Monday, April 7, 2008

Ahhh. Breathing. And Shamanic Journeying.

LAURA
Our most recent class was a cool one. We learned more about breathing. And it was such a relaxing class. We learned about pranayama, which is an Indian style of breathwork. We specifically learned a form called Nadi Sodhana which is alternate nostril breathing. Here is an excerpt from a site that explains:

With this exercise, we breathe through only one nostril at a time. The logic behind this exercise is that normal breathing does alternate from one nostril to the other at various times during the day. In a healthy person the breath will alternate between nostrils about every two hours. Because most of us are not in optimum health, this time period varies considerably between people and further reduces our vitality. According to the yogis, when the breath continues to flow in one nostril for more than two hours, as it does with most of us, it will have an adverse effect on our health. If the right nostril is involved, the result is mental and nervous disturbance. If the left nostril is involved, the result is chronic fatigue and reduced brain function. The longer the flow of breath in one nostril, the more serious the illness will be.

So here is how you do this breathing. You take your first and second finger and place them together on your third eye (middle of forehead between brows and slightly above). Then you will use your thumb and ring finger to alternately hold either your left or right nostril closed while you breathe through the other nostril.

Keep your fingers on your third eye. Close your eyes. Relax. Hold your left nostril closed with your ring finger and breathe in through your right. Visualize you are breathing in a healing pink or gold light up to your third eye. Hold the breath there and see it swirling and cleaning your third eye and entire head and sinuses as you then cover your right nostril with your thumb and open the left and exhale the light out. Now, breathe in from your left, holding closed your right. Repeat. See the cleansing and healing. Feel it.

Here is link, but it does not show the third eye method. However, this is pretty good for an explanation and for scientific evidence on how it works!

Steve also talked to use about a number of other breathing techniques I won't go into here. Suffice it to say, breathing is LIFE. And more often than we know, we hold our breath when we are stressed out or for many other reasons. We may not even realize we are doing it. But pay attention and you will find times when you aren't breathing consistently. I know I do. I was just doing it oddly enough!!

We also took our first Shamanic Journey in this class. We journeyed to the lower world to meet our power animals. My trip, as usual was a bit hard at first, but I believe I met my power animal and it was Crow. I found myself being pecked by it, so I think it was trying to get my attention. I also saw myself flying over a forest. It's pretty cool that Crow came to me because it represents EXACTLY where I am right now and what I am working on. You can read here about Crow.

For those of you who do not know about Shamanic journeying, BUY STEVE'S BOOK listed on our site. It is an amazing thing to journey. You learn so much about yourself and what gifts can be brought to bear in your physical life.

And if you ever get a chance to take some Shamanic journeying classes, I recommend it highly. We are after all here to enjoy the journey. Right? Why not learn how to actually do just that?

Monday, March 24, 2008

Dream Interpretation

LAURA

Our last class was prompted in part, I guess, by my constant emails to Steve asking him to interpret my dreams for me. The last one was a day or two prior to our class, so he asked if he could use my email of two dreams as an example. Heck yeah, I am all about that. So here is one of my dreams that I sent Steve:

I had this very REAL dream where I was shopping in an outdoor area and a psychic approached me desperately and told me I was very sick and needed to pay attention to my health--something about my heart--and handed me some papers. She hurried me off to this doctor in a white lab coat who walked me to a house that I guess was mine.

Once in, I looked at the papers she had given me. They said I would die when I was 73 of a broken heart and that I had lived 700 years over prior lives, yet that was a very short time. (I knew I wasn't supposed to have seen that part of the papers.)

So I don't know about you, but I thought this was an awful dream. A scary dream. A dream that could not have anything good come from it. Boy was I wrong...

The interpretation follows in the black:

I had this very REAL dream where I was shopping in an outdoor area (outdoor=freedom, no boundaries, nature) and a psychic approached me desperately and told me I was very sick and needed to pay attention to my health--something about my heart--(I am desperately trying to understand and know what's ahead for me. My heart is ready to "heal" and has been aching over changes I have been going through recently.) and handed me some papers. She hurried me off to this doctor in a white lab coat (A doctor represents healing. The white coat is about purity/spirit.) who walked me to a house that I guess was mine. (A house can represent where you live, your body. I didn't recognize this "new me, this home", but knew it was right for me.)

Once in, I looked at the papers she had given me. (Papers can represent fact or authority.) They said I would die (Death here means to be born anew in understanding and awareness.) when I was 73 (The numbers 7 and 3 both have meaning and then you add together to get a single digit, which is 1 and it has meaning, too.
The 7 deals with the activation of imagination, and manifesting results in our lives through the use of conscious thought and awareness. 3 symbolizes the need to express myself creatively, or consider my present directional path in relation to my past events and future goals. And the 1 reflects new beginnings and purity.) of a broken heart (It is hard to move on, but the heart can be broken and come out new.) (So maybe I will be born anew when I finally let my creativity and desire for a new place in life lead me instead of the fear and uncertainty I have been letting take hold.) and that I had lived 700 years (The 7 again....) over prior lives, yet that was a very short time. (This change is happening quickly for me.) I knew I wasn't supposed to have seen that part of the papers. (I keep denying the changes and think somehow I shouldn't be changing or it is my fear of changing.)

I felt very scared/flustered when I woke up because it seemed so real. (The fear I felt upon waking was real, because I have been fearful of all the change in my life right now.)

Right on the money is all I can say. I am going through so many life changes with this class, my new business, my new home in North Carolina, my dad's death. So many changes. But Steve said the dream was a GREAT sign.

So how do you get to these interpretations for your own dreams? Easy. Break the dreams down into bits like I did. Everything in dreams can have real meaning and symbolic meaning. Does my dream mean I will die at age 73? Maybe. But it could also be a symbolic death as well.

So if you dream of your pet cat and you are trying to save it from a swimming pool. Consider what
that pets symbolizes to you. What's the first thing that comes to mind? For me, my cat is my baby. So cat=baby=the child in me. Take each element in your dream and find the meaning for you personally. After all it is your inner child that is communicating with you and that part always communicates in pictures/symbols. So a cat to one person might mean different things to another in their dreams.

Now when it comes to numbers and colors, go online and see some definitions. They usually are pretty much the same for everyone. Here is a good link for numbers. And here is one for colors.
(Just scroll down to get to the color chart.)

You can also get Steve's book, that is referenced on our book list, as it has this information in it, too.

So the rest of the class was all about dreams and interpreting them. We practiced with each other, learned a lot more and it was very, very cool. 'Cause I don't know about you, but I almost always remember my dreams and they are doozies! And now, I know how to make some sense out of them and it's opened a great communication pathway now between my waking self and my unconscious.

Now THAT is what I call a healing journey.


Sunday, March 9, 2008

Channeling. Me?

LAURA

We had another class with Steve and Marcia last Thursday night. As always, Steve never knows what he might teach until the moment it comes out of his mouth. Tonight it was all about channeling. Huh? Isn't that like the realm of psychics and gifted folks? I start to freak out. I start thinking how I can cheat. How can I get through it without anyone realizing I am a sham? A phony? A completely un-gifted human?

Steve starts by explaining. He says you can channel others by (with their permission of course) bringing in the while light in the top of your head and breathing it out through your navel. So you get that going and circulating and then, as you sit across from the other person, you start to channel that light out of your navel and into theirs. Then you allow yourself to go "into" their body and you start "seeing" through their eyes. You ask to feel what they feel and know what they know for purposes of healing. YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO BE SURE OF YOUR INTENT. This is pretty darned important. Use your gifts for good.

Then you just start speaking what you/they feel. What do you see? Feel? This is the lower/child self you are in touch with, so you probably get symbols and pictures.

Steve channeled a student in class first to demonstrate. His eyes are closed the whole time. He says, "I," a lot, as in he is her. He speaks of feet hurting, issues with children, a pain in the left shoulder. Then he expands way beyond...but he is so psychically gifted, I am not surprised. When he was done, he asked to heal anything that needed healing. (Since you are not actually the person, you can feel their dis-eases and pains without taking those dis-eases on and can therefore help heal them.)

The student said he was dead on. She had trouble with her feet, an old injury that was flaring up, and she did have issues that he nailed with her kids, etc.

Now it was our turn. YIKES. Now I am really sweating it. And I look over at Susanne, who looks as scared as me.

We pair up. I get a lady who is deeply intuitive. I can sense it. She is calm and nurturing. I ask her to go first please since I have not figured out yet how I can cheat on this thing.

I close my eyes and try to "open" up to her. "Let her in," I repeat over and over. I also try to not think of anything. To just "be."

WOW. She was right on. She saw me typing. She felt my nervousness. She knew I was having trouble communicating. All this and she had no idea I was a writer or that I was now starting my own business freelancing and was very nervous about getting work. I have been having a lot of trouble with my throat chakra--clearing my throat a lot, not getting words out, being very whisper-like in my voice....She got so much right. And she said I kept blocking her way. Yep. That's me. Not going to let you just roam around in there.....no all-access pass.

My turn. I apologize to her for getting the short straw with me. That I was a fraud. Sorry, sorry. I will do my best. I touch both her knees to try to get something. Anything. Then I start breathing and try to channel. But it is loud in the room. Everyone else is talking. Channeling. I get distracted. Shiny objects, so to speak, keep "calling" to me. Breathe darn it. FOCUS. I internally yell at myself. SEE SOMETHING, FEEL SOMETHING. PLEASE.

My hands. They feel heavy. So I tell her. Your hands are heavy. Maybe from carrying a heavy burden. And I feel an itch in the middle of my shoulders. It moved down to my right arm and hand. And eyes. Something about your eyes. Red. I see red. I see you sleeping happily. And green. The color green.

Now mind you, this is over about 5 minutes. It is PAINFULLY LONG.

Ok, I say. I'm done. I can't take it anymore. So....?

She said she has carpal tunnel and her hands always bother her! Plus she has an 11-month-old who she lifts a lot and he is heavy. (Holy cow) Plus, she needs more sleep and has been getting a bit more lately, so sleep does make her happy right now. The eye thing? Oh yes, my vision has been blurry and I don't know why, she says. Green? Oh, green is healing and I am trying to heal right now. WHAT THE?!?! Did I really do this? How? I was guessing. Just blabbering nonsense I thought. She also said she could feel me go into her, then out, back and forth as if I were trying to focus. And I was. I would get an image, then I would pull back and try to understand it. Plus, I kept getting distracted by my fellow students.

Is there a moral to this story? For me, it is again, to let go and believe. Trust instincts. Flow with it. It is all within us. All the time. Steve says the more we do this stuff the more we will open up and the more that will flow through us.

You're shaking your head, no....I can feel it. I know, it sounds ridiculous. But all I can say is that it happened. It did. I can't explain it, but I can keep pushing it. My journey is definitely moving in a direction. I am not standing still.

What about you? Is this helping you move? Trust yourself more? I hope so. Let's move together, shall we?

Sunday, February 24, 2008

READING MUSTS! Urban Shaman. Imagineering for Health.

Two posts in one night and I have not posted in a week! Wow.

I want to say how much I am enjoying and getting out of 2 new books on our reading list. Urban Shaman and Imagineering for Health. These two books can really, really help you if you have health issues or even just want to get closer to the life you want and the things you want in this life.

I started out 3 years ago with a book called Ask and it is Given. The law of attraction was the basis for this. Whatever you give your attention to, you will draw to you. The kicker is, even things you don't want will come to you if you're not careful. You give enough attention to anything, and you'll get more of it. Say you really hate that you can't sleep. You ask daily and you hope daily for a good night's sleep. It's all you think about. I wish I could get a good night's sleep. I don't sleep good. Wow, I slept terribly last night, etc. What you have focused on is your LACK of sleep. Over and over. So you get no relief. TRUST ME, this is how it works. I did it to myself for about 3 years and still have issues because I keep focusing on the lack of sleep.

Well, Sergi King in his two books, further explains all this "you create your own reality" stuff. He does it in a way that truly makes it make sense. And then he gives you ways to work with it. And when it comes to your health, he explains why every sickness you get is based on emotions, beliefs and stress that have tensed up your body over time. Every sickness. Which means you can CHANGE sickness. You can heal yourself. He even gives some reasons why people get cancer, stomach porblems, chest colds, etc. Quite fascinating.

I recomend this reading. If you are following this blog, you MUST read these books. Ok? Click on links, right now, and buy them. Then let me know how they have changed your life. Because they will if you let them. I PROMISE.

Stories of success to relate. Others are using these techniques.

I wanted to relate some of the experiences I have had with other people using these techniques in the blog as well as other techniques I have been learning. I think it's cool that it is making a difference and that it is working. Even when people aren't sure of their role!

For instance:

The other day I was talking to a guy who I have never met about possibly doing some work for his ad agency. He and I had fallen into the typical jawing about people in the industry. He was trying to recall the name of a famous ad guy and so I started banging my hands together (described in prior post) to show him how it could help him remember things that were on the tip of the tongue.

He didn't even question it! He just followed my lead and did it. Before he even got to tap #10, the name came out. Boom. It was funny because at that point, I was hemming and hawing about why it works. Not wanting to get too "technical" for fear he'd think I was, you guessed it, that nut-case lady. I am learning to use my instincts on who I tell more info to on this stuff. If I can help move the ball so to speak without alienating those not as open as I, then I think it's ok to keep some "facts" hush.
(I HAVE to speak as all this is fact. I know I have no "true" proof. But we all have to work with what we have, right? You choose what you want to believe from this and go from there. It's all good.)
But I was blown away that this guy even did it. I would've thought most people would not "play" along.

Another great outcome of this blog and my new learnings is that my husband has quietly been listening to all I come home talking about. He hears my conversations with friends, reads the blog (altho' I never know when), etc. Lo and behold, he has soaked it all up and has used a lot of it almost without meaning to. It has just softly and by osmosis settled in to his daily life.

He has told me several instances where he has found himself putting ideas into practice and how well it has helped. Which is amazing to me, because I think he uses it more than I do!!

He LOVES the side of the hand tapping to get the right words out when they are "lost."

He grounds himself and breathes the white light into the top of his head when people at work or situations come up that would otherwise make him VERY angry or frustrated.

Even today, I saw him using his breathwork while on the phone with a client. It was GREAT.

He uses the technique of breathing in for 4 counts deeply while saying "relax, relax, relax, relax" then breathing out for 4 counts while saying, "release, release, release, release."

I have found that perhaps my role in life seems to be instigator. I learn all this, teach or compel others to implement it, but then do not necessarily apply it as much to my own life. I guess I can live with that. If it starts a chain reaction--a ripple in the pond--then I am happy. And then, in some way, it has also helped me. Being happy is one of my ultimate end goals. Isn't it for everyone?

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

CORRECTION: How to Switch by Tapping

Boy, I just realized in my Polarity post that I misdirected how to do the tapping. You tap under your NOSE above your upper lip, NOT under your lips. SORRY.

Softly bang fleshy outer part of hands from base of pinky fingers to where wrist meets hand 15X, then tap gently under your NOSE above your upper lip 15X to help you get your channels back in line.
Of course, if you now do not trust me, do the other exercise of marching. It WAS right. Guess I needed to before I posted!

AIM Energetic Balancing

So this is new to me. I just listened to a podcast on Theatre of the Mind (see link on our blog) about AIM Energetic Balancing developed by a guy named Stephen Lewis.

I can't even begin to explain it to you, but suffice it to say, it is a mathematical/energetic formula for healing genetic health issues. Basically we all come into our bodies with genetic predispositions for certain diseases or health issues and whether or not they manifest depends on if we allow certain emotions like anger, bitterness, etc. to take hold and weaken the barrier keeping the disease at bay. And I do believe that all disease comes from unresolved emotion/trauma, so this idea he has sits ok with me.

Anyway, why I post is because he offers his services FREE for any child with Autism. Now, how could you NOT try this if it is free?

It sounds completely BIZARRE when you hear how it works, but I have a gut feeling about this guy. And you know how I feel about trusting my gut.

I encourage you to check out the podcast and if you know anyone who has children with Austism, please send them to his site. And then please do let me know any feedback. Or if you have had any experience with AIM.

Here is a direct link to the podcast and to his site.