My own personal experience through this life stage (caring for elderly parents) has been long and strange. As a nurse and psychotherapist I had dealt with people facing illness and end of life issues many times. Without consciously thinking about it I had “learned” that there was a pattern–or a few patterns–that the experience tended to follow. But when it came my turn to deal with such an experience personally nothing followed the norm that I had unconsciously come to expect. I wish I had known a lot of things that I did not. I wish there had been guidance and support that would have helped me not get caught in unimportant places. I wish there had been help to point me to the growing edges of consciousness that would have smoothed out the bumps.

All those things were available in some ways but I had to search. Fortunately it is one of my coping mechanism to search! So it has actually turned into a  deeply expansive time for my entire being. I suspect this process could have been more graceful with fewer bumps if there had been a different kind of preparation and expectation, if there had been a different kind of guidance available when it got weird, surprising and unpredictable! But ultimately that is okay because it led me to a commitment to helping others learn as much as they could about this time of life –practically, emotionally and spiritually—to help them learn to dive deep to find the inner resources to strengthen and support them so that it could become a life enhancing (although often painful) experience rather than a soul deadening one.

So with all that in  mind…here is an excellent article on conversations that it is important to have when aging, serious illness and death edge more fully into your life. There are so many more details and nuances to these conversations than the ultimate one of whether someone wants to be kept alive by mechanical means. These things are difficult to address upfront but in the long run they smooth out the bumps so you can manage this journey a bit more easily.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/02/100802fa_fact_gawande

 At first glance it can seem uncaring to focus on shifting to a higher state of consciousness when so many are suffering so much. But we may ask, ‘how does it serve another to feel as downtrodden, sad, or grief stricken as they do’? We can only help others if we work at keeping ourselves strong and healthy. It is then we can help to raise them in whatever way is appropriate or possible.

 So we need to do what we can in terms of donations of time, money or service to those in need, but we also need to be aware of our mental and emotional states. It is easy to become caught in emotional loops and fool yourself into thinking it is the same as or part of participating, caring or helping.

 We can practice living more in the present moment through becoming aware of our troublesome thoughts and emotions, clearing them, achieving more neutrality and thus being freer to cultivate higher level states of BE-ing. Centering within yourself helps to build strong energy that fosters clear thinking and honest emotion. In is only from your “nowness” you can truly be of help to others.

Stress has been defined as wear and tear on the body and mind as we attempt to adapt to change. We are all aware that change causes stress. We are also aware at some level of the signs that we are stressed. What we are often not aware of are the changes that go on inside us that create the wear and tear and eventually take their toll on our health and well being.

There are many ways to lessen the effects of stress on mind and body: meditation, quiet time for ourselves, learning to breathe properly, energy work and techniques such as imagery, and visualization. All are all helpful methods that can be used alone, or woven into a complete personal stress management program. These tools are also helpful when used to clarify, set and achieve goals. Each in its own way can be a really valuable aid to assist with engaging your inner resources to help motivate you to not only get started, but also to ride the waves of change more smoothly.

Another useful concept for navigating the process of change, whether it is initiated by us or from the outside, is that of support? All growth and development requires adequate support in order to be successful. What are your particular needs? Support does not mean the same thing to all people. Take some time to identify what support means to you. What works for one person may not work for another. In addition, you may need different types of support at different times in as you navigate the stages of change. It is always wise to have a variety of tools available to help you navigate change as well as your path in life. 

So begin by asking what support means to you. What types are important to you? Where can you look for that help? This includes people, places and things! How often will you need these resources? Obviously there will be things you can do for yourself, but you may also need others. Who are they? Can you ask them ahead of time to be available to ensure that what you need will be forthcoming? Do you need professional support, a group or some skill building?

Have a list of all the ways that you may be able to offer yourself support can be useful. When we are stressed our thinking mind tends to shut down and we may not be able to sort out what we need. If it is available to you in written form it can really strengthen your chances of success.

Perhaps also writing out the positives that will result from the change you are going through can help give you some confidence when the going gets rough. You may also want to write out some encouraging statements on index cards and carry them with you. A friend who has committed to be an aid can be of invaluable help….especially if they have gone through similar circumstances.

These approaches may seem self evident in a lot of ways, but they tend to be things we overlook…. maybe because of their simplicity. Nonetheless they can help make a difference in whether you just survive or thrive through transition.

Both our recorded home study programs are filled with techniques and guidance on using these types of methods as well as more specific teaching on how to use energy skills to improve your health, manage your emotions and  bring your dreams alive.

You can access these programs and a complete descripion here: http://www.livingenergyworks.com/store/

Strengthen Your Art of Allowing
Balance, Health and Wellness Retreat 
June 4-6, 2010
Sandy Island Camp 
Lake Winnipesaukee, NH  

“Elements of Enlightenment is a grassroots organization of conscious souls, raising awareness of the many dimensions of healing.”

Live on purpose
Create conscious communities
Leave this world a better place
-Elements of Enlightenment 

 Imagine spending three scrumptiously self-ful days on a beautiful island nourishing your soul, replenishing your spirit, reclaiming inner balance and discovering your authentic self. Meet new like-minded friends in workshops, over delicious meals or simply relaxing to the sounds of the lapping waters of Lake Winnipesaukee, all while enhancing your spiritual tools to move forward on your purposeful path.

Event Description: 3 day, 2 night retreat on the private, secluded Sandy Island YMCA Camp on Lake Winnipesaukee with workshops, speakers, and recreation activities designed to help you return and embrace your authentic self.  You will have three workshop opportunities to learn from.

Karen and Peg will be presenting

 Subtle Energy: 8 Keys to Unlocking Your Art of Allowing.

 There will be many other workshops to choose from as well that will provide you with new tools to live on purpose from the ease and flow that is the center of YOU!   

For complete description and details go to:  http://www.elementsofenlightenment.com/

To have your time outside be most effective as it relates to your energy: be mindful of your body, your feet on the earth, how it feels to be in the present moment; from your inner center be aware of the air, the sun, the breeze blowing past you; feel drinking in the sun,, the air, the warmth.

In Tai Chi there is a wonderful movement to gather up chi of the morning and bring it into yourself.

As you move through your day periodically tune into yourself, intentionally feel spaciousness in your heart and you bathe yourself with love, peace, joy or gratitude. Not only will you benefit but those around you will “catch” your good feelings. This simple method helps to keep your energy strong, can protect you from stress, make for more meaningful interactions and help prevent fatigue.

We would enjoy hearing your comments on how this exercise affected your day!

 As information increases and our awareness expands, we not only know more, but can do and BE more! This is not support for being busier or for taking on more and more activity or responsibility. In many ways it is just the opposite.  With deeper understanding and development of our energetic nature we actually can expand our capacity to live more fully but with less struggle, fewer burdens and more ease.

 If we understand energetic principles, access our inborn natural capacities and use energetic skills, we can bring about change with less conflict and greater comfort. Often our attempts to change are approached from a stance of willpower, hard work and a forced focus on what to be or not to be. The world of energy provides ways to facilitate change more easily, to integrate new patterns and abilities more effortlessly so we can become that person we see in our mind and feel in our heart.

 The Art and Science of the Self-Part 2 continues in the next post

To call in to the show: (347) 843-4148

 On the web or to download the recording: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/living-energy-works

 Heart Coherence helps to:

1. Shift heart rhythms toward smooth, ordered patterns
2. Stimulate healthy neural, hormonal, biochemical,and energetic flow to organs
3. Improve brain function
4. Reduce sympathetic nervous system activity
5. Decrease blood pressure
6. Release stress hormones
7. Diminish fight/flight response
8. Increase parasympathetic nervous system activity and decreases heart rate
9. Improve body system efficiency
10. Boost DHEA production (anti-aging!)
11. Enhance IGA (immune response) proportionately with core heart feelings

Heart Coherence helps you experience well-being right down to the cellular level! We can LEARN to trigger all these effects at will.

Excerpted from Chapter 7, 12 Keys for Life and Self Mastery

We form patterns in our early environments that become our automatic reactions and repeated responses to situations and events throughout our lives. We all have beliefs about the key areas of life: safety, survival, relationships, money, self image, power, entitlement, love, self expression and spirituality. If we are to be truly free to create lives that are the unique manifestation of our individual BEING, then it is essential to identify our real values and release what interferes with openly embracing our own strong, passionately alive consciousness.

Information regarding our internal state is always coming to us in several ways – our physical, emotional and mental faculties are always giving clues about our energy and inner being. In addition, our energy system can offer a great deal of useful data if we take the time to learn how to comprehend it.

We can also stay aware of how the various aspects of the mind communicate with us and blend that into our energetic awareness. The conscious mind is aware of concepts and ideas; the subconscious speaks through feelings or lack of them – the body clearly tells us what is happening in our subconscious mind if we know how to listen. Higher awareness tends to speak through imagery, subtle sensing, or an unmistakable kind of knowing when you sincerely request to know the truth of a matter.

The human energy and chakra system are the vehicles through which we develop and encode our life experience into our cellular memory, so they provide us with a very useful, simple and organized way to look at our values and beliefs as well as with a means to understand how beliefs affect the organization of our energies.

Notice what dominant theme(s) repeatedly comes up for you in your life. Herein lies a clue as to a core belief that is strongly affecting the organization of the people, places, and circumstances of your life. Through collapsing that belief and its attendant mental and emotional features you can be free from the inside out, have more energy and be more open to creating more of what you do want in your life .

12 Keys provides a comprehensive guide to uncovering and releasing troublesome beliefs and opening to higher energies that support, nourish and sustain you in the conscious creation of your life.

Click on the link or join our show from the radio button on our homepage (http://www.livingenergyworks.com/) or listen to the download later at your convenience.

http://www.talkshoe.com/talkshoe/web/talkCast.jsp?masterId=66142&cmd=tc

World of  Subtle Energy Provides New Tools for Self Care

We all sense subtle energy, although we may not always realize it. People called clairvoyants are especially gifted with the ability to see subtle energy. And while it appears to be innate in them, the truth is we all possess this ability. It can be developed by anyone who takes the time to learn the skills necessary and to practice them.

 Most of us may not see subtle energy, but we do sense its existence and respond to it on a daily basis. Much of our language even speaks to our unconscious experience of energetic states and events. Think about: “I feel blue,” “My heart is heavy,” “I feel so empty,” “It’s like I’ve been knifed in the back,” “I feel so full of joy,” “My heart is glad.” These are statements that are actually descriptive of your energy at that moment.

 Biofeedback instruments show that the person who reports feeling blue is, in fact, emitting the frequency of energy our eye sees as blue. The person who reports feeling heavy or sad in the heart is actually experiencing a lower frequency of energy – one which is slower than that of joy or happiness. That person may also be experiencing a constriction of the flow of energy through the heart chakra area.

 Feelings Inform About Energy States

Emptiness is depletion or lack of energy; joy is a fullness of lighter, faster moving energy, and the knife in the back can be an experience of negative thought or emotional energy directed toward that person by another. When you understand the dynamics of energy, you have a deeper perspective and more options available to work with your whole being – thoughts, feelings, sensations and beliefs – in order to shift out of negative states more quickly. In addition, being able to sense and manage your subtle energy allows you to maximize your efforts to create change and attract new possibilities into your life.

  Most people wait for time or external circumstances to change for relief or resolution of their issues. Unfortunately this leaves you in a disempowered position AND it does nothing to erase the effect the negative emotion has on your system. Although a person may feel that the problem or emotional state has disappeared, what more typically happens is that it has been driven deeper into the system so that it is out of awareness but not necessarily out of range of affecting your future experience. To work on an energetic level with the totality of you – your mind, body and spirit – is a major step on the road to empowerment and one that goes beyond learning new ways to simply THINK about things. It helps remove obstacles to true emotional freedom and affords greater access to higher level functions such as creativity, intuition and spirituality.

Excerpted from Chapter 3, 12 Keys for Life and Self Mastery