Matters of the Heart

Are you connected to the light within yourself? Here's a simple test to see how well you fared in opening your heart in 2007: Am I happier and more connected with myself? Did I practice opening my heart to others? (Or did I hide behind my fears or belief systems?) Have I discovered the greater meaning in challenges? (Did I acknowledge the lesson or did I see myself as the "victim"?) Did I make room for caring and kindness? Have I found more ways to be a peacemaker? Have I forgiven myself and others? (Am I carrying a wound that hasn't healed? Guilt? Regret?) Am I ready to reach deeper and soar higher? Be honest when you ask yourself these questions. Choose one of the questions above and remain focused on it for at least a week. Make it your intention by giving it your full attention. Learn to forgive, heal, and move on. Be the light you are! Points from Dr. Roger Teel

Your Chakras

The amount of universal light that we are being bombarded with over the past few months has been phenomenal. In fact, we will be hit the hardest in the month of December. While this energy blast is beneficial because it helps us to shift our consciousness, it can be sometimes overwhelming. For many, we may unconsciously shut down our chakras in order to filter the amount of energy that we receive. So, if you are one of those individuals who unconsciously shuts down their chakras, you may want to have a talk with ego or plan to consciously open your chakras on a daily basis. If you have been feeling stuck lately, you are most likely filtering the amount of energy you are receiving. An easy way to see if your chakras are open is to take a pendulum and dowse each chakra individually. If it is closed, you will see the pendulum swing back and forth in a straight line. If it is open, it will swing in a circle. Anything in between is the degree to which it is partially open.

Discipline

Over the years we are told we should exercise, meditate, regulate our food intake, read more, watch less television, or whatever the situation. We try to discipline ourselves with often little success. Think about all of those New Year's Resolutions that lasted about 2 days. So you think you need more discipline. Wrong! What you may need is to have a talk with your ego, the saboteur in your house. The ego represents the sum total of all of your experiences in life, especially those unhealed parts from previous lifetimes. (Remember that lifetime when you were killed at the stake for speaking your truth?) Your ego may not want you to succeed, nor may it want you to step up to the plate. It doesn't want to lose control and take a back seat to your higher self! If you become fit and trim, and suddenly get attention from the opposite sex, now you would have to deal with all those emotional issues that you had in the first place that may have put the weight! Or perhaps it's meditating that you want to do. Who do you think makes all that noise- the mental spam- so it is impossible for you to meditate? Work on dealing with the ego and its fear of being threatened, and you will be able to accomplish whatever you put your mind to!

Keys to Coping with "Family Heartburn" During the Holidays

1) Stuff the Turkey NOT Your Feelings Unloading any emotional charge you may have about seeing relatives is essential to coming to the holiday table more able to weather the day. The best gift you can give yourself ANYTIME is to be heard and understood for your fears, worries, and frustrations. Rarely does anyone in our family system have the skills and emotional objectivity to do this for us without strings attached. Hence-choose a better strategy! Secondly, explore the practice of self-empathy. Being skilled at handling our own emotional intensity is one of the most important life skills we can master to maintain our sanity. Whether you do the self-empathy process or share your concerns with a trusted friend, therapist or support group, the end goal is to feel more open, clear and empowered to better handle family dynamics. 2) Plan Your Sanity List and Check it twice! We plan our Holiday shopping list, why not our sanity list! What I mean by this, is twofold. Take out a sheet of paper and on one side write my daily sanity routine. And on the other side write Sanity Saving Activities for the whole Family! Side One: Write down exactly what you need to do to support yourself in maintaining your inner balance when you're with family. What do you normally do an a daily basis to stay on track? A physical activity such as jogging, walking, or stretching is a good way to work off nervous energy and give yourself a break from family interactions. Other possibilities might include journaling, taking a long shower or bath, or having some form of reflective quiet time to stay centered. Sanity Saving Thoughts: In the workshop you will plan sanity saving thoughts- when family members have a way of pushing your buttons, its good to be prepared with an inner dialogue that can help you keep your cool and save a good fork from flying across the table. The key is to remember you have choice in how you respond. Imagine your responses ahead of time and you'll save yourself stress and frustration. Side two: Sanity Saving Activities for the Whole Family! Plan activities for both children and adults that will keep people engaged in playful fun and physical activity. Have a competition of some sort-in board games, golf, volleyball, croquet, whatever might be a good fit for your family. By choosing how you will spend your time you will be more successful in avoiding or diffusing the dynamics that create "family heartburn". 3)Know your limits-Preplan your exit strategy-Remember you can choose how much time you spend with your relatives. If you know you only have a couple hours before your stomach turns in to knots, create an exit plan to take care of yourself. Excuse yourself for a walk, or plan another activity that you must leave the house for. 4) Have Realistic Expectations. Sometimes when we return to our family, our eternal inner child expects everyone to have grown up into perfect loving parents, aunts, and uncles. Guess again-no doubt they are loving and kind at heart but they may still hold the same strong opinions and make the same critical remarks they did 10 years ago. My favorite reminder for this is to remember ( with compassion) that a dog will always bark-don't get angry at the dog for barking and don't expect the dog to meow, just love the dog for being a dog and put your attention on something else that will be less annoying. Accepting what is, is a life long spiritual practice with very real daily applications, especially with family. 5) Look for the Good Intentions underneath those annoying behaviours and comments. Another way you can unhook yourself from taking things personally is to practice looking for the positive intention underneath every action. For example, Aunt Bettie always shoves endless 2nd helpings at you and you really are trying to watch your weight. Her persistence could be seen as annoying or we could put our positive imagination skill to work and guess that her underlying desire is to be seen as a loving provider who thrives on the satisfaction of showing her love through good cooking and happy tummies. When you focus your attention on her good intentions, it is easier to smile rather than grimace at behaviors that could otherwise send you packing. ~Kristi Doden

Planning Ahead

With 2008 fast approaching, what are you intentions for the year? What do you wish to manifest? Take the time to create your year, don't just react to it. And don't wait until the last minute. Plan ahead. Things to think about:

What do you want to create? Where do you want to be financially, physically, spiritually, emotionally? What classes or knowledge do you want to possess? Where do you see certain relationships going? Places you want to explore? People you want to meet? Experiences you want to have?

Be sure to include steps you may need to take to get you where you want to go. If you want to take a trip, you need to make sure you've got gas in the car, directions, money, etc. Map it all out! Be sure to do a check throughout the year to see how well you are meeting the plan. Don't be afraid to modify the plan as you go! Nothing should be set in stone- flexibility is key to reaching your goals. Don't forget to acknowledge what you created in 2007 even if you didn't put a plan in place!

Happiness

There are two kinds of happiness: happiness that comes from external events and happiness that comes from your own thought process. When your primary source of happiness is external, then you need to attempt to control others and outcomes to feel happy. When you choose thoughts that create happiness, you can be happy anytime! ~Dr. Margaret Paul