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Healing Grief’s Mental, Emotional, Physical Anguish, Pain And Suffering

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Mental anguish can detour your healing journey indefinitely.

Emotional pain may darken your hope.

Physical suffering may well obstruct your healing progression.

All three – mental, emotional, and physical miseries – often accompany an unwanted grief happening. They lead toward lack of clarity and uncertainty in your thinking about how to stop grieving and start a healing process. All three highlight your fear and doubt of overcoming your sorrow and loss. It is essential you take important steps to transform your grief and loss into healing hope. The “HOW” is a vital answer you must seek.

“If I could tell the world just one thing

it would be we’re all okay,

and not to worry cause worry is wasteful

and useless in times like these.

I won’t be made useless.

I won’t be idle with despair,

I will gather myself around my faith.

Light does the darkness most fear.”

~ Jewel

The faith to heal at the time of your darkest hour is needed to move past your fear. Recognizing that impossibilities are so often temporary is essential.

“Things are only impossible until they’re not.”

~ Jean-Luc Picard, character in STAR TREK: The Next Generation

Let’s examine together beneficial solutions that provide ways you can overcome and erase fear and vagueness and meet head-on the mental anguish, emotional pain, and physical suffering caused by your grief experience. There are five solutions you should consider:

1- Don’t Give Up Your Power

“The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any.”

~ Alice Walker

At all cost don’t let your unique circumstance rule your emotions and hope. Take charge and rule your life from within. Your hope is a powerful empowerment. Search deep within for all the mental, emotional, and physical muscle you have. You do have your own power beyond what you temporarily believed you had when your awful grief resulted.

“Greatness is not in where we stand,

but in what direction we are moving.

We must sail sometimes with the wind

and sometimes against it –

but sail we must,

and not drift, nor lie at anchor.”

~ Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

You must focus your attention and hold a healing effort course with a relentless commitment to weather the storm of your grief, loss and sorrow.

“No one is in control of your happiness but you; therefore, you have the power to change anything

about yourself or your life that you want to change.”

~ Barbara De Angelis

Seek your individual and unique power. You have more control than you think.

2- Stand Up To Your Obstacles

“Stand up to your obstacles and do something about them. You will find that they haven’t half the strength you think they have.”

~ Norman Vincent Peale

Fear and discouragement can be left in the dust if you use your greatest weapon; action is your greatest weapon. Fear and hesitation must not be allowed to molder and mildew for it grows by itself. Because of your personal grief experience you may feel you have run into a thick insurmountable wall. Don’t be submissive and give up without a fight. Determine how to go through it, or climb over it, or figure out how to work around it. Begin today.

3- Don’t Give In Until The Cows Crow

Take a firm personal stand and follow Jonathan Huie’s suggestion:

“I won’t give up ’til goats sing and walruses fly.”

Think about it: You are the only one who can make yourself give up.

“Circumstances don’t defeat you – you defeat yourself when you give up.” ~ Jonathan Lockwood Huie

Many give up about the time success is in the near future. They give up too quickly at the last ten seconds of the game one basket away from winning the game. Perhaps you will need to modify your efforts and the way you approach your target; keep your eyes on your goal to reconcile your grief condition and don’t quit. Keep pondering and seeking for solutions that fit your unique grief and sorrow.

“When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems you cannot hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time the tide will turn.”

~ Harriet Beecher Stowe

Don’t let a temporary defeat condition last longer than it should. Giving up makes your grieving misery permanent. You’re not a product of your condition or circumstance but of the personal decisions you make. Draw deeply from the heart of your grief and loss suffering – for your sorrowful experience may be the means of personal inspiration, strength and survival.

4- Expect Hope

“Expect to have hope rekindled.

Expect your prayers to be answered in wondrous ways.

The dry seasons in life do not last.

The spring rains will come again.”

~ Sarah Ban Breathnach

Always look for hope. It is a mistake to let grief cloud and obliterate the whole blue sky of hope. Hope or the lack of optimism is purely a function of one’s attitude.

“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass… It’s about learning how to dance in the rain.”

~ Vivian Greene

Life happens. Waiting for the grief storm in your life to pass is a mistake. Learning to dance with hope in your heart is vital to healing.

5- Gather Your Strength

The storms of life give you opportunity to learn. The grief storms of life provide another day – another way to learn a lesson for fighting the current challenge you face and the next battle.

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us.”

~ Helen Keller

Looking at closed doors stops you from seeing the open doors of healing possibilities and opportunities. Look for your unique personal door of strength. Walk through this door before it closes. Deep within is grit and fortitude untapped until you need it.

“Look well into thyself; there is a source of strength

which will always spring up if thou wilt always look there.”

~ Marcus Aurelius

Gather solutions for the strength needed for your unique grief healing challenge. You Can! Believe this is so!

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Source by Duane Marchant

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July 20, 2022
Why Treating Symptoms Alone Won't Heal Discomfort, Pain or Illness

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The human body is simply the vessel for emotional and spiritual beings that we are. And you cannot possibly heal your physical body alone from symptoms of pain, illness or disease, without also healing your mind and spirit. Balance; it's always about balance. Our well-being or dis-ease is a direct result of the flow of energy of each of these parts equally. This is why treating your symptoms of discomfort or pain doesn't work. You need to heal the part of you that created the symptom of discomfort in the first place.

Our physical bodies were designed to be self-correcting with numerous healing systems of checks and balances. The autonomic nervous system is just one of the systems in our body that shows us this. This is the system in our bodies that is responsible for control of the bodily functions not consciously directed, such as breathing, the heartbeat, and digestive processes. This system includes the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system.

The parasympathetic nervous system, also known as the rest and digest system, is what conserves energy as it slows the heart rate and increases intestinal and gland activity when necessary. The sympathetic nervous system's primary function is to stimulate the body's fight-or-flight response. Fight-or-flight is a physiological response to a perceived harmful even, attack or a threat to survival. This entire autonomic system's design helps prepare the body to cope with stress and threats, as well as returning the body to a resting state afterwards.

Bear in mind that times of the past generations were much simpler. Most families back then consisted of two parents, one of which was usually taking care of the children. Times of today are very different and the challenges of two working parents or in many cases, single parent families are many. Oftentimes, most of us run around scattered most of the time trying to get all of the necessary things accomplished in a day with no time for rest.

Due to this consistent stresses of life during these times, we are generally living most of our days within the sympathetic nervous system. Understand that our bodies were not meant to be in a constant state of fight-or-flight response system. When our bodies don't regularly return to a period of rest afterwards, it wreaks havoc on our organs and systems with all of the hormones being released on a constant basis. Hence, creating aches and pains, illness or even disease. This is our bodies way of telling us to stop, listen and slow down, of which, most of us rarely do.

This is only one of the physical systems of checks and balances our bodies were designed with. Now let's think about our emotions. When you live in a constant state of fight-or-flight, your emotions tend to get scattered and less than positive. The negative emotions of ongoing stress, depression, anxiety, constant excitement and even possible emotional pains of our past are all traumatic emotional energy.

The negative emotional energy also gets channeled into the physical body, showing too, as the aches and pains in our daily lives. This is our bodies way of trying to dispel this energy and in most cases, if you stop and listen to your body, these symptoms ease and your body recovers naturally. It's when you continue to ignore your body, that it creates longer lasting effects such as illness and disease.

So stop treating your symptoms of pain and listen to your body. Take the time to rest. We all need a reset button for ourselves every day to stay healthy. I'm not saying that you can't be Superman / woman and get it all done in a day, because you probably can and most likely do. Most of us have grown accustomed to this daily way of life, but at what cost? Is it worth your health? This is such a difficult lesson for most but think of your loved ones around you. Don't you want to be there for them in a healthy and balanced state for years to come? Because I'm pretty positive that they want that for both of you.

When your feeling imbalanced, not well, or have aches and pains, remember your body is trying to tell you something. And oftentimes, physical issues manifested from a less than positive emotional place. So treat your entire being with balance and rest to help you to determine the root cause, which you can then deal with and heal fully. Throwing medication at a symptom will simply mask it, while the core issue is still very much alive. Core issues grow and fester, and at a certain point, they make you stop and listen.

I'm living proof of that, having had thyroid cancer at the age of 37. My symptoms started when I was 27 but I didn't stop to listen to my body. I send you these healing tips from a place of love in the hopes that you may not have to go through a life altering disease like I did. Again, it's so important to understand that you cannot heal the whole of you, without healing each of the parts.

Take time to do things that are relaxing to you every day. Even if 15 minutes a day is all the time you can spare, aren't you worth it? The correct answer here is yes. Do something just for you, that you love, that makes you happy and whole. Balance and center with some quiet and calm time for you. You'll be amazed what a little you time can do for you. You will slowly but surly start to notice those aches and pains slowly fading away, or maybe you start sleeping better at night. Ah, the magic!

If you would like help in easing the aches and pains of life that is possibly of a deeper emotional energy that needs released, please reach out for a 15 minute consultation. See if Reiki Healing Energy is right for you. Or if someone you know could benefit from this article, please share it so that everyone has the opportunity to heal their life.

Love and light,
Nicole

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Source by Nicole Lawler

Views: 0

July 20, 2022
Relationships: Is Your Emotional State Controlled By Other People's Moods?

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As to whether or not it is a good idea for someone to go along with another person's emotional state can all depend on what state they are in. If this person is happy, embracing the same state is likely to have a positive effect on ones wellbeing.

On the other hand, if this person is angry or even miserable, embracing this state is unlikely to do them any good. There are then going to be times when it will be a good idea for one to allow their emotional state to mimic another person's emotional state and times when it won't.

Emotional Contagion

However, even though this is the case, one may find that there are times when they are unable to control how they feel. Ergo, irrespective of what is going on for another person, they will end up being drawn in.

This is not going to be a problem if another person is in a good place, but it will be if they are not. When it comes to the latter, it might be necessary for one to get away from the other person.

A Time and A Place

This doesn't mean that one should get away from someone if they are going through a tough time. The reason for this is that there will be times when another person won't be in a good way and it will be a good idea for them to offer their support.

Someone in this person's life may have passed on, putting them in a very low place. Ones mood can then drop during this time, but shortly after their time together has come to an end, it should return to how it was.

Boundaries

Undoubtedly, having the ability to connect to another person's mood is going to have a positive effect on their relationships. At the same time, being able to maintain their state will also allow them to act like an individual.

If they didn't have this ability, they would end up acting as though they were simply an extension of other people. Instead of being able to assert themselves, they would be at the whim of other people's moods.

The Truth

Just because someone else is not in a good place or is very angry, for instance, it doesn't mean that one should join them. Ultimately, there is no need for them to feel responsible for what another person is going through; that is, of course, unless they have played a part in what is going on for them.

And if the other person takes responsibility for what they are going through, they won't expect one to act like they have played a part. This can show that the other person also has well defined boundaries.

A Different Reality

Not everyone is going to be able to relate to this, which means that there will be people that find it hard to maintain their emotional state around others. Thus, instead of being able to act like an individual, they can act as though they are just an extension of others.

If they are able to maintain their emotional state, it may only be due to the fact that another person's emotional state is the same. The other person will provide them with the permission that they need in order to experience the same feelings.

Walking On Egg Shells

It is likely to be a challenge for them to assert themselves around others; their primary concern will be to tune into what someone else is experiencing. Deep down, they could believe that it is not safe for them to express who they are.

So like a waiter who does their best to make sure that everyone is happy; it will ones job to make sure that other people are happy. For some reason, they will believe that they are responsible for how other people feel.

Dysfunctional Relationships

Some of the people in their life may lack boundaries, causing them to blame one for how they feel. But as one also lacks boundaries, they are going to just put up with this kind of behavior.

If they are in an intimate relationship, they may find it hard to relax around their partner. Being focused on what is taking place externally will be a way for them to try to predict when their partner is going to lose their temper, making it easier for them to handle what happens.

A Closer Look

Doing what they can to please others is going to be what feels comfortable, yet it is going to cause them to hide their true-self. If one was to take a step back and to reflect on how long their life has been this way for, they may come to the realization that what is taking place in their adult life is a continuation of what took place during their early years.

At this stage of their life, they may have had at least one caregiver who was emotionally unpredictable. As a result of this, they wouldn't have been able to relax into their body and to listen to their own needs; they would have had to live on edge and to focus on what was taking place externally.

Undeveloped

This caregiver may have blamed other people for how they felt, too, and this would have set one up to believe that they were responsible for whether or not they were happy. The care that one needed wouldn't have been provided, with them acting more like a caregiver than a child.

Consequently, one will have poor boundaries and have a weak connection with their inner world. Developing boundaries and getting in touch with their true-self will be an essential part of their healing process.

Awareness
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If one can relate to this, and they want to transform their life, they may need to reach out for external support. This is something that can be provided by the assistance of a therapist or a healer.

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Source by Oliver JR Cooper

Views: 0

July 20, 2022
Importance Of Medicine In Our Daily Lives

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Medicine is considered as one of the most important necessity to all of us. It is derived from the Latin words ars medicina meaning “the art of healing”. It is a branch of the health sciences and is the sector of public life concerned with maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, treatment and possible prevention of disease, injury and other damage to a body or mind.

It is both an area of knowledge, a science of body system and their diseases and treatment. This branch of science encompasses treatment by drugs, diet, exercise and other nonsurgical means. It is also used to maintain our health. An agent such as drug is used to treat disease or injury. There are different types of medicine, we have herbal medicine, which came from different kinds of plants, medicines treat in hospital and etc. Herbal medicine, also called botanical medicine or phytomedicine, refers to use of any plant’s seeds, berries, roots, leaves, bark, or flowers for medicinal purposes. Long practiced outside of conventional medicine, herbalism is becoming more mainstreams as up-to-date analysis and research show their value in the treatment and prevention of disease. Some of us believe in herbal medicines, for it is pure came from plants and no other ingredients. Herbal medicine also uses for cough, fever, toothache and some other diseases that might catch from our environment. Herbalists treat many conditions such as asthma, eczema, premenstrual syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, migraine, menopausal symptoms, chronic fatigue, and an irritable bowel syndrome among others. Plants had been used for medicinal purposes long before recorded history. For most herbs, the specific ingredient that causes a therapeutic effect is not known. Whole herbs contain many ingredients and it is likely that they work together to produce the desired medicinal effect

Some medicines may cause problems if you take them with other medicines. This is why it is important to tell your doctor and pharmacist about all the medicines you are taking. And some medicines can cause problems, even if you take them correctly. Call your doctor or pharmacist if you think your medicine is making you feel worse. We take medicine to make us feel better when we are sick.

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Source by Jennifer Alinio

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July 19, 2022
Important Details Regarding Healing Affirmations For Those Who Are In Pain

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Professionals in the field of medicine have been able to improve health care by coming up with new and effective drugs to curb the impact of even the most dreaded diseases. Nonetheless, pharmacists and researchers have been unable to come up with a globally recognized medical procedure to cure the mind. For one to Heal with Affirmations, it is fundamental to first ensure that the mind is free from any distress.

When experiencing pain, recovery seems to be out of reach. This is natural. Therefore, the affirmations you make should be credible and true for the mind to harness its healing power. Nonetheless, the pain you go through may at times challenge these affirmations especially when in a bad health state. But by developing a positive attitude, one starts on the journey to full recovery.

From the time one is born, the natural healing power of the body has at one time been put to task. For instance, in some way which you do not comprehend, bruises and painful injuries that you sustained have healed. It is an indication that the body has capabilities to heal. For this reason, convince yourself that, for sure, physical wellness is achievable through this power and this energy is working at the very moment.

It is critical to have trust in the subconscious wisdom rather than relying on what you think. At times, you receive signs and signals from our inner selves that tend to disagree with our interests. If you decide to fight it, then the healing capabilities are greatly undermined. On the flip side, if you give credence to the information sent by the mind, this shows that you trust in this wisdom.

Affirmations for pain are meant to build confidence in the curative abilities you have to bring the required state of health. Therefore, persuade your mind to accept that all your organs are working effectively and correctly. Within you there is a strong energy that thrives on the intelligence of the mind so as to stabilize your physical and mental health. It is energy that empowers every organ to work efficiently to restore good health.

The human mind is linked to the natural forces of the universe. Just as the stars move in a synchronized manner in the universe, you have the mental capability to ensure each component of your frame works together. Besides, they are designed to function in the same way. They are capable to perform their duties simultaneously to regenerate the energy within you. Hence, take the body as a miniature universe capable of alleviating pain.

Your health depends a lot on a joyous mental state and that vitality is its song. The mind does not know any stress. Rather, this warm feeling of mental peacefulness is usually disturbed by turbulence caused by consequences poor decision making, malnutrition and lack of physical fitness exercise. On the other hand, if you cater for these needs, you heal faster.

For you to take away pain brought about by ill health take care of mind first. If you feed it with positive thoughts, the body can regain its lost fitness. Even the most qualified doctors cannot assure recovery if the body is functioning contrary to the mental instructions. The body becomes unresponsive to medical attention.

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Source by Felicia Ransome-Stoute

Views: 0

July 19, 2022
Make Time to Heal

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The course of life can lead to many roads. As a child we don’t have much say about anything. As a young adult we can begin to make choices; some lead to pleasure, while others lead to pain. We may not realize that some of those choices determine the direction of much of our adult lives.

If we grew up in a dysfunctional home we may repeat some of the same mistakes that caused us pain while growing up. When we make similar mistakes that our parents made they can lead to a cyclical pattern of emotional pain. If you were abused, neglected or abandoned you suffered some degree of emotional trauma. Recognizing emotional deficiencies is the first step.

Not everyone processes emotional pain the same

Getting help for emotional issues requires humility and courage. The fact that emotional pain isn’t outwardly visible; often results in denial; which leads to not pursuing any form of help. Not everyone processes emotional pain the same.

Imagine – two people lose their job. One person goes home and is sad, yet not over taken by emotions. The other person is also terminated; he leaves the work-site and returns in a fit of rage. Why? No one can pinpoint all of the reasons two persons experience identical circumstances yet respond differently.

Whenever someone experiences unexpected tragedy in life: there is a process or method that intuitively begins to take place. The Kubler-Ross model states there are 5 stages to grief and loss. They are denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance. Each person is unique therefore there is no specific order or amount of time that dictates how brief or lengthy this process takes. The Kubler-Ross model identifies the emotional occurrences that one might experience due to sudden loss or grief.

Inner healing takes time

Inner healing takes time. Whenever an individual is stuck and seems unable to move past any specific emotion professional help may be the best out. All too often hurting people don’t identify themselves as needing help until things have gotten way out of hand.

Self-Love is a good starting point for healing. Love and forgiveness are equally important for emotional well-being. Struggles can build character if we process our emotions in a healthy way. Feeling alone, forgotten and misunderstood is common to man: being stuck in these emotions isn’t. It takes strength, courage, perseverance and support to overcome tragedy. Not everyone will overcome; some will remain stuck in grief. No matter what we say or do for them some will not move forward. It’s at this point that we should maintain a loving heart towards them; and set boundaries when necessary.

God will often use people to help other people navigate through difficult times. Those that overcome obstacles in their personal lives can be strength to those who are struggling

Your past is your reality, not your destiny

If you have been unable to move forward from grief after an extended amount of time, don’t blame yourself. If you have unresolved emotional pain, grief, or bitterness don’t lose hope. I’d like to encourage you to make it a point to seek professional and spiritual help to heal. Don’t settle for pain being your lot in life. Instead take courage; press past your wounds until you experience wholeness. Make peace with your pain. Your past is your reality, not your destiny.

God wants to heal you and restore peace to your life. There are many dedicated professionals such as; social workers, psychologist, psychiatrist and therapist who are available to help you.

In addition there are qualified pastors and ministers who can help guide you to inner peace. Finding the right help might not be as hard as you imagine. Getting started is the first step. Make getting help a priority and be consistent. Recognize when it’s time to stop dealing with your troubles on your own. If your efforts have failed to yield notable results it’s time to reach out for help. If you’ve gotten results that only provide temporary relief this indicates the need for a new method. Get professional help.

Don’t let excuses keep you from becoming emotionally sound. Be humble; bold and courageous by taking the necessary steps to acquire victory. Be willing to do the work to get results.

There are many reasons you shouldn’t give up on being restored. Do it for yourself, and those who love you. Expect healing to take place. Expect relief to come and grief to be gone. You are worth the fight. Everything in your life won’t be summoned up in a day; reach for healing anyway. It takes time to heal; Healing is a process.

Give your pain over to God; He is able to take on the caresof the world without being overburdened.

Instead of suppressing old emotional wounds, confront them, make peace with them, and then let them go. Turn your pain over to God; He is able to take on the care-of the whole world without being overburdened.

Make a decision to be the best you, that you’ve ever been; starting right now! Get a grip on yourself so you can take charge of your future. Step out of your place of barely getting by. Put away all the things you’ve used to self-medicate. Trust someone to help you move past your pain. Healing is available!

Come out of your place of hiding; there is no healing there! There is no resolution in a private box! Mankind was not created to become an island. People were created to relate to other humans. Help is waiting, Are you ready? Your healing is waiting for you!

Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.

1Peter 5:7 NLT

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Source by Elaine P Jones

Views: 0

July 19, 2022
Can Meditation Cure Cancer?

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Meditation is a powerful tool of preventative medicine. It can facilitate self-healing and inspire a deep sense of well-being. In this article, you’ll learn four ways to use meditation for health and wellness. You’ll also read a profound story of how mindfulness and meditation cured one woman’s cancer.

Let’s begin with this story of miraculous healing from “Meditation: An In-Depth Guide” (Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2011) by Ian Gawler and Paul Bedson.

Bernice Heals Her Cancer

(p.274-278, MAIG)

In 1980, Bernice Groeke was diagnosed with melanoma in her calf which she had surgically removed. A year and a half later, doctors found melanoma in a lymph node in her groin and also surgically removed that. A year and a half after that, the cancer had spread to her lungs, at which point the doctors said that it was inoperable. They said there was nothing medically they could do for her and that she had only months to live.

Bernice decided to join a 12-week cancer self-help group. Soon after joining the group, the discussion turned to the effect of mindset on handling the physical pain and mental-emotional suffering of cancer. Bernice had never really given much thought to her mindset.

However, as the group discussed the power of mindfulness and positive thinking, Bernice quickly recognized just how negative her usual mindset tended to be. In fact, she had taken it as her duty to be on guard and to warn her family and friends of anything that could go wrong. On the flip-side, she was also quick her warn herself and others not to get too excited about new possibilities because they were likely to end in disappointment.

Bernice realized her mindset was the definition of a “glass half-empty” approach to life. So, after learning about the benefits of thinking more positively, she decided to change her habitual mindset. To do this, she decided to repeat the affirmation “I am a positive person” anytime she recognized herself going negative.

About six weeks into her new mindfulness and affirmation practice, she was sitting with her husband after dinner when she experienced one of the melanomas pressing uncomfortably against her spine. Her husband noticed her agitation and asked what was wrong.

Bernice replied, “Perhaps the doctors are right. Perhaps I’m just kidding myself. Perhaps I should just accept the fact that I’m going to die and give up on all this other stuff.” (p.275, MAIG)

Her husband was sympathetic to her pain and he was also aware of her new affirmation practice. So, instead of just sympathizing, he replied, “Oh that’s interesting. What are you?”

“What do you mean, what am I?” she replied.

“Oh, I thought you were a positive person now” he said.

Bernice reflected on this and replied, “You’re right, I am.”

Bernice recalled that, as she said this, she felt a palpable shift inside her body, as if a switch had been turned on. From that moment on, she was able to see the positive in every situation.

Shortly after this inner shift, she was meditating and praying in church and had a profound mystical experience of God’s Presence in which she understood the Biblical phrase “Be still and know that I am God.” From that moment on, her faith was strengthened. She found it easier to follow through on her healthy diet and her healing efforts with meditation. She also became enthusiastic about serving others.

Within six months, scans revealed that her lungs were clear of all tumors. And, within a year, much to their surprise, doctors proclaimed her cancer-free.

Soon thereafter, Bernice volunteered to speak to meditation groups at the Gawler Foundation telling them her story. She beamed radiantly as she spoke and her enthusiasm for life was infectious. Bernice became an inspiring spiritual force.

Several years later, her husband died in his late eighties. Her friends and family wondered how Bernice would take his passing. After all, they had been together for over sixty years.

While she grieved appropriately and was deeply saddened, she surprised them with her resilience. She said, “Well, you know, it is really sad that Wain died and I will miss him terribly, but it will be interesting… I have never lived on my own before. I wonder what it will be like not having to take Wain into account anymore?”

Shortly thereafter, to help with expenses, Bernice took in a student boarder from overseas. They quickly became the best of friends. She taught him of life in Australia and he gave her company and financial support. It was a beautiful new chapter in her life.

Then, in 2009, at the age of 93, and 26 years after her cancer had disappeared-it reappeared. This time, she deteriorated quickly.

At first, she thought she was at fault. She went to Gawler to express her disappointment in herself. Gawler was quick to remind her of her remarkable recovery. For over 26 years, she had lived cancer-free. He reminded her that we all die of something-and that we don’t always know why. He also reminded her of her faith.

Bernice conceded that she had somewhat lost touch with her faith and now she had some doubts and fears of dying.

Gawler encouraged her that doubts and fears were natural human feelings, especially in the face of death. He encouraged her to mindfully recognize her doubts and fears and accept them for what they were-natural feelings toward facing the unknown. He also suggested to Bernice that dying was like “going home.”

He reminded Bernice of her faith and encouraged her to imagine what it would be like to rest in the Divine Presence. He told her that “dying was easy, that she had led a good life, and she could look back on it with gentle satisfaction and no regrets. To die she only had to breathe out and not breathe in again. It would be easy.”

Supported by Gawler’s words, Bernice resolved to focus on the Divine Presence and imagine herself merging with it when the time came.

Bernice died less than a week later, peacefully. And, her funeral was a joyous celebration of her life. Family, friends, and throngs of those whom she had touched with her smiling service came to celebrate what she had meant to them.

A beautiful story.

4 Ways Meditation Supports Health and Healing

So, what can we draw from Bernice’s story that can help us heal and be healthier?

1. Your mindset affects your ability to heal

As we saw with Bernice, her healing began with healing her attitude, her habitual mindset. She recognized her habit of looking at life through a negative and fear-based lens. She was always wary, on guard, and expecting the worst. Before attending the cancer self-help group, she hadn’t really noticed this was a mindset, or that it was detrimental-she just thought she was being conscientious, responsible, and careful.

Bernice learned to change her mindset by affirming, “I am a positive person.”

Now, having a positive mindset is not about making things up or making things better than they really are. It’s about noticing the opportunities that are present in every situation. It’s about seeing what can be done rather than focusing on what can’t. It’s about being present with “what is” and noticing what you can do to move things forward in a good direction.

When you do this, you open yourself to a wider scope of possibilities and become more inspired to take positive action.

2. The choices you make matter

As you open yourself to a wider scope of possibilities, you realize you can choose to take actions that make a positive difference for yourself and others. Things are not “just the way they are,” they are the result of a series of choices that combine to create specific results.

Meditation supports a state of clear seeing in which you can recognize options and make good choices. Through meditation, you become more able to choose what works and let go of what doesn’t.

As Bernice opened to the possibility of healing, she began to make different choices. She chose to say her positive affirmations to reset her mindset. She adopted a healthier diet. She meditated daily. She increased her efforts to serve others. She widened her community.

In time, these combined with other unseen forces to create healing.

3. Meditation itself supports healing

One of the most important things you can do to facilitate healing-whether it’s physical or mental-emotional-is to activate your body’s natural relaxation response.

When you are in stress-mode, over-busy, and over-whelmed, your body restricts energy flow to digestion, immune, and higher-thought processes. Your sympathetic nervous system directs all energy outward and you lose your ability to absorb nutrients, repair your cells, and make good choices.

Our bodies are made to alternate between periods of activity and rest. Most of err on the side of too much activity. We rush from one thing to the next and don’t allow ourselves time to consciously process the events of the day. Then, we spend our sleeping hours actively processing life in our dreams. This hinders deep rest and recovery.

When you consciously relax, using a tool such as meditation, you activate your parasympathetic nervous system, your natural recovery and repair mode. This brings digestion, immune, and higher-thinking capacities back online. You also begin to process and integrate the events of the day, and of your life up to now, so you can let the past go and be more present with what is.

For these reasons, it’s vitally essential to consciously activate the Relaxation Response at least once a day using a tool such as meditation for at least 10-20 minutes.

4. Meaningful imagery supports healing

Bernice had a strong faith in God. Because of this, she found it quite helpful and healing to imagine herself immersed in the Divine Presence. This soothed and comforted her. Her faith also prompted her to take other healing actions, serve others, and build community.

When we think only of ourselves and our own suffering, it’s easy to get bogged down in feeling “Woe is me.” Widening your vision to realize your Oneness with the larger field of Life inspires and heals. Health and healing occur naturally as a result of the Universal Life-Force flowing strongly and smoothly through your whole being. Meditation is a powerful way to mindfully recognize blocks to this flow, release them, and center into this deeper enlivening Presence.

Enjoy your practice!

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Source by Kevin Schoeninger

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July 18, 2022
Fairy Tales of Modern Greece, by Theodore P. Gianakoulis and Georgia H. MacPherson

TO the question, “Does any fragment of ancient Greek mythology survive?” the answer is, “Yes, the nymphs.” For among the hills and across the fields and streams of Greece, where the gods were born and dwelt, fairies now dance and play and radiate a subtle charm. Fairies are none other than the modern forms of the dryads, oreads, naiads, nerejds, fates, furies, graces and muses of the ancient myths. They are the nymphs that sang and played with Pan and Hermes, Apollo and the satyrs, but now they play and dance and sing with common shepherds, fishermen and hunters. Their very name is as old as Pontus, their father, and Doris, their mother. Nereida or Neraida and Numfe, vernacular Nufe, have the same meaning, which we may translate “fairy” or “nymph.”

Fairies are the virgin divinities of the earth. They know no heaven, for they take the place of the lower, earth-dwelling gods of the ancient mythology. They were never born; they never grow old; yet they are not immortal. Their beauty is everlasting and their dance eternal. They were created out of the earth and always live upon it, the anthropomorphic spirits of hills, streams, trees and ocean.

The Greek’s conception of fairies springs from his worship of nature, to which he is bound by his constant love of beauty. To his mind they are beautiful maidens, endowed with mysterious power, who inhabit palaces in the clouds, in caves on remote mountain peaks, along wild, rocky shores, or at the bottom of the sea. At noon on sunlit days and moonlit nights they visit the haunts of mortals, often choosing a tall pine tree, a cave or a spring. Sometimes they come singing, playing violins or flutes, or gently beating drums; sometimes they steal silently over hills and fields, seeking beautiful children or youths or maidens to carry away to their palaces for purposes of pleasure.

The fairy world is higher than that of mortals. Its creatures are not subject to the same laws of nature as are binding upon us. Nevertheless, they are not goddesses and their power is not unlimited. They can be frightened and driven away by the firing of a gun. They dare not touch the mortal who wears a felahtare, bag of incense, such as many Greeks have suspended about their necks. The cross, a sign of the cross, and prayer, are protections against them. If a mortal seizes a fairy’s handkerchief or veil, a strand of hair or a bit of clothing, the fairy becomes a helpless mortal woman, bound to serve the human being who thus captured her. If the fairy article returns to the possession of its rightful owner, the woman regains her fairy attributes and power, but should the article be burned to ashes, communication between her and the fairy world ceases and she is doomed to die a mortal’s death.

Music, laughter and song, play, dancing and love are associated with fairies, but at times these creatures can be cunning and cruel and, when thwarted, revengeful. Occasionally, as in the case of the water fairies, they offer gifts to their prospective captives. By accepting these gifts, mortals place themselves under the fairies’ dominion, from which escape is possible only by burning the gifts. Fairies have destroyed the happiness or wrecked the life of many a youth who, having seen them, cannot put the memory of them from his mind, or who, having possessed one of them, has lost her forever. The springs from which fairies drink are called magemenes, bewitched. The mortal who drinks from such a spring becomes magemenos, fairy-possessed, and, forgetting home and family, wanders aimlessly like one mad.

The mediator between the fairy and the mortal worlds is the sorcerer or the sorceress. The sorceress is the more common. She is usually an old woman with a practical knowledge of healing and much supernatural lore. She not only cures physical ills, but she ministers also to the troubled mind. By conjuring, murmuring mystic words, and applying magic herbs, she can release a magemenon, bewitched mortal, from evil spirits. The sight of an old sorceress with her bag of magics, wandering over lonely hills in search of herbs, is familiar to every villager in Greece. These awesome women live a hermit’s life, seeking the unfrequented ways, speaking little, mingling with their fellow beings only when summoned to aid.

The relation of Christianity to this last remnant of mythology is an interesting field of study. As a sacred Christian symbol serves to frustrate the power of a present-day fairy, so has Christianity, adopted as the state religion, dethroned and driven out the ancient gods. In the revolution, the new religion borrowed much from the old worship in church customs and seasonal festivities. It can be truly said that the Greeks are scarcely yet Christians, for in their hearts linger fragments of pagan nature worship and superstitious awe of the anthropomorphic creatures that are a part of nature.

One can see most clearly the mingling of Christianity and paganism in the felahtare. Grandmother Adamis’ bag, described in “The Fairies’ Theft,” page <page 89>, “contained incense from Mount Levanos, a bit of candle that had burned on Easter before the portrait of the Virgin, a leaf from a hundred-petaled rose and an amethyst stone. The bag had been hung about her neck by her godfather on the day of her baptism, to protect her from all evil.”

My personal experience with fairies, which is recounted in “The Fairy-Hunter,” began and ended in that one venture. But I was to be associated with many who claimed first-hand knowledge of fairies and with many more whose relatives or acquaintances or ancestors said they had been given glimpses of the fairy world or contact with its inhabitants.

In “The Fairies’ Theft” is found the story that my Grandmother Adamis related as her own. It was she who told me “The Fairy Ring,” “A Fairy Wedding,” and “The Fairy Wife.” She had heard the latter from the lips of Demetros’ mother who went about half mad through Loutro, telling the sad tale after her son’s disappearance. Uncle Kostas, “uncle” to the whole village, loved nothing better than to narrate, to anyone who would listen, the story we give in “Fairy Gardens.”

Many summer afternoons when I was tired swimming, diving or pulling up traps for fish, I would walk a little way along the Gulf shore to find an old fisherman called Gero Nassos. He was almost sure to be sitting at the water’s edge where his fishing boat was fastened, waiting till sundown to cast his nets. Gero Nassos was always barefooted and hatless, with flowing white hair and beard. Like an ancient god of the sea he sat, cynical yet beneficent, and to him came his worshippers, village folk and children, to listen to his violin music or his stories. He was called alafroiskeotos, one who is a seer.

“Ho, Theodorake!” he would cry out, on seeing me. “Run up to the fields and bring me some grapes.”

Swiftly I would dart up to the vineyards with their green or purple fruit, for I knew well that the reward would be a sea story. Sometimes it was about sea monsters or sea ghosts that Gero Nassos told, but the story I liked best was of sea fairies, because he said it had happened to him.

He always began with his early life on the beautiful island of Psara, one of the cluster of emeralds that gleam in the Aegean Sea. His father owned many trading ships and was very rich. But after his death the ships one by one slipped out of the family’s control. At the age of eighteen, Nassos became owner and captain of the last one and was never happy again, he said, except for one moment. His story is related in “The Haunted Ship.”

With two of the tales I was indirectly connected, “The Fairies’ Theft” and “The Wonder of Skoupa.” I was playing in the fields of Petsa with other children, while our parents were threshing wheat, when the shepherds brought Tasoula, fainting, down from the hills. I knew Tasoula, I had often played with her, and I can never forget how white and still she looked as she was laid on her bed. I remember the difference of opinion from the onlookers. Some thought she was dead, others that her spirit was in the possession of the fairies. After she was restored, it was agreed in Petsa that many prayers and offerings had been needed to free her soul from the fairies’ evil power and that if she had been more beautiful, her body would have been stolen too and we should never have seen her again.

On the Saint Nikolaos Day that the shepherd boy, Nikolas, disappeared at the Stavrodromos, I was visiting my cousin Nikolas in the village of Skoupa. The old field watchman, Vasilis, burst in upon our festivities to ask breathlessly whether any of us had seen the fairy shepherd on that day. My uncle Kristophoros went out to join him and the other villagers in their fruitless search.

During my years in America, I have listened to many narratives about fairies told by my countrymen from all parts of Greece. These tales can be found in any section, from Thrace to the Peloponnesus and from the Aegean Sea to the Ionian, with variations in names, perhaps, and details. They came to me in fragments which have had to be pieced together.

Fashions in fairy tales differ as much from section to section as do customs and dialect. There are, however, certain universal fairy characteristics of which every Greek has heard and which are never disputed. These are the supernatural beauty of fairies; their love of the beautiful which makes them seek to carry away beautiful youths and maidens; their power over mortals; and their transition to a human, powerless state when an article belonging to them is in the possession of a mortal. The authors have tried to catch these universals and clothe them in characteristic form.

It is not at all times that a Greek will speak of fairies.

The mood of the unreal, of the idealistic, the mood of poetry and of dreams, must be evoked before he can unveil his soul and talk of the mysterious, elusive beings that are part of his native land, almost of his religion. It is in some such mood as this, forgetting the world of logic, of material things and of everyday thinking, that I hope our readers will enter our world of Faery.

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April 27, 2022
Hypnotherapy: Can It Be Used To Treat Alcoholism?

Hypnotherapy was first discovered in the ancient times by the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians as a healing art. Until today, it has evolved over the generations and has been used to treat a variety of i… [Author: Khaiyong Ng – November 15, 2011]

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April 20, 2022
A Guide to Selecting a Steel Toe Shoe for your Broken Toe

A broken toe will take about 6 weeks to heal. If the toe is still hurting after 6 weeks, you will need another X-ray to see how the toe is healing and to take further action. There are several treatm… [Author: Brace Doctor – June 12, 2012]

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April 19, 2022