Living Energy Blog

Archive for the 'Blessings' Category

Have You Had a Stress Break Today?

Friday, February 5th, 2010

 
Take a moment, move out of your mind and into the peace of beauty.
  

“Hug for the World”

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Love this video! We could all use a hug about now!

Top Ten Good News Stories of 2009

Tuesday, December 29th, 2009
Some days it is hard to believe that there was any good news coming out of the past two years but in fact there is! Take a look at these stories from The Good News Network: http://http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/most-popular/general/top-good-news-2009.html    

 

 
 
 

Despite what may be your immediate impression of 2009, overall it was a great year. Looking back, one can be grateful that the economy has begun to turn around, at least for businesses, real estate and the stock market. Looking ahead, it is easy to be hopeful about 2010. With the New Year upon us, this Top 10 list of Good News is just what we need to kick off a new decade.

Here, then, is my annual countdown of the Top Ten Good News Stories for 2009. Happy Holidays to everyone!

10) Humpback Whales to Leap off Endangered Species List

Even more heartening than the 6,000 rare dolphins discovered in South Asia (prior to this, the largest known populations of Irrawaddy dolphins numbered in the low hundreds or less), or the discovery this year of a new population of orangutans in a remote, mountainous corner of Indonesia – perhaps as many as 2,000, or the “spectacular” finding that rare mountain gorilla populations have grown by 13 percent over the last 16 months in the Congo, is the news that humpback whales may soon be graduating from the endangered species list. Despite almost hunting these beautiful creatures to extinction, conservation efforts have led to steady population growth of 4-7 percent annually, to an estimated 19,000 animals, from fewer than 1,400 before the 1960’s ban on whaling. (physorg.com)

9) Researcher’s Love for Wife Leads to MS Breakthrough

Dr. Zamboni’s studies began when his beloved wife developed MS in 1995 at the age of 37. He undertook a massive in-depth review of the literature, and modern imaging techniques such as ultrasound and MRI. His findings led him to believe that Multiple Sclerosis is not an autoimmune issue, but a vascular disease, a radical departure from current thinking. He performed experimental surgery on his wife using a simple catheter / angioplasty / balloon operation, getting blood flowing normally again. Many of her MS symptoms disappeared. She had the surgery three years ago and has not had an attack since. In Italy where the doctor works, 65 patients have since had the MS surgery, and in the two years since the operation, 73 percent of subjects are symptom-free. (Good News Network)

8) Child Mortality Down 27 percent Worldwide Since 1990

Child mortality rates have dropped 28% worldwide since 1990, UNICEF reported Friday. Death rates of children aged five and under have even dropped by 60% since 1960. “UNICEF cited “particularly good progress” in reducing child mortality in Laos, Bangladesh, Bolivia and Nepal. These countries are on target to reach the U.N. Millennium Development Goal of reducing the under-five child mortality rate by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015, UNICEF said.”  (USA Today)

 7) Lay-offs Stopped as Co-Workers Rally to Save Jobs at Boston Hospital

When a hospital CEO was faced with having to lay-off hundreds of people from their jobs, he walked through the corridors and saw that no one deserved it. When he reported his feelings to the auditorium filled with 6,300 employees, he received thunderous, sustained applause. The staff at Beth Israel Medical Center didn’t want any of the 8,000 workers to get laid off — and were willing to give up their pay and benefits to make sure no one does. The 13 department heads took pay cuts  totaling $350,000, doctors donated money, 401-K matching funds were turned down. Now, most of the cooks, janitors and cashiers have been rescued, thanks to the compassionate CEO who wanted to do the right thing and the workers who agreed with him. (Boston.com;  Follow-up from CBS)

6) 12 Banks Have Repayed $113B in Bailout Money- With Interest

Top financial institutions, like Bank of America, J.P. Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs,Capital One, Citi, Wells Fargo, American Express and Morgan-Stanley, have repaid more than $113 billion of the $199 billion in taxpayer money, loaned to financial institutions last year. TARP, the Troubled Asset Relief Program, was introduced when a financial crisis put the economy at risk of falling into a depression. Now the nation’s four largest banks have paid back their loans — with billions of dollars in interest going to the US treasury — as have several large regional banks.

5) Passenger Spots Leaking Jet Fuel, Averts Mid-Ocean Crash

Staff Sgt. Bartek Bachleda spotted a fuel leak during take-off and possibly saved the lives of more than 300 airline passengers in route to Japan last week.  After alerting the aircrew, the ranking pilot made a decision to divert the flight to San Francisco. The captain said they would have never made it to Japan if it wasn’t for the passenger’s insistence that an emergency situation was developing. (Japan Today)

4) Crime is Plummeting Across N. America, Despite Recession

From Oregon to Vermont, states across the country are tallying lower crime rates over the past few years, but even in 2009, amidst economic downturn, cities like Los Angeles, Dallas and New York have seen a dramatic reduction in violent crime. Even Chicago and Detroit are seeing murder rates dropping and property crime decreasing, mystifying sociologists and criminologists. (Good News Network)

 

3) Worldwide Hopes Soar as First African-American President Inaugurated

The arrival of a new American president triggered joy and jubilation in a world made weary by warfare, recession and fear. Even for Republicans, whether you agree or disagree with Obama’s policies, the ascendance of the first African-American to the presidency of the United States marked a new era of tolerance and possibility.

 

2) Miami Banker Gives $60 Million in Bonuses to Employees

After selling a majority stake in his Miami bank, Leonard Abess Jr. took $60 million of the proceeds — $60 million out of his own pocket — and gave it to his tellers, bookkeepers, clerks, everyone on the payroll. All 399 workers on the staff received bonuses, and he even tracked down 72 former employees so they could share in the windfall. For longtime employees, the bonus — based on years of service — amounted to tens of thousands of dollars, and in some cases, more than $100,000. (The Guardian – photo, copyright 2008, Daniel Portnoy)

1) Miracle on the Hudson

The passengers of Flight 1549 were soaked and freezing, but they were still alive. With both engines out, a cool-headed pilot maneuvered his crowded jetliner over New York City, avoiding buildings, landing it safely into the frigid Hudson River. All 155 on board were pulled to safety as the plane slowly sank.

Captain “Sully” Sullenberger was surprised by all the accolades that he received, but, he wrote, “I realize how this event had touched people’s lives, how ready they were for good news, how much they wanted to feel hopeful again…  We’ve had a worldwide economic downturn, and people are confused, fearful and just so ready for good news. They want to feel reassured that all the things we value, all our ideals, still exist.”

If you are a regular viewer of the Good News Network, you are already assured, every day, that good DOES still exist — even through all the troubles witnessed over the last decade. 

Happy New Year and may Good bless!

2010: Setting Goals for Success

Sunday, December 27th, 2009

Within the week we will be entering a new decade and a new era. Our future has the potential to be very different from the past as well as from that described in the popular press. There is a lot going on in the world that the mainstream media does not focus in ways that help us understand our current situation or to feel what is possible for us in the future. We are in a time of great change but if we see through the eyes of fear then we will collapse into recreating the weakness of the past. If we expand our vision and see through the eyes of evolution and rise to the challenge of developing higher levels of our human potential then we can understand more deeply where we’ve been, where we are now and also know how we can expand into greater possibilities than before.

Each one of us matters. Each one of us is important. How we set our individual goals is our personal contribution to the collective energy. There are ways to set and maintain desired changes/goals that are more conducive to success than others.

On Monday morning @ 10 A.M. join us to learn what those ways are and hear how to embrace the new energy and set successful goals. And remember if you cannot join us you can always listen to the recording at your convenience.

 http://www.talkshoe.com/tc/66142

A New Day: Choose Well at the Start!

Thursday, December 24th, 2009

A very dear and wise friend once said to me, “In my culture we are taught to choose well at the start”. Each morning we each have a new start….how will we choose? Your energy matters! Your heart matters! You matter…choose well what energy you live your day(s) in.

 

Holiday Synchronicity!

Wednesday, December 16th, 2009

Yesterday I had an experience that I would like to share with you….it is actually something that occurs to me fairly frequently, but it has taken me some time to recognize it as a process that embodies three important components of synchronicity.

To start—yesterday I had a strong urge to go shopping —not the norm for me! I had other things that I should have been doing but the pull was very strong to pop down the street and see if I could make a dent in the long list I still had for Christmas gift buying. I did not recognize it at the time but my INTUITION was in gear!

Another thing that was going on with me was a kind of flow inside —this is a process that happens in a variety of circumstances for me, but this time I was not orchestrating it. I was merely thinking about the people I love, how much I enjoy finding and giving just the right present –one that fits who they are and brings them happiness and enjoyment. I was feeling how good that all felt and not the stress of an incomplete list.  The feeling I am describing has a kind of wholeness to it, a seamless sense of ease and being in the moment –simply feeling good…. FLOW is the word that best describes what I am speaking about here.

So when I arrived at the department store I was very much in this state of flow and not worried about what I was not getting done elsewhere or even about my list as a “challenge to be conquered” (it was a long and complex list!).

I entered the store and the synchronicity/serendipity kicked in! I think I may have been in a somewhat altered state (which can be part of this state of flow) as everything took on sharpness and a clarity that is not the norm for this place. Before I could even get a cart things started to pop out at me off the shelves and racks that were just perfect for each and every person…..not multiple things to choose from—simply the one perfect gift for each one.  I moved through the store easily, shrinking my list to nothing and arriving at the checkout counter with NO LINE and a clerk efficiently waiting to help! The whole experience took one hour!! And as I said my list was long and not without its complexity!

This experience stands out for several reasons.

  1. I have had exactly the opposite feelings and experiences. When I have been tired, cranky, stressed or feeling that the shopping was a burden for whatever reason —I find nothing and leave feeling even more frustrated than when I began!
  2.  I did not intentionally set out to have all go well or perfectly—I was in more of a curious state as to whether I might possibly find a couple things to whittle the list down just a bit. I had no expectations, no sense of control or struggle regarding outcomes. (Intention is certainly not bad and is often helpful but it can also set us up for stress if not engaged in properly.)
  3. Three important qualities that tend to be embodied (and perhaps are even necessary) in synchronous events were present—effortlessly.

The three qualities: intuition, flow, and support of our needs.

I will let you know after Christmas if those gifts indeed are the perfect ones when they are seen by different eyes!! I would love to hear your stories of synchronicity and creating on purpose if you’d like to share them in the comments section! What do you notice when you have serendipity make an appearance in your life?

Sights and Sounds of Beauty

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

Our best wishes for a Happy Thanksgiving filled with all the love and peace you can hold in your heart!

Karen, Peg and Tony

Practical Solutions For Holiday Stress

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

We would love to have you join us on the radio show today–Monday Nov. 23 at 10 A.M. – our topic will be Practical Solutions for Holiday Stress. If you cannot join us live, the show is recorded and available for listening later.

Click here to listen or download the recording after the show.
http://www.divatoolbox.com/diva-toolbox-radio-/hosts/2007-peg-donahue-and-karen-kallie-living-energy.html

Living Energy: Thanks-Giving, A New Habit

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

At this time of the year we begin to turn our attention to the upcoming holidays and all that they mean. Of course there is the busyness, shopping and increased social commitments. But there is also a deeper current that flows through this time of year. It seems that many of us feel that current and yearn to connect with it as it seems to promise a more fulfilling state of being than the one we generally get caught up in during this time.

At the first of these holidays, Thanksgiving, our thoughts turn to menu planning, travel and seating arrangements, invitations and how to get it all done in the midst of an already busy life! The deeper feelings of gratitude and appreciation symbolized by this day get a passing nod in media hype, a brief grace said at the dinner table or in a lament about not having the time to pay attention to those aspects of life!  There are many reasons for this but perhaps the key issue is a lack of understanding regarding the real influence of these feelings and so they are relegated to the airy-fairy file.

 Gratitude and appreciation are emotions, feeling states that have been studied at length and have been shown to profoundly impact our physical, spiritual and emotional health. When you experience them your heart rhythms change, your nervous system becomes more coherent and your whole physiology behaves differently—all in the direction of health and more efficient functioning. Why would you not want to engage in an activity that is so simple, pleasant and easy and promises to provide such benefit? There are no gym fees, heavy sweating or big chunks of time taken out of your schedule. It merely requires a desire to take charge of your own mind, learn how it functions and point it in the direction you wish instead of allowing it to run amok in its conditioned default patterns. The feelings of gratitude and appreciation set up a vibration within you that are worth the price of admission to make them the standard instead of a sometime event!

 So, how can you begin?

Simply by asking the right questions!

What do I have to be grateful for?

What in my life do I really appreciate?

 Remember to think broadly. We live life moment by moment. The huge awards, recognitions, and ‘deals’ are not daily fare. To some they never come —and they may be the lucky ones as they may be more in touch with the deeper rhythms of life where there is more juice, feeling and connection to the real stuff of being human. That it not to say that material success  is wrong or to be turned away from, only that often too much attention in that direction can result in a disconnect within a person that leaves them empty, longing and entrenched in pretense rather than in the authenticity that leads to a sense of inner fulfillment.

So think about the moment….the warmth of the sun, the crispness of the air, the beauty of the sky. Where can you find beauty today? Where can you find the touch of peace? What do you see that warms your heart?

 Before you go to sleep tonight identify five things that made you happy, feel complete or that you appreciated. Remember to count yourself things you value about YOU!

 Use your memory to call up images of times when you felt grateful…play those over and over instead of the wouldas, couldas, shouldas that tend to rumble around in our minds!

 Make placing your attention on gratitude a habit and you may begin to notice that a subtle inner peace is growing and has brought you “home for the holidays”!

Wisdom for Wednesday–and Everyday

Wednesday, November 18th, 2009

From one of my favorite people, a wonderful statement on shifting from a feeling of powerlessness to one of empowerment.

“Who lives a life of joy? Who in this society knows the day to day thrill and privilege of being alive?”

These two questions can lead us all to a daily choice-

1. To let drop away all that blocks our experience of  life as a gift and privilege

2. To do what it takes for the energy of joy to find its free expression through our being.