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Are We Ready For A Real Secret?

ccreature — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 20:59:53 CDT

A REAL SECRET is this: "To seek only that which we can really have."

There it is, without monetary foreplay, New Age window-dressing, or any fancy highly priced presentations delivered by touring metaphysical personalities. However, the revelation of a REAL SECRET as being, "To seek only that which we can really have" immediately begs a question: "What is the only thing we can really have?" Now, this is where the scratch meets the itch. The answer to this question is not something we can get through thinking, positive affirmations, or needy wishfoolness. A REAL SECRET is not about getting; it is about receiving. It is also not about consuming and so is not attractive as an ingredient for "consumer spirituality". A REAL SECRET is not in any way commercially attractive; it is therefore not accessible as a commodity and a means for media-ordained "Law of Attraction gurus" to accumulate as much of our income as they can get their hands on. To unravel the question triggered by a REAL SECRET requires an initial perceptual adjustment because it entails asking a series of seemingly simplistic questions without interfering with the answering process. Fully unraveling the immensity of a REAL SECRET is an "Ask and you shall receive" arrangement, not an "Ask and then go and get" arrangement. One of humanities greatest pitfalls is that we have become obsessed with "the answer" at the expense of "the question". We also seek "the answer" only as a mental concept and not as an integrated physical, mental, and emotional experience. What we do not realize, because the mental body cannot grasp this, is that we can receive the answer to any question we ask as long as we do not get involved in the answering process. This realization comes through embracing the question as the cause and the answer as the effect. When we stay in a causal place, when we get out of our own way, the effect is always guaranteed. This is an emotionally mature approach to, and application of, The Law of Attraction. If a REAL SECRET is "To seek only that which we can really have", then the first step in realizing this is "to ask the right question without allowing the mental body to sabotage the answering process" so that the answer unfolds as an integrated physical, mental, and emotional experience. In this way, the answer manifests as something "we know experientially for ourselves", as opposed to "some piece of sexy metaphysical information we get from someone else". If a REAL SECRET is "To seek only that which we can really have", then the first step is to ask the obvious question: "What is the only thing we can really have?" Now, we can leave it at this, because if we do so the answer will eventually manifest. Or, we can facilitate ourselves into going deeper; we can initiate a temporary, simple, and profoundly powerful practice that effortlessly and efficiently brings about the answer to this question as an integrated physical, mental, and emotional experience. This practice is recommended for 21 days, to be done once in the morning and once in the evening as follows: Sit comfortably in a position you can hold for about 15 minutes. Ask yourself the following series of questions: "Who am I?" "What am I?" "Where am I?" "How am I?" "When am I?" "Why am I?"

Between each question pause for a few seconds as if to listen. Take note: The mental body will immediately attempt to provide an answer to some of these questions. Observe these answers but do not accept them as being "an answer". By repeatedly asking these questions twice a day the mental body is also bound to get annoyed, frustrated, and may even come up with an attractive reason or two that convincingly justifies terminating this practice. This is because the experiential answer generated by repeatedly asking these questions for about 21 days is destined to terminate the mental body’s illusion that it is the source of and means to all that can be known. After asking all the above questions take your attention off them completely and be still for about 10 to 15 minutes. During this period of stillness do not intend to "do or accomplish anything". Watch how you try to do something. Allow whatever happens to unfold. Be alert to the sounds around you and the sensations of your body. Watch your thoughts as "an observer" without joining in with them or sedating or controlling them in any way. After 15 minutes carry on with something else. You may even use this practice temporarily as an introductory to your regular mediation practice - if that is something you are already attending to twice a day. After 21 days drop this practice completely; DO NOT CONTINUE ASKING THESE QUESTIONS. This "dropping of the questioning process" is essential to open a space for "the answer to manifest experientially". The answer to the question "What is the only thing I can really have?" will come when you least expect it, so do not entertain expectation. All expectations are fantasies of the mental body. The answers to these six questions will unfold as a unified, integrated, physical, mental, and emotional experience. Because there is nothing to be gained by holding anything back from you, let me also give you a pointer as to how to recognize the profound consequences of this questioning practice: One day you will realize that you have entered a somewhat unusual experience. This realization will sneak up on you so do not watch for it. It will feel like this: That no matter what outer experience you go through, it feels like "nothing is happening". Of course things will be happening; you will be actively involved in all sorts of outer activities, but it will still feel like "nothing is actually happening". For example, you may go through an event that previously used to be negatively or positively charged and afterward you may comment to yourself, "That was nothing…it felt like absolutely nothing happened". This will feel a little odd at first, as if something has stopped, or even died. Once you notice this experience you will also find yourself waiting for it to pass, expecting to return to the previous atmosphere of dramatic emotional shifts you have been used to all your life. You may occasionally dip into such encounters, but you will automatically return, like a bobbing cork, to the feeling that despite all the activity around you, it feels like "nothing has happened or is happening". This feeling that "nothing is happening", despite your obvious outer activity, is the unifying and integrated answer to your questioning practice. This feeling is a portal into an awareness of a REAL SECRET. Yet, it is way bigger than what the mental body can grasp through my written explanations here. This is why it is recommended you enter "the experience" of this by initiating the simple questioning practice for 21 days, and then letting go of it. By activating this feeling of nothingness experientially for yourself you will be awakening a powerful realization: No matter what happens to and around you, there is something that always remains unchanged. This is a real taste of who and what you really are. The feeling that "nothing is really happening" is an experiential encounter with the part of your self that is no thing. In essence, through the simple practice of asking a series of deliberate questions without sabotaging the answering process by involving your mental body in it, you set in motion the effortless rediscovery of your authentic self. Of course, this experience may be puzzling at first, because it will not be the outcome or answer you expected. You may have been expecting some thing more "spiritual" or exciting? Maybe you were expecting bells and whistles? Initially, this encounter will definitely not be what you thought you even wanted or were looking for! You most likely didn’t expect to discover that "your authentic self is no thing and therefore no body". Such a discovery is shattering and offensive to any well-manicured ego. However, when you place your attention within this no thing-ness, and when you sit within this no body-ness, you discover an immaculate silence, stillness, and authentic peace – tangible even in the midst of ongoing outer activity. You also discover that the feeling of this peace, this inner inactivity, begins quenching a thirst you had no idea you suffered from. As you spend more moments during your day immersing yourself within this experience of no thing and no body, you realize you begin feeling renewed, refreshed, and revitalized, as if you are ingesting some super-charged nutrition. Also, as you become deeply acquainted with this unchanging resonance you inevitably realize that this is the only part of this life experience that you can take with you when you leave; all else must be surrendered at the door of physical death. So let us re-examine a REAL SECRET. We started by stating that a REAL SECRET is "To seek only that which we can really have." So, "What is the only thing we can really have?" As we become increasingly intimate with and nourished by The Presence of our authentic essence, and as we immerse ourselves within its eternal well of magnificent peace, the answer to the question dawns: "What we really seek to have is more and more of this no thing-ness and to become intimately acquainted with the part of our Self that is no body!" The problem is that we cannot make a glamorous movie about no thing and with no body. We cannot go on a world tour selling no thing and no body as a tangible commodity. We can only know this truth as an inner experience and share it daily through our radiant example. As a consequence of this revelation other questions arise: "Are we ready to receive the experience of awakening to this part of our Self that is no thing so that we may have an intimate encounter with the eternal part of us that is no body?" "Are we really ready for the authentic inner peace inherent in awakening to a REAL SECRET?" Or, are we still going to be satisfied with THE (other) SECRET that hypnotizes us into believing that attracting more and bigger stuff and becoming some important body will really manifest the nutrition required to quench our seemingly insatiable thirst? THIS IS A REAL SECRET:

Authentic peace & JOY

is only realized

when we seek only that

WHICH we can really have.

"It’s not about feeling better – it’s about getting better at feeling."

www.thepresenceportal.com

cv8vd

What is Healing Music?

ccreature — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:02:16 CDT

	What is Healing Music? A Closer Look


	by Amrita Cottrell

	Date Released: December, 2001
	Website: www.healingmusic.org

	Copyright, 2001-2006 Amrita Cottrell, All Rights Reserved.

Since the beginning of recorded history, music has played a significant role in the healing of our world. Music and healing were communal activities that were natural to everyone. In ancient Greece, Apollo was both the god of music and medicine. Ancient Greeks said, "Music is an art imbued with power to penetrate into the very depths of the soul." These beliefs were shared through their Doctrine of Ethos. In the mystery schools of Egypt and Greece, healing and sound were considered a highly developed sacred science. Pythagoras, one of the wise teachers in ancient Greece, knew how to work with sound. He taught his students how certain musical chords and melodies produce definite responses within the human organism. He demonstrated that the right sequence of sounds, played musically on an instrument, could actually change behavior patterns and accelerate the healing process.

Plato shared this profound belief, "Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, a charm to sadness, gaiety and life to everything. It is the essence of order, and leads to all that is good, just, and beautiful, of which it is the invisible, but nevertheless dazzling, passionate and eternal form." Deepak Chopra has beautifully written, "Where is music? You can find it at many levels in the vibrating strings, the trip of the hammers, the fingers striking the keys, the black marks on the paper, or the nerve impulses produced in the player's brain. But all of these are just codes; the reality of music is the shimmering, beautiful, invisible form that haunts our memories without ever being present in the physical world."

In 1993 Goldman & Gurin's work on psycho-immunology revealed that nerve fibers are contained in every organ of the immune system, which provide biological communication between the nerve endings and the immune system. They believe that there is a direct link between a person's thoughts, attitudes, perceptions, and emotions, and the health of the immune system. This being the case, we have the ability to be proactive in the health of our body, mind and spirit through music.

Music is a way to tap into the innate knowledge that resides deep in our cells. We live "in" music. Great music nourishes us in ways we don't even realize. It inspires us, relaxes us, energizes us--in short, it heals us and keeps us well. And music can be found everywhere in our world. While we may not always be listening to a Beethoven Symphony or a Mozart Sonata, the universe is a tonal symphony of many sounds interacting and vibrating together. Music is the pulse of the energy that courses in and through everything through vibrations.

Don Campbell, author of The Mozart Effect, says that music can be delicate and quiet, but never sedentary. Even a tone that extends for hours at a time, unvarying, carries a pulsing wave that affects our mind and body at many levels. What we bring to each sound is also of vital importance to our well-being. He goes on to say, "You, the listener, determine the final impact: You are an active conductor and participant in the process of orchestrating health through the listening process."

Felix Mendelssohn once said, "Music cannot be expressed in words, not because it is vague but because it is more precise than words."

The Physical Process of Hearing

Our listening process starts with hearing. Beginning at the sixteenth week after conception and continuing until our death, hearing is a constant physical phenomenon. Sound waves are captured by the outer ear (known as the pinna), and travel down the auditory canal, through the eardrum and into the middle ear. There, the vibration of tiny bones called ossicles intensifies sound, and the amplified sound then travels to the inner ear through a maze of fluid-filled tubes, running through the temporal bone of the skull. Eventually the vibrations of sound reach the cochlea (a coiled chamber), which is lined with four rows of tiny hair-like acoustic sensor cells containing neurons. Each neuron is programmed to pick up a different frequency and the sound meets with the neuron that matches its own frequency. The cochlea then converts the vibrational energy to electrical impulses that travel to the brain, and from there, travel to the brain stem. This energy at the brain stem activates the limbic system. It is here that emotional and physical reactions are produced. Sound energy then moves on to the auditory cortex of the brain where we become conscious of the sound and can recognize what we are hearing. As your brain comprehends the sounds or in this case the music, the electrical energy released by the neurons creates various frequencies of brain waves. The brain waves that are created (beta, alpha, theta, and delta) determine what 'states of mind' you are in. I say states, because we are not in just one state of mind--but always some combination. Beta waves are most prevalent during focused and active thinking, alpha waves during relaxation and quiet creativity, theta waves during meditation and pre-sleep, and delta waves during our various stages of sleep (both dreaming and dreamless.) Once through your brain, music in the form of electrical impulses make their way down your spinal cord causing an impact on the autonomic nervous system. This, in turn, can impact heart rate, pulse, blood pressure, and muscle tension. As an example, listening to the heavy metal will increase autonomic nervous system activity driving the heart rate and blood pressure up, whereas Brahms Lullaby will slow down the brainwaves and in turn lower blood pressure and hear rate.

The Power of Chant and Toning

Music of many different genres can help to enhance the mind/body connection. Healing mantras, chants, and incantations have ancient origins and are seen throughout history and in every major world culture-- Hinduism, Muslim, Judaism, Native American, Polynesian, Asian, Sufi, etc. The power of chant involves bridging the two worlds of humanity and eternity (spirituality.) It allows a person to touch a deeper world that is organic and flowing. Chant has no set rhythm, but rather it is based on the breath in combination with tonal patterns of sustained vowels.

Another powerful form of sounding is toning. There are many definitions of toning. Laurel Elizabeth Keyes, forerunner of toning as a healing art, and author of Toning: The Creative Power of the Voice, said, "Toning is an ancient method of healing…the idea is simply to restore people to their harmonic patterns." Don Campbell describes toning as, "Simple and audible sound, prolonged long enough to be identified. Toning is the conscious elongation of a sound using the breath and voice." John Beaulieu, author of Music and Sound in the Healing Arts says, "Toning is the simple and natural process of making vocal sounds for the purpose of balance…toning sounds are sounds of expression and do not have a precise meaning."

Keyes recounts in her book the time when she first started to experiment with toning. She said that it was more than just a release of tension. When she allowed the tones to emerge without trying to control them, she experienced a cleansing of her whole body. "I was convinced that there had to be a relationship between this natural body-voice and the mind without conflict, and with benefit to both."

Toning and chant have been making their way into mainstream culture over the last twenty years. Chant, the popular recording from the early 1990 by the Benedictine Monks of Santo Domingo de Silos, Spain, sold over 4 million copies in forty-two countries by the Spring of 1994. These monks have committed themselves to a lifestyle that is based on cycles. Others do not experience these cycles in the world in the same way. The cycles revolve around the sacred liturgy of the Roman Catholic Church, and include an intricate series of interlocking patterns within the organization. By submitting themselves to these cycles, the monks actually become part of this great tapestry of history and sound.

Katherine Lee Mee, producer of the CD, says about this recording, "Time seems to stop. The darting mind falls still and attentive, arrested from its worldly concerns and preoccupations...like fire, each line has its own brightness and energy, a force that is called forth, raised and then surrendered. Like water, the music rises and falls in a gentle wave of love that bathes, cleanses, and caresses our spirits, leaving us buoyed up and restored."

The San Francisco Examiner music critic had this to say about Chant, "What we're talking about is inner peace, transcendence, a serenity, beyond mortal care. For a generation that frowns on organized religious movements (or organized anything), this is, without a doubt, the new soul music."

Powerful affective responses to music can be witnessed in the lives of spiritual masters. Their physical health reflects their spiritual health as well. They experience this power through practicing the art of music and chant as a means of obtaining spiritual enlightenment. Where did the ancient chants originate? Were they evolved from logical thought processes that were later transferred to a musical format? Or rather, were they birthed from those who had learned to harness the healing powers of their spirit, and given expression through their spiritual practice to bring the ecstatic experience into vocal and instrumental form through music?

Jill Purce, pioneer in the field of healing with the voice and author of "The Mystic Spiral" says, "One of the effects of chanting is the dissolution of boundaries, and when this happens something new can take place in the psyche and body of a person. Chanting seems directly to stimulate the emission of certain chemicals in the brain, such as endorphins, which give rise to states of enhanced awareness, blissful calm, and other deep meditative states." Jill teaches the practice of overtone chanting throughout the world. This form of chant is has its origins in Eastern cultures. The Tibetan monks seem to reach into the heart of Mother Earth with their deep toning and lift the tones to heaven as the beautiful overtones rise naturally from the powerful bass notes.

Mongolian overtone chanting comes from the nomadic culture of Siberia. The throat singing, part of the Mongolian folk culture, reflects many of the sounds heard in the nature around them. Often this type of chant resembles the sounds of birds and crickets and other sounds that can be a little unfamiliar to Westerners. However, Purce, says that, "Enchantment really means to make magic through chant." And that she does in the workshops she teaches about chant throughout the world.

Music as Therapy

Music allows us to transcend the everyday states of consciousness and travel to places that either a memory of to a place of creative imagination. This process of transcending the mundane evokes psycho-physiologic responses when people shift into altered states of consciousness. When an individual uses music for relaxation, their abstract thinking is slowed down while they remain in a normal waking state. As they continue with their process of relaxation, the individual moves through the remainder of the six states of consciousness, which are: expanded sensory threshold, daydreaming, trance, meditative states, and rapture.

In these states of consciousness, time takes on a different meaning for the individual. Often during music therapy sessions, people will lose track of time for extended periods, which in turn helps them to reduce feelings of stress, anxiety, fear, and pain.

Stress has become, in modern society, the subject of many best-selling books and is often a lead story in the news. Non-invasive and easily accessible ways to deal with stress have now become sought after by the mainstream society especially with the highly controversial use of illegal and prescription drugs and the potential hazards they pose with long-term use. People need to be educated about the remedial effects of music as therapy. Unfortunately, many people still feel that music used as therapy is just another liberal health fad. This notion comes from their ignorance on the subject. Despite this belief, music therapy continues to be a growing occupation. There are more than 5,000 certified and licensed music therapists in the United States working in hospitals, rehabilitation units, health-care and educational settings. The American Music Therapy Association now recognizes 68 schools in the United States who offer programs of study in Music Therapy.

Music Therapy is a non-verbal type of therapy, as opposed to other types of therapy where the client talks about feelings and experiences of life. Music Therapy presents an alternative to traditional types of therapy, and provides the following benefits to patients:

		More direct access to thinking and feeling states.
		Opportunity to "contain" feelings for periods of time so that these can be explored, examined, and worked through for the individual.
		Non-verbal expression of thinking and feeling states that are not yet within the verbal domain for the individual.
		Elicitation of imagery and associations that are not accessible through verbal means.
		More direct physiological benefits for the individual than verbal methods.
		Freedom to explore and try out various solutions to patient thinking and feeling problems through exploration and creativity.
		There are many applications of Music therapy in our everyday lives and the fields of treatment are very broad, encompassing psychotherapeutic, educational, instructional, behavioral, pastoral, supervisory, healing, recreational, activity, and interrelated arts applications.

Barbara Crowe, past president of the National Association of Music Therapy, suggests music and rhythm create their healing effects by calming the constant chatter of the left brain. "A loud repetitive sound sends a constant signal to the cortex, masking input from other senses like vision, touch, and smell," she explains. When sensory input is decreased, the normally noisy left brain with its internal conversations, analyses, and logical judgments subsides to a murmur, stimulating deeper parts of the brain that are throne-rooms of symbols, visualization, and emotions. "This is the seat of ritual in tribal societies," she observes. "There is a clear, distinct parallel between traditional shamanism and the practices we do in music therapy today."

Raymond Bahr, Director of Coronary Care at St. Agnes Hospital, Baltimore, Maryland contends, "Without a doubt, music therapy ranks high on the list of modern day management of critical care patients…Its relaxing properties enable patients to get well faster by allowing them to accept their condition and treatment without excessive anxiety."

Laurie Riley is the founder of The Music for Healing and Transition Program, a certification program that trains people to serve the critically ill and dying with live music to promote healing or assisting in the life/death transition. This program offers another level of certification in healing with music. Certified healthcare musicians play live music at the bedsides of the ill and/r dying in clinical settings, but no interaction is required of the patient, who may be unable to interact (comatose, noncommunicative, heavily medicated, or dying). The music is offered to enhance the environment, without the necessity of setting a specific goal for the patient.

These well-trained practitioners play in pre-op, post-op, neonatal, ICU, NICU, CCU, ER, oncology, obstetrics, and sometimes OR, as well as in general care areas. They are trained in clinical deportment, legal issues, infection control, appropriate repertoire, corporate compliance, music skills, resonance science, entrainment, anatomy/physiology, monitoring, observation skills, and so on. There are several training programs, overseen by a national standards board. Titles include Certified Music Practitioners, Certified Harp Practitioners, and Advanced Certified Clinical Musicians. (The latter trains its students in professional-quality musicianship as well as therapeutic-level music skills.) Certified healthcare musicians' clinical expertise falls between that of a well educated sound healer and a Board Certified Music Therapist, thusly: 1. Sound Healers use music and/or sound for self-healing, and sometimes in private-client or group settings, and are not necessarily certified.
2. Certified healthcare musicians (CHP's. ACCM's, CMP's) offer live music at the bedsides of inpatients in hospital, hospice, and nursing home settings, as an enhancement to the healing environment and an adjunct to medical care.
3. Music Therapists use goal-oriented therapy, with music as the main tool, for private, group, and/or inpatient clients. Healthcare musicians are carefully instructed never to attempt to do verbally or physically interactive work involving music, as this is the realm of the Music Therapist. We absolutely respect the marvellous work of Music Therapists. Likewise, I feel strongly that sound healers should be
instructed that they may not call themselves Music Therapists, Music Practitioners, Harp Practitioners, Harp Therapists, or Clinical Musicians, and that certification is necessary to work in a clinical/medical setting.

How Music Affects Us

How does music affect our well-being? It seems that there is no definitive answer to that question. However, experts in the field of music and sound therapy feel there are two major ways in which music and sound can affect our lives. The first is the principle of entrainment. This refers to the phenomena of being in sync. In other words, our bodies automatically adjust to the pace, rhythm, or pulse of the music. How many times have you walked into a room with other things on your mind and heard music playing? You stop to listen for a few minutes and all of the sudden, your foot is tapping to the music or you are swaying your head or body with the beat. Or, a certain piece of music evokes memories of a time when you heard the music before, and the feelings of that time come immediately back into your awareness? How is it that we can hear a musical jingle in a commercial that we haven't heard for maybe 20 or 30 years and we can sing it as though we just learned it? In scientific terms, our psyches and bodies become entrained to the sonic environment created by the music. And what is more, the music becomes a part as it becomes stored in our memory.

The Effect of Music on Society

In the west one of the most memorable periods in popular music was the era of the Beatles. When they appeared on the scene in 1963, with lyrics like, "You say you want a revolution, well you know, we all want to change the world", that is exactly what their music did. Their powerful music accompanied us through the trio assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, the 10 years of the Vietnam War, and the nuclear threat and cold war. The world emerged from these powerful historical events in a different way. Somehow the innocence of the 1940's and 1950's was gone. The music of the Beatles offered us hope in a time of great despair, and to this day continues to brighten the lives of young people who find themselves singing along with the memorable lyrics and recognizable melodies.

Music for Entrainment

Entrainment is a powerful tool in behavior modification. In effect, the principle of entrainment directly relates to the Greek word isomorphic (commonly referred to as the ISO principle). Isomorphic means same form or appearance. Therefore, musical entrainment is actually a process of joining with feelings conveyed in the music and sensing the feeling of commonality with it. One might almost have an experience of feeling a connection with the composer or performer by sharing emotions and feelings conveyed in the music, either through its creation or through the performance itself. Music in this sense can be a powerful tool in both positive and negative ways to the listener. Music entrainment is more than just a tool to be used for behavior modification, however. Music has the power to integrate the whole, person allowing profound healing on many levels.

Music is one of the few experiences that can touch a person on all levels of consciousness. It is a powerful sensory stimulus that can work simultaneously on the body, mind, and spirit. Vibrational entrainment, as a result of listening to music, can bring harmony to the body by actually entraining the body with the music. It can have a transformative affect on an individual by moving through the body systems and bringing about harmony. Through the use of music, positive affects have been seen in the nervous system, affecting the endocrine system, which in turn enhances the immune system.

For centuries shamans have used drums and vocal sounds as an integral part of healing practices in indigenous cultures. They often went into a trance themselves through the power of music, which they used as a tool in assisting the healing process.

Music for Diversion

A second principle that music utilizes in affecting patients is the principle of diversion. This method of utilizing music and sound is helpful in taking the attention away from an unpleasant or unwanted situation. An example of diversionary music is the playing of bright, happy, energizing music when the listener feels down in the dumps. Music, in this sense, can be used in a therapeutic situation to reduce anxiety and pain, transporting the listener to another reality temporarily during the healing process.

The International Association of Pain has defined pain, "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with actual or potential tissue damage." In more esoteric terms, pain is a symptom of disharmony. Pain can be viewed as a series of sounds or vibrations that send messages to the brain indicating a disharmony in some part of the body. Think of this vibration as an alarm sounding to warn of a problem in the body. The mind and body can be re-programmed or harmonized to a place of harmony and healing by entraining it with soothing music.

Music as Medicine

Music enters into the body through the ear, and the bones of the body act like a tuning fork. The neurological fields of the body are then stimulated by music. Music is a means by which all people can feel these healing vibrations. Even people with profound handicaps can benefit from music's healing affects. Research in physiological responses to music supports the hypothesis that listening to music influences a person's autonomic responses. Science has proven that music focused in the higher register increases tension. Conversely, music played in the lower register reduces tension. Music that is played at a tempo of 80-90 beats per minute increases tension, while music at played at 40-60 beats per minute decreases tension.

According to Dr. Arthur Harvey, there are four distinct ways in which our brain responds to music: cognitive, affective, physical, and transpersonal. In other words we can experience music by analyzing its structure (melody, harmony, rhythm, tone, form, etc.), by feeling the music with our emotions, by noticing the affects of music on our heart rate, breathing, etc. or feeling a connection to God through music.

When Music is used as medicine it is used in a way that directly affects the health of the patient. An example is the use of music in "audio-analgesia." Music is used in this way to alleviate or lessen pain, and can be used, at times, in lieu of pain medications. When music is used in this way, it is a necessary component in affecting the outcome of the treatment.

Vibrational therapy sessions can be used to affect physiological changes such as lowering of blood pressure, heart rate, and muscle tension. Studies have shown that music used as medicine can increase the immune function and decrease ACTH (stress) hormones. Music and sound has also been shown to kill cancer cells. As outrageous as this may seem, studies have shown this to be true. I have first-hand experience with this because of my own miraculous healing from breast cancer by the use of sound.

Another benefit of "healing" music is to stir our emotions and feelings, to help us deal with grief, sadness, anger or other feelings. By allowing us to really experience our feelings, the intensity will eventually lessen and even dissipate, resulting in healing. When we avoid our feelings (consciously or unconsciously) they tend to build up inside. They don't just go away. Music and sound are wonderful tools for helping us to deal with feelings within us, whether we're aware of them or not.

"The powers that be can be communicated to earth by means of music are as yet scarcely suspected by the average individual. But the time is fast approaching when people will select their music with the same intelligent care and knowledge that they use to select their food. When that times comes, music will become a principal source of healing for many individual and social ills, and human evolution will be tremendously accelerated." --Corrine Heline, Esoteric Music

What Type of Music is Healing?

After all this, you may ask yourself, "What type of music is healing?" When most people think about healing music they think only about music that relaxes them. While this is certainly true, it is not the only type of music that is healing. Someone who may be lethargic or depressed might feel like they could use a "musical cup of coffee." In that case, they would want to use music that has a fast beat or perhaps a distinctive rhythm. It is important to first determine what the desired outcome is, and then choose the music that fits the desired outcome. There are some important factors to take into consideration when choosing music for healing which include: speed, rhythm, instrument selection, volume, complexity, harmony or melody, pitch and tone, and last but not least, the lyrics.

Speed: Here you would focus on the number of beats per minute of the music. You can use 80 BPM (beats per minute) as a benchmark in determining speed. If you choose music with 80 BPM or less, the music will tend to induce relaxation. On the other hand, if you choose music that is more than 80 BPM you will find it is more stimulating. You can easily find the beat of a particular piece of music by using a watch or clock with a minute/second hand. Start the music and tap your fingers or feet as you feel a natural beat of the music. Once you have determined the beat, watch the clock and count until a minute has passed. This will give you a very close proximity to the BPM of the music. Some of the more meditative music, such as "New Age" may be very difficult to determine the natural beat, but you can feel pretty sure that it will be below 80 BPM. This type of un-metered music has been created for producing theta and delta brainwave states.

Rhythm: The rhythm of music is determined by the length and accent of the sounds. A good rule of thumb is that the more complex the rhythms in the music, the more stimulating affect the music will have on the listener. On the other hand, slower rhythms or constant beats will produce a hypnotic affect on the listener causing them to become more relaxed. You certainly have heard the loud booming base sounds coming from vehicles. This type of beat can be very over-stimulating to the nervous system. This booming beat coupled with the volume with which it is most often played, is not only not healing, it can actually be detrimental to your health.

Instrumentation: Instrumentation is an important part of the affect that music has on your physiology, your emotions, and your spirit. However, it is a very personal choice. All instrumentation can be healing in specific situations. And, the affect of the instruments is combined with the other factors we are listing here.

Volume: Sound waves are energy and they impact your brain with electrical pulse or pressure in the ears. The higher the volume, the more pulse/pressure, the lower the volume, the less pulse/pressure. Simply said, loud music will stimulate, soft music will relax. How soft should the music be? That will be determined by the activity or the outcome associated with the listening. If the idea of the music is for entertainment and the mental focus is on nothing else, the music can be louder. However, if the music is for relaxation, or pain relief, the music should be played softer.

Complexity: Have you been to a symphony where the orchestra is warming up. Each instrument may be playing a short piece of beautiful music, but each member may be playing a different piece. It sounds wild and frenetic and very stimulating. Your brain doesn't know what to focus on. The brain's job is to find order, and that is why it is so uncomfortable. The brain is reeling, trying to discern all the different sounds or instruments. Now think of a classic trio playing a guitar, flute, and cello. This is easier to listen to; you can follow one instrument or the other, or you can just take in the harmonies of all three together.

Remember this rule—the simpler the complexity of the music, the more relaxing it will be; the more complex the music is the more stimulating it will be.

Harmony: Harmony comes from two or more musical notes being played together, which sound like they go together and complement each other. A beautiful chord played on a piano or guitar is examples of harmony.

Complementary sounds or harmonies create consonance, while notes that sound like they don't go together create dissonance. Lots of music is made of up consonance and dissonance dancing together creating tension and resolution. Another consideration is whether the music is played in either a major key or a minor key. Music that is played in a minor key is said to feel more poignant, moving or emotional. This type of music can be used for meditation or emotional healing. Remember that music from other world cultures will reflect their own scales, keys and harmonies, which may be very different that of western music.

Melody: Melody is the line in music that we find ourselves humming or singing along with. We know the tune from listening to it previously, or by hearing something similar in the past. A simple melody can be quite relaxing; however, a complex melody can be quite simulating. Music that has no definable melody known as anxiolytic music and is used in medical situations for deep relaxation and pain management. The reason that this type of music is so effective in these situations is that the brain can't think ahead and anticipate what notes will come next in a melody that isn't there--instead the brain tends to just disconnect it's desire to consciously listen and it relaxes into the experience.

Pitch and Tone: The pitch and tone of instruments and voices are what distinguish a flute from a trumpet or a bass from a soprano. Music that has many variations of pitch and tone are more stimulating, while music that has a narrow range of pitch and tone will be more soothing. Music that uses a drone instrument or instruments will be very relaxing. A drone is a continuous tone that serves as a foundation for the rest of the music. Many cultures around the world use a done as an important base to their music.

Lyrics: The lyrics in music can make all the difference in whether music is healing or not. You might have a piece of music that has a slow melodic and simple melody, with the steady and gentle beat, that contains words full of hate. This music is not healing. Hateful or disrespectful lyrics are not healing. In order for a piece of music to contain healing qualities, the lyrics must be uplifting and loving words. Words can heal or they can destroy. Dr. Masaru Emoto, an alternative medicine physician in Japan, has conducted years of research on the affect of words and music on the quality of water. The implications of his research create a new awareness of how we can positively impact the earth and our own personal health by the words that we speak.

Music for Healing or Healing Music-What's the Difference?

We've now learned about the many ways that music can be healing, through the tempo, the tone, the volume, the complexity, etc. About thirty years ago, a new type of music was born--healing music. You might ask what makes it different and why. The main difference is that the music was composed and performed or recorded with the specific intention of healing the listener. Again, you may ask how this could make a difference. Earlier I referred to the work of Dr. Masaru Emoto and his research on the effects of words and music on water. Dr. Emoto also did studies on the effect of words and music on cooked rice. He found that un-refrigerated rice that was prayed over and sent thoughts of love and healing stayed sweet and fresh for weeks longer than rice that was either left alone or was sent thoughts of hate and disrespect.

We know in our everyday life how important our thoughts are and the words we either use to describe ourselves or the words that we use in conversation with others can be. Which situation do you feel more healing: 1) someone who puts you down all the time and criticizes you; or, 2) someone who tells you how wonderful you are and how much they love you? If you are like me, you will choose the second scenario every time over the first.

This new type of music is like that; it is created with a 'healing intention." Many of these musicians and composers will actually go into a meditative state when they compose or perform this music and hold a thought and vision of healing coming from the music. While this may not be able to be scientifically measured on a daily basis like Dr. Emoto's work, the feedback from many people is clear. This type of music has a tremendously healing affect.

Which Type of Music Do We Use and How Do We Use It?

Moviemakers seem to be the experts in this arena, don't they? And, often we are completely unaware of its effect on us. Try watching a movie that you've seen before with the sound off. When the story gets to a particularly scary or tense moment, turn the sound off and see if you have a similar reaction as you did the first time. Of course, since you know already know what is about to happen, it won't be the same as if you never saw the scene before, but you will get a sense of how powerful the music was in setting the tone for the scene. If you ever saw the movie Jaws you know what I am referring to. Music can be used to intensify fear, induce laughter, create tension, or make us sad and so forth. The industry actually has a term for this type of music. It is called mood induction procedure (MIP) music.

Now that you know a bit about the different factors of music, you can put conscious forethought into the music you use for yourself and others. Are you agitated by the traffic, stressed from work, sad about a relationship, worried about your health, or some other situation in your life? You can actually choose music that will take you from one mood state to another.

We referred to the ISO principle earlier, and that's what you will apply when selecting music in these instances. You can think of the ISO principle of music selection like a train or a bus (leaving from one location, taking a journey, and arriving at another destination.) With the ISO principle you match music at the beginning of the process to the current emotional/physical state, and then gradually change the music to faster or slower, or music that is more complex or more simple, or music that is in a minor key or a major key as a way of changing mood to a more desired mood.

As an example, when you are feeling anxious, if you just put on some dreamy New Age music, your mind and emotions will probably resist, which can actually amplify the undesired mood. But, if begin the music selection with music that reflects the undesired mood (so you can identify with it) and then gently change the music, song-by-song, you will gradually find that your mood changes. Try it and see if works for you. With a little practice you will find that you can actually make music compilations that you can use therapeutically for yourself and others.

With music all around us, in our lives at work or home, try to pay more attention to what you hear and what you play. Use music as a tool to balance and manage the mind and body. Think of music as a wonderful therapeutic tool that can be very enjoyable. Music has many qualities; learn to use them to your advantage.

Music used in the appropriate way can be healing. The key is to use wisdom and listen to what our inner healer tells us about how music makes us feel. There is no one type of music that is healing music in every situation. Listen to a wide variety of musics and pay attention to how you respond with your whole being (mind, body, and spirit). The Healing Music Organization has compiled a large listing of music that can be used in various situations. You can find these listings in the discography section of their website.

By no means are these the only pieces of music that are healing, and the lists may change dramatically over time as more and more people become involved in this exciting field of health and healing. We also would like to take this opportunity to say that music should not take the place of seeking sound medical and spiritual advice about your health. On the other hand, some type of music can always be beneficial whatever the situation. Happy listening.

What Kind of Music is Healing?

Music that energizes our body

Music that stimulates our brain
Music that awakens our feelings
Music that ignites our soul
Music that relaxes our body
Music that calms our mind

Music that unwinds our emotions

Music that restores our soul
Music that motivates our actions
Music that helps us unwind
Music that wakes us up
Music that helps us sleep

Music that expands our thinking

Music that helps us not to think

References

Bruscia, K.E., Defining Music Therapy, (Spring City, PA: Spring House Books, 1989.)

Beaulieu, John, Music and Sound in the Healing Arts, (New York, New York: Tallman, 1987), 115.

Campbell, Don, The Mozart Effect: Tapping the Power of Music to Heal the Body, Strengthen the Mind, and Unlock the Creative Spirit, (New York, NY: Avon Books, 1997) 81.

Chopra, Deepak, M.D., Quantum Healing: Exploring the Frontiers of Mind/Body Medicine, (Bantam Books, New York, 1989) 21.

Emoto, Masaru, The Hidden Messages of Water, (Hillsboro, Oregon: Beyond Words Publishing, 2004)

Goleman, D., & Gruin, J., Mind Body Medicine, (Yonkers, New York: Consumer Reports Books, 1993)

Keyes, Laurel E., Toning: The Creative Power of the Voice, (Marina delRey, California: Devorss and Co., 1973) 12-13.

Krippner, S., The Highest State of Consciousness, (New York: Doubleday & Co.,1972) 1-5.

Le Mee, Katherine, Chant: The Origins, Form, Practice, and Healing Power of Gregorian Chant, (New York, New York: Bell Tower, 1994)

MORE INFORMATION

In May, 1999, Amrita was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time in two years. She knew that "conventional treatment" was not the journey she wanted to take again. Amrita entered a shamanic journey into the spirit realm, trusting her own process as teacher and healer. With no handbook or physician to guide her, she entered an unknown world of intuition and trust. She followed her own spirit essence and inner knowing to an astonishing experience of eradicating the cancer within two months by using the sound of her own voice, breath, and emotional release.

Amrita uses sound and music in a private and group healing practice throughout the San Francisco Bay area. She is the founder and director of The Healing Music Organization in Santa Cruz, California and is on the faculty at California Institute of Psychoacoustics in San Francisco and Vox Mundi School in Emeryville, California.

Article Use Policy: Please submit a for permission to quote or reproduce this article.

Music without words means leaving behind the mind. And leaving behind the mind is meditation.
Meditation returns you to the source. And the source of all is sound. — Kabir

Crystal Sound

ccreature — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 12:23:41 CDT

Crystal Bowls

Healing Music

United In Spirit's Site Awards

Jodiefloss — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:28:37 CDT

Comments From Award Givers

CONGRATULATIONS! We are excited to award to you the 2009 "Alchemical Mage Award in Love & Light".
This is the second award in a row, nice!
You receive this award for the extraordinary work you do on a global scale.
Your online presence will help the entire planet and every single person
to stand up for a higher goal that can be envisioned and reached by
anyone who chooses to serve the greater good. Please keep up the marvelous work you do!

"Your Wetpaint Site is stunning, informative, and worthy of an Award."
Please when installing your award link back to
X~Ray your Soul~1 Wetpaint: http://xrayyoursoul1.wetpaint.com/

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Please when installing your award link back to
X~Ray your Soul~1 Wetpaint: http://xrayyoursoul1.wetpaint.com/

"Hi!
Congratulations, you won my award! After visiting your wonderful site, I am pleased to give you my Award!
You truly deserve it and keep up the great work! :)"

Hidden Treasures Site Awards

"Hi Jodie,

I have visited your site and must say that it radiates much
love and light!
Light be with you,
David Brunner"
Stepping Stones Awards.

"Dear Jodie

CONGRATULATIONS!

We are excited to award to you the 2008 "Alchemical Mage Award in Love & Light".

You receive this award for the fine work you do on a global scale with your web site. Please keep up the marvelous work you do!
love and Blessings
from the crew
at Alchemical Mage"
Alchemical Mage Co., POB 31645, Aurora, CO 80041-1645
phone: +1 (303) 326-0924 -- fax: +1 (303) 326-0928

The Best Opportunity...Only For A limited Time

Jodiefloss — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:18:09 CDT

NEW RECOMMENDER SHARES! From now until Me2Everyone reaches 500,000 members, they are turning back to the clock to the day they launched. Everyone you bring into me2everyone from this second forward Me2Everyone will give you 5000 bonus shares! These will show up in your account the moment your family or friends join.

Me2Everyone is also going to give anyone who joins me2everyone 2000 shares – just for joining. So let’s have one special push and smash into that 500,000 target and then we can all find out who has won this incredible contest.

Now to make things a little more interesting, whoever holds ID number 500,000 in me2everyone is going to receive a bonus of 500,000 shares and the person who finds this person will ALSO receive a bonus of 500,000 shares and both will be interviewed by one of Me2Everyones Press Officers.

If your not a Member maybe you should think about it.

Now is the time to get in folks.
Me 2 Everyone is FREE to join and they are still offering FREE SHARES
but only 100 Shares per NEW Member,
and only 200 Shares per NEW Member YOU sign up.

You may choose any Me2Everyone Member below to sign up with.

MEMBERS OF Me2Everyone	You can Sign up with : JodieFloss REFERRAL # 28617 You can choose to Sign up with one of my Partners Shade Law: REFERRAL # 29131 LISA NADEL: REFERRAL # 28630	Or you can also choose to Sign up with these fine Group Members at me2everyone! :) LYNETTE EVANS REFERRAL # 29182 GENTLE RAINS: REFERRAL # 38669
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United In Spirit's Site FAQ

Jodiefloss — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:06:25 CDT

How To Post An Article

If you wish to post an article, please follow these instructions: 1. Click on the heading in the index which is relevant to your post 2. Locate the heading you wish to post to and click on it 3.Click on the "Add Page" at the bottom of the index 4. A small pop up will appear where you need to chose a template and name for the page. Here choose "Blank Page" and add the name of your article. 5. Once you have saved that information a new page will appear which you are then able to edit and place your article in. 6. Discussions regarding the article should be made via the thread option at the bottom of the page. 7. If you are encountering difficulties please contact the administration team for assistance.

If you wish to post an article, please follow these instructions:
1. Click on the heading in the index which is relevant to your post
2. Locate the heading you wish to post to and click on it
3.Click on the "Add Page" at the bottom of the index
4. A small pop up will appear where you need to chose a template and name for the page. Here choose "Blank Page" and add the name of your article.
5. Once you have saved that information a new page will appear which you are then able to edit and place your article in.
6. Discussions regarding the article should be made via the thread option at the bottom of the page.
7. If you are encountering difficulties please contact the administration team for assistance.

How To Set Up Your Profile

1. On the right hand upper left corner there is a link which says "My Profile" click on this and it will take you to your profile page. 2. You will see your profile which appears as a generic template which is fully editable. 3. You can add to and edit your profile by clicking "Easy Edit". 4. All template features can be deleted so you can utilise the full page of your profile. 5. Once you have clicked on the "Easy Edit" button a box will appear with a fully functional editor with facilities to insert widgets and video content. 6. Once you have completed adding, click save to view the final result, you may edit as many times as you wish. 7. Comments left by members will appear as threads at the bottom of the page.

1. On the right hand upper left corner there is a link which says "My Profile" click on this and it will take you to your profile page.
2. You will see your profile which appears as a generic template which is fully editable.
3. You can add to and edit your profile by clicking "Easy Edit".
4. All template features can be deleted so you can utilise the full page of your profile.
5. Once you have clicked on the "Easy Edit" button a box will appear with a fully functional editor with facilities to insert widgets and video content.
6. Once you have completed adding, click save to view the final result, you may edit as many times as you wish.
7. Comments left by members will appear as threads at the bottom of the page.

ADMINISTRATION:

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Gentle Rains-Moderator and Assistant Administrator

Things Are Changing By Shade Law

ShadeLaw — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:38:58 CDT

The Energy of Love

Jodiefloss — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 02:43:08 CDT

The Energy of Love by Brian Weiss, MD For several hundred years, people have mistakenly believed that technology, once fully developed, would solve the ills of mankind, that science would provide the path out of the woods, away from illness, poverty, misery and pain.. We now know that technology and science alone are not capable of solving our problems. Technology can be used for good or for bad purposes. Only when used with enlightenment, wisdom and balance can technology truly help us. We must find the right balance... Love is the fulcrum of this balance! PURE ENERGY - When people have intense spiritual experiences, the energy of love is nearly always evoked. This form of love is unconditional, absolute and transcendent. It is like a pulse of pure energy, an energy that also possesses powerful attributes, such as wisdom, compassion, timelessness, and sublime consciousness. Love is the most basic and pervasive energy that exists. It is the essence of our being and of our universe. Love is the fundamental "building block" of nature connecting and unifying all things, all people.. WE ARE LOVE - Love is more than a goal, more than a fuel, more than an ideal. Love is our nature. We are love. Love is the ultimate healer. In the near future some attributes of its energy will indeed be studied scientifically, will be quantified, measured, and understood. Other attributes will remain mysterious, transcendent, and beyond measurement. Fortunately, when the energy of love is deeply felt, its healing effects are experienced, whether or not it is measured or understood.. ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS - Physicists know that everything is energy. Nuclear bombs are built based upon techniques of energy transformation and release. Herbal and traditional medicines work because of energy transformations induced at the cellular level. The results are vastly different, but the underlying mechanisms are the same: energy transformations.. The energy of love is potentially more powerful than any bomb and more subtle than any herb. We just have not yet learned how to harness this most basic and pure energy. When we do, healing at all levels, individual and planetary can occur.. HEALING PULSE - Our souls are always drawn toward love. When we truly comprehend the concept that love is an all-encompassing energy whose healing pulse can quickly transform our bodies, minds and souls, then we will transcend our chronic pain and ills.. TRUTH - Even though there may be one truth, many approaches exist to this truth. Yet the answer is always the same; the truth did not change. My path to understanding more about our spiritual nature came through many years of arduous academic study, culminating in my medical training, psychiatric specialization, and several decades of post-academic experiences and clinical studies. That has been my path. Others may reach a similar place by having a powerful, spontaneous, and overwhelming experience, such as an NDE (near-death experience). Still others might reach this level using a single technique, such as the practice of meditation, over a longer period of time. These may be their paths. There are many roads to enlightenment.. ENLIGHTENMENT IS A PROCESS - If you are evolving into a more loving, more compassionate, less violent person, then you are moving in the right direction. Like me, you may become distracted, make wrong turns at times, lost until you find the way back. It may seem as if you're taking two steps forward and then one step backwards, but that's all right. That's how it works when we're in human form. Enlightenment is a slow and arduous process, requiring dedication and discipline. It's perfectly fine to rest now and then. You are not really going backwards; you are consolidating and resting.. Progress is not always linear. You may be very advanced when it comes to charity and compassion, but more of a novice concerning anger or patience. It is important not to judge yourself. If you don't judge yourself or allow others to judge you, you will not become frustrated.. HARMONY - We are all rowing the same boat, and there are ominous storms on the horizon. Violence and shortsightedness seem to dominate our world. We need to row in harmony, to renounce hatred, anger, fear and pride. We need to have the courage to do the right thing... We need to love and respect one another, to see and appreciate the innate beauty and dignity of everyone, because we are all souls, all of the same substance! ___________________________ excerpt from 'Messages from the Masters: Tapping into the Power of Love' *Brian Weiss* ______________________

The Energy of Love

by Brian Weiss, MD

For several hundred years, people have mistakenly believed that technology, once fully developed, would solve the ills of mankind, that science would provide the path out of the woods, away from illness, poverty, misery and pain..

We now know that technology and science alone are not capable of solving our problems. Technology can be used for good or for bad purposes. Only when used with enlightenment, wisdom and balance can technology truly help us. We must find the right balance... Love is the fulcrum of this balance!

PURE ENERGY - When people have intense spiritual experiences, the energy of love is nearly always evoked. This form of love is unconditional, absolute and transcendent. It is like a pulse of pure energy, an energy that also possesses powerful attributes, such as wisdom, compassion, timelessness, and sublime consciousness. Love is the most basic and pervasive energy that exists. It is the essence of our being and of our universe. Love is the fundamental "building block" of nature connecting and unifying all things, all people..

WE ARE LOVE - Love is more than a goal, more than a fuel, more than an ideal. Love is our nature. We are love. Love is the ultimate healer. In the near future some attributes of its energy will indeed be studied scientifically, will be quantified, measured, and understood. Other attributes will remain mysterious, transcendent, and beyond measurement. Fortunately, when the energy of love is deeply felt, its healing effects are experienced, whether or not it is measured or understood..

ENERGY TRANSFORMATIONS - Physicists know that everything is energy. Nuclear bombs are built based upon techniques of energy transformation and release. Herbal and traditional medicines work because of energy transformations induced at the cellular level. The results are vastly different, but the underlying mechanisms are the same: energy transformations..

The energy of love is potentially more powerful than any bomb and more subtle than any herb. We just have not yet learned how to harness this most basic and pure energy. When we do, healing at all levels, individual and planetary can occur..

HEALING PULSE - Our souls are always drawn toward love. When we truly comprehend the concept that love is an all-encompassing energy whose healing pulse can quickly transform our bodies, minds and souls, then we will transcend our chronic pain and ills..

TRUTH - Even though there may be one truth, many approaches exist to this truth. Yet the answer is always the same; the truth did not change. My path to understanding more about our spiritual nature came through many years of arduous academic study, culminating in my medical training, psychiatric specialization, and several decades of post-academic experiences and clinical studies. That has been my path. Others may reach a similar place by having a powerful, spontaneous, and overwhelming experience, such as an NDE (near-death experience). Still others might reach this level using a single technique, such as the practice of meditation, over a longer period of time. These may be their paths. There are many roads to enlightenment..

ENLIGHTENMENT IS A PROCESS - If you are evolving into a more loving, more compassionate, less violent person, then you are moving in the right direction. Like me, you may become distracted, make wrong turns at times, lost until you find the way back. It may seem as if you're taking two steps forward and then one step backwards, but that's all right. That's how it works when we're in human form. Enlightenment is a slow and arduous process, requiring dedication and discipline. It's perfectly fine to rest now and then. You are not really going backwards; you are consolidating and resting..

Progress is not always linear. You may be very advanced when it comes to charity and compassion, but more of a novice concerning anger or patience. It is important not to judge yourself. If you don't judge yourself or allow others to judge you, you will not become frustrated..

HARMONY - We are all rowing the same boat, and there are ominous storms on the horizon. Violence and shortsightedness seem to dominate our world. We need to row in harmony, to renounce hatred, anger, fear and pride. We need to have the courage to do the right thing... We need to love and respect one another, to see and appreciate the innate beauty and dignity of everyone, because we are all souls, all of the same substance!

___________________________

excerpt from 'Messages from the Masters:
Tapping into the Power of Love'

Brian Weiss
______________________

The Best Kept Secret In Psychotherapy~Body /Energy Work

Jodiefloss — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:00:41 CDT

The Best-Kept Secret in Psychotherapy Body/Energy Work B Y B R I A N G L E A S O N, L C S W ENTER MOST PSYCHOTHERAPY waiting rooms and you will be bombarded with the sounds of silence. Conventional talk therapy is characterized by its calm, at times almost sedate nature. But, perhaps the best-kept secret in the counseling field is what is called energy or body psychotherapy. If you ask an energy therapist or a client of one to describe what the work feels like, you will hear such words as lively, engaging, energizing, exciting, transforming, fast-paced, and even fun. Meanwhile, those counselors and therapists who have been practicing straight talk therapy for a long time often attest to how stifling the work feels, and how slow the pace of progress seems. Over time, client breakthroughs in traditional talk therapy can seem too few and far apart. Using the Body and Mind Body or energy psychotherapy differs from talk therapy in one fundamental way: It uses the whole body - not just talking - as a vehicle to unlock emotional blocks, and to achieve awareness and self-discovery. The energy psychotherapist transcends the distinction between mind and body, working with clients from a "mind in body" philosophy. The body is seen as housing abundant unconscious material that becomes more readily accessible through "energy work." Or, to put it more simply, the body holds clues to our history that aren't easily revealed through talking alone, but can be accessed - often very quickly - through movement, sounds, exaggerated expressions, and so on. By viewing the body as fertile ground for their work, energy therapists are bringing emotions back into the treatment room. What makes the work so stimulating is the ability to utilize a wide range of new interventions that incorporate the body and its emotional repertoire. The tilt toward cognitive-behavioral approaches in recent years has left many therapists feeling as if their work doesn't fulfill them. For the therapist who has been practicing conventional talk therapy for years, the lament is often heard that "Something is missing in my work," or "I can only seem to take my clients so far." Incorporating energy psychotherapy principles and techniques seems to infuse new life into stagnant practices. Energy therapists recognize that each session is rife with potential to bring the client to deeper levels of self-awareness, compassion, and expression of authenticity. Core Energetics: An Engaging Approach One branch of this new model, called Core Energetics, is beginning to create a presence here in southern California. Core Energetics evolved from the groundbreaking work of psychoanalysis pioneer Wilhelm Reich. Two of Reich's students, Alexander Lowen, MD, and John Pierrakos, MD, went on to develop bioenergetics, and later Dr. Pierrakos created the Core Energetics model. What is striking about the Core Energetics approach is how dynamic, and indeed lively, psychotherapy can be. In this work, many of the parameters of traditional therapy are stretched. For example, the therapist may shift from being quiet and receptive to challenging and evocative. Clients may be prompted to move their bodies in ways that allow them to open up to grief, anger, empowerment, pleasure, compassion, or a host of other possibilities. In a Core Energetics session, the therapist may be making deep eye contact while encouraging the client to face her fear, to really move into it, under the firm and supportive presence of the therapist. Or, the client might resist taking responsibility for his unhappiness. Instead of just talking about the resistance, the Core therapist will encourage him to fully express all his resistance to change, imploring him, for instance, to shout: "I won't grow up!" or "I'll never give you the satisfaction!" The therapist prompts the client to express such normally surreptitious sentiments loudly and robustly. From an energy perspective, the goal is for the client to release the physiological armoring (the psychosomatic resistance to feeling what he steadfastly avoids in everyday life) in order to open up to the positive life energy hiding behind his resistance. Or, the Core therapist may utilize music strategically to invite the client into an emotional experience that appears to be ready to emerge. As an illustration, the client who has long hated her father may be close to connecting to her grief over his unavailability. The well-timed use of a song can serve as the impetus to bring the grief to the surface. Allowing Emotional Energy to Emerge In Core Energetics, the therapist is just as concerned with what is happening from the neck down. The body is a vital source of information for both therapist and client. Growth doesn't only occur from cognitive shifts, but from the body's innate capacity as a "self-regulating organism." Emotions such as anger, fear, and sadness are crucial aspects of self-regulation. Thus, in Core Energetics, clients learn how to release long-held emotions so that inner balance and harmony are restored. When the body suppresses normal, self-regulating emotions, it cannot function optimally. Without anger, there is a concomitant loss of passion. Without hurt, there's no empathy. Without fear, the capacity for nurturance evaporates. Core therapists believe that the mind-in-body will take care of itself if it is allowed to express what it needs to feel. What makes this work so engaging is the active and intentional support of these vibrant emotions. While other branches of psychotherapy tend to shy away from free emotional expression, Core Energetics is committed to the open movement of energy in the form of emotions. In a session, clients may be encouraged to move about the room, and to work with equipment such as giant foam cubes, "rollers," mirrors, mats, and other props in order to connect to disowned parts of themselves. Through physical movement, breathing, exaggeration of gestures, working with sound, actively expressing transference, and support for consciously connecting to regressed "young" places where feelings may have become blocked, the client is highly engaged in the process. While respectful of boundaries, Core therapists believe that, on the whole, more people are harmed by lack of touch than from inappropriate touch. Thus, there is apt to be caring and purposeful use of touch in session. Touch can convey many messages, and when a client has been deprived, abused, or manipulated with touch, healing can occur with sensitive contact from the therapist. In Core Energetics, clients are challenged to take risks. It can be extraordinarily liberating, for instance, for a client to express competitiveness, seduction, selfishness, or even cruelty. Equally, to reveal tenderness, longing, humor, or musical or artistic talent. The therapist believes that each client has inherent strengths, or core qualities, that will support her in breaking free of the shackles of her self-imposed limits. Hence, the work tends to be more inspirational and exciting for both therapist and clients. The Role of Body in Psychology We live in a world that has become increasingly wary of strong emotions. With alarming increases in usage of prescription medication, particularly for depression, anxiety sleeplessness and sexual inhibition, it is ever more useful to consider the role that the body plays in our "psychological" problems. While individual biochemistry contributes to these disorders, there appears to be more to the story. Emotions are viewed in Core Energetics as a form of energy. Even the word e-motion suggests that feelings are defined by their movement. The moving away from or blocking off of emotions seems to play a role in altering our biochemistry. So, it makes intuitive sense that to reclaim one's emotional truths may help to restore one to a state of well-being. Most of us have had the experience of inner calmness after crying, or having our hearts open after a fight. Yet for many clients they have long ago learned it was not safe, or acceptable, to express their vital emotional energy. Therapists who practice Core Energetics recognize the immense value of "expressive therapy." Too much of an emphasis on the brain, on thinking away our problems, perpetuates an already existing imbalance. The unabashed emotional expressiveness of children can serve as a model for what the body needs. While a child may not possess the consciousness to make sense out of what disturbs her, neither does she carry tension in her body. When emotions have been suppressed for many years, our biochemistry is chronically altered. The net effect is damaging to "psyche" and "soma." Laughing, sobbing, the freedom to tremble in fear (and not be alone in it), roaring, moaning, and moving one's body about with abandon is curative. We heal inner disturbances when we reclaim our feelings. For the Core Energetics therapist this is a "roll up your sleeves" experience. The therapist must be willing to become emotionally engaged with the client. When a client has been traumatized as a child, or neglected, or shamed, he needs more than technical support. What he needs is a gut sense that somebody's with him, that somebody really sees him. The Core Energetics therapist "leads by following." This means connecting with the client's emotional experience, following his energy, and then guiding him to the places where he has been taught not to go. The client learns that his emotions do not result in harm or abandonment. He is encouraged by the therapist to reclaim the glory of his full emotional expressiveness. When the therapist conveys the message that she can handle all of who the client is, he flourishes. Energy Therapy Opens Up New Opportunities Insight therapy helps clients to understand themselves better, cognitive-behavioral therapy helps clients to change negative habits of thinking and acting. But, it is the energy-based therapies that assist clients in feeling more "life-force." Clients who do this work tend to feel lighter, less constricted, and ultimately more adventurous. Thus, they are not just overcoming a problem or correcting a dysfunctional behavior, they are literally enjoying life more and discovering their creative source. It is a key aspect of energy work to help the client open up to her "higher self." That is, to the best within her. When long-constrained energies are freed up, each person is able to shine. The aim then is transformative, not merely reparative. To witness a client's shift from being depressed to inspired, from anxious to passionate, or from timid to powerful is the gift back to the therapist. For therapists who are weary from years of routine psychotherapy, you may do well to explore the energy-based approaches. As mentioned above, Core Energetics, which has institutes around the world, is beginning to establish itself in southern California. A series of weekend intensive workshops, held at the Tao Healing Arts Center in Santa Monica, began in April. There are two scheduled for June; for more information, go to www.AnnBradney.com. Additionally, a new post-graduate training institute designed for therapists who wish to become certified in Core Energetics will commence in 2008. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Brian Gleason, LCSW, a leading pioneer in marriage mentoring, is a senior faculty member of Core Energetics East in New York City, and facilitates training workshops for professionals in body-oriented psychotherapy in southern California. He is author of Mortal Spirit: A Theory of Spiritual-Somatic Evolution and the soon to be released Going All The Way: A Guide to the Exceptional Marriage. You can find our more about his work at ExceptionalMarriage.com.

The Best-Kept Secret in Psychotherapy
Body/Energy Work

B Y B R I A N G L E A S O N, L C S W

ENTER MOST PSYCHOTHERAPY waiting rooms and you will be bombarded with the sounds of silence. Conventional talk therapy is characterized by its calm, at times almost sedate nature. But, perhaps the best-kept secret in the counseling field is what is called energy or body psychotherapy. If you ask an energy therapist or a client of one to describe what the work feels like, you will hear such words as lively, engaging, energizing, exciting, transforming, fast-paced, and even fun. Meanwhile, those counselors and therapists who have been practicing straight talk therapy for a long time often attest to how stifling the work feels, and how slow the pace of progress seems. Over time, client breakthroughs in traditional talk therapy can seem too few and far apart.

Using the Body and Mind
Body or energy psychotherapy differs from talk therapy in one fundamental way: It uses the whole body - not just talking - as a vehicle to unlock emotional blocks, and to achieve awareness and self-discovery. The energy psychotherapist transcends the distinction between mind and body, working with clients from a "mind in body" philosophy. The body is seen as housing abundant unconscious material that becomes more readily accessible through "energy work." Or, to put it more simply, the body holds clues to our history that aren't easily revealed through talking alone, but can be accessed - often very quickly - through movement, sounds, exaggerated expressions, and so on.

By viewing the body as fertile ground for their work, energy therapists are bringing emotions back into the treatment room. What makes the work so stimulating is the ability to utilize a wide range of new interventions that incorporate the body and its emotional repertoire. The tilt toward cognitive-behavioral approaches in recent years has left many therapists feeling as if their work doesn't fulfill them. For the therapist who has been practicing conventional talk therapy for years, the lament is often heard that "Something is missing in my work," or "I can only seem to take my clients so far." Incorporating energy psychotherapy principles and techniques seems to infuse new life into stagnant practices. Energy therapists recognize that each session is rife with potential to bring the client to deeper levels of self-awareness, compassion, and expression of authenticity.

Core Energetics: An Engaging Approach
One branch of this new model, called Core Energetics, is beginning to create a presence here in southern California. Core Energetics evolved from the groundbreaking work of psychoanalysis pioneer Wilhelm Reich. Two of Reich's students, Alexander Lowen, MD, and John Pierrakos, MD, went on to develop bioenergetics, and later Dr. Pierrakos created the Core Energetics model.

What is striking about the Core Energetics approach is how dynamic, and indeed lively, psychotherapy can be. In this work, many of the parameters of traditional therapy are stretched. For example, the therapist may shift from being quiet and receptive to challenging and evocative. Clients may be prompted to move their bodies in ways that allow them to open up to grief, anger, empowerment, pleasure, compassion, or a host of other possibilities. In a Core Energetics session, the therapist may be making deep eye contact while encouraging the client to face her fear, to really move into it, under the firm and supportive presence of the therapist.

Or, the client might resist taking responsibility for his unhappiness. Instead of just talking about the resistance, the Core therapist will encourage him to fully express all his resistance to change, imploring him, for instance, to shout: "I won't grow up!" or "I'll never give you the satisfaction!" The therapist prompts the client to express such normally surreptitious sentiments loudly and robustly. From an energy perspective, the goal is for the client to release the physiological armoring (the psychosomatic resistance to feeling what he steadfastly avoids in everyday life) in order to open up to the positive life energy hiding behind his resistance.

Or, the Core therapist may utilize music strategically to invite the client into an emotional experience that appears to be ready to emerge. As an illustration, the client who has long hated her father may be close to connecting to her grief over his unavailability. The well-timed use of a song can serve as the impetus to bring the grief to the surface.

Allowing Emotional Energy to Emerge
In Core Energetics, the therapist is just as concerned with what is happening from the neck down. The body is a vital source of information for both therapist and client. Growth doesn't only occur from cognitive shifts, but from the body's innate capacity as a "self-regulating organism." Emotions such as anger, fear, and sadness are crucial aspects of self-regulation. Thus, in Core Energetics, clients learn how to release long-held emotions so that inner balance and harmony are restored. When the body suppresses normal, self-regulating emotions, it cannot function optimally. Without anger, there is a concomitant loss of passion. Without hurt, there's no empathy. Without fear, the capacity for nurturance evaporates. Core therapists believe that the mind-in-body will take care of itself if it is allowed to express what it needs to feel.

What makes this work so engaging is the active and intentional support of these vibrant emotions. While other branches of psychotherapy tend to shy away from free emotional expression, Core Energetics is committed to the open movement of energy in the form of emotions. In a session, clients may be encouraged to move about the room, and to work with equipment such as giant foam cubes, "rollers," mirrors, mats, and other props in order to connect to disowned parts of themselves. Through physical movement, breathing, exaggeration of gestures, working with sound, actively expressing transference, and support for consciously connecting to regressed "young" places where feelings may have become blocked, the client is highly engaged in the process. While respectful of boundaries, Core therapists believe that, on the whole, more people are harmed by lack of touch than from inappropriate touch. Thus, there is apt to be caring and purposeful use of touch in session. Touch can convey many messages, and when a client has been deprived, abused, or manipulated with touch, healing can occur with sensitive contact from the therapist.

In Core Energetics, clients are challenged to take risks. It can be extraordinarily liberating, for instance, for a client to express competitiveness, seduction, selfishness, or even cruelty. Equally, to reveal tenderness, longing, humor, or musical or artistic talent. The therapist believes that each client has inherent strengths, or core qualities, that will support her in breaking free of the shackles of her self-imposed limits. Hence, the work tends to be more inspirational and exciting for both therapist and clients.

The Role of Body in Psychology
We live in a world that has become increasingly wary of strong emotions. With alarming increases in usage of prescription medication, particularly for depression, anxiety sleeplessness and sexual inhibition, it is ever more useful to consider the role that the body plays in our "psychological" problems. While individual biochemistry contributes to these disorders, there appears to be more to the story. Emotions are viewed in Core Energetics as a form of energy. Even the word e-motion suggests that feelings are defined by their movement. The moving away from or blocking off of emotions seems to play a role in altering our biochemistry. So, it makes intuitive sense that to reclaim one's emotional truths may help to restore one to a state of well-being. Most of us have had the experience of inner calmness after crying, or having our hearts open after a fight. Yet for many clients they have long ago learned it was not safe, or acceptable, to express their vital emotional energy.

Therapists who practice Core Energetics recognize the immense value of "expressive therapy." Too much of an emphasis on the brain, on thinking away our problems, perpetuates an already existing imbalance. The unabashed emotional expressiveness of children can serve as a model for what the body needs. While a child may not possess the consciousness to make sense out of what disturbs her, neither does she carry tension in her body. When emotions have been suppressed for many years, our biochemistry is chronically altered. The net effect is damaging to "psyche" and "soma." Laughing, sobbing, the freedom to tremble in fear (and not be alone in it), roaring, moaning, and moving one's body about with abandon is curative. We heal inner disturbances when we reclaim our feelings.

For the Core Energetics therapist this is a "roll up your sleeves" experience. The therapist must be willing to become emotionally engaged with the client. When a client has been traumatized as a child, or neglected, or shamed, he needs more than technical support. What he needs is a gut sense that somebody's with him, that somebody really sees him. The Core Energetics therapist "leads by following." This means connecting with the client's emotional experience, following his energy, and then guiding him to the places where he has been taught not to go. The client learns that his emotions do not result in harm or abandonment. He is encouraged by the therapist to reclaim the glory of his full emotional expressiveness. When the therapist conveys the message that she can handle all of who the client is, he flourishes.

Energy Therapy Opens Up New Opportunities
Insight therapy helps clients to understand themselves better, cognitive-behavioral therapy helps clients to change negative habits of thinking and acting. But, it is the energy-based therapies that assist clients in feeling more "life-force." Clients who do this work tend to feel lighter, less constricted, and ultimately more adventurous. Thus, they are not just overcoming a problem or correcting a dysfunctional behavior, they are literally enjoying life more and discovering their creative source. It is a key aspect of energy work to help the client open up to her "higher self." That is, to the best within her. When long-constrained energies are freed up, each person is able to shine. The aim then is transformative, not merely reparative. To witness a client's shift from being depressed to inspired, from anxious to passionate, or from timid to powerful is the gift back to the therapist.

For therapists who are weary from years of routine psychotherapy, you may do well to explore the energy-based approaches. As mentioned above, Core Energetics, which has institutes around the world, is beginning to establish itself in southern California. A series of weekend intensive workshops, held at the Tao Healing Arts Center in Santa Monica, began in April. There are two scheduled for June; for more information, go to www.AnnBradney.com. Additionally, a new post-graduate training institute designed for therapists who wish to become certified in Core Energetics will commence in 2008.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brian Gleason, LCSW, a leading pioneer in marriage mentoring, is a senior faculty member of Core Energetics East in New York City, and facilitates training workshops for professionals in body-oriented psychotherapy in southern California. He is author of Mortal Spirit: A Theory of Spiritual-Somatic Evolution and the soon to be released Going All The Way: A Guide to the Exceptional Marriage. You can find our more about his work at ExceptionalMarriage.com.

Peacock Power Unleashed

Jodiefloss — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 00:59:53 CDT

Peacock Power Unleashed B Y C A R R I E H A R T Here, come in here, into the forest, where the light filters gently through the trees and illuminates your iridescent feathers. Fly up here and sit on this bough, breathing in the moist and warm air of the Indian evening. Feel the deep perfection of being as you sit quietly and become one with the spirit of the peacock. Confidence Whether nesting in the deep undergrowth or roosting in the trees, you outshine the beauty of your forest home. And this shining forth is natural and easy for you. You are always deeply confident of your beauty and never hesitant to show it when the mood strikes you. For it is your power to conceal or display, to fold your tail and sit quietly waiting, or to sing out, announcing your presence and fanning your tail, doing your dance of love and attraction so that the world might share in the glory of your presence. This confidence is always with you, this sure knowledge of your greatness and beauty. You call out loudly, unafraid to let the world know that you are here, for you are the peacock. Creativity The artist lives deeply within you, penetrating your very being. You are the palette and the painter both, able to pull creatively from your own essence, needing nothing from the outside to fully express who you are. This deep well of creativity is an essential part of who you are. Whether you are choosing to share your creative gifts with the world or to keep them to yourself, you are still a work of art simply by being. Everything you do is thus touched with beauty and grace, in the way you move, the way you act and do, even the most everyday activities. You are always an artist, for you have no other way to be. This is who you are, for you are the peacock. Timing and Intuition You have an excellent sense of timing and intuition, which tells you when to let the world see your truth. Sometimes you keep yourself to yourself, allowing your beauty to act as a shield, protecting you from the more penetrating glance. And many there are who are pleased to merely admire your beauty and achievements. But for those with the patience to wait until you choose to show yourself, there are treasures indeed to be found within you, for the beauty of your exterior is mirrored in the beauty of your soul, and your truth shines with the same iridescent glow. Thus are you both flamboyantly extroverted and deeply private at the same time, and content to be both and to retain the power to choose which glowing facet of yourself to expose to others. You are seen as you choose to be seen, for you are the peacock. Power and Choice Your life is full of power and choice. You have the power to fly, but most often choose not to, except to lift yourself up to your preferred position in the tree. Your life is graced with having power in reserve, with having more power than you need to use. And like your beauty, your powers are natural and easy and do not need to be displayed to others. But as you glide down from your perch in the tree to your nest on the ground, you know who you are and what you can do. And if you feel threatened, all of that power in reserve is instantly yours to command, as you lift off to safety. You can choose to make your life whatever you wish, for you are the peacock. Power Held in Reserve This power held in reserve gives you a strong projected energy. Others are drawn to you, pulled toward you by your breathtaking beauty and by the energy they feel flowing from you. You have no need to go chasing after life, trying to get what you want. Your pull energy is so strong that life comes to you and showers you with gifts. All you need to do is just be who you are, and use your special gift of intuitive timing to tell you when to fan your tail. When you combine this energy with your deep creativity and originality, allowing the artist in you to emerge fully, you are utterly unique in the world. No one can match you when you choose to dip into your well of being and bring it all out. At these times your loud and confident voice sings out across the forest and the meadows, announcing your presence and wonder. And your greatness is fully realized, for you are the peacock. Deep Connection with Family And in the evening, when you have settled into your roost with your family, you remember that this is the place where you shine the strongest. You are very close to your family, a loving mate and parent, protective, nurturing and attentive. At these moments, the beauty of your soul comes forth and you know who you truly are and understand the true source of your confidence in the world. For you are capable of sharing and loving deeply, in a way that nurtures you and allows you to go back out into the world with the dawn, strutting and calling out, shining and pouring forth the energy that is yours. You are fueled by love, for you are the peacock. How to Join with Peacock Energy I would like to share with you now a special invocation to bring you into oneness with this powerful peacock energy. Use this invocation each morning while opening yourself to the flow of peacock energy that will surely come. I breathe in deeply and open myself to golden cleansing energy I ask that it may flow through me, from head to toe, Clearing me and preparing me for the vibrant energy of the peacock My mind is quiet and clear I am open now to new ways of thinking My heart opens wide and grows soft and warm I am open now to new ways of loving My center grows calm and deep Like an endless pool of still water I am open now to new ways of being I stand in the light of love And invite the energy of the peacock to come to me now To fill me and empower me To transform my life through the great gifts of the peacock I feel the peacock energy as it fills me It flows into me and awakens the beauty within, as I fan out my tail and show the world who I am I feel a great surge of creativity pouring through my body I feel a deep love of family in my heart I know my power, the power of the peacock I am now one with the energy of the peacock I will feel it and be it in every moment For I am the peacock I am deeply original and creative And I beautify life with my vibrant presence For I am the peacock I understand fully the power of sharing my great gifts only when the time is right I live in the loving embrace of my family For I am the peacock I give thanks for this gift, for this grace And with each breath I take I now know I am the peacock And now, you are one with the peacock. Feel his confidence within you as you develop new relationships with others, full of the shine and pull energy that is the peacock. Learn to relax into the admiration of others as you fully develop your creative gifts and choose how and when to shine forth with all that you are: the glorious and incomparable peacock. Go to www.PowerAnimalsUnleashed.com to obtain an MP3 download of the Peacock Invocation as well as a Peacock Energy Stone, which has been charged with peacock energy to enhance your connection. Once there, feel free to invite additional power animals into your life as well. The site is designed to allow your intuition to choose the right power animal for each day, each important event, each of your primary relationships. Let their power become your own as they lift you into ever-higher levels of energy. Then write to me and let me know how they have transformed your life. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Carrie Hart is a spiritual explorer, a singer/songwriter working on her third album and a successful business woman. As a management consultant and Vice President of a Fortune 500 company, she has learned how to effectively utilize the power of spirit in daily life. It is her mission with www.PowerAnimalsUnleashed.com to bring the powers of success and prosperity into your life as well. To Contact Carrie Hart, email: carrie@PowerAnimalsUnleashed.com, or visit her websites: www.PowerAnimalsUnleashed.com and www.CarrieHart.com.

Peacock Power Unleashed

B Y C A R R I E H A R T

Here, come in here, into the forest, where the light filters gently through the trees and illuminates your iridescent feathers. Fly up here and sit on this bough, breathing in the moist and warm air of the Indian evening. Feel the deep perfection of being as you sit quietly and become one with the spirit of the peacock.

Confidence
Whether nesting in the deep undergrowth or roosting in the trees, you outshine the beauty of your forest home. And this shining forth is natural and easy for you. You are always deeply confident of your beauty and never hesitant to show it when the mood strikes you. For it is your power to conceal or display, to fold your tail and sit quietly waiting, or to sing out, announcing your presence and fanning your tail, doing your dance of love and attraction so that the world might share in the glory of your presence.

This confidence is always with you, this sure knowledge of your greatness and beauty. You call out loudly, unafraid to let the world know that you are here, for you are the peacock.

Creativity
The artist lives deeply within you, penetrating your very being. You are the palette and the painter both, able to pull creatively from your own essence, needing nothing from the outside to fully express who you are. This deep well of creativity is an essential part of who you are. Whether you are choosing to share your creative gifts with the world or to keep them to yourself, you are still a work of art simply by being. Everything you do is thus touched with beauty and grace, in the way you move, the way you act and do, even the most everyday activities. You are always an artist, for you have no other way to be. This is who you are, for you are the peacock.

Timing and Intuition
You have an excellent sense of timing and intuition, which tells you when to let the world see your truth. Sometimes you keep yourself to yourself, allowing your beauty to act as a shield, protecting you from the more penetrating glance. And many there are who are pleased to merely admire your beauty and achievements. But for those with the patience to wait until you choose to show yourself, there are treasures indeed to be found within you, for the beauty of your exterior is mirrored in the beauty of your soul, and your truth shines with the same iridescent glow.

Thus are you both flamboyantly extroverted and deeply private at the same time, and content to be both and to retain the power to choose which glowing facet of yourself to expose to others. You are seen as you choose to be seen, for you are the peacock.

Power and Choice
Your life is full of power and choice. You have the power to fly, but most often choose not to, except to lift yourself up to your preferred position in the tree. Your life is graced with having power in reserve, with having more power than you need to use. And like your beauty, your powers are natural and easy and do not need to be displayed to others. But as you glide down from your perch in the tree to your nest on the ground, you know who you are and what you can do. And if you feel threatened, all of that power in reserve is instantly yours to command, as you lift off to safety. You can choose to make your life whatever you wish, for you are the peacock.

Power Held in Reserve
This power held in reserve gives you a strong projected energy. Others are drawn to you, pulled toward you by your breathtaking beauty and by the energy they feel flowing from you. You have no need to go chasing after life, trying to get what you want. Your pull energy is so strong that life comes to you and showers you with gifts. All you need to do is just be who you are, and use your special gift of intuitive timing to tell you when to fan your tail.

When you combine this energy with your deep creativity and originality, allowing the artist in you to emerge fully, you are utterly unique in the world. No one can match you when you choose to dip into your well of being and bring it all out. At these times your loud and confident voice sings out across the forest and the meadows, announcing your presence and wonder. And your greatness is fully realized, for you are the peacock.

Deep Connection with Family
And in the evening, when you have settled into your roost with your family, you remember that this is the place where you shine the strongest. You are very close to your family, a loving mate and parent, protective, nurturing and attentive. At these moments, the beauty of your soul comes forth and you know who you truly are and understand the true source of your confidence in the world. For you are capable of sharing and loving deeply, in a way that nurtures you and allows you to go back out into the world with the dawn, strutting and calling out, shining and pouring forth the energy that is yours. You are fueled by love, for you are the peacock.

How to Join with Peacock Energy
I would like to share with you now a special invocation to bring you into oneness with this powerful peacock energy. Use this invocation each morning while opening yourself to the flow of peacock energy that will surely come.

I breathe in deeply and open myself to golden cleansing energy
I ask that it may flow through me, from head to toe,
Clearing me and preparing me for the vibrant energy of the peacock

My mind is quiet and clear
I am open now to new ways of thinking

My heart opens wide and grows soft and warm
I am open now to new ways of loving

My center grows calm and deep
Like an endless pool of still water
I am open now to new ways of being

I stand in the light of love
And invite the energy of the peacock to come to me now
To fill me and empower me
To transform my life through the great gifts of the peacock

I feel the peacock energy as it fills me
It flows into me and awakens the beauty within, as I fan out my tail and show the world who I am
I feel a great surge of creativity pouring through my body
I feel a deep love of family in my heart
I know my power, the power of the peacock

I am now one with the energy of the peacock
I will feel it and be it in every moment
For I am the peacock

I am deeply original and creative
And I beautify life with my vibrant presence
For I am the peacock

I understand fully the power of sharing my great gifts only when the time is right
I live in the loving embrace of my family
For I am the peacock

I give thanks for this gift, for this grace
And with each breath I take I now know
I am the peacock

And now, you are one with the peacock. Feel his confidence within you as you develop new relationships with others, full of the shine and pull energy that is the peacock. Learn to relax into the admiration of others as you fully develop your creative gifts and choose how and when to shine forth with all that you are: the glorious and incomparable peacock.

Go to www.PowerAnimalsUnleashed.com to obtain an MP3 download of the Peacock Invocation as well as a Peacock Energy Stone, which has been charged with peacock energy to enhance your connection.

Once there, feel free to invite additional power animals into your life as well. The site is designed to allow your intuition to choose the right power animal for each day, each important event, each of your primary relationships. Let their power become your own as they lift you into ever-higher levels of energy. Then write to me and let me know how they have transformed your life.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Carrie Hart is a spiritual explorer, a singer/songwriter working on her third album and a successful business woman. As a management consultant and Vice President of a Fortune 500 company, she has learned how to effectively utilize the power of spirit in daily life. It is her mission with www.PowerAnimalsUnleashed.com to bring the powers of success and prosperity into your life as well.

To Contact Carrie Hart, email: carrie@PowerAnimalsUnleashed.com, or visit her websites: www.PowerAnimalsUnleashed.com and www.CarrieHart.com.

UIS: Building Better Partnerships

Jodiefloss — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 10:11:34 CDT

Xray Your Soul on Wetpaint
Xray Your Soul on Ning

The NLP of Words

Jodiefloss — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 06:39:58 CDT

by: Shade Law and Co-author Jodie P. Floss (all rights reserved) From
“The Reverse Neuro-Linguistic Programming Internet Series” ©2003- 2009
Our work is Licensed

Shade Law ~Reverse
Neuro Linguistic Programming © 2003

We get an opportunity to build something wonderful here at this new Site. I have to say what a phenomenal opportunity to work with the caliber of people that we have on Site right now. I sure look forward to others coming as well. Each Participant here has an opportunity not only to "follow" but to create web pages, links, and a different kind of application of skills in connecting with one another (here and further out). This can only lead to good, if we all work together, as well as maintaining our own unique internal work.

I am starting a new series of NLP reversals. This NLP will evolve into more of a practical use, in the care that it takes to get things done, both Spiritually and Practicality. The key is balance, which is one's attitude. And this attitude, our attitude, comes through our Thought.

When a thought is formed, it first runs through a series of emotions of past (as well as present) experiences. Problem is, Thought = Word = Deed and shows up in life as Actions. How we think produces our outcomes, which then form an opinion, which in turn forms a deed, and then the outcome produces either one's reactions or responses... Action. Here's a thought, wouldn't it be nice if we could apply retraining the thought process first. Let's discuss this and see what we can come up with. Thank you for your participation.

NLP Of Emotions

Jodiefloss — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 06:21:11 CDT

by: Shade Law and Co-author Jodie P. Floss (all rights reserved) From
“The Reverse Neuro-Linguistic Programming Internet Series” ©2003- 2009
Our work is Licensed

Either Stand By Your Convictions,Good~Bad or Indifferent

Jodiefloss — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 06:08:35 CDT

or shut up and stop judging people.
by: Shade Law and Co-author Jodie P. Floss (all rights reserved) From
“The Reverse Neuro-Linguistic Programming Internet Series” ©2003- 2009
Our work is Licensed

ABOUT MAN Man is made in the spiritual image of God, to be like him in character. He is the supreme object of God’s creation. Although man has tremendous potential for good, he is marred by an attitude of disobedience toward what God called "sin.” This attitude separates man from God. Judge Ye NOT, least Ye be Judged Jesus You must start with this Video FIRST From Saddleback's Church's Pastor Rick Warren News & Views 12/22/2008

ABOUT MAN

Man is made in the spiritual image of God, to be like him in character. He is the supreme object of God’s creation. Although man has tremendous potential for good, he is marred by an attitude of disobedience toward what God called "sin.” This attitude separates man from God.

Judge Ye NOT, least Ye be Judged Jesus

You must start with this Video FIRST
From Saddleback's Church's Pastor Rick Warren
News & Views 12/22/2008

	Here is Rick Warren DENYING Sola Fide and taking us back to legalistic self-righteousness.
BLOOD MONEY THROUGH TITHES? This video asks tough questions about Rick Warren, who claims to be Rupert Murdoch's pastor.

	The Syria Video that they never shot All Words No Back Up Gays Are NOT Allowed At Saddleback Church UNLESS They Repent

The Syria Video that they never shot

All Words No Back Up
Gays Are NOT Allowed At Saddleback Church
UNLESS They Repent

The Many Choices Of The Elderly

Jodiefloss — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 06:04:30 CDT

Getting Out

Your Guide to Leaving America

by Mark Ehrman

5 1/4 x 8 1/5 in, 360 Pages, ISBN 0-9760822-7-6, $16.95

Price: $16.95

View the Getting Out website.

thinking about it,
This book shows how it’s done.

Whether you find the government oppressive, the economy on a devastating course, or if you simply want adventure, you’re not alone. Over 300,000 Americans emigrate each year.

Getting Out walks you through the world of the expat: the reasons, the rules, the resources, the tricks of the trade, along with compelling stories and expertise from expatriate Americans on every continent.

Getting Out shows you where you can most easily gain residence and citizenship, where can you live for a fraction of the cost of where you’re living now, and what countries would be most compatible with your lifestyle, gender, age, or political beliefs.

Seniors are moving daily to avoid having their benefits pillaged by our US Government. Social Security and State Disability is robbed yearly and the "golden years" are taken away by the US Political machine of greed and self partisan righteousness. When one can get (in Mexico) a 4 bedroom, gated neighborhood... All appliances included... Beach Front Home for under 380K... Makes ya wonder.... One could certainly live out their "golden years" and actually have money to spare. Other Countries are wonderful to check with also.

Maybe it's time to try to understand why our American Companies outsource to other Nations. Maybe we need to really dig deep on this one, because ther is an Exodus happening folks,for Business, Religious, and Personal reasons.

United In Spirit Presents~The Power of Healing Through Reverse NLP

Jodiefloss — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 06:01:28 CDT

Nero Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a tool used by the Government, some Religious,
and some Spiritualist as well as the Media
to reshape your thinking patterns into what "they" desire you to be.
Here in this Group we will look at some of these tactics.

Incorporating three series:
2008-The NLP Of Words
2008-2009-The NLP Of Emotions
2009- NLP VS Reality

The Power of Healing Through Reverse NLP on Ning

All of Our NLP work is Licensed

The Study of Reverse Neuro Linguistic Programming by Shade Law RScP and Jodie Picken is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Based on a work at xrayyoursoul1.wetpaint.com. Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://unitedinspirit.wetpaint.com/.

Healing Through Love, Honesty, and Authenticity

The NLP of Words	Words Have Creative Power	Ashes And Snow
NLP Mind Control- Video	The Illusion of Perception	NLP 14 “Are we The New Show?”
Now Control Of The Internet Where Will It Lead?	NLP 18 From the Movie: “The Island”	Is Your Ego In Check Today?
You Are Being Lied To	“Stuck In Between Myself”

NLP VS Reality 2009

Jodiefloss — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 05:37:23 CDT

Gotta Love Karma...

Jodiefloss — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 05:36:32 CDT

Gotta love spirituality, gotta love those that spew forth all the love and light bigamy. That's not without saying that there are those in the minority who are genuine, but hell they are few and far between. You know, sometimes the biggest hypocrites are those that preach too much, those that have way too much to say full stop. Amazing how spirituality is used as a justification or excuse, and here's me believing spirituality to be a foundation of belief, a guide for ethical and moral behaviour and an opportunity to the best person I can be. I guess hypocrites abound in every walk of life, we meet them in the streets, in our jobs even in our family. The daunting thing about using something like spirituality as a shield for such behaviour is the fact that: People have the expectation that "spiritual minded" people walk the talk. Live by their own decrees, not do as I say not as I do. The potential for abuse and manipulation of not just one person but of groups and communities is infinite. Well I would think we've all heard of cults and the horror stories. Spirituality should be a place of peace, a place where you can be in touch with your creator, your inner self,your God. You should be free with your own beliefs and apply the spiritual knowledge to the ethics and morals of everyday living. So you maybe wondering what my issue is well its like this... My good friend had a beautiful site, one she and I had worked very hard on, spent long hours posting and editing,promoting and gaining members. Had being the operative word. You see it only takes one rogue member, one vindictive spiritualist ( I say that tongue in cheek because quite obviously the person in question wasn't) to cause total devastation. Yes we had the harassing and threatening email saga, my friend was even subjected to stalking. As if that wasn't enough well our vindictive spiritualist actually procured information to delete my friends site. Oh and as if that wasn't enough, lets just cause more havoc by hacking into other accounts and other sites. What a gem of a spiritualist..unconditional love at the maximum. So now I comfort my friend, try to help her pick up the pieces, try to instil the incentive to begin again...Bottom line is TRUST NO ONE ...divulge nothing...be suspicious of those whose actions belie their words especially those who use spirituality as a justification. Yeah...and I hope the culprit reads this and yeah I know about those hate sites...little wonder...guess you aren't so well liked huh?? Well you know what they say...what comes round goes round, I'd hate to have YOUR karma debt. ©2008 J Picken

Gotta love spirituality, gotta love those that spew forth all the love and light bigamy. That's not without saying that there are those in the minority who are genuine, but hell they are few and far between. You know, sometimes the biggest hypocrites are those that preach too much, those that have way too much to say full stop. Amazing how spirituality is used as a justification or excuse, and here's me believing spirituality to be a foundation of belief, a guide for ethical and moral behaviour and an opportunity to the best person I can be.

I guess hypocrites abound in every walk of life, we meet them in the streets, in our jobs even in our family. The daunting thing about using something like spirituality as a shield for such behaviour is the fact that:

People have the expectation that "spiritual minded" people walk the talk. Live by their own decrees, not do as I say not as I do.
The potential for abuse and manipulation of not just one person but of groups and communities is infinite. Well I would think we've all heard of cults and the horror stories.
Spirituality should be a place of peace, a place where you can be in touch with your creator, your inner self,your God. You should be free with your own beliefs and apply the spiritual knowledge to the ethics and morals of everyday living.

So you maybe wondering what my issue is well its like this...
My good friend had a beautiful site, one she and I had worked very hard on, spent long hours posting and editing,promoting and gaining members. Had being the operative word. You see it only takes one rogue member, one vindictive spiritualist ( I say that tongue in cheek because quite obviously the person in question wasn't) to cause total devastation. Yes we had the harassing and threatening email saga, my friend was even subjected to stalking. As if that wasn't enough well our vindictive spiritualist actually procured information to delete my friends site. Oh and as if that wasn't enough, lets just cause more havoc by hacking into other accounts and other sites. What a gem of a spiritualist..unconditional love at the maximum.

So now I comfort my friend, try to help her pick up the pieces, try to instil the incentive to begin again...Bottom line is TRUST NO ONE ...divulge nothing...be suspicious of those whose actions belie their words especially those who use spirituality as a justification.
Yeah...and I hope the culprit reads this and yeah I know about those hate sites...little wonder...guess you aren't so well liked huh?? Well you know what they say...what comes round goes round, I'd hate to have YOUR karma debt.

A Gift From Jens from X~Ray Your Soul~1

Jodiefloss — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 05:35:51 CDT

I wrote in my youth poems - now I am singing mostly songs without words just with overtones. As a man who studied theology and philosophy you have to learn to be careful with words because words have power. As a buddhist I know - be careful with your thoughts, they will become your speech - be careful with your speech, they will become your actions and be careful with you actions, they will become your reality ... and be careful with your reality because it becomes your karma - karma in the sense of cause and effect only ...

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