Biofeedback

Defined by mathmatician, Norbert Werner as a 'method of controlling a system by inserting into it the results of past performance', Biofeedback has been popular for decades. It is a process for mecahnically monitoring bodily functins in order to gain control over them. The process requires a period of training but the results are remarkable and are of vital importance to health. It might sound like magic, but the mind is capable of extraordinary feats. Think for a moment of the Tibetans who, on the coldest of days, could increase their body heat to significant levels. Heart rate, blood pressure, breathing, relaxation, brain rhythms, are just for starters. I have heard of excellent results for excema, migraine, gastritis and other very common ailments. 

May oracle card reading

May day begins the light of summer and from The Celtic Tree Oracle by Liz and Colin Murray, I have chosen the card of Hawthorn also called the May tree as it blooms this month. The ancient title Huathe, comes from the words for hedge-thorn. This is a time of cleansing, of solitude and mental preparation for bursting into the energy required for flowering and the cycle of growth which then provides nourishment for forest creatures at harvest in the form of berries. It is a traditional time of unions and marriages.  

 

Transcendental Meditation

Transcendental Meditation was introduced to the West by Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in the 1960s. It is a simple method that anyone can use anywhere, but best done in a quiet place alone and without interruption. The technique is a mantra which has no meaning and has no philosophy or religious structure or belief. 

Progressive Relaxation video

Please dont drive or operate machinery while listening to this guided meditation video. Allow 30 minutes to fully relax without interruption. The text is by Wendy Stokes from her book The Lightworkers Circle Guide. 

Make yourself comfortable, lie down, take a couple of deep breaths, close your eyes and enjoy the experience. 

This video will relieve stress and aid wellbeing and health.  

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.

Qabalah

A Rabbinical mystical Philosophy of ancient origin and handed down by word of mouth, the Qabalah (sometimes spelt Kabbalah or without the 'h' in either spelling) refers to the Creative source by four letters, YHVH, often pronounced as Yehovah, as the name of god was too holy to be spoken. The source is shown as a diagram, a glyph, called the 'tree of life', with ten aspects, from the physical world to the immaterial. These ten aspects, known as sephirot or containers, are, at their highest, altruistic and are required for an ethical life and show the importance of truth, compassion, justice, serenity, wisdom, charity, joy, trust, commitment, and other spiritual values which create a living, thriving tree which provides fruit, materials for building, etc., for the whole of the community. In the teaching, these spiritual values also bring health, wellbeing, respect and honour. They can be reversed by those who wish to devote their lives to evil and would represent lies, sadism, injustice, narcissism, etc., and represent a tree which bears only self serving uses. No-one would ever wish a new horn baby to grow up to be greedy, hurtful or self-serving. We all want that child to have a loving disposition and treated with care, kindness and respect. The Qabalah is a way to understand how to live a life with beauty, productivity and to make the world a better place. It also explains how to understand other people, and assess their integrity. 

Earth Dance

 
Elisabeth Sahtouris is a highly qualified evolutionary biologist and environmentalist, whose work mirrors that of James Lovelock. 

Relationship Breakdown Advice

 The statistics for relationship breakdown are so enormous that it shows how difficult we find maintaining a relationship. Even with someone we have a lot in common with, there are common dangers that can cause difficulties. Many relationship difficulties lead to relationship breakdown. Men and wwomen have some similarities in finding their relationship difficult, but there are also differences. If you offer equality in relationships, listen, care, be determined to make it work, it will have some staying power. When things go wrong, try to speak about it, whether it is a power play, jealousy, generalised anger, or whatever, work at it and have good will and be determined to make it work. 

Cognitive Analytic Therapy

 Cognitive Analytic Therapy (CAT) is conducted by qualified psychotherapists, to assist patients to gain a greater understanding of their own process. 

Buddhism

From 2,500 years ago, there is an ancient story od a young man who was the son of a chieftan. The chieftan's wife had a dream of an elephant when she was pregnant and they suspected this would be a powerful child. The young man's name was Siddartha Gautama of Nepal and he was spoilt and protected. Whilst out one day, he saw a beggar by the side of the road and he realised that he knew nothing of the world and its harsh realities. He left home and travelled widely, asking questions and seeking truth, often starving himself in renunciation, without achieving anything. Eventually, he stopped his travels and seeking and sat under a tree, relaxed and meditated. In this way, he became 'enlightened' and free from the trappings of this world, in acceptance and contentment, and in finding a middle way between asceticicism and hedonism. He also created 8 challenges, called the Noble Eightfold Path, of Right Views, Intent, Speech, Action, Livelihood, Effort , Mindfulness and Concentration. Four Truths accompany these laws: that life involves suffering; that suffering is caused by our desires; that ending our desires will end suffering and the way to end desire is to practice the 8 challenges.In addition, there are 3 trainings of concentration, morality and wisdom.  The philosophy spread across South East Asia and now to the world. It offers a viable alternative to the many problems that beset human life, relationships and the problems that beset our planet which other religions ignore, much to the peril of those who will inherit a world of gross pollution and illhealth.

For more information on Buddhism, visit: http://www.buddhanet.net/pdf_file/buddha-teachingsurw6.pdf

Sound Healing

 Music as Medicine is an ancient art and is both enjoyable and life enhancing. By listening to healing sounds, we can realign our energy systems, reduce stress and increase health.

Akasha - In The Cosmic Flow

Mind Body Spirit Magazine Music Choice :

Ho'oponopono

'I love you' 'I am sorry' 'please forgive me' 'thank you'

These four exclamations are the basis of Ho'oponopono, an ancient Polynesian Kahuna method of healing. The belief that mistakes, errors, stress, anger, guilt, resentment, grief break the Kapu spiritual laws and create ill health is the basis of this practice. The answer is to be open about our faults, seek forgiveness and forgive others. Defining the transgression, prayer and restitution forbwrongdoing is the answer. Parents who are unhappy can make their children unwell, can cause social disorder and other difficulties. Ho'oponopono is a mental cleansing, providing restitution; the words mean correct, good, upright,  oral, just, virtuous, fair, restoration, righteous, amend, release, rectify, adjust, tidy up, make orderly, ought, should, must.

Baha'i

The Baha'i religion was founded by Mizra Hasayn Ali in Iran and this faith has now spread across the world. It is both peace-loving and humanitarian and it praises equality and kindness. There are no clergy, rites or sacraments and there is an emphasis on caring for all species, and for the planet, hence vegetarianism.

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!

Chief Seattle 1854

“Yonder sky that has wept tears of compassion upon my people for centuries untold, and which to us appears changeless and eternal, may change. Today is fair. Tomorrow it may be overcast with clouds. My words are like the stars that never change. Whatever Seattle says, the great chief at Washington can rely upon with as much certainty as he can upon the return of the sun or the seasons. The white chief says that Big Chief at Washington sends us greetings of friendship and goodwill. This is kind of him for we know he has little need of our friendship in return. His people are many. They are like the grass that covers vast prairies. My people are few. They resemble the scattering trees of a storm-swept plain. The great, and I presume -- good, White Chief sends us word that he wishes to buy our land but is willing to allow us enough to live comfortably. This indeed appears just, even generous, for the Red Man no longer has rights that he need respect, and the offer may be wise, also, as we are no longer in need of an extensive country.

UK's Trade in Illegal Rhino Horn

Eight poachers attacked a Rhino orphanage at Thula Thula using a machete on two 18 month old orphans whose mothers had already been slaughtered for their horn. Impi was orphaned at two months old; he laid beside his mother's butchered carcass for six days, eating mud, until rescuers found him close to death.  More than 700 Rhinos were slaughtered in South Africa in 2016.  According to the Zoological Society, a Rhino is hacked to death every 11 hours. Traffickers from the UK are trading in Rhino horn, buying online from middle-men who operate from South Africa, Egypt, Ethiopia and Equatorial Guinea and who sell it for £20,000 per lb. 

Dr Robin Wood - The Green Shift

Dr Robin Wood is a Change Agent (otherwise known as an innovation specialist). Here he is speaking on the Information Channel 212 on Conscious TV about 'The Green Shift' - invites us to transcend and transform our lives through ownership of our future. 60% of people are living in cities, yet cities are places of pollution and waste. Stop - feel - question! By bucking the current system, we can become an explorer, researcher and activist and examine our choices and become responsible for a collective and sustainable future. He has been a Fellow at the Centre for Management Development at London Business School and at the Institute for Coherence and Emergence and is now working in 35 countries on four continents to increase 'thriveability' in business management.

 

Chris Street asks ‘Is London the City of Revelation?’

There have been several attempts to re-build London as ‘The New Jerusalem’. The first was by the Knights Templar who, in 1185, modelled their Temple Church in Holborn on the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem and sited the building exactly the same distance from St. Pauls Cathedral as the Holy Sepulchre is sited from the Dome of the Rock. Clearly they saw a connection, or wanted to create one. Approx 500 years later, following the Great Fire of London, Sir Christopher Wren conceived his own plan to re-build London as the New Jerusalem, whilst his rival, John Evelyn, devised a design for the city based upon the cabbalistic tree of life.

Alternate Nostril Breathing

Alternate Nostril Breathing is also known as 'Anuloma Viloma'. 

1. Sit in a comfortable position. You middle finger of your right hand is placed on your forehead while your thumb rests on your right nostril, your ring and little fingers rest on your left nostril.
2. Inhale and exhale. Then close your right nostril with your thumb while inhailing through your left nostril for a count of 5 seconds. 
3. Close both nostrils and hold your breath for 5 seconds.
4. Lift your thumb and exhale through your right nostril for 5 seconds.
5.  Inhale through your right nostril, hold, close the right nostril and exhale through the left nostril.

Thought Field Therapy

 

Energy can be changed, and we can use techniques for changing our mind set, our emotions and our physical reactions. TFT Thought Field Therapy is one of the methods to do this. Don't knock it until your have tried it! 

Rolfing

 Dr Ida Rolf founded a new method of treating the structure of the body, especially where there are postural problems, causing pain and discomfort. These can be eased and relieved. Her method, known as 'Rolfing' is also known as 'Structural Integration'. 

 

Psychosynthesis

Psychosynthesis is described as the 'psychology with a soul'. Roberto Assagioli (1888-1974), an Italian psychiatrist who travelled widely in his early life and spoke many languages, is the creator of this form of humanistic and transpersonal psychotherapy. It is principally based on the understanding that our personality is comprised of many sub personalities which act like musicians playing in a orchestra without a maestro. By gaining understanding of these sub personalities, we can bring them into harmony, so they create a wonderful piece of music that enables us to have a flourishing life. Love, wisdom and creativity are goals of this therapy. Psychosynthesis uses creative visualisation (also called guided imagery) to access the inner world and inform our understanding of the way we think and feel. Assagioli was imprisoned by the Faschists and spent his time in meditation and this influenced his work later in life. 

The Value of Work

I love working! Being productive! Being busy! I accomplish so much! Every moment of every day, I get through so much! I feel healthy, powerful, fulfilled and I earn money too and I help other people and myself! Work - yes please! 

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

EMDR Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing is a therapy mainly for relief from post traumatic stress disorder. Founded by an American psycholologist, Dr Francine Shapiro in the 1980s. Similar to how the brain naturally processes stressful events when it uses rapid eye movements during sleep, the therapist assists the client to use their eye movements to wipe the memory of the traumatic event from the brain. 

Yoko Ono & Sean Lennon Launch Artists Against Fracking + video

Artists Against Fracking has been launched by Yoko Ono and Sean Lennon as a new coalition of artists, musicians, filmmakers and public figures opposed to hydraulic fracking. The growing coalition now includes more than 180 members, including Lady Gaga, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Anne Hathaway, Alec Baldwin, Marina Abramovic, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cindy Sherman, MGMT, Wilco, Bonnie Raitt, Liv Tyler, Mario Batali, Roberta Flack, Robert De Niro, Mark Ruffalo, Uma Thurman, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and many others.

Autogenic Training

I found this a good video on the topic of Autogenic Training. It explains the advantages of the technique. If you are listening to the recording, please ensure you are not interrupted for 20 minutes while you perform the meditation. Never operate machinery or drive while performing meditation. Autogenic Training is a powerful relaxation method which should ne conducted each day for best results. Let me tell you a story: A Russian envoy, Count Kayserling had insomnia. He asked Johann Sebastian Bach to compose music for him to help him sleep. The Count called upon Johann Goldberg to play on the harpsicord a new Bach composition. Immediately the Count fell asleep. This piece of music is known as the Goldberg Variations. In the 1970s, a Bulgarian scientist, Georgi Lozanov, studied this piece of music and found that it slowed down the bodily processes. Vivaldi, Telemann, Corelli and Handel also had a similar effect. 60 beats per minite is the desired tempo. 

Youtube meditation

Please ensure you will not be interrupted and do not drive or operate machinery whilst meditating. This youtube video has been kindly produced by Angel Healer, Norah Coyne.

Non Violent Language

 Non violent communication is a new method of dealing with conflict. Often communication can escalate when conflict is not resolved. If you would like to speak with someone in a way which respects their point of view but also gets your point of view across in a way which is not inflationary, this is the way to go about it! 

Hellerwork

   This is an excellent video on Hellerwork (founder Joseph Heller) which is a body therapy which releases and realignes the body so that the body can work well and comfortably. When this is done, the emotions and mind automatically feel better. The method is suitable for repetitive strain injury or for long term structural pain caused through an accident but here, working on the theory of body armouring through emotional distress, the muscles and joints tense and result in stored tention which can be released through bodywork. 

Hugh Milne - Craniosacral Specialist

Hugh Milne is Scottish and was born into a family of Osteopaths (his mother, father, grandfather and 2 uncles). Became a highly successful private specialist in Kensington early in his life but was hearing the voice of Spirit and became interested in psychodrama, gestalt, rolfing and other therapies and personal growth disciplines. Travelled to Bombay and met Bhagvan Shree Rajneesh (Osho) and spent seven years as the guru's bodyguard, in India and in Oregon. He returned to UK to become a writer, spiritual teacher and specialist practitioner.  

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.

Are you a Perfectionist?

Perfectionism can be disabling with attendant anxiety and low self of self esteem. The Nirvana Fallacy is an academic definition. For many, perfectionism is painful and the person is very tough on themselves. Of course, we need surgeons, vehicle drivers, and other professionals that do their work to the highest standards. However, we also need to be kind to ourselves, to understand that our health and wellbeing must be given priority as this helps us to be high achievers and accomplish a great deal in all areas of our life. 

Solo Vision Quest

The Vision Quest was held by native tribal people of the Americas and was a time spent alone in nature to learn about themselves and about other species, to be thankful for the water we drink, the song of the birds for comfort and the breeze in the trees for company. We can do this in our time, perhaps with fasting, with meditation, with kindness and love for all we see, hear, feel and experience. This video was made in 2011 but the information does not go out of date.  

Resurgence

For free ecards, try Resurgence Magazine: www.resurgence.org/ecards

Resurgence Magazine is, it’s thought, the longest-running environmental magazine in Britain. Its survival so long, without millionaire backing and without turning itself into a consumer lifestyle accessory, with the advertising to match, tells a compelling story – not only of conviction, commitment and endurance but of need, role and relevance. It was founded in 1966 by John Papworth, a well-known peace campaigner with connections to the Committee of 100 and the Peace Pledge Union, but rapidly broadened its critique from the nuclear nightmare generated by the Cold War to pollution, intensive farming and food production and the related political problems of centralisation, bigness and the growing separation of economics from ethics.

For Manifestation read Exploitation!

Difficulties in understanding! 
I have a friend who is interested in the Law of Attraction. She reads lots of books and attends seminars and has a rather superior air when speaking to people who she does not considered as as 'enlightened' as she thinks she is! Recently, while launching a new business venture, she asked me for some business networking and promotional support which I gave to her freely despite usually being paid for my professional services. I wished I had such received assistance of this quality when I was new to self employment! Some months later, I asked her for a small favour which was promptly and discourteously declined. When I drew attention to the many months of work I had offered to her when she was starting out, she explained that she had 'manifested' me - that is, she had attacted all the free assistance I gave to her and did not wish to attract someone who wanted a favour. I was shocked; I can say even appalled! It would appear that this New Thought philosophy, described as a 'law' does not include personal aspects of integrity and ethics but is more to do with using people without conscience?