Mind - Body Thoughts

Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Fearing The Fear

If you've read much on my blog, you'll see that this subject has been one of my most challenging experiences in my life. Fearing the fear consumed my life at one time, but over the years and through my healing, I've learned more how to deal with fear.

I am not going to sit here and write that fear is an easy thing for me to overcome. I'm not going to give you some platitude or meme that says you can wave a magic wand and be in control of fear. Those things are not helpful to healing and our growth. They are stumbling blocks if we subscribe to them.

When I was in a healing session the other day, I started to notice the little things where fear would come on strong in me. In these Unified Therapy healing sessions, we are encouraged to bring the fear up, not shove it down or hide from it or numb it. It is the time to bring it up.

The "oh no" mode...

For me that day, the office air conditioning kicking on sent the fear going sky high. It wasn't easy, and at first, I could notice my breath going into fear mode. I could feel my body begin to tense up. I could see that my mind was starting to go into the "oh no" mode. It felt like everything was going to come crashing down on me and that my life at that moment would come to an end.

Fearing the fear was where I was in that particular moment. There are reasons that all of this was coming up, but that detail is for another blog post. Just recognizing how strong the fear was getting and how much was coming at me, my body went into the defensive mode of survival.

In a Unified Therapy healing session, you don't stay in this moment. You are taken through it by Dr. Canali gently guiding you to feel in your body, sense what is going on, and remind yourself that it is fear, not the end of the world.

As you go in and begin to connect with the fear in your body, there are often emotions or physical sensations that appear as they did for me that day. The anger and pain surfaced. The emotions of sadness and grief showed up. The point of not being able to stop what had happened to me as a kid was the dynamite ready to ignite.

In this session, I also did one more thing, and that was telling myself that what happened to me many years ago is not happening now. Dr. Canali, of course, was coaching me through this, but just that realization in that particular moment was a big one for me. It helped me to connect reality with fear. It helped me to see that I feared the fear, but that the current reality was different.

https://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/2017/07/but-come-here-fear.html

Yes, there is a mental exercise in stopping how you deal with fear, but this approach that is so healing and empowering is body centered. If I didn't deal with what was going on in my body, it would be nothing more than platitudes about how to treat fear.

Most of the time in healing, we deal with fear from an intellectual mind-centered level. However, fear resides in the body, and if you fail to go in and touch the depths of it within the cells, you're only working with half the healing potential.

The further you can go in and feel it within the body, the more you will supercharge your healing. Healing from the core of your cells in the body is lasting and life changing.

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Monday, August 14, 2017

Stop Bugging Me - Back Away Bugs

(Written by Natural Healing Gal, Marie)

Back Away Bugs

If you have not already read the previous month's column, Living With Bugs, take a look at it because it fits in with this month's column.

Back in the early 80’s, before I became a professional dog trainer, I was a dog groomer. I learned a lot more than I ever wanted to know about ticks and fleas, their life cycle, feeding, breeding. Oh, yuck. Not pleasant. But it helps to know the information if you want to research what attracts them and how to repel them.

I currently teach dog training classes every evening, outdoors at dusk. It was not fun the first couple of years. Bugs LOVE me. Or they hate me. I guess they are just hungry and everyone has to eat!

Every morning Mike and I went to the beach for qigong class. It was a sunrise class that was beautiful and peaceful until the summer no-see-ums tried to mess with us. Then we all began sharing different natural formulas, as none of us wanted anything toxic on our skin.

You can see that I have plenty of time to test out products. And test them, I do! I have gone through many different essential oil recipes and many different pre-made brands over the 12 years we have been here. Some worked a little, but not so much. I finally found a good combination that works for us.

I have found that different formulas may work differently for some than for others. I am not sure why, but there are some products that people swear by that did not work for me and vice versa. The point is, don’t give up on using natural bug repellant if something does not work for you. There are many good ones out there that are worth a try. Be sure to check for skin sensitivity on you and your pets, even with natural products. There are also some people who are more attractive to certain bugs than others. I see this with dogs as well. Some dogs are magnets for ticks! Others barely get noticed by those nasty critters.

Keeping Bugs Off Of Me

To keep bugs off of me outdoors, I found No no-see-um. It is a combination of lemongrass, citronella, and geranium rose oil. I used it regularly for mosquitoes at dusk, and it worked really well. Unfortunately, when I used it for sunrise on the beach, it did not work for the no-see-ums!

I then found Terra Shield from Do terra. Terra Shield is a blend of several oils, including citronella and cedar wood. This worked beautifully for me, both on the beach at sunrise and for mosquitoes at dusk! It comes in a 30 ml spray bottle and in a 15 ml refill. You can apply it as is, but it is a little thick, so I dilute with water, and shake before each spray.

Keeping Fleas and Ticks Off Of My Dogs

To keep fleas and ticks off my dogs, I use a combination of products. At home, I am using Dr. Mercola’s Herbal Repellent Collar along with their Spot on Topical Herbal Repellent. If I am out at a show, I add a daily spray of Dr. Mercola’s Natural Flea and Tick defense, especially on their feet. I still check them for ticks daily. Please note I do not have cats right now and cats tend to be sensitive to some essential oils. Be sure to do your own research when it comes to your kitty friends!

When I was a groomer, I learned to do a flea bath on my client's dogs and cats. Here is a little-known trick! A flea bath does not need toxic shampoos or dips. If you use soapy water, the fleas drown. Many people do not know fleas drown in soapy water, but you will need to bathe carefully to be sure they don’t escape. As soon as water hits the skin, fleas retreat into a dog's eyes, ears, nose, and… *ahem*… anus. This is not fun for your dog, and the fleas will just come out after your dog is dry, but they will not cross over the wet soapy solution!

http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/p/marie-natural-healing-gal.html

Begin a flea bath by keeping your dog dry at first. I make my own shampoo by simmering soap nuts in water for 20 minutes, then adding cold water. It is a gentle, low suds, natural soap that has repellent properties, and leaves the coat clean and soft with no residue.

Add shampoo to your DRY dog in a full circle around the neck, around the ears, and around the base of the tail. This will prevent the fleas from escaping into sensitive areas. Then continue to wet your dog and add shampoo to the rest of the body. If there are fleas present, you will see them being washed away with the soapy water.

Keeping your pet healthy with a strong immune system and feeding a healthy diet will also go a long way to make them less attractive to ticks and fleas.
Marie

Back AWAY from us, bugs!

--Marie

- Marie (Natural Healing Gal)

Read all of Marie's Columnist Posts

Marie

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Dog Training, Qigong

Homeopathy

Visit Marie's Website

Mikamar Training Center

Please note that this blog post and these remedies are for information purposes only. Please consult with your own medical providers should you have medical questions and see the Medical Disclaimer here.

Also, make sure that you read and follow any label directions for products listed in these blog posts. This is the opinion and practice of Marie, but make sure you are safe in how you use the products.

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Friday, August 11, 2017

Dealing With Loneliness

Written By Don Shetterly

Recently I was reading the blog post that Jody wrote for her column on loneliness. It is a topic that is near and dear to my heart as well. I've struggled with loneliness all my life, and she is so right that Loneliness Can Break Your Heart.

I remember being in one of my grade school years and we were shown some movie about a little kid who was a loner. I don't remember the name of the film. I barely recall what the movie was about.

However, I remember one scene in particular that stands out in my mind. The little boy was getting on the school bus and looking for anyone to see him off, talk to him, or act like he existed. The look on his face was loneliness. The little kid was a loner.

Somehow out of that movie, I learned that being a loner could kill you. Again, I can't remember the entire movie, but that stuck in my mind all these years. I know I've read other things about loneliness. There was a song that someone sang in church one time when I was a kid that was titled, "Lonely Voices."

Even in a crowd of people, I can feel lonely. In a group of close friends, I can feel alone. I struggle with loneliness because it seems that it permeates every part of my life.

It has gotten a little better over the years, but I still long for being alone. I could be one of those people like Grizzly Adams that lived out in the woods. Yet, as much as I like being alone, I do like to be around people. I love to help people. I care about people.

Maybe it was because I was hurt so badly as a child being sexually abused and tortured. Maybe it is that I never learned how to be around others because we were controlled and isolated as kids.

I know that there are lonely people out there and I desperately wish I could wave a magic wand and make it all better. It is something we all have to work through if we are faced with loneliness, but I can tell you from first-hand experience, it isn't always easy for me.

http://mindbodythoughts.blogspot.com/2016/11/lonely-voices.html

Fortunately, there is support through friends that understand. There are special connections online that can help. Pets and animals make a world of difference for me.

Even if I feel alone, I know I am not. There are people who care about me and love me, even if I can't always see it. It is important to keep that in mind because loneliness is the jail we put ourselves in. We alone can unlock it because we hold the key.

Make sure you check out Jody's post on Loneliness Can Break Your Heart.

Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form.
You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.