Miri's Corner

Miri's Retreat

2008-04-26T20:32:00.005-08:00

Greetings Readers:

It has been almost two (2) years since my last post.

A lot has happened during this hiatus including assorted learning experiences (both spiritual and practical) that I would like to share with you on my new blog: Miri's Retreat.

The posts on Miri's Retreat will continue the journey that began on Miri's Corner.

I am not sure how often I will be able to post. But I promise that the blog entries will be interesting and of the quality you experienced on Miri's Corner.

I hope you will follow the links to Miri's Retreat.

Enjoy!

Intermission

2006-08-19T18:38:00.001-08:00

Greetings Readers:

I just wanted to give you a status update.

As you know, the last several months have been a time of transition for me. These changes include but are not limited to: completing a Masters Degree, starting a new job, letting go of old things, and in short, beginning a new phase in my life.

When I started this blog, I made a promise to myself that I would never blog simply for the sake of blogging. It was my intent to maintain a certain level of quality to the writing and only write when I felt I had something of substance to share.

I have come to realize that I do not have the time these days to allocate to “Miri’s Corner” and have decided to take a break from posting for several months.

Feel free to peruse the archives.

You may find some of the older posts of interest.

Thank you for your patience!

Have a great day! ;-)

***

Letting Go of Old Things

2006-08-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

To say that a lot has been going on these past few months…would be an understatement.

This is truly a time of transition for me on both a personal and professional level.

It is a time to let go of old things.

My intuition always seems to give me fair warning when the tides and currents of my life are about to change. It hasn’t been any different this time around.

They say that true change begins on the inside and then manifests itself on the outside.

Although I have always considered myself to be a “work in progress” and have been relatively consistent with regard to working through my “stuff” and healing old wounds as necessary….recently I have felt an unusually strong sense of urgency to get my “stuff” in order.

The only way I can define this feeling, is that somehow I knew a big transition was around the corner…and I really needed to make sure that I “got out of my own way” …and needed to let go and heal whatever issues that could potentially hold me back. I knew that it was time to make serious changes to my thoughts and energy patterns and take a significant leap into the unknown.

I had a lot of help to heal and work through these issues. Several months before my massage therapist/shamanic healer moved to the lower-48 to take a position with The Four Winds Society, we scheduled several appointments.

I knew the remaining issues and items in my “bag-o-stuff” very well. Some of them were familiar and convenient crutches that I felt very comfortable with. But it was time to let most of them go and move into unfamiliar territory.

The healings were very powerful and profound and made me understand why many people fear the unfamiliar and choose to hold on to their ancient baggage rather than let go and move forward into uncharted terrain.

The most significant healing I experienced felt consistent with removing a body cast. For those of you who have had a plaster cast on your arm or leg for a period of time, when the cast is finally removed, you may remember the sense of relief mixed with the feelings of stiffness, weakness and lack of balance….perhaps even feeling a bit of vulnerability.

For days after this healing my whole body felt this way. And for a time, I did not recognize myself when I looked in the mirror. I felt like a different person…and it took some time to get to know my new self.

After an energy healing, I find that a salt bath and/or a session in a float-tank to be very beneficial to the healing process…they seem to help me integrate these internal changes/healings into new and healthy energy patterns.

I am still a work in progress.

For the moment, I feel that I am traveling lighter as I move through this time of transition.

These internal changes have definitely manifested themselves in significant changes in my “real life”.

My motto these days, as I move into the unknown is, “Just Breathe”

Think As You Like But Behave Like Others

2006-08-06T20:17:00.000-08:00

If you make a show of going against the times, flaunting your unconventional ideas and unorthodox ways, people will think that you only want attention and that you look down upon them. They will find a way to punish you for making them feel inferior.

It is far safer to blend in and nurture the common touch. Share your originality only with tolerant friends and those who are sure to appreciate your uniqueness.

The 48 Laws of Power
by Robert Greene

Love, Jealousy, & Envy

2006-08-02T02:15:00.000-08:00

Semantics: in the study of language, semantics is concerned with the meaning of words, expressions and sentences, often in relation to reference and truth.

When I was in college I took a sociology course entitled, “Love Jealousy & Envy”. Contrary to the tawdry nature of the title, the class was extremely culturally informative and enlightening. In addition to learning that different people have different definitions of exactly “what love is”, I also learned that there is a very big difference between the concepts of jealousy and envy.

As a young co-ed, it was an eye-opener to learn that semantics often applies to the phrase, “I love you.” Love comes in a variety of flavors and different people legitimately mean different things when they say that phrase.

Some examples include:

- Best Friends Love: a warm and fuzzy emotion that usually occurs when a couple grows-up together, starts dating in school, and it is simply assumed that they will get married
- Passionate Love: some people feel that they are only in love when they feel a rush of lust and passion.
- Romantic Love: other people feel that they are in love only when they feel the need to write mushy poetry, talk constantly on the phone, send text messages several times a day and flowers on a daily basis.
- Jealousy Love: believe it or not, there are people who feel that they are not in love until they feel a rush of anger and jealousy when they see their significant other is simply talking to another person.

In addition, I learned that saying, “I love you” does not necessarily equal fidelity or monogamy. Yes, there are people who are legitimately in love with an individual (and even get married) but have absolutely no intention of remaining monogamous.

Needless to say, once I learned all this valuable information, I spent a lot more time asking my significant others lots of innocuous questions…just so that I could have a better idea of what love dialect they were speaking and to avoid uncomfortable miscommunications in the future.

Another interesting tidbit I learned was the difference between jealousy and envy.

The emotion of jealousy is based upon having a previously existing relationship with a person or thing. The emotion of envy, on the other hand, is based upon not having a previously existing relationship with a person or thing.

For example, Jennifer Aniston could feel jealousy towards Angelina Jolie…because Angelina Jolie had a baby with Jennifer’s ex-husband, Brad Pitt. However, the average tabloid reading individual cannot feel jealousy towards Angelina Jolie. Instead, they could only experience envy towards her involvement with Brad Pitt…because most tabloid readers do not have a pre-existing relationship with Mr. Pitt.

In another example: if I see a really nice car drive by, I could experience envy toward the driver. However, if the car that drove by used to be my really nice car (that I had to sell because I could no longer afford the payments)….then I could feel jealousy towards the driver.

Clear as mud?

More times than not, simple miscommunications and the lack of understanding between individuals cause the most harm.

To paraphrase Obi-Wan Kenobi, making the time to understand each other’s dialects is the first step towards a more harmonious world.

Transitions

2006-08-01T06:01:00.000-08:00

Greetings Readers:

I just wanted to give you a status update.

The last couple of months have been a time of transition for me. These changes include but are not limited to: completing a Masters Degree, seeking new employment, letting go of old things, and in short, beginning a new phase in my life.

When I started this blog, I made a promise to myself that I would never blog simply for the sake of blogging. It was my intent to maintain a certain level of quality to the writing and only write when I felt I had something of substance to share.

I do have a few more meaningful blog entries left in me and will post them over the next month or so.

At that time I will have a better idea how much time I will have to allocate to “Miri’s Corner”.

Thank you for your patience!

Have a great day! ;-)

On Hiatus

2006-07-01T17:37:00.000-08:00

Greetings Readers:

I am taking a short break from posting.

Take some time to peruse the archives.

You may find some of the older posts of interest.

Have a great day!

Choices and Consequences

2006-06-26T13:30:00.000-08:00

Several weeks ago Steeler’s Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was in a motorcycle accident…while not wearing a helmet. This incident got me to thinking about the choices we make and their inherent consequences.

Many of us understand the concept of “free will”. What many of us have a hard time embracing is the notion that this right also gives us the free will to make poor decisions and experience the consequences that go with those questionable decisions.

Experiencing consequences, both pleasant and unpleasant, are key to the learning experience that is our life.

As we all know by now: knowledge + experience = wisdom.

And: consequences = direct experience

In the case of Ben Roethlisberger, he had the free will to make a choice to both ride a motorcycle and to not wear a helmet. Although he saw what happened to the careers of other football players who had motorcycle accidents (i.e. Kellen Winslow, Jr.) and was counseled by his head coach on the dangers of riding a motorcycle and the potential harm to his career…as a young and successful quarterback, he felt invincible and chose to both ride his motorcycle and not wear a helmet. Many folks on ESPN Sports Talk radio felt this was a poor choice.

Nonetheless, now that Mr. Roethlisberger is experiencing the consequences of his choices, and has been released from the hospital…he is both wiser and perhaps a more humble man.

Many of us have found ourselves in situations, counseling a loved one, only to have the loved one, against our better judgment, make a poor choice…and later find ourselves helping to pick-up the pieces.

“If only” they listened to our wise words they wouldn’t have had to experience these unpleasant consequences.

Well, life doesn’t work that way.

People do not seem to really learn anything from experiences of others. People seem to need to have the direct experience of both pleasant and unpleasant consequences to actually make the connection in both their heads and hearts regarding their choices.

Maybe that is why we were given free will. To have the opportunity to make choices…including questionable choices…and learn from their consequences.

The Tao of Steve

2006-06-22T06:19:00.000-08:00

1) Be Desire-less

2) Be Excellent

3) Be Gone

Why does it work? Because “we pursue that which retreats from us.” (Heidegger)

Inspired by the Holy Trinity of Steve’s:

- Steve McQueen who embodies the essence of cool;
- Steve McGarrett of Hawaii Five-O; and
- Steve Austin of The Six Million Dollar Man.

Original Concept: Duncan North

*For more information, buy or rent “The Tao of Steve” (2000) starring Donal Logue.

Declaration of Principles

2006-06-18T15:30:00.000-08:00

The universe speaks in many languages, but only one voice.
The language is not Narn, or Human, or Centauri, or Gaim or Minbari

It speaks in the language of hope

It speaks in the language of trust

It speaks in the language of strength and the language of compassion
It is the language of the heart and the language of the soul.

But always it is the same voice

It is the voice of our ancestors, speaking through us,
And the voice of our inheritors, waiting to be born

It is the small, still voice that says

We are one
No matter the blood
No matter the skin
No matter the world
No matter the star
We are one
No matter the pain
No matter the darkness
No matter the loss
No matter the fear
We are one

Here, gathered together in common cause, we agree to recognize the
singular truth and this singular rule:

That we must be kind to one another

Because each voice enriches us and ennobles us and each voice lost
diminishes us.

We are the voice of the Universe, the soul of creation, the fire
that will light the way to a better future.

We are one.
We are one.

Whoever speaks for the Alliance speaks for many.
Consequently this contains the first page of every holy book of every race that has joined the new Alliance.

Whoever speaks for the Alliance does so with the understanding that it is the inalienable right of every sentient being to live free, to address wrongs within their own society without fear of retribution.

To believe as their conscience requires in matters of faith and also to respect the rights of others to believe differently or not at all.

J. Michael Straczynski
Babylon 5: Episode - No Compromises / Paragon of Animals

Life is not an episode of Star Trek

2006-06-12T23:29:00.000-08:00

When I was growing up I loved watching Star Trek. I knew every episode of the original series backwards and forwards and could readily quote obscure lines from the show. Maybe it’s because I grew up with a lot of drama around me, but the aspect of Star Trek that I loved the most was how the characters would put all pettiness and personal issues aside to focus on the mission.

In my own naïve way, I thought this concept was called “professionalism” and I assumed that all adults would behave in a similar manner…at least in the work place. [silly me!]

Eventually I grew up and found myself on the job wondering “when” my co-workers and bosses would start being professionals and behave like the characters in Star Trek.

It was a sad day when I realized that this would never happen. One day I had an epiphany that humans are melodramatic creatures who tend to bring their personal feelings into every situation and ultimately create messy situations that a Star Trek solution would not solve.

Although the Mr. Ruiz’s book wasn’t published yet, I had broken one of the Four Agreements: “Don’t make assumptions”.

Many of us make assumptions or have preconceived ideas about how our lives are supposed to turn out.

I have a friend who was having a difficult time managing his young employees. At first, I thought he was having a generational diversity issue, but ultimately it came down to an assumption he made a long time ago…about how his work life would be when he grew up. As a young person he assumed that when he grew up he would be the boss and have mini-versions of himself as employees (with identical values and work ethic). At 50 years old, he finally realized this would never happen and let it go. Once he let go of this preconceived idea – he no longer held his employees to an impossible standard and found a way to work with them.

In a more dramatic example, Victor Frankl was a famous therapist, philosopher, and Holocaust survivor. Before he was sent to the camps, he conceived an idea called, “logotherapy” which is an existential therapeutic technique that encourages healing through reason. Mr. Frankl assumed logotherapy was his life’s work and gathered all his notes and hid them inside his coat so that after the war he could write his book. At one point in the camps Mr. Frankl lost his coat, the first draft of his book, all his notes…and fell into a deep depression.

But then he had an epiphany, "What kind of life would it be whose meaning depends entirely on whether a book gets published?"

Mr. Frankl was an intellectual who was given the rare opportunity to practice and experience his theories & philosophies - not just write about them as an intellectual exercise. In the end, Mr. Frankl compiled his experiences into a second draft entitled, “A Man’s Search for Meaning” and discovered his life’s work was much more than the invention of logotherapy.

As for me, after I discovered that life was not an episode of Star Trek, for a while I felt as if the rug was pulled out from under me. But, a new science fiction show was on the horizon called Babylon 5. This show was different because it had melodramatic characters that brought their personal feelings into every situation and ultimately created messy situations that only a Babylon 5 solution could resolve.

I felt better when I learned that even NASA understood that Star Trek solutions would not work for every situation. This sign was posted on a NASA bulletin board: "Never apply a Star Trek solution to a Babylon 5 problem."

“Good people are good because they've come to wisdom through failure. We get very little wisdom from success, you know.” William Saroyan

References

Frankl, V.E., Fabry, J. (2000). Recollections: An Autobiography. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing

Ruiz, D. M. (1997). The four agreements: A practical guide to personal freedom. San Rafael, CA: Amber-Allen Publishing.

Compassion

2006-06-06T14:44:00.000-08:00

“If you want others to be happy...practice compassion.
If you want to be happy...practice compassion.”
by the Dalai Lama

“With courage you will dare to take risks,
have the strength to be compassionate,
and the wisdom to be humble.
Courage is the foundation of integrity.”
by Keshavan Nair

Hardened Heart Syndrome

2006-06-04T18:40:00.000-08:00

When I was younger I prided myself as an angry person with a chip on my shoulder. You wouldn’t necessarily notice right off the bat that I was an angry young person because I usually came across as being quite charming with a quick sense of humor…but if you dug a little deeper, you would notice that I was also abrupt, cold, kept people at a distance, and was indeed quite broken.

Anger can result from a multitude of sources. For example, at some point in our lives many of us find ourselves either betrayed or abandoned (or both) by someone we trusted. As a general rule, it is the act of betrayal that does more damage than the actual act of abuse – emotional or otherwise.

The anger and bitterness that arises from the feelings of betrayal are often paired with the mantra: “I love you. I hate you. I will never forgive you.”

To be truthful, anger can be an excellent motivator. Anger has the power to focus one’s energies and provide the necessary incentive to get oneself out of a variety of highly unpleasant situations and achieve the pinnacles of success.

Many empires have been built by very angry people with an, “I’ll show you” attitude.

Our culture seems to endorse the use of anger as the motivator of choice. Like a lot of people, I bought into that cultural crutch for many years: Anger as a Badge of Honor.

During the go-go 1980s anger was made cool with the saying, “success is the best revenge”.

The success "to do list" was primarily about acquisition. Acquiring money, a couple of big houses, the ornament wife, and the assorted variety of cars, boats and other toys were the primary drivers of success. A certain amount of celebrity or fame became the frosting on top of the anger motivated “success is the best revenge” cake.

This is where the universe’s twisted sense of humor comes into play.

Many people who acquire all the trappings of success find that they are still unhappy broken spirits. Ultimately they ponder the question of all lost spirits, “Is this all there is?”

Although anger is an excellent tool, anger will only take you so far. At some point, (and this point is different with each individual) anger just stops working for you.

The moment that anger starts to get in our way is the moment we must make a choice.

We can choose to continue to bang our heads against the wall…attempting to use an old and trusted tool that doesn’t work anymore…or we can choose to be creative…think outside the box…and find another way to live our lives.

For all the good that anger can bring us, ultimately anger is a great drain on our energy, health, and overall well being.

Choosing to change one’s colors is a very scary thing. There is a lot of comfort that comes with wearing one’s old and familiar behaviors…even if they are harmful.

If you hear the excuse, “I’m too busy”…those are just the word of an angry person who is not quite ready to let go of old habits.

Every journey begins with a single step.

Although this sounds corny and clichéd: choosing forgiveness and compassion is a good place to start.

There is a time to heal…and a time to move on.

It is important to not rush through the healing process.

When one chooses forgiveness, it is important to remember that forgiveness goes both ways. It is equally important to forgive ourselves as it is to forgive others.

The healing act of forgiveness leads directly to compassion.

I read some where that, “Forgiveness is an act of kindness which leads to compassion. Forgiveness must come straight from the heart, otherwise it is a word that is said with no true intent or meaning. To forgive takes great courage and strength because it goes against everything that we have been taught. We have always been taught to "get even" or "fight back" not to forgive.”

It is difficult, but not impossible, to be kind, generous or warm when you feel broken inside…and are running on empty.

Like all things, forgiveness and compassion are journeys of the heart and spirit…not destinations.

It is a process.

Be kind, gracious, and compassionate…yes…to others…but more importantly…to ourselves.

On Layover

2006-05-29T23:41:00.000-08:00

Growing-up in a military family in a military town the concept of a "tour of duty" was part of our daily lives.

Sometimes a parent is shipped off on a 6 month tour of duty to some undisclosed location. On other occasions, the whole family packs-up for a 1 or 2 year tour of duty to some unnamed military base far away that requires updated passports and a laundry list of immunizations prior to boarding the airplane or ship that transports the family to their final destination.

As someone who embraces the idea of reincarnation I spent a good chunk of this lifetime embracing the idea of life as a tour of duty.

I have since reconsidered this philosophy.

In the past, when I was lived my life as if it were a tour of duty, I approached life like a workaholic with a “to do list”. Each tour of duty brings with it a list of tasks that if accomplished are added to your resume and in some karmic fashion lead you to your next lifetime with yet another list of things needed to be accomplished and so on….

This approach to life assumes that we have control over our lives. Quite the contrary, the primary thing I learned in this lifetime is that we are not in control of anything.

In the past, I was arrogant enough to buy-in to the illusion that I had total control over my life…until the universe flicked its fickle finger of fate and dumped me on my ass a few times.

Eventually I figured out that I was in control of nothing. I embraced a new concept called “humility”…and started to get out of my own way.

I began to realize that the only thing in this life that matters are our choices…particularly how we choose to respond to the unexpected plot twists life presents us with on a regular basis.

With this in mind, I started to think of life as being on a “layover” rather than a “tour of duty”.

When we fly across the country, it is not uncommon to find ourselves on a long layover in Chicago or Dallas. When on layover, we don’t get involved in the local politics or get caught up in the local dramas…we just use the time to get our ducks in a row, keep our nose clean, and move on.

Some people might call this approach to life “apathetic”. Well, maybe it is. I prefer to think of it as a technique to harness life rather than attempting to control it…or exploring a new way to walk through the minefield of life while avoiding stepping on an explosive device.

Growing up on the ocean I spent a lot of time at the beach. Anyone who has spent any time in the surf learns pretty quickly that you cannot control the ocean. If you try to stand your ground and fight the waves…you will swiftly be dumped on your butt with a nose full of saltwater and a bathing suit full of sand.

However, if instead you harness the power of the ocean waves, you can do some amazing things like body surf, boogie board, or carve the waves on a short board.

Once you learn to let go of your pride and ego…and learn to get out of your own way… it becomes possible to harness your life and do some pretty amazing things.

Life isn’t a tour of duty…it is simply a layover.

Accommodating Ritual

2006-05-25T21:48:00.000-08:00

"Sometimes one must accommodate ritual in order to survive it."
Children of Dune

To wed or not to wed

2006-05-23T09:50:00.000-08:00

1) If you feel compelled to ask, “Should I marry ________?” Don’t.

2) Being “in love” is not a good enough reason to walk down the aisle. Being “in love” is an excellent start….but it takes a lot more than love to make a marriage last a lifetime.

3) Do you and your significant other “like” each other? Are you capable of having fun just hanging out together? When the narcotic effects of infatuation and lust fade…there are just two people hanging out together until death do us part. Hopefully there is enough substance to your relationship that you can still enjoy each other’s company after the infatuation and lust fade away.

4) Do you and your partner laugh together on a regular basis? If not, consider what a lifetime without laughter feels like.

5) Always take the car for a test drive. It is impossible to predict how well a car will perform from just starting the engine in the parking lot.

6) It is important to not lose yourself in a relationship. But it is also important to remember that being in a marriage is not the same being single. A marriage can’t last if the people involved spend more energy maintaining their independence and autonomy…and less time investing in building a relationship.

7) When having a disagreement with your significant other, always remember and never forget that you are not enemies. Do not treat each other as if you are adversaries. Always remember that the two of you are on the same side…and treat each other accordingly. (Start your negotiations noting that you want the same things and are on the same side)

8) The Two Year Rule: Do not marry someone that you have not dated for at least two years….while living in the same zip-code. It is impossible to really know who someone is until after you pass the two year mark. Everyone wants to make a good impression. Most people can keep up the charade for one year…and the really good actors can keep it up for two years. How many people have you known who woke up one day after being married for a couple of years and wondered who the heck this person was that they share a bed with?

9) Avoid self-help relationship books written by single, divorced, or unmarried persons who have not been able to maintain a happy or successful long term relationship.

10) The best financial advice ever given from a $500/hour estate planning and tax attorney: “Never…ever…ever…get a divorce.”

A Pretty Picture Does Not Make a Happy Life

2006-05-22T08:16:00.000-08:00

Many years ago I had a male co-worker who, like many of us, grew-up in a pretty messed up family situation. When he was a child, in his mind, he made a conscious decision. He decided that when he grew up, things would be different, and he started to piece together a picture in his head of the future life he wanted for himself. The picture he created of the perfect life he wanted included a lovely and wholesome wife, a son, a daughter, a cat, a dog, and a house with two cars. I worked with him when he was in his mid-30s. At this time he successfully pieced together a life based upon that pretty picture. All the elements were there to create a perfect scrapbook life. Unfortunately, a pretty picture does not make a happy life. Something was missing....and today...three wives later....he is still trying to figure out what that is.

When I was younger I used to take a lot of photographs. At some point along the way I just stopped taking the pictures. The photographs that I took of my life and experiences were very pretty and evoked a positive emotion…but something wasn’t quite right about them. I couldn’t articulate what it was until I saw an interview with Brooke Shields last year for her book, “Down Came the Rain”. In this interview she discussed her post-partum depression after giving birth to her first daughter. When her daughter was an infant she had a magazine photo-shoot for a mother/daughter photo-spread. Brooke continued to describe the disconnect between the lack of emotion and bonding she actually felt toward her daughter and the beautiful Madonna-esque pictures in the magazine.

It was disconnect between the image in the photograph and the reality of the moment was my problem with pictures.

I can’t tell you how many times I have overheard my friends and co-workers talk about the problems they had wrangling their children, spouses and parents to photographer studios to take their annual family portraits: kids fighting amongst themselves, step-parents feeling left out, infants crying, etc. But the family portrait turns out beautiful and shows no indication of how unhappy everyone really was in the picture at the moment the photograph was taken.

I recall looking at pictures of various graduations, weddings, vacations and parties I attended over the years. Certain people in the pictures appear to be very happy and having the time of their lives. But, I was actually at those events and I remember that in reality a few of these “smiling happy people” were actually extremely stressed out due to an entire soap-opera undercurrent flowing through the entire event.

The problem with scrapbooks is that they rarely reflect reality. How many people have been on a family vacation that was tense and full of arguments…and didn’t really go as smoothly as you assumed it would? But when you take a look at the vacation scrapbook…everyone is smiling for the camera and looks as if they are having the time of their lives?

Something is missing....

I think the element that is missing is the emotion that reflects the reality of the moment.

The emotions of the actual event are rarely consistent with the emotions reflected in the photographs.

The question is: Do you want to remember your life as it really occurred? Or do you want to remember your life as it was photographed and airbrushed?

Musings on the Human Condition

2006-05-13T16:52:00.000-08:00

“You are right, I have always known about man. From the evidence, I believe his wisdom must walk hand and hand with his idiocy. His emotions must rule his brain.”
Dr. Zaius in Planet of the Apes (1968).

As an amateur observer of human behavior I have noticed that most people behave in a counterintuitive manner – particularly when faced with crises, tragedy, or the “unthinkable”.

Philosophers like George Santayana (1863-1952) feel that, “those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” One would hope that we learn from our mistakes…or from the lessons of previous generations…however in reality it appears that (more times than not) one generation is incapable of learning from the previous generation.

Times change, names change, places change, but humans remain pretty much the same from one generation to the next…and one century to next…repeating the same character building scenarios again and again.

The below frustrated rants against young people by both Socrates and Plato sound eerily contemporary and illustrate that humanity does not seem to learn from one generation to another:

"What is happening to our young people? They disrespect their elders, they disobey their parents. They ignore the law. They riot in the streets inflamed with wild notions. Their morals are decaying. What is to become of them?" Plato (427-347 BC)

"The children now love luxury. They have bad manners, contempt for authority, they show disrespect to their elders.... They no longer rise when elders enter the room. They contradict their parents, chatter before company, gobble up dainties at the table, cross their legs, and are tyrants over their teachers." Socrates (469-399 B.C.E.)

The Old Testament is full of sordid and dysfunctional tales that could easily be made into movies for the Lifetime Network like, “Brother Sweet Brother: The Cain and Abel Story” or “What happens in Sodom & Gomorrah…Stays in Sodom & Gomorrah…”

“For it is the doom of men that they forget.”
Merlin in Excalibur (1981).

It would be too easy to judge humans and assume that short-term memory and strong emotional reactions doom men to eternal failure.

Personally, I believe that humans are at their best during crises. I think that the human capacity to forget and move-on is the key to our ability to rise to the occasion and the key to our resiliency as a race.

A quick look at history demonstrates our capacity rebuild and move on in the face of the unthinkable…sometimes at the expense of learning from our mistakes. Whether it is the Alamo, Titanic, Pearl Harbor, Holocaust, Apollo 1, Challenger, 9/11, the Christmas Tsunami, Katrina, etc. each generation seems to face the unthinkable in one form or another.

Small percentage of people responds to tragedy or the unthinkable as if it was one big life lesson with a moral to not repeat the mistakes of history. Whereas others respond to tragedy with an initial call to arms that quickly fades away to a stronger desire to return to normalcy.

Humans seem to feel compelled to return to normalcy after a period of chaos. From a scientific point of view, the return to normalcy after a period of chaos illustrates the natural order of a sociological system being brought back to a state of homeostasis…or a place a familiarity...after a period of chaos.

Perhaps it is the security of a familiar structure or routine that compels us to seek normalcy rather than to actively learn from our tragedies or mistakes.

When I was in elementary school, I read a book about a boy who lived in an old Japanese fishing village that faced typhoons and tsunamis at least once each generation. After surviving a particularly bad tsunami the young boy returned to the fishing village to see the adults rebuilding. The boy asked a man in the village, “Why are you rebuilding?” The man answered, “This is our home. For generations this is what we do after every storm or big wave destroys our village. After the next storm we will rebuild again.”

Some people feel rebuilding the sinking city of New Orleans after the floods of Katrina is insane. But, it fits the pattern of human resiliency after tragedy.

The motivation is simple: it is what we do…it is who we are…this is our home.

After thousands of years (or millions of years…depending upon your belief system) humans are still here in spite of ourselves. Call it arrogance or ignorance…or a little of both but humans appear to be motivated by pride, will, and just enough ignorance to keep us alive….all these generations later.

Maybe like rose bushes, we do learn a little and grow back a little stronger after being pruned or cut back by life’s tragedies.

Humans are a mystical cocktail of emotion, logic, and a counterintuitive brilliance.

In the words of Mr. Spock in Star Trek, “although…it is not logical, but it is often true.”

The Importance of Self-Protection

2006-05-08T09:40:00.000-08:00

At approximately the same time that I felt I had a pretty good handle on the toxic personalities and energy vampires in my life, a massage therapist & Reiki practitioner friend of mine decided to pursue training in Shamanic Healing in the Inka tradition. Lucky for me, she needed people to practice on while she was in training and I happily volunteered for the task.

I didn’t quite know what to expect, but I approached the process in a very pro-active manner. Like most people, I have my share of personal baggage and some of my personal baggage manifests itself in recurring aches & pains. I do my best to actively work through my issues through self-healings and assorted other techniques. But sometimes my individual self-healings only go so far. To get the rest of the way I thought shamanic healing techniques might be a good place to start.

I was very impressed with the shamanic healing process. I found the healing energies to be very powerful and those energies did a great job healing some of my ancient baggage. Everyone responds to energy healings in a different way. For me, the first 24-48 hours are very euphoric. But the next 3-5 days, I tend to feel a bit vulnerable and out-of-sync as my energies get used to the new healthier patterns. During this phase I usually perform some cleansings and self-protection rituals…and do my best to avoid unpleasant energetic situations…to make sure the healings “stick”.

After several months passed, I had a valuable learning experience with regard to the importance of self-protection. My shamanic healer had strained her back a couple of days after one of our shamanic sessions. She asked me if I was available to give her Reiki session. Although I was feeling under-the-weather, a bit vulnerable and out-of-sync, I thought, “no problem” and we set-up a meeting.

During the Reiki session, something happened that I have never experienced before and hope to never experience again. It was the perfect storm of how not to do a Reiki session. The Reiki Practitioner (me) was feeling vulnerable and my personal energies were fuzzy. In addition, I didn’t take the proper self-protection precautions. In short…I got sloppy. In addition, my newly minted shamanic healer (the client) did not regularly practice proper cleansings after her healings…so her personal energies were extra fuzzy.

To make a long story short, approximately 1/3 of the way through the Reiki session the wild mix of energies in the room raised the ambient temperature to an unbearable temperature and I started to get really nauseous. As I struggled through the Reiki session, I also felt zapped by some unusually strong energies that I never experienced before or since. I actually had to stop the session a couple of times to take a break and sit down for a few minutes before continuing the session.

What did we learn from this experience?

Energy healers must make sure that they are in a “good space” prior to performing a healing. In addition, there is no excuse to be sloppy about self-protection and post session cleansings.

After receiving several shamanic sessions over a year or so, I noticed a major shift in how I related to people. After my initial shamanic sessions I noticed that my interactions with people – including co-workers improved significantly and felt primarily warm & fuzzy about these relationships. However, after receiving more shamanic sessions and healing more personal baggage I started to feel more vulnerable around these people and my old self-protection techniques were no longer working.

They say that defense mechanisms exist for a reason…they protect the more vulnerable and sensitive aspects of our spirit.

I recently heard an interview with a sports medicine specialist that described how a professional athlete’s muscles tense up and range of motion is reduced after a game. The muscles are tensed or in spasm to protect an injured or vulnerable area of the body.

Sometimes our baggage exists for a reason. As unhealthy as our personal baggage can be...it usually provides our spirits with necessary protection. As our baggage is healed this protection is removed and can leave us in a vulnerable and hyper-sensitive state…unless we can figure out how to protect ourselves without using dysfunctional techniques.

I mentioned this new hyper-sensitivity to my shamanic healer in passing…and she offered the “Bands of Power” protection solution.

The Bands of Power is a simple shamanic rite that installs five energetic bands along chakra meridians that filter energies directed towards the individual. The Bands of Power act as a buffer or a filter to help individuals self-protect and be less vulnerable to the toxic energies of their environments.

In addition, the Bands of Power are also an excellent tool for energy healers. I discovered that many healers get the Bands of Power to have additional protection when working with clients so as to not accidentally absorb their client’s issues.

On a personal note, I found the Bands of Power to be an excellent solution for my self-protection issues…particularly in the work place. Previously, certain energy vampires and toxic co-workers in the office would interact with me on a minimal…even polite basis. However, after receiving the Bands of Power…they completely stayed away.

In addition, the person who worked in the cubicle next door was going through a very messy divorce and custody battle when I received the Bands of Power…and the situation strained my buffer zone of self-protection. After receiving the Bands of Power I could easily expand my area of protection whenever my co-worker would begin a rant on the telephone about the situation.
Lastly, since receiving the Bands of Power, I have given my shamanic healer at least one Reiki session. We both learned our lessons on the importance of self-protection and I am happy to report that the session went extremely smoothly.

I still use my old self-protection techniques of: being aware of your surroundings; breathing; centering oneself; practicing self-protection; creating a buffer zone; becoming self-aware…but now the self-protections feel “super-sized”…and I feel more confident about letting go of old patterns.

References

Algonquin Shaman (2006). Bands of Power. Retrieved May 5, 2006, http://www.algonquinshaman.com/bandsofpower.html

Hay, L. (1988). Heal Your Body. 4th edition. Carlsbad, CA: Hay House.

Orloff, J. (2000). Guide to Intuitive Healing: 5 Steps to Physical, Emotional and Sexual Wellness. New York: Three Rivers Press.

Orloff, J. (2004). Positive Energy: 10 extraordinary prescriptions for transforming fatigue, stress, and fear into vibrance, strength and love. New York: Three Rivers Press.

Ritchey, D. (2003). The H.I.S.S. of the A.S.P.: Understanding the Anomalously Sensitive Person. Terra Alta, WV: Headline Books, Inc.

Villoldo. A. (2006). The Four Winds Society. Retrieved May 8, 2006, http://www.thefourwinds.com/

Toxic Co-workers and Energy Vampires

2006-05-06T22:50:00.000-08:00

One of my guilty pleasures is listening to ESPN Sports Talk Radio. Listening to ongoing commentaries regarding the NFL draft, NCAA brackets, and the discussions of personnel trades are very soothing. For many people out there, Sportscenter Host and Sports Radio Personality, Dan Patrick, has the ultimate dream job. He spends his day talking about sports and meeting & greeting with professional athletes.

A couple of years ago, I happened to hear Mr. Patrick talk about his average day...when a caller suggested that he had the perfect job and the perfect life. Mr. Patrick said that "any job" no matter how sexy or high profile...eventually becomes a routine...and eventually a grind. He went on to itemize his typical day: wake up, drive the kids to school, buy a cup of coffee, go to the studio, do a radio show, go to another studio and do Sportscenter, interview a series of athletes that give the standard clichéd responses, go home, have dinner, go to sleep...and start all over again.

At some point during our lives, each of us faces the day when our lives and/or jobs become routine...and eventually a grind. This is the moment when our spirits falter and we become worn down by life. We lose the resiliency of youth and become more vulnerable to the toxic co-workers and energy vampires lurking around us.

Generally speaking, toxic co-workers and energy vampires are usually benign well meaning people who just don’t realize what effect they have on the people around them. Energy vampires are the people who suck the energy out of the room…or drain your spirit. Toxic co-workers come in all shapes and sizes and tend to bring a lot of baggage to the work place. Where energy vampires suck the energy out the room, toxic co-workers tend to attack with their energies. Toxic co-workers can range from folks who are having a bad day…to folks who have a full on personality disorder.

The warning signs of being in the presence of a toxic personality or energy vampire include: feeling drained, feeling a tightening in the chest when a certain person enters the conversation, feeling tired when hanging up the phone after speaking with someone, and getting a head ache or generally feeling icky when a certain person starts talking to you.

Working in the cubicle environment of today requires some serious skill sets to not allow these people to bring you down. In addition it is almost impossible to walk away from a toxic personality or an energy vampire in today’s workplace – particularly if they work in the cubicle next door.

At a previous job, I was surrounded by three co-workers who were assigned to the cubicles in my immediate area. Each of them brought their own drama to the work place. Two of them were toxic co-workers that broadcasted their drama to anyone within a 10 foot radius. The third was a classic energy vampire that had a very needy spirit. I could not move to another part of the building…and I could not quit my job anytime soon. I felt trapped. The daily exposure to this toxic environment took its toll on my spirit and my health. The job itself was fine…but my working environment was not. The only thing I could do was to turn this unpleasant situation into an opportunity to learn how to manage my energies and the energies of others in a more pro-active manner.

When I first started to notice the toxic environment of my work place, I read a series of books on toxic co-workers and energy vampires. Unfortunately, what I did not fully understand at the time was that my problem with toxic personalities and energy vampires could not easily be solved with the techniques being offered in standard self-help business books.

I was an intuitive empath – and didn’t know it.

Judith Orloff coined the term intuitive empath in her book, Positive Energy. Dr. Orloff also provided a mini-quiz to determine if you were an intuitive empath:

1) Have I been labeled as overly sensitive?
2) If a friend is distraught or in physical pain, do I start feeling it too?
3) Am I drained in crowds, going out of my way to avoid them?
4) Do I get anxious in packed elevators, airplanes or subways?
5) Am I hypersensitive to noise, scents or excessive talking?
6) When I see gruesome newscasts does my energy plummet?
7) Do I get burned out by groups, require lots of time alone to revive?

If you answer “yes” to one or more of the above questions…you too are an intuitive empath.

Evidently, it is extra challenging for intuitve empaths to be open and not absorb negativity. These people basically absorb everything in their environment, and pick things up by simply being who they are. Intuitive empaths do not naturally set boundaries with their energies…and are not naturally aware of the importance of using self-protection techniques.

We’re not talking about psychic warfare in this post… and we are not discussing mastering protection against the dark arts...we are simply discussing tools to help us deal with everyday toxic personalities and energy vampires.

Through trial and error I learned that I needed to change how I interact with people and become pro-active. The approach I take with people today is the same, whether I am in a supervisory position or in a worker bee position. I think of myself as actively managing personalities and managing energies as soon as I find myself in the presence of other people.

Being conscious and aware of the people and energies around you is the first step in taking control of your environment and managing the energies around you.

Breathing is a good first step to reduce any internal tension and provides the opportunity to center your self. Breathing is also an excellent tool to become aware of what is going on around you.

It is also possible to use your own subtle energy to counter the effects of an energy vampire or toxic personality. Some people visualize a protective white light around themselves…like an energy shield. I prefer to start from my center or core and push my subtle energies outwards as far as I need to…whether it is one meter, 100 meters, or 100 miles. You can still hear the people whining or complaining about their lives but you have created a buffer zone so their negative energies no longer have a visceral effect on you.

Setting boundaries is another way of protecting yourself. I am not suggesting that you become adversarial with the people around you…rather to become a neutral energy force that diffuses and dissipates their energies. Choosing to become adversarial with toxic personalities escalates their negativity. Taoists describe the technique of, “neither opposing nor giving away” and suggest being pliable like a reed in the wind. Just breathe, dig in your heels, relax your neck and facial muscles…consciously relax your vocal chords…and choose not to react when they attempt to push your buttons.

It is also important to become a little self-aware, and take a personal inventory of the types of people that irritate you. Dr. Orloff described a “law of energy” in her book Positive Energy which suggests that on some level we attract people into our lives that represent aspects of ourselves or aspects of our personal baggage that we still have to work on. For example, an obsessive compulsive control freak might find himself or herself surrounded by other control freaks. Or an individual with unfinished business with a helpless wounded bird-type personality might find himself or herself repeatedly working with helpless wounded birds.

By paying attention to the toxic personalities around you, you might discover something about yourself that you need to address. It is interesting to note that once an individual works through a particular issue, the individual becomes immune to that type of toxic personality or energy vampire.

- Be aware of your surroundings
- Breathe
- Center yourself
- Practice self-protection
- Create a buffer zone
- Become self-aware

References

Algonquin Shaman (2006). Bands of Power. Retrieved May 5, 2006, http://www.algonquinshaman.com/bandsofpower.html

Cavaiola, A.A. & Lavender, N.J. (2000). Toxic Coworkers: How to Deal with Dysfunctional People on the Job. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.

Orloff, J. (2000). Guide to Intuitive Healing: 5 Steps to Physical, Emotional and Sexual Wellness. New York: Three Rivers Press.

Orloff, J. (2004). Positive Energy: 10 extraordinary prescriptions for transforming fatigue, stress, and fear into vibrance, strength and love. New York: Three Rivers Press.

Ritchey, D. (2003). The H.I.S.S. of the A.S.P.: Understanding the Anomalously Sensitive Person. Terra Alta, WV: Headline Books, Inc.

The Challenges of Predictions and Prophecy

2006-04-30T17:00:00.000-08:00

In the universe of Star Wars, a young boy named Anakin Skywalker was believed to be the Chosen One written about in Jedi prophecy. It was said that the Chosen One was destined to bring balance to the Force by destroying the Emperor and the Sith.

As the story goes, Anakin Skywalker did indeed bring balance to the Force and did destroy the Sith….but not the way that the Jedi Council “assumed” he would based on their interpretation of the prophecy. Instead, Anakin Skywalker joined the Sith as Darth Vader. It was only after many decades of bloodshed that Anakin finally destroyed the Emperor and brought balance to the Force. When Anakin did destroy the Emperor, he did not do it as a Jedi Knight, nor as the ambitious Darth Vader. Instead Anakin destroyed the Emperor as a concerned father who wanted to save his son, Luke Skywalker, from the evil Sith.

The primary challenge for accurately interpreting a prediction or prophecy is the context.

Context is often defined as a set of facts or circumstances that surround a situation or event.

As a general rule, when a person has a clairvoyant or intuitive vision or dream, the individual receives a gestalt of images and facts…but the individual is rarely given the context or full meaning of the prediction or prophecy.

Let’s pretend for a moment that Rose Kennedy, the matriarch of the Kennedy Clan, had her tea leaves read at a garden party in the 1920s or 1930s...and was told that one of her sons would become the President of the United States. At this moment in time, Rose Kennedy would probably assume that the tea leaf reader was referring to her eldest son, Joe Jr. After all, Joe Jr. was the chosen one who was being groomed for leadership. By the same token, at this moment in time the last person Rose Kennedy would assume would rise to Presidency was Jack...her sickly, studious and bookish son. However, without having the context of time, Rose would have no idea that her son Joe Jr. would come to a tragic end in an airplane accident in the 1940s or that Jack would overcome his illnesses to become a famous war hero and charismatic Congressman and Senator.

In a real life example, during the month of November in 1981 seven young people (Alphonsie, Emmanuel, Anathalie, Marie-Claire, Stephanie, Agnes, and Vestine) saw an apparition of the Virgin Mary as well as had many prophetic visions in Kihebo, Rwanda, Africa. During one vision of the future, which lasted 8 hours, the young people saw graphic images of tragedy including massacres, decapitated bodies, and so many bodies thrown into rivers…that it appeared the rivers were running red with blood.

Without the context of time, geography, or politics many people across the globe who heard of this prophecy assumed the vision was the prophecy of a global apocalypse. However, now we know that these visions were not of a global apocalypse, but instead of the Rwandan holocaust that came to pass 13 years later.

Context is also an issue for remote viewing. The former government remote viewer Paul Smith related the following anecdote in his book, Reading the Enemy's Mind. Occasionally the remote viewers were given a directed or open search task, in which the blinded prompt or coordinate was consistent with the phrase, "Tell us something important that is going to happen in the next 24 hours.” During an open search remote viewing session that occurred on Friday, May 15, 1987, Paul Smith described a US military vessel, moving through water at night being hit by a missile of some type from an aircraft flying above. In addition, Paul Smith suggested that the aircraft originated from a Third World country…possibly an Arabic location.

On Monday morning, May 18, 1987, Skip Atwater called Paul Smith and told him to look at the newspaper. The headline story in The Washington Post stated that a US frigate was attacked by an Iraqi missile in the Gulf. The USS Stark had been on maneuvers when an Iraqi Mirage fired a missile at it. The missile hit the frigate which was sinking in the Persian Gulf and many Americans were killed in the attack.

This is an example of a highly accurate and impressive remote viewing session that occurred several hours prior to the described attack. However, without the context of the described incident…such as the specifics of time, geography, politics or even the players involved…what is a person to do with the information?

Many futurists and clairvoyants of the 20th century described several Orwellian type predictions for the modern world. Some of these predictions included populations of drugged humans, experiments that included combining human and animal “parts” to create the ultimate warriors, and lastly Big Brother type surveillance cameras that would track the comings & goings of ordinary people.

Flash forward to the year 2006 and all of these predictions have come true…except not in the Totalitarian way that these futurists or clairvoyants assumed. For example today we have an unprecedented number of ordinary people who willingly take prescription drugs (i.e. Prozac, Oxycontin, diabetic medications, cholesterol medications, anti-aging regimens, Viagra, Cialis, Levitra, etc). In fact the average person demands access to pharmaceutical drugs. Consider the recent demand for Medicare Part D legislation by constituents.

In addition, the world of professional and Olympic athletics...one could describe these athletes as the warriors of today. The headlines over the past few years (i.e. the BALCO scandal) described the preponderance of steroids (synthetic, recombinant and animal steroids), human growth hormone, and assorted other drugs that the athletes willingly broke the law to take in an effort to give themselves a competitive edge.

Lastly, have you watched television lately? There is a wide range of Reality TV shows produced all over the globe. Ordinary folks stand in line for hours just for the privilege of auditioning to participate on a TV show in which they would be followed around with cameras 24/7…just to get their 15 minutes of fame.

Without the context of time or culture…the interpretations of above predictions assumed only a Totalitarian regime could force drugs and surveillance cameras on populations or force warriors to submit to chemical manipulations. Within the correct cultural context, the above predictions describe an ordinary life in the 21st century that demands access to prescription drugs, the opportunity to be on a Reality TV show and athletes that are willing to break the law to gain a competitive edge.

Another challenge to interpreting predictions or prophecies is the explanation of technologies that one doesn’t have any context for.

For example, how would a simple shepherd from a few hundred or a few thousand years ago describe two F-14 fighter jets dog fighting in the skies above their flocks? Perhaps the shepherd would describe two fire breathing dragons screeching in the skies overhead? Or maybe a more eloquent shepherd might describe something consistent with the Book of Ezekiel in the Bible?

The challenge of accurately describing technologies is not limited to ancient prophecies. This is also a challenge for today’s remote viewers and intuitive healers.

In their respective books, both Judith Orloff and Russell Targ described the importance of having a solid background in anatomy, physiology, or medicine prior to pursuing intuitive healing techniques. If the healer does not know what he/she perceives how can the healer help the patient?

In addition, if a remote viewer is being tasked to observe a laboratory or factory, it would be beneficial for the remote viewer to have a background in physics or engineering.

Think about it for a moment. Even the most accurate remote viewer would be challenged to describe a technology that he or she has no reference for. It is best to task a remote viewer that has the appropriate technological training or background to ensure the best chance of a proper description or context of what is being viewed.

Lastly, another challenge for accurately interpreting a prediction or prophecy…is the ability of the seer to clearly articulate and accurately describe what is being seen.

There is a humorous scenario that was depicted in an episode of the HBO mini-series From the Earth to the Moon. In the episode the Apollo astronauts not only had to learn geology, but they also had to be able to accurately describe the lunar landscape to geologists and artists back on earth at NASA. The astronaut’s geology professor took the astronauts out to various desert landscapes and sent one astronaut out to a remote location with a walkie-talkie. The astronaut was instructed to describe the landscape to a fellow astronaut hundreds of meters away armed with a sketch pad & pencil. The clumsy montage of descriptions and rough sketches illustrated the importance of being able to clearly articulate and accurately describe what one is “seeing”.

In my basic remote viewing class we were given a very similar exercise that also illustrated this very important point. The students were partnered up and one student was given a sketch pad and pencil while the other student was given a photograph. The student with the photograph was tasked with describing the image in the photograph while the other student was tasked with drawing the image using only the other student’s descriptions as a guide. The results were both humorous and humbling…which illustrated the importance and the challenge of clearly articulating and accurately describing what is being seen.

It doesn’t matter how clear the image is in your head…if you cannot articulate it or communicate it in an accurate manner.

There are many challenges for accurately interpreting a prediction or prophecy. The context or set of facts or circumstances that surround the prediction or prophecy is a big challenge to overcome. The context of time, evolution of cultures, politics, or changes in relationships, or changes in emotional states can radically skew the interpretation of a prediction.

In addition, it also a challenge for a seer to accurately explain technologies that he/she doesn’t have any context for. And lastly, the ability of the seer to clearly articulate and accurately describe what is being seen is also a major challenge to be over come.

References

Atwater, F.H. (2001). Captain of My Ship, Master of My Soul: Living With Guidance. Charlottesville, SC: Hampton Roads Publishing Company.

Buchanan, L. (2003). The Seventh Sense: The Secrets of Remote Viewing as Told by a "Psychic Spy" for the U.S. Military. New York: Paraview Pocket Books.

McMoneagle, J. (1993). Mind Trek: Exploring Consciousness, Time, and Space Through Remote Viewing. Charlottesville, SC: Hampton Roads Publishing Company.

Nelson, R. (2006). Marian Apparitions & Prophecies. Retrieved April 29, 2006, http://www.rexresearch.com/mary/maryapps.htm

Orloff, J. (2000). Guide to Intuitive Healing: 5 Steps to Physical, Emotional and Sexual Wellness. New York: Three Rivers Press.

Orloff, J. (1996). Second Sight. New York: Warner Books, Inc.

Ritchey, D. (2003). The H.I.S.S. of the A.S.P.: Understanding the Anomalously Sensitive Person. Terra Alta, WV: Headline Books, Inc.

Smith, P. (2005). Reading the Enemy's Mind: Inside Star Gate, America's Psychic Espionage Program. New York: Forge Books.

Targ, R. & Katra J. (1998) Miracles of Mind: Exploring Non-local Consciousness and Spiritual Healing. Novato, CA: New World Library.

Targ, R. & Katra J. (1999) The Heart of the Mind. Novato, CA: New World Library.

Another Quote

2006-04-25T08:39:00.000-08:00

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka!' (I found it!) but 'That's funny ...'

Isaac Asimov
US science fiction novelist & scholar (1920 - 1992)

The Monroe Institute: Part 3

2006-04-24T21:26:00.000-08:00

Remote Viewing Practicum

What is Remote Viewing? Remote Viewing protocols allow an individual to perceive people, places, events, and objects by directing their consciousness to any destination or any time period via specified coordinates.

In 2002 I was very excited to see that Fred “Skip” Atwater was going to facilitate a new seminar at The Monroe Institute (TMI) on Remote Viewing. I couldn’t think of anyone better to provide a solid overview on the subject…in that he was heavily involved with the creation of the Department of Defense’s initial Remote Viewing program and promoted the idea of having future DOD Remote Viewers attend the TMI Gateway Voyage seminar.

I waited until the summer of 2003 to attend the seminar…figuring that the format and presentation glitches would work themselves out during the first couple of seminars.

This seminar is less of a “how to” workshop and more of an educational opportunity that introduces attendees to the basics and provides a solid foundation of what Remote Viewing is and is not.

The Remote Viewing Practicum seminars are held at the Nancy Penn Center rather than the Roberts Mountain Retreat. Although the Roberts Mountain Retreat is a very nice location, it was nice to return to the Nancy Penn Center. (I hadn’t been back to the Nancy Penn Center since my initial Gateway Voyage seminar.)

The seminar was full and the collection of attendees was reminiscent of the Gateway seminar: a lively mix of left-brained and right-brained folks. Some of the attendees (like myself) had already read every book published on the subject…while other attendees had no idea what Remote Viewing was…they just wanted to come to TMI and this was the seminar that was scheduled.

Unlike other TMI seminars, the Remote Viewing seminar offered attendees little free time and was scheduled with lots of presentations, practical CHEC unit sessions as well as the occasional practice target.

Over the course of the week, Skip Atwater presented a detailed history of Remote Viewing. Also, rather than teaching a specific Remote Viewing Protocol, Skip allowed the attendees the opportunity to become familiar with multiple styles and protocols: from the rigidly structured Hawaii Remote Viewers Guild (HRVG) protocols, to the highly unstructured Extended Remote Viewing (ERV) protocols…as well as several protocols in between with varying amounts of structure.

Toward the end of the week, there was also a presentation on the complex Associative Remote Viewing (ARV) protocol. For those of you who want to use Remote Viewing to play the stock market or lottery, this is the protocol for you. But be forewarned, it is a very complicated protocol and has the potential to either tire out your Remote Viewers….or bore them to tears….

Each attendee was encouraged to decide for themselves what style of Remote Viewing protocol would work best for their personal style.

(As for myself, I fell in the middle with regard to the amount of structure I felt comfortable with. I really identified with Lyn Buchanan’s Controlled Remote Viewing (CRV) protocols)

The common themes among all Remote Viewing protocols were what Skip termed the “Five Behaviors”. These Five Behaviors included: Relaxing, Connecting, Listening, Becoming Aware, Objectifying/Reporting

We were given a Hemi-Sync tool (as a take home CD) to assist us in letting go and turning inward. The hemi-sync tool was used throughout the week in our CHEC Unit sessions for use with our practice targets. The binaural frequencies on the CD are similar to the frequencies developed by Robert Monroe for Joe McMoneagle (aka Remote Viewer 001).

In addition, the importance of the team concept for Remote Viewing was discussed. In a Remote Viewing team, the key roles are that of the Monitor (or Interviewer), Remote Viewer and the Judge.

Contrary to what you might have seen in movies, the Remote Viewer is always (okay, 99.9% of the time) in control of the session. The monitor is there to guide, suggest, or cue the Remote Viewer, but does not lead or pressure the Remote Viewer in any specific direction. The Judge is the individual that is brought in after the session to determine if the Remote Viewer hit the target or missed the target.

The most important things I learned from the Remote Viewing Practicum seminar are as follows:

During the week the attendees were given a series of Remote Viewing targets in a variety of situations. The attendees were tasked with figuring out what was in the “envelope” or “box” by simply being given a randomly assigned target number.

Each time the attendees were given a practice target, the situation was designed to teach attendees how NOT to set-up a Remote Viewing session.

These practice targets gave the attendees the direct experience to understand:
- just how important it is to set-up the Remote Viewing targets correctly
- to always follow the protocols (whatever protocols they may be)
- illustrate the importance of correct feedback
- do not front-load the remote viewer
- do not front-load the monitor.

Frontloading is when the Remote Viewer or Monitor is told what the target is (i.e. a factory in Siberia) and the task is to provide detail about the target. The problem that results from frontloading…for beginning remote viewers…is that it is difficult to differentiate between the signal line and imagination or analytical overlay. Also, for the beginning monitor, it is easy to lead or pressure the remote viewer in an inaccurate direction. Lastly, there is the possibility of telepathic overlay between the monitor and remote viewer.

Telepathic Overlay is a very complicated subject. To the best of my knowledge, telepathic overlay is when the remote viewer is getting target information from the Monitor or other Remote Viewers (who are targeting the same target)…rather than actually making contact with the target itself.

The concept of Feedback is similar to the idea of Future Memory. Feedback occurs when the remote viewer opens the envelope is finds out what the target was. This act performs two functions.

1) It gives the remote viewer closure as to what the correct target was.

2) Allows the remote viewer to create a correct future memory. After the session, if the Remote Viewer sees a single correct target, the remote viewer can create a correct future memory that assists the remote viewer to acquire the correct target in the past. However, if after the session the Remote Viewer sees not only the correct target…but also the other targets that “could” have been in the envelope, this creates a fuzzy future memory in which all the targets kind of bleed into each other.

Let me give you an example. Let’s say that each attendee is going to get a practice target to remote view. The target is going to be 1 of 4 photographs. At the end of the session, the correct thing to do is allow the remote viewer to see the photograph that was in his/her envelope.

The incorrect thing to do is to allow the remote viewer to see not only the target that was in his/her envelope but to also allow the remote viewer to see the other 3 photographs.

When this happens, the Remote Viewer will most likely have drawn and/or described elements of all 4 target photographs rather than the single correct target photographs.

It sounds crazy, but after having the direct experience of correct Feedback and Incorrect Feedback…I have to say, that there is some truth to the concept of Future Memory.

Another concept I learned from attending the Remote Viewing Practicum is how difficult it is to determine whether the remote viewer hit or missed the target.

Here is a non-remote viewing example: Let’s say you have a dream that when I get on Flight #1234 tomorrow, the plane will crash and I will be killed. Okay, so you tell me your dream and I delay my travel by a couple of days and take a different flight. Well, we find out that indeed, Flight #1234 crashed on take-off on the date you predicted in your dream.

Was this a hit or a miss? Yes, the plane crashed. (hit) But I was not on the plane so I did not die. (miss)

The data gathering technique described in the Remote Viewing Practicum allows for fuzzy data. Rather than going with a 100% blanket hit/miss analysis, the technique presented allowed for a tally of descriptors that the Remote Viewer reported during the session and then a statistical analysis of the final tally of hits and misses is performed.

Here is an example. If the target is a horse in an outdoor muddy corral in daylight, the correct descriptors might include: organic, dirt, wet, wood, outside, musty smell. Incorrect descriptors would include: salty, grassy, night. In this simple example the final tally would be 6 hits and 3 misses.

One final lesson that really hit home with our group was with regard to how to correctly number your targets. For our seminar, Skip chose to number our targets in a manner that was different than the way the targets were numbered in previous seminars. This numbering decision created some really bizarre results for our Remote Viewing sessions with our final practice targets.

All of the attendees were separated into groups of 3. We each rotated the position of Monitor, Remote Viewer and Judge. In the end, most of us completely missed our targets. However, we missed our targets in a really bizarre and statistically significant manner.

The way Skip set up the targets was as follows: There was the possibility of 4 photographs printed on a proof sheet. Plus, there was the actual target that was printed on a separate sheet of paper. Both sheets of paper were put in envelopes with the SAME target number.

The result was that most of the attendees ended up describing elements of all 4 target photographs in a statistically significant manner.

Again, this direct experience provided the necessary impact for the lesson: it is very important to set up targets correctly.

While waiting for Skip to put together an Advanced Remote Viewing seminar (which he has not done yet), I decided to continue with Remote Viewing training. Last year I attended Lyn Buchanan’s Beginning CRV seminar and intend to follow-up with his Intermediate CRV seminar later this year.

Always remember:
1) anyone can learn Remote Viewing
2) stick to the protocols and
3) practice, practice, practice...

References

Atwater, F.H. (2001). Captain of My Ship, Master of My Soul: Living With Guidance. Charlottesville, SC: Hampton Roads Publishing Company.

Buchanan, L. (2003). The Seventh Sense: The Secrets of Remote Viewing as Told by a "Psychic Spy" for the U.S. Military. New York: Paraview Pocket Books.

HRVG (2006). Hawaii Remote Viewers Guild. Retrieved April 24, 2006, http://www.hrvg.org/

McMoneagle, J. (1993). Mind Trek: Exploring Consciousness, Time, and Space Through Remote Viewing. Charlottesville, SC: Hampton Roads Publishing Company.

Monroe, R. (1971). Journeys Out of the Body. New York: Doubleday.

Monroe, R. (1985). Far Journeys. New York: Doubleday.

Monroe, R. (1994). The Ultimate Journey. New York: Doubleday.

Problems Solutions Innovations (2006). Controlled Remote Viewing. Retrieved April 23, 2006, http://www.crviewer.com/

Ritchey, D. (2003). The H.I.S.S. of the A.S.P.: Understanding the Anomalously Sensitive Person. Terra Alta, WV: Headline Books, Inc.

Targ, R. & Katra J. (1998) Miracles of Mind: Exploring Non-local Consciousness and Spiritual Healing. Novato, CA: New World Library.

TMI (2006) Remote Viewing Practicum. Retrieved April 23, 2006, http://www.monroeinstitute.com/program.php?program_id=17

Zen Proverb

2006-04-17T10:53:00.000-08:00

Before Enlightenment...chop wood...carry water.

After Enlightenment...chop wood...carry water.

x

The Monroe Institute: Part 2

2006-04-17T09:03:00.000-08:00

Lifeline and Beyond

I spent the months between my Gateway Voyage seminar and my Lifeline seminar contemplating my experiences at Gateway and using my take home tape to explore and free flow in Focus 21.

The last week of August in 2001 I traveled to Virginia to attend the Lifeline seminar. Bruce Moen and Rosalind McKnight have written about their experiences with Lifelines in great detail (see references at the end of this post). In addition, one of my fellow attendees, Joseph Felser, PhD also wrote about his experiences at our Lifeline seminar in his book, “The Way Back to Paradise: Restoring the Balance between Magic and Reason.”

I became fascinated with the concept of Lifeline from reading Robert Monroe’s books. The idea of performing a healing service for a spirit in transition appealed to me. The actual experience of the Lifeline seminar, for me, was a much more personal and deeply healing experience.

The official description from the Monroe Institute website is excerpted here: its primary emphasis is one of service - service to those here in physical matter reality and service to those There who have made the transitions from the physical and who may benefit from assistance.

Service is accomplished through becoming knowledgeable about Focus Levels 23 through 27. Focus 23 is often perceived as an area in which certain souls, for a variety of reasons, may become "stuck" following their transitions from physical life. Lifeline participants learn to comfortably make contact with such souls and offer assistance to help them move to Focus 27, (the area Bob Monroe described in Ultimate Journey as the Park, or Reception Center, or Way Station). Upon arrival in Focus 27, they are met by loved ones and guides who direct them to the specific areas of the Reception Center most appropriate for their next stages of development.

Perhaps the most significant impact of this week, however, comes from the personal revelations that frequently evolve from those "rescue and retrieval" activities. Beyond the considerable satisfactions of helping others move forward, many participants realize that at the same time they are also retrieving lost parts or fragments of themselves, and thus coming into more wholeness, completion, and balance.

The concept of soul retrievals or spiritually retrieving aspects of our selves is common to other spiritual traditions. Many shamanic traditions use the concept of retrievals as part of the spiritual healing process.

The question of whether these soul retrievals are literal, metaphorical, or a little of both, really depends upon the attendees belief system. As attendees move through the Focus Levels many times their existing belief systems are challenged. In my humble opinion, it is always healthy to occasionally challenge our belief systems. It is through this process that we grow and evolve, and really determine for ourselves “what is important”.

It was interesting to observe our group’s behavior from the beginning of the seminar to the end of the seminar. Our group's debriefing sessions became much quieter with very little discussion as the week progressed…as our experiences in the Focus Levels became much more personal. As in all TMI seminars, our discussions (in much smaller groups) over meals continued to be lively with a high degree of sharing and questioning what we were all experiencing.

Again, although there were many consistencies in the descriptions of our experiences…the most important interpretation is that of the experiencer. When it comes to exploring consciousness, the language is full of archetypes and is very metaphorical. Most importantly, the metaphorical language is unique to the experiencer.

On a personal note, yes…I did perform many retrievals. Yes, I did move backward and forward through time and space. And yes, the experiences were of a highly personal nature and were very healing.

Did I retrieve others? Did I retrieve aspects of myself? Did I retrieve family members? The short answer is “yes”. Am I able to distinguish between retrievals….which fall into what category? The short answer is….not really….but in the end, it does not really matter…because the entire experience is about healing and less about the “woo-woo” factor.

Over the next couple of years, I continued with TMI and attended the Exploration 27 and Starlines seminars. (I also attended the Remote Viewing Practicum seminar prior to Starlines…which I will discuss in a separate post)

Exploration 27 explored Focus Levels 27 through 34/35. Starlines explored Focus Levels 27, 34/35, through 49.

Again, my personal take on the TMI experience is one of personal healing, challenging existing belief systems, and learning how to be adaptable while being true to your core essence.

Fred “Skip” Atwater gave a presentation to attendees at one of the TMI seminars. In this presentation he described the similarities between the TMI process and other spiritual practices (i.e. Meditation, Prayer, Chanting, Shamanism, etc.). When you break these practices down into basic steps, the similarities are as follows:

- Deep Breathing
- Vocalizing
- Quiet internal chatter or Set-aside today’s concerns
- Be Open
- Set your Intent

I am not a scientist, nor do I have any expertise in neurology. But I do have a lay-person’s take on how TMI’s hemi-sync binaural frequencies facilitate moving into deep meditative states (i.e. Focus Levels). It feels like the binaural frequencies balance our use of the left-brain and right-brain hemispheres. Metaphorically, it feels like there is a balance that occurs between the logical and intuitive sides of ourselves. And it is through this balance of opposites that we are able to maximize our capacity and actively explore our consciousness.

The Balance of Opposites: Be Open...Set your Intent….and move forward.

References

Felser, J.M. (2005). The Way Back to Paradise: Restoring the Balance between Magic and Reason. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Company.

Leva, P. (1998). Traveling the Interstate of Consciousness: A Driver's Instruction Manual: Using Hemi-Sync to Access States of Non-Ordinary Reality. Longmont, CO: Q Central Publishing.

McKnight, R.A. (1999). Cosmic Journeys: My Out-Of-Body Explorations With Robert A. Monroe. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Company

Moen, B. (1997). Voyages into the Unknown (Exploring the Afterlife Series, Vol. 1). Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Company.

Moen, B. (1998). Voyage Beyond Doubt (Exploring the Afterlife Series , Vol 2). Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing.

Moen, B. (1999). Voyages into the Afterlife: Charting Unknown Territory (Exploring the Afterlife Series, Vol. 3). Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Company.

Monroe, R. (1971). Journeys Out of the Body. New York: Doubleday.

Monroe, R. (1985). Far Journeys. New York: Doubleday.

Monroe, R. (1994) The Ultimate Journey. New York: Doubleday

TMI (2006). Lifeline. Retrieved April 17, 2006, http://www.monroeinstitute.com/program.php?program_id=12

Villoldo, A. (2006). Soul Retrieval and Destiny Retrieval. The Four Winds Society. Retrieved April 17, 2006, http://www.thefourwinds.com/soul-retrieval-training.htm

The Monroe Institute: Part 1

2006-04-13T07:24:00.000-08:00

Gateway Voyage

During my sabbatical several years ago, in addition to doing Reiki stuff, and contemplating the importance of a balance between work and one’s personal life…I also regularly visited The Monroe Institute’s (TMI) website and calendar of seminars (see web link on your left) to try to figure out if I could afford to attend a TMI Gateway Voyage seminar…or if the cost of flying from Alaska to Virginia would break my piggy bank. In addition, I also contemplated the logistics of scheduling a solo seminar trip in between “quality time” vacations with my husband.

I figured out that I could fly from Anchorage to Minneapolis and from Minneapolis to Washington, DC on Northwest Airlines. Then I could take a commuter plane and fly or rent a car and drive into Charlottesville. (This was before Alaska Airlines had scheduled flights from Anchorage directly to Washington, DC.) I hollered to my husband in the next room and asked him what dates would work for him…for me to be away next year. He said, “Why wait until next year? Do they have any seminars you could attend this year?”

My husband, an engineer by training, was not one to embrace attending seminars that promoted expanding consciousness. It just wasn’t his thing. However, if he (of all people) was encouraging me to go…I guess I could at least give TMI a call to see if they had any openings in their upcoming Gateway seminars. (Maybe he just wanted to get me out of the house for a while) :-)

This is when things started to fall into place. Northwest Airlines had just mailed out a promotional voucher that would enable me to fly to Washington DC for an extremely inexpensive price. In addition, TMI had an opening in a Gateway Voyage seminar just 2 months away.

The Gateway Voyage seminar is the first seminar everyone has to complete prior to attending any of the other seminars offered at TMI. The Gateway Voyage “…is an on campus six-day intensive program designed to provide the participant with tools that can enable: development and exploration of human consciousness; deeper levels of self-discovery; expansion of one's awareness; willful control of that awareness; communication with and visits to other energy systems and realities.” Like all seminars at TMI, the use of hemi-sync technology is used to help facilitate the participant’s ability to attain deep meditative states and explore human consciousness. The Focus Levels visited and explored during the Gateway Voyage are: 3, 10, 12, 15 and 21.

Many excellent books have been written by folks who have attended TMI seminars, like Rosalind McKnight, Patricia Leva, Bruce Moen’s Exploring the Afterlife Series, Courtney Brown, PhD and Joseph Felser, PhD (see complete references at the end of this post).

I won’t go into the above authors’ level of detail, but I will do my best to give you the gestalt of what I experienced at the seminar and how the experiences impacted the quality of my life.

My primary motivation to attend the Gateway Voyage seminar was to figure out if the hemi-sync technology and the TMI approach would give me the necessary tools to harness and focus my natural abilities.

The routine of every TMI seminar is the same. You arrive at either the Nancy Penn Center or the Roberts Mountain Retreat (what used to be Robert Monroe’s home).

- Go to your assigned room & CHEC-unit (your bed that is equipped with a set of head-phones and a dark curtain to help keep out the sunlight) and unpack your stuff
- Meet and greet with other seminar attendees
- Have your intake interview with one of the facilitators
- Join the facilitators and other attendees in the casual conference room for orientation, introductions, and the set-up for your first Focus Level session.
- Go to your CHEC Units
- Debrief the session in the conference room afterwards
- Have fascinating conversations with fellow attendees over meals

The Gateway Voyage attracts a very diverse group of people. We had a mix of left brained and right brained folks: physicians, engineers and retired military, mixed with energy healers, intuitives and assorted new age folks. Our debriefing sessions were lively and covered a wide range of approaches and interpretations. We were all in different places along our spiritual journeys and were getting different things out of our experiences at this seminar.

There were also a lot of interesting things that occurred during the week. Many of these similar experiences are also documented in the books referred to at the end of this post. For example, when traveling and exploring through the various Focus Levels many attendees run into each other and even assist each other with their unique challenges and breaking through belief system barriers. There were many anecdotes shared in debriefing sessions where one attendee was having a hard time getting from Focus 15 to 21…and another attendee would run into them at Focus 15 and metaphorically drag them up to Focus 21.

It has taken me several years to be able to articulate what I experienced at the Gateway Voyage seminar (or any seminar I attended at TMI). The primary reason for my reluctance to discuss my experiences was because….what you experience cannot easily be put into words. The reason these experiences cannot easily be put into words is because you are not really seeing, hearing, touching, smelling, or tasting anything. Instead your brain is trying to process these non-specific gestalts in a manner you can understand and in a language that is unique to you.

Many folks that attend the Gateway Voyage seminar have preconceived ideas about having an out-of-body experience or having experiences similar to what they have seen on TV or in movies. The reality is much more benign. Instead of the expected “lightning bolts”…the experiences are more like “whispers”. But these whispers can be extremely profound.

Attendees must quiet their internal chatter enough to perceive the whispers. A lot of what happens during Gateway is the process of quieting internal chatter – in the form of deeply personal archetypes and metaphors.

For example, one of the attendees was a policeman from Hong Kong. (Yes, people come from all over the globe to visit TMI) This young man was in the process of re-prioritizing his life. He recently lost his father – who was also a Hong Kong policeman – and was considering making some major changes to his life. During one of the mid-week debriefing sessions he shared one of his experiences out in the Focus Levels: He was chasing a perpetrator down some darkened streets and alleys. When he finally caught up with the perpetrator they got into a violent physical fight. He pulled out a knife and started to stab the perpetrator. When he saw the perpetrator’s face – it was his own.

This is some deep stuff. The Hong Kong policeman did not understand what this vision meant. To me it was quite clear…and I tried to explain it to him as gently as I could…but he wasn’t quite ready to hear it....or my metaphorical archetypes mean different things than his unique metaphorical archetypes.

For example, if a whisper was about unconditional love, a person might see his or her dog from childhood. However, if the attendee was mauled by a dog...the attendee might instead see his or her kindly grandmother.

There were also many experiences full of loving and positive archetypes and metaphors that were shared during debriefing sessions. For example, one person had unfinished business with a deceased parent, and perceived having a cup of coffee at the Focus 21 Bridge Café with him and having a deeply meaningful conversation.

The process of Gateway seems to be a healing process for a lot of internal (read: deeply personal) issues. This includes healing the stuff that makes up our internal chatter…colors our perspectives and distracts us from moving forward.

As the seminar winded down, I realized that the TMI approach would be able to help me learn how to harness & focus my natural abilities. On the last day of my Gateway Voyage Seminar, I took a long hike down to the hill to the registrar’s office and signed up for a Lifeline Seminar ~9-10 months away.

References

Brown, C. (1996). Cosmic Voyage: A Scientific Discovery of Extraterrestrials Visiting Earth. New York: Dutton Books.

Felser, J.M. (2005). The Way Back to Paradise: Restoring the Balance between Magic and Reason. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Company.

Leva, P. (1998). Traveling the Interstate of Consciousness: A Driver's Instruction Manual: Using Hemi-Sync to Access States of Non-Ordinary Reality. Longmont, CO: Q Central Publishing.

McKnight, R.A. (1999). Cosmic Journeys: My Out-Of-Body Explorations With Robert A. Monroe. Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Company

Moen, B. (1997). Voyages into the Unknown (Exploring the Afterlife Series, Vol. 1). Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Company.

Moen, B. (1998). Voyage Beyond Doubt (Exploring the Afterlife Series , Vol 2). Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing.

Moen, B. (1999). Voyages into the Afterlife: Charting Unknown Territory (Exploring the Afterlife Series, Vol. 3). Charlottesville, VA: Hampton Roads Publishing Company.

Monroe, R. (1971). Journeys Out of the Body. New York: Doubleday.

Monroe, R. (1985). Far Journeys. New York: Doubleday.

Monroe, R. (1994) The Ultimate Journey. New York: Doubleday

Timeless Quotes

2006-04-10T07:42:00.000-08:00

The Ten Cannots

You cannot bring about prosperity by discouraging thrift.

You cannot help small men by tearing down big men.

You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.

You cannot lift the wage earner by pulling down the wage payer.

You cannot help the poor man by destroying the rich.

You cannot keep out of trouble by spending more than your income.

You cannot further the brotherhood of man by inciting class hatred.

You cannot establish security on borrowed money.

You cannot build character and courage by taking away
men's initiative and independence.

You cannot help men permanently by doing for them
what they could and should do for themselves.

*From the pen of Reverend William John Henry Boetcker (1873-1962),
(often wrongly attributed to Abraham Lincoln.)

Robert Monroe (1915-1995)

2006-04-03T09:47:00.000-08:00

Robert Monroe was many things to many people.

His legend begins when he was a successful engineer and businessman in New York and Virginia. In the 1950s he experimented with sounds and binaural frequencies to assist the learning process during sleep. While testing the technology (which became Hemi-Sync) it triggered his first out-of-body experience. This moment was also the catalyst for the next chapter in his life.

Mr. Monroe wrote three books during his life: Journeys Out of the Body in 1971, Far Journeys in 1985, and The Ultimate Journey which was published in 1994 – right before his death in 1995.

I stumbled on to Mr. Monroe’s first two books during the 1980s. At the time I thought his books were interesting…he asked a lot of questions…but did not seem to have a lot of answers. Be that as it may, I was still fascinated with the hemi-sync technology and made a footnote in my brain, that if I ever had the money and the means, I would find a way to attend a seminar at Monroe Institute in Virginia.

In my opinion, the importance of Mr. Monroe’s first books was the suggestion that, “…we are more than our physical body”. In a very straight forward prose, he presented the idea that there is more going on within our own consciousness than we are aware.

Hemi-Sync technology is basically unique patterns of binaural frequencies that are sent through headphones. These frequencies assist individuals in quieting their internal chatter and help them attain deep meditative states without spending decades in a monastery. Mr. Monroe labeled these deep meditative states as Focus Levels (i.e. Focus Level 10, 12, 15, 21, 27, 34/35, etc.). Mr. Monroe’s books describe in great detail his experiences journeying through the various Focus Levels (or meditative states).

I re-discovered Robert Monroe in the 1990s when Remote Viewing was starting to make headlines on Nightline and his final book, Ultimate Journey, was published.

I enjoyed Ultimate Journey the most of his three books. They say that knowledge + experience = wisdom. By the time Mr. Monroe wrote his final book, he had decades of experience and a great deal of perspective on his 40 years as an explorer within the realm of consciousness.

Around this time, I also started to read the first round of books written by the Department of Defense’s Remote Viewers. I found it interesting that that the government sent the first remote viewers to the Monroe Institute to attend the Gateway Voyage seminar prior to being trained in remote viewing.

However, it made sense. Hemi-sync technology is a tool that can quickly quiet one’s internal chatter and attain deep meditative states. It is in these states that an individual is open to receiving information from a remote geographic location using something other than the known five senses.

All this got my curiosity aroused. I repeatedly visited the TMI (The Monroe Institute) website and tried to figure out how I could get from Alaska to Virginia to attend at least one seminar at TMI…

Little did I know that when the universe wants to make something happen…it happens very quickly.

In the end, I would eventually attend at least five seminars at TMI.

References:

Atwater, F.H. (2001). Captain of My Ship, Master of My Soul: Living With Guidance
Charlottesville, SC: Hampton Roads Publishing Company.

McMoneagle, J. (1993). Mind Trek: Exploring Consciousness, Time, and Space Through Remote Viewing. Charlottesville, SC: Hampton Roads Publishing Company.

Monroe, R. (1971). Journeys Out of the Body. New York: Doubleday.

Monroe, R. (1985). Far Journeys. New York: Doubleday.

Monroe, R. (1994) The Ultimate Journey. New York: Doubleday

Targ, R. & Katra J. (1998) Miracles of Mind: Exploring Non-local Consciousness and Spiritual Healing. Novato, CA: New World Library.

Desiderata

2006-04-02T08:13:00.000-08:00

Go placidly amid the noise and the haste,

and remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible, without surrender,

be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

and listen to others,

even to the dull and the ignorant;
they too have their story.
Avoid loud and aggressive persons;
they are vexatious to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,
you may become vain or bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.
Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.
Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love,
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment,
it is as perennial as the grass.

Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,
be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe
no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here.
And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God,
whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life,
keep peace in your soul.

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

By Max Ehrmann 1927

Ambience

2006-03-27T15:25:00.000-09:00

“We are raised in a culture that values the physical sciences, almost to the exclusion of our humanity. We have been taught that we have only five senses: sight, hearing, touch taste, and smell. Each of those senses has a physical body part to which it can be associated. The scientific culture in which we grew up did not believe that there could be a sense without an associated body part or sense organ, so the total of our sense must be five.” Lyn Buchanan

According to Lyn Buchanan, there is a sixth sense that everyone is born with...and this sixth sense is not associated with a body part. This sense is called: ambience.

Ambience is the ability to perceive subtle tones and nuances in a person or place.

For example, when most people walk into a church or a cathedral they will suddenly become very quiet and speak in whispers. Similarly, when most people find themselves at the edge of a tall cliff, they will instantly feel a sense of panic.

A more common experience of ambience is walking into an office building. A person with a keen sense of ambience can instantly determine whether there is a morale problem among the employees. Whenever I interview for a new job, I insist on being taken on a tour of the facility…not so much because I want to “see” the working conditions, rather because I want to get a “feel” for the employees and the morale (or ambience) of the place. I have turned down several jobs in the past…because I did not like the ambience of the office.

According to Mr. Buchanan, “…90% of everything that passes for psychic is nothing more than a person’s innate ability to read the ambience of the person in front of them, the situation, or the extremely subtle tones and nuances of people present.”

In my humble opinion, I think there is a certain amount of truth to the above statement. However, I’d like to think that most of the time that the perceptions are a magical blend of one’s sense of ambience mixed with intuition.

For example, when it comes to a Mother’s Intuition…when she just knows something is wrong with her child, even though the pediatrician disagrees…is that ambience or ambience mixed with something more?

Like intuition, ambience is a skill that can be sharpened with practice. Mr. Buchanan described the following ambience exercise in his book the Seventh Sense: “Starting immediately, notice every doorway you go through. Before you do, stop and see if you can get a feel for the ambience in the room you are leaving. Then step through the door and see if you can feel the change in ambience.”

It is that simple.

You will be amazed at what you start to perceive!

Reference

Buchanan, L. (2003). The Seventh Sense: The Secrets of Remote Viewing as Told by a "Psychic Spy" for the U.S. Military. New York: Paraview Pocket Books.

Exercising the Intuitive Muscle

2006-03-24T22:07:00.000-09:00

Back in 1995 I watched an episode of “The X-Files” that gave me, what Oprah would call, an “aha moment”. The episode was entitled “Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose” and Peter Boyle played the pivotal character. Clyde Bruckman was a mild-mannered insurance salesman who has the unique & useless gift to foresee the deaths of others.

In the episode, Bruckman described how he became obsessed with the plane crash in 1959 that killed: The Big Bopper, Ritchie Valens and Buddy Holly. Thanks to a coin toss, guitarist Tommy Allsup gave up his seat in the airplane to Ritchie Valens.

The idea that the decision of who lived and who died came down to the flip of a coin caused the character of Clyde Bruckman to obsess over the idea and gradually become “capable of seeing the specifics of everybody’s deaths.”

This plotline reminded me of a game my mom would have me play as a small child. As the youngest child in our family, I would usually tag along on chores and errands and spent a good chunk of my childhood waiting: waiting in lines, waiting in waiting rooms, or simply waiting for my siblings to finish their activities.

While we were waiting, my mom would do her best to find ways to keep me occupied. One of the games was a very specific type of people watching. She would pick out strangers that were walking by or sitting across the room and say: “Who are they? Where did they come from? And where are they going? Tell me a story.”

So, I would do as I was told and tell my mom a story about the people she indicated. The really interesting thing is that over time these stories started to become true!

The game of picking out strangers and asking myself, ““Who are they? Where did they come from? And where are they going?” became an automatic activity as I grew-up – almost a reflex. Over time, I began to realize that as I met strangers, I would immediately tune into their frequency and have this thought-ball downloaded into my head that would let me know, who these people were, where they came from and where they were going.

I learned pretty quickly to not talk about any information I picked up. It was just good manners.

In my humble opinion, I believe that one’s intuition or gut feeling is a lot like a muscle. The more that you use it the stronger and more accurate it becomes.

The department of defense figured this out when they funded the Remote Viewing Program back in the 1970s. Remote viewing is a procedure or protocol developed by Russell Targ, Hal Puthoff, and Ingo Swann at the Stanford Research Institute for the Department of Defense in the early 1970s. Remote Viewing protocols allow an individual to perceive people, places, events, and objects by directing their consciousness to any destination or any time period via specified coordinates.

The first Remote Viewers were selected from individuals in special forces or military intelligence who demonstrated a strong intuition or gut feeling during operational activities. As the legend goes, the common themes in their personnel files were incidents where the candidate ran in one direction while the rest of their group ran in another direction… they survived while the rest of their group didn’t fare as well.

The accuracy of the government’s Remote Viewers has been debated over the years. But it is generally acknowledged that their accuracy at intelligence gathering was comparable to traditional intelligence gathering techniques.

If you talk with anyone who has learned Remote Viewing, they all say the same thing:
1) anyone can learn Remote Viewing
2) stick to the protocols and
3) practice, practice, practice...

(I’ll talk more about Remote Viewing in future posts)

The idea that intuition and gut feelings are a skill that gets stronger with practice is not new.

David Ritchey's research into the Anomalously Sensitive Person discovered many commonalities in the life histories of adults who demonstrated a strong intuitive nature. One of the many commonalities he uncovered was growing up with an unstable family life and/or growing up in a dangerous community. This would suggest that for the child's general safety or survival, he/she exercised the intuitive muscle to successfully anticipate danger while walking the mine field that was their life.

There are also many anecdotes of average individuals who got jobs on psychic hotlines back in the 1980s and 1990s. As employees, they were given a script to follow when speaking to callers. Over time, it was not uncommon for some of the employees actually become more intuitive and give pretty good readings to the callers.

With practice, our intuition can be strengthened, developed and fine tuned. A strong and accurate intuition or gut feeling can be the most valuable tool in your personal tool kit.

Becoming aware of your intuitive nature is the first step to learning how to plug into your own internal source.

References

Atwater, F.H. (2001). Captain of My Ship, Master of My Soul: Living With Guidance
Charlottesville, SC: Hampton Roads Publishing Company.

Buchanan, L. (2003). The Seventh Sense: The Secrets of Remote Viewing as Told by a "Psychic Spy" for the U.S. Military. New York: Paraview Pocket Books.

McMoneagle, J. (1993). Mind Trek: Exploring Consciousness, Time, and Space Through Remote Viewing. Charlottesville, SC: Hampton Roads Publishing Company.

Ritchey, D. (2003). The H.I.S.S. of the A.S.P.: Understanding the Anomalously Sensitive Person. Terra Alta, WV: Headline Books, Inc.

Targ, R. & Katra J. (1998) Miracles of Mind: Exploring Non-local Consciousness and Spiritual Healing. Novato, CA: New World Library.

My Journey with Reiki: Part 6

2006-03-16T13:58:00.000-09:00

Some final thoughts on the subject….

It is important understand what Reiki is and what Reiki is not…

It is easy to want to believe that “we” know what is best for a friend or loved one that is injured or ill. Unfortunately, “we” do not.

For example, if a person comes to you asking for Reiki treatments to heal her ovarian cysts….you could give her a treatment or a series of treatments…and end up healing her arthritic hips and doing nothing for her ovaries.

Reiki energy goes where it is needed…and we don’t necessarily know where it is needed.

In another example, if a loved one has a terminal disease and you give him/her Reiki…the Reiki treatments may provide them comfort, reduce their anxiety about death and dying, and ease their passing rather than cure their terminal condition.

How do I use Reiki today?

I occasionally give Reiki attunements.

Mostly, I give Reiki treatments to friends and family when asked. Also, I trade Reiki treatments for massages or shamanic treatments.

I have a funny anecdote about my husband: Initially, his reaction to Reiki was, “I believe that you believe…” But over the years, he has received many Reiki treatments from me…at his request. If my table is set-up, he will hop on the table and ask for a treatment. If he has a headache or a cold, he will ask for a treatment. My husband would feel better after the treatments, but he never connected the Reiki to feeling better….until recently.

A couple of months ago, his knee (that suffered through multiple surgeries many years ago) was really bothering him. He asked for Reiki, I gave it to him and his knee felt significantly better…and this time, he actually said, “Reiki really works! My bad knee feels better than my good knee.” (Amazing!)

Reiki is a great tool to have in one’s tool kit. It is important to note that there are also some interesting by-products to receiving Reiki attunements, such as: a noticeable increase in one’s intuition, improvement at reading energy patterns of the people around you and the ambience of your environment, and lastly spontaneous shifts to one’s priorities.

It is quite a ride!

My Journey with Reiki: Part 5

2006-03-13T15:04:00.000-09:00

Putting it all together…

By the time I exited my job, I had ordered my Massage/Reiki table from Earthlite – that was sturdy enough to handle Alaskan-sized clients. I also ordered 2 sets of extra-soft flannel sheets, an extra soft pad and bolsters for the table.

I also found the time write an outline for my Reiki Manual.

Although I was trying not to make a “to do list” for my sabbatical – old habits die hard.

The next steps were to:
1) de-compress and de-stress
2) compose my Reiki Manual, and design my Reiki certificates of completion
3) Practice giving Reiki Attunements
4) Actually perform some Reiki Attunements on humans

Well, it took a full month to completely de-compress from my workaholic ways. But once I got past the first few weeks – I realized that choosing to be being unemployed was the first big step to getting my life back.

The actual writing of my Reiki Manual and designing of my Reiki Certificates of completion didn’t take that long. It actually flowed pretty easily from my outline. The way I understood it, all Reiki Masters needed a Reiki Manual as a supplement their attunements. The manual should provide general information on Reiki, the history of Reiki, the Reiki Master’s point-of-view on the subject, talking points, and detailed attunement protocols. And the Reiki Certificates are given to each student after receiving attunements.

Next came practicing the attunements. I made myself a cheat sheet and set a stuffed teddy bear on a chair in the middle of my living room. I felt stupid…but it was good practice.

Here is an interesting observation: when I repeatedly gave attunements to the teddy bear, the energy exchange felt funky. It felt like there was a huge back-up or blockage of energy. When I finally gave a practice attunement to a human (my husband)…the energy exchange was profound. This proved to me that “something” did happen.

I need to make a side-note here about my husband: he is an engineer by training and is very logical by nature. He is also the most non-judgmental person I have ever met. He is quick to support me in whatever I attempt, and his initial feelings about Reiki were: “I believe that you believe this works...”

That said, as I performed my first attunement on my husband, I also noticed a significant change of the expression on his face during the final steps of the attunement protocol. His expression changed from being a guy sitting there with his eyes closed…to a guy with a very serene and peaceful – almost spiritual expression on his face. (Maybe something really did happen?)

I also gave practice attunements to my mom and a former co-worker who was 7 months pregnant.

My final phase of “putting it all together” was to fly to Hawaii and visit with one of my cousins for a week. My mom put me in touch with him. He was already a Reiki I and was interested in receiving the Reiki Master Teacher attunements.

My cousin is a very interesting gentleman. I would describe him as having a golden touch with entrepreneurial efforts and a green thumb when it comes to growing and nurturing any type of plants. He was on a very interesting spiritual path that included tracing his Kahuna lineage on his father’s side of the family.

After spending a week getting to know my cousin, his wife and one of his daughters (a physician who recently took her medical boards)…I successfully gave them all Reiki attunements, gave them copies of my manual and also certificates noting they were all attuned as Reiki Master Teachers.

Once that was completed, I met my husband on Maui for a calm & serene two week vacation…wondering what the universe had in store for me next! :-o

My Journey with Reiki: Part 4

2006-03-12T17:33:00.000-09:00

Balancing Priorities

The irony of receiving any promotion in corporate America – is that you are rarely allowed to delegate any of your previous responsibilities. In other words, in addition to performing your new job, one usually ends up performing one’s old job as well.

In my case, this was true. I was performing all of my old responsibilities as well as my new ones. If my memory is correct, I believe at this point I had 3 or 4 different job titles. Although my paycheck was larger, it was not even close to 2x my previous salary.

I put in a lot of hours on the job. My boss made it clear what my objectives were…and what initiatives I needed to develop & implement. Even though it was clear what I needed to accomplish, I kept looking for an exit point….a safe place to jump off the rollercoaster that became my life.

Approximately two months after I received my latest promotion at work…and coincidentally two months after I received my Reiki Master Teacher attunements…I received a telephone call from my 70-something year old mom. She was calling from the Emergency Room of a local hospital. It seems she slipped & fell at an outdoor gear and camping equipment store. Evidently she seriously broke her ankle and would require emergency surgery.

My husband & I drove into town, moved her car from the store’s parking lot to her home, returned to the hospital, made sure her paperwork was in order and kept her company and gave her Reiki for a while.

The next morning she checked out of the hospital and I spent the next 5 weeks shopping for her groceries, checking her mail, making sure her bills were paid, and giving her Reiki every single day.

Although my life was chaotic during this time period, spending this time with my mom and giving her Reiki performed a significant grounding function for me. It helped me to remain focused on what was really important and not take the stress at work too seriously.

I took my mom to her 5 week check-up with a local orthopedic surgeon. This was supposed to be a standard check-up to see how she was progressing…take some x-rays, maybe give her a new cast, etc. They x-rayed her ankle and puzzled over it for a while. The x-ray technician said, “I can’t see any break or fracture…it’s gone…”

Next she met with the orthopedic surgeon. He took a look at her x-rays and gave himself a pat on the back for his good work. He said with a bit of amazement that her ankle was completely healed. They took off her cast and said that no physical therapy or rehab needed to be scheduled.

Before we left his office, I asked the orthopedic surgeon, “Normally how long does it take for a 70-something year old woman to heal after a break like this?”

Without missing a beat the doctor said, “A minimum of 3 months in a cast followed up by significant physical therapy.”

I told the doctor he did excellent work! ;-)

With regard to my job, by this time I figured out that I had enough money in my nest egg to take at least a 6 month sabbatical (in other words, quit my job and not have another job lined up). Lucky for me, my husband was also supportive of my decision to take some much needed time off work. I wrote my letter of resignation and had it on my computer at work. All I had to do was change the date on the letter…when the time was right.

This was not something that I was going to be flippant about. I took this decision very seriously. My decision to quit was going to affect a lot of people. I wanted to make sure that I dotted every “I” and crossed every “T” before making my exit.

A week after my mom got the “okay” from her physician, and after all the initiatives my boss asked me to create were implemented, my husband I took a long vacation. The morning I returned to work…lets just say I was slammed with multiple problems before I even got to my desk to log on to my computer. The first thing I did was open MS Word to bring up my letter of resignation. I changed the date on the header, and turned the letter into my boss.

It was the best work related decision I ever made!

My Journey with Reiki: Part 3

2006-03-09T09:17:00.000-09:00

Synchronicities

Soon after I returned from Hawaii after my Reiki II training, I heard a gentleman being interviewed on the radio about forensic anthropology and conspiracy theories. To make a long story short, the interviewer noted that his wife was looking at the interviewee’s website during a commercial break and wanted ask about what kind of work the interviewee’s wife does with Reiki. Evidently, his wife was, among other things, an Independent Reiki Master Teacher.

I promptly went to their website to read about his wife. I liked what I read and saved the website for future reference.

Periodically I would return to her website and finally I decided to give her a call. Amazingly, she answered the phone and we had a nice chat about Reiki and what her Reiki Master Teacher seminar was about. I liked her immediately. She was bright, insightful and very intuitive…she was also very blunt about her approach with Reiki. In a very open manner she stated that “nothing was withheld” in her classes. She too felt that Reiki was a tool for one’s tool kit…and not the end all be all.

We agreed on dates for training. And 2 months after my Reiki II training I was on a plane to the Laguna Beach area of California for a weekend of training to become an Independent Reiki Master Teacher.

A few words about energy work and spiritual de-tox:

Different people respond differently when it comes to energy work. Some folks can go through attunements, energy healings and adjustments without any detox reactions. I on the other hand, do seem to experience physical and spiritual reactions to the shifting and clearing of energies. My symptoms ranged from hives and splotches on one or both of my forearms to a short period of headache and nausea. My more benign symptoms include experiencing unusually deep sleep accompanied by vivid dreams and a quiet centeredness.

It is best to drink a lot of water, soak in a salt bath (or a floatation tank – if you have access to one), and spend time meditating and/or exercising to ground yourself.

Self-Reiki is also an excellent tool to heal yourself and keep your energies balanced.

My journey home took quite a bit longer than planned. SeaTac Airport was fogged in and my 3 hour flight to Seattle became a 6 hour flight. The plane finally landed in Yakima and the passengers bused into Seattle. We were put up in an airport hotel and booked on the morning flight to Anchorage.

When I finally arrived back in Alaska and returned to work…all serene…I was given yet another promotion with additional responsibilities…which made working 4 days a week next to impossible.

The universe was asking me to choose between pursuing a balanced and spiritual life or a busy and stressed out corporate life.

Cognitive dissonance was going to be my constant companion over the next several months….before I finally made my choice.

My Journey with Reiki: Part 2

2006-03-08T18:06:00.000-09:00

Reiki as a catalyst for change

I returned to Alaska after my Reiki I training and felt the sudden urge to start making changes in my life.

I signed up for my Reiki Master’s, Reiki II class 4 months later and made the appropriate travel arrangements.

I set-up a meeting with my boss to negotiate cutting back my work hours to 4 days a week.

I also purchased every book I could get my hands on that related to Reiki. Not just Reiki Alliance books, but books written by every faction. I wanted to educate myself on the subject and learn what the differences were between the groups. (You can see my recommended reading list posted at the end of this article.)

I ran across a flyer that advertised that a Reiki Alliance Master/Teacher was coming to give a talk in Anchorage. My mom and I decided to see what she had to say and went to her talk. Her presence and point-of-view was consistent with my Reiki Alliance Master/Teacher in Kauai.

I can’t speak for the Reiki Alliance, I can only give you my opinion based upon reading their magazine and website, attending a talk with one of their Reiki Master/Teachers and learning Reiki I & II from another one of their Reiki Master/Teachers. I simply was not that impressed with them.

In my humble opinion, they don’t seem to bring a lot to the table. Their approach appears to be that Reiki is the end all and be all. I feel differently. I feel that Reiki is simply a tool. For me, Reiki is an important tool for my personal tool kit.

That said, I have met many people over the years that respond very positively to the Reiki Alliance approach to Reiki. (One size does not fit all)

My intent with Reiki at this time was to learn as much as I could and do my best to understand the motivations and points-of-view of the different approaches to Reiki…and to figure out where I fit in to all of this….if at all….

*** *** *** *** *** *** ***

Recommended Reading

Reiki: Hawayo Takata’s Story
By Helen J. Haberly; 112 pages; Copyright 1990
(A “must read” for all Reiki Practitioners. This book outlines the traditional history of Reiki from the point of view of Hawayo Takata & the Reiki Alliance)

Reiki Energy Medicine - Bringing Healing Touch into Home, Hospital, and Hospice
By Libby Barnett & Maggie Chambers with Susan Davidson; 126 pages; Copyright 1996
(I strongly recommend this book. This book was written by two nurses and outlines their journey with Reiki & how they bring Reiki together with modern medicine)

The Power of Reiki - An Ancient Hands-on Healing Technique
By Tanmaya Honervogt Reiki Master-Teacher; 143 pages; Copyright 1998
(This is a very good introductory book to Reiki. Written by a German Reiki Master Teacher, this book outlines her journey with Reiki and provides a lot of pictures & diagrams for hand positions.)

A Complete Book of Reiki Healing
By Brigitte Muller & Horst H. Gunther; 177 pages; Copyright 1995
(This is an excellent Reiki resource book. This book contains many pictures & recommended Reiki protocols for different ailments.)

Reiki Universal Life Energy
By Bodo J. Baginski & Shalila Sharamon; 196 pages; Copyright 1985
(I really enjoyed this book. The tone of this book is a bit “granola” and reminiscent of the 1960’s or 1970’s, however this book does contain a lot of good information on Reiki & holistic health.)

Reiki Fire - New Information about the Origins of the Reiki Power A Complete Manual
By Frank Arjava Petter; 128 pages; Copyright 1997
(This is a very good resource for non-traditional Reiki information. This book is written in a very matter of fact / straightforward style of writing. And outlines the differences between Reiki in Japan & the U.S.)

Reiki – The Legacy of Dr. Usui
By Frank Arjava Petter; 123 pages; Copyright 1998
(This is a “must read” for every Reiki Practitioner. This book is a follow-up to Reiki Fire and translates actual documents of Dr. Usui regarding the origins of Reiki in Japan.)

The Original Reiki Handbook of Dr. Mikao Usui
By Dr. Mikao Usui & Frank Arjava Petter; 79 pages; Copyright 1999
(This is a “must read” for every Reiki Practitioner. This is a modern translation of Dr. Usui’s Original Reiki Handbook and outlines Reiki was originally practiced by Dr. Usui. This book is a real “eye-opener”)

The Complete Reiki Handbook - Basic Introduction & Methods of Natural Application A Complete Guide for Reiki Practice
By Walter Lubeck; 192 pages; Copyright 1990
(This is a good resource for one of the more popular Reiki “break away” groups. The Q & A part of the book provides some excellent Reiki information)

The Reiki Handbook
By Larry Arnold & Sandy Nevius; 137 pages; Copyright 1982 (1992)
(This is a combination handbook & workbook. There are a lot of pages for the student/practitioner to write their own comments & observations. There are also plenty of pictures of hand positions & recommended Reiki protocols.)

The Lost Steps of Reiki - The Channeled Teachings of Wei Chi
By Rev. Thomas A. Hensel & Rev. Kevin Ross Emery; 57 pages; Copyright 1997
(This is a very quick read. In addition, this book provides some very good reasons to “break away” from the traditional Reiki Alliance. However, it proposes to replace one controlling structure with another controlling structure.)

Essential Reiki - A Complete Guide to an Ancient Healing Art
By Diane Stein; 153 Pages; Copyright 1995
(Warning: this book contains Reiki Symbols. That said, if you can get past the fact that she published “symbols” and her slightly feminist/goddess twist on things, this book is a very good resource of Reiki information.)

Recommended Reiki Websites

International Association of Reiki Professionals
http://www.iarp.org/
(Reiki Alliance Web Site)

International Center for Reiki Training - William Lee Rand
http://www.reiki.org/
(William Rand’s Break-away Group – lots of good information)

Sacred Path Reiki
http://www.sacredpath.org/
(Another Break-away Group – lots of good information)

Recommended (Non-Reiki) Reading

Heal Your Body - The Mental Causes for Physical Illness & the Metaphysical Way to Overcome Them
By Louise L. Hay; 83 Pages; Copyright 1982 (1988)
(An Excellent Reference; A must for every library)

Body Reflexology - Healing at Your Finger Tips
By Mildred Carter; 234 Pages; Copyright 1983
(An Excellent Reference)

Hand Reflexology - Key to Perfect Health
By Mildred Carter; 257 Pages; Copyright 1975
(An Excellent Reference)

Helping Yourself with Foot Reflexology
By Mildred Carter; 178 Pages; Copyright 1969
(An Excellent Reference)

My Journey with Reiki: Part 1

2006-03-08T17:44:00.000-09:00

I was a Reiki-baby and didn’t know it.

Many years ago I received a telephone call from my then 70-something year old mother. At the time, my Hawaiian-Japanese mother was just beginning her journey of self-reflection. While perusing a mail order catalog on spiritual products she saw an advertisement for a book & video series on Reiki. In passing, she asked my opinion on whether or not she should purchase the book/video series…because she thought it might help her remember the Reiki teachings she learned as a child growing up in Hawaii during the 1930’s.

Before I gave her my answer, I asked her, “What is Reiki?”

She explained that it is a technique that is used to heal by touch. Her family learned Reiki from their Buddhist Priest in western Kauai when she was in the 3rd grade and struggling with long-division. Evidently, their Buddhist Priest traveled to Japan to learn it (perhaps from Dr. Chujiro Hayashi’s group?) – and brought it back to teach his congregation.

My mom continued to explain that her whole family learned Reiki but didn’t talk about it. I learned later that my mom and her sisters, parents, aunt & uncle learned the equivalent of Reiki II.

In baffled amazement, I said, “This explains so much!” and continued, “So this is something that you can learn? You knew about it all these years and said nothing to us kids?”

In the end, regarding the book/videos, I told her to do whatever she thought was best for her journey.

I can’t speak for my older sisters, but I know for myself that I have been able to heal…or at least relieve pain symptoms with my hands since I was a small child…for as long as I can remember. The next door neighbor’s kids used to call me “Maj” short for magic hands.

When I was in college, I briefly dated an ex-football player who had two newly reconstructed knees. I used my untrained laying of hands technique on his knees post op. He felt better, but I on the other hand did not. With my untrained hands…using my natural born skill sets…I absorbed his pain with my hands rather than clearing his pain. (Visualize this: using one’s hands as a vacuum cleaner = wrong. Whereas using one’s hands as healing lasers or photon torpedoes = good.)

After getting off the phone with my mom, I did an internet search and a search on Amazon.com to find out more on the subject.

(The Reiki link to your left has lots of good information on the subject)

I discovered that there are many factions of Reiki: The Reiki Alliance (who are strict followers of Hawayo Takata) and several breakaway groups.

I ordered 2 books from Amazon.com:

Reiki Energy Medicine - Bringing Healing Touch into Home, Hospital, and Hospice
By Libby Barnett & Maggie Chambers with Susan Davidson; 126 pages; Copyright 1996

The Power of Reiki - An Ancient Hands-on Healing Technique
By Tanmaya Honervogt Reiki Master-Teacher; 143 pages; Copyright 1998

These books arrived the day before my husband and I boarded a plane for a vacation on Kauai. I read the books on the plane and realized that this was something I needed proper training in. I felt it was unlikely that I could get proper training in Alaska at that time.

While shopping in a t-shirt store in the Koloa/Poipu area Kauai, I had a strong feeling that the gentleman who managed the shop might know “someone” in the area that might know something about Reiki. He made some calls for me and put me in touch with 2 people. One of which had a Reiki I class scheduled while I was on vacation.

The instructor was part of the Reiki Alliance. As a 1/2 Hawaiian Japanese girl, I felt it was important to learn the traditional way of doing things. At this point in my Reiki journey, I was still not sure what all the different Reiki factions were about. The instructor I had on Kauai was good…but she was not what I expected. (I will elaborate more on that later)

After my final initiation in Reiki I, my husband picked me up and we drove into the night for dinner at my favorite restaurant. Approximately 10-15 minutes later there was a terrible car crash right in front of us. The smell of burning rubber and exhaust was in the air. It was a head on collision between a small pick-up truck and a small compact car. The people from other cars that stopped to help were attending to the 2 folks in the truck. I went to the compact car. There was a large 30-ish Hawaiian man in the driver’s seat amidst the shattered glass and I started to give him Reiki. He was conscious and said, “…Reiki?” (OMG! He knows Reiki?) I said, “yes” and he seemed to calm down. I continued giving him Reiki until I heard the sirens indicating the EMTs arrived…and then my husband and I got back into our rental car and disappeared into the night.

I took this incident as a sign that my life would not be quite the same was it was before.

One size does not fit all

2006-03-04T15:26:00.000-09:00

When I was working in corporate America diversity was a big issue. I took every seminar and read every book I could get my hands on…on the topics of cultural diversity, generational diversity, personality diversity and gender diversity…just to survive team building initiatives and basically learn how to work and play well with my co-workers.

What I learned was that different people speak in different dialects. Semantics has become a really big issue as well as one’s tone of voice. In short, it isn’t only what you say…it is also how you say it.

Many years ago, I attended a spiritual type week long retreat. At this seminar all the attendees would meet in a casual conference room several times a day to debrief after our sessions. To make a long story short, this seminar attracted a very diverse group of people. We had a mix of left brained and right brained folks: physicians, engineers and retired military, mixed with energy healers, intuitives and assorted new age folks. Our debriefing sessions were lively and covered a wide range of approaches and interpretations. We were all in different places along our spiritual journeys and were getting different things out of our experiences at this retreat. The truly fascinating thing about our debriefing sessions was that there was a voice for everyone. When someone had a question or observation…that seemed way off track for me…or way out in left field…another attendee would provide the perfect sound bite to facilitate the individual along his/her spiritual journey.

What I learned was how not to be a spiritual snob. There are diversity and semantics issues to respect when it comes to personal and spiritual growth. What might seem like a boring speaker or uninspired book to me…may provide the necessary spark for another. By the same token, what may be a truly inspiring book or speaker to me…may bore the living daylights out of someone else.

One size does not fit all.

Time and time again, I have read, what I thought, was a truly inspiring book and purchased multiple copies to give as gifts to my friends and family…only for the books to start collecting dust on my friend's book shelves...or for my dear friends to read it and give me a polite, “that was interesting” after the fact.

Similarly, I have waded through really dry and uninspired reads only to find a really good friend of mine felt that the writer was the most important find since the discovery that the world was not flat.

I have been challenged and truly humbled from time to time when I cannot seem to find the right combination of words to help a friend or co-worker through a tough time. Of course, it isn’t my responsibility to counsel folks along their spiritual paths. The universe always finds a way to get the message through. Sure enough, my friend or family member who is struggling through a tough time stumbles onto a book or sound bite on a TV or radio show that provides the needed clarity to get through the day.

It is all in the semantics. There is a voice out there for everyone.

One size does not fit all.

No one is who they appear to be

2006-02-20T16:38:00.000-09:00

No one is who they appear to be. And you are not who you think you are.

Life as we know it is the ultimate illusion.

Many books have been written about the mysteries of life. I will do my best to keep this entry simple and focused on what is really important and how to make the most of our time here.

We create our own reality...and in many ways we create the lifetime that we deserve.

Life is a lot like a virtual reality video game. Before we got here, we picked our parents, selected our family and hometown, and even pre-ordered all the wonderful character building experiences that form the tapestry of our life.

Even as we become aware of all this...it is still very easy to feel like a victim in this life. Quite frankly, it is a difficult thing to get past feeling like a victim and truly realize that we are empowered and in control of our own destiny.

We simply have to get out of our own way and understand that we are in the driver's seat. Once that happens we can become active participants and co-creators of our life. We have the ability through the power of intention to create opportunities for personal and spiritual growth…and evolve beyond the baggage we brought with us.

But how can we be in the driver's seat, when we were never given an owner's manual for our body...or a rule book for this game called life?

That is the ultimate challenge for the powerful spiritual beings that we are.

All of the answers to all of our questions are right in front of us…they always have been.

We just need to get out of our own way…move past our assumptions and ignore the roles that were assigned to us.

Then - open our eyes and see.

Quiet our internal chatter and listen.

Open our hearts and feel the truth that resonates within us all.

All Humans Make Mistakes

2006-02-18T18:45:00.000-09:00

“...To remind us that all humans make mistakes and all leaders are but human” Leto II, Children of Dune

It is human nature to put people we admire on a pedestal. Sometimes we idolize them or even deify them.

We do this all the time with celebrities, sports figures, politicians, parents, spouses and occasionally, even writers.

Many years ago I attended a seminar. I don’t remember what the seminar was about, but I do remember an analogy that the speaker used to describe human nature: When you watch a child play with building blocks what do you see? The child stacks one block on top of another until there are no blocks left. What does the child do when there are no blocks left? The child smashes down the stack of blocks and starts over again.

We do this with people all the time…we build them up and then we tear them down.

But is it that simple?

As humans we have a tendency to cherry pick the things we admire or find attractive about a person and selectively ignore the things that we don’t like about them. Then one day we are shocked…shocked to discover that the individual is not the person we thought they were! :-o

It is kind of like living our lives through rose colored glasses.

Many times this pattern starts with our parents. We grow up admiring them with the belief that they were all knowing. Then one day, usually when we are teenagers, we discover that our parents do not know everything and they are not perfect.

But we cherry pick our data sets again when we start dating. We build our pretty picture of romance by selectively ignoring the traits that don’t fit our idea of who this perfect person should be. Then one day we say to them, “I don’t know who you are anymore.”

When it comes to our heroes or icons, of the past and present, we forget that they are (or were) simply human beings…with all the beautiful flaws and idiosyncrasies that go with being human.

We put them on a pedestal and project onto them all the traits that we want them to embody.

But these heroes and icons are just normal people that were put into extraordinary circumstances…and rose to the occasion. It is the memory of time and the media that turns them into icons.

Instead of being worshipped or deified, heroes and icons should provide us all with inspiration. The inspiration that any of us, when put to the test, will have the character to rise to the occasion to do what must be done.

Embrace the message not the messenger.

The subtle nudges that change your life

2006-02-12T14:16:00.000-09:00

I have found that it is the subtle nudges that change one's life - or save it. The magic that makes a life is not in the big dramatic events, but in the quiet small gestures/nudges that happen along the way.

This concept is the polar opposite of what many of us have been brainwashed with throughout or lives. Many of us have Palm Pilots or Daytimers. We diligently outline 5 year plans and 10 year plans…and believe that we have outlined or created appointments for all the major events of our lives.

They say hindsight is 20/20. Upon reflection, the moments that initiate the major transitions in our lives are in reality almost afterthoughts or subtle nudges that move us from one direction to another.

Viktor E. Frankl survived 3 years in Auschwitz during World War II and wrote A Man’s Search for Meaning. In his later book, Recollections: An Autobiography, he described at least two situations in which his life was saved in the camps as an afterthought of a guard or a fellow prisoner. For example, Dr. Frankl was the last inmate loaded onto a truck for transport to the gas chambers. A prisoner standing near the truck arbitrarily picked a fight with another inmate, threw the inmate onto the truck and pulled Dr. Frankl off – right before the transport drove away.

In a more benign example, back in the 1980s the actor Mark Harmon was auditioning to be the spokesperson for a beer company. In his first audition, Mr. Harmon was clean-shaven and wore a business suit. The audition did not go well and as he was leaving the room, the casting director, as an afterthought, asked him, “can you look more rugged?” After saying, “absolutely” Mr. Harmon was asked for a call-back and got the gig. He ended up making 23 commercials for Coors in the late 1980s.

On a more personal note, upon reflection all the major events in my life occurred not because I planned them in my Daytimer – but instead because of a subtle nudge that pushed me in one direction rather than another.

All the important people in my life – I met through chance encounters. All of the jobs on my resume were attained not through strategic planning but instead through chance encounters with key people or due to afterthoughts of the person sorting the resumes.

There were two Laundromats in the sleepy beach town I lived in ~18 years ago. The only reason I met my husband on that particular Saturday was because the Laundromat I usually went to was closed. I was forced to do my laundry at the other one…and my life changed that day when I met my future husband.

Many years later, I was unhappy in my job and was trying to figure out what company I should send my resume to. One day at lunchtime I was standing in a long line at deli. I looked at all the people in line…and was trying to figure out where they worked and wondered if I would want to work with any of them. The man standing next to me was dressed in a nice suit and seemed like a person I’d like to work with. I asked him where he worked…he not only told me the name of the company but he also gave me a name of a person to send my resume to. To make a long story short, I sent my resume to that person and ended up working for that company for over 7 years.

In another situation, I was called in for a job interview as an afterthought. I sent my resume in for one job and several months later I was called in to interview for another job. It turns out I was over qualified for the first job and my resume was put in a file. When the second job opened up, a woman sorted through the old resumes – saw mine and put it in the call-back pile. I ended up working for that company for several years.

I would like to think of these subtle nudges as our guardian angels, guides or higher selves trying to help us…in-spite of ourselves… like being coached from the beyond.

Instead of allowing our lives to unfold naturally, many times we get in our own way with our preconceived ideas of how our lives should be. The magic that makes a life is not in the big dramatic events or even the planned events. Instead the magic that makes a life is in the quiet small gestures and nudges that happen along the way.

It is the subtle nudges that change one's life - or save it.

Frankl, V.E., Fabry, J. (2000). Recollections: An Autobiography. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing

Art Work - Citations

2006-02-10T20:08:00.000-09:00

Below are the citations for some of the artwork that appears in this blog:

Artist: Anstar

Anstar (2006). FAQ: About the Painter. Retrieved, January 25, 2006, http://www.anstarangels.com/catalog/product_info.php/cPath/21/products_id/28

Artist: Ethelwynne M. Quail in 1937 for:

Hodson, G. (1952). The Kingdom of the Gods. Adyar, Madras 20, India: Theosophical Publishing House.

Notes on the Human Experience: Part 2

2006-02-07T12:56:00.000-09:00

Many of us would like believe that people will do the right thing...because it is the right thing to do. Unfortunately, this assumption does not always apply to humans.

Humans have free will. Free will is a key part of the human experience. The act of choice & the direct experience of those choices, develop the character & wisdom of the spirit.

Humans are given the opportunity to choose either what is right or what feels good. Both choices are equally valid to the human experience - because we learn something from either choice.

What is the motivation for humans to choose the wrong thing to do?

Regardless of the era or culture that one is born into one things hold true: the overwhelming desire to be cool (as defined by the local culture) or simply be accepted .

In simple english, this means that in any given situation, we know (intellectually and logically) what is right. However, the thing that makes us choose what is wrong, is the desire to be cool &/or accepted.

For example, what is the motivation for an executive to embezzle funds? To have a lot of money to live a "cool" lifestyle.

Another example (straight from Junior High): Why would a perfectly nice kid be cruel to a geeky kid in school? To appear cool to the "in crowd" and maybe be accepted by them.

At first blush, all of this paints a pretty negative picture for the human experience.

So why would we as powerful spiritual beings not only volunteer for direct human experience...but stand in line for the opportunity to be humans?

There are many unique and good things about being human. Many of these have been discussed in great detail by the great science fiction writers such as: Rod Serling, Isaac Asimov, J. Michael Straczynski and Harlan Ellison.

The strange blend of logic and desire that is the human experience generates brilliantly creative and inspired solutions to the most complex problems.

Humans are at their best during times of difficulty and challenge...especially when the odds against them are overwhelming.

Humans are incredibly resiliant creatures. Just when you think they are down...humans come back stronger than ever.

I think the key to human resiliance is their ability to be passionate and illogical. In situations when logic demands surrendering or giving-up...that is the moment humans are most inspired, rise to the occasion, and take decisive action.

Notes on the Human Experience: Part 1

2006-02-06T17:46:00.000-09:00

Richard Alpert (aka Ram Dass) once said, "We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience."

In my opinion, the above quote is an elegant way to express the frustration many of us experience in these clumsy, awkward and claustrophobic shells we call bodies. For many of us, it is not uncommon to emotionally detach from our human experience, or spend a great deal of time and money to learn how to astrally project or experience an OBE - just to get outside ourselves.

Personally, I like to think of the human body as an initially awkward...but ultimately an extremely high performance vehicle - like a kayak.

I am not a big fan of kayaks. In my untrained hands, paddling a kayak is a clumsy and uncomfortable experience. However, I am an excellent swimmer. If I was left alone in the middle of a lake with a kayak, I would slip out of the kayak and swim ashore towing the kayak behind me. While this is an effective solution, if I took the time to learn how to harness the power of the kayak, I would be able to paddle ashore much faster and more efficiently than by swimming.

For many of us, detaching from the human experience and towing our bodies through life is the preferred choice - to get through the day.

Why would we as powerful spiritual beings choose the human experience?

Personally, I like to think of the human body as a high performance vehicle to be mastered. The human experience has the potential to be the ultimate symbiotic relationship between the body & spirit.

If we can simply learn to stay in our bodies and learn to harness the power of the human form, there is an abundance of amazing things we can experience that is impossible in the spirit form.

Knowledge + Experience = Wisdom

As spiritual beings we have an enormous reserve of knowledge but are lacking in experience.

The human aspect of ourselves is rich with experience but is hungry for knowledge.

The symbiotic relationship of the human spirit gives rise to wisdom.

DeAngelis, B. (2006) Everyday Spirituality Discovering Real Moments With Yourself. Retrieved February 6, 2006, http://www.intouchmag.com/BarbaraDeAngelis.html

Always Do Your Best

2006-02-01T09:02:00.002-09:00

I read the book, The Four Agreements, several years ago and was inspired by the volume of wisdom contained in such a small book. For those of you who have not read, The Four Agreements, here they are for easy reference:

1) Be Impeccable With Your Word
2) Don't Take Anything Personally
3) Don't Make Assumptions
4) Always Do Your Best

In spirit, I feel the above agreements are wonderful guidelines to live one's life by. However, I take issue with the common interpretation of, "Always do your best".

Growing up in a family of over-achievers, this phrase was practically a family mantra. While my family members acquired impressive resumes of achievements and accomplishments by following this mantra, they paid a great price for those accomplishments.

Most people interpret the phrase, "Always do your best" in a single minded and narrowly focused manner. Most people expend their energy doing their best on a single aspect of their lives while neglecting every other aspect of their life.

The Biography Channel, Professional Sports, the Olympics and People magazine are full of highly accomplished and successful people who have miserable marriages, messed-up children, and are generally a very unhappy lot.

My favorite (hypothetical) example of the "Always do your best" fiasco involves a Minister or Pediatrician who is married with children. These humanitarians focus single-mindedly on building an orphanage/clinic to save the children. However, while doing their best on the project they neglected their own spouse and children. While the orphanage/clinic might help the community and save many children - they destroyed their marriage and lost their own children in the process.

My preferred interpretation of the the phrase, "Always do your best" is as follows: Always do your best...but not at the expense of your life. There is something to be said for moderation in everything.

In the words of the comedian Dennis Miller, "That's just my opinion...I could be wrong..." ;-)

Ruiz, D. M. (1997). The four agreements: A practical guide to personal freedom. San Rafael, CA: Amber-Allen Publishing.

Rules for Being Human

2006-01-31T13:15:00.000-09:00

1. You will receive a body. You may like it, you may hate it. It will be yours for the entire period this time around.

2. Lessons will be presented.You will be enrolled in a full-time informal school called life. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may learn the lessons or not, or you may think them irrelevant and stupid.

3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial and error and experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as the experiment that ultimately works

4. A lesson is repeated until learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms and with more and more energy until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can then go on to the next lesson.

5. Learning lessons does not end. There is no part of life that does not contain its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.

6. "There" is not better than "here". When your "there" has become a "here", you will simply obtain another "there"that will, again, look better than "here".

7. Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects to you something you love or hate about yourself.

8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools & resources you need. What you do with them is up to you. All the choices are yours.

9. Your answers lie inside of you. The answers to life's questions lie inside of you. All you need to do is look inside, listen, and trust.

10. You will "forget" all of this.

11. You can "remember" this when you choose to do so.

Reference

Leva, P. (1998). The rules for being human. Traveling the Interstate of Consciousness: A Driver's Instruction Manual: Using Hemi-Sync to Access States of Non-Ordinary Reality (pp. 86-87). Longmont, CO: Q Central Publishing.

Life is not a "to do" list

2006-01-26T10:07:00.000-09:00

I saw the movie Pi during a transitional time in my life. In the movie Pi the main character is a math genius named Max who built a supercomputer in his apartment. Max gets caught up with a group of Hasidic Cabalistic Jews who want him to help them re-discover the mathetmatical mystries of the Torah and unravel the mystical meaning of a 216 digit number.

As a recovering work-a-holic whose life was built around to do lists, I found the following quote from Max's dialog particularly inspiring,

"It's just a number. I'm sure you've written down every two hundred sixteen (digit) number. You've translated all of them. You've intoned them all. Haven't you? But what's it gotten you? It's not the number! It's the meaning. It's the syntax. It's what's between the numbers. If you could understand you would."

In my opinion, the meaning of a life is not in the lists of achievements, accomplishments or activities, but in the syntax. It is the moments between the accomplishments & achievements that bring meaning to our existence.

Most people approach their lives, parenthood, and marriage as a to do list. However, in the end, it is the quiet moments between the bullet points of our lives that really matter.

I use the following question to help me remember what is really important: "When I am on my deathbed...what will I regret?"

I promise you...you will not say, "Gee, I wish I worked more!" Instead, you will regret not investing more in your personal relationships or your relationship with yourself.

Americans are overscheduled and sleep deprived. As unpleasant as this mental state is, it is addictive, especially when it becomes a familiar state of being. In this busy & mentally cluttered state, it is easier to be "told" how to feel and think - rather than taking the time to figure it out for themselves…or question their reality.

In addition, the ability to listen and understand yourself (including your own wants and needs) is lost…and the ability to listen to others is therefore impossible.

The meaning of a life is not in the lists of achievements, accomplishments, or activities...but in the syntax. It is the moments between the accomplishments & achievements that bring meaning to our existence.

The Tao of Miri

2006-01-25T16:10:00.000-09:00

The "Tao of Miri" is a tapestry of balance:
(which is a nice way of saying...the philosphy is a work in progress...just like its author)

Be serene amidst the madness
Be gracious
Be moderate in all things
Be polite (respectful)
Be in your body and in your heart
Be one with yourself
Be still
Define yourself not by what you do, but by who you are (when you are not doing the things that you do)
Surrender to the process
Give yourself permission to be vulnerable (it takes courage to be vulnerable)
Lead from the shadows (learn how to inspire others to act)
Live your life with simplicity

*To paraphrase Bill Murray in Ghostbusters: Actually, these are more guidelines than rules...

;-)

Who is Miri?

2006-01-25T13:50:00.001-09:00

Born: 1964
Height: 5’7”
Ethnicity: Asian / Pacific Islander / White

Geography: I currently live outside of Anchorage, Alaska. I moved to Alaska from a sleepy little beach town in Southern California in 1992.

Personal Life: I am happily married to a terrific Alaskan guy. We have a lot of fun together and love to travel, scuba dive and fly fish.

Things I enjoy: In no particular order, I enjoy working-out in my basement, reading non-fiction books, watching movies & special edition DVD’s, conversations with my Mom, reiki, massages, shamanic healing, scuba diving and fishing.

Favorite Music & TV Shows (Past & Present): My musical tastes are quite diverse. But if I had to choose, my top two favorite types of music would be: Classic Rock & Jazz/New Age. Like my musical tastes, my favorite TV shows range from the fluffy to the intense. They include (but are not limited to): The Sopranos, Deadwood, Rome, The Simpsons, South Park, Star Trek and Babylon 5.

Guilty Pleasure: ESPN Sports talk radio

Favorite All Time Comedian: Bill Hicks

Desert Island Movies: If I were stranded on a desert island, my "must have" movies would include: The Godfather, Chinatown, LA Confidential, Seven Days in May, Terminator and Office Space.

Desert Island Books: If I were stranded on a desert island, my short list of books would include: Lao Tsu’s “Tao Te Ching”, Sun Tzu’s “Art of War” and Viktor E. Frankl’s “Man’s Search for Meaning”. Although the above books are short in length, I get a fresh perspective with every reading.

Strengths & Weaknesses / Life Philosophy & Future Goals: I am at my best in a “crisis”. And my biggest challenge is living a balanced & serene lifestyle. My motto these days is: Life is not a “to do” list. My life goals are simple: to integrate learning, growing and evolving as part of my lifestyle.