Wednesday, November 29, 2017

PMR

I had to take the video down...was made aware that the music I had coincidently playing in the background was causing a copyright infringement...I had no idea...so teh video is no more...sorry. 

Here is an exercise I threw up onto the blog while I was taking my writing break.  Never mind the "shaky"  start lol.
  • If this is the first time you doing the exercise be prepared for a phone ringing half way through...just let your mind get passed it.  :) . 
  • I also didn't get a chance to finish with the "coming back to reality" steps...just move each of your body parts, one group at a time,  from the toes to the neck a little bit.  When you get to the face...put on a big beautiful smile and open your eyes.
  • Here is hoping it helps somebody somewhere....even just a bit. :)
 


Saturday, November 25, 2017

Leaving the Comfort Zone

An overindulgence in anything, even something as pure as water, can intoxicate.
-Criss Jammi (https://www.healthyplace.com/insight/quotes/quotes-on-addiction-addiction-recovery/)

Just a note...to let you know that I am taking a break.  A little insight and other shared observation recently has gotten me questioning if I am using my writing to cope in a healthy way or if the writing has become a numbing behaviour so I do not have to deal with the physical world issues that exists outside this little writing corner.  It is a good question...a very good question and if you have learned anything about me in the last little bit..it has to be that I like a good question.  :)

Arguments for my writing being an unhealthy coping strategy.

Writing is intellectualization

Sometimes, I think writing is a very exquisite form of intellectualization.  Intellectualization is an unhealthy coping mechanisms of living in the mind...coping with life through practical, unemotional examination and analysis of data.  When we are so busy intellectualizing we do not have time to emotionalize our way through life, do we?  I spend many hours here a day because I want to be in my mind rather than in my heart. (I can control that better, lol) 

One could say there are a lot of things going on around me...that have been going on around me, to me, in me (perceptions of loss, trauma, crisis,  illness, suffering the consequences of false assumption, etc etc) ...whatever...that would lead to a negative emotional experience. I think I fear having to emote fully because I think I will be overwhelmed by it...so I think it through instead.  Thinking is so much easier than feeling, is it not?

Writing, the way I write, is numbing and addictive

I speak only for the writing pattern I have established over the last few years.  I write "obsessively" to cope with the anxiety and worry  that comes about when I think of my health, future etc.  When things get a little more challenging I come here.  I come here to numb! 

Writing intoxicates  me...Some people would go for a drink or a drug...work...do...gamble etc...I come here.  It soothes me, it numbs me, it hides me...it makes me feel safe.  It has gotten to the point that I would rather come here than talk to someone face to face.  I literally get withdrawal symptoms when I can't write. Or if I see someone on my computer...it is like a barrier between me and my words...a barrier between me and my drug...I get so angry and frustrated...and find myself pacing back and forth until I can get them away. And when people feel the need to do an intervention...you know there's a problem.

Writing is a problem if it stops one from living fully

Man...my house is falling a part around me; I no longer socialize the way I used to...prefer being with  my words to the company of others ( I guess that is similar to drinking alone). I tell myself ( good old rationalization) that I write because it is something I can physically do with my health limitations.  I can't nurse anymore but I can write etc. I can't clean the house but I can write.

As true as that may be...I use that excuse to explain why I am not looking after my health.  I say..."Writing is my therapy" and it is... but therapy can be addictive and unhealthy after a certain point.   That's why therapists control time spent with clients  and terminate as soon as possible.  While I have been pushing an imaginary and self imposed word count everyday, I have not been pushing myself to get out for walks and to try different exercises to discover what would work for me.  I can go hours sitting here without getting up which puts me at a risk for clots. I am not eating right and my body has been calling out to me over the last few months for change.  I am not as healthy as I can be right now fro all kinds of reasons...but my numbing choices are probably more a part of the problem than of the solution.

Writing is Doing

Here I am writing about the need to be rather than do...but writing is an action...it is something I "do".  Everything I do...I tend to do in excess. I am a doing addict and I just supplemented writing for the more physically demanding doing. It is like an alcoholic saying, "I am not an alcoholic anymore because I went from drinking hard stuff to beer."  I said my illness perception has led to my inability to do...but heck it doesn't stop me from writing does it?  With writing, I am still doing more than being! I feel this need to finish something...send it out...write so many articles and get them published within a time frame...I "have to" write a blog entry a day...no matter what lol?  How many blogs out there have a new entry a day? Man...I am not following my own advice, am I?

So what am I going to do?

I am going to take a break to put this question to the test and to truly practice what I preach about "being".  I have one short story to send out...I will get that out.  Send my recently rejected novel out again.  Then I step away from my vice...to determine if it actually is a negative vice or something that is benefitting me.  I step away for a week....one full week (I won't do, "One day at a time" lol) ...I will do one week at a time...and I will see how I "feel." I will let you know.

Well my dear friends...until we meet again. Keep waking up in a busy world!

All is well!

The Comfort Zone of Writing

Comfort Zone

Tapping, tapping, tapping...
I tap the keys
and push the words out
onto the page,
wrapping myself in their
protective comfort.
Tucking my head in
and away from
the  voices that make
their never ending requests of me,
I hide beneath the clacking rhythm
of their soothing mantra.
 
Here, I am invisible to all.
Demands and disappointments,
assumptions and accusations
that threaten to swallow me whole
exist in a place so far
beyond my safety zone.
I am safe.

Through a tiny hole I have
made in the fabric of my shield
I see
the piles of laundry
building in towers 
the dust collecting in clumps,
the unpaid bills
scattering in messy circles...
As They, with their sad eyes,
disapproving of my choices,
hold their empty plates, 
dropless cups and
appointment calendars
out for me to fill.
 I only scrunch down 
and away.
...tapping, tapping, tapping.

I hear echoes of the world 
 making its  noises...
throwing its cries of loss,
its screams of fear
and its aches of illness
at me
but I can't go.
Not yet.

I stay where I am and I wait
for something  out there
to find me...
for something
in here
amongst the tap, tap, tapping...
to rescue me.
I wait for some medicine
folded in the paragraphs
 of thought pasted to these white walls
to heal my body and mind.
I wait for some wise inspiration
hidden in the awkward words
to give me courage
and strength enough
to leave this comfort zone...
once and for all.
As I wait...
I keep tapping, tapping, tapping.

Dale-Lynn; November 2017

(As much as I am embarrassed and disappointed to make this warning...all my material is copyrighted and will be protected as such.  It is has been brought to my attention that some of my stuff ...for whatever reason...is possibly being taken from my site for someone else's personal gain ( What they would gain from it...I don't know...lol...but I just want to make sure that that is not the case.  :) I am prepared to complete the investigation and follow through with copyright infringement if necessary.  :( ...just sayin).

Writing should be shared as a gift.  I believe that.  I also believe in Karma :)

So why would I post anything new? Poetry to me is so personal, so subjective and not something one ever gains a lot of fame and fortune from lol. There is nothing good or bad about it...poetry just is.   I share this here only because it came out here...on this page...so I assume that is where it belongs.  :)

All is well.

Thursday, November 23, 2017

Discovered something strange going on with this site and some of its viewers...just going to check that out before I write more.

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Isn't it Ironic?; Part 2

I won't bore you with the details but another rough night overwhelmed by the perception if Illness.  Hard on the ticker so I am taking it easy today. No writing! I am also looking for the "real" reasoning behind it. lol  I will check in with you tomorrow ...maybe then I will be able to explain it. 

All is well in my world!

Monday, November 20, 2017

Ignore the Leaf that Floats on Top

Awareness is the stream, not the leaf that floats on top of it.
-Gordon Smith

Wow!  Those words just blew me away when I read them.  What a simple and classic way to look at our awareness.  What sees, hears, feels and makes sense of our physical world reality?  Our awareness...the Life force, the stream of consciousness.  Our thoughts are merely just leafs floating on the stream...being carried away.  They are nothing.  It is the stream that has the power.

Yet so often...too often...we begin to believe our thoughts are everything.  We allow the perception that our thoughts are carrying us away: She got carried away by her thinking.  He was lost in his thoughts. etc .  How can we be lost in our thoughts?  When the stream is powerful enough to carry the thoughts away.  Focus on the powerful  stream people...not the leafs on top. 

All is well in my world.




Smith, Gordon (2017) Mediumship: An Introductory Guide to Developing Spiritual Awareness and Intuition.E-Book Carlsbad: Hay House

Sunday, November 19, 2017

In any given moment we have two options: to step forward into growth or to step back into safety.
-Abraham Maslow (https://www.pinterest.ca/explore/move-forward-quotes/?lp=true)

I thought I could make the previous entry sound less whiny than the original but nope...still sounds pretty pathetic lol.  Oh well...I whine from time to time.  That's the truth of it!   I have learned, however, not to stay there in the drama.  I don't like being stuck mentally in those perceptions of  lack, loss and limitation. So I always eventually try to take a step and move in at least some direction away from them. I move toward healing, toward growth. I want you to move toward your growth as well.

An example: Being stuck as a writer

Whether you are a writer or not there may be some learning to gain from this example.

 In June I took a step towards becoming unstuck by writing seven articles in a two-three week period for the purpose of submission. I knew I was stuck. I had not submitted short non-fiction in a very long time and knew that to get unstuck I had to focus on submission.  Luckily for me, five  of those articles have been or will be published as of next month. Five out of seven is not bad for any writer.  You would think that getting myself unstuck once would spur me on and motivate me to continue with the process of writing more articles.

But no...I somehow got stuck in the "submission and publication process" and neglected to write new stuff other than what is on this blog. I settled into a comfort zone of waiting for all seven articles to be published before I wrote more non-fiction articles.  The ideas keep coming but I push them aside. I was taking a step back into safety.

In fact, I have been taking a lot of steps back in my writing.  I have not been writing fresh stuff of any kind other than on this blog.  I was not even trying to create new stuff for "potential" publication...just recycling the old from publisher to publisher. One rejection would lead me to sending the work elsewhere. I was also  telling myself, "When my books get published and all the stuff I have previously written gets accepted I will be all set! My feeling of being stuck financially, professionally, and personally will be resolved. I will make money, be able to slip the writer title on the back of my name to replace the RN and I will have found something I can do with a body that is perceiving limitation. " I wrote three books since 2014 and I find myself "stuck" waiting for them to rescue me by getting validated. Now that's stuck!

While I was waiting, I have not been writing the way I want to write. Ideas and new stories keep popping into my head but I put them aside until after I am fully validated.  I am not writing the way I want to write, the way I can write.

When I am on a roll...I am usually writing fiction and non-fiction at the same time.    Fiction uses the right brain more than the left; non-fiction uses the left brain. When I write both concurrently an amazing thing happens...things open up.  If I want to write good non-fiction I need to keep writing fiction and if I want to write good fiction I need to write non-fiction. In my stuckness, I focused on the nonfiction because that is much more publishable and neglected the fiction. Fiction leads to a lot more rejection and disappointment and I wanted to avoid that.  Avoidance leads to staying stuck!

So I had a choice: to stay stuck or to take a step in any direction even if it meant rejection.    I sat down the day before yesterday and said, "Enough of feeling  stuck! Write!"  So I did.  Yesterday I finished the rough draft of a 2500 word short story. I made myself write over 1000 words the first day and the  remainder the second day until I had a story with a beginning, middle and end to it.  The creating part is done.  I will spruce it up, get one person to read it and regardless of their opinion I will send it out there somewhere.  I will have then completed my little writing cycle...Whether or not I get published is not the point...the point is I am writing fiction, risking rejection and sending it out.  That is where the growth comes in...in the movement forward!

I find myself feeling very relieved.  I am not saying the story is good or bad...it just is.  I opened up and I got it down.  I took a step in a direction, even if it is the wrong direction. I am unstuck. 

Moral of this story

Writing is not about waiting for publication...it is about using the now to create whatever is asking to be created.  It is not asking for validation but validating self as a channel for things to come through.  It isn't about submission of perfect work but about expression of the true self in whatever form it presents itself.

Living is not about waiting for something outside you to happen, to push you or take you by the hand.  It is about you taking a step in the direction you are being called.  Even if it seems like you are finding yourself on the wrong path...it will eventually take you to the right one.  Take a step towards your life. It is waiting so you do not have to!

All is well in my world!


.

Saturday, November 18, 2017

We all Get Stuck from Time to Time

Sometimes we know we are stuck; sometimes we don't.  In both cases we have to DO something.
-Rush Limbaugh (http://www.picturequotes.com/being-stuck-is-a-position-few-of-us-like-we-want-something-new-but-cannot-let-go-of-the-old-old-quote-18334)

Feeling stuck?  You are not alone.

A little too much Self Disclosure

Yep!  Like many of you, I have been feeling stuck lately.  I have been feeling stuck job wise. Unsure of my future because of my perception of illness and disability. I am stuck financially.  My income reflects the fact that I can only work a few hours a week. I feel stuck in my defining myself professionally.  I am close to losing my title as an RN. So I am stuck between professional identifications. I also feel stuck in my writing.  I am writing nonfiction ( this blog as well as articles, books) but not enough fiction. 

Mostly...I am stuck in limbo between body and mind and ego and spirit.  I am truly realizing that my body is controlled by my mind and if I learn to give ego up for Spirit's guidance...I won't have these limitations.  But I am not there yet. I am in between and it feels kind of like limbo.

Moral of My Rampage

We all feel stuck from time to time...in a place where we are not moving; in a place where we are holding our breath waiting for something to show up, something to change, something to push us.  We tell ourselves we will move when...we will get out of this rut when...; we will be better when...We lose a lot of precious life when we stand and wait. 

The idea is to take a step...any step..in a direction even if it is the wrong one.  Just move in the direction of your dreams.

Move...take a step forward.  It is all we have to do.


All is well.

Friday, November 17, 2017

Stuck? Start down the wrong path, right now!

Don't wait for the right answer and the golden path to present themselves.
This is precisely why you're stuck. Starting without seeing the end is difficult, so we often wait until we see the end, scanning relentlessly for the right way, the best way and the perfect way.
The way to get unstuck is to start down the wrong path, right now.
Step by step, page by page, interaction by interaction. As you start moving, you can't help but improve, can't help but incrementally find yourself getting back toward your north star.
You might not end up with perfect, but it's significantly more valuable than being stuck.
Don't just start. Continue. Ship. Repeat.
— Seth Godin (author, ex-business executive for dot com and inspirational speaker)
 
I don't know about you but I need to start down the wrong path, right now.  :)
 
All is well!

Thursday, November 16, 2017

In the midst of movement and chaos, keep stillness inside of you.
Deepak Chopra (https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/78320480994435802/?lp=true)

The mind without the body cannot make mistakes.
ACIM (Lesson 192: 5:1)


Is the body the mind's home?  I just looked down as I was pondering what to write this morning and noticed this line on the page that was opened in front of me. Still thinking of the relation between body and mind and it made me question. Is the mind separate from the body?  If we operate from the mind independent of the body what will happen?  Will we get beyond sickness and death? Is this consciousness something we all share? etc etc

Basically the questions were too deep and complex for my weary mind presently  in a body that is going to be late for work if I stop to ponder too long.  so I will put that aside for another time.

All is well.

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Try


Try, try, try and keep on trying is the rule that must be followed to become an expert in anything.-W. Clement Stone (https://quotefancy.com/quote/756996/W-Clement-Stone-Try-try-try-and-keep-on-trying-is-the-rule-that-must-be-followed-to)


I had completed a couple of videos yesterday.  They felt more like lectures to me so I asked someone to view them.  I then asked this person three questions to see if the material I discussed was understood and retained.  The answers led me to believe it wasn't...at all  So I removed the videos.

It is one thing to bore viewers with an unsolicited  lecture.  It is another thing all together to do so without creating at least some learning value. :)

Then something told me..."There is some learning value in them for at least one person out there.  You do not need to be popular and perfect...you just need to help someone."  So I shut down my ego again and put them back up. 

I want to help.  I want to teach.  I want to inspire and motivate.  I am not always going to succeed in my mission.  I will stumble from time to time but I will always get back up.  I will continue to try. Someday I will be where I want to be.

If we don't at least try we will never get to where we want to be, will we?

I love this quote from Wayne Gretzky :
"You miss 100% of the shots you don't take."

I don't know about you but I want to keep shooting!

All is well.

Tuesday, November 14, 2017

How to shut Off the Stress Response to Prevent illness

Stress, Illness and a Need to Relax Part 2:  The How To


This video will discuss how to shut off the stress response and illicit the relaxation response:
  • By looking at ways to help the body relax and differentiate between tension and relaxation: Progressive Muscle Relaxation, Breathing and Trauma Release through trembling
  • By changing our thoughts and quieting the mind.
Hope it does some good!

References:

Benson, Herbert. (1975) The Relaxation Response. Harper (newer editions available)

Berceli, David (2008) The Revolutionary Trauma Release. Vancouver: Namaste

Stress, Illness and a Need to Relax

Another video!  Still on this body- mind kick when it comes to illness and fascinated, as I have been for decades, about the effect stress has on our bodies. So I am sharing a bit of learning I have gained over the years... in the perfectly  imperfect way I do lol.

What this video will discuss:
  • The General Adaptation Syndrome (Hans Seyle) and how we get stuck in resistance to the point of exhaustion
  • The competing parts of the Autonomic Nervous system
  • The stress response vs. the relaxation response in terms of physiology
  • Stress as a reaction to a perceived threat
  • Chronic low grade stress
  • How illness can develop

I hope it is helpful.

Remember though...this is only to help in the understanding of illness in physical world terms.  Our ultimate goal is to experience it in the same way the Spirit does (which is not at all) so we can get beyond its limitation.



Bloopers:

I am aware that Illness on the title should have  two l's lol. And man ...do I use my pronouns, and conjunctions inappropriately when I am speaking off the top of my head like that.  I would like to go back and change it all but that isn't going to happen lol! So I expose my imperfect self once again, all in the hope that the message itself will be beneficial to someone somewhere! 

All is well.

Monday, November 13, 2017

Use Your Moment of Relief Well

Relief is a great feeling. It is the emotional and physical reward we receive from our bodies upon alleviation of pain, pressure and struggle. A time to bask in the lack of the negative. And yet think about it-relief is really the status quo, a negation of the suffering, a nothing in itself. It was the way things were before the pressure and struggle began. So, is it a step back? A regression? Or is it an opportunity to regroup, start over and move in a different direction? Use your moment of relief well?
- Vera Nazarian (Russian/American Writer)

I am feeling so much better and I am so grateful.  What an amazing opportunity short term illness provides to show us the beauty of contrast.  Being able to breathe sweet air after days of not getting a full lung full; having more energy after days when it was a challenge to get down the hall; and being able to sleep at night without coughing is an amazing feeling.  What is this feeling I am experiencing?  Relief

Relief is one of the most overlooked experiences...I think.  Too often we don't appreciate what it means to say and mean, "I feel better."  We stay stuck in the memory of how we felt before...relaying the gruesome details to anyone who will listen again and again. Or we worry about it happening again in the future to us or someone else. We neglect to settle in and embrace that feeling of relief we are living now.

Relief means we transcended something...we climbed a ladder rung...we have moved a bit more into the light from the darkness. That in itself is something to celebrate, is it not?  Why can we not just stand there...look around at the amazing scenery...breathe in the beauty of it all and be grateful for where we are now?  Every time we feel relief it is a sign we are moving up; moving forward and healing in ways that go beyond the body and mind.

Embrace and celebrate each moment of relief.  Use it well! It is good for you!  :)
 
All is well!

Sunday, November 12, 2017

Quiet the Mind


The best cure for the body is a quiet mind.
-Napoleon Bonaparte (Brainy Quote: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/n/napoleonbo150189.html)

 







The  Stress Response

I am learning more and more, thanks to the wonderful research by people like Lissa Rankin and Bruce Lipton, that most pathology (as we understand it in physical world terms) is a result of prolonged over activation of the stress response. The chronic release of Sympathetic system neurotransmitters like Adrenaline and Cortisol can reek havoc on our physiological processes over time.  This stress-response  system is meant to be activated in times of emergency to ensure our survival but for some reason we leave the light switch on.  We  allow the precious energy to drain away when no emergency exists.

The Relaxation Response

What would the solution  then be?  To  simply shut the sympathetic system off  for a while, and allow the Parasympathetic system (our rest and digest system) to take over.  We need to quiet the  mind.

How?
  • Learn to meditate: In whatever form you want to...with guided meditation or simply closing your eyes and focusing on your breathing.  I read a wonderful book back in my twenties by a cardiologist named Herbert Benson (also cited in Lissa Rankin' s work) who studied the effects of meditation on hypertension and other type A related conditions. The Relaxation Response used the term "secular meditation" so as not to scare people away with spirituality and suggested simply focusing on a calming word as you meditate.  If one wants to venture into transcendental    meditation there may be even more benefits.
  • Spend more time in quiet and solitude: get away from the electronics, the noise and the busy work for at least a few moments a day
  • Spend time in nature; simply surround yourself with the quiet and sure heartbeat of the natural world
  • Mindfulness: practice experiencing the here and now by being completely aware
There are so many ways to quiet the mind so we heal the body.  We just need to shut off the stress switch to feel better.

All is well!

References,

Benson, Herbert ( 1976) The Relaxation Response. Harper-Collins

Lipton, Bruce (2011) The Biology of Belief. Hay House.


Rankin M.D., Lissa (2013) Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself. Hay House

Saturday, November 11, 2017

No sickness


No situation, no person, no sickness, and no bad news has the power to bring you down and destroy you.  Not when God is by your side.
Unknown ( https://www.pinterest.ca/explore/bad-news/)

I read what I wrote over the last few entries and it does sound pretty far off doesn't it?  This idea that we are not actually sick when we feel so sick is a  ridiculous concept to ponder, is it not?  How do we add thoughts like that to the thinking we use everyday.  It doesn't make sense, does it?  I still get tripped up over it.  Like many of you when I read this stuff from spiritual texts and scientific literature I will still shake my head from time to time.   "What do you mean I am not sick? "...  Or worse..."What?  I created this...this is all my doing?  Why would anyone do this to themselves?"

I want to answer those  above questions in simpler terms so as to alleviate all the confusion and guilt/shame that may arise when we ponder this idea. I am only asking that we consider the possibility that mind creates matter. If what we think and believe is a product of the mind and the physical body is matter, is it possible that we control the physiological processes of the body with our minds? Could it be that all illness is only a product of our thinking?

What do you mean I am not really sick?

Simple.  You feel like you are sick.  You think like you are sick.  You are sick!  To the body and mind you are sick.  What if you didn't feel sick; didn't think sick, would you be sick?  Even if in both cases you had the same other imposed diagnosis of a illness? If you feel well are you not well?

Do you believe that you are more than your body and mind?  Do you believe  that there is an invisible part of us that experiences all through our body and mind?  Do you believe that we are moved, breathed, lived by this greater Life force that we may call our soul, spirit, energy, God?  If you do not...then I don't know if this explanation will help.  If you do, however, it will make sense.

We either listen to this Life force or we listen to ego. The ego controls the body and mind only because we let it.  The ego tells us we are sick and we believe it.  So if we listen to ego we feel sick and we think sick...therefore we experience sickness at the level of body and mind. But only at the level of the body and mind.

This Spirit within does not know illness only wellness. It does not experience illness.  So according to It, you are not really sick.  You are well.  You have just created an illusion to satisfy your ego need to keep you small, separated and limited.

What?  I created this...this is all my doing? Why would anyone do this to themselves?

Relax!  You didn't do it consciously.  You did it in your sleep.

Say what crazy lady?

Most of us are sleeping...in the sense...that we are not awake and aware of this vital and powerful energy Spirit and its potential that exists within us.  We have been lulled to sleep by ego and sleep walk our way through a dream state full of limitation, scarcity, fear and illness. We are not conscious enough to realize Spirit's truth...that we cannot be anything but well. We think we are awake when we aren't...we think our dreams are real when they aren't. We think we are sick...when we aren't.

We begin to awaken when we become aware of how we are listening to ego's voice over God's and we choose to seek truth rather than illusion.  Waking up  is a choice....  a choice for truth over illusion; peace over angst;  wellness over illness; connection over separation and Love over fear.

Wellness means we made a choice to wake up!

Is it that easy?

For some of us maybe.  For most of us, no.  We will not always miraculously end all symptoms, all limitations of our perceptions of illness or suffering.  Some of us may still die from them...in the physical sense. But in this knowing that comes with waking up we heal in ways that will save us.  We get to see we are so much more than what we think we are.  We experience wellness in its truest sense. We feel better!

Don't take my word for it.

Wow! Once again I sound like a know-it-all when I know so little.  This is just me testing the waters of a new belief.

Take time to test this belief for yourself. Do not depend on me or others for "truth".  It can only be found with a "feeling" within yourself.  :)

All is well.

Friday, November 10, 2017

Isn't it Ironic?

It's healthy to be sick sometimes.
-Henry David Thoreau (http://www.picturequotes.com/being-sick-quotes)

I quote the amazing Canadian Lyricist, Alanis Morrisette, "Isn't it ironic?"   The irony I am speaking about is how on my quest to understand the psychosomaticity (is this even a word lol?) of illness  I become 'ill' with influenza that  becomes a classic case of pneumonia...all within a two week period.

Isn't that indeed ironic?

 I hear myself saying "Wow!  Why is this happening?"

Somewhere in the recesses of my foggy brain the Universe  answers with :  "Because you need to learn a little more about all that stuff you are spouting off!   Words and mental constructs are so limited when it comes to creating true knowledge. You need to experience it first hand! It is not as easy of a lesson as you make it out to be! You need to "experience" it to learn it. "

Lessons Learned

So I experienced it, let me tell ya! And I learned some valuable things as I did.

  1. This knowing that illness is simply an illusion created by ego requires  a multi tiered process of learning
  • Some gifted students in the class may skip though the process in what seems like an instant and experience "a miracle"  but for most of us it will be as gradual as going from grade 1 to grade 12...and maybe even having to repeat a grade or two.
  • Truth is, many  of us will not graduate to that knowing before we die.  Many of us will not heal ourselves completely from our limitations.  Many of us will not know true wellness.
  • If we are willing to learn however, willing to sit there in Life's classroom with our eyes open and our heads up...we will  definitely gain something valuable in the process even if we do not master the full manifestation of the knowing.
     2 . Belief change is also a gradual and tiered process
  • Thoughts existing in the conscious mind are much easier to reframe and reconstruct and we should continue to do that.  Repeating affirmations, "I am well!  I am well!", however,  will only do so much. We need to believe that!
  • Our beliefs do not instantaneously change just because we want them to. We want to believe illness is an illusion but we have years and years of collective and repetitive conditioning stuffed into our subconscious minds, that tells us illness is, as are all things in ego's version of the world, very real.
  • We need to dig deep and understand what those beliefs are in terms of illness and limitation...which is a big process within itself. Only when  we have those beliefs out in the open, confronting and accepting them, can we  work on changing them.
  • Many of my beliefs are still undiscovered but I am working on those I have pulled out from the deep recesses of my mind.

     3. We need to know illness through ego's eyes before we can know it through Spirit's.
  • We need to know that our true Self does not recognize illness...does not see it, does not understand it, and cannot empathize with us when we perceive it through our little self.
  • If we experience it or feel overwhelmed by it...ego is in charge and ego is in charge for many of us most of the time.  It is okay.  It is the way it is.  We are simply not where we want to be yet.
  • So in sense...when you feel ill, it is very real to your experience at the time because it is real to ego...therefore it can do damage at that level because ego gets you to believe it can. It cannot do damage at the Spirit level/the real level of your existence but it can at the level of  ego.  Since most of us are operating at the egoic level we will experience that damage.
  • Therefore...you need to treat it with whatever means you have come to believe will be helpful.  By no means have I been suggesting that we do not seek medical help or help outside ourselves if we think it will help.  If we believe it will help we need to go for it. 
  • I still think in medical model terms.  Those beliefs are still operating in my subconscious mind. When I perceived/experienced my breathing was being effected I felt I  needed something to open my airways.   I believed I needed to seek the help of a physician.  I needed an antibiotic.  So I am using those devices because my egoic mind still believes they will help and they are helping! I am so very grateful for them.  After three days of not being able to experience a full breath of air...I feel blessed and thrilled to be able to breathe more easily thanks to these devices.
  • My ego right now is still the boss of my belief system. I don't want to allow ego to be in control forever...my intent is definitely to get beyond ego but I recognize and accept it is a process.
     4. We need to accept that the process of healing goes beyond our bodily limitations
  • Don't beat yourself up if you find yourself still in the elementary classroom of your Life learning.  Embrace the learning as it comes.  Make the most of it. Don't panic to keep up with others on their journey to enlightenment.  You are exactly where you are meant to be.
  • Remember where you are going.  Choose Love and keep moving towards it.  Take  one step at a time; climb one ladder rung at a time. You will get there.
  • Getting beyond bodily limitation and illness is only one small step on this healing journey.  There is so much more to experience when we choose Love over fear.  Embrace the healing as it arises in your life in whatever form it comes. Regardless if you still feel sick from time to time, know that you are still healing in the truest sense of the word.
  • Keep healing!
It is all good.  All is well in my world!

Thursday, November 9, 2017

I have not been showing up to write because I see myself succumbing to this bug rather than letting go to it!  :)  I am still so very human lol as we all are.  I have some work and some learning to do!

All is well in my world!

Tuesday, November 7, 2017



 

 

 


 Autumn wins you best by this its mute appeal to sympathy for its decay.
-Robert Browning



Monday, November 6, 2017

On a Mission to Prove it is All in Our Heads

Promoting health without encouraging others to seek wholeness is an exercise in futility.  Not until we realize that our bodies are mirrors of our interpersonal, spiritual, professional, sexual, creative, financial, environmental, mental, and emotional health will we truly heal.
Lissa Rankin, M.D. (http://www.azquotes.com/author/49687-Lissa_Rankin)

I am still a little out of it as I try to transcend my perception of illness where the acute seems to be meeting the chronic.  In my mind it is being translated as a "not fun experience" lol which my body picks up on...but it is truly only in our minds, is it not?  Isn't all illness psychosomatic? 

By all means we need to look after the body especially when we "perceive" illness and seek help if so required...but...isn't it exciting to think that we can get to the point of knowing we can heal ourselves?  I want that knowing!

Well I am on a mission to prove that we can as you can tell by my previous writings.  And what landed on my lap from the generous hands of Grace and Ease two days ago? ...An amazing book entitled, Mind over Medicine by Lissa Rankin, M.D. It was like wow!  This is exactly what I am looking for as I look to marry the spiritual understanding of belief in illness with the scientific.  It just shows up in my life!

Dr. Rankin has done an extremely thorough literature review and analyze of studies in medical and other allied health journals that help to provide evidence for the fascinating truth: It really is all in our heads.  If it is in our heads we can do something about it!

I just can't stop reading it...and I am looking into the studies she looked into for even more information. (Hope that's not cheating...all credit definitely goes to her for her exhausted research and for guiding the way into the journals!!!)

I am definitely on  a mission and it is not just the fever and the brain fog of a low cardiac output talking ...lol.  So fasten your seat belts.

Be sure to read:


Rankin M.D., Lissa. Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself . Hay House, Inc.. Kindle Edition.
or
Rankin M.D., Lissa (2013) Mind Over Medicine: Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself. Hay House

Saturday, November 4, 2017

Acceptance is Letting Go not succumbing

Man struggles to survive, not succumb.
-Paulo Coelho (Author of The Alchemist)
quote from: https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/244811-man-struggles-to-survive-not-to-succumb

On Illness: Let Go, don't succumb

I want to make it clear when I speak of illness that it is important to let go and accept.  That doesn't mean  we are succumbing and giving up! There is a difference between giving up and  accepting what is.

We want to survive the illness.  Not only that, we want to be able to transcend it!

The Optimal Goal: Accepting that Illness is an Illusion

The goal of our true spiritual evolution is to get beyond all limitations including this notion that illness is real. We want to give up our belief in illness as we give up our need for ego, do we not? We first must be able to accept its presence in our lives on ego's terms before we can get beyond that belief to the point where we see that illness is only an illusion.   We need to transcend to Love before we can change that belief.

Remember the core premise of A Course in Miracles:
Nothing real can be threatened
Nothing unreal exists
Herein lies the peace of God.
 
What A Course is saying is that our absolute God given ability to be free of limitations, our inherent wellness really can't be harmed in anyway.  We just "think" it can be  when we listen to ego over God.   Illness is the "unreal" and it doesn't exist.  It is simply a creation of collective ego minds and a belief we have succumbed to and made a part of our lives as human beings. In God's eyes; in Love's world there is no illness.
 
Say what crazy lady?
 
That may be hard to swallow, I know. This belief in illness and limitation and separation from God and each other is so ingrained in us we subscribe to it without question.  All I am asking you to do is question it...even a little bit? Is it possible that ego has tricked us and pulled us from God's truth.
 
Science and Illness
 
In a psychological research study it was determined that illness is often more a result of belief rather than a definite pathology, "Crucial to this is the belief that illness is not just the result of distinct pathological processes but can be meaningfully explained in terms of psychological and sociocultural factors.  In particular, beliefs held by  patients about their health and illness are central to the way they present, respond to treatment and evaluate their capacity for work." ( The British Psychological Society, n.d.)
 
Belief!  Belief!  Belief! That seems to be the biggest component for whether or not we get sick or stay sick.
 
Bruce Lipton, in his wonderful book, The Biology of Belief, explains this power of belief on our perception of illness.  If we believe we can get sick, our cells will believe we are sick.  If we believe we are well, our cells will stay well.  It is not genetics or pathology that determines illness but our belief in it.  If we change the way we believe, we change the way we see illness.  Worth a read!
 


Step by Step Process

To transcend this societal and collective belief in illness we first must accept the perception of illness in our own lives.  Maybe that means, we need to look at illness through ego's eyes before we can look at it through Spirit's?  We must see it in Fear before we can transcend to Love.  We must climb one ladder rung at a time.

Chronic Illness vs acute illness

A chronic illness poses more challenges for us than an acute one does when it comes to our ability to get through it and beyond it.

When we are acutely ill with a bug like this one...let me rephrase that...when we perceive we are acutely ill :)- we have this belief that it will not last.  We know we will get better.  Bugs do not last forever.  So from the onset we know what we are experiencing is temporary...with a beginning, a middle and an end.  Knowing that gives us the great opportunity to practice our choice making.  There is less fear so we can easily choose Love.  We may believe that the illness is real but our belief that it will not last is what makes us better.

We can actually find a certain peace, if we look, in the acute illness.  It slows us down.  It provides opportunity for stillness.  We are reconnected to our body and forced to listen to its message.  There is more unity  and connection of body, mind and soul.  Acute illness than is a life event that provides a wonderful opportunity, as Oprah Winfrey was quoted as saying in yesterday's blog entry, to choose  Love over fear.

The Challenge of Getting Beyond a Belief in Chronic Illness

Chronic illness, I am discovering, is a little more challenging to transcend.  If the illness is not clearly defined and understood in physical world terms...that makes that challenge even more difficult.  Despair is often seen when the mind starts believing in body or mental limitations. "The rituals of the god of sickness are strange and very demanding.  Joy is never permitted, for depression is the sign of allegiance to him." (ACIM, Chapter 10: V.: 1-1-2) 

We see a beginning but we do not see an end.  We may be able to transcend the emotional ladder from despair but often get stuck on the rung of "frustration" and therefore are challenged to find the acceptance of the illness or the peace in it. 

To transcend illness...to get to the point where we do not prescribe to the notion that illness is real...we need to get beyond a peaceful acceptance of it.  We cannot do that until we let go of our resistance to the perception of illness in the here and now. Once we get in the higher vibrations of Love, we will see proof that illness isn't real.  Faith is the ultimate of belief, is it not.  In Love we are surrounding by faith

So getting better from a perceived chronic illness then involves a certain acceptance on the egoic level, followed by a transcendence of ego on the spiritual level induced by faith.

Confusing?


Yeah...it is still confusing for me. 

What are some practical ways to help us get from a perception and belief in illness to  a realization of our wellness ?
  • Accept the perceptual experience when it occurs but do not succumb to it.  In other words, accept that you feel sick whether it be mentally , emotionally or physically right now.  But know...that you can get beyond it. Don't give up on wellness.
  • Choose Love over fear which will translate into wanting to feel peace, joy etc over despair, shame, guilt, blame, anger etc.
  • Climb one ladder rung at a time
  • Don't stay in despair. Find something to feel better about!
  • Look for things to be grateful for within the illness and beyond it. 
  • Read anything you can that speaks to this notion of belief
  • Look at your own beliefs about illness and try changing them
  • Pray and meditate your way to better health
  • Embrace this perception of limitation/illness as a wonderful opportunity to choose Love and to heal once and for all in the ultimate of ways
  • Weaken the belief in illness in self and others. Don't speak of your illness to others...try not to get absorbed in the conversations of  others who speak of theirs.  I love this passage from A Course..."Because the miracle worker has heard God's voice, he strengthens It in a sick brother by weakening his belief in sickness, which he does not share.  The power of one mind can shine into another, because all the lamps of God were lit by the same spark." (Chapter 10: V:7:4-5)
Let's accept this false notion of illness in our lives  so we can get beyond it!

All is well in my world!

Note: subscribe, prescribe and ascribe obviously still trip me up and are often used incorrectly.  I will work on that. :)

References
 
ACIM (2007) A Course in Miracles: Combined Volume, Third Edition. Mill Valley: Foundations for Inner Peace
 
Hallihan, Peter. (n.d.) Belief and Illness The Psychologists...The British Psychological Society. Retrieved from https://thepsychologist.bps.org.uk/volume-20/edition-6/belief-and-illness
 
Lipton, Bruce ( 2005) The Biology of Belief. (Mountain of Love.??...not sure where that came from lol)


Friday, November 3, 2017

Letting Go to Illness

Acceptance doesn't mean resignation.  It means understanding that something is what it is and there's got to be a way through it.
-Michael J. Fox (https://www.pinterest.ca/kristiebetl/quotes-for-surviving-chronic-disease/)

Succumbing to Illness

Hmm!  None of us like to be sick....regardless of the so called secondary gains that may arise from illness: Time off work or responsibility, the possibility of being pampered or at least having an excuse to pamper self, and  the slowing down of a busy life that is sure to happen if we do get sick.  These things are not going to make any of us sign up for illness, are they? No one wants to be sick!  It sucks.

The Emotional Process of Illness

So whether you are experiencing the first tell tale signs of an acute illness like the flu  or suffering another pain filled day of a chronic illness...your reaction is probably going to be one of resistance. We tend to begin by denying it, "No!  This can't be happening now or again!  I have too much to do!" 

Then it may be followed by a need to "suck it up", push past and pretend it isn't happening.  What happens when we do that?  Well we tend to feel worse and find ourselves even more incapacitated.

After that we may dip into shame and guilt, "What is wrong with me?  Why am I such a wimp?  I should be able to get past this.  Look at all the work I am doing to counter this illusion of illness. I should be able to get above this. Besides I am not near as sick as some people who keep going.  Man...I am such a failure and  I am letting down so many people because I can't suck it up!"

After shame and guilt we may experience anger.  "Damn this illness for ruining my day, my week, my life!  Why did I have to get this...it isn't fair!!!"

This is usually followed by good old frustration where many chronic illness sufferers spend most of their emotional energy and where the acute illness sufferers may step briefly before they recover.

So whether we are aware of it or not we are moving up the scale to feeling better emotionally in our attempt to cope with this illness that has stepped into our lives, making itself known for the first time or for the 100th time. The goal for all people who perceive "illness" then is to get up to acceptance and then beyond on the emotional ladder.


How to get beyond acceptance?

Remembering the  wisdom expressed in A Course of Miracles may help. "When a brother is sick it is because he is not asking for peace, and therefore does not know he has it.  The acceptance of peace is the denial of illusion, and sickness is an illusion." (ACIM, Chapter 10: III: 7: 1-2)

Say What crazy lady?

Believe me, I know it is hard to accept that illness is an illusion when you are fevered with a sore throat;  every muscle in your body aches and the mere thought of food makes you want to run to the bathroom...but I think our challenge exists because we are below acceptance of our illness "now."  Right now you may feel as I do...like crap!  But that is just right now...once I accept that that is my experience  now, I can get through it and beyond it. Once we get to acceptance we will see that we have a choice between Love and Fear.

We need to choose Love

I love this quote from Oprah Winfrey that resonates with the teachings of A Course in Miracles and what I have spoke about in previous blogs and videos.

I believe every single event in life happens as an opportunity to choose love over fear. (https://www.pinterest.ca/kristiebetl/quotes-for-surviving-chronic-disease/)

So you get sick or experience another flare up of a chronic illness and you are wondering what possible good can come from this. Simple! It provides you with a an opportunity to choose.  We can choose to stay in fear or step into Love.  Every time we have a choice we are empowered and that alone should make us feel better.

That choice begins with climbing to acceptance.  Accepting, as Michael J Fox states  in the above quote, is understanding that something is what it is.  I add to that, "right now".  We need to accept that we are perceiving and experiencing "illness" right now.  It does not mean by any reason that we have to stay there nor do we need to slip back into fear and beat ourselves up for being there! We just need to find our way through it!

We head in the direction of Love.

Where do we go from there?

To peace.  Make peace with your experience and let it go.  Make peace with the fact that you are still learning and learning is a process that takes repeated practice and error to master. 

We can get to that reality that illness does not exist but only when we climb up the emotional ladder as high as we can go, one ladder rung at a time.  Keep climbing, especially if you feel sick and perceive the company of illness in your life....right now. Head towards Love.

That being said, I am going back to bed lol.  I felt so compelled to come out and write this down.  Now I am more willing to accept this something for what it is...right now...and to pamper me as best as I can until the learning is cemented in my subconscious which probably won't be during this bug.

Someday I will truly understand just how much of an illusion illness is. It is okay that it is not today. I feel better just thinking that.

It is all good!  All is well in my world!

Thursday, November 2, 2017

Energy and the Body

The higher your energy level, the more efficient the body. The more efficient the body, the better you feel and the more you will use your talent to produce outstanding results.
-Tony Robins (http://www.quotehd.com/quotes/anthony-robbins-quote-the-higher-your-energy-level-the-more-efficient-your-body-the-more)

Energy and the Body

What Anthony Robins is saying in the above quote is so true.  If we feel energetic, we feel better and the more we can do to fulfill our purpose here. 

The last two days for whatever reason...I felt more energetic and I embraced that energy to do what I love to do.  I even did another video and had more pep as I spoke about what is important to me.  I was energetic in the classroom yesterday...I even did the stairs more than usual ( I realized that wasn't a good idea but I did them anyway :)...The  energy renewal was telling me I could do anything. I believed it.

I got home and I had enough energy left to tidy up, do dishes and cook supper for everyone ( which I usually am not able to do.)  I felt good! 

Then suddenly ...without warning...like a balloon that was suffering a sudden pin prick...the energy just slipped right out of me and I was left completely deflated. I could do nothing...not even eat.  I was so disappointed...especially when I realized my throat was wicked sore and I had a fever on top of that.  I succumbed to the belief in illness

Lesson Learned

It is true.  It is so important to rejuvenate with energy....to keep ourselves up vibrationally as much as we can.  In these bodily forms, from Spirit...energy starts  in the mind and is transferred to the body.  If we keep in touch and open to the Source of all energy, work on our thinking to the point it is ready to receive  ...we will feel more energetic and then we will feel better...emotionally and then physically. The mind does have power over the body.

Yet within us, are conditioned and collective beliefs so strong and prevalent about illness and sickness,  that complicate the process. It is the beliefs we need to change because like the sharp ends of a pin they have the ability to limit our realities and deflate our possibilities even when we are feeling good.

I have no doubt I will be able to some day get beyond my physical limitations but it is a process that requires certain steps to be taken.  Yesterday I felt good because I was ignoring my belief system.  I skipped a step... of actually facing and reconstructing my beliefs. 

We can't skip this step. The belief will resurface even if we are not aware of it and the body will respond with illness.  So I was seemingly getting beyond  my cardiac symptoms yesterday but my body...in an attempt to teach...gave me the flu...and what came with that...more cardiac symptoms...palpitations like you wouldn't believe.

Today I am completely wiped.  This is the low energy  version of me I will be giving to my students today.

The Point

We really need to change our belief system at the deepest level.  We need to believe that we have the power to effect our vibrations ...which we do...so that wellness is all we know.

If we don't truly believe it...it isn't going to happen.  If we do...it will.

Let's collectively learn to accept this truth in the very core of our subconscious minds so we all feel better.

All is well in my world!