posted July 27, 2003 12:29 PM         

Do we go for things that cannot be true, too much, too many, too often and who are we negotiating into a relationship? Are we looking for ourselves in others or who we wish we were and that shocks the relationship off its foundations—it's a relatio-quake ratio...and so many wander from one to the other and often once it's begun it's too late because you are not properly prepared for the respond ability required for rational relatio. Argisle

3. Opening to the Spirit and asking for help from the higher levels of our self is often helpful for healing. As I mentioned, much illness comes from this lack of connection or ability to listen to this Higher Self. If and when we do, we can receive the guidance we need and the new ideas and actions necessary to fulfill our purpose and move us forward in our life. We can heal and evolve. Healing the male-female conflicts will help each of us, as we have these issues within our core. Some of our most brilliant psychology minds, like Dr. Carl Jung, suggest that we each have our opposite sex energy as our subconscious. He termed these the anima and animus. The relationship between our thinking mind and deeper selves affect our lives and outward relationships. Thus, working in this inner healing realm and resolving the conflicts we all have between father-mother and male-female can fully improve and heal our worldly relationships. The more we evolve within us, the better our personal connections become. I believe this.

I have had many patients experience and tell me that they were able to improve their love relationships (and work as well) when they stopped running away from the conflicts they encountered in their personal lives. They tended to reach the same impasse with each relationship. Until they took a break and worked out these very intimate and personal issues they have about intimacy and personal relationships, they couldn’t meet and be close with the right person for them. At least, this is the ‘more right’ person, since with every relationship there are some issues and growth to experience.

4. The way we eat is crucial to health or illness. Much disease comes from poor food choices, mostly over decades, but also in the short term. That is why establishing the foundation of healthy eating should start in childhood. And if we’re parents, we need to follow the Number One rule for feeding kids right, and that’s “Set a Good Example!” This is where Nature comes in and eating foods closer to the source, which is our Earth Mother. She blesses us every season with foods that are best for us—fresh greens in the Spring, cooling fruits and vegetables in the Summer, lots of richer foods like grains, beans, nuts and seeds, plus many veggies in Autumn to help us last through the cold or wet Winter. Connect with this and minimize all the processed and junk foods and chemicals so readily available everywhere in our modern societies. This one area can help protect your health and keep you well throughout your years.

What about NURTURANCE? Nourishing ourselves with care, food from loving cooking, friendship is investing in self, and this investment can comfort and heal us. Being sensitive to our own needs, truly caring for ourselves, nurturing our own being by knowing what will nourish us and our spirit, we can learn the uniqueness of our being, as every human is different.

5. Exercise activity is crucial to staying healthy and vital, as well as to good circulation and a strong immune system. A balanced daily and long-term program that includes stretching for flexibility, aerobic activity for endurance, and weight work for strength. This all leads to better relaxation and getting our minds out of the way so that healing can happen more easily in our bodies. A vital body rarely gets sick. Yoga and other flexibility-enhancing movements are helpful at keeping us youthful. “We are as young as our spine is flexible.” So, stay young and healthy with regular exercise.

6. Nutritional supplements support balance and healing. They nourish our cells and tissues, and support optimal function to allow healing to happen biochemically and physiologically. Deficiency symptoms such as fatigue and coldness may require nutrients and hormonal balance (and a more nourishing diet) while congestion and toxicity problems like headaches, allergies, aches and pains, and digestive maladies can be helped by detoxification with herbs (and with a more cleansing diet) and nutritional support. Make sure you or your guide knows what they are doing, and don’t overdo it. We can find the right program for each of us if we listen to both our inner guidance as well as outside wisdom and experience.

7. Avoid the victim and blame game, the name game. Most of us get into trouble because of the way we think and the judgments we make, both for others and ourselves. When we say things to others out of anger and with an attempt to hurt them, as we may feel hurt, we generate a war of words and feelings. That is not a healing feeling and creates separation. Separation and upset emotions generate dis-ease while love and connection/cooperation toward unity help us heal. Many people have bad habits, self-destructive behavior because they feel victimized by life and don’t feel deserving of love, health, good food, and other ways of nurturing and pleasuring themselves. Sometimes, the number one thing we can do is to heal our attitude towards self and life. I encourage my patients to adopt the philosophy that “this is the only body I have, and I want to treat it in a loving and respectful way.” Then, if we can really feel and believe this, we will begin to eat better, exercise more, learn to handle our stresses, and have a new and different approach to life. Wow!

Don’t live on the harm farm, where no matter what you do ends up out of balance or so it seems. Re-learn to think positively and act confidently. Read the biographies of those who have overcome great obstacles to live fully and use their inspiration as motivation. Live simply, Live well!

8. Where can we go to Heal? The answer lies within. Some people tap their deeper levels only when they get away from home or work and their everyday world. This may involve a retreat or just going into Nature. Others may benefit from some workshop or therapy program. Getting out of the way, relaxing and letting things flow allows healing to happen—it’s a natural experience our body wants. When everything is flowing through our channels (blood, lymph, energy), we are healthy and vital. Tune in and go to your stress; allow the conflicts to surface. Also, allow your dreams to bring you insight and give you passion for action.

Dream Exercise for Healing—Before you go to bed, write down these three important questions and then meditate on them a few minutes as you drift off to sleep. Our subconscious has the answers we need to solve our health dilemmas if we are willing to listen to this innate wisdom. Make sure you write your questions on paper, ideally in your personal journal as this brings them into form.
Body, why am I experiencing this problem (you can be more specific to your concern) right now?
What do you wish to tell me?
What is needed for healing?
Or use some variation of these questions, and you can make them specific to your personal issues. This is also a technique in guided imagery work to have an internal dialogue with the wise part of your self. Give this a few nights or even weeks to see what comes back; you may be surprised and delighted, and certain conflicts may be resolved.

9. Shifting and balancing with the Seasons is vital to Staying Healthy. Being aware of your own cycles within Nature’s is a key knowledge to acquire and use throughout life in regards to personal choices, activities, diets, etc. How did you feel last year at this time and what were your dreams then and now? If you journal these things, you’ll have some reference for yourself and this will help you learn. Tune in and you'll find yourself in there; yes, you're in there...meet up with yourself and have some fun. Discovering the many dimensions and mysteries of our humanness can be quite an adventure. We were all gifted with treasures, that is the gold at the end of the rainbow of love. We are loved...we are love, love is all around us, let us celebrate and radiate love, which is healing. There is love to light the way...my first book, Staying Healthy with the Seasons, is a guide book for traveling through the cycles of light and dark and the effects on inner and outer climates.

10. In summary, imbalance occurs primarily from a dominance of thoughts or excessive, stressful emotions, or from a diet that causes congestion or deficiency (too much or not enough, usually both). And the balance and healing lie in the inner work and enhancement of spirituality as my friend Howard Schechter, PhD. States in his insightful and helpful book, Jupiter’s Rings: Balance from Inside Out (White Cloud Press, Ashland, Oregon). Explore all parts of yourself and work/play to integrate them by working through weaknesses and other challenges, and allow yourself to become your full and true Self. Blessings to you all.


Feeling and Healing by Elson and Bethany

What do you feel/do/know/think when you see that the mismanagement of the Earth's resources and the focus on war are destroying our ability to love one another. Nature is love, and we can feel relaxed, energized, loved and nourished by our beautiful Earth.
Peace allows and generates wholeness and the ability to love.
When we can listen, we find the heart of cooperation and understanding. We then can create peace and the ability to care for all the humans and other inhabitants of our planet. Is there a better way to use this energy that doesn't lead to war? Let's have an adventure and find out, it must be possible if we believe we can achieve what we wish to receive–which is always healing our feelings and dealings...Believe and radiate love and peace; No More War!!!!
All Rights Reserved © Elson Haas M.D.

posted July 27, 2003 01:34 PM         

Imagine a woman who believes it is right and good she is a woman. A woman who honors her experience and tells her stories. Who refuses to carry the sins of others within her body and life.

Imagine a woman who trusts and respects herself. A woman who listens to her needs and desires. Who meets them with tenderness and grace.

Imagine a woman who has acknowledged the past's influence on the present. A woman who has walked through her past. Who has healed into the present.

Imagine a woman who authors her own life. A woman who exerts, initiates, and moves on her own behalf. Who refuses to surrender except to her truest self and to her wisest voice.

Imagine a woman who names her own gods. A woman who imagines the divine in her image and likeness. Who designs her own spirituality and allows it to inform her daily life.

Imagine a woman in love with her own body. A woman who believes her body is enough, just as it is. Who celebrates her body and its rhythms and cycles as an exquisite resource.

Imagine a woman who honors the body of the Goddess in her changing body. A woman who celebrates the accumulation of her years and her wisdom. Who refuses to use her precious life energy disguising the changes in her body and life.

Imagine a woman who values the women in her life. A woman who sits in circles of women. Who is reminded of the truth about herself when she forgets.

IMAGINE YOURSELF AS THIS WOMAN.