Pain as a Path to Insight

Anyone who has ever suffered knows the challenge of finding meaning in the pain. Initially we seek a cause - we blame others - we blame ourselves - we blame inanimate objects or God. It must be someone's fault. Ow!! Once we get tired of that, we resign, man up, bear with it, or get going trying to alleviate the pain without ever recognizing the gift of it's presence - and there is a gift...always a gift underneath.

There is a way to relate to the energy of pain that is far more effective - one that increases our abilities and gives clear meaning to our experience. This interactive workshop will explore the yogic path of the nature of pain as a path to insight.

“Once one has committed to wholeness, all that is not that will step forward to be healed” says the Mystic.

Whether your own experience is with physical, emotional or psychic pain, you can learn new skills and open to insights that offer a clear framework for transformation. If that sounds too esoteric, just think of an ice cube melting into a puddle of water. It is not a mystery because we can observe and understand it.

All energy that is frozen in time and space can be refreshed with the warmth of new light, and that includes pain.

The gift of pain is insight, and we will shift the paradigm of mindless pain relief to one of keeping the baby while throwing out the bath water. You will come away with new and powerful insights for yourself and the world around you.

This is the essence of trauma therapy no matter how big or how small the event. No one is left out of the grace of relief - it's built into the framework as part of your energetic anatomy.

Welcome!

For more information and to register for the day at Yoga Polarity Center in Malverne Long Island, contact Lizzie Ferrara at mzliz@aol.com or call 917-288-6162.

Author and Yoga Therapist Gael Chiarella Alba ERYT is founder of The Yokibics Way and blogs on the topic throughout these posts and at www.yokibics.com.

Please tell your New York friends about this opportunity...Give yourself or a friend this gift of freedom and join us.
 
Namaste with love...
Gael

#5 Fear of Success

The more I listen for the voice of fear, the more I hear it through the denial we have of our own success - our our innate greatness.  Contemplate again the famous Marianne Williamson quote "it is not our darkness we fear most, but our light..."

I have another reminder that came from Mystic teacher Carolyn Myss when she told a story about how she got started.  As a medical intuitive working with Dr. Norm Shealy, people would ask her all the time if she could teach the "art" of intuition.  She decided she could indeed - there was a system, a rhythm and a reason to it all, and she proudly put the word out that workshops were forming.

Lo and behold her conclusion was that more people came to find out how to control their intuition than how to enhance it.

They wanted to learn how to have things their way rather than the way.

Mostly I have found the same thing after years of observation, so I ask you these questions: do you really want to know what you can tap into?  Do you like the answers you receive? Are you willing to make the changes necessary when "intuition" or your higher knowledge of truth comes knocking at the door of your consciousness?  Do you give yourself real time to listen? Are you willing to act to make change happen now?

If the answer for you is an immediate "yes" then congratulations and kudos galore! This is the very core of the message in the program Fundamentals of Emotional Freedom (which can be yours with this simple click into downloadland.)

Whether you know it or not, you have mastered the ability to move energy as divine inspiration from insight through your will, past fear into faith with true Self-regard, giving active relatedness to a new life generating belief that supports your life choices.

THAT, my friend, is an awesome synopsis of successfully moving energy through the seven chakras and allowing life's blessings to fully inform and activate your experience. The colors represent the guiding light of each vibration, and knowing how to navigate the territory brings speed - and ease - to the journey.

For many of us though, the answer to big insight is some variation of NO!  And why should it be otherwise when so much in the World is in such an unbelievable state of turmoil?  And so we say no - I don't want to change my life.  I'm not ready to leave my job.  I can't handle moving my location.  I'm afraid of coming out to be who I am...and on it goes.

So be it. 

We argue for our limitations and they are ours.

Each of these arguments has one thing in common. A belief that triggers fear.  Fear that we won't be accepted. Fear that we won't be part of our group.  Fear of loneliness and disapproval.  Fear that we won't succeed. Fear of innate survival diminishing.  Fear of loss. This is 1st chakra territory, the area of belief and unconscious resistance in the energy body.

Until we are able to look at our beliefs and challenge our assumptions it will be close to impossible to move on without fear dogging us every step of the way. The "no" doesn't really keep us safe (or happy) - it just keeps fear from activating.  No amount of behavioral change will really work because the underlying belief will continue to run our circuits, and all manner of successful reasoning and procrastination will result.
 
Now if we can move beyond a flat out "no I can't" to "YES (but not yet)" or "I will when I'm ready" then this is a frame of reference I can address successfully today.  This attitude is more about relatedness than it is about belief, and moves us to the governing body of the 2nd chakra and conscious choice.  Now we have the opportunity to discern how we can relate to our fears, and changing our behaviors can be a successful path.

Do you want to be the change you seek? Then you can do this.
 
Remember that fear fuels itself through the 4th chakra of the heart where faith also lives.  If we are to transform fear into faith, we must look at the system of actions that bring us into the 2nd chakra activities of relatedness, then look through the 3rd chakra power of Self referral so that we can arrive at the possibility of transformation that exists as the gift of 4th chakra faith.

There is a path to this system and it is neither esoteric nor beyond reason. 

For today let's focus on the 2nd level of relatedness.  The following is some copy from my Spiritual Warrior Coaching Manual.  I use it as an appendix of helpful information when addressing individual areas of action - or lack of action - once the possibility of change is firmly agreed upon.  So let's say you know something's got to give, but somehow you are still in a flummox about beelining toward your intuition about change.

What's needed is some clarity about how to relate to what it takes to get from your intention to your action.

These are relational tips you can employ in the process of successfully navigating territory that may seem vast or overwhelming, and they address...

The 10 Robbers of Time

1.    Floundering.  Too much going on. 

You need to be specific.

2.    Wheel spinning.  Busy work. 

Stop and re-access what is truly important from what is convenient.

3.    Fire fighting.  Crisis management.

Begin today to orient toward fire prevention.

4.    Vacillation.  Can’t decide?

Get tough and do something…anything to create action in one direction!

5.    Dawdling. 

Keep your goal in mind and make a deadline.  Write it down.

6.    Spraying. 

Focus on one task like a laser beam and stop spreading yourself too thin.

7.    Switching. 

Have persistence and develop a passion for closure.

8.    Acquiescing to arm-twisting. 

Practice saying NO! “No” is a complete sentence.

9.    Rehashing.  Reminiscence and regret. 

Make today count and stay in the present moment.

10. Perfectionism.  Avoiding the risk of failure.

Strive for excellence rather than the illusion of perfection.

ok -  now you've got the skinny on some 2nd chakra strategy.  It's not as esoteric as you might think. Go for it...and contact me if you want some personal guidance.  The system can be learned and will offer you gifts beyond measure. Next time I'll readdress where to go from here... ps "like" our Yokibics facebook page for updates and more opportunities to connect.


Have fun!
Gael

Nourishing Ourselves

Another installment on the blessings of a meditative mindset...

Last week I led a retreat on Long Island on the beautiful grounds of Planting Fields Arboretum.  The picture above is just a tiny slice of life from their main greenhouse.  Before we gathered in the room I'd set up for our yokibics movement and meditation program, we opened our day in the greenhouse, quietly moving through the different rooms, observing the blooming orchids, the shedding dahlias, the thorny and majestic cactus...feeling the humidity and breathing in the smells that surrounded us.  We participated with conscious awareness in the knowledge that our retreat had begun in the simplest of ways, and it could be nothing special without our full participation and awareness.

It was grand!

Lately I've been noticing more and more of what isn't so grand - weird expressions of "guilt" about being able to stop and smell the roses, as if we are stealing time from more important endeavors - as if we need to do it in secret.  This seems to be combining with an increased amount of pressure from the outside world to get going lickety split! 

I wonder when the pendulum swung so definitively in this direction that it feels normal to be stressed?

I especially love to watch the folks who play the "green light game" as if their lives depended on it.  You know the ones.  You're in your car stopped at a light and your attention wanders out the window for just a moment as you take a breath and look around.  The light turns green and as you bring your gaze back and begin the action to accelerate ... BEEEEEEEPPPPPP!!

Not quick enough apparently.  

Perhaps we need more coffee.  And 5-hour energy drinks. And don't forget the Pepsid...

For those of us at Planting Fields, each one described a feeling of deep satisfaction through the simple act of receiving fully what was already there. 

Once out in daily life, we continue to have the opportunity to nourish ourselves every day through what we see, hear, touch, taste and smell - for nourishment truly is the issue at hand.

One of my favorite topics for illustrating this is to consider the experience of conscious eating.  

In order to get a feel for conscious eating, try the following exercise as you imagine yourself sitting down to a delicious meal...

Relax your body. Unclench and unwind your legs, arms, belly, jaw, neck, back and face.

Deepen your breath… 

When you slow your breath you slow down time.  The meal in front of you is here for you to savor and enjoy.  

Notice if you feel rushed, “starved”, or ready to get going.  Focus instead on your readiness to nourish your body, mind and spirit.  Only your mind says “hurry now and eat…”

You need not have a lot of time; merely the sensation that you have all the time you need.  Slow your inhale, and enjoy this pause in your day. 

Exhale, and let go of all the thoughts and stresses you brought into this moment. …  If there is some aggravation you need to release, do it now before your meal. 

Focus your attention on the ease, family, and friendship surrounding this meal.  It doesn’t matter if you are alone or with others.  You are the favored guest! 

Center on what pleases you. Treat yourself well.  Allow yourself to generate a feeling of appreciation…relax even more deeply.

Lastly, feel your connection to the food you are going to eat, and acknowledge the nutritive value of your meal.

Take another deep breath, and smile.

Approach the nourishing moments in front of you with this frame of reference and you will be well on your way to a happier, more loving, more self-fulfilled you.

How can you find more roses in your day??

Emotional Freedom for Everyone

My friend and fellow mystic writer Edie Weinstein just published an article in Wisdom magazine that features an interview with Dr. Judith Orloff on the topic "Emotional Freedom" and I realize more clearly every day how very significant this information has become - and will continue to become - for all of us as we evolve into the people we are growing up to be. 

I think you'll love Edie's interview (read it here) and the clear awareness that Judith Orloff has on the subject can only benefit your own deepening instincts about who you are and how you are becoming. 

I believe that emotional freedom - the sister topic of emotional genius - is the new frontier in human consciousness.  Daily we are gifted with new ways of knowing the body - and our investigation into the realm of the mind has fascinated us for eons whether through investigations of the unconscious, conscious or super conscious mind, the study of psychology and the intellect, or the delving fascination we have with psychic and intuitive abilities. But recognizing the source and purpose of emotions? In my experience we have misunderstood their role more completely than all of our misconceptions about body and mind put together.

Emotions are the gateway into how our energy circuits are running - a soul connector - and there isn't a bad one among them.  There is plenty of inappropriate or misguided response though (response-ability) that gives the emotion itself a bad name.

Here are a couple of examples from my work in the territory of the emotional genius...

Feeling angry?  That's a popular one to misunderstand. One might be coached to "get over it" or sided with by friends who are on your team with "yeah you're right! The rest of the world is against you/me/us!!"  But here is where anger is your guide and teacher. Where are your boundaries about the subject? Really.

Are you doing all you can to create clear words and a strong will in the area? Are you willing to make the changes you are being called to make in order to co-create a different outcome? So much easier to be "angry at the boss" than to get up and out and create a different life.  Yes, the answer to the presence of anger might be that drastic. 

No wonder we don't "understand."

Anger serves to tell us change is required.  Listen to it well.  Be honest with yourself.  Be honest with others.  Be willing to be the change you wish to see. 

The emotion of anger will always involve your will and your word.

What about grief? There is indeed great reason for the expression of it in the world - more than enough to go around.  Death itself has been built into the program of life. There  is no escaping the powerful appearance of grief in your life at one time or another. Yet like all emotions, grief is meant to ebb and flow. Deep sadness when caged is like sinking into the bottom of a well. It serves to bring us deeper and deeper into awareness of what we really value - and it holds the potential of letting go. A more authentic version of our former self becomes the gift.   

How many survivors of even the worlds worst atrocities have come out on the other side helping mankind in a way that only they could when fully embodied and fully charged?

Grief stimulates the 3rd chakra and is the harbinger of a more genuine you.

Fear? A natural request to place your faith wisely.
Pain? What insights are you being given?
Apathy? What get up and go is necessary for you to care about something greater than yourself?

How about the emotion of joy?? Ahhhh....

Joy is inherent in the system just like all the other emotions. It is not reserved only for the special few, yet joy too is meant to ebb and flow - to rise and fall - to sing it's song in your life - in every life! It doesn't do well if you try to hang onto it.  It was never meant to sit static like a crown jewel.  Joy arrives unbidden as a result of transforming the entirety of your emotional body into a functioning alive system - not despite it.

What practical key then can I leave with you? What wish for your success?

• allow yourself to change outdated beliefs about how miserable things are.
• stop brushing off your feelings as if they don't matter.  They do.
• be willing to learn to identify what feelings you have
• become able to develop good discernment about what choices are available to help you transform your emotions rather than stuffing them away.
• become able to pause when a feeling arises and recognize it without judgement
• validate validate validate yourself
• be willing to let go
• recognize the the joy you seek is already there
• know that becoming an emotional genius is an inside job unrelated to circumstances outside your control.
• be willing to be new. 

If you are a conscious journeyman into the subject, read Edie Weinsteins' interview, buy Judith Orloffs book Emotional Freedom or download one of my audio programs Fundamentals of Emotional Freedom or Meditations for Emotional Freedom to help guide you.  You can achieve more clarity, greater ease and a deeper connection to your own interior through the process of honoring your emotions than you might ever have imagined. 

We are all destined to become masters in this life. Whether or not we can achieve that destiny depends upon the clarity of our objective.  May you be blessed in yours.

Namaste,
Gael
 .
Photo credit: Bob Alba
Exiting Mammoth Cave, Kentucky
 

Is Emotional Sobriety Freeing?

A continuation of my recent library post... and yet another result...


Having just launched one of my new children out into the world, I am enthused and embroiled in all the nuances of the subject I embraced.  One of my meanderings of late took me to the giant self-help section of my local library (we must all need lots and lots of help for this section to be so big :)  where I found a book called Emotional Sobriety: From Relationship Trauma to Resilience and Balance by Tian Dayton.

I wondered what Emotional Sobriety might have in common with Emotional Freedom, so this book came home with me - one of my borrowed friends.

All in all I found that the two subjects have quite a lot in common, though the viewpoints come from different perspectives, for the basic conclusions are the same: you must move with your emotions in order to enjoy health.  The Sobriety book focuses on the trauma that can inhibit movement.  The guided audio program I created helps the movement to occur.

I found that the last chapter of Daytons book contained sixteen habits of emotionally sober people, and from my perspective they are succinct and correct, and so I offer them to you in addition to my own program.

According to Dayton, people that are "emotionally sober" have the following traits:

• they are able to self-reflect: they take charge of their own lives
• they take responsibility for their own attitudes
• they have goals and work toward meeting them
• they consciously maintain good habits
• they have good boundaries
• they know their own shortcomings and insecurities
• they avoid unnecessary conflict but speak up when necessary
• they have realistic expectations of life
• they take responsibility for their own moods
• they have and live by good values
• they are grateful and appreciative of what life gives them
• they maintain strong relationship networks
• they are active and get involved in life
• they tend to have a positive belief system of some kind
• they live in the present
• they have a balanced and mature outlook on life

As I concluded the book I recognized the list as the series of outcomes that arrive when Emotional Freedom is expressed.  For a background of recognition on what and how you might have experienced relationship trauma in your own life, and the science behind why you might have suffered as a result, I recommend this book highly.  It can serve as a wonderful companion to the experience of Emotional Freedom and offer you great understanding of your history.

For ways to get through the movement and transformational process of the feelings themselves, I am happy to light the path that can show you the way. You can listen to a sample of Fundamentals of Emotional Freedom right on the Yokibics website (my my, we ARE getting high tech!) You will learn how to recognize which emotion is moving through you, what language you are using that holds it in place, and experience a guided meditation to move you in the direction of the positive aspect of each and every feeling you have.

Enjoy your emotional freedom today.  You won't feel stagnant, and you may find any range of feelings from high to low, happy to sad, and everywhere else in between - but that is the point! The feeling of emotion coupled with the intention to embrace the result is what makes transformation possible.

Your freedom to flow with the experience of life is the joyful result.  It is my honor to assist.

Have a great ride...
Namaste

Abundance at the Library

I 

I have a trick for changing the view of my circumstances when the perspective needs a boost in the direction of clarity and abundance.

The trick is to go visit my public library.  

Yup, that regular old-fashioned bastion of wisdom and knowledge stuffed to the brim with most anything you might want to explore.

Do any of you over the age of 10 still actually go there?  

Too busy you say? Pshaw...

It is an amazing experience when viewed from the perspective of the Mystic. Books of all sorts are available to feed mind, body and spirit - fiction,  non-fiction, biographies, art, travel, food, periodicals, and music galore!    

On my recent visit I sat in one of the big red leather high back chairs that face the fireplace in this old library building of mine, and read, and scanned, and looked, and absorbed, and enjoyed the diversity of opportunity there. In several hours I hit only the tiniest tip of the iceberg of what is actually available. 

I wonder how often we can see the wide open sky of opportunity and choice - of options and availabilities when we are in the midst of strife and struggle...?  

Go to the library - you'll feel better

When I was done noodling around, I chose two full armfuls of great stuff to bring home with me.

(These are the bonus points - my nose has been buried all week in the lushness of it all.)

And my ears!

Piano and cello and voices soar from the CDs I collected just because - and if I don't love what I hear?  Click! Time to change to another.

The thing about the library is you get to experience what you love without owning it...

Yes, without owning it.

You know at the outset that in a month you'll have to return all your new "friends."

Go ahead and love what you are reading, feeling, seeing and hearing - but don't get too attached to the box it comes in!

And even better - no clutter - the sworn enemy of productivity and clarity.

What a wonderful reminder of what abundance actually is, for we know there will be many more books to greet us and call out to us from the shelves again and again once we return.

The lessons of abundance tell us there is always more - if perhaps different in shape and size and content.

And truthfully - there is no "owning" anything at all - not really.  We use that little human illusion to make us feel safe in the face of the more enduring knowledge that no matter how hard we hang on, "this too shall pass."

May all of you open your eyes wide and see the lushness around you.

May all of you experience the fullness of your life.

Namaste

The Spirituality of Being Open

Could it be that spiritual growth can be likened more to having a baby than some alternate, otherworldly or angelic analogy?

I think so.

Today I'm reading A Year of Daily Wisdom, a simple rotating calendar by Marianne Williamson based on A Course in Miracles (always rich territory fyi.)  As is usual for me - and this only gets better with time - I can pick up a book, or put on a song and 'bang!' there is the exact right item to give me solace or put me back on track.

The Course lesson for today is the following:

"Spiritual growth is like childbirth.

You dilate, then you contract.

You dilate.

Then you contract again.

As painful as it all feels, it is the necessary rhythm for reaching the ultimate goal of total openness."

Ohhh, total openness.  So that's the goal.

No wonder it feels hard.  For me, I'm as open as I want to be and that varies with time...and circumstance.  I find sometimes the less intimate I am with a person the easier "open" seems to be.  I'm certainly not the first to notice that particular logic.  So knowing what the goal is is helpful to me.  I can set my sail, head in the direction, clear my mind...intend...yes, intend...

and like all good intentions, may it be blessed and may it be so - for me, and for you too.

Namaste

Luminous With Age

I am a baby boomer, a mother, a daughter, teacher and friend.

I am graced to be here today, fully alive, beginning new and exciting projects as my career changes and grows.  So too is my body changing, no longer the young woman I have only just come to really know - and accept.

Here I am, having arrived at the entrance of the wisdom years in my life journey...the years my first yogi spoke of when I was just 22.  He was 90 if a day, vibrant yet serene, and unafraid.  He seemed to know who he was and where he was going.  He certainly knew why he was here.

"LOVE your life!" he said, "and work hard to stay healthy. We will need your voice to be strong when you enter the wisdom years."

I don't remember him qualifying his statement with "and don't forget the botox."

How can I describe the beauty of this time through the eyes of a culture that fears the look of aging?

The wisdom years are rich with experience amd insights that can only be earned through the maturation of time.  Yet not everyone who reaches time necessarily embraces the wisdom that is meant to come with it.

  

I recently came across an email from a few years ago that I saved. The content is from some anonymous person as far as I know, but the words were edited, and repeated, and forwarded from friend to friend...

On Aging

" I am probably now for the first time the person I have always wanted to be.

Though often I am taken aback by the 'old person' who lives in my mirror, I don't agonize about things for too long.  I would never trade my amazing friends, my wonderful life, my loving family for less gray hair or a flatter belly.


As I've aged I've become more kind to myself, and less critical.

I've become my own friend...


I have seen too many dear friends leave this world too soon, before they understood the great gift that comes with aging. 

Sure, over the years my heart has been broken...broken hearts are what give us strength and understanding and compassion.  A heart never broken is sterile and will never know the joy of being imperfect.


I am so blessed to have lived long enough to have my hair turn gray and to have my youthful laughs be forever etched into deep grooves on my face.


As you get older it is easier to be more positive.  You care less about what other people think.


So, to answer your question, I like being old.  It has set me free.


I am not going to live forever, but while I am still here I will not waste my time lamenting what could have been or worring what will be..."

So what worry would you like to let go of? Must you really wait any longer?  And if so...why??

For me, the truest anti "aging" devise has been to work on getting to know myself better and love myself more...to stand behind my most unique talents, and be willing to share my gifts.  To care less about being ridiculed and more about serving.  To give and forgive.  To laugh frequently...and loud.

Oh - and yes...to do the work of staying healthy so that I can still be here sharing my voice.

Blessings to you on your own journey.

Namaste

Growing Away

 

Today I'm thinking about how really hard it is to change the places of hurt and confusion that stem from our childhood and the ways we relate and care (or don't care) for each other.  The processing area for this kind of relating is found at the 2nd chakra, and we can spin and spin and spin at this level for a lifetime.

 

Eventually each of us needs to grow to be our own true Self in order to progress. We actually demand a new processing area in our bodymind to handle the information that can transform the wounds of relating. 

 

This is 3rd chakra movement. New territory. New rules. 

 

The 3rd chakra demands self awareness, self reflection and self esteem.  

 

The key phrase is "I let go of all that is not that into ease."

 

Let go of all that no longer serves your growth. Grief may appear.  Done well, grief WILL appear. 

 

That's ok.

The 3rd chakra area of the bodymind is the solar plexus, so breathing deep and stretching out can be a great help.

Eventually you'll find that what comes next is a true heart opening at the 4th chakra and your actions will move from fear into faith.

May you have many blessings on the journey.

Are You Ready for Fun?

I have enjoyed the beginning of this year like no other.
Something is in the air that feels like new beginnings.
Do you feel it too? I notice the sense of real ability being demonstrated with an "I can do this!" attitude.

Call it hope, or self-empowerment, I have heard many say "this is my time" and I agree. This IS your time!

Use it well and you will be lifted on unseen wings of grace if you only say "YES!"  That is the beginning.
The Mystic knows that once the commitment is made, all manner of unforeseen opportunity will follow.

Check out this video - it is one of the best New Years messages I've seen!
Sassy and soulful, it's 5 minutes well spent.

Let me know what you think...and Happy New Year in the truest sense!
 
Are You Ready for Fun

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Think Different

"Think Different." Beautiful video is worth the viewing.

I think of courage when I think "different"...and beauty, and reverence, and the joy of exploration.

Who does not know that we are all unique - we are each different - yet trying...wanting...desiring to fit in and find our place.

For some of us, the "fitting" can signify ease...for others, it is the area of greatest struggle. Humans do all sorts of convoluted things for the sake of being accepted...

Over time the balance that is struck between the individual and the tribe offers a path to success in the journey.

May you find yours.

"Here’s to the crazy ones.

The misfits.

The rebels.

The troublemakers.

The round pegs in the square holes.

The ones who see things differently.


They’re not fond of rules.

And they have no respect for the status quo.


You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them....
Because they change things.

They push the human race forward.

And while some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

Because the people who are crazy enough to think
that they can change the world… are the ones who do."

The ‘Think Different’ campaign featured many people whose lives and thoughts are inspiring – Mahatma Gandhi, Albert Einstein, John Lennon, Bob Dylan, Mohammed Ali and Richard Branson.

Originally written for Apple Computer.

Repeated today for you.

oooooooooohhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmm

Food and The Power of Choice

I'm usually attracted to writing about optimistic issues - at least from the perspective of empowerment.

Change what you can and have the wisdom to know what you can't.

So on the subject of nourishment - the basic foundation of fueling ourselves with energy-producing food that will add to our lifeforce - we have all sorts of empowering choices.

Don't we??

The documentary movie Food Inc takes a deep look at the subject of choice and offers us lots to think about - much of it clearly upsetting. We are in the dark kids, when it comes to food processing, contents, management and control. If you think you know what's going on, or that it doesn't affect you and your family, then watch this movie and see if you really know.

The picture is grim, and the results of our current actions (or non-actions) are felt by all. Yet I do believe we CAN change the way our systems work - and that the way we are likely to do that is to be effective at the individual level.

If you wish to exercise your own power of choice at this most basic level of your own health and wellbeing, then -

First: Knowledge is power. Get educated. Go see the movie and/or go to the website to get filled in.

Second: Don't give up or give in! It is likely that you will see, as I did, that individual action counts. Vote with your choices. Vote with your habits. Vote at the checkout.

Third: Recognize what the best result for all concerned actually means.

"What Would a Mystic Do?" Why act for the benefit of the greatest number while inflicting the least harm, of course!

If you browse the website you will see highlights on the following issues:

"In Food, Inc. we meet Barbara Kowalcyk, whose 2 year old son, Kevin, died from E.coli poisoning after eating a hamburger. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 76 million Americans are sickened, 325,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 die each year from foodborne illnesses. Although Kevin's law is not pending in Congress right now, there are other important national food safety legislation pending now for you to support.Some of our most important staple foods have been fundamentally altered, and genetically engineered meat and produce have already invaded our grocery stores and our kitchen pantries."

"Cancers, autism and neurological disorders are associated with the use of pesticides especially amongst farm workers and their communities. Learn about what pesticides are in your food and their effects."

"Approximately 10 billion animals (chickens, cattle, hogs, ducks, turkeys, lambs and sheep) are raised and killed in the US annually. Nearly all of them are raised on factory farms under inhumane conditions. These industrial farms are also dangerous for their workers, pollute surrounding communities, are unsafe to our food system and contribute significantly to global warming."

"High calorie, sugar laden processed foods coupled with our sedentary lifestyles is growing our waistlines and contributing to serious health issues like diabetes, heart ailments and cancers. One-third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese."

So what can you do??

* Know what's happening.

* Care enough for yourself and others to choose wisely.

* Act.

See for yourself. The movie Food Inc is on DVD now.

Namaste

oooooohhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

The Imposssible Dream

"The person who says something is impossible should not interrupt the person who is doing it."

Oh how I love this!! One of my favorite quotes!

I can't tell you how many times I've deflected the naysayers and the can't doers in my own life. Comes with the territory when you think big.

Are you one who has big dreams and a strong will to succeed? Then this post is for you.

If you are wondering where to begin to actualize your dream, how to get started, or simply want to read someone with a good head for advise, check out Chris Guillebeau and the free download he has provided in his manifesto called 279 Days To Overnite Success: An Unconventional Journey To Full Time Writing. .

I find his ideas helpful and easy to follow, and he's a giver.

You know I like that.

No matter what your goal, if you think you can do it, you can. Remember The Little Engine That Could? May we all succeed in our dreams...their expression is what you were born to accomplish.

Chris gives good practical advise on how he attained his goal, and offers support for the journey.

You can visit Chris here and get a copy of his manifesto for yourself.

Till next time -
Enjoy!!

ooooohhhhhmmmmm...

What Can We Leave to Those Who Follow?

I have entered the stage in life where a clear, persistent awareness has arrived: I am the future. I hold the answers. I am looked to - and for - by the young ones of our human tribe, and I am responsible as best I can be for the insights I offer.

Perhaps you too are at this stage with me - perhaps you are only now seeing the glimmer of truth that one day you will be. Always we have needed the voice of insight and experience to guide us. Forever into the future we will continue to grow through the contributions of those that came before us.

The Elder - The Statesman - The Wise One.

It has been about a year now since I noticed the gentle turn in the road to this new territory in my own life journey. No longer the Seeker myself, the questioner who opens infinite arms to new teachings and experiences, I have been pressed into service to honor the wisdom that I already hold.

The young ones among you have done it.

A phone call here, a "remember me?" there...the ones I taught when they were perhaps too young to really understand are letting me in on the oh-so-holy moments they have had as a result, and now somehow affected, are returning to reach out, to ask deeper questions, to connect. They are in their 20's and 30's, and filled with earnest longing to understand life and improve their conditions. Piling up around me I see that they, not I, are the Seekers with open arms to new teachings and experiences and that the Elders must take their place.

I must take my place.

I accept the honor, and I invite you to do the same. The World needs you.

Observing the role, there are landmark choices that light the path:

Admit your age.
Be proud of it.
Speak of the joys, not the sorrows - the accomplishments not the aches.
Be a renegade and try something new everyday.
Get friendly with technology and use it wisely.
Appreciate the laugh lines.
Be sensual.
Be sexy.
Stop being so "nice" and if you're being mean, stop that too.
Be willing to share what you know.
Be willing to know something different.
Look people in the eye - especially the really young ones who might automatically think you are judging them. (and if you are judging them - don't)

There is so much more than meets the eye that lives in the heart of man.

Be trustworthy.
Extend your helping hand.
Be optimistic.
Be the change you wish to see.

Forget about "when I was your age" and get real with "now that I am wise..."

Talk about them, not about you.
Listen.

Lastly, if you want to leave a lasting testament to the generations that will follow, you can do it now by living a life that will earn the right to be admired.

BE PEACE NOW.

Whatever it is and wherever you can, create peace today right where you stand. In your family. With your neighbor. Through your green purchases and recycling efforts. Make peace with your body image, your IQ and your age. Live peace inside your own heart.

This is the possibility of wisdom made manifest. This is the possibility of truth we leave for our young ones.

May you have many smiles along the road!

oooooohhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmm
Namaste

God Holds You in the Palm of His - Her? - Hand

I have had the privilege of hearing the deep and true stories of peoples' lives in my coaching practice. Lately, for many of you the challenge is growing. Divorce, loss of love, fear of the current economic picture, feelings that life is leaving you alone and abandoned, stories of what "should be," what was "supposed" to be, what isn't and what wasn't...

In my journey through the ecstasy of living I have found that my most revered teachers often shared something so profound, so vastly embracing, and so enriching to my soul as to take only one sentence to impart the deepest of truths. Consider this...

"Once one is committed to Wholeness, all that is not that will step forward to be healed."

(Mind says "and I thought it was going to be easy, you know, like once I decided to have it all and reach for my bliss things would get better...")

No?


Bummer.


When your soul needs to grow beyond it's present limiting circumstance that's when it's time to bring out the fan and watch the slinging begin.

Your own, that is.

Everything that stands in the way of your greatness will appear out of thin air, rising to the surface like some bad joke. Only here's the thing..."all that is not that" simply needs to go. The one who needs to let go...is you.

"BE the change you want to see" is not a new idea, yet it can seem so hard to apply when we are hurt, angry or scared.

The great meditation teacher Thick Nhat Hanh advises this simple mind body spirit routine:

Breathing in, I calm
Breathing out, I smile.
Present moment.
Wonderful moment.

Simply put, he is giving us permission to be in charge of the moment - every moment.

If you can't change your life, change your mind.
If you can't change your mind, change your breath.
If you can't change your breath, smile...

You are a gentle soul, says the Mystic, waiting to be reborn.

Know that when we address life difficulties, all of our decisions involve bodymindspirit as one - each time - every time. We cannot create change on one level and expect that it will not affect the other levels significantly.

You are ever and always in charge of something you can do to create a positive outcome in any situation.

Where to begin?? The way we feel, think and act naturally follows a sequence of energetic motions that travel through the system of our energetic body - the system of energy anatomy we call chakras.

If you follow the awareness that each chakra invokes, your road map will be clear and the work you need to do on yourself for yourself will become evident.

• 1st chakra - facing the challenge when the structure of our beliefs about what "should be" are getting tested. Facing our own limiting beliefs as well as the limiting beliefs of others in our environment and in our tribe. Going it alone and accepting the necessity of aligning our personal belief with the choice to take a stand. Growing up.

• 2nd chakra - moving from apathy and argument to caring action. Finding the ways to care properly rather than shutting down. There are tools to help us through this area of creation that are related to the care and nourishment of our body. Eat well, exercise, rest, visit nature. These are not options if you want to stay healthy and spiritually awake.

• 3rd chakra - grief and the subsequent arrival of ease. We need to address our feelings of self-esteem and self-realization. Where are we responsible for our own experience, like it or not? We address the VICTIM and acknowledge the gifts of the true Self who actually does know what to do and how to do it. How does grief feel? Why is it necessary to grieve if you are to ever truly let go? Why feel at all? What's the upside? Letting go is the work of a healthy 3rd chakra.

• 4th chara - fear. How do we convert the energy of fear into faith? We are renegotiating "that to which we were wedded" at this level of interaction. This is emotional and spiritual as well as physical.

• 5th chakra - anger transformed into healthy boundaries. The necessity of finding your voice resides here. Make it real. Keep it true. Release blame. Transform aggression. Maintain protection. Say what you mean and mean what you say - and don't be mean.

• 6th chakra - insight comes when the pain subsides. We practice meditation to help us recognize the difference between insight and the chattering of the monkey mind. Peace is the answer. Listening is the skill. Develop ways to listen. A 10-minute daily meditation practice is invaluable.

• 7th chakra - love is all there is. Keep the best for all concerned in sight. God holds you in the palm of hir hand...

This is the barest of outlines on how the incredible energetic information system you were born with operates. There are many ways to fill in the blanks of the outline so find your teachers. Attract support. Make your stand. Look at yourself and improve, improve, improve what you see. Stop being a victim. Start taking responsibility for the life you created and if you need to change it, then change it.

Whatever it is you must begin, begin it now. There is greatness in that.

Expecting someone else to change so that you'll have it easier is a blame game that is a waste of your spiritual energy and a false reason for living. Don't give up on yourself...the best is yet to come.

Stay strong dear ones, and breathe deep...

Namaste

ooooohhhhmmmmmmm

Tweet the Good News!

I've been looking at the surge? upsurge? tsunami wave of interest in social networking lately. The numbers are growing exponentially every single day.

At a previous stage of life I might have said - well I would have said "hooey!" to such vast amounts of time spent sending inane messages to friends far and wide every time I took a sip of coffee.

On the other hand, is that what you or I are actually doing it for these days? Of course not. I'm actually wowed at the loving kindness I receive every day from my facebook and newly emerging twitter groups. I can't tell you how many times I've posted something and watched just the right person step forward with just the right kind of support. Sometimes it's as simple as a thumbs up.

You matter. I matter. We all matter to each other.

Whether we are giving shout outs, smiley faces, comments or "follows", we are giving...and I do believe we can never give too much.

Like the breath, there is always more. Like the exhale, we can go long and deep, and in the giving we enlarge the circle of return.

Now who doesn't need that?

If you twitter I invite you to an experiment using a new application that creates tribes, or "twibes" as they are called. (Twitter w's everything if you haven't seen that before. Kinda cute - kinda silly - but always recognizable.) I just created a new one at http://twibes.com/PracticalSpirituality.

I wanted to create something else out of my presence there - another out breath - that can make a difference to someone, somewhere who can use some of that cumulative knowledge we all carry within. Tweet your favorite authors, titles, practices, thoughts, prayers, and everyday keys to successful living in 140 characters or less. Another wonderful way to give what you've got and spread the good word.

Thank you for your support.

Big hugs to you,
oooooooohhhhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmm

;)

Isn't Self Care Selfish??

I remember one of my teachers saying "so you think you're going to fight the good fight now, eh? Go heal the world and make all the difference you came here for? How do you think you're going to do that if you don't think highly enough of your self in the first place?"

Well then. There's some heavy pondering going on there.


I don't believe I thought badly about myself exactly...just that I was being lots of things to please others. I was a good wife, a good daughter, a good student, a good friend. Isn't that what you're supposed to be?

When I had thoughts of doing for myself, especially when it collided with what others wanted or needed, it seemed selfish. Not only that, I got satisfaction from the results of my successful "other care!" Most healers do. And most women. And most good men.

I gave it my best shot I suppose, but didn't really understand the true implications until I studied Energy Anatomy...and recognized the desire to find Self as the software of the soul.

How then does caring for self rise above ego gratification to land at the top of the heap of positive Mystical traits?

The Mystic embraces the quality of self that resides within, and in his gentle support and listening care hears the truth of his own beating heart and the rat-a-tat-tatting of Self-awareness, Self-worth and Self-esteem. He stops denying and starts expressing Self as a vehicle in service to the Divine genius within.

Now he is strong enough - finally she is ready - at last we are honed through the realization of our power to take up the journey and carry our weight, not based upon other's approval, but on the strength of our own higher truth.

There's a beautiful poetic book called There's a Hole In My Sidewalk by Portia Nelson in which she describes the moment of recognizing the difference between loving the man she has lost and realizing the truth that they were both hiding inside the relationship.

"If I just pay enough attention to you, I won't have to look so hard at myself..."

In this territory we often experience grief - an ill-at-easeness that signals the emotion of letting go. If we are to be authentic and powerful then let go we must.

Marianne Williamson quotes from A Course in Miracles "It is not our darkness we fear most, it is our light...you are a child of God and your playing small does not serve the world."

In this way our Self care becomes Other care of the highest degree.

May you have ease releasing all that is no longer needed in your life and move gracefully into the life that is waiting for you to embrace...

...and may your choices always reflect the best possible result for all concerned.

Carry-on now!

Till next time,

ooooohhhhhhmmmmmmmmm

BEST Remedy for Allergy Season

I used to live with allergies. A lot. Sometimes they defined me.

I had the sort of reactions that went from a little itchy-eyed nose run with discomfort to a full blown version of Niagra Falls for days on end. Dust, pollen, perfume, candles, mold, mildew, even the cats I love would send me into a frenzy.

Wouldn't you know, being the holistic health care goddess I am, research into natural remedies became my holy grail and the day I wound up canceling patients because I couldn't stop blowing my nose was the final straw. Wanting neither a life sentence on Claritin nor any replication of the boy in the bubble, living without a cure was simply unfathomable.

That's when I ran into Gary, my former yoga student who said "you know I thank you every day for turning me onto the Neti Pot. I haven't had any allergy symptoms since I started using it daily!!"

WHAT?! Me?? The Neti Pot?? I said that??

And here, my friends, is a perfect example of someone (well, me in this case) having knowledge enough to teach this stuff but skidding right past it in my own life. I just didn't connect the dots.

Anyway, it's been several years since seeing Gary again and I've Netied every day. I still get triggered if I visit with cats for too long, but allergy season is no more and the difference is profound in my quality of life.

I learned a couple of things here that I'll share - the first is sometimes you already know what you know...you just need to remember, and the second is don't give up and don't give in. You have the ability to attract what you need to know and it may come in the most unlikely of packages.

Now I feel to be fair in my total assessment of complementary healthcare that not mentioning changing your diet, getting enough rest, moving yourself AWAY from the cause of irritants, and going green in your household are significant factors in improving the life of an allergy sufferer, I'm keeping it simple for the moment and passing along the good news.

Go get yourself a Neti Pot.

Click here for a video of what to do.


Have fun!!
oooohhhhhmmmmmmm

Mindbody Fitness is My Saving Grace

A client recently asked me to share something of my journey in Mindbody Fitness. Like many of you reading this right now, I have had somewhat of a close relationship with pain. For me it was an ordinary but unrelenting form of back pain…the lower back sort of thing that makes you hold on when you try to get up from a chair, and squiggle around a lot when you’re forced to sit still. Doctors said "surgery" as I winced and rallied to find any other option. I had heard that yoga could open a person up to some life altering experiences. I also knew that there was a mental component to the practice… I just didn’t think I’d get to the pain-free zone by standing on my head or drinking herbal tea.

Skeptically, I began my journey with a weekend workshop. The first of my teachers was from India and he – was – masterful! As he invited the class to breathe, he said to me (off handedly, mind you) that the breath I was taking was called survival breathing. Yup, just enough to keep me from dropping dead when I took my mind off it!

Now, there’s an interesting thought…it felt reassuring on some level to have the awareness that I had a choice in the matter. It dawned on me that the practice of conscious breathing, ”pranayama” as I later learned, was actually the relationship we have with life energy, and that I had the possibility, indeed the invitation, to become a conscious, awake and aware partner with LIFE itself! At the time, the very idea of such a point of reference was a completely unique experience.

Over time I began to stretch out and breathe in, and as I released resistance, the most amazing thing happened. The pain began to shift, to pulse, to dim, and then fade. It was a quiet transition, a light, gentle breeze, but I recognized it when it happened. I was hooked! That moment of realization changed my life direction. I found the study of infinite possibilities to be inside of…ME! I switched my area of study from mind, to bodymind and set out on a journey learning how to live.

My life work has changed dramatically since that first introduction. I took bold steps into the unknown and created the career of my dreams. I had to let go of people and beliefs that stood in the way. I had to look crazy to some, unrealistic to others. I certainly had to withstand the tests that were planted firmly on the path, but my pain is gone, my children are safe, and in 30 years of practice, I’ve come up with some interesting insights from a life that continues to be well lived.

1. Wherever you go, there you are (you’ve heard this before) and there is nothing more important in life than getting to know yourself.
2. Breath IS life! Take in as much as you can, and let go with ease.
3. Your thoughts are a choice. So is what you do with them.
4. Make time for miracles. It’s always easier to just open the door than to have it beaten down.
5. Listen to your body. Feelings of peace and well-being will show up as health. Negative or conflicted feelings will manifest in “symptoms.”
6. You each have your own unique genius. You can best access its’ wisdom in the quiet moments, so learn to meditate, and listen up!
7. There is no better than Here - just different.
8. Being is different than Having. You can BE whatever you desire when you simply choose to be.
9. Release your need to understand. You can use technology before you understand how the circuits are wired. It’s the same with yoga. Just do it.
10. Yoga is a practice. Practice makes perfect. Without practice, it’s just a thought, so get in gear and begin your practice now.

Till next time, you can visit me and see my creations at www.yokibics.com. All of the Yoga CDs can help you learn to relax, and my Yokibics Mindbody Fitness Video which takes you from simple movements through a complex series is now available on DVD.

May the road rise to meet you, and the wind be always at your back!
Namaste

Dance Me to the End of Love

I recently fell in love (again) with the voice and presence of Leonard Cohen. Singer/songwriter extraordinaire, he is now in his mid-70's and going back out on tour. New generations of listeners will be introduced to the gritty sound of his kindness. Old memories will return for many. For me, his voice draws me to listen over and over again.

I've been called of late to think, to muse, and to write on the meaning of love. It seemed only fair to add Leonard Cohen to the list of my admirations.

I have come to know some things for certain, and one is that sharing the things we love is worth the effort. I watch as we go about our day somehow thinking that our vote - our say - and our revelations don't matter to others - but they do. How is it that something so longed for can be so difficult for so many to achieve? I decided, like Leo Buscaglia (famed for his "Love 101" college course) and the many mystics before me, that love is a practice.

Like most practices, the doing itself leads to greater ease and expression. You know, the old "practice makes perfect" is also true for love.

Not always as easy as it sounds though, eh?

Perhaps we can increase the scope of our practice by finding ways to share in fleeting moments that might normally seem too small or insignificant to matter.

I guarantee that you will see over time, it is not the moment that is insignificant...it is the assessment you have made of your own value in it.

The world doesn't need to agree with the things you love, but we sure can benefit from the demonstration itself. Nudge the person you're with next time you see a sunset. Become an ambassador for love.

Today my share with you is Leonard Cohen, rising like the Phoenix to be heard again and again. His concert tickets are a little pricy, but for the cost of a click you can hear his Live from The Beacon Theater concert on NPR right now.

Hope you love it!
http://www.npr.org

oooooohhhhhhhhmmmmmmmm
"The Spirit in Me Salutes the Spirit in You."
Namaste