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Welcome!
When we are focused on balancing and integrating our
mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual lives, we often find
it helpful to hear from others on the journey. Our deepest questions
may be articulated by others. We may feel less alone, and more
connected to those around us in meaningful ways.
It
is my hope that the words of this occasional letter will touch
your life and heart- that you will see how a life of more awareness
leads to a life of healing the deepest hurts- a life of compassion
for self and others, and a life worth living! You are invited to share your insights, questions, and requests
for future articles.
| In this issue |
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| A Question
of Interest |
How
does Awareness help when I
am aware of busy mind and still
can't fall asleep at night? When
we are aware of busy, monkey
mind, isn't that being aware?
Yes, that's part of awareness.
However, are we also aware
of trying to make things different
than they are? Of wanting to
fall asleep and getting caught
up in thoughts like, "Why can't
I fall asleep?" "How am I ever
going to get to that 8 AM meeting
if I don't fall asleep soon?" "How
will I get through tomorrow with
the kids if I don't sleep?"Awareness
is certainly about noticing what
is happening on a surface level.
Sleeplessness can happen with
awareness; noticing active mind,
feeling energized, wanting to
find a way out of our predicament,
using tools, not using tools,
and getting caught up in wanting
things to be different.
However,
awareness is also about noticing a
disturbance and wondering about
a disturbance of body/mind, and
going deeper.When we have the
desire, energy, and space to
simply be with sleeplessness,
we may notice thought, energy
moving, and stay in bed and wonder
about what is; being curious
and listening fully to whatever
the body/mind has to say.Or we
might get out of bed to meditate,
write, or do yoga, qi gong or
energy medicine. Sometimes that's
what we do, and that's enough.
Good stuff can come from being
present with what is in the silence
of the night. However, it is
also true that most of us have
tremendously busy lives and we
need to get plenty of rest to
balance our every day activity.
Here are a few suggestions for
when we need to sleep, and have
active, monkey mind in the way:
- Stay
with the present experience
of active, busy mind without
struggling with it and wanting
it to be different. Something
may relax enough to allow you
to fall asleep.
- Count
the breath (see link for instructions).
This practice helps train the
mind to focus and can be relaxing
for the body as well-fewer
busy thoughts, more inner space
for relaxing to sleep.
- Before
you lie down, practice simple
mental energy balancing as
a preventative measure. That's
what I do.
I
recommend Energy Medicine by Donna Eden for practical simple exercises
which help balance the body/mind energies. For bedtime, I recommend the
Crown Pull, the Wayne Cook posture and Zip Up. You can order the book
through the Suggested Reading link. . If you need help after you get
the book, contact Dr. Jeff Harris on my Links link. He is an energy medicine
practitioner extraordinaire.
- Herbal
supplements can also be useful.
Consult with a respected herbalist
to find what may work for you.
After
a sincere effort with the above
suggestions, and you are still
unable to get the rest you need,
there may be other causative
factors besides mental activity
to be considered. If this is
the case, a Qi Gong or Loving
Presence Guidance consultation
with me may be helpful. Check
the sidebar links for information
regarding qi gong and guidance
standard fees and combination
packages.
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| Fresh Perspectives |
 A
Broken Egg Moment or
Being
with What Is
An
excerpt from Nina Livingstone's forthcoming
book Let's Not Call It Meditation: Practical
Information for People Who Think They Can't
Sit Still and Quiet the Mind
To
truly understand the possibility of being with what
is, and meeting our experiences freshly, we must
first notice how often we do not experience our life
with fresh awareness. We often do not notice what's
right in front of us. We have filters of prejudices,
ideas, and inattention between what our view is and what
is.We usually see what we want.
It's
as if we are standing at the sink doing dishes, and
our son comes in with blood streaming down his face,
from a cut because of a fight at school. We aren't
going to see the truth (the blood) because we don't
turn around and look at him. We keep doing the dishes.
We say, "How was your day, Honey?" "Oh, it was OK,
Mom. Nothing special happened-I'm going out to play
soccer-be home in time for dinner!" "OK, honey, see
you later!"
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| Helping the
Body Heal |
What you can do for yourself when you feel physically
out-of-balance with pain and injury, or any physical
dis-ease.
This section of The Open Letter provides helpful information
for those who are curious about how they can help the body
heal on a daily basis and in acute situations.
The Colors of Healing
When we practice visualizing the organs with the Six Healing Sounds presented
last issue, we improve our skills for visualization. As we build visualization
skills with this inner work, colors can be added for more healing. If you have
been practicing with the Six Sounds, you will now be able to integrate the
use of color for each organ, as you breathe into each of the six.
Colors can be visualized together with sound, as well as separately. It is
easy to understand the advantages of quietly sending healing colors when we
are with others who would probably not understand why we started to make strange
sounds all of a sudden!
Just as with sound, each organ has a preference for a particular color vibration
for healing and balance. All we need to do is imagine the color the organ likes,
as we inhale the color into the organ.
If we are using sound as well, we exhale saying the sound, and imagine two
layers of color leaving
through
the mouth, with the out-breath. The top layer is the
healthy color and the bottom layer is a gray-ish form
of the color, filled with the stuck or toxic energy.
Remember to do all the organs, in the same order, each time you practice to
help keep the energy balanced. It's fine if you want to send a color occasionally
to just one organ, as a boost during the day
In an acute situation, like a bronchial, or a kidney infection, it is best
to focus more time on the afflicted organ during your regular practice, by
repeating the sound and color breaths a few more times. Also, it would usually
be good to practice the whole sound and color meditation three or four times
a day when you have an acute or chronic condition.
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| Suggestion
Box |
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Useful Tools When You Need Them
These practices are useful when we are stuck in confusion
and pain. They help us experience an alternative way of being
with our pain, and help us directly encounter what is in
the way of finding more honesty, joy, balance and freedom. As with all tools, please remember to let go of them when
they don't serve a purpose.
Did you enjoy the food the last time you ate alone? Were
you just eating, or were you completely absorbed in
doing something else as well? Just eating, rests and
refreshes the mind, and feels like a mini-vacation in the
middle of a busy day. Usually, we eat and read, or think,
or even write when we are eating alone. We are so busy, in
fact, doing other things while we eat, that we barely taste
the food. How about taking a break? Next time you eat alone, plan
on just eating. That means focusing your attention completely
on the chewing, the smelling, the tasting, and the swallowing.
Thoughts come and go and you return your complete moment-to-moment
awareness, back to just eating. You can take a break like this at work, at restaurants or
at home. You may find you eat more slowly and don't overeat.
You may taste your food and chew it better. You may find
you have more energy for the rest of your day. Once you've experienced the benefits from just eating,
you may excuse yourself from people you usually share meals
with in order to treat yourself to a quiet-mind meal in an
otherwise busy day. You may find you love eating alone, yet remember there needs
to be balance in all things. You can still enjoy sharing
meals with others!
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| An Invitation |
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Something
New
New
Links for Information
Click
on side bar for direct links
to new fees, classes and workshop
info.
New
Standard and Multiple Visit
Fees
and
Combination
Guidance and Qi Gong
Packages
April
Classes at The Springs
at Clifton Springs Hospital
Awareness
at Work
Are you thinking about new
experiences for your group
that promote happiness and
a sense of well- being?
This
three hour workshop
gives
your group
new
skills
for
productivity, happiness,
and wellness.
Awareness
at Work workshop
can:
New
Talks
I
am also looking for opportunities
to give talks to any group
interested in promoting
well-being and happiness
to its members or employees.
These one hour talks will
be available to organizations
in the local Rochester
area and will include the
following topics:
Meditation
for Anyone The Flowering
of Inner GrowthAngry at
Work? Heal the Heart of
It!Opening to Change at
Work (at Home, or in the
World)What is Awareness?A
Forgiveness MeditationA
Meditation on CompassionAnd
more!
10%
of all proceeds of all
workshops and talks will
be donated to a local charity.
A list of charities is
available on request. Please
keep me in mind for a talk
or workshop when your group
discusses schedules. More
information about fees,
referances, and workshop
on link below.
Please
Spread These Words
Offering
others the opportunity
to connect expands our
community! Please consider
forwarding this issue,
with a personal note, to
anyone on your email list
you feel would be interested
in it.
Meditation
CDs
If
you haven't yet explored
Nina's meditation CDs,
you can read about them,
listen to audio samples,
and buy them at www.healingwithawareness.com/cds.htm.
Group
Awareness Meditation
Monday
evening meditation and
discussion sessions continue
at Nina's home in Penfield.
The group is small. Donations
only. Beginners are always
welcome. Call or email
for more info.
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