Living Energy Blog

I can choose today to receive the higher energies of Love to heal and strengthen me.

I can forgive myself for mistakes. As I grow and learn more, I move more gracefully with life.

True forgiveness opens my way to health and healingand emotional freedom.

We are all too busy–it is practically a global epidemic! How this crazy busy buzzing that we live in came about is not altogether clear. It seemed to creep in somewhat gradually and so stayed below our radar. Nevertheless, we all can pretty much say now that we know what the phenomena is and how it feels. Many people feel like they are slaves to a life they hate but cannot escape. At this point it may seem like it is unavoidable and necessary. That may or may not be true, but we will not know until we can see clearly beyond the feelings of frustration and overload. At the very least we need to find ways to deal with it to avoid burn out! In the process we may find that a clear perspective not only feels better, improves our health and well being, but it also allows us to see opportunities we did not see under the pressure of the stress response.

Being busy in the ways we are these days insidiously takes control of our lives until it feels out of our hands. This busyness creates toxic stress, contributes to accidents and mistakes, as well as adding conflict to relationships and severely reducing the capacity for creativity or to relax and enjoy life. Perhaps if we look at the short time we have on this planet we could also say that the biggest harm comes from keeping one from what is really important.

Energy flows where attention goes. Attention and Intention are two of the biggest influences for how our life force is channeled and used.

One of the first steps to bringing the stress and busyness under control is to define what most matters to you…what is really important. It is so easy to get caught up in activities that do not really matter to us and that do not really contribute to our personal or professional lives.

What is really important to you in each area of your life?

Where would you like your energy to flow more freely?

How would you like to feel each day? What if you took periodic one minute breaks and felt that through the day–like building an energy account?

What would it take for you to take back your intention and attention…come off autopilot and structure your life according to what is important to you?

Or are you too busy?

 Over the next two weeks I’ll be writing here  about some ideas to take charge of time and energy without giving up what is necessary and helpful in our lives. I would also welcome hearing your ideas about what you are doing to manage keeping stress down and your life balanced.

Today I’d like to share a story that illustrates how energy work can help to relieve physical and emotional symptoms, help access higher wisdom/solutions and create a center of personal power.

Some time ago I was working with a woman who was anticipating a meeting with her boss that she feared would be extremely difficult. She was experiencing a lot of fear and apprehension about the meeting in general, but her first concern was that she was so highly charged about the encounter that she would  become emotional, cry and lose her credibility with him. She was feeling it was crucial to convince him of several points that were counter to what he was going to be presenting and her emotionality would not allow her to clearly present her case.

We began working with Emotional Freedom Technique to deal with her fear and anxiety.

Her feelings cleared but she was still in a physical posture of holding in and holding up – so we moved to centering, creating the global mind-body awareness, did a quick adjustment to her energy flow using the basic flow technique, with the addition of a crossover technique that balanced the left / right flow of energy. This all took less than five minutes. I do have to add, however, that this person was used to working with me in this way although she was out of practice.

After this adjustment she reported that she felt calmer, safer and more grounded. My observation was that the tense posturing was gone, her face relaxed and her color improved. As we just let her settle into the new feelings in a quiet moment, she all of a sudden startled and said, “OH, all of a sudden the thought came in that I don’t need to convince him; all I need to do is listen and decide what I will and won’t participate in.”

Notice that the thinking mind had very little to do with this until the end!

I did not tell her that she needn’t be afraid, she was a competent professional, the company needed her, she was not in danger of being fired, and so on. I did not talk about or interpret her posture – how it was a reflection of a maladaptive pattern that was weakening her energy flow, making her feel worse – nor about how, when our energy becomes ungrounded, we feel anxious, creating a feedback loop that feeds on itself and gets worse.

All those things may be true, but they are cognitive and generally have little impact on shifting out of emotional states or upon our ability to access higher level functions. We’ve all had the experience of being told that we needn’t be feeling what we are, the facts don’t support it—and yet we do! We need methods to remedy the difficulties that address our inner realities in order to be able to come back to outer reality in a  way that is effective.

As it was, not only did this client find her own solution in a moment with incredible clarity, but she went off to the meeting feeling strong and powerful because the awareness she needed came from within.

It is exciting, awesome and beautiful to watch the process of a person settling into their authentic self and be able to live from the inside out …to be able to inhabit their lives in a way that empowers and sustains them. Using energetic techniques that address mind, body and spirit allow us all to reach this center more quickly and easily than mere cognition alone. The Living Energy Works approach can help you as well— to move out of emotional distress, release stress, access greater well being and higher consciousness for more elegant solutions to problems, as well as to live more simply and creatively!

Check out our recorded programs here: http://bit.ly/zxrvGE

Image via Wikipedia

Rollin McCraty from HeartMath Institute has a great question for himself at the end of the day, “What did I feed the field today”? He is referring of course to the idea that we have a significant impact on our world through the energy field— that it matters what we put out in terms of our focus—for us and for others. This is a great question to ask at anytime of the day to help keep us focused on where we are at and where we need to adjust…not out of harsh self criticism or judgement just simple awareness.

Some help for the journey…

The Impact of Thought and Emotion

Thoughts, emotions and feelings of all types are a major part of our human experience. They (along with free will and judgment) differentiate us from animals and other life forms.

As humans, we have a wide range of emotions. We are meant to feel. If we are to be healthy, fully express our authentic nature and bring the best of our selves to the world, then we must know how to let emotions move fluidly and easily through our systems and not repress them or get stuck in them!

Knowing how to work positively with all our emotions builds our energy and helps us move more rapidly and simply toward the lives we desire. We hold memory all throughout our body-mind … no experience escapes our notice. Our life experience is imprinted through our energy and nervous system into our biochemistry and into the cells and organs of our body.

Thoughts and feelings affect the energy throughout all our systems, but perhaps most important is how they connect deeply in the heart and help shape our experience of the world. Our thoughts and feelings are two primary ways we manage our energy, but they don’t necessarily always work in unison.

We are very capable of thinking one thing and feeling another. We can “know” something in our mind and experience it a totally different way in our heart and body.

Cellular memory is imprinted more through how we feel about something than through how we think about it or how we rationalize it. As a result, we have the feeling police deep inside: the body knows your truth! This is why it is so critical to clear the patterns and beliefs of the past – not because we are bad or have sinned and need to set our records straight, but because through our lack of knowledge and awareness, we have created obstacles that block our health, well- being and happiness.

Releasing judgment, embracing self compassion, letting go and acceptance

Practice going inside, grounding your energy ( for more info on this click here: http://www.livingenergyworks.com/articles.html )and developing an internal network for surrender, acceptance, letting go and releasing by practicing the feeling of those concepts. You can work this into a daily meditation rather than making it a whole new task to accomplish. Things in the internal world can be accomplished with ease — where there is no time and no space, there is magic!

Relaxation 101 is a great guided meditation that incorporates the foundation for all these taske. You can find the download or CD here:

http://bit.ly/xg2te9

Self-compassion is your greatest source of strength (Photo credit: wildphotons)

The other day I was talking with a friend about her experience with grief and loss and she expressed that she felt she should be further along on her path of recovery. She is six weeks past a major loss after a grueling year  of care-taking, medical emergencies and life adjustments. Can you relate to that belief? I can !!

How tempting…and human…to think that we can hit the ground running after a time of grief, trauma or major life adjustments. We want to get on with it. We want to move past the intensity, the deep aching sadness, hurt, confusion and doubt. It is hard to be with all the feelings, the voices in our heads and the hurt in our heart. However this is the time to lie fallow, to process and be able to digest our experience.

Every aspect of our energy –part of our body, mind and spirit is affected by trauma, loss and grief no matter how well we have managed through it. This is the time to rest in the quiet, to let the silence behind the difficult emotions emerge from that deep place within. It is time to let that silence envelope you in its healing arms. This is what allows your energy to return. It is what allows wisdom to bubble up from a profoundly authentic place inside. This is how you help yourself heal, find meaning and integrate your experience.

Patience is needed to move with the natural rhythms of life especially with the troublesome times. Self compassion is necessary to let yourself be where you are. Patience and self compassion are your allies through transition times. A new life needs to be birthed gently, in its own time and with a consciousness that is full of understanding not hurried movement. Time, space and healing attention are necessary luxuries when we are  at such a stage on our life journey. There are many gifts to be had if we become present and mindful to our experience…a profound inner connection with our authentic self and the rejuvenating flow of spiritual energy are two such gifts that can stabilize our minds and hearts…for the now and for the future.

Related articles

• Day 18: Grief (donethisbefore.com)
• 7 Ways Reiki Supports Overcoming Grief (thereikimuse.com)

Clouded by Rita Loyd

1. When you find yourself irritated by others, look inside to learn more about what was triggered in you.

2. Once you are aware of the core issue, reflect on what if anything needs to be done, then consciously focus on releasing the feelings from your mind, body and spirit. Releasing the feelings before you explore the cause can also bring clarity to the cause.

3. Affirm at a deep feeling level: I lovingly allow feelings of internal support to flow through me today.

Release, by Rita Loyd

There is something deeply settling in living with awareness, to our life questions and being open to the information, release  and healing that comes from attending to them. It feels like an ever present opportunity to come home to our essential self in the midst of daily life….the inner space that nourishes and sustains u…s if we connect with it.

Recently I was searching for a file and came across an article I had written back in 2007. The topic was about these very things–looking at life through different eyes,  being aware of messages and their deeper meaning. The funny thing about the core issue I discovered and wrote about in the article is that I have recently been having thesame  message come back around….again! Not so strange really, just human and the way it is for those of us who learn more slowly! It gets easier with experience and there is gratitude for that!

To pay attention to life moments , with an attitude of ease and patient spaciousness is one of the ways that we turn the ordinary into extraordinary- paying attention, we open our hearts and minds and become receptive to something beyond the noise in our heads, the something that heals.

I do not think that we should live our lives under the burden of analyzing and inspecting every moment for deeper meaning. However, my experience has taught me that there is a great deal to be gained through being open to the broader perspectives that life is always inviting us toward.

To read Energy, Meaning and Messages:  http://bit.ly/A35PTH

Questions to Ponder

Do you think symbolically about the events of your life?

How does the universe speak to you?

How has your life been enriched by deeper listening and clearer seeing/vision?

I would love to hear your experiences and comments about this topic!

Caring for others, be it an elderly parent, a relative, a child, or a friend, is one of the highest forms of human service.  However, altruism aside, caring for others often means that you put their needs before your own.  You set aside your desires and wishes for another day, a day when you’ll have the luxury of time to spend by yourself and on yourself. It is a day you dream about and yearn for.

In the meantime, you give and give and give. You begin to wear down and out.  Energy and enthusiasm wanes as you become physically exhausted and emotionally drained.  It may seem that the more you give, the more that is requested or required of you.  It becomes harder to keep up and maintain your pace.  Your nerves wear thin. You begin to do less and less for yourself. Periodically you wonder, “Where is there care for me?”  You may begin to ask: “What’s happened to me, to my life?” Worse yet, you may feel guilty for having those thoughts!

A continuous outflow of energy through giving without refueling or replenishing yourself cannot possibly end up anywhere but in fatigue and burnout. It is then that resentment can set in not to mention damage to your own health. You must stop and refuel in order to keep going.

Each of us can only give away what we have. Humans are adaptable and it may seem that we can give from nothing, or run along on empty for quite a time, but the truth is that the bill for such behavior will eventually come due. It may seem ironic that as a caregiver you need to put yourself first. However, it is truly the only way to assure a reserve of energy to care for others without creating problems for you! Regular self care and self nurture is essential to create the inner resources that allow for a constant and even flow of energy for both you and the ones you love.

The photograph ( by Rita Loyd www.NurturingArt.com) above depicts the energy of love but also spiritual and grounding energy flowing through the primary caregiver that nourishes and strengthens her and then flows through the one being cared for. This is truly the way that we all should be “hooked up”–if we focus on energizing and balancing ourselves, there is an easier flow toward others without all the stress and striving.

Image via Wikipedia

Most people have an awareness that stress affects the heart. There is however less awareness of how this actually occurs. Changes Happen in our energy field first in response to life events and interactions. The energetic changes travel from the energy system into  the nervous, circulatory and hormonal systems where physical imbalances begin to occur. In addition to issues of grief, loss and disappointment, changes to the heart’s energy are also profoundly affected by our feelings of self love, self acceptance and relationships with others. Conversely, the state of our heart energy contributes to our capacity to feel these qualities.  The condition of heart energy also influences the level of our spiritual capacity and connection. In short, our heart’s energy is a major player in every facet of our lives! Some care and positive attention to this part of ourselves can have enormous impact on the quality of our lives.

The heart chakra takes the denser energy from the lower chakras and converts it into a subtler form so the energy can move upward where it takes the form of thoughts, ideas and inspiration. In addition, the heart chakra transforms the energy from the upper chakras into a lower frequency so it can flow to the lower chakras and be used to manifest ideas, inspiration and desires on the physical plane. Our heart plays a major role in bringing our ideas from the realm of thought into the material world. And of course this can happen in a positive or a negative way.

While the elements associated with the previous chakras are tangible, the element of the heart chakra is air and thus invisible. The heart chakra is home to Prana or life force ….the unseen energy we take in with every breath.

Psychologically the heart is involved in the shift from average everyday consciousness, external focus and ego to a deeper, broader awareness that encompasses self and other as well as spiritual realms.

Our hearts are keenly involved in our daily lives and especially in the major events we encounter in our journey.  Who has not known the feeling of the heart chakra shutting down to protect itself, or the sense of a “jam or blockage” as we try heal and shift our experience ? We may not have associated the feeling with energy or a chakra but we all recognize the sensation!

Issues involving the heart such as death, divorce, loss, abandonment and betrayal may all be part of our human experience at one time or another. Closing of the heart chakra creates numbness in an attempt to protect ourselves from unbearable pain. Unfortunately this generally has the effect of making things worse as communication with other chakras is shut off and a feeling of emptiness results. This is why knowing how to process difficult emotions is so vitally important to our well being.

On a more positive note the heart carries within it the power to transmute our negative feelings. Guilt, fear, shame and anger can all be transformed through the loving power of the heart.

When the heart chakra is in balance and energy is freely flowing, a person is self accepting, trusting, forgiving, compassionate, charged with positive emotions and fueled by hope. As always the issue is to take charge of our inner states and create more of what we truly desire on the inside so that energy can flow out into the outer world and bring more of what we truly desire to manifest in our world.  Love heals and we can always choose to focus on it rather than fear or negativity…but learning to choose love is a process so self compassion and patience with a learning curve are necessary.

Next: Signs of balance and imbalance of Heart Chakra energies

Related articles

• Chakra + Immune System Health (chakralivingroomaz.com)

Stressful reactivity is an inefficient approach to life. Learning to shift to grace and ease happens through my heart and opens me up to a life enhancing flow of energy.

Stress robs me of vitality. Choose to release stress and reclaim you energy.

My mind tries to understand and control life. My heart has deeper knowing that informs me as well as assisting me to flow with life and its mysteries.

Frequencies of love and peace cannot coexist with stress. I am the choice maker.