2011
In many different traditions lighting candles is a sacred action. It expresses more than words can express. You may want to begin or end your day by the sacred ritual of lighting a candle. Or you may want to light a birthday candle for a friend. People say there is only one guideline: slow down and do it with full attention.
If you feel you would like to light a candle now in this very moment, you can. There is a lovely online light-a-candle site that guides you on the process. The first candles were lit in May 2001. Since then 12,642,389 candles have been lit from 243 countries.
What’s inside this issue?
*Dr Joe Dispenza from What the Bleep and Dr Ian Robertson from Trinity College share insights on how we can reshape our brains… and reality.
*Davie Philip talks about the thinkers on the edge.
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*Hot off the Press: Thich Nhat Hanh and Bikram Choudhury.
*Fall in love with your home: tips from a feng shui expert.
*Warming winter recipes, positive stories and much more.
How the Brain Maps the Body
By Steve Haines
Why do people feel pain in a hand that has been amputated? There is a paradox of reduced signals being interpreted as an increase in pain.
The brain does strange things in the absence of accurate, sustained, sensory information. It fills the hole in the body map with pain. This is confirmed by studies showing that people with long-term lower back pain actually receive less sensory information from their lower backs. If this cycle is not broken, we learn to get better and better at feeling pain.
When we are in pain most of us try and limit the amount of sensation we are feeling. We should do the reverse; feel as many other sensations alongside the pain as possible. Break the pain cycle by enhancing the mind and body connection. Increase your body awareness and get more in touch with the multitude of signals being sent out by your body. There is always more to feel than pain.
Instead of the brain guessing, we can reteach the brain the real state of the body. The natural plasticity of the neurons will use enhanced, accurate signals to create new connections and unlearn the pain habit. This understanding is essential to biodynamic craniosacral therapy.
At the heart of cranial work is the development of meditative body awareness, supported by the gentle touch of the therapist. The work feeds the brain useful information and allows it to form the accurate body maps essential for health.
www.bodyintelligence.com/dublin
My Favourite Things
Full Name – Julie Owens
Occupation – Owner and manager of Restore Health Food Store and Clinic, Camden Street.
Book – Mutant Message from Down Under by Marlo Morgan. My dad gave it to
me to read years ago. It’s a captivating story that embraces the Aboriginal connection with the planet.
Film – It ranges from The Shawshank Redemption for its determination, humanity and positivity to Avatar for its creativity and compassion. All the Star Wars films too. They rock.
Music – My general rotation at the moment is Kate Bush’s Sea of Honey. Also, The XX. A lovely customer who’s a rockin’ DJ copied this for me recently and I can’t stop playing it
Website – Without sounding corny, my own one because I’m just getting it up and running. I just love it
Food – I’m a bit of a contradiction between healthy and bold with my palate. The extreme goes from loving a green salad filled with raw sprouts to the occasional lemon slice from The Cake Cafe
Venue – Anywhere by the sea. I’ve gone to the south of France quite a bit
camping. I love the pier for a Sunday afternoon. If I can travel in Ireland it’s definitely The Burren
Event – Most recently a small gang of us went to a remote eco retreat in
Newtownmountkennedy called Sli Na Bande. We danced, meditated, and formed
spontaneous drumming circles
Destination – The journey is the destination. This is something I read recently and have only really found great solace in realising. What a relief!
Pastime – Dancing. I just couldn’t do my life without it. Also, cooking for friends
Exercise – Bikram yoga, swimming, and dancing
Spiritual Practice – I practice the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin and chant daily. It’s changed my life in so many ways
Spiritual Teacher – Daisaku Ikeda, Gandhi, and Marianne Williamson.
Quote – “Be the change you want to see.” ~ Mahatma Gandhi
Healing with Sound
By Tony Lawless
I’ve started to blend craniosacral therapy with sound and vibration healing, and the results have been so profound. At the core of every healing modality is intention and energy. Taking time to allow a person to settle down and relax is critical as it allows a client’s body to communicate openly with a therapist.
The object of a session is to remove restrictions and barriers by connecting with the fascia. Craniosacral therapy is all about working with the fascia and allowing it to release restrictions, which may have been imposed by either physical or emotional trauma. The fascia is the thin layer of continuous connective tissue that links every part of your body to every other part of your body; allowing energy to flow through our neural pathways more efficiently.
Introducing sound and vibration healing methods, which were developed by SomaEnergetics, was an easy decision. The tuning forks, which restore balance on a cellular level, are introduced through the auditory system, and this provides access to the central nervous system. Sound healing also connects the right and left side of the brain, which helps re-establish balance and harmony in brain function.
When we introduce vibrational body tuners into a session, they link into the connective tissue and gently facilitate a releasing of tension from the fascia. It’s with this combination of these manual and vibration healing therapies that allows for a more balanced and efficient healing process.
www.health-plex.com
Investing in the Future
By Bernadette Bohan
The stories in The Survivor’s Mindset are of ordinary people who gained the power to turn their lives around. Martin is one of those incredible people. He is a successful businessman and was part of today’s chaotic rat race: a workaholic. This lifestyle came with a heavy price tag when he learned he had a fatal disease, myelofibrosis, and he had approximately five years to live.
Despite this severe blow, he decided to try and save his life. I explained that the basic principle is to kick start the immune system and boost the defence functions of the body. He adopted some commonsense steps into his life and began juicing. He converted his shopping trolley into an organic-only zone and developed a taste for a vegetarian diet. As he began to invest the same effort into his health as he had into his business, he influenced his recovery and tipped the scales in his favour. Taking the time to invest in his health was the single most important step of his life.
“I am on top of the world and really well. Sticking to the programme has become so much easier now that I’ve started seeing results. I feel foolish now in saying that it appeared to be a mammoth task to get on top of. The life of hope you introduced me to replaced the cloud of fear I lived under. There is no downside to having hope. It gives us a reason to strive.”
www.changesimply.com
www.facebook.com/changesimply