The Japanese enjoy the concept of beauty in imperfection and on Day 12 of the energy exploration year, as I made my way downstairs to feed the dog, I noticed a largish butterfly resting on the pool cover.
A closer inspection was made and a series of photos taken and I discovered that this beautiful creature had one of it’s lower wings missing. Not sure if it had not yet unfurled or had been removed by a bird, I decided to leave the butterfly where it was.
Later that morning it had gone – I checked under the pool cover but it wasn’t in the water, so I assume it flew away.
The opportunity to record it’s presence also reminded me of being present in the here and now, to be aware of the little things in life that present themselves to us, to remind us of our own impermanence.
Category Archives: Philosophy
The colour of energy
Moving into Day 4 of my year of exploring energy, I have been drawn to the energies of colour. Green is seen as a “healing” colour. It is the colour of balance, one only has to look at the green colours found in nature and experience the relaxation as you look at the leaves, grass and plants and feel their energy. On the physical level, choosing the colour green may indicate an imbalance which may be caused by disease or surgery. Using the colour green in a visualization will help to strengthen the heart chakra. Ayurvedic medicine suggests drinking emerald powder to help improve the health. Wearing emeralds will also strengthen the heart and heart chakra, (Great idea!) and putting an emerald under the tongue is said to help predict events. On the emotional level, choosing to work with the colour green, may indicate emotional issues such as fear which causes the aura to become stagnant and blocked. The Heart Chakra (Anahata) is connected to the lungs, heart, immune system and the arms and hands. The spiritual path of the Heart Chakra is to show unconditional love, not only to others but to ourselves. This means loving how you look, how you feel about yourself, no matter what your size or shape. Having no judgement about yourself or others regardless of any faults or inconsistencies. An exercise for the Heart Chakra is Uttihita Trikonasana – The stretched Triangle – and as you do this yoga pose, bring the awareness to the Heart Chakra and imagine a soft, clear, green light filling your body as you breathe in and as you exhale, expand the green colour out into your aura.When Life brings you lemons….
….make lemonade!
No point being sour and puckered up about what happened, find a little sweetness to add and hey presto!
A delicious experience!
2011 has been a rollercoaster of a year.
Sudden highs and dramatic drops – heart stopping – literally!
The Tasmanian adventure in January started with some soul searching and a trip to a hypnotherapy colleague to resolve my reaction to a spiritual event.
My Reiki Master, who is also a Free Priest in the Order of Melchizidek, has been suggesting for many years that she ordain me & I was set to go through with the process, but had a sense of dread as the day approached. My stomach lurched when she described the ordination process & I took this as a pretty good “gut reaction” that it wasn’t going to happen.
In the end I delayed the trip by a couple of days and although we did meet, she continues to express her disappointment that I didn’t go through with it.
Interestingly I lost the Larimar stone from my Lives between Lives session whilst in Hobart.
But I did find an Orb!
The time in Tasmania went quickly and returning to Melbourne at the end of January, it was strange, but nice, not starting school.
A new phase of my life was starting. I had already taken on my room and had been down there part time in 2010, so it was familiar. I was continuing with my studies – a Certificate 4 in Business as part of a Diploma in Life Coaching and had clients scheduled.
An earlier post chronicles the event of February 10th, which has seen my life take a different direction. Priorities changed and moving through the “muddle headedness” was a challenge.
Focusing on completing my studies helped enormously and Spirit provided enough clients each month to pay the rent on the room.
Over the year, I have grown to love my space – looking out onto a grassy area with some trees, there are a couple of magpies that come close to the windows and peer in from time to time and the other tenants always have a cheery greeting.
The space has given my time to pursue some dreams and bring some into reality.
A few new friends were very supportive and this contrasted with the lack of emotional support from family, both around the cardiac event and my change in career.
At this stage I’m going pucker up and have a lemon moment!
After having been a “people pleaser” (or doormat as my friend Susan once famously said) for 30 years in my marriage family, the lack of support has been like a massive slap in the face. ( 🙂 remember I have abandonment issues!!) A pointer to their insularity & as the psychologist I was seeing to deal with the post cardiac anxiety said ” Would you be friends with them if you weren’t married?” I don’t think so, however I am grateful for the clarity that has come from their inaction.
More time out in July as the palpitations continued and it was decided to undergo a Cardiac Ablation. This was very confronting and I nearly didn’t go. The Cardiologist remarked after the procedure that he didn’t expect to find anything and was surprised to find a “rogue circuit” that caused my heart to race at an astounding pace. I have been using hypnotherapy to go into a relaxed healing state daily, along with daily EmWave sessions (which have also shown when I have had arrhythmias). Metaphorically, I have decided to look at the ablation as the opportunity to excise old heart hurts, burning out the old. Reflecting on my lemon moment, perhaps the ablation cut deeper than I thought!
Interestingly a number of clients I have seen over the last 6 months have had cardiac events and being non retirees have struggled with lack of support as well. They do say you attract the clients you need for your own development.
A couple of joint ventures with workshops have been an excellent learning experience and I am grateful to the wonderful women with whom I have worked to present them.
More recently, I ran my first homeopathic workshop and realized that I have a wealth of material which I wrote in 2000 and 2002. Homeopathic manuals that are hyperlinked from remedy to symptom and back again. I’m impressed with what I did then!
Time to set it free from the files where they have been store and share with the world! Book release perhaps!
Focussing on the clinical aspect has been good and now it’s time to move in a more spiritual direction, mixing the clinical and spiritual.
So my New Year’s Resolution is….?
Step into integrity, walk the talk and honour who I am and where I have come from.
I am grateful to the teachers I have had along the way and to wake up every morning to new and wonderful opportunities……so my resolution for 2012 is to show gratitude.
Watching the Emotions
The frantic rush of shopping, with tempers flaring over lack of parking spaces and erratic driving as people’s minds are elsewhere.
It seems that nearly every social event is awash with alcohol and this contributes to the scattered feeling.
It’s an emotional time of year at the best of times, with the Summer Solstice and the busyness of winding up school and work projects, Christmas or end of year parties.
The overload of food, laden in fat and sugar places stress on our physical bodies, whilst the overload of social events with the expectation of presents and gaiety overload our emotional bodies. The assault on our senses of tinsel and lights and constant caroling put further strain on sensitive souls.
Family functions are fraught with dangers. Long suppressed slights and perceptions can erupt into nastiness after the throat has been well lubricated with alcohol. To be an interested and disassociated observer at these social functions takes a lot of effort, but can have its own reward in feeling a sense of peace, finding an oasis of calm in the maelström of emotion that swirls about.
So how to go about surviving this time of year?
Choose to simplify – everything.
Presents
If buying presents has become a financial strain – set a price limit, organize a Kris Kringle with the family, suggesting that this way each person gets a quality present, and not something that ends up in that secret gift cupboard or drawer to be recycled to someone else.
Alternatively, announce that you are buying each person a charity donation which will help someone less fortunate.
Cards
E-cards are not the same as the paper ones, but a handy standby for the last minute seasons greetings. There are now online options where you can choose a card which are printed with your message and posted out when your order is completed.
Events
Pick and choose your events. If you are an empath (someone who picks up others emotional states), make a brief appearance and make your apologies as early as possible. Difficult to do with family events, but at these if you can make yourself busy with serving food & clearing the tables, you will be able to extricate yourself from most emotionally laden conversations and observe.
Food
Choose the least rich foods and avoid heavy, fatty food or sugary concoctions which will stress your liver. The festive ham is loaded with nitrates as are most cured meats. Avoid pasta, rice or potato salads if they have sat out for a while as they can cause stomach upsets. The festive puddings, such as Pavlovas, fruit mince tarts and shortbreads are laden with sugar & fats.
Research shows that a diet
high in sugar results in premature aging and for blokes, a high fat diet has a negative effect on your reproductive system.
If the food is served as a buffet, you will have greater control over the food you put on your plate and the portion sizes.
Being summer, there is a greater chance of a range of salads included in the meal, so head for those and enjoy the rewards of not feeling bloated.
If your host insists on serving the meal, ask for a smaller sized portion for health reasons.
Find some time for yourself
Even a 5 or 10 minute walk or meditation will help out.
Avoid the alcohol and/or the Valium to keep your head clear.
Observe
Rather than react, observe the conversations and behaviours.
Being aware of illnesses or conditions that family members have and looking up Louise Hay’s Heal Your Body, allows you to see them in a different perspective.
For instance, the person with constant aches is probably longing for love or to be held or the one with tics or twitches is bound by fear and a feeling of being watched or judged by others. 
The elderly gentleman with prostate problems may have mental fears about his masculinity, sexual pressure or guilt or a belief in aging.
The relative with the knee problems may be experiencing stubborn pride and ego and has an inability to bend and certainly won’t give in. They almost certainly will have a bit of fear with that inflexibility.
Another relative with vertigo may be experiencing scattered thinking or a refusal to look at their lifestyle, whilst the child who constantly sulks in the corner may just be overwhelmed by the anxiety projected bythe adults who are unable to trust the flow and process of life.
Yet another relative with chronic shoulder problems has lost the ability to experience life joyously. They are making life a burden for themselves. The family alcoholic is laden with guilt, inadequacies and self rejection and the overweight members of the family hide their anger at being denied emotional nourishment.
Gratitude
Feel gratitude for something that the event or these people can bring to your life. Feel the grace and peace that comes with regular gratitude moments.
Monday Meditations
Yes, check the calendar, it’s Tuesday! The last 2 Monday evenings have been set aside for meditation and although the group is small, I am getting so much more than I thought possible from it.
I scheduled ten sessions, each with a different topic and designed for both the regular meditator and the beginner.
Week one began with breath work, using different styles of breathing including counting the breath, and alternate nostril breathing. That one can be tricky if you have a cold or hay fever!
Week two was progressive muscle relaxation. We did going up the body from the feet to the head and then down again in a different style. There are as many variations on progressive relaxation as there are teachers, but I based the first on Ian Gawler’s interpretation and the second was what I use in some of my hypnotic inductions.
We had a short discussion whilst waiting to see if more people were to arrive about Chakras meditations, but we may not touch on this until the Mandala and meditation session in late November.
The mind is much clearer and the manual is on the way to being written. So many other books to read and reference from, but it seems that Mindfulness meditation is the path that I am most drawn to. It is a joy to sit a record the exercises, although there are a few “office noises” invariably just as the session is about to finish. It just means that I treat that as a rehearsal and do it again, and find that I relax more as I get into the flow of recording.
Eating for Energy
This requires thought…. too often we just grab something quick and easy without awareness and eat it too quickly and too much.
What do you habitually choose?
Breads and carbohydrate rich foods are easy to get access to and have their place if you are involved in an activity or occupation that requires strenuous muscular effort.
Fresh vegetables and fruits are abundant in Australia and even though the price of bananas has been high due to tropical cyclone & flood damage, a few bananas are a better alternative to processed convenience food laden with artificial chemical additives, trans fats and sugars. It is more than worth the effort to read the labels and choose foods that have fewer ingredients listed on them, for your long-term health.
There are some simple rules to observe when eating for energy:
- Eat when you are hungry. Sounds obvious, but we often eat when we are not, for a variety of reasons. These could be emotional eating, regulated meal times or that we have eaten too much at the last meal.
- Avoid eating at times when you are tired, run down, stressed or ill. Stress causes
the body to divert its attention away from the digestive process, so take a glass of water, a few minutes to meditate or calm down and wait until you are feeling hungry. - Eat slowly and with mindfulness so that you can truly be aware of the flavour and texture of your food and become aware of the life force within it. (assuming you are not eating processed food!)
- Plan your meals to occur at regular times. Include snack times, so that you have something to eat about every 3 hours.
- Eat breakfast – this should be your biggest meal and dinner the lightest, which is completely opposite to what most of us do. Ensure that your last food intake is at least 3 hours before going to bed, so that digestion can begin effectively.
There are several schools of thought about what you should be eating.
You might want to consider the following:
- food miles – how far has your food travelled to get to you?
- food combining – this means not combining carbohydrates with protein or acid fruits. Proteins can be divided into 3 more groups – animal flesh, dairy and nuts/seeds.
- Mono meals – choosing one particular food for a meal and eating nothing else.
- Vegetarian – choosing to forgo eating animal flesh for either ethical reasons or religious reasons.
Eating for energy is not a diet plan, it is a method of making better choices about what food to fuel your body and for the planet. Learn which foods are acid forming and which are alkaline. Alkaline foods are vegetables, salads, fruit (except plums & cranberries), almonds and milk. Acid foods are all animal proteins, cheese, nuts and foods made from cereals. Check for sugar content. Refined sweets & sugars are metabolized quickly by your body and will result in that “sugar crash” and further stress your body, leading to long-term to insulin resistance in susceptible individuals.
There are any number of websites and books that can further educate you on which foods are best for you. Ultimately it is up to you to experiment with what types of foods give you the most health and energy. Sue Dengate’s book Fed Up is useful to discover what additives are in your food. The food combining plan devised by Dr William Hay has helped many people regain health. The Polarity Diet by Dr Randolph Stone is a wonderful way to regain energy and health.
De-Hypnotise yourself
I like to joke with my clients about my habit of choosing black to wear. 
It’s not that I live in Melbourne, where black is a favoured colour at all, but it’s the case of the “pot calling the kettle black!”You see, I’m an expert on stress! Not only do I give presentations on how to identify it and reduce it, but being competitive, I can probably do stress better than most!
So how has stress served me? Apart from giving me a topic to talk about; when I removed a major stressor from my life – working in schools – I experienced a post stress, cardiac event earlier this year. Which of course has given me another topic related to stress to talk about!
Working through the stages of grief that so often accompanies a life changing situation, that Elizabeth Kubler-Ross identified, I went straight into the first stage:
- Denial – it’s not happening to me. So much into denial that I put myself into a hypnotic state and waited for the symptoms to go away, which of course they didn’t.
- Anger – I got angry with everyone; myself, family, the doctors, the nurses….. I was ready to get up off the hospital trolley and go home because NO-ONE was telling me what was happening to me, prior to the angiogram.
- Bargaining – this was a fairly brief stage, more along the lines of how I might re-organize my lifestyle and having to come to terms with asking people to help, which was a new and difficult experience.
- Depression – debatable whether I got to this stage. I did experience anxiety as I was continuing to have symptoms and sought professional help to manage this. Unfortunately the psychologist I saw, considered that my symptoms were more mental than physical and I went back into the “angry” stage, contemplating cancelling a scheduled cardiac procedure, which subsequently showed a physical issue.
- Acceptance – I have now accepted that the events happened and through my own process, have come to the conclusion that I happen to have a condition (insert your own condition here…)that can be treated by…… you guessed it….. Hypnotherapy!
William James put forward the theory that 95% of our mind works at the unconscious or sub-conscious level taking care of biological functions as well as so much more of what we do and think. Like an iceberg, only 5% is on the surface. If this is so, then we can harness this unseen energy to change our focus.
It’s all about mindset.
So if you have just been diagnosed with a health problem, perhaps Type 2 Diabetes or a Cardiovascular issue, are you the person with the disease or do you just have symptoms of the condition?
We k
now that the potential of the human mind has barely been used and if this is so, then it is possible to de-hypnotise yourself from the suggestion that your future will be the same as the next person’s, without taking into account differing lifestyles.
If you are anxious about your health, or have been recently diagnosed with a health condition or experienced a series of cardiac symptoms, then a few sessions of Hypnotherapy combined with some powerful coaching techniques will help. Call to book a half hour complimentary session to discuss how you can use Hypnotherapy to successfully manage your mindset and reduce anxiety.
Club secretaries or organizations may be interested in the one hour presentation on 10 Keys to Managing your Health as this is particularly relevant to the Baby Boomer generation.
Stepping Stones on the Spiritual Road
Well I don’t know why I came here tonight,
I got the feeling that something ain’t right
I got the feeling that something ain’t right
Am I on the right spiritual road or not?
Who knows?
Who cares?
Somewhere along the road, the tradition that I was brought up in lost its relevance.
It may come as a great surprise to some that know me, that at 13 I wanted to emulate a great aunt and don the habit. At 16 I was reading the Golden Bough, encouraged by teacher at school who seemed to understand my search for meaning. At 21 I was debating the finer points of Gospel with the door to door “God Botherers”, inviting them in for lengthy discussions. Having read the King James Bible from cover to cover a couple of times is a definite advantage. Reading the Koran, parts of the Bhagavad Gita and study of the various branches of Buddhism across Asia at University didn’t make for comfortable conversations in the suburban mother’s club or my previous friendship circle.
I’m so scared in case I fall off my chair,
And I’m wondering how I’ll get down the stairs
And I’m wondering how I’ll get down the stairs
Over the years, the roads to organized religion and spirituality diverged. The exploration of spirituality beckoned and the first stepping stone along the road was Reiki. Before I really knew what it was, a colleague at a Catholic school put her hands on my shoulders one afternoon. My blood felt like it had turned to lemonade – tiny, sparkling bubbles of furious energy rising to the top of my head and beyond. It was a defining moment and the next few years were spent in practical applications of Reiki. Apprenticed to an old style teacher, I progressed and grew through the different levels. A long suppressed intuition began to emerge, but not without growing pains. Dreams became more vivid and the messages within them sometimes quite challenging. A more tangible reminder of the pain was falling down the garden stairs and snapping a ligament which stopped me from taking classes with an artist, who had been recommended by my teacher. I found out just recently that he is very involved in a cult called “The Family”. Quite literally stopped from going down that particular path!
Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you.
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you.
So here I am, stuck in the middle. Still looking at organized religion on one side and spirituality on the other.
Yes I’m stuck in the middle with you,
And I’m wondering what it is I should do,
I have friends of many faiths who seem able to accept their religion without question and I yearn for this simplicity. I have faith, I feel it, but it’s not tangible.
It’s so hard to keep this smile from my face,
Losing control, yeah, I’m all over the place,
Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.
Losing control, yeah, I’m all over the place,
Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.
Continuing along the stepping stones, one step at a time. Exploring Christianity further and taking Confirmation lessons. Berated by the local Vicar for having pagan books and idols in my house. He suggests that the books on Buddhism, Islam and Judaism are to go. He is horrified that I have entered pagan temples and have Buddhist and Hindu art on my walls. Intuitively I step away and the next stepping stone is labelled Steiner education. This one resonates with me, but only for a while. How wonderful it is to see the education of the child as a whole person, nurtured and all the creative gifts brought out. Four years of evening classes that stimulates the mind and heals my own inner child. Then one evening, one of the instructors, a young man, tells the class he is a Nazi. My heart freezes.
Trying to make some sense of it all,
But I can see that it makes no sense at all,
Later, another lecture on how civilizations and societies grow to their peak and then fall. I see that there are people clinging just as rigidly to the principles of this education system and in denial about some aspects of modern life. I know it is time to move on, take another step along the road.
Clowns to the left of me, Jokers to the right,
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.
Here I am, stuck in the middle with you.
The next stepping stone awaits.
An interest has grown out of the Steiner studies and I explore the world of Homeopathy.
The search for an individual remedy to match the overall symptoms of the patient is like a giant jigsaw puzzle. The remedies are tested on humans to produce the symptoms of illness. The modern medical profession deride the philosophy and bray about “evidence based research”, forgetting that in Hahnemann’s time they used bloodletting to cure fevers and poisoned their syphilitic patients with Mercury. Hahnemann’s theories about hygiene proved to be correct and are now adopted as sensible practice. Three great friendships formed along this pathway and sadly only one survives. The first friend to go was one I went into practice with. He took his own life with homeopathics and I stopped seeing clients. The second friend died just recently and luckily the friendship with the third is still strong, but there was a moment when I thought it might be me checking out of this life earlier this year.
Well you started out with nothing,
And you’re proud that you’re a self made man,
And your friends, they all come crawlin,
Slap you on the back and say,
Please…. Please…..
And you’re proud that you’re a self made man,
And your friends, they all come crawlin,
Slap you on the back and say,
Please…. Please…..
Moving in and out of formal education forms the next series of stepping stones. Suffice to say that my sojourn in the education system is pretty much over. At least I gave it my best shot!
Having a child that was diagnosed as ADHD puts a whole different perspective into being both a teacher and a parent. My teaching seemed to gravitate towards this group of students who were square pegs in round holes.
Fortunate to assess and work with students and adults labelled with learning difficulties for 18 months gave me a new skill set to take back into school.
At first it felt like I was home.
Teaching was enjoyable, but the staff politics poisonous.
Well I don’t know why I came here tonight,
I got the feeling that something ain’t right,
I’m so scared in case I fall off my chair,
And I’m wondering how I’ll get down the stairs,
I got the feeling that something ain’t right,
I’m so scared in case I fall off my chair,
And I’m wondering how I’ll get down the stairs,
The next stepping stone was a re-exploration of Christianity. I ended up teaching religious education as well as Japanese. Even though the school espoused Christian values, behind the scenes there was very little honesty, love or charity. One of the risks of living in a house perched on the side of a steep hill is lots of stairs. Another trip down the stairs and another ligament, however I ignored this as a sign to change direction and continued on. I was promoted and asked to re-write the curriculum and did so, but the toll on my emotional and physical health as a result of the intense bullying in the department was too much. The day before school was to resume, I resigned and never went back.
Clowns to the left of me,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you,
Jokers to the right, here I am,
Stuck in the middle with you,
Stuck again on the spiritual road, another stepping stone presented itself to make the way forward easier. A friend had started up a Hypnotherapy college, would I be interested in coming along for an introductory course?
Why not? I was in the process of putting myself back together and came to the conclusion that this may just uncover the causes of my dilemma with spirituality and religion. In the meantime, I had been offered a position in an Islamic school, which I declined mostly because of my feminist views about the headscarf. The Hypnotherapy course was over too soon and I discovered that my fellow students also held similar spiritual beliefs. I stayed on and did the Diploma and am finding that the more I work with my own subconscious, the more comfortable I am becoming with my spirituality. Another prod from my Reiki teacher to encourage me to become ordained in her Independent Christian tradition. I nearly did it. Just at the last minute, I bailed out. Couldn’t do it. The faith is there, the belief in something is there, but it’s not strong enough to bind me to that tradition.
A brief stint of eighteen months at a small government primary school gave me a positive experience to finish my teaching career with. Smooth stepping stones to pave the way to a different life. Another stepping stone was training in Past Life Regressions and my own regressions have been a shining light as to why I haven’t embraced organised religion. Yet another stepping stone along this richly paved road has been my Coaching studies. What a plethora of intellect, talent and people open to change! Some amazing people with strong faith in their various religions. I have a touch of envy, as it seems to be so easy for them to accept. Friends with some, observers of others, and the gifts so readily given have helped me to learn so much more about myself on this stage of the journey. I wonder if I can give back equally. I am grateful for all that has been given so generously.
Yes I’m stuck in the middle with you,
Stuck in the middle with you.
Stuck in the middle with you.
Yes, I’m still searching.
Not so stuck, because I know there is faith and it’s within.
Lyrics by Stealers Wheel.
Homeopathic prescribing
If you are working as a therapist you may decide to use some of the homeopathic remedies readily available in the health food stores. This could be for your personal use or to use with a client – it is suggested that you do some research or take a training to help you understand the actions of the remedies you are working with, possible side effects, duration that the remedy will last and key features of the remedies.
If you have decided to use Homeopathic remedies in your practice, once you have identified the likely needs of your client, you need to become what is described as the unprejudiced observer. This can be applied to all therapies, not just Homeopathy.
Is your client presenting with a label? Do they actually want their symptoms removed or is there secondary gain? There are lots of labels in our busy world, some are disease labels; others are behaviour labels. An awareness of the difference between disease and drug symptoms, along with a good drug reference guide, is essential.
What we must do, as an astute homeopathic prescriber, is to observe each person as a whole.
Needless to say, each person has separate needs and experiences. So, what is trauma or difficulty for one person may have little long-term impact on another. It is this difference in reaction or non reaction that makes Homeopathy an effective treatment. A detailed history is taken to search for that remedy that most suits the individual and while one person may get one remedy for a cold, a family member or another person may get something entirely different, based on their symptoms.
There may be times that the therapist or practitioner requires a remedy. It must be stated that it is extraordinarily difficult to treat oneself, family or close friends. Seek professional advice. You are of no use if you give yourself a remedy that causes an aggravation of symptoms. Remedies have been known to bring back old, suppressed symptoms of long forgotten illnesses.
Trauma can be physical or emotional. It can be caused by any of the issues below. It can be held in the body at the cellular level and homeopathically can be seen as generational, giving rise to the theory of Miasm or disposition to a particular set of disease symptoms. Homeopathy seeks to strengthen the body at the cellular level, so with this tool, we have a greater freedom to avoid the patterns of our ancestors.
Some likely needs of the clients you might see are:
- Grief
- Abuse
- Post traumatic stress disorder
As each person’s needs are quite different, so a different remedy will be needed even if there are the same or similar conditions prevailing.
The major Contra-indications to giving a remedy are;
- If the client is already under constitutional Homeopathic treatment. Taking another remedy may interfere with the action of the remedy given by the Client’s primary Homeopathic care provider.
- When the client is known to have great sensitivity to mainstream medications or allergens. (Seek professional advice before giving a remedy – you may prefer to use a flower essence or Rescue Remedy)
- When informed consent has not been given.
For those interested there is a course in Emotional First Aid, outlining some basic grief and trauma remedies run by Balance4Life Programs. Contact us to find out more details.
Balancing the brain
You will probably favour using one side of the brain more than the other, but let’s take a quick look at how each half performs and you can work out which dominance you are. The left side of the brain is logical and linear whilst the right side governs the emotional and esoteric. Right now you have probably worked out which side you use more naturally. Generally, people who are good with maths and science, will use the left side of the brain as it controls logic and analytical processes. Those who are naturally inclined to the arts or music and use emotional responses or feelings to gain insight are said to be “right-brained”.
If we can learn to use both sides more equally, then we can become more balanced. Imagine being logical and scientific yet spiritual and insightful at the same time.
Meditation is one way of balancing the brain, particularly focused meditation. An ideal way to focus is to find an image that causes your perception to shift.
Let your eyes move over the image and find a spot to focus on. If your eyes move, your perception of the image changes and you may start to notice movement. Different areas will dominate. Keep focusing on the centre of the image and then close your eyes and allow the image to fade away.
You may notice an awareness in your head, if it feels like a headache you have concentrated too hard!
Another method of balancing the brain is to walk a labyrinth. The labyrinth walk allows you to cross the midbrain when the tiny hairs or cilia in your inner ear react as you move first left and then right. 
Can’t access a labyrinth?
Then enlarge the picture to the right and make a finger labyrinth and trace around the pathway with your index finger until you reach the centre, pause and return to the exit. You may feel an unusual sensation in the midline of your head if you do this too quickly. It is just the result of your brain being used in a different way from usual.
To gain even more from the exercises above, use alternate nostril breathing to help balance your brain. If you have a cold or blocked sinuses, this exercise is best left until you are able to breathe easily through both nostrils.
Place your hand over your face so that you can block off a nostril with your thumb and the other nostril with your little finger. The palm of your hand will be toward you. Rest your index & middle fingers in the centre of your forehead.
- Close off the left nostril and breathe out through the right
- Keep the left nostril closed and breath in through the right
- Close off the right nostril and breathe out through the left
- Keep the right nostril closed and breath in through the left
- Repeat the process until you get into a comfortable and relaxed routine.
As you finish the exercises become aware of how you feel.
Balanced and grounded.