John Gray on Health and Happiness

In a personal message to the Administrator of the Mind Body Spirit Magazine, John Gray writes "So much of my work can be summed by saying, "If you don't know your past, you will not know your future! I try to help people move forward by looking at their past mistakes and removing the blocks that are holding them back from finding happiness. Basically, unloading their baggage so they can enjoy their future (which is usally a combination of parents, siblings, friends, exes, etc) and is also the basis for most of my health work - unloading the baggage from past health decisions, which can be a combination of poor diet, not enough exercise, genetic traits and even prescribed medications.

Primal Therapy

Primal Therapy is a form of psychotherapy based on relieving the repressed feelings that result from childhood trauma or abuse by giving vent to the pain through the voice, often by crying and screaming. This allows the trauma, which might have been hidden from others for a lifetime, to be fully experienced, heard, to be exorcised, and then for the person to be supported and cared for, thereby healing the pain on the past, a process of catharsis. Dr Arthur Janov (born 1924), a psychologist and therapist, is the creator of this therapeutic technique and his book which describes his ideas, beliefs and the method of this therapy is titled 'The Primal Scream'. He also his written other books on psychotherapy. He was very influential in the 1970s, especially in California, and had some very high profile clients, such as John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Dealing With Bereavement

Everyone will, at some time in their life, experience a close, loved one dying, and for as many individuals there are in the world, there are different ways to deal with this inevitability. For every death, we will be reminded of all the others. Whatever the circumstances, death can come as a huge pain for some, and for others a relief if the loved one has been suffering great hardships. Grief is a part of life and after a period of sadness, we should recover and move on with our life, because this is what our deceased loved ones would want for us, to lead productive and caring lives. 

Self Actualisation Qualities

 

According to Maslow, self-actualizing people share the following qualities:

• Truth: honest, reality, beauty, pure, clean and unadulterated completeness
• Goodness: rightness, desirability, uprightness, benevolence, honesty
• Beauty: rightness, form, aliveness, simplicity, richness, wholeness, perfection, completion,
• Wholeness: unity, integration, tendency to oneness, interconnectedness, simplicity, organization, structure, order, not dissociated, synergy
• Dichotomy: transcendence, acceptance, resolution, integration, polarities, opposites, contradictions
• Aliveness: process, not-deadness, spontaneity, self-regulation, full-functioning
• Uniqueness: idiosyncrasy, individuality, non comparability, novelty
• Perfection: nothing superfluous, nothing lacking, everything in its right place, just-rightness, suitability, justice
• Necessity: inevitability: it must be just that way, not changed in any slightest way
• Completion: ending, justice, fulfillment
• Justice: fairness, suitability, disinterestedness, non partiality,
• Order: lawfulness, rightness, perfectly arranged
• Simplicity: abstract, essential skeletal, bluntness
• Richness: differentiation, complexity, intricacy, totality
• Effortlessness: ease; lack of strain, striving, or difficulty
• Playfulness: fun, joy, amusement
• Self-sufficiency: autonomy, independence, self-determining.

Pilates

What is Pilates?
Exercise which lengthens and stretches the body using all the muscle group is both relaxing and health giving. Pilates practitioners have an individualised programme for their specific needs. There is an emphasis on body posture and balance and on good breathing technique. The method began in Germany in 1880 when Joseph Pilates pioneered this health method due to his physical frailty as a child. He was interned on the Isle of Man where he devised this method of health and eventually worked as a boxer, circus performer, self defence teacher and body builder. He worked in Germany with Rudolph Laban , setting up,his first studio in New York.

Low Self Esteem?

 

There are many causes of low self esteem. It is a largely unrecognised condition that controls your life, reduces your enjoyment of life, causes you to not succeed in life, either in the work environment or in personal relationships. Especially, you might allow yourself to be badly treated by other people - or treat other people badly - and you might not be ambitious for yourself or your children. You might not realise just how low your self esteem is. Working to improve your self worth is something you can do for yourself. 

Dealing with Difficult People

There are many techniques for managing people you find are difficult to deal with. Many would prefer to leave a situation rather than use the methods that have been tried and tested over time by others and have been found to work in the majority of cases. However, sometimes, yes, it is necessary to leave a situation where someone's patterns are honed to get the best of yours. Whether it be a parent, spouse, child, work colleague, it is usually a power issue. Do not give away your power. Have clear boundaries. Remain distant and obscure if necessary. Knowledge is power. Use affirmations to contradict your soft natured patterns. Keep your sense of humour. Don't try to fix them. Say 'no' and mean it!

Dealing with Depression

How to deal with depression! 

Depression is a lonely existance that other people often don't understand. It is a low energy illness, a feeling of meaninglessness, guilt, shame, worthlessness and hopelessness. It is not just a state of mind, but an illness, a disability and can sometimes lead to suicide in very serious cases. Advice does not usually work, even when meant well because the person is often totally unable to take it. There is much the person can do to help themselves, but they need to feel well enough to find them for themselves.
Suggestions: breathing exercises, walks in nature, meetings with friends, an uplifting book, dancing, gardening, handicrafts, exercise, join a club, travel, volunteering.
Learn more, and conquer this affliction without drugs...

Book Review

Book Review: Men Who Hate Women and the Women Who Love Them by Dr Susan Forward and Joan Torres. 

We each choose the best way we can to deal with difficulties in our lives, and these patterns are often unconscious because they begin in childhood, either inherited from our significant others, or from ways we develop through books, films and other influences. Many are maladaptions, that is, not the best way to deal with situations. Take for instance, when someone is angry with us, whether we escalate that anger, or manage to reduce it so we can get through the impasse to an improvement. 

Many of us in childhood, have to be the prettiest, cleverest, richest, most intelligent, most caring, most desirable, funniest, hardworking, the one who wants attention, the one who is the quietest, etcetera. In our adult life, we still might be playing those old stressful recordings, with some being vain, jealous, greedy, hurtful, needing to be the exception, to be a good provider, to duck and dive, the highest achiever, to get more than their share of life’s securities and comforts and flashy gizmos, and to be the most entitled, in the demand to achieve what once their parents desired or expected of them. We live life under huge stresses to achieve these things. 

Letting Go - French style!

In France, they have a tradition of making time live, to create a setting of pleasure and relaxation. Fabrice Midal's book 'C'est La Vie' describes 'how to' and praises this as an art form from France. It describes how you can find your inner joy, of being in the moment, of finding comfort and beauty and a little romance. 

Chronic Pain

How to deal with constant pain and discomfort - Chronic pain can be very disabling and can cause sleeplessness, anxiety and depression. Even mild pain, when it is constant, can be very debilitating, and can affect relationships, because often those who have never experienced pain, do not understand. Taking medication from your doctor can cause addiction problems, as many pain killers lose their strength to bring relief over time. However, there is much that a person can do to improve their own health and wellbeing. 

The Charge of Inana

 THE * CHARGE * OF * INANNA

Channeled by Helen Demetriou From Goddess Inanna

This charge has been channeled from the Goddess Inanna and can be used by the Priest/Priestess to open and/or close their ritual. It can be used as a prayer, for meditation purposes and for bringing the reader closer to the Goddess. Please respect these words as they are divine in origin and always remember to give the credit to the author should you wish to publish it to your website or blog.

"Hear, all you children of the Star, who is Inanna, She who is known as Ishtar, Astarte, Aphrodite, Anahit, Hathor, and many other names.

I am the lamp stand of a thousand flames; I am the illuminator and the Star Maiden of the celestial vaults. I clear the black clouds to allow the light of the sun, which is that of truth and justice, to shine upon the children of the gods. O! Hear the moon, hear the moon! She is placing the sun on the mantle of the Earth, the great altar of resurrection and life! Feel the essence of the divine chapters of the Book of Life rising from the pages that are the crusts of the earth. And as each page turns a new memory is born, a memory of when ye were free! Free to love, free to know the truth and free to worship the gods of the Earth!

Daan Van Kampenhout - Shaman

The art of shamanism is a communication between souls. Water, stones, animals and humans, all nature has a soul. Nomadic cultures use trance or dream states to bring balance, empowerment and quality of life to the tribe. Daan, from the Netherlands, uses song to transmit energy and to heal, to elevate consciousness and to unite people. When he was in India, he developed a serious illness and had a series of visions. Melodies were given to him in his dreams. http://daanvankampenhout.com/en/  

Yoga Meditations

 

Yoga Meditations: 

Sit comfortably with your eyes closed.

Exhale and inhale deeply a few times.

Breathe naturally while you focus on the following:

Yoga is a deep well into which we can tap, drawing forth whatever we need to bring ourselves into wholeness and balance.  

Ask yourself what will bring wholeness and balance to your life. 

Wait for an image or an idea to arise. 

Be still with that vision or thought for  few minutes. 

Breathe.

The Hakomi Therapy Method

Using mindfulness for self study. No questions asked but experiments can be conducted with mindfulness and awareness to process unconscious vulnerability about how the client is truly in the world to release and change suffering to receiving nourishment and crating peace of mind.

Peak Experiences

In studying accounts of peak experiences, Maslow identified a manner of thought he called "Being-cognition" (or "B-cognition"), which is holistic and accepting, as opposed to the evaluative "Deficiency-cognition" (or "D-cognition"), and values he called "Being-values" He listed the B-values as:

• Truth: honesty; reality; simplicity; richness; oughtness; beauty; pure, clean and unadulterated; completeness; essentiality
• Goodness: rightness; desirability; oughtness; justice; benevolence; honesty
• Beauty: rightness; form; aliveness; simplicity; richness; wholeness; perfection; completion; uniqueness; honesty
• Wholeness: unity; integration; tendency to one-ness; interconnectedness; simplicity; organization; structure; dichotomy-transcendence; order
• Aliveness: process; non-deadness; spontaneity; self-regulation; full-functioning
• Uniqueness: idiosyncrasy; individuality; non-comparability; novelty
• Perfection: necessity; just-right-ness; just-so-ness; inevitability; suitability; justice; completeness; "oughtness"
• Completion: ending; finality; justice; "it's finished"; fulfillment; finis and telos; destiny; fate
• Justice: fairness; orderliness; lawfulness; "oughtness"
• Simplicity: honesty; essentiality; abstract, essential, skeletal structure
• Richness: differentiation, complexity; intricacy
• Effortlessness: ease; lack of strain, striving or difficulty; grace; perfect, beautiful functioning
• Playfulness: fun; joy; amusement; gaiety; humor; exuberance; effortlessness
• Self-sufficiency: autonomy; independence; not-needing-other-than-itself-in-order-to-be-itself; self-determining; environment-transcendence; separateness; living by its own laws.

Sleep Paralysis

 

What is sleep paralysis? 

Sleep paralysis is a sleep state where the person thinks they are awake, but cannot move their muscles. They have very vivid dreams that they think are true life. It is very common and the person loses good quality sleep, feeling very tired throughout the day. Stress tends to make this worse. Create a stress-free bedtime routine where you have a light meal, listen to some gentle music or a relaxation meditation. Organise your life for the morning when you awake and forget the stresses of the day. 

Bioenergetics

What is Bioenergetics? 

Bioenergetics is the study and practice of using energy within the body in better ways. It is based upon the controversial work of Wilheim Reich and was created by two of Reich's students, principally Alexander Lowen, who included some of the theories of Reich's tutor, Sigmund Freud. It focuses on releasing unconscious blocks within the body that cause headaches, backache, etc., through physical exercises so that the person becomes more physically and psychologically free.

Spiritual Bypassing by Karen Tate

Spiritual Bypassing

According to Wikipedia, spiritual bypassing is a "tendency to use spiritual ideas and practices to sidestep or avoid facing unresolved emotional issues, psychological wounds, and unfinished developmental tasks."

This term was introduced in the mid 1980s by John Welwood, a Buddhist teacher and psychotherapist who believed bypassing stunts people’s emotional development because it gives them an excuse not to look at painful issues. These issues can be political, social, cultural, familial, religious, etc.  In other words it’s a defense mechanism, a stall tactic, an avoidance mechanism for traumatized people to avoid what’s uncomfortable in their life.  We probably all do it to some degree to avoid the pain of our traumas and we might not be aware. 

Internal Family Systems

The Toltec Oracle - Review and Interview

Mind Body & Soul Ezine Card Deck Review of 'The Toltec Oracle' By Victor Sanchez 274 page book, 2 sets of cards and chart, Published by Bear & Co £35 

Victor Sanchez is a Mexican author, psychotherapy trainer, retreat organiser, workshop facilitator and specialist in MesoAmerican spiritual tradition. Original artwork of the cards is from 400 year old codices. The accompanying book contains information on how to conduct a reading, various suggested spreads, an explanation of Toltec spirituality and provides the meaning for each card and its Toltec symbolism and metaphysics. It also includes information about  the indigenous words used in the book. The Toltec tradition is one of the oldest sources of spiritual wisdom in the world and helps us to apply shamanic knowledge to our daily life. 

Benefits of Meditation

“Indian artifacts show the history of meditation dates back 5,000 years. Researchers suggest that primitive hunting and gathering societies may have discovered meditation and its many different states of consciousness while gazing into the flames of their fires. The history of Meditation has evolved over thousands of years, into a structured practice that people use daily.

Warrior Goddess Training!

Warrior Goddess Training, Become the Woman You are Meant to Be by HeatherAsh Amara

As women, we are trained to seek our wholeness and value and to find love through others. Fifty years ago, we were told a husband and children would complete us—that was about our only option. Today, what makes us worthy might be a beloved, our career, or even following a chosen spiritual path. We rarely see ourselves as perfect just the way we are. We often base our worth on who loves or doesn’t love us, if we need to lose that extra five or fifty pounds, and if we can juggle three tasks simultaneously while keeping a smile on our face. The new women’s revolution is an evolution from being other-focused to inner-focused. When our attention is trapped by fearful shoulds, what ifs, and don’ts, we scatter our energy and struggle with knowing what is authentic for us. When we bring our attention back to discovering who we are on the inside—not who we wish we were or who we think we should be—we begin a sacred path of transformation toward our innate, authentic, embodied power.

Breathing well!

Breathing is one of life's most basic necessities. Adults take in an average of almost 25,000 breaths each day, and that's just at rest. While it's true that most of us don't stop to think about the breathing we do each day, it's important to recognize the health benefits of doing so. Take in a breath right now. It comes so naturally, doesn't it? You may not realize that you can greatly improve the way you feel inside and out, just by consciously controlling how you breathe, for even as little as an hour each day.

The Right Moment in Time - Ancient Toltec Practices

Many people know of the work of Carlos Castaneda and about his training with a Yaqui (Man of Knowledge) from Mesoamerica. He brought forth, to the Western world, a glimmer of the Toltec Shamanistic path in the 1970’s. But now, for the first time in history, the fullness of a Toltec Shamanistic path is being presented -- teachings, ceremonies, practices, postures, dances, philosophy, prophecy and an in-depth understanding of the mathematics of the cosmos and how this all relates to human consciousness and the Mesoamerican calendars.  You will find it all in this new book by Sergio Magaña Ocelocoyotl called, 2012 – 2021, The Dawn of the Sixth Sun - The Path of Quetzalcoatl.

spiritual journey

 

Philip Roderick was brought up as a Methodist and had an altered state of consciousness as a child in Wales. He later discovered this place was the site of an ancient monastery. He taught in Sunday School when he was 14 years old and wrote poetry as he wanted to be a poet. He became attracted and read books on the mystery traditions as a young adult. He had a vision of a woman dressed in blue whilst at University in Cardiff. He has a special interest in how the body can be used in prayer (body prayer) and developed an interest in meditation, Transcendental Meditation, the Vedic traditions, Sufism and Zen. 

Spirituality by Rebecca Beattie

On the Trail of the Nature Mystics! 

In the earliest days of working with my spiritual teacher, each group session started with the same question, 'How is your Spiritual Life?' Each person would answer in turn. Some would share what they had been reading or learning that week, and some would describe events at work. Some, like me, would recount what they had been creating that week. I was starting to spend most of my spare time crafting; making natural soaps and bath products, semi-precious jewelry, or rediscovering old hobbies like baking bread, candle making, or blending incense. The work I did in those early days led to me writing my first novel. 

Yoga Is Skill In Action

The basis practice of yoga is self-inquiry which, through this process, we create change within ourselves. Before I started practicing yoga, I was more selfish and immature. The grass always seemed greener on the other side of the fence. Yoga changed my world perspective and philosophy in a way that has helped me live my life with more grace and integrity. I care for myself and others more deeply, my eating habits have become conscious choices and my friendships have evolved. I no longer spend time with people who are addicted to drinking and drugs, or those that spend their time gossiping about other people. I look for people who help me feel good about myself and those who are more happy and have goals in their life.

What is Hypnosis

For weight-loss hypnosis by Zoe Featherstone, click on the arrow!

If your only contact with hypnosis has been seeing a hypnotist perform on stage, then you might think hypnosis is simply a form of entertainment. While hypnosis can be used for entertainment (and some people have made a lot of money doing just that!) it´s only part of the story. Hypnosis is so much more than that.

Believe it or not, hypnosis is entirely natural. Any ideas you might have held about it being a mysterious art should be disposed of completely. The image of a caped demon forcing you to look into his eyes and subequently turning you into a zombie, incapable of doing anything other than what your 'master' commands, is a lot of nonsense. It might make for good television or stretch the special effects department working on a Hollywood blockbuster, but in truth these represntations are little more than exaggerations of certain aspects of hypnosis.