Living Energy Blog

Early bird registration SAVINGS ends August 1st for Elements of Enlightenment Retreat on Lake Winnepesaukee!

Some comments from previous participants:
Magical, grounding, cleansing! Thank You! B.C.
A transformative, life affirming weekend! J.M

The retreat dates are September 28-30 2012, on Sandy Island in Lake Winnepesaukee N.H. This years exciting topic is “Conscious Connections: The Practice of Mindfulness”. We are very excited about this years line up, we have some of your favorite presenters back and some new ones to share with you .

Check out our  website http://www.elementsofenlightenment.com/  !!! You will find all of this years schedule of presenters and events on the site. We have tried to make it as user friendly for all of you, with an easy registration form and pay-pal options.

There is still plenty of time for you to pick the cabin you would like and fill it with a few of your closest friends!  Early registration prior to August 1st, 2012 is an energy exchange of $400 per guest. After August 1st, 2012 the energy exchange is  $500 per guest I hope you have a wonderful spring and adventurous summer. We look forward to seeing you in the fall on the island!

Blessings and Inspirations,

Kim and Kate

I am taking a course, Spirituality in Healing, with NIACBM. There is such a wonderful line up of teachers–this week it was Rachel Naomi Remen. Dr. Remen is a great story teller and in this video she shares this one that brings home the importance of being awake to wonder, and the deep experience that is possible in our lives. This story also shows how our deep purpose for being here can be felt when all our normal preoccupations and frustrations fall away.
An added note—I agree with some of the comments after the video., E.G. that perhaps the mother should have been the first human the baby saw–and there are certainly lots of issues with the birth experience itself that are commented on that may have a good point,  but it does not take away from what happened for this Dr. and how it impacted and changed his perspective about himself, life and purpose….and how we can take note and apply the learning to our own lives.

Would love to hear your impressions after you view the video! And if you are interested, you can still join the ongoing series at NICABM

Birth, Life, Living, Illness, Death–all mysteries when you get right down to it. Our beliefs may serve to cushion us from our fear, but they may also inhibit a direct experience of our highest essence that can emerge when we become openly available to life and living.

What would it be like to dwell in the mystery of life and living rather than beliefs? What would change? What would stay the same?

What if we befriended life… and nurtured a trust in life? What impact would that have…what would shift? What would remain?

Is not befriending and trusting life an open invitation for our spiritual essence to take up greater resonance within us?

One thing I do know is that in such an open and free “posture” energy would flow freely without our usual resistance thus impacting all areas of our being in a positive manner.

These are potentially life changing questions…ones I am pondering recently–I would love to hear your responses…opinions, experiences!

Seeing the world through new eyes transforms the ordinary to extraordinary

We tend to walk through life as with blinders on and so miss a lot of the experience of life and living that can provide a richness and vitality that fuels appreciation, joy and even a sense of the sacred.
It is not only human to drop into routines and habitual ways of perceiving the world. We need to have a certain amount of life on automatic. We could not stay sane if we had to be remembering everything all the time.
However this natural dynamic can be overdone to the point where we feel we are not inhabiting or really living our lives. We can become disconnected to the people around us, to our sense of purpose,to the deeper, more meaningful aspects of life and most tragicallyto ourselves.

It takes commitment and practice to develop an ability to be in the present moment and directly experience life.
It begins with an intention to do so. Meditation helps a lot to cultivate this capacity for inhabiting life. Energy work helps to develop an ability to smooth our jagged edges and create an inner and outer flow. Prayer, opening your heart, contemplation, breath-work and practices that focus on loving-kindness and gratitude are all potential doorways into this space.

We can learn to befriend life…to cultivate a trust in it…the strengths, rewards and gifts for that are far greater than the effort we must invest.

(Photo credit: Shovelling Son)”]

[denial

“You are free to be here.” — Thich Nhat Hanh

The above quote refers to the freedom to come into the present moment in order to release suffering that focusing on past and future trigger in us. When we usher ourselves into present moment awareness it becomes possible to acknowledge and be present with deeper emotions in order to be able to heal and release them. Being present in the moment is not about denying or avoiding any part of our selves. We all have negative thoughts, negative feelings, beliefs, prejudices, judgments as well as a lack of surrender, gratitude and forgivenesswithin us at some time. It is all part of the human journey. Mindfulness and being present in the NOW– done honestly– lets us embrace all of our parts in order to see how our minds are working that cause pain and suffering and make it possible for the deeper richer qualities inherent in human being to arise.

It is not the dive into emotions that make us crazy and dysfunctional…..it is the denial and other dysfunctional defenses we engage in that tip us over the edge. Our nervous systems are not equipped to handle unrelenting stress and stuffing of emotion and denial of our reality.
Spiritual bypassing is just as rampant as denial and avoidance—actually spiritual bypassing could be thought of a cleaned up version of those dysfunctional defenses. We are human. We have nasty feelings, flaws and failings. We have a shadow—a handy compartment where we store all that we do not want to own. We must compassionately embrace/own that shadow–find out what it wants/needs (truly, not a superficial version) and then we may be on the road to living in this world with true freedom, health, happiness and harmony.

Can we really have understanding, tolerance and compassion for others before we sincerely have it within for ourselves? It is perhaps a big job and a long road, but in my opinion it is only that kind of”psycho-spiritual” expansion that will lead to a foundation for living where man’s inhumanity to man, man made disasters and massacres no longer occur.

English: Tympanum of Door of Forgiveness, Cathedral of Toledo, Spain Français : Tympan de la porte du Pardon de la Cathédrale de Tolède, Espagne (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We are often much better at forgiving others than we are ourselves. Forgiveness is a process and there may be several layers to move through before arriving at the destination. BUT it begins with the intention to forgive, AND it is a practice. Here are three tips that can help on the journey to forgiveness.

I can release my need for perfection, one imperfect moment at a time.

Today I am open and willing to notice and forgive myself for at least one mistake…honestly!

When negative emotions are triggered, I will acknowledge them and use my breath to release them

F.E.A.R.

 False Evidence Appearing Real

We all know fear in some or all of its faces. Fear can visit in the form of panic, terror, phobias or dread. It may also make its appearance as anxiety, a vague sense of foreboding/waiting for the other shoe to drop, self doubt or an inner sense of shaking or insecurity.

Energetically fear constricts us, makes us feel small, weak and not up to managing our lives making it difficult to face or move past challenges that arise. The defensive postures we use to override fear generally are typically not useful, especially in the long run. They most often simply drive fear deeper into our systems and the do not allow us to get at the even  deeper fears that reside in all of us so they can be released.

It is only through having effective methods to manage, dissolve and release fear that we can free ourselves and make room for more ease, peace and joy.

Self observation can help you by understanding your defensive reactions to fear–how you cope, cover up, deny, fight or flee–or freeze.
Once you understand what your defense is you can choose to not react in that way, but then you are left with the feelings of fear–just what you did not want to feel! Feelings are real–they have very real physiological effects and no amount of logic will make them go way generally. We need to meet them where they live and have a method that allows them to be released…then the body mind can be brought into balance.

Our recorded program Relaxation 101 can help you to address fear at the level of body-mind-spirit through a series of techniques designed to deal with fear where it lives and move you beyond it.  You can learn how to let the energy of fear be released from your system and not be stymied by it!
 

Learn one new thing.

Play, dance, sing.

Be silly.

Laugh at yourself.

Each of these behaviors help to release stress from your system, as well as help to open up your energy system to build stronger reserves of energy. They also help your nervous system become stronger and lay down new neural pathways that will help you be more effective in your work and personal life.

Practice Feeling: What if This Were Easy?

Some years ago when I first began teaching stress management I noticed a paradox within me when faced with a challenge.
My early life experience contributed to a need to be poised and ready to react to stay out of harm’s way. Then as a nurse I had been trained to respond, react, and deal with things quickly, efficiently and without thought or even awareness about how it was affecting me. There was no room for that when caring for others or responding to emergencies. Without realizing it I had become conditioned to holding an inner stance of tension —a kind of heightened awareness–not the good kind!–in order to be ready to resond/react to whatever came up.

I began to notice that when faced with problems and challenges in my world in general my inner state was often at odds with my mental and physical state. I could certainly at fast and think on my feet, BUT my feelings were quite another thing! In the face of a challenge I noticed I carried an inner sense of struggle,tension,  conflict stemming from the belief that this would be really hard. As I was teaching that the brain did not know the difference between real and imagined, it occurred to me that perhaps I could shift into a place where I felt that this was easy. It became clear that holding a more expansive inner presence was in fact more effective than that of a coiled spring!   A problem or challenge, may or may not be eas, but what I realized was that my inner state was compounding whatever difficulty I might encounter and getting in my way of responding most effectively.

I began to discover that as I released the inner tension and learned how to truly stay open and at ease in general, those feelings could stay with me even in the face of stress… solutions were easier to find, problems did not tend to get compounded, I listened better and responded more efficiently. This took time and practice, but it was well worth it in terms of the ease that developed. One of the best supports for developing this new behavior was meditation to recondition my mind/body and personal energy work to help release old beliefs and strengthen a new foundation of ease.

Today if I begin to feel that old tension or struggle begin to claim space within, I remind myself to shift, to open and FLOW.  The question I often ue to help me move back into that place of flow is:  What if this were easy? It reminds me that I choose how to feel in spite of stress and challenge…and that it is my choice as to what inner landscape I want to create…and that the outer world does not have to determine my inner world.

Try it, you’ll like it!! Your energy will become–and stay stronger, you will think more clearly, solutions will come more quickly, and you will feel calmer–all of which contribute to health, wealth and happiness!

I am the driver of my perspective, choices and energy. I have opportunities to improve daily.

Twirl! Spinning in a clockwise direction adjusts and strengthens your aura.

Lovingly detach from the energy drains in your life.