Month: January 2020

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Let’s Heal Those 10 Bodies, Shall We?

“Let’s heal those 10 bodies, shall we?”

I was minding my own business when I heard that phrase float through my head.  My response was immediate: “I’m in!”   I got the reference to the Kundalini Yogic teaching that each person has 10 interconnected, mutually influencing energetic bodies.  Invisible and influential.

The physical body is just the one that you can see. 

The other 9 energy bodies are there, albeit not seen, known, or understood by those who haven’t been raised or exposed to this perspective.

If raised in a culture which incorporates this knowledge, this is not front page news. 

Many in Western culture are now aware of references to the energy centers (chakras), pathways (nadis, meridians), or energetic layers of the body (biofield, aura).  Some are curious. Some are critical. Some are uninterested.  And many remain innocently ignorant.

Yet all are influenced by the energetic architecture of their bodies. 

In wisdom traditions and healing systems worldwide and throughout history, there is an awareness of this influential, invisible world.  It is the world of energy – the infrastructure of reality as we perceive it.  From this perspective, the whole must be considered for healing since everything effects everything. 

Think of the complexity within the miracle of your body – the one you can see.

Without you paying the slightest bit of attention, your food gets digested, oxygen is recycled, bones grow, learning happens, toxins are released, and the world’s sensory information gets translated.  All while you are driving to the food store.  This idea is amazing, yet hasn’t even scratched the surface of the wonder of your physical body.

Now multiple the wonder by 10.

I don’t find it a coincidence that I heard this invitation this week.  Looking ahead in my calendar, I see my next 3 scheduled events offer the chance to immerse within the healing frequencies of sound, energy, light, and celestial healers. 

All with less effort than going to the gym, starting a new diet, or building a positive mindset. 

 

Chanting in the Light Cathedrals at Soul Sanctuary invites you to hang out in the comfy, candlelit salon while singing/chanting the yogic mantras of kundalini yoga with a bunch of lovely people.  Angelic Spavasanaaah at Live in Joy Yoga invites you to lay down in a comfy nest while I guide you on an Angel Journey and body/energy workers lovingly attend to you. It is so relaxing, you might just sleep through it. The Angelic Immersion Retreat at Soul Sanctuary offers too much to put in a sentence.  Let’s just say it is heavenly. So, what do they all have in common?

Immersing all 10 of your lovely bodies within healing energy. 

There are lots of benefits to these (and other) practices.  Perhaps the most important is assisting your body to return to a more harmonized state. So you can release the effects of chronic tension, balance the endocrine system, invite brain hemispheric coherence, boost immunity, and my favorite, bringing your heart rhythm (the great influencer) into a coherent state.  Thus, inviting your whole body (all 10 of them) to communicate more efficiently and effectively.  To return to a conversation of Wholeness or what we call healing.

Simply put, you get to lower your overall stress and increase your overall wellbeing.  And the really good news?

These aren’t the only activities that engage the healing response for your entire system.  There are so many ways you can explore the healing technology of working with energy, mind, body, and emotions.  Yoga.  Meditation. Time in nature. Alternative healing. Energy Psychology and Energy Medicine. Chi Gong. Sound healing. Laughing with best friends and strangers. Petting your dog. Witnessing beauty. Offering and receiving a kindness.

You get the idea.  Choose your way.  Set your intent for healing in all 10 energy bodies.  And let the magic happen.

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

The field of affective neuroscience explores the neural circuitry in the brains of every mammal, rats to human. The Circuits include Care, Play, Fear, Lust, Seeking, Rage, and Grief. Let’s focus on the first two.  Practicing self-compassion activates the Care Circuit. Soothing negative emotions leaves you calm and centered.  So, practice self-compassion. A lot. The Play Circuit softens negative affect with humor and enjoyable activities. So, laugh more. Enjoy more. Play more. Your brain and life will change.

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Hindsight is Foresight for 2020

The New Year has begun. And January 1st feels like a dim memory.

Has it only been 16 days since we entered a new decade full of optimism (or holiday fatigue for some)?  I recall January 1st. I was nestled under a blanket by the Christmas tree as my top 5 priorities for 2020 seemingly wrote themselves onto the page in my journal. (And yes, I was surprise by what topped that list!).

Why then is my memory of that lovely “me time” so dim today?  

I clearly see how a busy schedule with lots of interactions, to do-ing, and planning could easily lead me onto the mindless treadmill.  Without a commitment to tune into those dreams (goals) on a weekly basis, I would easily succumb to sleep walking through the year. But that is not gonna happen to me this year.

I’m unwilling to give up on myself that easily.  Nor do I wish to squander the precious moments of this Life. 

Intent is important, as are self-reflection, Soul dreaming, Treasure Mapping, practical action, and personal commitment to follow through.  Looking at the time segment of one year (2020), I began with my intent to discern what my Soul is dreaming for the year.  I did this on the 1st and you can do it whenever you choose.  (Hint: if self-reflection isn’t scheduled, it likely won’t happen).  What do you do once that time is scheduled?  Try this process.

Settle within the depth of your being and ask your Soul for the top 5 priorities for this year. 

This isn’t a thinking exercise nor a creation process from the small mind.  It is simple and entirely doable.  Settle into a quiet space with the intent to drop within your being and talk with your soul.  Ask the top 5 priorities question and record the answers.  Don’t overthink this, make it complicated, or use too many words.  It is quick, flowing, and at times nonlinear.  Sometimes the list completes itself as you shower, commute to work, or do an errand.  Soul time, not linear time.  

Pay attention and have some fun. The Soul wants to download the Map Markers for the year.  So let it. 

Once the list writes itself, keep those priorities in front of you.  Visually. Post them in your bathroom so they are viewed morning and night.  Write them in your journal and create a bookmark that moves through your journal. Create time in your week to review these priorities and how you are living them (or not). If you snooze, you lose focus.   Self-correction on a weekly basis requires only small tweaks to course correct.  This is practical and ultimately less painful than the need for a massive overhaul when you’ve wandered off the Soulful path.  

 

Hindsight is Foresight when utilizing the benefit of Reverse Treasure Mapping. 

 

To discover those clues revealing how you lived the past year, ask the 3-3-1-1 questions.   

The Treasure Mapping Process is endlessly creative, flexible, and playful. When mapping a new year, it is useful to reverse the playful exploration of clue’s on the path forward.  To do this, mentally float back over the previous year to discover your patterns of growth and stagnation. 

What 3 useful actions (habits) did I establish last year which moved me forward in the direction of my personal goals and Soul intent?

What were 3 habits which interfered with me moving forward in the direction of my personal goals and Soul intent?  

What is 1 habit-action that I have yet to cultivate which will most significantly move me in the direction of my 2020 priorities?

 

What is 1 habit-action I must release in order to significantly move me in the direction of my 2020 priorities?

Drop in, ask the questions, witness what arises in your mind/memory, and identify the habit-actions which answer the questions.  Look for established habits rather than temporary phases (eg, drinking 8 glasses of water every day rather than here and there when thirsty).  Spend some time recalling the intent, effort, strategies, and most importantly, the reason you chose to create these new habits. 

Reverse Treasure Mapping allows you to celebrate your gains as well as identify how to best support your intentions.

A few words to those of you who are human. You have the capacity for self-reflection which is an essential component of your evolution.  You also have the capacity for self-criticism when looking at what you did and did not accomplish.  Be kind.  Humans have growing pains.  Don’t add to the pain by berating yourself. That is the internalized critical voice which knows nothing about dreaming and everything about shutting you down. 

Empower your dreams, don’t crush them before they sprout. 

You can use the Reverse Treasure Mapping Process for your 5 Top Priorities or for each item.  Your choice.  Your way.  Your 2020. Remember the power of scheduling time for self reflection, the huge benefit of tiny action consistently applied, and befriending yourself throughout the process. 

If you want to tune into your Soulful Map for 2020, join me for a Treasure Mapping adventure on Saturday, January 25th. 

I’ll help you amp up your intuitive superpower, engage the Oracle of Soul Sanctuary, and venture out into the ‘real world’ for a scavenger hunt. Discovering the clues for your 2020 Soulful Map is child’s play. 

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

It doesn’t take much to kick start the habit of self reflection. You are wired for this natural action.  Pairing an open ended question with quiet time for daydreaming is incredibly restorative for your mind-body-emotion connection.  Allowing space to meander, wonder, and wander without the distraction of everyday tasks opens the mind.  Within a relaxed, curious state, images, ideas, and insights float in and out. Add a dose of neutrality as you witness without any pressure to record, decide, or act upon these ideas.  Daydreaming is under utilized. especially given the proven benefits to health and success. Ready, set, daydream.

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This Decade I’m Gonna Change the World

The music was blaring. My muscles were straining. My mind started protesting.

Laying on my back, lifting my barbell with 40 other fit souls, I wondered if I had the strength for those last 16 press ups.  I was thinking that I was pretty much done.  Glad I hadn’t added that extra weight.  Feeling myself weaken as my mind exercised it’s questioning voice.

“Finish strong!  You can do it!” encouraged the teacher. 

“Damn straight I can!” responded my mind. 

Miraculously, strength poured through my shaking arms as I finished every last one of those stinkin’ reps.   And the positive mind rules again, I thought.  My body popped up as I prepared for the next set.  I started strong as my mind noted how much it liked this song. 

Positive mind + motivating instructor + really good music. 

I recognized the benefit of this equation outside the gym.  I thought about how I used this formula to enhance creativity, personal interactions, teaching, meditation, and business planning.

My mind wandered. My strength and coordination promptly waned.

Bringing my focus back to the moment, I realized how important it was to stay present to the physical experience of the class. Whenever my mind travelled some tangent, I lost my rhythm, couldn’t follow directions, and felt weaker. 

Interesting. 

I watched my mind wander and my body’s energy follow.  I felt my mind focus and my physical energy strengthen.  “Where attention goes, energy flows.”  Got it!  Heading into the next power set, I was clear, in sync, strong, and capable. 

“It’s our first class of 2020!  What are you gonna create this decade?”   

“This is the decade I’m gonna change the world!” declared my mind.   

This statement was so clear, strong, and in sync with my mind, body, motivation, and energy that I thought I had spoken aloud. Which wouldn’t have been a bad thing, I suppose.  I thought about the audacity of that statement, willing to let my concentration and coordination slip a bit.  What the heck does that even mean, I wondered.  And then it hit me. 

Of course I can change the world.  And I am determined to do so.

Back in the groove and loving the club version of the most played song of 2019 (an oldie, but goodie – Uptown Funk), I was strong and clear.  Physics, spirituality, psychology, yogic philosophy, mysticism, and deep inner knowing all point in the same direction. 

We create the world around us through our conditioned projections.

 

Self concept, perception of other people, interactions, situations, events, past memory and the elusive future are all influenced by the projections of our state of mind. Fueled by the conditioned beliefs we formed and absorbed as we grew.  What a woman thinketh, she becomes. 

As within, so without.  As above, so below. 

When we are frightened, the world is a frightening place. When we are hating on ourselves, it is easy to hate on others or expect rejection. When we are on top of the world, it is easy to imagine and attain success, positive experiences, and lots of feel good exchanges.  When we are motivated and committed to health and vitality, we encounter all sorts of support within and around us to become vitally healthy.

When we have a positive mind, encouraging instructor, and great music, we power through barbell class. 

My world – inner and outer – could absolutely change.  This was clear and absolutely attainable.  The formula?  Noticing any time my mind wandered away from what was actually happening as it ventured into my daydream, rumination, or nightmares.  Anytime I argued with Life, I would be reminded that some inner idea of Kathy Milano was declaring that “thing” should be somehow different.

According to whom? The world according to Kathy, that’s who.

As if my little pea brain knew the path for each soul, the perfect way of being for each person, and the simple solution for each complex situation for humanity and the planet.  I had noticed (countless times) how my mind wandered into uncomfortable dark places when I argued with how Life was showing up.  That was a million times worse than losing my focus while lifting weights.  Yet, meandering within my ruminating mind was a well developed habit.  

Waging war on what the moment presented, I was disrupting the peace within me.  Every. Single. Time.  

So, apparently Life speaks loudly during my workouts.  I’m all in.  Knowing I absolutely have the clarity, capability, and desire to dive deep into my own conditioned beliefs in order to release them. 

This is the decade I change the world.  My world. 

Which holds all of you. I’m looking forward to discovering even more of the freedom, peace, and love that (already) inhabit this beautiful life.  And to see you much more clearly once I clear up my distortions.

If you’re a bit stuck in the negative mind, don’t despair. That is the trait all we mere mortals share.  Be gentle with yourself while remaining fiercely focused on uncovering all those beliefs which keep you bound. If you need some help with this, I’m happy to help. 

And if you think that the world is going to hell in a hand basket, check out The Decade in Cheer.   

A friend turned me on to David Byrne’s newsletter “Reasons to be Cheerful.” (Who else loved the Talking Heads?)  In their words: “Reasons to be Cheerful is a non-profit editorial project that is tonic for tumultuous times.  We tell stories that reveal there are, in fact, a surprising number of reasons to feel cheerful.” 

Okay, so maybe me finishing strong that one fitness class isn’t earth shattering news. 

But, I gotta tell you.  I walked out of there with a bit of bounce in my step (and no shaking in my biceps), so I’m cheerfully sharing this story.

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

Good news about exercise! Over time, regular exercise remodels the brain’s reward system (higher circulating levels of dopamine & more available dopamine receptors). Helping you anticipate pleasure, feel motivated, and maintain hope. Exercise is helpful in relieving depression, repairing neurological damage caused by addiction, and expanding your capacity for joy. Especially important as you age. Compared with inactive peers, older adults who exercised have brain reward systems resembling people who are decades younger.  Decades, people. Get moving!

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I am a Dog

I was playing  the game “Headbands” with my dog the other day.

He seemed to have a hard time guessing what his card said. 

Australian Shepards are supposed to be smart, so I wasn’t sure why he was having such a hard time.

He played the game well as he sought clues in the yes/no answers to his questions.  “Am I an animal?  Do I have four legs?  Do I chase balls?  Do I  live with a great family?”  Yet he couldn’t seem to grasp the correct answer … “I am a dog.”  I thought maybe he was losing his mojo. 

Then he looked at me with that all knowing gaze and I finally got it. 

He was beyond smart.  

He was wise ... playing the game while knowing the whole time it was a "game."

So when he asked me the next question “Am I the infinite, interconnected, harmonious flow of energy that many call LOVE which is also known as the fabric of the Universe?”  I simply said yes.

We stopped playing the game at that point. 

Instead we walked outside marveling at the how the natural world was doing its thing. As if it knew exactly what to do and how to do it.  I had plenty of time to notice the sights, smells, colors, and surprises as he frequently stopped to “smell the roses” and water everything else.  It was really more of a meander than a walk. Giving me the opportunity to notice that I experienced more of nature’s gifts with him than walking on my own.  

Such a wise teacher, this “dog.”  

Sometimes he surprises me. Like the day he taught me that size is relative and perception is in the … perception … of the beholder. Illustrated by the photo below.

I wish he had taught my physics class. 

I might have actually learned something and had a lot more fun.  It would have been a “sweet” experience.

I also appreciate how he demonstrates how to Be in the Now. 

Eckhart Tolle has nothing on him when I walk in the door to be greeted as if I appeared out of thin air.  What a celebration of the miracle of “walking in” to a new scene … a new moment.  The energy is contagious and I totally understand why dogs wag their tails and people spontaneously offer up the “happy dance.” 

When I pop out to the car to get my last bag and return 15 seconds later to the same response, I don’t know whether to value the ability to be truly and delightfully present or check for dementia. 

Just when I think I know something, he reminds me that not everything is as it seems. 

Like when he quizzes me on the nature of reality with questions like “what is real?” and “who am I really?”  I just never know what “game” he will come up with next.  

One thing I know for sure, I have a lot to learn from that wise being I thought was a dog.  

Peace be with you and with all.  No exceptions. 

HeartWarming

 News

Most agree pets are therapeutic. But a robotic seal? In Japan, Paro has been offering companionship to nursing home patients since 2005. The seniors love this furry animatronic seal! Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology found interactions with Paro improved mental sharpness in Alzheimer’s and dementia patients. Best results were from those reporting Paro enjoyment. Seems that furry robot boosts moods and increases resistant to stress. Robot seal love – my new favorite thing.