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Natural Connections Ireland’s FREE Holistic Magazine August-October 2012 www.natural-connections.com Issue 28 The Work of Byron Katie Four questions that can change your life Hello Everyone, How honoured we are to have Byron Katie’s 'The Work' featured in this issue in an article written by Mary Collins Osborne, facilitator of ‘The Work'. Please see our cover page and centre pages. Also, be sure to check out Byron Katie’s website if you wish avail of valuable self-help tools. She has very generously offered her ‘The Work - 4 Questions and Turnaround’ method free to download. This method can be a life-changing tool to relieve suffering. Of course we have lots of other interesting and inspiring articles for you to read and enjoy. We’d also like to thank all our advertisers for their contributions. Blessings PRINT MAGAZINE ADVERTISING RATES Ad Size Ad Dimensions Ad Fee NFSH THE HEALING TRUST www.thehealingtrust.org.uk Certified Healer Training September 2012– June 2013 For full course details please contact Yvonne Fitzgerald at 086 2787213 or email: yvonnefitzgerald@ natural-connections.com CONTENTS The Alchemy of Voice, Stewart Pearce . . . . . . 3 The Key to Nutritional Health, Bernadette Bohan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 6 Full A4 page Width 19.0 cm x Height 27.2 cm 160 Experiencing Joyful Relationships, Eugenie Heraty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ½ Page vertical Width 9.3 cm x Height 27.2 cm 120 The Work of Byron Katie, Mary Collins Osborne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 ½ page horizontal Width 19.0 cm x Height 13.4 cm 120 ¼ page Width 9.3 cm x Height 13.4 cm 95 Discovering the Gift of Mindfulness, Helen McWhite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 1/8 page Width 9.3 cm x Height 6.7 cm 60 The Adventure of a Lifetime, Bernadette McPhillips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 1/16 page Width 9.3 cm x Height 3.2 cm 45 Sacred Sound, Mildred Ryan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 A Tantric Awakening, Mark & Karen Sutton. . . 20 A Time of Change, Aingeal Rose O'Grady . . . . 21 PRINT MAGAZINE AD REQUIREMENTS & FURTHER INFORMATION – Please submit your fully completed ad in JPG or PDF. – Attach a good quality copy of all logos and photographs separately. – Submit a colour AND black & white copy of each advertisement and photograph. – Natural Connections will not be responsible for artwork submitted incorrectly or which is of inferior quality. – Please contact Nicola Sedgwick at [email protected] for ad design. Ad design and re-design rates are 25 per hour. – A minimum of 2,000 copies of Natural Connections are printed and distributed nationwide, and a further minimum of 2,000 are emailed to our databases and others. – For web hosting and web design please go to Contact Us on our website and submit your details to be put in touch with the professionals. WEB MAGAZINE ADVERTISING RATES/DETAILS Go to http://natural-connections.com/advertising Natural Connections magazine has been designed by Nicola Sedgwick [email protected] Front Cover: Photo of Byron Katie by Rick Rusing 2 Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 • www.natural-connections.com Mind Stillness, Catherine Hession . . . . . . . . . 22 Say Thank You, with Massage Nikki Zalewski . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Spirit One Seminars, Mairead Conlon . . . . . . . 24 CONTACT US Tel: Yvonne Fitzgerald on 086 27 87 213 Email: yvonnefitzgerald@natural-connections. com Address: P.O. Box 50, Bray, Co Wicklow Website: www.natural-connections.com Skype: yvonne-fitzgerald Next edition: 1 November 2012 Final submissions: 10 October 2012 ORDER YOUR FREE COPY Phone 086 27 87 213 to have a free copy of Natural Connections delivered to your home or workplace. DISCLAIMER While every care has been taken during the layout and printing, Natural Connections cannot accept responsibility for your advertisements and articles being delayed at print or suffering any form of misprint. Thank you. T he Alchemy of Voice Stewart Pearce The Alchemy of Voice is a temple of Sound Healing, which was inspired into existence during a remarkable encounter I had with the twelve Angels of Atlantis, during the Harmonic Convergence of August 16/17th 1987. Up to this point in life, I’d revered Angels as beings of light that fulfilled God’s creation through works of profound mercy and grace. Little did I know that I would be honored by meeting a communion of light beings, even though since childhood I had been aware of the multidimensional universe, and felt especially close to Archangel Michael. Whenever an awareness of Michael appeared, unusual events would occur, such as powerful synchronistic meetings, or supernatural phenomena. During the weekend of the Harmonic Convergence I was consulting as a clairvoyant in Glastonbury, and feeling the need for recovery went to the Tor, the world’s Heart Chakra. As I meditated I became aware of a series of high-pitched harmonics that seared through my body, piercing my heart, and on opening my eyes I saw twelve intensely brilliant colored orbs suspended in the air around me. I heard in my higher self a voice that lovingly suggested the energy of the Angels would bring light into my being, so as to hold the vibration of sound that would awaken and heal the song of the soul in others. Since that loving encounter in 1987 I’ve pioneered sound as a healing modality through ‘The Alchemy of Voice’ - which has also shaped itself alongside years of coaching actors, politicians, states-people and CEOs, encouraging them to bring authenticity, gravitas, nobility and magnetism to their delivery. Voice Alchemy is a healing art arising from the intelligence and compassion of the heart, and was once practiced in the great temples of Atlantis and Egypt. The sacred geometry of these extraordinary buildings reflected human DNA and amplified the vibration of sound, bringing harmony to the bodies of the people who visited for healing and initiation. Each temple was also beautifully decorated with crystals such as quartz, amethyst and larimar, and these stones reflected the rays of the sun and planets, bringing healing to different parts of the body. The twelve archangels worked as they do today, as divine messengers assisting the wellbeing of the Atlantian people, and they communicate that creation arose from the sound field of the universe, through the great power of the OM, vibrating through space and time, and allowing the whole of creation to take place. The ancient art of Alchemy resonates the law, ‘what is above, so is below’, and illustrates that sound vibrates in the centre of our body as a reflection of universal creation. This voice is our own unique signature note the song of our soul, and when this note of our persona (persona means through sound) is in harmony, our whole physical, emotional, mental and spiritual energy resonates with harmony, love, joy, peace, ultimately bringing magic and abundance into our lives. However, in contemporary society many of our lives are conversely filled with stress, unhappiness, scarcity, illness and loss. So we have become fixated with doing, doing, doing, which removes us from the fundamental nature of our being, and so we reside in the intellect. Living and sounding from this lofty tower produces the false belief that we can control our whole existence through merely observing it. All our ancient people knew the power of song, chant, mantra, toning or praise. They used sound to reconnect themselves with Father Heaven and Mother Nature, for www.natural-connections.com • Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 3 they knew this was a clear pathway to atonement, a means to bring about inner balance when all else falls away - for the sound of our healing has always existed inside us and can create pure spiritual luster. Practise in Quietness • Sit with your spine aligned and your feet on the floor. Place your fingers in a mudra, by bringing the tip of your forefinger and thumb together – this brings together the sacred energy of sun and moon within your being. • Let your breath leave your body by blowing it out, and then when you feel empty breathe in without lifting your shoulders - breathe in wide and deep, imagining that the breath is light filling the whole of your spine, like an elevator of light moving down through your whole being. • Then sound AH through your Heart Chakra in the centre of your breast. Do this seven times finding a note that is coherent with your heart, and revolving the Green Chakra in a counter-clockwise direction. • Then pause and notice the stillness and weight in your body, for you will feel yourself ‘soaking in soul’. This is your signature note. Dame Anita Roddick, Vanessa Redgrave, and many other clients who use their voice and persona as powerful soul -filled expressions for ennobling human nature. Please contact Stewart via: http://www.thealchemyofvoice.com About Stewart Stewart Pearce is a Master of Voice, Sound Healer, Angel Medium, Seer and author of The Alchemey of Voice, The Heart Speaks, The Angels of Atlantis and a number of sonic meditation CDs. Stewart was the Master of Voice at Shakespeare’s Globe for ten years, and Head of Voice at the renowned Webber Douglas Academy for eighteen years. Stewart also has a practice in London as a Master of Presentation, coaching the London 2012 Olympic Bid, Diana Princess of Wales, FREE INTRODUCTORY TALK & Optional Healing Session NFSH The Healing Trust 4 Part Certified Foundation Healing Training with Yvonne Fitzgerald Lic. THT Tutor Sunday 12th August 2012 Woodford House, Booterstown, Co. Dublin – 3pm to 5.30pm TO BOOK: Please email [email protected] or phone 086 2787213 for more information and to book your place for this talk. www.thehealingtrust.org.uk & www.natural-connections.com/nfsh 4 Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 • www.natural-connections.com The Key to Nutritional Health Bernadette Bohan If there was ever a sure-fire way of improving your health and well-being then it is juicing. Juices are packed with nutrients and bursting with flavours. I immediately feel the benefits of these easy-to-prepare juices, with their delicious tastes being an extra advantage. I can promise you there is no better way to recharge your batteries than with freshly extracted fruit and vegetable juices. They have outstanding nutritional qualities and begin their cleaning and healing of the body within 15 to 30 minutes of being consumed. Compared with solid foods juices are easily assimilated by the body and this means the workload on our digestive system is reduced which facilitates a more efficient performance of cleansing and elimination. Our systems are very often overloaded and clogged up with accumulations of wastes and toxins that constantly stream into the body. Green juices such as cucumber and celery are amazing spring cleaners and an easy way to detox the body. Juices are a perfect means to stimulate better elimination of wastes and toxins and also assist with the detoxification process. I often think we are obsessed with cleaning on the outside of the body, but we tend to forget the important task of cleaning out the intestines. Believe me, these cleansing drinks will flush out your system very thoroughly, and when taken first thing in the morning they will move mountains. They will give you a new lease of life! They are also less expensive and far less invasive than other detox methods now available, such as colonic irrigation, which is on the upsweep and is gaining momentum in popularity. I personally have seen many students with long histories of chronic constipation and congested intestines alleviate these conditions with great success by taking these green juices. Juices are highly concentrated forms of nutrition and are of particular value to people fighting any kind of disease. Because of their therapeutic properties and amazing healing powers they are used in many natural healing centres throughout the world. They will revolutionise your body’s ability to heal itself and boost your natural self-defences and you will get to see and feel the difference. It is inevitable that ageing will bring about marked physiological change, but by pampering and nurturing your body with the correct fuel you can make a significant contribution to ageing healthily. You can help your body become and continue to be a picture of health regardless of age and what better way to increase your intake of fruits and vegetables, and equally as important, to increase your children’s intake, than with these delicious tasting juices? Including these in your diet will be one of the healthiest steps you can take for your body. I have noticed I am at my absolute best when I am drinking these juices. These juices will give you the stamina to live life to the fullest and I guarantee you will see positive alert results. With just two glasses of juice per day you can consume large quantities of fruits and vegetables, and the recommended daily amounts can be easily reached. For two 8 oz. glasses of juice per day you will need 6-8 portions of fruits and vegetables whereas it would take the entire afternoon to chew your way through that many pieces. The point of increasing our intake is to provide our bodies with enough vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and trace elements to support a healthy body and give sustained energy levels. A well-hydrated body is essential for good skin and enhanced vitality. If you find drinking large amounts of water difficult, these delicious drinks can easily increase your fluid intake. I prefer to concentrate on the foods we can eat rather than the foods we can’t. The good news is that it is easy to put these powerful disease-fighting foods back into the diet. The process of eating healthily need not be complicated, and in fact as I have said repeatedly the secret is to keep it simple - this way you are far more likely to succeed. You can then comfort and nourish the body with delightful scrumptious foods. As foods are the body’s major source www.natural-connections.com • Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 5 of nutrients, enriching a deficient diet will help optimise health and reverse many of the symptoms of disease. If we don't obtain these essential nutrients from our foods in time the body falls apart. The good foods will help you support the body’s basic needs and functions but there are many problems associated with sugar, dairy and heated fats. I have always found it better to find alternatives and add them to the diet before eliminating those foods you are already used to. The list of good foods that are full of nourishment and vitality are endless. However, many of the foods we eat not only lack nourishment but also contain harmful ingredients. Learn not to be duped by advertising campaigns that will try to turn your head away from the fact that profitability speaks louder than your nutritional needs. As our health is based on the amount of absorbable nutrition we provide to our bodies, it appears to me that it is necessary to get back to some grass root solutions if we are to solve the problems left in the wake of our impoverished diets. My experience has thought me that the closer to nature we live the more we live without disease and problems. Enjoy! How I started my path to juicing and nutritional health . . . After my second diagnosis of cancer I realised I had to take some personal responsibility for my health. I couldn’t afford to mope around and do nothing, nor could I leave it all to the doctors. When diagnosed with a life-threatening disease, such as cancer, you soon learn to focus. I decided to go with my instincts and see if nutrition had anything to offer. As I have a strong belief that understanding and knowledge give you control, I began to educate myself on the subject. I wanted to find out how to treat the cause of the disease and not just the symptoms. I channelled all my energy into getting informed on health and I found tons of research that showed nutrition plays a big part in combating the effects of this cruel and frightening disease. I started juicing and adding nourishing foods to my daily regime, foods with immuneboosting nutrients, enzymes, probiotics, and anti-oxidants in order to help my body recover. I realised that the chemo and radiation treatments were going to be very debilitating and I worked hard to try to counteract the effects on my immune system. Juicing fruits and veg really helped with the side-effects. As I switched to more nourishing foods, I first began to notice the disappearance of the arthritis in my right hand and shoulder that had plagued me for many years. This was a significant turning point for me as I could feel the benefits happening. I had worn glasses since I was sixteen years of age and I realised I was picking them up less and less. My bleeding gums vanished and the pain in my lower back that I attributed to lifting my daughter Julie subsided. As an added bonus I also lost my middleaged spread! Of course I couldn’t see the cancer itself, but I could see these welcome and apparent changes to my body. This positive feedback from my body was confirmation to me that when you give the body what it needs, it will speed recovery and reward you by supporting the natural state of health. Now 12 years later I spend my time spreading the word on the benefits of juicing and adding good food into the diet. Bernadette Bohan is the No. 1 bestselling author of The Choice, The Choice Programme and The Survivor’s Mindset . www.changesimply.com The NEXT ISSUE of Natural Connections is November 2012 – January 2013 We are already receiving bookings So rESErvE yoUr ad aNd arTIClE SpaCE NoW To bE gUaraNTEEd a SpaCE. our deadline is 10th October to receive fully completed ads and articles. Contact Us at 086-2787213 or email yvonneftzgerald @natural-connections.com We look forward to hearing from you. 6 Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 • www.natural-connections.com www.natural-connections.com • Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 7 Experiencing Joyful Relationships Eugenie Heraty, Psychotherapist/Hypnotherapist ridiculous. Neediness in relationships only generates fearful jealousy, possessiveness and ultimately some form of manipulation, for example: ‘you have to make me feel OK about myself - you’re there to meet my needs.’ We are all mirrors for each other. The things we don’t like about our partners are often the things we suppress within ourselves – in our deeper levels. We unconsciously attract Imagine two people coming together with the intention of those very people who mirror the very sharing their lives in harmony and bliss. Everything may seem issues we most need to deal with. This to flow beautifully in this initial ‘honeymoon period’. makes the challenge of staying present and conscious in a relationship even However, unless they’re both already highly conscious more difficult. they’ll probably embark upon this relationship with all So how do we begin to resolve this potential emotional their respective ‘baggage’ and unfinished business from soup that can pull both parties back into habitual the past. It’s often only a matter of time before some life unconscious behaviour? situation, challenge or stress occurs to reignite these old One or ideally both partners need to start owning their painful issues: insecurities, jealousies, beliefs in lack etc. OWN baggage - becoming much more aware of, and then that have nothing to do with what’s happening right now. taking greater responsibility for, their own emotional The relationship may then degenerate into a blaming pain. Let’s think of a hypothetical scenario. Imagine a match of insults and accusations and any possible solution sulking woman who sees herself as a victim; all her blame becomes increasingly remote as each party holds to their for this situation is projected outside herself. She’s in a own ‘view‘ of the situation. dead-end situation – life has become dull and colourless When two people come together as two halves and for her. Imagine that one day she begins to identify her then seek to fulfil and complete themselves via the other own vulnerabilities and finds a neutral way to release the person, they will always be left frustrated and dissatisfied. emotional pain from her past. In so doing, she becomes Another person simply cannot fill our own empty spaces. much more calm, centred and aware of what’s really going Only we can do this for ourselves. The romantic notion on in her life. She takes increasing responsibility for her inner state and no longer needs to blame others for her that ‘I need you’ equates to ‘I love you’ is therefore utterly 8 Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 • www.natural-connections.com own issues. Her horizons open out, she forms different relationships and life takes on a depth of joy and meaning for perhaps the first time ever. When people really want to become more conscious, then a beautiful blossoming can occur within their relationships. They’ll certainly have to face painful areas within themselves, but the messy exchange of ‘baggage’ diminishes over time as both parties become increasingly clear about their own emotional stumbling blocks. One of the many ways to create this emotional clarity is through the technique called Cutting the Ties that Bind, developed many years ago by psychotherapist and author Phyllis Krystal. Unconditional love doesn’t create any ties, conditions or expectations from one person to the other. Unfortunately love that is unconditional is a rarity. Many people carry the scars of an overprotected, over-controlled childhood where love was conditional upon pleasing their parents or guardians. Many people also suffer the negative effects of a relationship where again, love was given if they behaved in a certain way. As I mentioned already, in these instances, love is confused with need where one person in the relationship, acting from their pain, will try to manipulate the other for their own selfish ends. In this way constricting binds and conditions are imposed that stop people from living their own lives, making their own decisions and fulfilling their own destiny. In these instances, energetic ropes like chords exist between the two people – chords that literally bind both people and prevent them from moving forward with their own life. A psychic clairvoyant would literally ‘see’ these chords! In my one-day workshops I use the Cutting the Ties that Bind technique. This is a dynamic and highly focused way of severing these constrictions in a way that gives considerably more freedom and independence to all parties. There are many other techniques for helping people find their way out of deadlocked, co-dependent relationships - but clearing the emotional ‘space’ between them is profoundly freeing. They are then able to move on and experience broader horizons and a greater autonomy in their lives. In these workshops, we explore what is needed to enjoy really loving, joyful, healthy relationships. We look at issues of forgiveness and the importance of releasing past grievances to free up energy in the present. Sometimes the only way people know how to communicate their needs is in very roundabout dysfunctional ways, for example: ‘If I can manipulate you and make you feel sorry for me, you’ll treat me better and give me more attention!’ Dynamic communication that brings about healthy change requires that we let go of these old fearful controlling ways. We need to become very clear about what our real needs are and then communicate them openly and honestly. On the other hand, when we listen sympathetically to our partner and hear what they’re trying to communicate, a peaceful way forward can be found. Harmony is restored and it becomes a joy to be with that person. It’s a mistake to believe that once we resolve these issues today, they’ll remain resolved for all time. To keep a relationship healthy, we need to be ever vigilant that the fears, resentments and jealousies don’t creep back in. But remember, every endeavour you make in working with relationships ultimately brings great peace, intimacy and you will reap the benevolent effects for the rest of your life. Eugenie will be giving a One-Day Workshop on Relationships on Sunday 26th August 2012 in Monkstown, Co Dublin. For further details contact Eugenie on 087 4161903 or 01 6639949. Experience Joyful Relationships Sunday 26th August 2012 From 10.30am to 4.30pm A One Day Course to help you: • Cutthenegativetiesthatdamage relationships • Releasecondemnationofoneself and others • Resolveproblembehavioursusingsimple techniques • Createfulfilling relationships Tobook,contact EugenieHeraty on 087 4161903 / 01 6639949. Venue: Monkstown, CoDublin www.natural-connections.com • Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 9 Centre for Holistic Unity Opening tHe DOOr tO QUantUm Life marY anDerSOn Helping you To Live Your Highest Vibration by Living Mine advanced Clinical Hypnotherapist, reiki master teacher, angelic medium, massage therapist are YOU reaDY fOr tHe neW COnCiOUSneSS? As the new consciousness is entering our existence the question must be asked, are you ready? Are you still running the old records round and round? Are you focusing on the evolution of spirit and dragging your body along? Do you find yourself happy in spiritual things but miserable attending to day to day life? Sometimes we just need a little more help in applying the new thoughts, ideas and functioning within the new consciousness as it enters our lives. So if you are ready to be as happy in earthly things as you are in spiritual things, If you are ready to apply your spirituality practically to your life, then these services can help you. Using the latest techniques, hypnosis can help you to put the subconscious mind in sync with the conscious. ALIGN YOUR BODY WITH YOUR SPIRIT. SAVE THOUSANDS AND IMPROVE YOUR HEALTH SmOking CeSSatiOn — €250 1 session. Lifetime guarantee backup session free tHe inner BeaUtifUL YOU — Hypnotic Gastric Band - €195 (5 sessions) regular price €500. Limited time introductory offer. Over 60% off. CLaSSeS QUantUm BODY WeigHt & LifeStYLe management 12 weeks of support for weight and lifestyle Practical work with cravings and food management. Food intolerances. Visualization techniques – Hypnosis and Healing. Facilitator: Mary Anderson Clinical Hypnotherapist. September 2012. Call for more details. ViBratiOnaL LiVing – a One DaY WOrkSHOp tO DeVeLOp aWareneSS Create your personal tools to assist you to live the life you deserve. Live your highest vibration. next class in October 2012. Call for details. reiki Level 1 Learn this Gentle Healing Modality. next course in September all for details. SerViCeS Can’t get OUt? We can come to you. no call-out fee within a 30-mile radius of Dublin. pLanning a partY? We cater our services for any event, personal or corporate. neeD a Speaker? Call us to book. We cater for subjects regarding personal development, healing, weight loss, spirituality, voice training, hypnotherapy and more. HYpnOtHerapY – Change Your Life By Changing Your Mind Stop Smoking 1 session • Lose Weight 6–12 session • Phobias • Fears • Confidence • Anxiety • Test Anxiety • IBS • Blushing • Bulimia YOUr inner VOiCe – Find your true voice. Learn how to communicate from your heart. Learn to let go. Teach your heart to sing. 6 week course of one-to-one vocal coaching by Mary K Anderson, former Nashville singer. Mary combines energy therapy visualization and practical voice coaching to assist you to find your TRUE VOICE. If you want to sing, do public speaking or just communicate better and clearer, this is for you. Both theory and practical applications given. 6 weeks. €250. Call for details. reaDingS anD HeaLing Vibrational Reading and Healing A reading of your energy revealing blocks, strengths, future and past influences. Receive healing energy during your session. Angel Reading Hear what your angels have to say, and ask them what you need to know. Past Life Reading and Healing What past life is affecting you right now? contact us 10 29 Carysfort avenue, 2nd floor, Blackrock, Co Dublin 085 275 0262 • [email protected] • Twitter: Vibeinstitute Facebook: www.facebook.com/VibeInstitute • www.vibrationalinstitute.weebly.com Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 • www.natural-connections.com Just for today I give thanks for all the blessings in my life A Day in Clonmacnoise Saturday 25th August (Reiki principle) I am grateful for the beautiful temple of my body, for its strength and resilience for the breath of life and the stillness within, for insight, for light, for peace, for renewal for my wonderful children and amazing teachers, for friendships, for support, for community, for tears and happiness, for the opportunity to learn, to change course, to expand, for words and pictures, for colours & sound, for beauty, for Yoga, Reiki and Aura-Soma, for music and dance, for creativity, for love and compassion, for warmth, for softness, for my heartbeat for moments of truth, for depth, for clarity, for deeper understanding for trust, for courage, for faith, for inspiration, for pleasure, for the magic of this moment and for learning to simply be . . . Marie Angeline Refresh, Renew and Re-energise Explore the magic of Sacred Geometry, with movement, breath, stillness and ritual in a magical setting bursting with positive energy. Ard-na-Ri gardens include a Holy Grail Labyrinth, 3 wooden Pyramids, a Dodecahedron and an Icosahedron, a Buddha Garden, and Leonardo Da Vinci’s Canon Waterfall. €65 if pre-booked or €70 on the day. www.springintolife.ie [email protected] 0868242033 A TASTE OF SPAIN 6 Day Soul Journey with Lainey Ennis 15 - 21 SEPT 2012 Inspirational healthy holiday in a new mountain location to uplift your spirits and nourish body, mind & soul HEAL,TRANSFORM AND RENEW • Small, intimate groups • New location • Rustic mountain getaway on Lainey's own olive grove • 2 Mediterranean cooking classes 'supper party' style • Gentle yoga & meditation • Swimming in heated pool & much, much more CONTACT LAINEY ON 01 239 0829 / 087 9318 101 [email protected] www.souljourneys.ie www.natural-connections.com • Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 11 The Work of Byron Katie Four questions that can change your life Mary Collins Osborne Mary Collins Osborne is a psychotherapist and a certified facilitator of The Work of Byron Katie. Have you ever had the thought that the world would be a better, a more perfect place, if only people behaved differently, were kinder to each other, more loving, more thoughtful, fairer, and didn’t create so much conflict, war and suffering in the world? We may at different times judge governments, politicians, clergy, sons, daughters, mothers, fathers, wives, husbands, partners, men, women, teachers, neighbours, bosses, employees, other road users, social services, town planners, banks, and public transport providers. Or the thought may arise that it would be much better if there was no cancer, or poverty or addictions ’I should not have cancer’, or ’I need more money’, or ’she/he should stop drinking’. You may have a list of your own, or can readily think of additions to this one, and in an instant, a world of stress is born - an internal world of stress that mirrors an external world of frustration, anxiety, despair, anger, conflict, hopelessness, depression, isolation, sadness, and confusion. And this feels personal. When I am believing what I am thinking and it feels painful or stressful – it feels very personal. Until I question the thoughts that I have attached to, thoughts that I am believing that are causing my suffering, it continues. A stressful world without end. ‘You’re either attaching to your thoughts or inquiring. There’s no other choice.’ Byron Katie I once met a woman who had come to do a weekend workshop in Derry in October of 1999, and she asked this question: ‘Who would you be without your Story?’ Everything seemed to stop in that moment, and for an instant, I experienced nothing. Later, I witnessed her simple direct questioning of the stories of conflict, 12 12 Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 • www.natural-connections.com right and wrong, justification, stressful thought/belief after stressful thought, and my own unquestioned beliefs. Answers came honestly and truthfully in response to the questions, followed by turning each of the thoughts around, which is a way of looking at different versions of a statement that you believe. The film, the tissue of lies and untruths that I thought were true and believed, in innocence, began to fall away. This woman was Byron Katie. The four questions and the turnarounds - The Work of Byron Katie. ’The Work’, as Katie explains it, is simply four questions that, when applied to a specific problem, enables you to see what is troubling you in an entirely different light. It’s not the problem that causes your suffering; it’s your thinking about the problem. Trying to let go of a painful thought never works; instead, as you do The Work, the thought lets go of you. At that point, you can truly love what is, just as it is. When I first met Byron Katie, I experienced her as kind, gentle, compassionate and a very clear woman. Katie reveals that this absolutely was not the case for many years up until 1986. This is explained in the introduction to her first book, Loving What Is: ‘At the age of fortythree, in the midst of an ordinary life – two marriages, three children, a successful career - Katie entered a ten-year- long downward spiral into rage, paranoia and despair. For two years she was so depressed that she could seldom manage to leave her house; she stayed in bed for weeks at a time, doing business by telephone from her bedroom, unable even bathe or brush her teeth. Her children would tiptoe past her door to avoid her outbursts of rage. Finally, she checked into a halfway house for women with eating disorders, the only facility that her insurance company would pay for. The other residents were so frightened of her that she was placed alone in an attic room. ‘One morning, a week or so later, as she lay on the floor (she had been feeling too unworthy to sleep in a bed), Katie woke up without any concepts of who or what she was. “There was no me,” she says. “All of my rage, all the thoughts that had been troubling me, my whole world, the whole world, was gone. At the same time, laughter welled up from the depths and just poured out. Everything was unrecognizable. It was as if something else had woken up. It opened its eyes. It was looking through Katie’s eyes. And it was delighted. It was intoxicated with joy. There was nothing separate, nothing unacceptable to it; everything was its very own self.” Katie tells that it was a long time before she could describe what had happened to her intelligibly. She would talk about a freedom that had woken up inside of her and through an inner questioning, she had realised that all her old thoughts were untrue. Shortly after Katie got back from the halfway house, her home began to fill with people who had heard about her and had come to learn. She was able to communicate her inner inquiry in the form of specific questions that anyone who wanted freedom could apply on their own, without her. Soon she began to be invited to meet small gatherings in people’s living rooms. Her hosts often asked her if she was ‘enlightened’. She would answer, ‘I’m just someone who knows the difference between what hurts and what doesn’t.’ The great undoing It is sometimes said that The Work is too simple, that ‘freedom can’t be that simple’ and Katie answers, ‘Can you really know that that’s true?’ Judge your neighbour, write it down, ask four questions, turn it around. Who would imagine that freedom could be so simple? There is only one problem, ever: Our uninvestigated story in the moment. Byron Katie Putting Mind on Paper The first step in The Work is writing the thought that is stressing you on paper, and to facilitate making that writing easier and clearer, a set of six clear questions along with guidance directions are set out on a preprinted A4 sheet called the ‘Judge Your Neighbour Worksheet’. The JYNW is available for download from www.thework.com. As you visit the website, I invite you to look at Katie’s ‘Filling out the Judge Your Neighbour Worksheet’ video. The purpose of the JYNW is to help you put your painful stories and judgements about any person or situation into writing and it is designed to draw out judgements and stressful beliefs that might be difficult to uncover. The judgements you write on the worksheet will become the material that you’ll use to do The Work. You’ll put each written statement, one by one, up against the four questions and let each of them lead you to the truth. A question that I am frequently asked when people are new to The Work is, ‘Is it necessary to write my stressful thoughts on paper on the JYNW?’ And my answer is always ‘yes’. What I see is that the mind is in constant motion, and frequently hops from one thought to the next. Very often, when the mind hears a simple question, it rushes for the safety of its own familiar story and welltrodden thought path. However, ‘you’ are not ‘doing’ the thought-hopping. This apparently is just what the mind does. You may have noticed this in your own practices and living experience. When the stressful thought is written down, anchored on paper, it cannot move. And so no matter what hops or strategies the mind uses to distract or to seek apparent safety, the statement remains still on the paper for you to stay focused on your inquiry. There are several videos that you may watch of Katie doing The Work on different problems and stressful situations on The Work website. The four questions Once you have completed writing your judgements on your worksheet, read all the sentences you have written one at a time. Then, one by one, investigate each statement by asking yourself : 1. Is it true? 2. Can you absolutely know that it’s true? 3. How do you react, what happens, when you believe that thought? 4. Who would you be without the thought? and then – Turn it around. Example: Paul doesn’t listen to me about his health. 1 Is it true? Yes or no. If no, move to 3. 2. Can you absolutely know that it’s true? Yes or no. 3. How do you react, what happens when you believe that thought? 4. Who would you be without the thought? Turn the thought around; a) to the self. I don’t listen to myself about my health. b) to the other. I don’t listen to Paul about his health. c) to the opposite. Paul does listen to me about his health. Then find at least three specific, genuine examples of how each turnaround is true for you in this situation. www.natural-connections.com • Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 13 13 As you go through the downloaded Judge Your Neighbour Worksheet you will see the turnaround for statement 6 which says: I am willing to . . . Example: I am willing to have Paul lie to me again. I look forward to . . . Example: I look forward to having Paul lie to me again. You will find everything that you need to try The Work for yourself on the main website for The Work www. thework.com. Mary Collins Osborne is scheduled to facilitate a residential weekend with The Work at Chrysalis Healing Centre, Ardanode House, Ballymore-Eustace, County Wicklow, from Friday August 10th at 7pm to Sunday 12th at 4pm. The fully inclusive cost is €345. Details are available from Chrysalis, tel: 087 7798877, and on their website: www.chrysalis.ie. You can also find information about Mary and about The Work, plus useful links relating to The Work in Ireland, what’s happening in The Work in Ireland, contacts for upcoming events and facilitators throughout Ireland on www.4ceisteanna.ie Recommended Mary Collins Osborne Reading • Loving What Is by Byron Katie • Four Questions that can change your life by Byron Katie with Stephen Mitchell Discovering the gift of Mindfulness Helen MacWhite It is with incredible clarity that I remember experiencing the transformative potential of mindfulness for the first time. I was lying in bed one afternoon, twenty years ago almost to this day, hardly able to move. I had been involved in a car accident some weeks before. The smallest movement was liable to bring on spasms of acute pain. When this happened, I found myself shifting in every possible way to try to distract myself from the pain. Between spasms I did my best to lie as still as I could but this was a stillness that was far from peaceful. My head was tight with anxious and fearful thoughts about whether I would be able for the new job I was supposed to be starting soon, thoughts about how I was going to provide for my family if I couldn’t work; thoughts about how much more of this I would be able to bear. My head was also tight with self-judgment about not having been more assertive and proactive in my healthcare. I was suffering and my children were suffering too and, even though the accident had not been my fault (a jackknifing caravan had hit us head-on on a narrow road), I was full of self-blame. I couldn’t accept the reality of what was happening to me. Then, that same afternoon, in the middle of a spasm of pain, I felt an inner prompting to remain still and just breathe. I began to pay attention to the physical sensations of breathing in and breathing out. I would count each breath to help keep my focus on it. I did this until the spasm passed. I soon noticed that when I did this, I wasn’t adding to my suffering by thinking about how horrible the pain was, worrying about whether this spasm would be as bad as the last one and whether it would stop before I felt I would explode with tension. I wasn’t adding to my suffering by telling myself stories about how awful things were and how 14 Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 • www.natural-connections.com things shouldn’t be this way. Instead, my mind was busy paying attention to my breath and no longer available to engage in the unhelpful chatter that would habitually have taken it over. Each time I met a spasm in this way, by using my breath to help me connect with my bodily experience from one breath to the next, one moment to the next, I felt calmer and the dense fog of my anxious thoughts would dissipate. My head felt less tight, my mind more spacious and I began to feel I could ride out the spasms. Judgment fell away. Fighting gave way to acceptance. Fear gave way to trust. Even though I was still experiencing pain, it no longer felt as overwhelming. I was practicing mindfulness without knowing it! I was paying attention, on purpose, to my present moment experiencing without judgment and it became the doorway to being able to step back into the flow of my life. Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder of Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction and the man who has done so much to bring mindfulness meditation into the mainstream of healthcare in the western world, refers to mindfulness as a deep internal resource patiently waiting in each one of us to be reawakened and used in the service of growth and healing. Today, the benefits of mindfulness meditation have led to meditation being viewed not just as a complementary approach to healthcare but as good medicine in itself. Developing and cultivating our capacity to be mindful is a choice that we can make – a gift to ourselves that helps us restore a sense of balance in our lives and avoid physical, emotional and spiritual depletion. Mindfulness 8 week course in Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction Beginning Wednesday 26th September 2012 Woodford House, Booterstown Park, Blackrock, Co Dublin Places limited. Early booking recommended. For further details, contact Helen MacWhite 086 0619251 or [email protected] Want to know more before committing? Come to an Open Evening at Woodford House on Wednesday August 29th at 7 pm. Just let Helen know in advance that you wish to attend. The Gables Psychotherapy Practice in Shankill, Co Dublin Humanistic Psychodynamic Gestalt Transpersonal Biodynamic The centre offers a variety of supportive therapies in addition to the Psychotherapy practice including Massage, Reflexology, Energy Healing Contact Anne Byrne BA, MIACP, MIAHIP on 087 6598487 • [email protected] www.gablestherapy.com THERAPY ROOMS FOR RENT AT THE GABLES Suitable for Therapy, Counselling, Reflexology, Massage www.natural-connections.com • Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 15 The Adventure of a Lifetime with Pure Meditation Bernadette McPhillips ‘When the student is ready the teacher appears.’ Setting off on my adventure eleven years ago I had no idea just how relevant and profound the above message was and just what amazing changes would come into my life. Having searched over a number of years for a meaningful spirituality – one that gave me answers and that felt ‘right’, a feeling emerged and grew that I should go and travel round the world! Dismissing this as pure fantasy and utterly unrealistic I pushed it out of my mind. However, the idea persisted and it was to New Zealand that I felt drawn. Another couple of months went by as the practical arrangments were organised and I was ready to go. Whilst in New Zealand I travelled around, never feeling quite like a tourist but knowing there was something there which I was looking for. On arrival in Christchurch I found my destination when I sought a retreat centre to stay in for a few days. The Self Realization Meditation Healing Centre provided an atmosphere of unconditional love as well as course called the Pure Meditation Course the following week. The course is a week long and involves learning to sit quietly with eyes closed and withdrawing attention inwardly and away from the physical senses. The technique given helps greatly to still the mind and to access the place of deep inner peace. This is how the connection is made to our inner wisdom which then can feed us on all levels of our being. There was a deep sense immediately of having been given something special and it felt like coming home. So what do I continue to receive from my daily meditation practice? Right from the start I feel a deeper connection with my life and divinity along with a growing realisation of the love, acceptance and understanding flowing to me. In daily life I have become more peaceful, happier and able to enjoy life much more fully. Problems and challenges still arise; however, along with the nourishment of a daily depth meditation comes a very practical and effective set of tools for use in everyday life. This helps to maintain peace and balance in between meditation times. The issues then do not appear so big and underlying them is always the feeling and belief that all will be looked after completely if I simply do my best. Pure Meditation has enhanced and given a boost to my intuition, helping me to find within the answers and 16 Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 • www.natural-connections.com solutions to questions, from the smallest to the biggest, as well as a profound sense of the meaning and purpose of my life. Not only have these benefits come with Pure Meditation but also my physical health and general wellbeing have benefitted. As the focus is taken inward when practicing, this gives the physical body and major organs a rest, which equates to a deep sleep. Less tension in the body means a reduced possibility of pain; for example, headaches can be reduced and blood pressure helped to balance. The ensuing feelings of calmness and peace in the mind ripple out into the days’s activities as well as into relationships, both at work and home, bringing harmony and positive growth there too. Mata Yogananda Mahasaya Dharma This meditation has come through a true guru, Mata Yogananda, a self-realized soul whose purpose in life is to help those who are looking to find inner peace and to realise their full potential in this life. As a self-realized soul she has progressed to the state where she has let go of the ‘ego’ – the anger, doubt, and fear-type emotions. Mata Yogananda is always there with gentle, loving wisdom and to give guidance when requested. She does this generally through her writings and ‘talk tapes’. I have also had the blessing of being present on a number of occasions to hear Mataji speak profound truths, with a depth of love, wisdom and upliftment that I’ve never before encountered.There have been times when I’d have liked nothing better than to be told what to do. However, a true guru will never do this. Instead she gives guidance as to how to look within for your own deeper wisdom and answers, to become more your true self, and to journey to your own self-realization. The love, peace and complete understanding which flows from the guru is incredibly uplifting, adding so much more depth and joyful adventure to the dance of life! So with the help of Pure Meditation each day is a wonderful opportunity to take the steps forward towards greater self-acceptance, to be more loving and understanding, patient and confident. The ego’s tendencies of fear and self-doubt can still arise. However, with a greater depth of awareness they can be spotted earlier than before and seen for what they are. Then they can be released much more quickly, allowing positive energies of trust and inner strength to take their place. In conclusion, Pure Meditation is life-enhancing, bringing joy and deep appreciation of what it means to be fully alive, knowing that our path to oneness is supported and guided in an infinitely creative way by a divine presence of profoundly deep love, understanding and kindness. What better adventure than that?! For the first time in Ireland, Pure Meditation will be taught in Dublin 7 – 13 October 2012. www.dublinhealing.com www.selfrealizationmeditationcentres.org Love Animals? ANIMAL HEALING All animals benefit greatly from healing – domestic, wild and farm animals – which helps them on all levels of their being, from physical ailments to behavioural problems. At Stradbrook Road, Blackrock, Dublin, you can bring your animals for a treatment, or learn to give healing to animals yourself with our TWO–DAY ANIMAL HEALING COURSE. For further information on: • Dates and venues for treatments and courses Plus other services: • Progressive counselling & coaching, energy healing and meditation Please contact Bernadette McPhillips at 01 214 5964 or 087 132 8579 • [email protected] • www.dublinhealing.com www.natural-connections.com • Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 17 Sacred Sound for healing ourselves, others, and our planet Earth Mildred Ryan Life is full of surprises and exciting possibilities. My life took an unexpected turn last year when I took a few months off work to go on retreat in the West of Ireland. Every morning I went on a dawn walk along an ancient green pathway, tucked into the side of a mountain, with the Atlantic Ocean far below. After about two miles I would sit down in my special place, my armchair in nature. Out of sight of anyone passing by, I could tone, chant and sing my heart songs, and I received incredible insights and healing. Then I noticed that every day I was being inspired about different aspects of sound, not only for my own healing, the message was clear that I was to share this information with others. My heart’s desire is to empower people to find their own healing notes and sounds and to heal themselves on all levels using the sacred sound of their voice, along with crystal singing bowls, music and tuning forks. A great awakening There is a great awakening happening right now at this crucial time in our evolution. Many people are drawn to explore sound and are remembering aspects of previous lives, particularly times in the golden years of Atlantis, when healing with sound and colour was the norm. While on retreat I was particularly shown how we can work with angels and ascended masters to create our own individual Sacred Sound Temples of Healing and Rejuvenation. The gift of sacred sound I am often asked what makes a sound sacred. When we recognise that all healing comes about as a result of love (which is the highest frequency of all), and when we send or receive love on our sounds, the sound becomes sacred. Sound has the potential to heal every aspect of who we are, allowing us return to vibrant health and wholeness of mind, body and spirit. Sound waves are conductors of high frequency Light which transcend all dimensions and flow through all the realms of creation. It is a potent healer as: • It helps us expand our consciousness, allowing us experience a deeper awareness of everything in creation, our oneness with each other and Source Its • frequencies can touch into every cell, system and organ within our physical body It • can cleanse and dissolve energy blockages and stagnant energy It • can remove energy imprints and patterns from past 18 Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 • www.natural-connections.com • events and free us from circling thoughts, mind chatter and anxieties. We can also gift our Mother Earth with our healing sounds. Our own healing instrument – the sacred sound of our voice We are Divine instruments and can create an extraordinary range of sounds simply through toning, humming or singing. Our sounds, which are healing frequencies, can alter the vibrations in every molecule and cell in our body, and every layer of our aura, restoring balance, health and vitality. There is an orchestra of sound constantly playing within and around our bodies, as all our cells are vibrating and their frequencies create sounds. If an organ or system is out of balance, its sound changes. If we can sound the note(s) containing the divine blueprnt of perfect health for that organ, it will return to balance again. Sonic frequencies to birth a wondrous new age We are living in a very special time and are at the dawning of a new Golden Age of Enlightenment. It is my firm belief that Sacred Sound is the medicine for now, and for the future. Its gift of healing and expansion opens wondrous possibilities for creating lives rich with love and joy, the building blocks of the new Golden Age which is being birthed right now. Sacred Sound is woven into the fabric of creation – as we explore its mysteries and depth, it reveals its secrets. Mildred is a sound healer, teacher and Deputy Principal of the Diana Cooper School. Through her work with sound she empowers people to heal and return to wholeness of mind, body and spirit. www.mildredryan.com. Sacred Sound FREQUENCIES OF LOVE AND HEALING Sacred Toning and Chanting, Workshops and Teacher Training with Mildred Ryan Toning and Chanting evenings ~ Fortnightly, Dublin City Centre Sacred Sound Teacher Training ~ Empowering you to heal yourself, others and our planet Earth Course starts 13 October 2012 The Cosmic Heart of Sound ~ A weekend of healing in the sonic frequencies of love 10/11 November 2012, Dublin ‘Working with sound supports my vision to empower people to heal and create lives full of love, vitality, joy and fulfilment.’ Phone Mildred at 01-4935035 Email: [email protected] www.mildredryan.com Touching Lives Sacred Tantric Healing Massage Everything begins right here, touching life, touching the universe deeply. Tantra Workshops Experience expansion and awakening through the exploration of Tantra. One on one, couples and groups. Meditation Guided active meditation classes. Spiritual Healing Through ‘Sacred Inspiration’ Energy Balancing, Healing Prayer Therapy, Sacred Soul Alignment, Cellular Healing, Emotional Detachments For further info/appointment contact Eileen Appleyard at : Email: [email protected] Mob: 087 983 0999 (Certified Practitioner of Spiritual & Wholistic Healing) Tours to India Come, seek and be discovered. Match India's rhythms to your heart, its colours to your mind. Tours customised to your requirements. Tibetan Singing Bowls Singing bowls awaken a beautiful and powerful mystery. Singings bowls and Tibetan crafts brought to you direct from India. Wholesale prices. Jampetsewa Love & Compassion www.jampetsewa.com • www.tantraawakenings.org [email protected] • 083 123 1686 www.natural-connections.com • Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 19 A Tantric Awakening Mark and Karen Sutton There are many paths we can choose in our lifetimes. Some touch you like the gentle summer rain. Tantra is the wild thunderstorm. She churns in her intensity, bringing destruction and bliss. Tantra is weaving, expanding, and being fully aware of ourselves. Being fully aware of the consequence of every action, every thought, and every choice. And in how those actions, thoughts, choices, affect who we are and those around us. Looking honestly at yourself and the reasons why you make certain choices. By saying this in one way, am I hoping to manipulate an answer to one I want to hear? If I do this, will I be perceived as more loveable? What is my response or reaction to words or actions that trigger something in me? Not only being authentic in who you are with others, but more importantly, being open to yourself, being brave enough to face yourself and being loving enough not to judge what you may find there. To expand, we must let go of attachment. We are inherently habitual creatures. Some of our habits and patterns are positive. But they also bind us in a place. There have been many times when I have held onto my attachment of how my relationships should be and my perception of how I wanted my life to be. But we lose our free will and we become controlled by them. When we finally grasp non-attachment to a partner, we open ourselves up to more love and acceptance. When we gain such freedom, remove any boxes society and ourselves confine us to, we are fearless and we expand. And the universe opens us to a multitude of possibilities. An aspect of Tantra involves having the experience of touch. When I experience that deep contact with myself, with everything, including the universe, in the stillness of my mind, unexpectedly I find my heart opening, feeling a breeze move through me that is fresh and renewing. And in that very moment, healing begins. We all are spiritual, psychological, emotional and sensual beings and working with our sexual energy allows us to touch both our body and emotions to clear blockages through our energy channels. Our sexual energy is one of the strongest forms of physical energy; simply, it is nature’s inherent way of ensuring our survival. We can use this energy to gently release negativity, pain, trauma and experiences that we store in the cells of our bodies, allowing us to expand in every aspect of our lives. Tantric practice includes controlling and transforming bodily energies and we can do this through meditation and breathwork. This allows energy to move and we release things we don’t even realise we were hanging on to. With every meditation, a greater feeling of freedom and awareness arises. We move past resisting change 20 Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 • www.natural-connections.com and past the resistance of facing the truth of our lives. Active Kundalini meditation is the process of witnessing while being engaged in activity, helping to release stress, rebalancing the mind and body and bringing about physical and mental relaxation. Yes, Tantra is the union of sex and meditation, being in the present moment, accepting sex in its totality, relaxing into lovemaking and expanding the capacity for pleasure, but it is also is about connection. About giving oneself permission to access your authentic self that too often is buried, the sensitive and sensual gentle nature. It is about both opening to receive pleasure and accepting one’s physical and emotional feelings in their entirety. It is also challenging in that in experiencing it, you open to life, which many do not do. Many think that Tantra is limited to the bedroom and to sexual prowess but while accessing sexual energy is core to Tantra, it is about opening to life itself. Mark and Karen Sutton are a husband and wife partnership dedicated to the Tantric path. Originally from a science and publishing background respectively, they have been practicing Tantra for over 15 years. In 2012 they formed Tantra Awakenings to bring their love of Tantra and their wish to empower others to live their lives as they wish to live. www.natural-connections.com • Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 21 Mind Stillness Catherine Hession www.healinguniversallight.com We all know how our minds can so easily run away on us, how busy the mind chatter can get, not allowing us to think clearly or make clear decisions. Mind quieting is something most people struggle with. So what is it that is going on really? Why is it important to master our minds? When we have a thought, there is actually an energetic charge that we send out (you may have had the experience where someone seemed to be able to read your thoughts). This energetic output continues to exist once it's created because energy cannot be destroyed. So can you imagine if every thought you have ever had continues to exist? This is very important in your creation process because as you are trying to create something positive, these positive thoughts can be surrounded by hundreds of negative thoughts, some of them very old. So what can we do to master our minds? Firstly, we can transmute the energy of unhelpful thoughts into more positive energy. Secondly, we can work on mastering our thoughts. Practicing regular mind quieting is a way of mastering our thoughts. Much of our day-to-day mind chatter is completely irrelevant information that is often negative and usually distracting. Yet we are so in our heads that it becomes a real challenge for us to command our minds to be quiet. How can we create the most aligned life for ourselves while all this din is going on in our heads? And what’s more, all this din is being sent out into the Universe where, if the thought is held for long enough, it will attract its match. Just pause throughout today to become aware of all the mind chatter going on in your head. How much of it is helpful? How much of it is negative? What happens when we achieve mind stillness? When we maintain full mind stillness, it feels as if we have collapsed our human minds and entered a zero-point (a vortex or access point) that lies at the centre of our brains. The more we practice quieting our thoughts, the 22 Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 • www.natural-connections.com stronger our connection with this access point becomes. It actually feels like exercising a muscle: the more you use it, the stronger it becomes. Entering this vortex or zero point allows us to access Universal information, to go beyond the information available on the earth, and to tap into much higher frequencies. It allows us to connect with our higher consciousness and with Source consciousness as well as with the consciousness of all that exists. Through this connection, we can retrieve information for ourselves. Imagine our planet if everyone was accessing information from a higher level, connected with their true journey on the earth, and fulfilling their higher purpose on the earth. Where do we start? For today, why not try taking deep breaths in through your nose and, as you exhale through your mouth, intend to quiet your mind, and press the pause button on your thoughts. Keep practicing this daily for 30 days to see how it feels. Don’t worry if it doesn’t feel like you are getting anywhere; it is the practice and training of your mind that counts. Just like exercising muscles, the result builds up over time. And each time, try to maintain the stillness for longer and longer. If thoughts come in, just let them go and resume your occupation of that quiet vortex in your brain. ENJOY! Catherine graduated as a Healer in the Omnium Method, completing the Mastering the Human Mind course as well as the Healer’s Programme. It brings her great joy to be able to facilitate others' healing, expansion and awakening to their true authentic selves. The Holistic Rambler’s Corner... Say Thank You, with Massage 9-5pm, sat there, transfixed, as emails which affects muscles: the mind and body are indivisible, every negative thought we have ever had has seeped into relentlessly appear in your mailbox, every single cell in our body (as well as all the good stuff) demands are made - must get this we are the sum of our thoughts and actions to date. Stress done, then that, no time for lunch… gets locked into the body causing tense, tight muscles, Where does this type of stressful which pull on joints, ligaments, tendons and bones, creating desk-based lifestyle end? biomechanical dysfunction and postural distortion. Sitting for long periods causes the At some point, the body has to let its owner know that back to slouch, flattening the natural things cannot go on as they are, and the language of PAIN spinal curve in the lumbar region, interrupts life to enable the ‘doing’ body to communicate placing strain on bones, joints, discs, muscles, ligaments and tendons. This, combined with ‘craning’ your neck compresses with the preoccupied ‘thinking’ brain. PAIN is a very basic language, it simply says: ‘You need the cervical vertebrae and nerves to make changes - you are hurting According to the Health and Safety can become irritated by tight Executive website, one in six working me.’ So pain is our opportunity to muscles in the neck, shoulders and pay attention, find the cause, make days lost in the UK is due to back upper back causing muscle spasms, changes and restore well-being. pain and back pain will affect 80%of pain and headaches. But the job pays the bills, so the body (and mind) us at some point in our lives... Do it tonight... adapt to the physical outcome of a Go to bed a little earlier. Lie flat and desk-bound lifestyle. still, breathe deeply, Below is a quick checklist* for anyone who has to sit for slowly and relax. Tell your body that you are listening and long periods - see how many you can incorporate: ready to make changes. Scan all your body parts - which bits - Your arms and thighs should be parallel to the floor, with feel tight, tense, heavy, achy? Head, neck, shoulders, arms, feet flat on the floor (or on a footrest). upper back, lower back, hips, legs, feet? You may be shocked - Your elbows should be relaxed at 90 degrees (with or to discover that you have pockets of stress in numerous without arm rests). places. First thing in the morning, dig out your yellow - While you type, your wrists should be straight and not pages, or Google ‘massage therapist, your town’, book an propped on the desk front. Choose a mouse mat with a gel appointment and begin the process of change by giving your wrist support for intermittent support and comfort. body a show of appreciation for the way it has unconditionally - Your keyboard should be at elbow height, straight in front looked after you up until now. of you (avoid twisting your trunk to access it). A good massage therapist will be able to locate all those - Your screen should be straight in front, 18-24 inches away, stress pockets and using touch as the key, unlock and release and your eyes looking straight ahead at the top third of them. your screen (not twisted to the side, or looking down or Smooth, flowing, caring massage is a gift to a body that has up). forgotten what it feels like to fully relax.When muscles are no longer tense and tight, the body has a chance of finding - Your chair should provide substantial lower back support its natural posture again. It should be noted that some people to maintain your lumbar inner curve. are so tense with stress and have become so adapted to their - Arrange your keyboard, monitor, mouse and chair so that body’s enforced ‘compensation posture’ that the first few you don’t have to reach out, crane massages could be quite a challenge! your neck or hunch your back. You know that wonderful tingle you Persevere. Re-learning how to fully Maintain an upright posture and get when someone gives you a loving relax and let go can take a while. keep your chin tucked in. Keep hug? Well massage is an extended The good news is, you should notice checking that your shoulders are super-hug for your whole body. a significant difference even after the relaxed. Take a screen ‘eye break’ first session. every hour (preferably every 20 When you live IN your body, minutes!), get up, walk about, take a few deep breaths and taking note of its language and responding accordingly, it is stretch gently. Never prop the phone between your ear more able to carry you into old age in good shape. and your shoulder, instead, make a habit of standing up So please consider building massage into your lifestyle - as to answer the phone. Make sure you change body position a regular thank you to the hard-working, highly complex every 20 minutes. vessel that is keeping you upright. Love your body! And bear this in mind too - if you’re doing a job you really Nikki Zalewski don’t like (i.e. putting up with an overbearing boss or bullying *Further advice is available on the Health and Safety Executive website: colleague), it doesn’t matter how ergonomically posturefriendly your workstation is, you will be emotionally stressed, www.hse.gov.uk/campaigns/euroweek2007/pdfs/vduchecklist.pdf www.natural-connections.com • Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 23 Onwards and Upwards . . . Mairead Conlon From being a busy mother, to opening and running the Angel Shop in Dun Laoghaire for almost ten years, to finally founding Spirit One Seminars which involves organising workshops and seminars all around Ireland, I have to say that life is always interesting! I am very thankful to have been blessed with an abundance of energy, and that has really helped with all the different challenges along the way. It was actually back in the early 2000s that I organised my first spiritual event, which was to bring Doreen Virtue to the Angel Shop for a book signing. In the years that followed, many people came to me to organise events for them and I realised it would be a good idea to formalise what I was doing. To date, I am so lucky to have been able to sponsor speakers to come to Ireland from all over the globe to hold seminars and workshops. They include well-known names such as James Twyman, Diana Cooper, Dan Millman, Gary Quinn, Vaishali, Summer McStravick, Arielle Ford and many others. Currently, most of my time is spent with our own Irish angel therapist Aidan Storey. Many people will know him as the best-selling author of Angels of Divine Light. Aidan is also a renowned international healer and speaker and his angel courses and Reiki training courses are always in demand. Dr Mary Helen Hensley is also another client. She hails from the US but is now living in Athlone. She is a doctor of chiropractic and also a metaphysical healer and motivational speaker. Her NDE experience some years ago was influential in urging her to taking a more active role in healing in her life. She has also written three books, Promised, Circles of Light and The Land Beyond the River. If you wish to take part in any of Spirit One Seminars’ forthcoming events, go to www.spiritoneseminars where you will find lots of information which is continually updated. Otherwise phone me at 087 7468583. I look forward to seeing you! ‘My impression of Spirit One Seminars is very much like my impression of Ireland – profound and welcoming. Mairead watched over me with the loving care of a mother, and her skill at organising events was a great gift. I'll be back!’ – J ames Twyman 24 Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 • www.natural-connections.com Aidan Storey Dr Mary Helen Hensley Forthcoming Workshops Aug-Oct 2012 with Aidan Storey & Dr Mary Helen Hensley 9 September Aidan Storey Reiki I, Dublin 23 September Dr Mary Helen Hensley Full-Day Workshop, Belfast 27 September Aidan Storey Long-Awaited CD Launch, Dublin 29/30 September Aidan Storey Angel Card Reading Course, Dublin 4 October Aidan Storey Long-Awaited CD Launch, Cork 14 October Dr Mary Helen Hensley Fuil-Day Workshop, Athlone 3/4 November Aidan Storey Reiki II, Dublin for further information and details please contact mairead at 087 7468583 or go to www.spiritoneseminars.com www.natural-connections.com • Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 25 IRISH MASSAGE THERAPISTS ASSOCIATION The IMTA was founded in 1990 and was set up to encourage and promote high standards in training and practice in the massage/bodywork therapy profession in Ireland. If you are a therapist and would like to become a member please visit our website or contact our administrator for more details. Benefits of membership include: • Group Insurance Scheme – cover at €96 p.a. • Discount Scheme with retailers nationwide • Quarterly newsletter, In Touch • Support for your business • Information on workshops and courses • A listing on our website under ‘Find a Therapist’ • Regional meetings and much more . . . Feel assured that as an Irish Association we guarantee full representation on national bodies promoting a better working environment for member therapists here in Ireland. Phone: 086 377 3801 Email: [email protected] Web: www.massageireland.org Please visit our website if you wish to find a qualified therapist in your area. Family Constellation A workshop to be remembered 28th, 29th & 30th Sept. 2012 at Áras Inis Gluaire, Civic Centre, Belmullet, Co. Mayo Note: All bookings must be in by 20th Aug. 2012 accompanied by €110 deposit. Thank you. • • • • • Inner Balance Peace and Harmony in your Relationships Helps to heal your children Love & reconnection to your ancestors Abundance Workshop fee: €220 per person, which includes a 30-minute private consultation. For Training and booking contact Gisela Jurgens 085-1402017 [email protected] www.family-constellation.eu 26 Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 • www.natural-connections.com Family Constellations Gisela Jurgens The family constellation workshop is for everyone who would like to use the family line to gather more strength, health and happiness for themselves and their children. This work is about clearing the blockages and at the same time restoring a strong flow of the love the source holds for us. • Do you find underlying conflicts are hindering you to move forward at work or at home? • Would you like to restore family balance? • Would you like o create more harmony, health, abundance and loving relationships? The Method The Constellation shows in a very lively and impressive way the connections you have to other members of your family - and, at the same time, who the dominant influence in your life at the present time is. This influence can come from father, mother, grandparents, siblings, husband, wife and children. The influence can also come from forgotten people – people you do not speak about, or know at all; and people for whom you had no opportunity to grieve. Examples may be miscarriages, stillborn children, and outcasts. There can even be cases where issues might lie in previous generations. Children keep trying to restore balance in the family order, which was shattered back in time through no fault of theirs. The child unconsciously acts on behalf of the missing person, and this, in turn, influences the PLACE the child has in the family. It will also influence the child later in life, as an adult, in his/her relationship, occupation and career and most of all in their health. As a client at the workshop with Kola Broenner, you work at your Genogram in a private session (30min). Together you identify ‘the issue’ you choose to explore. The other participants need not know your issue. Later in the workshop you are invited to choose from participants in the group people to represent yourself and family members or those connected to the issue. You give your representatives a place in the room, and this mirrors your inner picture in connection with your issue. When this picture becomes visible, alive, it initiates the changing process and it is here the healing for you and your family soul can start. Positive resolution starts here! • You can see the entanglement and how the representatives, from their positions on the floor, mirror the truth back to you. You begin to understand. • Blocked feelings like grief and love gently open and start to flow. • Forgotten people can come back in to take their place again. • You are empowered to give back what you unknowingly took on board (e.g. grief, guilt etc.) • People receive and regain their respect and honour Look at additional information about Kola’s method on www.family-constellation.eu. Often I am asked: why are so many children seriously ill? They feel the burden their family carries and as they love their parents and want to help, unconsciously they take over the load and carry it. As this energy does not belong to the child, it needs to go back to where it belongs in order to be healed. For me, family constellation became important when I saw my children suffering because of stressful energy between my husband and myself. I went to see Kola for a private session and the order of the family line was restored, love started to flow freely again and I was happy to see the results in my children. Beside of constellating your family, you can constellate body parts, emotions, the place of your work, your business, your community problems, your country etc. Kola Broenner has a great understanding of the energy flow, the order of the family and the greater soul. She is gentle, loving and very clear and brings conscious awareness into your issue. She finds at all times the best possible way to resolve extended and trans-generational family material. Kola has trained with Bert Hellinger (constellation therapy), Peter Levin (trauma), Gerda & Ebba Boyeson (biodynamic body therapy & prenatal traumata), yoga and other energy work. She teaches and facilitates workshop and training in Germany, Spain, Ireland and other European countries. A good reason for you to take part in the FC training could be to clear your own family line for yourself and your children in preparation for the change ahead in Dec. 2012 (see www.dianacooper.com). Further information regarding Family Constellation: www.family-constellation.eu. Questions and booking: Gisela Jurgens, tel 00353-(0)85-1402017 or [email protected] www.natural-connections.com • Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 27 ARCHTIistheAssociationofRegistered ComplementaryHealthTherapistsofIreland ARCHTIwasfoundedin1999toprovide amulti-therapyorganisationfor complementaryhealththerapistsin thewholeislandofIreland. • • • • • • • • • • All our members have reached a high standard of professionalism in their chosen therapies. Full members hold professional indemnity insurance with most of them on our very affordable group scheme with Balens – just €90 p.a. covering about 200 standard therapies. Student members can get case study insurance for as little as €30. Quarterly postal mailings with our newsletter, The Irish Pan Therapy News and Positive Life magazine. Search our website for a therapist in your area and find out more information about the therapies they practice. FREE website listings for ARCHTI Members with your logo and ad. Referrals from our office from people seeking therapy treatments. See our online newsletter and follow us on Facebook. Search our website for an accredited training school, CPD, workshops and core training courses. Discounts with suppliers, special offers and much more … ARCHTI promotes the desire for voluntary self-regulation in Ireland. We work on behalf of our members to protect their need to practice with autonomy. • So log on to our website today and join us www.irishtherapists.ie • Or email us [email protected] • Or phone us at 053-9383734 ARCHTI – bringing therapists from the four corners of Ireland together 28 Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 • www.natural-connections.com www.natural-connections.com • Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 29 Reiki Federation Ireland Moving Forward in 2012 Reiki Federation Ireland (RFI) is the National Professional Body for Reiki in Ireland. We were established in 2002 and the first official meeting was held in 2003, so 2013 will be our 10th Birthday! In those 10 years we have come a very long way. We have expanded and grown as a community and organisation. Over the last twelve months we have made some really extraordinary changes to bring us in line with mainstream medicine. We had a very productive meeting with the Department of Health last year, and as a result we are now well on our way to being the official self-regulating body for Reiki in Ireland. We will soon be able to canvas the health insurance companies to cover a Reiki treatment as part of their cover for alternative/complementary therapies. On a lighter note, we have started a very successful meetup group called Raise Your Vibration which meets on the fourth Tuesday of every month. The meeting raises awareness of Reiki and RFI for members and non-members alike in a relaxed and fun environment. We have a guest speaker each month on lots of different topics in the CAM field, followed by a Reiki Share, allowing the non-Reiki people to experience the calming affect of Reiki for themselves. In the background we have been doing a huge amount of work, updating and changing our database and website and adding three new categories of membership to allow a wider group of people to join RFI. The new categories are Friend of Reiki, Student Member and Associate Member, as well as the Full Membership for Professional Practitioners and Teachers. The price scale has been graded accordingly. See www.reikifederationireland.com for more details. alternatively phone 087 9819366 or email [email protected]. 30 Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 • www.natural-connections.com www.natural-connections.com • Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 31 32 Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 • www.natural-connections.com Jyorei Japanese Healing Art THE HEALER’S PROMISE the word ‘Jyorei’ in Japanese means purification of spirit. it is a healing art in which spiritual Light is focused on others. ALL WHO COME TO ME FOR HEALING I SHALL TREAT WITH COMPASSION, REGARDLESS OF COLOUR, CREED OR RACE. MY ATTITUDE SHALL BE NON-JUDGEMENTAL AND CARING. I SHALL BE HONEST IN MY DEALINGS AND ALL THAT IS SAID TO ME SHALL BE CONFIDENTIAL. I SHALL ACT WITH INTEGRITY AND KINDNESS. I SHALL CONSIDER MY OWN WELL-BEING TO BE IMPORTANT AND I SHALL STRIVE TO BE TRUE TO MYSELF. I SHALL ATTUNE WITH THE SOURCE OF PEACE AND LOVE. Meishusama, who created Jyorei, taught that all of life's difficulties are caused by impurities or ‘clouds’ within the spiritual world. By practicing Jyorei, spiritual light is focused on these clouds and dissolves them, relieving the physical, emotional, and personal distress that they cause. Jyorei is an act of selfless giving and sharing. It is a prayer for others. A person receiving Jyorei regularly often experiences profound healing in spirit, mind, and body that eventually leads to genuine happiness. The person who gives Jyorei can also experience Jyorei’s benefits, and also has the joy of sharing these benefits with close relatives, friends, and neighbours. The Healing Trust www.thehealingtrust.org.uk Contact in Ireland for trainings: Yvonne Fitzgerald, 086-2787213 or [email protected] www.natural-connections.com if you would like to try Jyorei in Dublin area, please contact tetsuya at [email protected] You can find out more about Jyorei at www.shumei.org We hope you have enjoyed this Issue of Natural Connections Holistic Magazine. To receive 4 FREE magazines per year simply sign in FREE at www.natural-connections.com Please do tell others about Natural Connections and if you have a database to which you would like to send our current magazine, please use this link: www.natural-connections.com/latest-edition Thank you all. We appreciate your support. www.natural-connections.com • Natural CoNNeCtioNs August-October 2012 33