It has been said that pain is the great equalizer as it brings us all to our knees. I agree with this to a point. Pain does not recognize artificial or social inequalities, whether they be in the realm of financial, fame, and everything in between. Pain is a human condition and provides an opportunity to open our hearts and minds. It can be an opportunity for healing. When this occurs, we can then open our hearts more to others as we recognize the heart-aches they may be going through as they challenge themselves with their own lessons. This does not mean I have to charge in and attempt to fix their life for them, but it does offer me a chance to allow compassion to fill me and spill out to them through words of encouragement and acts of kindness.
The words become an acknowledgment of their life choices of lessons. This has been brought home to me over the years as family members have died. The gift the older generation offered me was the gift of compassion. The simple acknowledgement of how I was feeling and the heart ache I was experiencing was the most perfect balm to be offered and I readily accepted all. Their gift of compassion was born out of their own life experiences and they had learned the value and respect of love. It is love that heals our heart and mind, and we know this when we have had own hearts touched with pain and healed with love.
Time has to be factored in here to. I speak from my own experience of having to allow time to adjust to the rents in the fabric of my emotional life after the deaths of family members. As my mind grappled with the initial emotional shock, and then the smaller after shocks, until eventually the heart and mind found equalibrium. Love is the equalizer and the healing.
When the mind and heart are in unity then love is the equalizer because we recognize ourself in others as loving beings. This is our humanity. This does not mean that life events that impact each and every one of us suddenly stop happening. Far from it! Life in all it vagaries and vicissitudes continues. The defining element is in how we chose to deal with them. How are we engaged in the art of living? This is a perfect question to ask ourselves. And so begins my morning.
Monday, January 28, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Hillary vs Obama. Optimism and Hope.
I am thinking about the NH primary and the results. I am happy. The shift for me was to see Hillary truly connecting on all levels, physically being present, mentally and emotionally showing her depth. To do this shows the strength and courage within her. It was her moment in truth. I have listened avidly to the candidates and have concluded that Hillary will get my vote because she is optimistic and hopeful. Obama is hopeful; both are full of passion.
Let me explain my thinking here. Optimism is backed up with data and in this case it is labeled experience; and given where this country is at the moment and what the incoming president is inheriting, there is going to have to be a lot of experience backing up the optimism to make a difference. Obama is certainly electrifying and inspiring in his message of hope and he and Hillary are both galvanizing the voting population like few before them. I have no doubts that Obama could make a fine president but (yes, there is a But) my reservation is that he will have a slow start because of inexperience and I feel this country cannot afford to wait.
The passion for this fine country has to run deep and be the internal compass for change. Passion with experience gets my vote. I am so over the talking heads pontificating and projecting. It has become like white noise to me, and perhaps to others as well.
Let me explain my thinking here. Optimism is backed up with data and in this case it is labeled experience; and given where this country is at the moment and what the incoming president is inheriting, there is going to have to be a lot of experience backing up the optimism to make a difference. Obama is certainly electrifying and inspiring in his message of hope and he and Hillary are both galvanizing the voting population like few before them. I have no doubts that Obama could make a fine president but (yes, there is a But) my reservation is that he will have a slow start because of inexperience and I feel this country cannot afford to wait.
The passion for this fine country has to run deep and be the internal compass for change. Passion with experience gets my vote. I am so over the talking heads pontificating and projecting. It has become like white noise to me, and perhaps to others as well.
Monday, December 31, 2007
Carpe Diem!
GATHER ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old time is still a-flying
These are the opening lines from a poem by Robert Herrick. I read them and I think Carpe Diem! It brings home to me that all we have is time and that time is this precise moment of my existence. Time is then tied into memory as we measure one experience with another. These are our pearls...experience and movement.
What of the movement of my mind? My mind is energy and energy is movement. Therefore I have to think to move my mind. I have to want to use it, stretch it, to be movement and change. How I think determines how I live and perceive life…my reality. My choice is to be conscious or not. The gathering of rosebuds for me is the gathering of information to learn the truth of me. To move from the static information to dynamic knowledge can only be so when it is lived; put into action and become a part of my experience and memory. Spiritual Philosophy offers these tools.
I look back over this year and see the moments where I have lived in a lazy mind and then see clearly when I moved my mind and the difference is as night and day. Overall though, with all the ups and downs that make up life, 2007 has been a good year of learning for me and I feel the change in my energy as my mind shifts. This shifting and learning has opened to deeper levels of knowledge and with this comes a greater sense of excitement about life...about creating.
As I let go of one physical marker of “time” (2007) and move into another calendar year I think Carpe Diem! To seize the day and live with my mind open, questing, sensing and connected to my heart. When I close my eyes at night I want to know that I lived to my potential and left the day better than when I greeted it. I wish the same and more for all..
Old time is still a-flying
These are the opening lines from a poem by Robert Herrick. I read them and I think Carpe Diem! It brings home to me that all we have is time and that time is this precise moment of my existence. Time is then tied into memory as we measure one experience with another. These are our pearls...experience and movement.
What of the movement of my mind? My mind is energy and energy is movement. Therefore I have to think to move my mind. I have to want to use it, stretch it, to be movement and change. How I think determines how I live and perceive life…my reality. My choice is to be conscious or not. The gathering of rosebuds for me is the gathering of information to learn the truth of me. To move from the static information to dynamic knowledge can only be so when it is lived; put into action and become a part of my experience and memory. Spiritual Philosophy offers these tools.
I look back over this year and see the moments where I have lived in a lazy mind and then see clearly when I moved my mind and the difference is as night and day. Overall though, with all the ups and downs that make up life, 2007 has been a good year of learning for me and I feel the change in my energy as my mind shifts. This shifting and learning has opened to deeper levels of knowledge and with this comes a greater sense of excitement about life...about creating.
As I let go of one physical marker of “time” (2007) and move into another calendar year I think Carpe Diem! To seize the day and live with my mind open, questing, sensing and connected to my heart. When I close my eyes at night I want to know that I lived to my potential and left the day better than when I greeted it. I wish the same and more for all..
Monday, December 10, 2007
plasticity of mind...a few thougths this morning
I have been thinking about the plasticity of my brain and about learning. I have always enjoyed learning new things and I have a broad array of interests, at least I think I have, but does this mean I have a growing mind? Have I truly been learning and growing new neuronal pathways? Or, have I just been remaining in my comfort zone and repeating things “known” to me and living out various scenarios of Groundhog Day? This thought is enough to make me shudder! In speaking with a friend the other day I was mentioning that if I viewed each day as a new lifetime, with sleep being a mini death, then I have to ask myself: am I learning and stretching myself or am I just repeating the day/life before? I think of doing a crossword puzzle and have “used my mind” but was I really using my mind or was I just doing what I already knew to do? This thought brought me up short. I know how to read and write but am I really thinking? In doing the crossword puzzle I really am remembering and going over learned familiar neural pathways. This is solely intellectual puttering around. What of the emotional and sensory component to me?
In thinking about the plasticity of the mind and I realize that it works with either a positive or negative input from what we are thinking. The mind will not change its perspective unless it is offered another way to view something. In offering a different view the mind can stretch to learn new ways of thinking, and creates new pathways and reality can change. This is the flexibility of the mind, and this is the very component required for agile, creative thinking and how the opening of the mind occurs. Conversely, the opposite is also true. To go over the same pathway is to create a strong connection and after a while it becomes a rut that is a challenge to go beyond, to get out of. This is an inflexible mind, content to remain inside its intellectual “comfort” zone and live out stasis. It is a closed mind and it has no loving emotional component to soften and stretch. This is when I have to ask myself if I am really learning or am I staying in my comfort zone of what I have already intellectually learned? This means to me that I am trying to control my self and my environment (others) and there is no freedom or openness in this scenario. This is trying to remain within the line or pathways already established through a limiting thought pattern and fearful emotions.
This question then leads me to ask about memory. What memories stand out for me and why? I think back through my memories, which is a bit like “defraging” my mind, to sort my memories into groupings of experiences; the most potent memories are the ones that have a strong emotional attachment to them. I feel it is because of this strong emotional addition that the memory is enhanced. Just in writing these few words I am seeing immediately that the sensory response is interwoven and part of the whole. This is defining consciousness as the mind, loving emotions and senses all working in unity with awareness and understanding.
In asking questions of self, exploring the answers and locating and defining patterns of thinking, behaviours, language then I can change. Once my mind has been presented with new information and I have made a relationship, then my awareness level has shifted and I cannot go back to being unaware. I can make a choice to change or not….either way, I have made a choice. This is how I can stretch my mind, by building on what is “known” and “learned” through opening to the loving emotions and senses. The warmth of the loving emotions adds to the plasticity of my mind. The words “choice” and “change” take on new meaning for me this morning.
In thinking about the plasticity of the mind and I realize that it works with either a positive or negative input from what we are thinking. The mind will not change its perspective unless it is offered another way to view something. In offering a different view the mind can stretch to learn new ways of thinking, and creates new pathways and reality can change. This is the flexibility of the mind, and this is the very component required for agile, creative thinking and how the opening of the mind occurs. Conversely, the opposite is also true. To go over the same pathway is to create a strong connection and after a while it becomes a rut that is a challenge to go beyond, to get out of. This is an inflexible mind, content to remain inside its intellectual “comfort” zone and live out stasis. It is a closed mind and it has no loving emotional component to soften and stretch. This is when I have to ask myself if I am really learning or am I staying in my comfort zone of what I have already intellectually learned? This means to me that I am trying to control my self and my environment (others) and there is no freedom or openness in this scenario. This is trying to remain within the line or pathways already established through a limiting thought pattern and fearful emotions.
This question then leads me to ask about memory. What memories stand out for me and why? I think back through my memories, which is a bit like “defraging” my mind, to sort my memories into groupings of experiences; the most potent memories are the ones that have a strong emotional attachment to them. I feel it is because of this strong emotional addition that the memory is enhanced. Just in writing these few words I am seeing immediately that the sensory response is interwoven and part of the whole. This is defining consciousness as the mind, loving emotions and senses all working in unity with awareness and understanding.
In asking questions of self, exploring the answers and locating and defining patterns of thinking, behaviours, language then I can change. Once my mind has been presented with new information and I have made a relationship, then my awareness level has shifted and I cannot go back to being unaware. I can make a choice to change or not….either way, I have made a choice. This is how I can stretch my mind, by building on what is “known” and “learned” through opening to the loving emotions and senses. The warmth of the loving emotions adds to the plasticity of my mind. The words “choice” and “change” take on new meaning for me this morning.
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
a snapshot from Carl Jung
I came across this quote from Carl Jung “the function of religion is to protect us from the experience of God.” It makes sense to me as how can we express the good within us when we continue to hang onto the belief in an external God/saviour, belief in judgement, unworthiness, and other negative thoughts and behaviours? When these thoughts are lurking in the neurons of our mind we cannot access the first level of the 33 ethical values. Wisdom can only come from living the ethical values as our personal experience of living.
Saturday, October 20, 2007
A Healing Vision continues to heal
I have been thinking about my older brother of late and the role he has played in my life. I grew up between two brothers with 3.5 years between us all. The closeness in age and family dynamics added to the sense of unity and loving support. I have been blessed with this tight knit family (and extended family) to begin my life. I had this wonderful sense of security of love that a family provides. On page 119 of Sharing: Self Discover in relationships, by Kathy Oddenino, I came across these two quotes:
“Know that you have chosen to live this life together, to learn and grow together, and that the lesson, the ultimate lesson of creation is unconditional love.”
and
“Your immediate family is there to be your safety net, because on a soul and spirit basis you have been around with them thousands and thousands of times before.”
This sense of familiarity and safety was indeed felt by me.
My immediate family is all physically gone and I continue to learn and expand my internal sense of comfort with their passing from my present life. I am remembering the strength and courage displayed by my mother as we discussed my older brother’s absence. Was he alive or was he dead? This was always the question. He had sailed off in his boat many years before and we had not been able to trace him. After 9 years of silence, of not being able to find him, together we agreed to do a legal death on him. I remember the day vividly.
Mum had not been feeling well and we had been going over her Will. I had asked her if she would consider changing the way she had written it, because as it stood, I would not be able to bring her estate to closure until my brother was located. I left it up to her on how she wanted to do it. Nothing was really going smoothly. I recall how angry I had felt. Everything felt stuck.
I went to the beach and on the way I had a vivid image/vision of 3 pieces of wood fixed firmly in a triangle, so that the entire piece moved as one. I was so angry at my brother that I mentally brushed it aside. I walked along the beach and gave full reign to my anger. I was angry at my brother’s silence…of his not communicating with the family. There was no ranker or dissension. So, to my mind, there was no reason to just ‘disappear’ from the family. I had walked…well, more like stormed along about a 100 meters when I I had the thought that on a soul and spirit level, the family offers unconditional love. This thought stopped me in mid step and so I asked what his gift to me was. I was startled and overcome with the overwhelming rush of softening response within me. Immediately I saw how he has helped me in learning another view of unconditional love by realizing I had no control over his soul’s agenda…anymore than he had over my life and how I wished to live it. I saw in that split second how I was reflecting my sense of rejection and abandonment of my internal dual soul and spirit externally. My brother had become my lighten rod for my own internal discomfort. I also saw that with him being away from the family, Mum and I became a lot closer and it opened up an avenue for metaphysical discussions that may not have otherwise been available. In his removal from the family unit, my sense of competition and jealousy (unconscious) was put aside enough for me to see that my mother loved all of us equally.
There were so many levels of love and images that I write only a few here. Suffice to say, it was a powerful moment for me, and continued to be.
On my return from the beach I felt an expanding softening within me and warmth around my heart and once again the image appeared in vivid form. It was the same 3 pieces of wood, with the difference being that instead of being a fixed structure, they were joined by string. Showing me that the three of us were eternally connected and free to move independently of each other. When I got back to the house, I could feel the large ‘space’ open between the three of us. My releasing of the anger and resentment towards him (towards myself), had freed us all. The solicitor was called and a date and time fixed to makes changes to mother’s Will. The details flowed and changes were made without fuss and bother. I felt a tremendous surge of compassion for all of us in this shared experience.
In my mother, I saw and felt her incredible inner strength and courage as she signed the document declaring her eldest son dead. She had lived the death of two sons and a husband. She lived the power of love. “Releasing judgement creates the positive energy of love that will heal your mind and body”. Page 119, Sharing: Self Discovery in relationships. By Kathy Oddenino. What a gift this knowledge is to me!
“Know that you have chosen to live this life together, to learn and grow together, and that the lesson, the ultimate lesson of creation is unconditional love.”
and
“Your immediate family is there to be your safety net, because on a soul and spirit basis you have been around with them thousands and thousands of times before.”
This sense of familiarity and safety was indeed felt by me.
My immediate family is all physically gone and I continue to learn and expand my internal sense of comfort with their passing from my present life. I am remembering the strength and courage displayed by my mother as we discussed my older brother’s absence. Was he alive or was he dead? This was always the question. He had sailed off in his boat many years before and we had not been able to trace him. After 9 years of silence, of not being able to find him, together we agreed to do a legal death on him. I remember the day vividly.
Mum had not been feeling well and we had been going over her Will. I had asked her if she would consider changing the way she had written it, because as it stood, I would not be able to bring her estate to closure until my brother was located. I left it up to her on how she wanted to do it. Nothing was really going smoothly. I recall how angry I had felt. Everything felt stuck.
I went to the beach and on the way I had a vivid image/vision of 3 pieces of wood fixed firmly in a triangle, so that the entire piece moved as one. I was so angry at my brother that I mentally brushed it aside. I walked along the beach and gave full reign to my anger. I was angry at my brother’s silence…of his not communicating with the family. There was no ranker or dissension. So, to my mind, there was no reason to just ‘disappear’ from the family. I had walked…well, more like stormed along about a 100 meters when I I had the thought that on a soul and spirit level, the family offers unconditional love. This thought stopped me in mid step and so I asked what his gift to me was. I was startled and overcome with the overwhelming rush of softening response within me. Immediately I saw how he has helped me in learning another view of unconditional love by realizing I had no control over his soul’s agenda…anymore than he had over my life and how I wished to live it. I saw in that split second how I was reflecting my sense of rejection and abandonment of my internal dual soul and spirit externally. My brother had become my lighten rod for my own internal discomfort. I also saw that with him being away from the family, Mum and I became a lot closer and it opened up an avenue for metaphysical discussions that may not have otherwise been available. In his removal from the family unit, my sense of competition and jealousy (unconscious) was put aside enough for me to see that my mother loved all of us equally.
There were so many levels of love and images that I write only a few here. Suffice to say, it was a powerful moment for me, and continued to be.
On my return from the beach I felt an expanding softening within me and warmth around my heart and once again the image appeared in vivid form. It was the same 3 pieces of wood, with the difference being that instead of being a fixed structure, they were joined by string. Showing me that the three of us were eternally connected and free to move independently of each other. When I got back to the house, I could feel the large ‘space’ open between the three of us. My releasing of the anger and resentment towards him (towards myself), had freed us all. The solicitor was called and a date and time fixed to makes changes to mother’s Will. The details flowed and changes were made without fuss and bother. I felt a tremendous surge of compassion for all of us in this shared experience.
In my mother, I saw and felt her incredible inner strength and courage as she signed the document declaring her eldest son dead. She had lived the death of two sons and a husband. She lived the power of love. “Releasing judgement creates the positive energy of love that will heal your mind and body”. Page 119, Sharing: Self Discovery in relationships. By Kathy Oddenino. What a gift this knowledge is to me!
Monday, October 8, 2007
Healing neuropathy with Neural depolarization, nutrition, spiritual philosophy
A brief background:
In 1975 I was a fit and healthy person when I left my native land of New Zealand and was hitchhiking through Europe. After about eighteen months of this I was on my way to Africa. I had to have vaccinations in order to take up a teaching position in Rhodesia (now known as Zimbabwe). One of the vaccination serums used was contaminated and I ended up with a virus that chewed away at the myelin sheath in my legs and arms and my right kidney was also affected. My weight dropped off me, my gait became unsteady and my balance gone once I closed my eyes and lost my visual markers. The muscles in my legs began to atrophy and I was conscious that the nerves were also being affected because the chemical messages sent by my mind to move were not completing the circuit and I could feel the sensory responses short circuiting. It was not a pretty sight nor comfortable to be in my skin. My tremors made eating interesting! The medical opinion at the time was that I had a couple of years before I would require a wheel chair so they offered me a bunch of cortisone pills in the hopes it “knocked out” the virus. I had many diagnoses and not liking any of them I “settled” for Peripheral Neuritis as it sounded less ominous than others.
Fast forward 25 years. I am healthy and have no atrophy. My nervous system is in fine working order. How did this happen? In the intervening years I have used exercise, visualization, Acupuncture, Physical Therapy, Rolfing, “energy” work such as Reiki and Healing Touch, massage and varying methods of body work, and nutrition (organic and from the earth and nature) as my method of healing my physical body. Our family motto of “Think yourself well and you will be” played a large part in my recovery. When I met up with Kathy Oddenino I still had nerve damage, a little pain and atrophy was noticeable. I credit her with my full recovery as she gently coxed my nerves to awaken using Neural Depolarization™ (NDP™) therapy. No other therapy I experienced came anywhere close to my experience with NDP™. I recall my excitement when I could walk on the beach and actually feel the sand under my feet! And actually fit shoes correctly because I could feel the shoe and not just guess and hope for the best.
It was a full package deal. Thoughts, Air, Food Water were all examined. One thing that was consistent in my approach was that the foods be organically grown and the water be clean (non fluorinated or chlorinated) and with minerals from the Earth, so I was conscious of quality and quantity. This physical side of my healing was enhanced and expanded with the beautiful spiritual energy pouring into my nervous system from the NDP™ work and with the Spiritual Counseling I was able to stretch and engage my mind to understand my dual soul lessons from the neuropathy. The nutrition supported the energy work and opening my mind completed the circuit to full healing.
The first few sessions of NDP™ were most uncomfortable as my “frozen” nerves came “back to life” and if you can try to imagine very cold hands or feet placed in hot water and discomfort of feeling the nerves return to life, this was the sensation I experienced. I was actually excited about this as it meant the nerves were alive and responding. My entire body began to feel very different and over the years
I continue to have this work done as it helps keep the nerves healthy and therefore all of me. Within a few sessions my neuropathy was noticeably changed. So here I am now fit and healthy and settled in Chatham County. I attribute the quality (quantity yet to be determined!) of my life to learning to “Know Thyself” through Spiritual Philosophy as the science of life, taught by Kathy Oddenino, (www.kathyoddenino.com) and for the healing energy of Neural Depolarization™. I continue to study with Kathy and live and share this knowledge through my own experience and my practice.
Raewyn Cooper, MS, CSPP, CNDP
www.healthischoice.com
In 1975 I was a fit and healthy person when I left my native land of New Zealand and was hitchhiking through Europe. After about eighteen months of this I was on my way to Africa. I had to have vaccinations in order to take up a teaching position in Rhodesia (now known as Zimbabwe). One of the vaccination serums used was contaminated and I ended up with a virus that chewed away at the myelin sheath in my legs and arms and my right kidney was also affected. My weight dropped off me, my gait became unsteady and my balance gone once I closed my eyes and lost my visual markers. The muscles in my legs began to atrophy and I was conscious that the nerves were also being affected because the chemical messages sent by my mind to move were not completing the circuit and I could feel the sensory responses short circuiting. It was not a pretty sight nor comfortable to be in my skin. My tremors made eating interesting! The medical opinion at the time was that I had a couple of years before I would require a wheel chair so they offered me a bunch of cortisone pills in the hopes it “knocked out” the virus. I had many diagnoses and not liking any of them I “settled” for Peripheral Neuritis as it sounded less ominous than others.
Fast forward 25 years. I am healthy and have no atrophy. My nervous system is in fine working order. How did this happen? In the intervening years I have used exercise, visualization, Acupuncture, Physical Therapy, Rolfing, “energy” work such as Reiki and Healing Touch, massage and varying methods of body work, and nutrition (organic and from the earth and nature) as my method of healing my physical body. Our family motto of “Think yourself well and you will be” played a large part in my recovery. When I met up with Kathy Oddenino I still had nerve damage, a little pain and atrophy was noticeable. I credit her with my full recovery as she gently coxed my nerves to awaken using Neural Depolarization™ (NDP™) therapy. No other therapy I experienced came anywhere close to my experience with NDP™. I recall my excitement when I could walk on the beach and actually feel the sand under my feet! And actually fit shoes correctly because I could feel the shoe and not just guess and hope for the best.
It was a full package deal. Thoughts, Air, Food Water were all examined. One thing that was consistent in my approach was that the foods be organically grown and the water be clean (non fluorinated or chlorinated) and with minerals from the Earth, so I was conscious of quality and quantity. This physical side of my healing was enhanced and expanded with the beautiful spiritual energy pouring into my nervous system from the NDP™ work and with the Spiritual Counseling I was able to stretch and engage my mind to understand my dual soul lessons from the neuropathy. The nutrition supported the energy work and opening my mind completed the circuit to full healing.
The first few sessions of NDP™ were most uncomfortable as my “frozen” nerves came “back to life” and if you can try to imagine very cold hands or feet placed in hot water and discomfort of feeling the nerves return to life, this was the sensation I experienced. I was actually excited about this as it meant the nerves were alive and responding. My entire body began to feel very different and over the years
I continue to have this work done as it helps keep the nerves healthy and therefore all of me. Within a few sessions my neuropathy was noticeably changed. So here I am now fit and healthy and settled in Chatham County. I attribute the quality (quantity yet to be determined!) of my life to learning to “Know Thyself” through Spiritual Philosophy as the science of life, taught by Kathy Oddenino, (www.kathyoddenino.com) and for the healing energy of Neural Depolarization™. I continue to study with Kathy and live and share this knowledge through my own experience and my practice.
Raewyn Cooper, MS, CSPP, CNDP
www.healthischoice.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
