Packing to Maintain a Healthy Internal State

I just recently took a trip to Connecticut for my grandmother’s funeral. I booked the flight the day before I flew out which left me very little time to pack and got me flagged for more vigorous security screening My day of travel was approximately 11 hours long each leg of the flight and I only had one day in between.

The way in would prove the most challenging as I would lose three hours across the time zones and would have to get up at 5am (2am my time) to drive from East Haddam to Westport in time for the funeral. Of course I was aware of all of this when I booked the flight so I packed in a manner that would allow me to make the most of my time on the plane. I brought along the following:

Two Books: The Complete Works of Lao Tzu & Life of Pi

I had a purse and one carry on bag. Making good use of my time traveling revolved heavily around my iPod. I filled it with several audio books including: Power of Now & A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle, Developing Your Own Psychic Powers by John Edward and Ask and It Is Given by Esther and Jerry Hicks.

Because I intended to do a lot of meditation during my flights, I also needed some meditation music. I found Titania by Mike Rowland to be invaluable for my self guided meditations. So with my iPod stuffed full of inspirational content…I was ready for my trip.

Choosing the Experience

My plan on the flight was to spend most of it absorbing spiritually empowering ideas, meditate and record my observations. I had a full schedule of activities on the plane and it was wonderful because I rarely get to spend so much solid time pursuing these interests so I was actually looking forward to being in a situation in which I had nothing else to do. I boarded the plane to the tired complaints of weary passengers…and thought to myself how fortunate I was to have this opportunity. This inspired me to get started by performing a process from Ask and It Is Given called a rampage of gratitude. Using this process I recorded everything I could think of that I was grateful for in my notebook. It was the perfect exercise to access my natural state of well being. It got my energy flowing and made it easier to enter a deeply meditative state.

Midway through the trip as we were flying over one of the great lakes on the way to Detroit and a change of planes I ended an intense meditation session thinking of a friend who lives nearby in Plymouth. While connecting with her energy I felt a strong pain in my right arm, so I decided to phone her during my layover. Over the course of our conversation I asked her if she was experiencing pain in her right forearm and she indicated somewhat bewildered that she had been working on a research paper for school and had been taking an unaccustomed amount of notes trying to finish it. She was in fact very sore from all the writing. When I connected with my friend during meditation I had experienced an instance of clairsentience; this amplified ability to feel energy remained sharper than usual throughout the entire trip.

Getting the Inside Right

Eckhart Tolle often says the only thing that matters is your state of consciousness. If you get the inside right, the rest has to follow.

By using my flight as an opportunity to raise my level of consciousness I was able to achieve a state of such clarity that I not only survived but thrived in one of the most difficult situations that we face in life…the realization that we will share the same fate as the person lying in the coffin. Yet, there is far more to us than this physical body we have mistaken for our true selves…and far more to our physical world than we often allow ourselves to see. I had raised my vibration to such a degree that I could feel the aliveness in everyone and everything I encountered making it impossible to get lost in form because in heightened states of awareness…energy reigns supreme.

Consequently, the funeral was not a bad, sad or unpleasant experience for me. My grandmother’s passing with the coming of spring was a profoundly spiritual experience that affected me deeply…as everywhere in the natural world I saw the process of renewal that speaks to your heart and whispers, there is no separation between life and death. They are two aspects of the one creative force operating in the universe…of the divine in its natural state of beauty, balance and wholeness.

Growth and Relationships

I boarded a plane for my home state of Connecticut after receiving a call from my dad on Thursday morning informing me that my grandmother had passed. My relationship with this side of the family has been difficult at its worst and awkward at its best so I was unsure how to proceed. Coming back to Connecticut in the past has been like bumping into a childhood tormentor at a family reunion…and more often then not served as a reminder that I still had a lot of old, forgotten about hurts and unresolved issues to deal with.

There is an old saying that suggests if you want to know how much you’ve really grown you should go visit your parents. I have found this to be very true and the real measure of my personal growth came when I checked in with my higher self to see if I should go to her funeral. Somehow the difficult relationship I have always had with my father had dissolved over the past months and the challenge that it once represented to me diminished. My higher self responded with a resounding yes that I have learned not to question and I phoned my dad to tell him I would come. He seemed relieved and grateful; a side of him I have not seen much of and so with the peace and confidence of those who are internally informed, I packed my bag and readied myself for the trip.

Are You Leaving or Getting Home?

I arrived at the Hartford airport on Sunday at 8pm EST. My Aunt Ginger and Uncle Mark who live in East Haddam picked me up and I spent the night at their house before heading to Westport in the early morning to meet my dad. We traveled to the funeral home together. My grandmother was in the front room as we entered looking peaceful in her open casket…ready and waiting for those who would pay their last respects.

I walked up to the casket, knelt down and meditated on the following passages:

From the Kena Upanishad:

What cannot be thought with the mind, but that whereby the
mind can think: Know that alone to be Brahman, the Spirit; and not
what people here adore.

What cannot be seen with the eye, but that whereby the eye can
see; Know that alone to be Brahman, the Spirit; and not what people
here adore.

What cannot be heard with the ear, but that whereby the ear
can hear; Know that alone to be Brahman, the Spirit, and not what
people here adore.

Tao Teh Ching:

What is well planted cannot be pulled up.
What is closely embraced cannot slip away.

And finally…

Grandma, I see the real you…the unseen, formlessness by which all is made possible.

Saying Goodbye

I returned to the seating area and watched the people present form a line. One by one, they knelt before the coffin and said their goodbyes. As they were leaving they passed the chairs in which we were sitting. Nearly everyone uttered a variation of the phrase I’m sorry for your loss.

I wondered at this as I felt no sense of loss at all, I was so connected to my spirit side, so deeply in the world of energy…that I felt full and I knew beyond any doubt the truth. Death to me is not a process of leaving as much as it is a process of returning to a more natural state…one that most of us could perceive if we only trained our eyes to do so. Our consciousness (the essence of who we are) does not follow our physical body…it is more closely connected to our subtle body of spirit.

The True Source of Grief

Those who are unaware of the subtle body of spirit within themselves will look at death as loss because they can’t feel the truth; they can’t connect with their own spirit, so when they see it apparently lacking in another…they feel grief. The profound sorrow they experience is generated by their own condition of separateness; they cry for the loss and emptiness they feel inside…they cry for the lost part of themselves that they wish to find. This part of themselves that they wish to find is what is real…and that which is real…stays.

The Coffee House & CEO’s

After our son’s song and dance performance this afternoon we decided to stop by a local coffee house for a treat. While we waited for our order, my husband sat down near the fireplace, picked up a magazine and started to read an article about The Boeing Company’s new CEO. The article mentioned in great detail the new Boeing front man’s salary and benefits package and as we talked about the article I wondered at the wisdom of a mentality that values a small group of individuals over the contribution of the workers as a whole. To me, this is as ridiculous a thing as saying only my right arm accomplishes anything (because it is most practiced at leading)…when in fact, it could do nothing at all without the rest of my body.

Collective Beliefs

The Boeing Company is afflicted with what I call Fortune 500 Collective Consciousness. They believe that the only way to get someone to do the job is to offer an absurd amount of money for the position. Why? Well, because that is how you get a Fortune 500 CEO…but it never occurs to them to ask the deeper question of why they would want another Fortune 500 CEO who will go about the self-destructive task of trying to create out of them an Über 500 to reign supreme in the aircraft industry? True creativity can not flourish in this mindset…drained of vital energy, the all consuming goals of profit and size can produce nothing but mediocrity. What about the overall health of the organization…what if we were more concerned about quality than profits…how might our businesses look from that place?

Change or Exchange?

If you buy into the collective idea of this is what you have to do to keep up with the competition you will never ask the important questions…it will never occur to you that there might be an alternative to keeping up…like reaching altogether higher. Same attracts same…isn’t the point of business to grow and to change? How do you then define growth…through numbers or through happiness, quality of life and contribution?

From what I understand same for The Boeing Company hasn’t been all that great and is a big part of why they made the change…but have they really made a change or is it an exchange? Unless they create a new consciousness within their organization it is merely an exchange.

Looking at the Whole

I can see this way of doing business going by the wayside as companies learn to value each individual in a way that supports the whole structure…not just those at the top of it. An organization is a lot like an organism…if only one of the systems within it are thriving…if only one system is getting what it needs to be productive and well balanced then that part of the structure will remain healthy while the other parts begin a decline that will threaten the existence of the entire organization. The truth is it takes a lot more than just one healthy system to have a healthy organism and it is the same with business. When a company fails to meet the needs of the individuals that make up the functionality of the whole…the optimum state of this business’ health and well being will never be recognized, achieved or realized…too many important resources will be going to feed just one small area while the rest limps along in a state of imbalance.

Dare to be Different

There are some companies who are trying a different method. They recognize that paying attention to the health and well being of all the individual contributors really pays off. They create an atmosphere in which their employees have everything they need to be ready to work by providing easy to access, high quality outlets for their physical, mental and spiritual well being…by recognizing the needs of the humans behind the work they infuse their businesses with healthy, creative energy…transforming the overall impact of the company to something that is beneficial to those whose lives it touches. While most companies would not even consider offering these services, these newly aware companies are seeing that the benefits far outweigh the costs. They are attracting the cream of the crop in droves and in the process, are leaving any competition they may have had in the dust. From the top of their organizations to the very bottom they have enthusiastic, healthy employees who are happy to be there and are ready to contribute their formidable skills each and every day.

Visionary Developments

The new consciousness in business is the one that places people ahead of profits. For an example of how this consciousness is shaping the workplace, take a look at the newly unveiled plans that Steve Pavlina has for his growing company Pavlina. As people awaken they are taking their businesses with them…given the choice…where would you rather work?

An Accident

When I was eleven years old my absolute love was my ten-speed bicycle. I lived in Stamford, CT at the time in a house my mother and I shared with my grandmother and two uncles in the suburb of Springdale. This area with its giant hills, swamps and treed alleyways was basically a kid paradise. I lived for bike rides and the feeling of the breeze on my skin…freeing me from the humid summer heat. My friend Kim (who lived down the street) and I spent the majority of our summers exploring on our bikes…letting them take us further than our feet could carry us into our world.

One day we decided to go to our friend Asante’s house. She lived further away than we were used to going. I hadn’t been to her house very many times so going gave me a sense of adventure…like traveling outside the familiar always does. We were riding down Asante’s street with Kim in the lead when I heard a car behind me. I looked over my shoulder to see where it was so that I could get out of the way and my front tire slid into a pot hole full of sand. I didn’t have time to catch myself, suddenly I was falling and my head literally bounced off the pavement after taking the brunt of the impact. This was the beginning of the weirdest event of my life.

Out and Back in Again

Let me first start out by saying that I lost some time during this incident; becoming lucid at the point where my body and my bike had been loaded into the back of an unfamiliar van. I could see dark faces, like shadows and hear my own voice asking, “Where am I?” and “What happened?” in a dazed an uncomprehending way. The van pulled up to my house. My Grandmother and mother were exiting my grandmother’s old Ford Fairmont; they had just gotten home from work. Upon inspecting me…they decided to drive me to the hospital and I was immediately loaded into the car.

My body was in the back seat but I was not…the trauma to my head had literally knocked me out of it. I became strangely aware for the first time throughout this experience that I was hovering over it, slightly to the right, almost as if I was sitting on my own shoulder. I calmly watched the scene unfold from my perch outside of myself. My body repeated the two questions of, “What happened?” and “Where am I?” My mother patiently answered them but her expression quickly turned haunted as my body paused for a moment and then asked them again and again. Her eyes wide with shock and fear sought reassurance from my grandmother who was driving. My grandmother leaned forward as she drove, silently and intensely willing the traffic in front of her to move…her knuckles were white on the steering wheel as she answered my mother’s gaze with the strong affirmation, “She’s going to be all right!” The look on her face was of such grim determination…that one could not miss the underlying message that said and don’t you dare think otherwise! My mother, knowing better than to question, turned her worried gaze toward the road.

Quickly I realized that I could not control my speech centers…I was hoping to communicate to them that I was o.k. or at least stop my body from asking the questions but I could not. I had no control over it whatsoever and as I gazed upon it…it was odd to me how useless it was without the rest of me (like a car with no one around to drive it)….I realized completely how separate my consciousness was and I wondered how it could be that I never noticed this before. A solid resolve came over me and I felt, I knew, that I had to go back…that there was more for me to do and that now was not the time to be separated from my body.

It was then that I re-entered my body…an audible snap filled my ears as I came to and found a bright light in my eyes. “Get that light out of my face…” I heard my own voice murmur as my hands instinctively brushed it away. “Oh, thank God she’s back!” My mother’s voice exclaimed in relief. The doctor who had been leaning over me with a flashlight trying to get my pupils to dilate moved away with satisfaction. “That’s quite the bump…you had us pretty worried there.” he said conversationally. I was blank for awhile; reaching up to touch the huge knot on the side of my head; fully experiencing the pain of my most recent physical experiences. Yeah…I thought quietly, reflectively to myself; knowing that I had just experienced something that I would never forget…

Two Bodies

I’d like to start with the concept of two bodies as expressed in Hinduism because I feel that it comes the closest to explaining what I have experienced through meditation. In Hinduism the two bodies are explained as the physical (outer) body and the subtle (inner) body. The subtle body is connected to both our physical bodies and our souls, this is the reason we grow spiritually when we move fully into the subtle body through the practice of meditation. The subtle body exists in the energy or astral side of the universe. The astral side is the spirit, the breath of the physical world…the unseen presence that is life. Your physical self is a extension of your energy self that encompasses both body and mind. When we have no conscious connection to the subtle body it is like living in a very realistic dream in which you are constantly plagued with the unsettling feeling that there is something more. Until we become aware of the astral side, we are seekers. We become finders when we consciously connect to the subtle body and develop a relationship with the energy side of life. Our physical reality occupies most of our attention simply because our awareness is under-developed but once we start to awaken…we become aware of all the movement and change that occurs in energy and how that energy manifests on the physical plane.

Breath After Breath

At the heart of meditation is breath; symbolic since primitive times of spirit it has remained a visible yet non-visible affirmation of life, being, soul and energy. Breath is deeply connected to our physical experience of the subtle body and is the magic doorway that we use in meditation to enter the astral plane. The focus required to execute controlled breathing deeply relaxes the body and mind. The basic meditation breath I use is a deep inhale through the nose for a count of four…a two count hold…and then a four count exhale through the mouth that empties the diaphragm. Some people vary this to a six count on the inhale and exhale but for me I find that it is too long and actually prevents me from achieving deep relaxation. Play with the count and depth until you find something that is comfortable. Remember that the purpose of the breathing is to renew your energy and to achieve a deep state of relaxation…the way you structure the breathing is less important than the result.

No Set Method

In meditation as in all things spiritual there is no set method. What works for someone else may not work for you…the spiritual journey is one that is a custom experience for each individual. So while there are basics…it is important to hear your own voice in this and try what feels right to you if you are not getting results. The main requirements are 1) trust 2) patience and 3) lots of practice.

Meditation: Entering the Zone

The qualities that meditation invokes are a lot like a phenomenon that people refer to as ‘being in the zone’. The zone is a kind of über state that often accompanies random acts of ability, standing out in the minds of those who experience it as possessing a quality that is normally absent. If you’ve ever had an experience like this…you know you want to repeat it. ‘The zone’ is what experts in any field aspire to but it is really a state of intense focus, coupled with absolute knowing and zero resistance…all things that can be learned through meditation.

In my next entry I will explain some of my approaches and insights regarding visualization and working with energy.

See you at the next installment…

PK

Navel Gazing

The word meditation conjures up a lot of images…some pleasant, some amusing and some just plain wrong. In this article I will attempt to explain the art of meditation; the benefits of doing it and methods for accomplishing mental stillness but first lets talk a little about noise.

We live in a busy world in which our senses are constantly assaulted by activity. Our minds are a reflection of this world…constantly active, moving and circling. Unless you are a shark…this activity is exhausting and prevents you from truly attaining a peaceful state of being. So as much time as we spend in the world of busy and noise…it is beneficial to balance it by intentionally slowing down and creating still and silent spaces in our lives. Making this a priority…a way of life…teaches us a greater lesson.

Slowing Down to Create a New Reality

When we are in a hurry all the time we are stressed, tense, insecure, inefficient and often times ill. Don’t buy into the cultural mindset of hurry…be nice to yourself and start making time. Making time starts you down the path of one-pointed attention. Cultivating one-pointed attention heals a fragmented consciousness. When the mind is one-pointed it is secure, free from tension and capable of immense concentration…these traits are the mark of greatness in any field.

The Energy Side

Now that we have talked about the physical and mental side of meditation I would like to address the energy side. When we meditate, we let go of all the negative energy we have been carrying around inside of us and fill up on positive source energy. This is as vital and healing to our bodies as sleep. It relaxes the mind and the entire body…placing us in a state of rest and renewal. We climb deep into ourselves…connecting with the spark of the divine that is our real nature and the reason that we incarnated. Meditation cleanses our energy…it makes our vibration high enough to connect with our higher selves (our souls) and allows us to put all of the circumstances of our lives (our baggage) aside. You can not enter into a place of communion with the soul, unless you can strip yourself down to the core of what you are…meditation will get you there.

Choose a Place to Meditate

It is important to choose a particular place in your house in which to meditate…somewhere you won’t be disturbed and in which you feel safe. Make sure it is free of clutter and has few distractions…place only items that please you in this area. The energy you produce while meditating will linger in the spot in which you consistently meditate…this energy will make it easier for you to drop into meditation as you go along and in essence will eventually make this area of your home very sacred…a place that can give you peace from the moment you sit down. I try to include three items in the room with me when I meditate; a candle, a basin of water, and a plant. The candle provides a great focal point and the flame is a wonderful visual for energy. The water attracts and purifies any negative energy and the plant being a vibrant and living thing helps support the draw on source energy. (Don’t forget to empty the basin of water into the toilet after every session).

No Thought…is not the Place to Start

I’ll admit when I first started meditating I had a love-hate relationship with it…I hated the beginning of each session but loved how I felt at the end. I experienced a great deal of difficulty shutting down my mind because my focus was on how I couldn’t seem to make it stop. Focusing on experiencing no thought, ensnared me in a resistance pattern in which I spent the majority of my session attempting not to think. I failed to realize that meditation is a process of training your mind to focus and that I was going about it a bit backwards. Fortunately…even the early sessions in which I had so much difficulty, created a less active mental environment, so I left the sessions with a increased energy and a greater sense of peace.

Eventually I learned that a gentle approach is best and that if I judged my wandering mind it became more difficult to stay focused. I just accepted that my mind would wander…that it happens to everyone and was in no way any indication of my future spiritual success I started to separate my sense of self from my mind and began to view my thinking as kind of a nervous habit (like biting your nails) or an automatic function (like digestion). When I stopped taking thinking so seriously I developed a new relationship with it. Out of this relationship came an understanding of its functionality…and the insight that the mind is like a dog with a bone…if you give it something to chew on it will lie down and stay in one place for awhile…occupied.

This led to the practice of picking a thought or an image and allowing my mind to focus on whatever I had chosen. Words or phrases repeated are called mantras and images are called visualizations. I found that I experienced greater success when I gave my mind a few words or images to focus on and then gently brought it back to those words or that image if it strayed.

When I first started meditating my goal was to achieve a place of no thought. I didn’t actually get there until I shifted my goal toward simply staying in one place and enjoying the feeling of focused thought. Once I was proficient enough in that…the place of no thought came on its own with no strain or difficulty and with great surprise because I was no longer even thinking about it.

In my next entry I will go over the three major components of meditation (breathing, visualization & working with energy) with exercises, suggestions and insights.

Until then bright blessings and many happy returns…

PK

A Reason to Be

This world is full of love that’s meant to flow…
We’ve only lost the vision of the souls we’re meant to be ~ PK

Creating a vision for your life provides a road map for the unfoldment of your soul and a reason to be here in this world. Whenever you have a decision to make…you pull out your vision and choose the path that is in alignment with your personal growth. If you don’t have a life vision it is very difficult to do this…you will spend most of your time feeling like you’re drifting and don’t have a purpose. Not having a purpose manifests as a dissatisfaction in life and an inability to line up your doing and living with anything meaningful. We all have the same purpose…we incarnate to enhance the unfoldment of our souls. This then is shaped by our individual experiences and passions into our personal growth path.

Step 1: Notice the Good

When you know that you are here so that your soul can unfold, you begin to view the world and the circumstances of your life a bit differently. Everything that you encounter whether you realize it or not is there to help you with this task…in other words…it’s all good. Noticing the good in life will help you to recognize opportunities, accept lessons and transitions, and move through the changes that are necessary for your growth.

So the first step is to start taking a serious look at all the wonderful things life has to offer. For this I suggest taking a tour of appreciation. A tour of appreciation will help you feel full instead of empty as you train your mind to notice what is already there…instead of what is lacking. To start, take a few conscious breaths. Conscious breathing is deep, slow and all of your attention is focused on it. Then look around you and notice anything that you take pleasure in. Maybe it’s your new flat screen computer monitor, a beautiful candle or piece of glass, a favorite book you notice on your bookshelf, a flowering plant, etc. Find something and put your focused attention on it. As you focus on it, feel your enjoyment rise to the surface…notice how much lighter and more at ease you feel. Continue this process with several items. Doing this several times a day…especially when you catch yourself noticing something wrong will help you develop an appreciation for the things in life that you typically don’t give much thought to. This creates a reflection of one of nature’s most beautiful meditations, the meditation of abundance, within you and makes space for the good that is your life and the soul you’re meant to be…to come forth.

Step 2: Meditate

Meditation is an absolutely necessary component for growth. Every gardener must clear a space for what they plant to grow. Meditation not only provides the path but at the same time readies the soil for your work. In meditation you learn to control your attention. Learning to focus your attention is absolutely vital for any energy work. Your spiritual side is the energy side…our physical and energy worlds are wrapped together like the strands of DNA. They are one…they coexist and what you do to one you do to the other. Learning to change things on the energy side to manifest change on the physical side opens a whole new approach to life. Meditation lays the ground work for all such change and focused attention allows us to consciously decide what we grow into our lives. In order to communicate and resonate with the soul that is here to unfold…we have to learn to meet them halfway…learn to meditate.

Step 3: Resonate

The dictionary definition that most suits how I use this word is to produce a response in somebody especially by reminding that person of something. This response of something familiar is created by your higher self (your soul) as a form of communication. Some people call this a calling…finding your passion or intuition. The truth is that this concept is really old, humans have been experiencing the feeling of being inexplicably drawn toward another person, activity or circumstance for thousands of years. If you are energy sensitive you receive these sorts of communications frequently but do not worry if you are not…it is a skill that is enhanced through meditation and spending time in the energy world. Myth expert Joseph Campbell advised people to follow their bliss believing that rapture, being and consciousness are linked. Resonance is an excellent way to measure how close you are to where your higher self wants you to be. When you really resonate with something…you feel an opening from deep within you…and it comes through as rapture, joy, empowerment and knowledge. Paying attention to and following how, when and where you resonate…will keep you on the growth path.

Step 4: Trust the Process

This is an expression that means life is a process of unfolding to your potential. When you trust the process, you know that all of your experience is working toward that unfoldment. This is an act of faith. Your faith is in the higher good….in the love that is available in this world. When we remember the souls were meant to be…this love flows.

Audience Reactions

I was on Christine Kane’s blog this morning and happened to catch an entry on songwriting. She was putting her spin on an entry written by Seth Godin called Lessons from Neil Young, in which Seth describes marketing insights he gained through tepid audience reactions to songs that were new at the time which would later become classics. In Christine’s blog she mentions a song called ‘The Customers’ from her Rain & Mud & Wild & Green release and describes how it almost didn’t make this project because of initial audience reaction. This song’s quiet and thoughtful way left the audience somewhat reflective…only evoking quiet clapping during those first few live performances.

But its message reminding us of times when our to-do lists weren’t so long and when joy and contentment could just randomly bubble its way to the surface did not fall on deaf ears. The song’s vivid picture of us standing on the outside of what we want, staring through the glass at the customers (the happy people) who have taken the time to stop and enjoy for awhile and wishing in our heart of hearts that we could be like them hit home and spoke volumes to many of Christine’s fans…inspiring some to stop what they were doing and reclaim their happiness in that very moment.

What both Seth’s observation and Christine’s story demonstrates is that audience reaction to a new song is not always indicative of the relationship fans will eventually develop with that song.

The Relationship Behind the Music

For a song to have value it must contribute something of value to the listener…but what the listener gets from a song can not always be judged from an audience reaction…especially when the song is new. Songs must form relationships between the performer and the audience…artists and marketers who fail to recognize that relationship sells music are missing the boat. Every song has its own energy to exchange…its own personality. In order for a connection to be made and a relationship to be established you need to spend some time with a song so that you can really get to know it. From a marketing stand point ‘hits’ are songs that make these connections quickly and easily…a ‘radio song’ acts as a bridge between the artist, the other songs on the project and the audience. These songs make it possible for fans to find their favorites among those that will never hit the radio.

The Radio Song

The job of the radio song is to open the door and make it easy for people to come in…to be the attraction and to serve as the tour guide for the rest of the journey. Artists who recognize this journey and that radio songs serve as familiar landmarks, ensuring that listeners don’t get lost on the trip…record truly gratifying projects in which you’re sure to find songs that are even better than the ones that caught your interest initially on the recording. This generates trust between the fans and the artist and makes those relationship bonds even stronger.

Every Song has Value

My favorite artists produce projects that come in many layers and levels. I like songs that are complex and intimate. The artists I listen to are mostly concerned with their craft and communicating something that is authentic while at the same time meeting the requirements necessary to get their project out into the world. They strive for the best they can produce musically and songs that really speak to them and engage their creative spirit and talents. They know their audiences; they are connected to them through a certain energy. With a focus on this energy, they develop an understanding that allows them to intuitively communicate through the songs…selecting each one on the project with care…knowing intimately the song’s individual strength and weaving it into the cohesive whole of the project. These artists certainly know the value of a song…and their fans who are usually extremely devoted…know the value too.

Why Make a Choice?

It takes faith…my friend said quietly over the phone during a conversation about a medical condition she was seeking treatment for. I know I want to try an alternative…like healing myself…but I don’t have the faith that I can make it work.

My friend’s position is not an uncommon one because when we begin to gain consciousness, we start to entertain ideas about different ways of doing things…but often times we don’t put these ideas into practice early enough to get grounded in our new desires before something in life confronts us on these very topics.

My friend has been entertaining the idea of trying an alternative to traditional medicine for some time now, but her only experience in healing has been traditional medicine so it is a near impossible stretch for her to mentally align her thoughts toward the alternative she’d like to pursue now that she has an urgent medical issue that requires her to make a decision. The reason for this is she has no healing experience with the alternative methods. The urgency of her current problem has put her in the position of having to ‘know’ what she chooses will work so of course her faith is in the place where healing has come in the past. This is natural…and a situation that faces a lot of people out there. Whenever you want to deviate from the past experiences of your life you need to consciously decide what kind of experience you want to you have. Sometimes we forget to apply this to the way we heal.

If you know you want to move toward alternative medicine then make your choice now…and practice with it!

Walking the Path

I can’t stress enough how important it is to focus on experiencing health everyday. Especially if you are working with energy medicine. Energy medicine is a practice and if you live here in the states or in other areas of the world in which this type of treatment has not been as widespread and accessible as traditional medicine, then the first thing you have to change is your idea about how you get well.

Most of us here in the states grew up with an ‘if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it’ type of approach to medicine. Going to see a doctor is expensive…so aside of the daily maintenance practices of exercise and diet, you only saw one when something was wrong. Energy Medicine takes a different approach and sees health as a constant flow that you affect with what you do every day. So this type of medicine is a regular practice designed to keep things clear and moving…a health disruption in this line of thinking would be best described as a blockage. This is an important aspect to understand. With energy medicine you don’t just show up if you have a disturbance…you show up regularly to participate in a treatment that contributes to your overall health.

Energy alternatives are mind-body practices designed to align your body and mind with its natural state of optimum health. These practices include meditation, yoga, tai chi, acupuncture, massage therapy and chiropractic treatments among others. When you participate in these practices, notice how your body feels during and after the activities and how your energy transforms as you connect to your natural state. This focus on your natural state of health…will get you more of the same.

After enough of these experiences you will have generated faith in these practices….regular mind-body activities are in themselves powerful health aides acting to keep you in balance and thereby preventing illness. After all who’s ever left a massage feeling anything less than fantastic!

My friend has made the decision to have the surgery this time because that is what she currently knows will work…but at the same time she recognizes the need to go explore the other options she has been interested in and she is now beginning to choose how she wants to experience health. No matter what your circumstance…now is the time to choose how you heal…and to get lots of practice!

What is Conscious Choice?

In my last article I talked a little about making choices conscious. In this entry I would like to further define what it is to make a conscious choice. A conscious choice involves a synergy of thinking and doing. It creates a harmonious interaction between your physical world and the world of your thought. It may seem odd but it is completely possible to make decisions that you are internally opposed to…it is also possible to act in a way that is not congruent with your goals in life. Making conscious choices is a practice that creates an alignment between your thoughts and actions opening a conduit for your goals to travel into your experience. So what are the steps toward making your choices in life conscious ones?

Give Yourself a Purpose

The meaning of life has been sought by countless humans over the last 10,000 years of our development on this planet…it is the quest of all quests…the journey inward that leads to the soul…the source and the beginning of it all. Life has no meaning if not for the meaning that you give to it through your own unique existence. You are the reason…so give yourself a purpose! Giving yourself a purpose acts to remind you of your higher self…the real truth about why you’re here and what you are doing. For example, the purpose of this web site is to assist people in finding their own inner wisdom. I chose this subject because this is what my own life is about…and what rings true to me about the reason I am here. By defining your purpose it is easy to see what actions serve your purpose and which do not. Writing articles about seeking out your own inner wisdom obviously enhances my purpose…selling cars would not . When my actions line up with my purpose I am in harmony…I love what I do because I resonate with it…my entire being pulses and comes alive as a path is opened that connects me to the source and energy flows through it into all I do.

(I have written a more in depth article about connecting with your life’s purpose here…or you can try Steve Pavlina’s article on how to find your life’s purpose in 20 minutes .)

Checking-In

Identifying something that resonates with you, whether it be a purpose for your life or a life enhancing pursuit such as getting healthy, makes getting yourself into alignment with your goals a little easier. Part of the process of alignment is being able to check in. Checking in is a practice of measuring and comparing your internal state. It is a time to stop your activity and ask…where am I internally right now? Do I feel at ease? Healthy? Strong? Stressed? What’s going on inside of me at this moment?

Notice what you find. Do not judge what is there, making an assessment about what you see at this point will only act to separate you from your feelings…simply write it down or spend some time mentally observing it. You might say to yourself, there is tension in my neck and jaw, my head feels heavy, I have anxious energy inside of me or I feel really strong today, my head is clear and I feel a healthy energy inside of me. Imagine yourself as a mediator between your feelings and your goals…and use wording that is as neutral as possible when noticing and describing your internal state.

Give yourself a rating on an internal scale of 1-5.

1) You feel free, powerful, good, loved, like you have value, purpose and all is well. The feelings are best described as joy, knowledge, empowerment, freedom, love and appreciation.

2) You feel passionate, enthusiastic, eager or happy. You carry within you positive expectation are optimistic, hopeful and or content.

3) You feel bored, pessimistic, frustrated, irritated, impatient, overwhelmed, disappointed, full of worry and or doubt.

4) You want to blame, are feeling discouraged, angry or vengeful. You feel hatred, rage, jealousy, insecurity, guilt or unworthiness.

5) You feel out of control, trapped, powerless and you don’t know how to change it. The feelings are best described as fear, grief, depression, despair and powerlessness.

When you are at a one on the scale your thinking and doing are in total alignment, when you are at a five on the scale your thinking and doing are completely out of alignment. Checking in with your body and your feelings provides you with important feedback about your thoughts.

Moving Up the Scale

Once you have figured out your place on the scale, it’s time to turn your attention toward the thoughts that generated the feelings you have identified. The mind has a thought and the body reacts to it. If your mind is circling around thoughts of worry…then your body will feel anxious. If your mind is in a place of joy and empowerment than your body will feel healthy and strong. In order to feel better you have to strive toward a thought that is in alignment with your higher self. So in order to make a change you literally have to find a healing thought…something that makes it easier to move out of your current perspective.

Some Methods for Uncovering Healing Thoughts

1) Identify what you don’t want and then be clear about what you do want. The feeling of worry is common to most of us and usually surrounds what we don’t want thoughts, so it is easy to identify that…what is harder is to move into what we do want. If you can’t get clear on what you do want…you’ll remain stuck in what you don’t…so make sure that you get clear on this in the correct language. Instead of worrying about getting Alzheimer’s like your great aunt did and thinking I sure hope I don’t end up like her, say…I want a healthy body and mind, I want to be independent as I age. Notice how much stronger and empowering the new thought feels. Continue to shift don’t wants to do wants and you will find that your thoughts automatically come with you…restoring your sense of control and moving you out of worry.

2) Spend time imagining how what you do want feels. See yourself in your body with complete freedom and ease, see yourself at that perfect healthy weight, see yourself experiencing a career that you love as if you already had it with absolutely no sense of absence within you. Make it as real as possible and once you are there…let it go. You can relive memories, stories, dreams or make up a scenario that gives you a taste of what it feels like to experience the qualities you would like to bring into your life. Through mentally experiencing your desires without a feeling of lack, you soften the resistant thoughts that have been preventing them from coming into your life…sliding your emotional state further up the scale and closer to your goals.

3) Go through your life and list all the things you are grateful for. I am grateful for my dog who can always find something fun in any situation, I am grateful for my little girl’s big hugs every day, I am grateful for my son’s imagination and how he always wants to share his adventures with me, I am grateful for my husband’s sense of humor and how he can find a reason to laugh in the oddest of places, I am grateful that I am here and have this great adventure called life in front of me. By listing all of the things you are grateful for in life…you can shift your attention away from fear, a sense of lack and not enough toward the things in life you want more of. This again moves your thoughts into alignment with where you want to be.

A Conscious Choice is an Owned Choice

When you own a choice, you enter it fully and take full responsibility for it. You are not at odds within yourself. Instead you are solid and secure with where you are going. You can only own a choice if there is harmony between your thinking and doing…it is either there or it isn’t…there is no in between.

To achieve alignment between thinking and doing you can change the thoughts or the actions. Which you decide to change will depend a great deal on the situation but your purpose can be of great use for determining where to go with this. By asking the question of whether the action or the thought is out of alignment with where you want to be in life; you can identify where to make the change by checking in with your body and examining the thoughts that lead to what you find there.

If it is the action…simply stop and do something that lines up with your purpose. For example if your current life is full of stress and you want to change that and you presently have a hard time saying no to projects…your purpose of ‘living a healthy balanced life’ can help you set boundaries because taking on those extra projects would not be in alignment with your purpose. This in turn allows you to say no and creates space in your schedule. Then perhaps you’ll run into an opportunity such as a yoga or meditation class or walking club that you want to join because it does line up with the purpose you set for yourself…you now have the room and flexibility to go ahead with it and the decisions were much easier for you to make because you were clear about the experience you were setting forth for yourself.

This same principle applies to changing thoughts. If you want to live a healthy and balanced life but are worried about getting sick; those thoughts do not line up with your purpose. Any action that you take from that place (such as going to the gym) will come from a place of fear not empowerment. This will result in a dissatisfaction with your gym experience because it will not restore your sense of control and so the action will have little influence on your overall health. In this situation, you will need to make a change to your thoughts from the place of I don’t want to get sick to the place of I want a strong and healthy body so that the doing and thinking are in alignment with one another allowing the actions you take to restore your sense of well being. When the actions flowing from you come from a place of power…you are making your choices consciously.