or working in conjunction with mainstream medicinal practices, makes sense for the future.

If you are interested, go to Healing Mudras and start here. It has several parts over the month of December.

Let me know what you think.