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By Carol, on July 22nd, 2011
Being centered means having a reference point, a place to come back to when life and emotions and stress push you off balance. Think about those wobbly toys that kids play with; you knock them down and they bounce right back. They have the kind of balance that we wobbly humans often wish we possessed! They have such a strong sense of what their ”center” is, that they effortlessly go right back to it, no matter how many times or which direction you push them.
Being ‘centered’ is that kind of dynamic balance point. It doesn’t mean we are always there, it means we always know where to go back to. Kind of like knowing where your home is. Meditation is one very effective way to get more familiar with your center. Regular meditation teaches you where it is, what it feels like and how to get back there when you get temporarily lost. (more…)
By Carol, on July 13th, 2011
People have asked me how I came up with the Four Steps to Center™ process that I use in many of my guided imagery meditation CDs and mp3s. It evolved out of my understanding of who we really are; not just physical beings, but beings of multiple levels, of heart and mind and spirit as well as body. I try to incorporate this understanding into all aspects of my life and my work, though of course, like everyone else, I frequently forget!
I call my blog and my newsletter “Living in a Body” because I think that’s what we are really here to do; (more…)
By Carol, on July 4th, 2011
I just found a computer program that creates a fancy To Do list for me and I felt an immediate sense of relief. How much stressful mental energy do we use just trying to remember all the myriad details of life? And how relaxing it is to stop keeping track and give it over to someone or something else.
Giving it over is a powerful concept; acknowledging that we can’t and don’t have to do it all, that something else is there to the burden off of our shoulders. Any process of connecting to our higher self, to spirit, God, a higher power - whether in meditation, contemplation, prayer, dance, chanting, Yoga, or your favorite mode is a way of giving over, and letting go of the illusion that we are in this alone and have to do everything ourselves. (more…)
By Carol, on June 8th, 2011
Often clients have told me that they can’t do guided imagery because they “can’t visualize.” I find it ironic, because the truth is, we are all absolutely expert at what I call ‘negative imagery.’ Sending our bodies messages that they obediently respond to; “I’m clumsy, I’m fat (and I’ll always be fat!), I have a bad back, a sensitive stomach, that medicine will make me nauseous, I’ll never heal…” the litany of negative thoughts and negative imagery goes on all day.
So what if we could harness this ability we all seem to have and creatively use it for health and healing? What if the messages were positive and health-promoting, instead of critical and judgmental? What if we were actually kind to ourselves? (more…)
By Carol, on June 6th, 2011
I’ve had some great responses to my new guided imagery meditation CD and mp3 Releasing Stress, Finding Peace. But as this recent email expresses, trying to find the time to implement stress relief techniques can be stressful itself, so I wanted to share with you some quick stress releasing ideas.
“I wanted to thank you for your “Releasing Stress” CD. I tried several relaxation products in the past, but none worked like yours. My life seems sometimes frantic, and the times I most need to relax, are the times I can least afford to spend a lot of time doing so. Your CD helps me feel relaxed and de-stressed so quickly that I don’t spend my relaxing time worrying about all the time I am wasting doing it! Carri H. Kingston, NY
It really doesn’t take long to shift your energy and calm your nervous system and access a sense of relaxation and peacefulness. Here are a few of my favorite, very quick stress releasing tricks. (more…)
By Carol, on May 31st, 2011
The question I hear most frequently is “how do I find time to meditate? I’m stressed enough already, trying to find time to meditate is even more stressful!” Life seems busier, more rushed, more full of stuff to do every year. So how do we find extra time to do the things that will, theoretically, make us feel calmer, more relaxed, more centered?
It used to be with guided imagery meditation, the longer the better. Now, in the age of tweeting, texting and shortening attention spans people want something short and sweet. And actually, I think that’s just fine… (more…)
By Carol, on May 25th, 2011
The CDs of my new guided imagery meditation Releasing Stress, Finding Peace just arrived! I am so thrilled to have this concrete product of months of work finally in my hands. It has been a vision of mine for a long time to create a guided imagery meditation on letting go of stress, and finding that elusive connection with the deep place of peace that dwells within us.
I think it is my favorite piece of work – and working with the very gifted composer Dennis Yerry of the Hawk Project (who turns out to live right down the road from me!) brought it all together.
So I am shamelessly saying “if you know anyone who is stressed, buy them a copy!” The toxic and damaging effects of stress are so detrimental to body, heart, mind and spirit. Take a quarter of an hour to let it go and re-balance your system. It is available on mp3 and CD on my website, and you can listen to a sample right here:
What do we do about stress? We try to manage it, control it, adapt to it and tolerate it. (more…)
By Carol, on May 23rd, 2011
I’ve been trying to write a new page for my website about the sessions I offer by phone or Skype, and I have run up against my eternal question; what do I do???
I’ve always been good at multi-tasking, as a Gemini I think it comes naturally to have a multi-focused perception of the world. In my work, it helps me incorporate lots of different techniques and approaches to health and healing. But when it comes to describing what I actually do, it’s never a simple answer, more like a lengthy list!
Energy is so fascinating – it’s complex and multi-dimensional flows in the body, the intricate connections between thoughts and emotions, body and spirit. (more…)
By Carol, on May 11th, 2011
I haven’t written for a while, I’ve been helping my mother prepare for and recover from triple bypass surgery. Helping people prepare for surgery, using guided imagery and energy work or my CDs Transforming Surgery and Transforming Cancer Surgery has been one of my sidelines for many years, but this was a little too close to home.
What did I learn from the experience? I learned the sweetness of sitting by her bed all night in the Intensive Care unit and holding her hand, tapping on her when she was scared and disoriented, holding an energetic space of love and safety around the person who did that for me when I was young. That the human body, even at her age, is still capable of miraculous healing. And that our hearts are so much bigger and stronger and more resilient than we think.
(more…)
By Carol, on January 30th, 2011
Health and healing are like life – filled with mystery and complexity and change. It makes the whole question of analyzing symptoms, getting diagnoses, of fixing and curing things quite complicated.
Richard Bach wrote, in his remarkable book Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah “Every problem has a gift for you in its hands” and I add to that, and every illness and symptom has a lesson. So when we look at our health, what do we see? A bunch of random symptoms and complaints, sent by a random and perhaps not very kind Universe to bug us and make our lives more difficult? Or perhaps a quirky constellation of opportunities to learn and grow and transform. (more…)
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