Archive for the ‘Spiritual’ Category
Tuesday, July 27th, 2010
I’m sure you’ve heard about energy therapies such as Reiki, acupuncture, polarity therapy or similar types of healing options. Many people still don’t know what energy is or how it works in our bodies or lives. In fact, I’m frequently asked if it’s voodoo, anti-Christian or the connected to some kind of cult. No, it’s not any of the above. Everything is made of energy (a quantum physics conversation that I won’t get into here, but one that is scientifically proven), and the energy in and around you is a very real ‘thing.’ This energy, if unhealthy, can be treated, manipulated and healed with the proper…energy! It’s a medicine that dates back to ancient times and is finally gaining popularity in our culture.
As an energy healer, I’ve worked on people, their homes and pets. As something becomes energetically out-of-balance, from stress, physical exhaustion, emotional or mental upset, the whole system of the energy field gets disrupted, which in turn will eventually disrupt other parts of the being. Physically, it is usually easy to correlate a bodily problem with an energetic imbalance – and vice versa. May sound strange, I know, but as you study the energy field of the body and become sensitive to its possible correlations, you begin to notice patterns and can even feel the imbalance on other levels.
If you understand the basic components of energy, the idea of holistic medicine begins to make a bit more sense. Everything is connected. Mind affects body, body affects emotions, emotions affect body and round and round it goes. Energy lives within each of these aspects and can be manipulated (for good or bad) by circumstances, food, feelings of love or hate, mental attitudes, activities and certainly emotions. As one energy system becomes affected (neg or pos). it will then affect another area of your well-being. It is a system that works synergistically. Simply genius.
Acupuncture, Reiki, polarity therapy, EFT, acupressure and many other energy healing therapies all rely on this system of energy that runs through and around the body. Attending to this system with the aid of a practitioner or self-manipulation creates healing that is a viable, safe and effective for your health. There is nothing voodoo about it. Yes, one that works with energy should be trained and have an understanding of how it works along with the healing process. Some people are particularly gifted in this area. To learn how to do techniques yourself, you do need basic information and we’ll discuss more in depth about your chakras, auric fields and healthy living tips to improve your well-being in the next weeks. As you become tuned into yourself and your surroundings, you’ll begin to see that the world of energy is alive, pulsing and seemingly magical. We are created to function at the highest level of health and ease, not dis-ease! This applies to physical well-being as well as all other areas of your life. Soon you will be living a truly organic lifestyle and thriving!
Tags: acupuncture, auric fields, chakras, EFT, emotional health, energy healing, energy medicine, hands-on-healing, healer, healing, healthy living tips, holistic healing, holistic medicine, mental attitudes, polarity therapy, quantum physics, reiki, voodoo
Posted in Heath, Mental Health, Spiritual | No Comments »
Tuesday, July 20th, 2010
You are used to me writing about health – food, relationships, supplements, alternative treatments. You may not know that I’ve studied energy healing for over 15 years, working with energy of the body, auric fields, energy as it relates to relationships and even our homes. So, I’m starting a 12 week series of blog posts relating to this fascinating topic and how it affects all areas of our health including physical, emotional, mental and spiritual and relational. Energy is a force of life and a God-given instrument to enhance our wellbeing. The posts will go live by each Tues of the week until mid-October! So, join in regularly and post your experiences so we can all learn from each other.
You may have heard of energy fields, auras, chakras or meridians that correlate to your bodysystems in Eastern medicine. We’ll look at all of these aspects and the energy of your emotions, thoughts, foods and more. There are little tricks in the home you can do to increase positive energy, as well as energy tune-ups for increased health and wellness. I’ll talk about how to protect your energy (from negative people or places) and how to project your energy. This is information that will help you feel better, handle stress and life better and potentially heal from long-standing issues that have been “in your energy field” that you will now be able to release. There’s no voodoo involved, or strange & wacky ceremonies. Just great energy information to assist you on your life’s journey. See you next Tuesday!
Tags: aura, auric field, chakras, chi, eastern medicine, energetic systems, energy, energy cleansing, energy healing, food, healing, lifeforce, moods, prana, relationships, spiritual alignment
Posted in Heath, Inspiration, Mental Health, News, Spiritual | 1 Comment »
Thursday, June 3rd, 2010
There’s nothing that clarifies life more than death.
When people we love pass away, it’s typical to go through a grieving period for the loss of their earthly presence. I believe we also go through a spiritual emergency regarding the life we are or are not living. For a certain time we may question what we didn’t say, haven’t done, aren’t doing or even what we are doing. The presence of death seems to spark this kind of character review and actions taken… or not.
What are we doing here, anyway? We don’t want to die, but are we really living? This is a large topic, larger than a simple blog entry, but one that makes me think of a common word in the English vocabulary: will. As I ponder life and living, this word ‘will’ seems one that is vastly overused, yet generally misappropriated.
Here are a few definitions of WILL: a decree, a determination by choice, a futuristic intent, a legal document declaring the disposal of property after death.
If I had to put all of my money on the table, although the pile wouldn’t be high, I’d bet that the most used translation of the word ‘will’ would be “a futuristic intent.” Of course, it’s appropriate to have a will and an intention. The problem with this overly used word is that it keeps us out of the present and always in another time-zone, one that hasn’t happened yet and probably “never will.” We can’t predict the future, nor should we constantly expend energy on something that is not actually even real. Most intentions, except the tangible ones such as “I will turn the light off” never turn out like our vision in the first place. If we have an intention of moving to California, we can fulfill the actual packing and moving, but the vision of our intention – the smells, experiences, feelings are never as we had envisioned. Think about it – the amount of time we spend dwelling on, worrying about or planning for some unknown happening consumes the majority of most people’s day. Even our hopes and current desires are wrapped around this notion of ‘will’. How can we live a life of happiness and peace when we are not even living a life of actual reality? This is a powerful realization which prompts the awareness to remove the ‘will’ and live in the now.
When the ‘will’ becomes ‘am’ then the mind becomes aligned with the body and spirit and health is created. Examples: “I will lose weight.” “I am loosing weight.” “Someday I will take dance classes.” “I am dancing!” “I will call her back tomorrow.” “I am calling her right now.” “Before I die, I will travel South Africa.” “I am booking my flight to South Africa.”
As a matter of fact, however positive the will to do something is, it’s not worth anything until it is done. This begs the question, “What are you waiting for?”
I know we can’t do everything in one single moment, but to understand that you are only doing what you are doing right now, and nothing more, is an awakening to the present that allows a life to be lived deeply – richly, with no regrets. It returns the reality of your life right before your very eyes. As we mourn the death of others, ours becomes a time to celebrate the life we still have right now, not later – there is no later. This concept is the impetus to make that call, book the flight, paint your house, call your long-lost friend.
As you alleviate the ‘will’ mentality of the constant time-traveling mind, health and happiness in your life begin to flourish and now becomes the only time to live.
Tags: celebrate life, character review, death, good intentions, grieving loss, i am, live with no regrets, loss, spiritual emergency, time-traveling, will to live
Posted in Heath, Inspiration, Mental Health, Spiritual | No Comments »
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
There’s a fine line between acceptance and passivity. I’ve often resisted acceptance and at times have found myself trying to create something that shouldn’t be. There is an art to accepting ‘what is’ in life, and learning how to be aware of acceptance without falling victim to the swallows of passivity is the key to enjoying it’s beauty. It’s important to accept our life as it is, and also have a heart to know what we want to experience. All we have is now, so what are we doing with our “nows”? Accepting life fully will generally lead to greater happiness and peace. This is not to be mistaken for laziness, passivity or a “who cares” attitude.
There are people that push in life and push too hard. Always focused on something other than what is right in front of them. The danger of that way of life lies in the fact that many live a life without a clear presence, without gratitude and with no awareness of the smallest, acute happenings of life unfolding right now. The stress of this “push” causes mental and physical maladies, not to mention spiritual disconnections.
On the other side of the ‘fine line’ are those that could care less about life or goals or self-actualization and call their state of uninvolvement a “detachment” – a surrender to the universe or a trust that a higher power has everything worked out and if that is true, there’s nothing to do anyway but “let life happen.” There are fads and philosophies that use this as a base mantra. This is dangerous, as well, to the human organism for similar reasons as above. A lack of interest, proactivity or gumption will cause the spirit to become faint, the heart to close from lack of vitality and the body to recoil from anything that requires great endurance.
I believe acceptance is like a beautiful dance. An activity that’s enjoyable, one instigated by you and yet open enough to allow the rhythm of life to create a destiny yet unknown. The acceptance of ‘what is’ is work, needing a mind dedicated to the now, a spirit moving in faith and a body in motion. It is from this active space of surrender and motion that we find the beauty of our lives, and in that, we discover and celebrate “what is.”
Tags: acceptance, accepting life, destiny, endurance, faith, God, healthy living, heart, higher power, Inspiration, movement, passivity, spirit, trust, unknown, what is
Posted in Inspiration, Mental Health, Spiritual | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
Some decisions are easy to make, but we still choose unwisely. We “know better” but eat fried chicken instead of baked, drink 4 glasses of wine when one is ample…we have healthy, great options, but… So when it comes time to make larger life decisions, we look at our track record and realize maybe healthy choices aren’t our forte. There’s a subconscious lack of trust in ourselves and this creates stress.
The proverbial fork in the road – it’s a place we all come to, sometimes without even a realization we are there. I recently spoke with one of my ministers about this place. This forked road. He reminded me that we will often make wrong decisions – and it may not be how we want to experience this world, but it’s ok. We are people that make mistakes.
Sure, we learn from mistakes, sometimes. Sure, we can again change our minds. And certainly, nothing (but love) lasts forever. But finding peace with decisions requires a maturity that is based in faith.
I didn’t want to be responsible or mature, so I asked him for his direct advice. I normally can’t stand people’s advice, but there are times when I just want to be told what I “should” do. His reply: “When it comes time, I think you’ll know.”
I want to fight that response, it’s not what I want to hear. Someone do it for me. Help me. Just decide for me for goodness sake! But in my heart of hearts, I do know that when it comes time, I’ll know. Just like every other decision that I cared about. I generally go thru a process of mental turmoil for a few weeks, then exhaust myself and in that mental exhaustion I find my heart and suddenly, I hear the answer. It was there all along, but drowned by the noise in my mind. Not all decisions can be made in the heart, this is true. But when you have the luxury of time to decide, you can either relax in the process or have a mental war of “this or that” – I suggest you spare yourself the anguish. Try to let go and listen to your heart. You’ll know – when it’s time.
Tags: choices, decisions, faith, healthy choices, heart, let go, ministers, realization, stress
Posted in Inspiration, Mental Health, Spiritual | No Comments »
Monday, January 25th, 2010
My dog died 2 weeks ago. This is the first I’ve been able to write about it. His name was Mocha, a chow, and travelled with me for 16 years. We went everywhere a girl and her 55 lb dog could go, often staying for a year or two so I could follow my dreams or just explore. Los Angeles, Nashville, Santa Barbara, Atlanta, Birmingham, New York, Louisville and every stop in between. Mocha made me feel safe, loved and not alone. What a companion he was…
I’d been carrying him up stairs for 4 years (often 3 -4 flights!) because of his bad hip, but didn’t mind at all. For all he’d done for me, it was a simple thing. During the last stretch of his life, we discovered he had a tumor on his paw and cancer growing in his body. His limp was debilitating. Although it required lots of meatball treats, a friend’s special handicap service van and trips to the vet every three days for new bandages, I’m so glad to have alleviated his pain and given his quality of life back, if only for 2 weeks. He rallied.
Those of you that have lost a pet, a friend or family member can relate to the grief that follows. I knew I had to put him to rest on that last day – he was telling me. Somehow in a process such as this, everything else in the world becomes unimportant. Have you noticed this phenomenon? When it comes to life and death, or even severe illness, a perspective is found that trumps all others. Money, fears, trivial desires or even small ailments fade. The mental chatter of once important work matters, to-do lists or arguments with a friend simply dissipate. What Mocha’s life and his death taught me – love is what really penetrates. The rest, I usually make up somehow to either occupy my mind, validate my existence or just to give me something to complain about. Love prevails, and in grieving, it’s a time to transform the recognition of that love from the physical to purely the spiritual.
The painting here is a tribute to him and was an essential part of my healing process. All of the emotion that was swirling inside was placed onto that canvas.
Although I miss seeing him and touching him, it’s strange, but I don’t feel like Mocha is really gone. He’s visited my dreams twice and his energy is part of mine. And wonderfully, I feel safe and loved. He taught me that.
To all those who have lost a beloved companion, my heart is with you and I hope that love helps you heal.
Tags: chow, companion, death and dying, dog's passing, grieving, healing, loss of a pet, love, safe, spirit
Posted in Inspiration, Spiritual | 4 Comments »
Tuesday, January 12th, 2010
Have you ever wondered when your life is going to change? I mean really change. As each year begins, we have a stirring hope that this will be the year our dreams come true, our relationships improve, we are out of financial debt, our anxieties would ease, or the weight will stabilize. The resolutions are in place, daylight is returning and maybe, just maybe, we’ll open our eyes one morning with a sign, an epiphany, a kismet occurrence or revelation that will make everything seem *poof* magically different and better. Good luck.
This year, I have a new mantra. To change the circumstances that need changing, to make my life flow, I’m going to tell it like it IS. Here’s my theory…
We largely communicate the way we were taught – polite, correct, without emotion, a particular tone, niceties and most of all, what we think others want to hear. Half of this protocol is appreciated and allows the world to function with order. The other half? Complete baloney. So many days pass without a single, meaningful or honest conversation. And the worst part? I find myself talking smack to MYSELF! My dreams, hopes, will and soul are clouded with a playback recorded symphony of these same niceties; explanations that generally cover excuses, passions, feelings and that powerful lifeforce that burns in my gut. No more. From here on, if you’re going to talk to me, you’re going to hear what is true. Not mean. Not rude. Not without compassion or PC, but true. It’s an attempt to do what I actually claim that I do so well – communicate. Live with purpose. Inspire. And I realize that so much goes undone by the mere drain of energy that it takes to keep up the b.s. of societal living. Explaining why to my family or friends. Talking myself into or out-of a new car/outfit/dessert. The self-talk and interractions with others that we call communication are simply not good enough any more.
I’m on a mission to live with purpose. To get what I want. To feel what happens in life, good or bad, and share my experience so that others can relate and vice versa. To walk a path of integrity that risks judgment. That’s my goal.
I hope you find the power to Tell It Like It Is and let loose your creative genius that makes you thrive. To own your spirit. To release your thoughts and care. There is nothing more inspiring than to see truth in words, in art, in beauty. Let it rip.
Tags: dreams, fears, hopes, life changes, pc
Posted in Inspiration, Mental Health, Spiritual | No Comments »
Thursday, December 31st, 2009
What do you want this New Year? We often have ideas of what we want or who we want to “be” without formulating a plan for success. We lie dormant in the background of our own lives waiting for external circumstances to determine our fate. Our motives for change get bogged down by other people’s plans, schedule conflicts, lack of motivation, money issues or plain ‘ole laziness.
I want to encourage you today to pick up your foot, bend your knee and take a step. Repeat.
We envision our lives as being better or different if only this or that would happen. If only you got a raise. If only your partner would be more attentive. If only there were more hours in the day. If only you had supportive parents. If only, if only, if only.
The “if only” attitude is a victim mentality that puts all the energy of creating the life you desire into the hands of someone or something else’s control and hinders you from moving forward. There is a different way to live your life. I call it Doing Your P.A.R.T. – Positive Action in Right Time. Simply put, you spend your time doing what you know is right for you to do right now. “Now” is the timeframe you are working with, always. By doing your P.A.R.T., you will not be focused on what or who keeps you immobilized, or fixated on the past. You become an example of right action by using your time in positive ways thereby inspiring those around you to do their P.A.R.T. You weren’t created to be a martyr, but to design a most beautiful journey that is called your life.
Just one tiny step is the next step. With that, you are acting in faith that the destiny you dream of will come to pass and you believe it so intently that you spend your time in positive action, doing your P.A.R.T. to achieve success.
You can get there. You can change your life. Know that with each step you take, you walk toward a celebration of newness while walking one step away from that which does not serve you. Your next step is always the most important one of your life – just take it.
Tags: encouragement, get what you want, Hope, new years resolution., the next step
Posted in Holiday, Inspiration, Mental Health, Spiritual | No Comments »
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
Each of these categories offers celebrity endorsements and books/articles of conviction. We get swayed into one paradigm or the other- due in part to marketing campaigns. The propensity of our individual character wants to rely exclusively on one or the other (depending on your need to control or be passive) causing fixations and ocd behavior to be “right.”.Disorders stem from this type of imbalance, as do other forms of dis-ease. I mention the types below as more extreme scenarios to make a point. Each area is important, but cannot stand alone for optimal health.
1) You Are What You Eat – Food & exercise generally get the most attention in our appearance-obsessed world. Some believe that all health revolves around the physical body – what you put in, you’ll get out. It’s true that food and exercise can shape the health of the body and even affect mental well-being, but to ignore the other vital elements of well-being is a mistake. The extremists of “You Are What You Eat” use food/exercise as a means to control their environment, attempt to regulate suppressed addictions or anxieties and/or need an immediate sense of self-gratification. Diet restrictions, over-supplementation or obsessive exercise can become a mask for imbalances within. It becomes an attempt to cure all that ails you – be it emotional, mental, physical or spiritual. (This can include micro-managing calories/fats/carbs, happy pills (however natural), extreme food restrictions etc).
2) Mind Over Matter – This school of thought claims that you are what you think- that your mind has the power to make you well, happy and even defeat the affects of unhealthy food, negative emotions or toxic environments. Mind Over Matter claims big ‘secrets’ to a happy and healthy life, many of which are true, but again, a large disclaimer that cannot hold up to some of life’s toughest questions. Positive thinking does affect your world, and honestly it is critical to health, but to attempt to think yourself “well” without relying on other disciplines could lead to many a disorder – essentially a self-inflated mentality that what, avoids death & plays God? Norman Cousins may have laughed himself to eternity, but he’s not living to tell us about it now. The ‘secret’ is to know that you have control of your mind, not the other way around, and that positive thinking and a great attitude can influence your experience in this world.
3) Spiritual Specialists– There are many people of faith that rely on their spiritual practice, God or a belief system to carry them from illness to health, poverty to wealth or other drastic accomplishments without acceptance of their input or other worldly affairs. You might find one of these types escaping from the ‘real world’ to dwell on a mountain top, or a parent declining medication for their child but opting for prayer and faith-healing instead. I’m not discounting spiritual practices – my faith is a large part of my life and I know that prayers and meditation make a huge difference. But, without a pro-activity in the other categories (eating well, exercise, positive thinking, helping others) one runs the risk of becoming an uber-radical extremist – making choices that are unhealthy or unwise. We’ve read these stories.
I believe the key to healthy, vibrant living lies in balance of body, mind & spirit. It is the combination that propels the life-force within. It means acknowledging death as life and finding your purpose. Resolving feelings and thinking positively improves your wellness. Eating organic saves our land and improves our body systems. Praying to your Creator opens your heart and soul. Exercising will make you feel great and can enhance time with your children. Peace comes from sharing. Give energy to the mind, body & spirit equally for sustained health. This may or may not be news to you – either way, I hope you find it as a reminder to pay attention to how you are spending your energy, and your life.
Tags: balance, belief system, disorders, eating disorders, eating organic, faith, Heath, meditation, mind over matter, positive thinking
Posted in Food/Nutrition, Mental Health, Spiritual, Trends | 2 Comments »
Leah Guy is a Producer, TV Host, Writer and passionista for inspired, healthy living. She believes in 
A Girl Named Guy Productions is a multi-media company focused on Eco-tainment. Creator & CEO, Leah Guy, launched the company in 2006 with a goal to meet the demand for positive, inspired content for the mainstream audience. AGNG produces videos, 
