Full Moon May 25 2013

Full Moon May 25 2013, Moon in Sagittarius, 
The moon is as close to the earth as it ever gets and is in straight alignment with sun and earth. Anyone having trouble sleeping?
Minor eclipse late

Lokata Name: Moon of the Green Leaves
Let the moon shine in your eyes. Its good for you! And dance a little too.(:
Sue Schmidt
www.healingmeditations.net

Create and Embrace Authentic Self Esteem

Self worth, self esteem, confidence..these are all words we use to describe the feeling of being grounded and centered in who we are. This is a 3^rd chakra energy. When this energy is flowing and balanced we feel an expansion in our solar plexus and our feet on the earth. We feel like we can handle what life brings us gracefully.

Some people have an abundance of this expansive yet grounded energy. Some of us not enough and may experience self hatred.  Most of use feel pretty good about ourselves some days and not so good other days and this feeling is tied to what is externally going on at work, home and in our bodymind. 

How would it feel to be connected to our feeling  of intrinsic value no matter what is happening in the world? How can we change self loathing to self love?

There are 5 levels of Self Worth and each level has a corresponding action, attitude and/or meditation. These levels are:

1.Unconditional Self Love

2.Taking in Present Moment Worthiness

3.Taking in Past Worthiness

4.Creating Self Esteem through Right Action

5.Using your Own Yardstick 

1

.   

I am going to discuss these 5 levels and include a meditation for each in a few different blogs. Unconditional Self Love coming tomorrow. 

 Enjoy and think good thoughts about you,

Sue Schmidt C.HT, CMT
www.healingmeditations.com
healingmeditations1@gmail.com
(720) 890 7453

Healing Meditation: The Power of the Subconscious Mind to Heal

I was tired and distracted but really wanted to get my back deck in shape for summer. I was dragging furniture around, watering plants and definitely not being mindful. I stepped backwards onto an old glass window that covered a window well. The glass instantly shattered and my left leg plunged through the window. I fell to the deck and pulled my leg back out. Blood spurted in an arc and I saw a piece of glass sticking out of my leg below my left knee. I chanted my mantra, tried to breathe and called 911.

The medics were very kind and I was grateful for their patience, thoroughness and reassurance that I had done the right thing by calling them.


At the ER they didn't think much was wrong. The ER doc pulled out a small piece of glass protruding from my leg. I could still wiggle my toes, move my foot and could feel the ER doc's hand on my foot. But I felt something was very wrong. I was in a lot of pain and my calf was cramping intensely.

X Ray showed a 4 inch piece of glass embedded in my leg. It had entered below my knee and was protruding into my calf. I was told I would probably have to go to surgery. Luckily, I could still feel my foot and move my toes. I was so incredibly grateful for that.

A young Physician Assistant felt he could pull the glass from my leg. With some trepidation I told him to go ahead. I closed my eyes and said my mantra and surrendered. Occasionally, I would glance at him. He worked so carefully, with so much intention and focus. The nurses were nodding when they made eye contact with me and I felt reassured. He pulled the glass out with out damaging anything and all in one piece. So grateful! I wanted to hug him but settled on shaking his hand.

So home again...with instructions to take Percoset. It made me feel woozy and depressed and the leg still hurt like hell. I was worried about infection somewhat and had been told that was a concern.

The next morning, I listened to an MP3 I had created called Healing Meditation for my clients and website www.healingmeditations.net.
 I fell into a deep sleep after listening and when I awoke I felt so much better! Less pain, and I felt much clearer and stronger. I have listened to the program at least four more times and every time I feel better. No need for pain meds now!

The subconscious mind has vast power to heal our bodies and resolve trauma. If you are in pain or suffering from an illness, first go to your doctor. Then activate your innate healing power by listening to a Healing Meditation. There are lots out there on the internet. 
So grateful to the ER docs, medics and western medicine in general. So grateful I didn't damage anything permanently. So grateful that we all have such vast power in our subconscious to heal.Q

Be Well and Be Careful,
Sue Schmidt
healingmeditations1@gmail.com
(720) 890 7453
www.healingmeditations.net

The Stages of Gratitude: A Conscious Choice for Happiness

Hi Everyone, 
I think it is natural for our thoughts to turn to the subject of gratitude this time of year. I have made a practice of cultivating  gratitude for some time now and would like to share with you a gratitude meditation in the video below and my thoughts on the subject. It is the best way I can think of to  show my appreciation to all my clients, friends and anyone interested in living a happier more peaceful life.  Gratitude not feels good it is good for you! People who regularly cultivate gratitude have stronger immune systems, tend to exercise more, and experience higher leves of well being and goal attainment. In the past decade, science has become more interested in positive emotions. To read a  study on gratitude click on  link to gratitude study http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/labs/emmons/PWT/index.cfm  

In my cultivation of gratitude as  a conscious choice and practice I've come to understand feeling grateful in 4 stages; 

Stage 1 External Gratitude: . Usually, we experience gratitude when something fortunate happens that benefits us in some way. This fortuitous event  more strongly triggers gratitude if it  is unexpected.  This  is a good place to start to connect to gratitude. We can all make a practice of remembering some of the wonderful things that have befallen us. We can consciously choose to appreciate good fortunate as it happens and to really savor and celebrate the good times we experience.
The downfall of this form of gratitude is that sometimes the world or life brings us unexpected difficulty or challenge. If we have not made gratitude a self directed choice, we may lose our sense of gratitude when confronted with difficulty. We may feel unlucky and ask "why me? " and feel victimized. Of course, loss is usually accompanied by feelings of this type at least for a time. But with a steadfast practice of gratitude supporting us, we can move through feelings of victimization more easily.

Stage 2 Present Moment Gratitude: We can  consciously choose to feel grateful for things and people in our lives that are present now and  we may take for granted. We can choose to feel gratitude for the wonderful people who are always with us: family, long time friends, our partners. We can choose to feel grateful for our car, our home, the food we have to eat, the clothes we have. Most of us living  in the U.S. are exceptionally well off compared to the rest of the world. 
We can feel gratitude for ourselves:the health we have, our minds, the fact that we have eyes to see the beauty of the world and ears to hear the wind, water, music and a loved ones voice. 

Stage 3 Gratitude of Challenge: At this stage we begin to understand that even difficult situations can have elements that we can feel grateful for. This is stage is more challenging and there may be events and circumstances that we currently just find impossible to feel grateful for. This is fine and can be a necessary stage to be at for a while. But just holding in your heart the desire for gratitude is very healing. 
Perhaps the unpleasant experiences have helped us to develop some skills and abilities we didn't feel motivated to develop before. Perhaps the unpleasant experiences have pushed us to the point where, unaware of any other choice to stop the suffering, we finally discovered incredible resources within ourselves, powers that were lying dormant and untapped.

Stage 4  Energetic Gratitude : We can experience  Energetic  Gratitude. At this stage we simply connect to the energy of gratitude. It is gratitude without an object. We focus on the feeling of gratitude resonating  in our bodies both as a physcial sensation and energetic connection.  This form of gratitude is most easily experienced in meditation. All emotion has a specific frequency and resonance that effects us on  physiological, emotion and spiritual  levels. Gratitude is one of the highest frequency emotions. We can feel gratitude for simply being alive, for all of life. We off this energy up to the whole universe and has we offer it up, it rains back down as love and abundance. The traditional name for this kind of gratitude in spiritual traditions is devotion.

  For me the best way to cultivate gratitude consciously is through meditation. Keeping a journal of all the circumstance, events and people in your life that trigger gratitude is also a wonderful practice.

To watch a video  Gratitude Meditation by Sue
click here

Be well everyone, and be grateful. It feels good and is good for you and everyone around you.

With heartfelt thanks and appreciation,

Sue Schmidt CMT, C.Ht
www.mindpower1.net
www.transformativetouch.massagetherapy.com
(720) 890 7453
mindpowersue@gmail.com

Certified Hypnotherapist
Certified Massage Therapist
Meditation Instructor
Certified Shiatsu Practitioner
Chi Kung Healing Practitioner

How to Do Self Hypnosis

Our subconscious minds have great power and influence over our waking experience. Our subconscious directs most of our choices (whether we are aware of it or not) and our choices create our reality! So learning to work with the our subconscious is a extremely effective way to change our behavior and attitudes, to find more peace and balance and ultimately to create the life we want!

The subconscious speaks a different language then the conscious mind. The subconscious understands images, metaphors and symbols. It operates on an emotional level and any emotion, positive or negative has great charge and energy for the subconscious. It is not analytical. For instance, if we have misplaced our keys, the conscious mind will think analytically about the problem. It goes through a dialogue something like: "Well, I didn't go in the bedroom so my keys can't be there. I didn't go in the living room. I had them when I went to the grocery store.  Maybe they are in the kitchen!" The subconscious works differently. You would close your eyes, take a deep breath and exhale, and relax. You would then ask insidewhere your keys are. And an image appears of your keys on the kitchen counter. Or you might hear the words, "In the kitchen." Or you might just "know"they are there.
I've outlined below the basic steps of how to do self hypnosis. Anyone of can practice self hypnosis. However, those suffering from severe mental illness or recovering from trauma may need guidance or a doctor's permission.
Please feel free to all or email if you have any questions! Contact info. on the website.

Steps of Self Hypnosis May 2011

By Sue Schmidt, Certified Hypnotherapist

www.mindpower1.net

(720) 890 7453

mindpowersue@gmail.com

1. Find a comfortable, quiet place where you will not be disturbed
2. Formulate a goal. Think about something you would like to change, let go of, experience or understand. Or some way you would like to feel
3. From the goal create a Suggestion
4. Deepen the Breathing
5. Progressive Muscle Relaxation
6. Count backwards from 10 to 1
7. Repeat your suggestions silently to yourself
8. Visualize Yourself doing/being the suggestion
9. Count up from 1 to 7
10.  End with the command to feel awake, alert and relaxed

Step 1: You may have to enlist the cooperation of family, roommates etc. to respect your need for privacy for 20 minutes.

Step 2: A goal is a 5-7 word sentence that you honestly believe is doable for you. For Example: I want to lose 10 lbs.

Step 3: A suggestion is brief phrase created from the goal that uses imagery, and emotion to give it power. It is always stated in the present tense.

For example: I eat healthy food in portions the size of my fist.

Step 4: Breathing:  close your eyes, rest your hands on your belly. Feel the hands rise on the inhale, fall on the exhale. Slow the breath down.

•          Step 5: Progressive Relaxation: Relax all the little muscles of your scalp and let that relaxation flow into forehead. Your forehead relaxes and your mind relaxes.

•          The little muscles around your eyes relax and that relaxation flows into your checks and jaw. Your jaw relaxes and your whole face lets go

•          The relaxation continues flowing through your neck and shoulders and as your shoulders relax, you release all your worries, tensions and fears. Just letting go.

•          The relaxation continues to flow down your arms and out your hands. Your arms and shoulders let go. Your shoulders relax away from your ears you release all your worries, fears and tensions.

•          This warm heavy feeling of relaxation flows through your back, and chest. And body sinks into the surface beneath you.

•          The relaxation continues through your thighs, knees, calves, ankles and feet.
Your whole body feels warm and relaxed. Your whole body is letting go.

•          You are breathing in relaxation. Breathing out stress and tension.  With each breath you are becoming more and more relaxed.

•          Every muscle in your body is letting go. Every muscle is melting. Simply feel yourself sinking deep. Sinking deep into the surface beneath you.

Step 6 : Count from 10 to 1: Get ready to go down now.

10………9………going deeper……….8………….7………you are safe………6……more and more relaxed………5……….4…………3………………...even deeper than you were before………2…………..1……….

Step 7: Repeat Suggestions Silently to yourself

Step 8: Visualize yourself doing being the suggestion

Step 9: Count up: It is time to come back now. And when you awaken you will feel relaxed, refreshed and alert, ready to resume your day. In a moment I will count from 1 to 7 and with each ascending number you will become more and more awake. Getting ready to come back now……

1….you will remember everything you need to…….2……….you are becoming more and more awake………3……..coming back now……feeling good………4……you will take this feeling of peaceful relaxation with you into your day………..5……wiggling fingers and toes………6……blinking your eyes……..7!

(snap fingers)

Step 10: You are awake now. Feeling good.  Feeling alert and relaxed.

The best way to use this particular script is to first write down a goal. Then, create a suggestion from the goal and write that down. Then record your voice giving cues to slow and deepen the breath. Record yourself reading the progressive relaxation. Record your suggestions. Use the word “I”

For Example: I eat healthy food and stop when I am full.

Record Steps 9 and 10 as written. Listen to the recording 3-4 times a week for 3 weeks  at a minimum. Do not do more than once  a day.  

Mantra Meditation Technique

Mantra Meditation Technique:

• Begin: Sit in your meditation space, or any quiet, uncluttered safe place with your spine straight and body relaxed. You can try lying down but most people will fall asleep or lose focus when they lie down.

• Make sure your clothing is loose and that you are physically comfortable. It is hard to meditate, especially in the beginning, if you are cold, sick, very tired or hungry. You need to be in a place where you are safe and feel safe.

• Light a candle, burn incense, loosen your clothing. This sets the “stage”. Close your eyes and feel how you are right now, in this moment. Notice your breathing.

• Choose your mantra. You can use an English word or word from your native language (if not English). Some examples of words to use are:

         

Peace

Relax

Faith

Strength

Courage

Love

Calm

Or you can choose the name of a deity that is meaningful to you:

God

Jesus

Mother Mary

Any of the Buddhist or Hindu deities

Or you can use a very short phrase:

Work with ease

Healing Now

Love and Light

Be Present

Traditional Sanskrit Mantras:

Hum Sa- I am that- The Breath Mantra

Om namah shivaya- I bow with respect to my inner self

Om mani padme hum-I bow to the jewel of compassion

Some people believe the traditional mantras have more effect than words because people have been chanting them for thousands of years and this gives the words added strength and energy. Traditionally, mantras were given to the student by their guru or teacher. I think this does have power, but perhaps not for the reason people think.

You have the power within you, to make your own choice and make that choice powerful for you.

I recommend choosing a mantra, and then using that same mantra until you feel satisfied that you have manifested that feeling or energy in your life to some degree.

Once you have chosen your mantra then:   

• Repeat the word or phrase silently to yourself.  Repeat it once on the inhale, once on the exhale for some set amount of time. 10-20 min. is plenty in the beginning. It is very important to sync the mantra with your breath. Shorten or change the mantra any way you need to to accomplish this.

• Notice your thoughts. Most likely, your thoughts will wander and you will drift off into the future or the past. This is normal. When this happens simply notice that you are no longer saying your mantra and come back to the practice.

• It is entirely possible, with practice, to think about other things while chanting your mantra! Notice, when you are doing this. Then, without drama, or blame gently shift your awareness more fully to the mantra.

• Remember……………in the moment that you notice you are no longer doing your mantra, and you re identify with the mantra, is the most powerful moment in your practice! So even if you do this a thousand times in ten minutes, this is a good meditation practice!

• End by letting go of the mantra. Sit quietly and breathe. Notice any changes in your mind and physiology.

• Close by repeating this phrase silently to yourself, “I dedicate the merits of this practice to my own well being and the well being of all.”

The Mala:

A mala is a string of beads. In the Christian tradition it is known as a rosary. You can use a mala to focus in a physical way on your mantra repetitions by touching each bead as you repeat the mantra. This  helps many people to stay focused because there is a

physical anchor to the practice. It also allows you to count your repetitions. You can choose to have a set number of repetitions rather than focus on time. Every mala has 108 beads. I think traditionally, many people used malas because they didn’t have clocks!

Some people believe that the mala absorbs positive energy and helps you to meditate.
 

Physiological Effects of Mantra Meditation:

• Lowered heart rate and respiration
• Higher level of blood oxygenation
• Increased hemispheric balance
• Increased Galvanic Skin resistance-lowered anxiety
• Increased warmth in the extremities
• Increased Synchronicity-Sue’s Theory

Synchronicity:

Studies by the Heart Math Institute have shown that people feel their best when their heart rhythms, breathing and brainwaves are in sync. They are happier, more productive, more empathetic and perform better on cognitive tests.  This is called being coherent.

We become coherent through the process or entrainment. Basically, entrainment is process where the strongest oscillator will pull other oscillators into sync with it. Anything that has a steady predictable rhythm is an oscillator.

My theory is that repeating a word or phrase in rhythm with our breathing that evokes a positive feeling or emotion, makes us more coherent. When we are coherent our electro magnetic fields are stronger. This makes our state of mind more palpable to others and we can increase the well being of people in our environment as well as our own well being.

Mantra Meditation is good for:

Mantra Meditation is good for people who tend to be anxious and worry.

 It is good for those of us that have difficulty focusing. If you find that your mind jumps from one subject to another, and can’t stay focused on what you are doing, then mantra meditation is good for you.

If you are feeling, scattered, anxious, afraid and like you have many conflicting thoughts and energies, mantra meditation is a good choice.

Mantra meditation is a good choice if you like rhythm and sound.

This kind of meditation is known as a “devotional” practice. That means that you are paying homage to the deity, or concept of the word you are invoking. Some people naturally like devotional practices, others not so much.  

Mantra Meditation is a good practice for beginning meditators because it is concrete and the first step in meditation is to be able to concentrate. Most people like it and find it helpful.

Basically, if you find this practice enjoyable, relatively easy and something you look forward to, then it is a good practice for you!

Mantra Meditation is Not so good for:

First of all, anyone who has a history of serious mental illness such as schizophrenia, or psychotic episodes, should be very careful about beginning any kind of meditation practice. In this case, you should check with your doctor first.

People who tend to repress their thoughts and emotions may not benefit as much from   mantra meditation. For these folks, the mantra can become just another mechanism to not feel what they are feeling or to repress their thoughts. If you tend to think compulsively about one thing over and over, mantra meditation may not be your best choice.

 If you are an extremely visual person, mantra meditation may not ultimately be best for you because it is a more auditory and kinesthetic practice.

If you are extremely agitated physically, than a more physical practice such as Chi Kung, Yoga or Tai Chi may be better.

For people who are depressed in a non agitated way, mantra meditation may not be the best choice because it tends to calm, and neutralize the nervous system. Again, a more movement orientated meditation practice is better for these folks.

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

Generally, Mantra Meditation is a great practice for beginning meditators. Start with 10-20 min a day. Notice the effect this practice has on you. Even if you find you don’t like it, or it is hard, stay with it until next class, so that you can do it enough to know if it is right for you.

If you experience any unusual, unpleasant effects, stop practicing and contact me.

My wish that you will find increased peace and happiness through doing this practice!

Meditation: Mantra Practice

Meditation has been a source of comfort and inspiration for me for  many years.  It connects me to myself, others, the world and a deep  source of guidance within. I recently decided to teach a meditation class and am looking forward to sharing meditation with those of you who want a deeper connection or to begin a practice. It is my way of sharing what I most value and it brings me great happiness! I am going to blog about different meditation practices over the next few weeks, as I believe that having an overview of  the various therapeutic effects different practices have, is valuable information for the beginning meditation student. This weeks blog is an overview Mantra Practice. But first some meditation basics.......

As we practice meditation over time, in a gentle and easy way, we strengthen our minds and we become better able to focus. As we watch our thoughts come and go, we notice that we think negative thoughts, positive thoughts and many neutral thoughts, and that these thoughts just occur as we quietly sit without any particular external trigger. We learn to be non-reactive to our internal states. In other words, we learn that we are NOT our thoughts. 

Occasionally, deeply buried subconscious material comes forward and as it is made conscious it is healed. This subconscious material does not necessarily need to be some huge, horrifying dark event. It could be something very simple and really not threatening. But the very act of blocking anything from the conscious mind takes enormous energy. The blocking of subconscious material is often much more detrimental than the content of the material itself. Integration of all parts of ourselves leads to more happiness, peace and most definitely greater energy and vitality. 

Over time,as we meditate,we develop the ability to listen.  Freed from the constant bombardment of external stimuli we can hear our thoughts and become aware of our bodies with consciousness and compassion. We develop the ability to hear the small quiet voice of our intuition, our inner knowing. We become receptive, not needing to control and therefore can more fully open to life as it is.

Basically, there are two broad categories of meditation techniques:

1. One Pointed Focus-concentration on a single object, sound or sensation
2. Open Focus-Generalized awareness without analytical thought, all sense perception is equal

Usually, One Pointed Focus is easiest for those of us who are just beginning to meditate. That's because most us have jumpy minds and have difficulty focusing. Most of us need to calm down and relax. Open Focus meditation is very relaxing as well, but often we need to be able to focus the mind before we can let go and relax. Mantra meditation is  a one pointed focus, devotional practice, that is good starting point for many beginning students. 

 A mantra is a word, phrase or name. Traditionally, people of all faiths, for thousands of years, have repeated the names of their gods. It was thought by calling the name of their god, they could evoke the gods help and manifest their qualities.

The repetition of a mantra focuses the mind. A strong mind is a mind that stays where we put it. A lot of dissatisfaction in our lives stems from not being totally present. We think about work lying in bed at night trying to sleep, we think about sleeping while at work because we are tired! We think about cooking dinner while driving. We think about relationship issues while at work. We think about work when we are out to dinner with our loved ones. It's exhausting and ultimately not satisfying.

We are all familiar with the habits of a jumpy mind. The Buddhists call this mind our “monkey mind”. It has been my experience that people (myself included) are much happier and more productive when we are able to stay focused on what it is that we are actually doing.Recently there was a scientific study that proved this!

Just like any skill, we get better at focusing by practicing focusing! Mantra meditation helps us to do that.

Another aspect of mantra meditation is the energy or feeling of the object of our focus. It would be theoretically possible to become very good at focusing on negative aspects of life and ourselves. Some of us are already very adept at this! However, in mantra meditation we are focusing on an uplifting word or phrase or name of a god the represents a positive higher energy. For instance, if we focus and repeat the word “peace” we are accomplishing several things at once:

-we are strengthening the mind by engaging in one pointed focus

-as we repeat the word peace we begin to feel peaceful

-as we repeat the word peace we begin to program the subconscious mind to see and recognize peace wherever we go

-we begin to notice the peace that already exists within us

 -as we repeat the word peace we change our physiology toward a more peaceful state making it easier and easier to feel peaceful

Basically, whatever we focus on internally, whether that be positive, negative or neutral, we tend to manifest externally. This becomes a stronger and stronger effect the more we practice. The more “charge” a word or phrase has the more effective it is. For instance, if we were to repeat the word “toothbrush” over and over we might get good at focusing if we could stand the boredom, but it might not make us a happier person. 

Words are powerful. Words are the symbols of the feeling and energy they represent. Words evoke feeling and feeling creates thoughts, choices and alters our physiology.

We all long for connection with ourselves, others and the world around us. Some of us yearn for a connection to the divine, or unseen,  energetic levels or reality. For me, meditation has been the bridge that connects me inside and out. When I sit in front of my table, light a candle and incense my mind becomes more still and my thoughts softer. Its as if I can turn the volume down on the constant inner dialogue that is usually playing. My breath deepens and slows. The flowers, and candlelight seems to become more clear and vibrant. Meditation is and has been both a comfort and a joy.

I believe that all of us can find a practice that resonates with our unique being.