Mid-July 2017 Newsletter

Hello, and a magical juicy mid-July to you!
Welcome, or welcome back, to my newsletter. The photo above is in my home office. I wanted to take one next to the local foliage, which is so abundant now, but we've had days of rain. Are you making the best of your own weather?

Today's issue has an article about using your everyday experience to reinforce, or detract from, your other practices. Enjoy!

You've heard that putting one foot in front of the other is the way to get there, whatever "there" you're trying to reach. Often an earnest student asks my energy healing teacher about how to make faster progress, saying she can see gains, but wants more. My teacher has replied "Chop wood, carry water" so often it's become a joke, and we're sharing photos next to a pile of firewood! Of course my teacher means "Stay the course", deal with what's in front of you, or to keep on doing what you're already doing to get as far as you have. Keep meditating, and journaling, and helping and healing others. In his book "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", Stephen Covey advises "Begin with the end in mind". To me this means to keep your goal in your awareness, and let it guide your actions and choices. If I'm determined to adopt a more healthy lifestyle, remembering that commitment might help me go for a walk after dinner instead of plopping in front of the TV for hours, or buy a piece of fresh fruit for a snack and not a big cookie.

To stay on the healthier lifestyle theme, if you've decided you need more regular sleep habits, you might use "Early to bed, early to rise" as a plan, hoping it makes you not only healthy, but wealthy and wise. And then a friend invites you to a party after work, when you'd been looking forward to a quiet evening at home. Can you stick to your goal? Well, if this was me, and I do like to go to bed early, I can see several options. You could check out the party for an hour or 2, and still get home early enough for your new normal nightly routine. Or you can politely decline, saying you'll go next time if you have more notice, when you could get some extra sleep the night before. Or you could just refuse outright, if this is a casual friend whose unhealthy lifestyle you're now thinking is a bad influence you don't need. We usually have more choices than we realize.

Let's take another example. Maybe you've caught yourself snapping at those you care about, or even at strangers like sales people. You realize you're stretched too thin, not taking care of yourself, then inflicting your bad mood on others. I'd suggest practicing being nice to everyone you meet, from the mailman to the next-door neighbor. Even "Good morning! Isn't it a lovely day?" will lift someone else's mood, and make you feel better too. You don't need to wait until you have the chance to talk to the last person you snapped at to be pleasant. If this is your new attitude, you'll want it to become part of your nature, most of the time. Both of my main teachers talk about being congruent, in alignment, living consistently with your own truth. If you're totally overwhelmed and you hardly feel it's a lovely day, in fact you'd just as soon go back to bed, don't say "It's a lovely day!" -- you just told a lie. Admit how you feel, at least to yourself, maybe "I have way too much to do, and not enough help around the house". Now you're congruent (if not yet happy), since your words match your energy. You're not going in 2 different directions, your words pretending to be cheerful and your feelings anything but. I think being in alignment, admitting honestly how you feel, is the start of moving forward instead of staying stuck.

Like the graphic above shows, changing a habit isn't always smooth in the beginning. Little kids don't usually have a problem tackling something new, and they're accustomed to not doing it well at first. Adults, however, can often be afraid to "fail". I think this is a shame, since it keeps you from learning new skills. Plus if you see it not as a failure, but that you learned how not to do something, I'd consider that a success! So as you practice walking that new path, be gentle with yourself if you stumble a bit. You're learning, growing, and improving your life. Who said you have to be perfect? Maybe everything that happens is an educational experience, showing you what you want more of, or less of. It's all good.

To read about how I try to focus on vision practice all day long, click here.

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Please send me your questions and comments
Let me know what you've wondered about concerning energy medicine or vision or dreams. I'll be glad to write a short article addressing that topic. Thank you to those who have sent me questions, or see a question you asked me in a private session written about here. You're helping many other people! Enjoy the second half of your July. I'll write again in a couple of weeks. Take care!