Does Peace Start Within You

Let it ring through the season.  Let peace fill our hearts.  Let peace reign over the earth.

We all want peace for the world and our lives.  We all want there to be less strife and war and all the screaming and yelling we see happen every day.

Yet, it seems like we do everything but what is required for peace.

I need to ask the question, Does Peace Start Within You? 

We can look for peace in all the places we look for it.  We can expect others to be at peace.  We can hold our leaders to the precipice where peace reigns, but aren't we forgetting about ourselves?

You see, its so easy to expect everyone to live a life of peace and therefore make our lives peaceful.  It's easy to expect others to live the way we think they should because if we focus upon this thought, we deflect what is going on within our own life.

Why not in the celebration of peace this year, we seek to find peace within our own life?  Let us search deep within and come to know our own peace, so that it radiates out to the rest of the world.  For peace that does not start within us has a foundation as shaky as sand on the ocean shore.

Peace needs to start within you and me and everyone individually.  It is when we do what we need to do, rather than pointing the fingers, that we find there is more peace in this world than we imagined.  It is not up to others to do this for us.

It is up to each and everyone of us to play a critical starring role in bringing peace to the world.  First, it must start within each one of us before we can spread it to the world.

#Peace

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• 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.  

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Finding Peace In Your Body

I'm sure the title of this blog post could mean different things to different people.  Depending upon your own paradigms and experiences, it could easily be construed to be a belief system that may or may not prove repeatable.  Finding peace in your body is essential to the human experience, but far too often we miss the mark.

Even though we think we've found peace in the body, many times it is a temporary illusion.  In many ways, we have multiple influences and pressures and stresses hitting us constantly.  When we combine that with past experiences that we may or may not remember, it becomes a recipe for anything but finding peace in your body.

Meditation, Yoga, prayer, dancing, singing, and mind-body centered work can all help us achieve greater peace in our life.  Unfortunately, sometimes we only hit the surface and because the relaxation feels better than what we're used to in life, we think this is deep peace.  Don't get me wrong, any type of relaxation is better than nothing, but it may not be as a deep peace as you want to believe it is.

Awareness leads you to deep peace...

I've gone through some wonderful and deep work called Unified Therapy with Dr. Paul Canali.  In a session, it is body centered, connecting the felt sense of the body with the mind.  As you go into these moments, the pains and anxiety and struggles surface and show up.  As you're guided through the process and as you keep fear in perspective, you reach a very deep inner place.  This place of knowing gives way to a greater awareness.  As you step into the awareness and out of the fear that arises in your body, you find deep peace.

This peace is not superficial.  It is very difficult to describe, but once you experience it, everything makes sense.  It is a moment where  you don't want to be disturbed and you wish you could stay in this state of deep peace forever.  To think about coming out of it is not always welcomed because it is such a pure state where nothing else matters in life.

We follow our limiting paradigms...

These days, I find that most people are going through their lives not finding peace in their bodies.  Some will use religious beliefs to give the illusion they are.  Others will use new age practices and claim they know deep peace.  More often than not, we're following our own limiting paradigm of all that there can be.

No, I'm not saying you haven't found a way to access peace in your body.  I'm just making the point that finding deep peace in your body is beyond the realm where most people go.  We're too busy.  We're too stressed.  We're too tied up in our own belief systems or paradigms to go where we need to travel.

Let us strip away all that we think is right and learn to go deep within the body to experience all that may be uncomfortable at first, but yield results that you never thought was possible.  If you think you've found the edge of all that there is and you've defined it in your own set of beliefs, opinions and thoughts, you're missing the possibility of what lies beyond that.

Your beliefs and paradigms and thoughts are fine as long as they don't limit you and hold you back.  Building our life on what we think we know, rather than what is possible is like building a mansion at the edge of the ocean in the sand.  It may look pretty when its built, but most likely it will not stand the test of time.

Finding peace in your body is about going further, not just stopping at the water's edge.

#Peace

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
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Let Peace Begin With Me

On this day, let it not just be a celebration of all the gifts we have received.  All too often, we spend so much money to find that perfect gift, when the day is really about so much more.  It is too easy to lose site of this day.

Instead, maybe we can focus for a moment on a thought about Christmas.  Let peace begin with me.  I don't mean we should ask others to have peace or expect them to be peaceful.  I don't mean we should think that if others are peaceful, then we can be peaceful.  I am saying this to each one of us individually.

Let peace begin with me.  Let it begin within each one of us so that by all of us focusing on peace in our lives, we will impact the planet in big ways.  These days more than ever, we need to have peace within our life so that we can share it with others.

We won't find peace in the presents or the gifts we receive.  We won't find peace in the moments where we are wrapped up in the political news storm of the day.  We won't find peace when we look for it in moments that do not offer it.  We won't find peace in listening to those that constantly scream at the top of their lungs for attention in our world.

Peace must begin within each one of us if we are to offer peace to the world.  It is something that we need to develop in ourselves and then see if we can put more peace in our lives.

Our actions individually impact the world in great ways.  So on Christmas Day, in the moment you are reading this, reflect upon how you can let peace begin with you or me or whoever you are.  By doing this, we may just be impacting the entire world.  If you feel you have already reached this point, then I adamantly urge you to go further!  The world needs it.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 12/15/15 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
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Peace On Memorial Day

On this Memorial Day, let peace spread from our life to others in the world. Let us find a way today, to spread that peace and make this world a better place.  (Quote taken from the Hope, Inspiration, And Encouragement Blog)

It is easy for many people to want and desire peace.  While this is a noble idea, sometimes we look to the wrong places for peace.  We feel that it is our government leaders, or  military personnel that must bring about peace in the world.   Sometimes we look to our churches, religions and ministers or priests to bring about the peace we so desire.  Wherever it is that we find our peace, may I suggest that we are looking in the wrong place.

Peace starts within each one of us.  When we are at war with ourselves, we will find the world at war with one another.  When we are struggling within ourselves, the world we know is struggling.  When we are at peace with ourselves, we will find peace reigns throughout the world.

That which we want and desire is located within our mind, body and spirit.  It is where we will find peace for our lives and our day.  We need not see the world only through the eyes of turmoil, hatred and bad news.  We can see the world through our eyes as we allow ourselves to find the way to be at peace within.

I write these words to myself and share them with you, the reader.  If these words have touched your heart, please allow them to touch the hearts of those that you know as we honor all on this day, Memorial Day.



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Trauma Keeps Peace Away

I know other people have written much more in-depth about this subject and one of them that comes to my mind is Peter Levine in his book, "Waking The Tiger".  One of the most horrible things that trauma does long term to a person is it keeps the peace away.

Yes, we can begin to find peace, but trauma keeps the body revved up.  It keeps the moments of when the trauma happened in the forefront of our brain as if they are still happening.  Because of the impact of these moments, it keeps our nervous system on edge and our brain from slowing down.

If you read the book, "Waking The Tiger", you'll see a very good and healthy explanation of what trauma does to the body and the mind.  It is the basis for much of what I have learned along with what has physically been demonstrated to me in my own body through healing with Dr. Paul Canali of Unified Therapy.

You can compare trauma to walking through the jungle.  There are predators out there and if you don't watch out, you'll become lunch for an animal in the jungle.  Let's use being hunted by a Tiger as Dr. Peter Levine discusses.

Your body is revved up...

In trauma, the Tiger pounces and attacks just like walking through the jungle.  Even if you somehow escape the Tiger or the trauma, your body is still revved up like the event is happening.  We've all had those moments that shocks or frightens us and it takes a while to come down.  Trauma does the same thing, but to a much greater degree.  Trauma keeps us in that revved up state.  The long term impacts of it can be felt and see in the mind and body for years after it stopped. 

Even long after the trauma has passed, it is as if we are still experiencing it.  This is why reaching out to support groups, therapists and other body-centered trauma healing is essential.  It isn't about being weak, but learning and discovering how to let go of the residual impacts from the trauma.  It is about finding ways to heal from our inner core.  It is about reclaiming all that we are and learning how to show trauma the door.

As if things never ended...

I went through intense torture and childhood sexual abuse.  It shaped me in so many ways.  While I've done extensive deep body healing from the trauma with Dr. Paul Canali, there are moments that the triggers act as if the Tiger is still chasing me.  Of course, I know that the events have stopped, but in my mind and neural pathways, they are still acting as if things never ended.  Trauma keeps us in that state.

The body needs to be a central part of continued healing because even though we try to disconnect, forget and numb, the cells, muscles, nervous system and the brain still remember.  They don't forget.  Unless these parts of our bodies are healed deeply, they will continue to rev up the nervous system from the trauma and keep peace away.

Deep peace is difficult after Trauma...

If your body is on full alert because it believes there is a Tiger waiting to pounce, most likely you are not going to be able to lay down and take a nice restful nap.  It is the same with trauma.  As long as the trauma remains within us, true and deep peace will be difficult to grasp.

One of the things that I so love about Unified Therapy with Dr. Paul Canali is that after you've gone through a moment of deep release, the peace that ensues is unlike anything we have ever felt.  It is such a deep peace that you beg him to just leave you in that place, not wanting to come out from it.  It is hard to describe it, but in the process of healing through this work, when you do feel what I'm talking about, it will blow your mind!

In healing, we have to learn how to understand that the Tiger is no longer chasing us.  Our minds will make us believe that it is while keeping it from our conscious thought.  Our minds try so hard to protect us that we often stay in numbing and disconnectedness.  It is in reconciling these things that we will find further healing into a life that is truly ours.  It is in these moments of healing that we will discover more of who we are and that is a beautiful thing.  It is a place of peace.

Trauma may try to keep the peace away, but the more we work to heal, the more we will discover it.  Healing is about taking our life back from those things that stole it.  It is about finding that awareness which leads us to a greater peace than we've ever known. 

#HealTrauma

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• 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.  

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Breathe, Connect And Find Peace

Breathe, Connect And Find Peace
In This Moment

Just today in this moment, I will stop and focus my life. I will rise above all that I deal with in my life. I will let go of the stress and worry in my life, the uncertainty, the anger and despair. I will just breathe, connect and find peace for this moment.

Today in this moment, I will stop and take time out of my busy schedule to appreciate all that is around me. I will watch the birds play and fly from high wire to high wire, tree to tree. I will watch a squirrel run up a tree and a duck swim like there is no tomorrow. As I take in all that is around me, I will just breathe, connect, and find peace in this moment.

Be A Positive Force In This World

Written By Don Shetterly

My heart is sad when it comes to the events going on across our country and the world.  This is not about politics, and if you think it is, you're sorely mistaken.  If you know me at all, you know that I do not subscribe to what the masses say on any level.

I see people that are so angry and so hurt.  I see people that are asleep and numb and disconnected.  I see individuals who view others as the enemy, not as humans walking this same planet.  It pains me.  It hurts me.  I weep, and yet my tears do no good.

There is far too much hate and too little love.  There is far too much judgment and too little understanding.  We stand opposed, rather than united to journey through our lives to discover more about who we are.

I'm perplexed because everyone points the fingers at each other.  We exclaim that we know what is best and all others are stupid, dumb, or irrelevant.  We fail to listen to each other while we scream how worthless all others are.

We hold out to the world just how enlightened we are and righteous and good.  We hold out to the world that we are superior and we know all.  We hold out to the world we are peace loving and conscious.  Yet, our actions contradict our every word.

If We Do Not Find Peace Within...

If we do not find peace within ourselves, we will not find it throughout the world.  If we do not learn to accept ourselves, the world will never accept us.  If we see others as stupid or idiotic or misguided and wrong, the rest of the world will see us in that way.

It does not matter what the world proclaims.  It matters more what you feel and think and believe on the inside.  If you want peace, it must first begin within you.  If you want love throughout the world, it must first begin within you.  If you want others to accept you as a valid human, you must first accept others in the same way.

We're at a crossroads I believe in humanity and either we keep heading down into the darkness of the world where there is no peace, or we rise above it all.  It is solely up to each one of us, but it isn't just words.  It is action that backs up our words.  It is action that shows what truly is in our mind, body, soul, and heart.

Let us be a force for positive change by changing our lives in a way that shows what love and peace are to the world.  This blog post is about taking a hard look at who we are as individuals and seeing what role we truly play in the world.

I implore you.  I beg you as the reader to help make a positive difference through taking stock of your own life.  I'm attempting to do the same.  Together we will make it further in this harsh world, rather than divided where we will not stand.

Let's stop pointing the fingers.  Let's cease to be part of the cycle of hate.  Instead, let our lives show love so brightly that it will take over the darkness.

I love this video because I believe it says so much.  It is Matisyahu singing and performing "One Day."  The words speak volumes.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

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The Destruction Of TV Programming

Yesterday while waiting on some work to be done on my car, I was in the waiting area of the shop.  The TV was playing all kinds of programs that I would not normally see.  It was playing loudly which to me was annoying enough.

It is important to note that we don't have cable in our house as we quit that a few years ago.  I was tired of paying a lot of money each month for something that offered little value in return.  I've never watched TV in the morning hours anyway.

As this morning program played, it was obvious that the people on there were talking a mile a minute.  I don't think they were hardly breathing or attempting to stop to breathe.  The incessant chatter was annoying.  It was a vibration that anything but one being connected and at peace with themselves.

Throughout the programming, there were at least a dozen political ads, if not more.  I lost count trying to keep up with them.  Most of the political ads were blaming the other person for something they claimed they were doing right.  It was ridiculousness at its best.  I know, negative ads work in elections, but to me, I try to avoid them.

Back to the point of this post before I get sidetracked too far.  If I listened to the TV stuff every day and watched this programming, I'd be like a cat with claws out going down a chalk board.  I don't see the value to this.  I don't even see it being entertainment.  It is anything but that in my mind.

Apparently, many people must watch it or I would guess it would not be on the air.  People must be moved by these political ads, or they would not do them year after year.  People may complain about all of this, but they are watching.

All of this comes at a cost.  It comes at a personal price for every human that consumes this stuff.  You can't expect your body to be at peace and connected when all you fill it with is things like this that are the opposite of peace and being connected.  Sorry, if you like this programming, but it does not do a body good!

I was doing all I could to get away from the TV noise because it was becoming a very agitating experience.  I'm not against entertainment, but I think we as a society need to at least engage a few brain cells.  If we just consume all that is fed to us, how is that thinking for ourselves or being real and at peace.

How can we expect peace from the world and engage in these behaviors and practices?  When we canceled our cable, it was one of the best things that we did.  Yes, we still watch some things on Netflix, but I don't miss the news.  Ok, I use news in the silliest of terms because there is no news that is truly information.  It is all a bunch of bias and screaming one view or another.  All of it!

Sometimes I think I'm missing out by not being consumed by all this programming, but days like today show me clearly that I'm not missing a thing.  I can still find out enough of what is going on without it taking over my day.

In my view, we should all do things that help build each other up, including our own self.  We should do things that bring about peace and stability, not pit one person or group against the other.  Social media often destroys more than it builds up, but with programming on TV that has become such a standard part of our life, we don't even notice this most days.

It is up to each one of us how we participate in life and whether we build up the world together or we join with others tearing it apart.  No one can dictate that to you, but as you become more connected to your mind and body, the more you will no longer have a desire for what we think is essential for making it through our day.

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2016 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
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Christmas Illusions

Christmas is many things to many people. If you ask a hundred different people what Christmas is all about, you will most likely get a hundred different responses. It is celebrated in many ways among many different people and yet, all across this world, it is a day of great importance.

When I was a child, the Christmas season was one of the happiest times of the year to me. My mom would bake Christmas cookies and candy, and together we would decorate the beautiful cookies with icing and sprinkles. I remember the taste of the fudge, so full of sugar and chocolate that it made your taste buds dance with glee. I remember the divinity and the peanut brittle along with many other types of Christmas treats.

Leading up to the days before Christmas, I was a child full of smiles, waiting for Santa Claus to bring me those special few gifts. It didn’t really matter to me what I got, just as long as there was some special gift for me to unwrap. I was happier receiving a gift than being concerned with what I was given. It did not matter to me what the gift was. It was the joy of the surprise and the endurance of the wait that I longed for each Christmas.

Through the many church programs, singing and playing the Christmas songs for the Christmas story, I found myself wanting to perform these moments forever and ever. I enjoyed playing the piano as well as singing the songs at the retirement homes, where the faces of the elderly beamed with joy. Tears would come to my eyes as these beautiful songs filled the room, and I felt the peace and love of the season flowing through me.

As time passed by, my life endured many things that were difficult beyond measure. I hid within the joy of Christmas from the pain that surrounded and engulfed me. It became my hope and fantasy but it also was my illusion. For me to realize that anything but happiness, joy, and good cheer existed, took me from the illusion that I was living in life. It grew into a conflict between trying to deal with reality and trying to enjoy a world of fantasy. The pain that I felt was mixed in with the joys of the season, and my heart longed with sadness, my eyes filled deep with tears.

As I stated at the beginning of this, Christmas means many things to many people. I wish I could write that it was all joy and magic and make believe that is portrayed through the season. I wish I could write that it is a time of family being together that I was born into, but I cannot write those words. For if I tried to make it appear that everything was full of cheer for me during this time, I would be living an illusion. As difficult as it is, I face a reality that is anything but full of cheer.

During the holiday season, I see so many people spending countless dollars of worry to make sure they buy the best present they can buy for another person. Whether it is family or friends, the stress of picking that right present is a struggle to many. I know completely just how difficult it can be to spend what little you could save throughout the year to buy Christmas gifts for family members, only to be shunned and ridiculed for the gift you bought and gave them. Christmas has to be about so much more than giving gifts or being with family.

Of course, we should not forget that the corporate retail market believes Christmas is a success when every man, woman, and child is out buying armfuls of gifts to shower their love upon their fellow humans. For according to the retailers, if you aren’t buying Christmas gifts and putting yourself in debt, you truly aren’t human. So many in our country celebrate this time by spending thousands of dollars to show they love one another.

Yet, my mind wanders into the night asking, “Is this what Christmas is truly about?” Is it a time of stressing over holiday parties, holiday gifts, and which family member is going to visit which home at what time? Is it a time of living in a fantasy world full of illusion, and sipping the champagne and egg nog until our senses grow numb? It is a time where we become intolerant of how others believe?

The answers to these questions I see in our world are inadequate. I only write about that which I see and currently understand. Each person is of course, free to believe and practice in the way that is appropriate for their life. My hope though is that each one of us will really stop and consider what this season truly means.

Christmas is a time of celebrating peace, love, and goodwill to men. It is a time of giving to others, not with hopes that you will have bought the perfect gift but that you will have given it out of pure love. It is a time of helping our fellow man, and realizing that the help should not only be on one day of the year, but each day we are fortunate to be alive and living in this world.

Christmas is much more than we make it out to be and much less than we think it truly is. The lights, trees, gifts, carols, and parties are all part of it. There is nothing wrong with these things. However, if we forget what Christmas is all about, we become a noisy gong and a clanging symbol decorated with pretty lights and glitter.

Let us remember that during this holiday time, not everyone is able to participate and many suffer in silence as a result of Christmases past. They often sit on the sidelines in suffering, hoping that the day will soon pass, when all they want to do is to forget the painful moments that this day brings. Let us reach out in love to these people, but let us remember to respect their pain and honor their true feelings.

Christmas is not about doing something because we expect anything in return. Christmas is about giving of our true heart through peace, understanding and goodwill to all that we know and meet. If we can understand this one thing about Christmas, then we will have truly celebrated the real spirit of the season.

I leave you with the lyrics to the song, “Let There Be Peace On Earth”

Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.
With every step I take
Let this be my solemn vow.
To take each moment
And live each moment
With peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth,
And let it begin with me.



Blog Post & Images (c) 12/5/10 Don Shetterly - use by permission only

Peace On Earth Begins With Me

There have been many tragedies around the world and I don't see where they will let up anytime soon.  They seem to be increasing.  Some of them are natural disasters and some of them come from one enemy fighting another enemy.

As I have seen a discussion in the past few days turn from pure hatred towards those that killed innocent people to blaming politicians or guns or whatever the reason is just plain sad.  People love to boil everything down into one short and simple soundbite that is the sole reason of why things are happening that everyone can't stand.

The media loves to put a soundbite to a tragedy because then they can hook people into following their newscast.  The more people that follow, the more viewers they have and the more money they can make.  I get it.  Its an entertainment business and if you don't entertain people, they switch the channel.  It is one reason, we shut off cable.

Everyone wants to believe that peace on earth begins with other people.  Unfortunately that is not the case.  We are all adding to the problems of the world whether you believe it or not.

Tomorrow Land

Recently on a trip to Disney World in Orlando, Florida, I enjoyed one of my favorite places in the park.  The one area that I really enjoy is Tomorrow Land because it helps take us from our momentary existence and pushes forward into possibility.  When you walk through there, you can't help but think of how things could be and the potential that exists in our world.  You see, in my tomorrow land, there are many things that I hope will exist.

Peace is one of those things that I hope will exist in my tomorrow land. I want everyone to see each other with respect, acceptance and humility, rather than domination, control, and self-righteousness.  I want to see people at peace within themselves, not using the war within them to view the rest of the world.  For when we begin to understand who we are and find peace within ourselves, it is then that we can open up to the world.  Please keep in mind that this is not a fake it until you make it approach, but one of true genuine peace within where you can connect your mind and body together as one.

Advancing where we are as humans is one thing I hope to see in tomorrow land.  We all have so much potential, but it seems like we do the same things over and over every day of our life.  We reinvent what already has been invented.  We take the easy way out when it comes to creativity and problem solving.  We just accept the status quo and go on with our lives, failing to connect with all that we are.

For There Can Be Peace

I received a body work session at Evolutionary Healing the other day and as always, it was an eye opening session. Since Jeff and I had been doing some work on each other leading up to this visit, it helped me not have to start at the heavy layers of stress.

It didn't seem long after I got on the table that the two areas of pain came up within me. The first being across my low back which I have been experiencing a lot lately. There were other areas of course like my neck and shoulders (especially the right shoulder) that were painful but the strong attention was in my low back. As Dr. Canali began to touch this area, I felt a very sharp pain almost like a knife being inserted in my abdominal region. The pain was intense and as I voiced that, Dr. Canali urged me to continue staying with this area and staying present, knowing that I had the strength tomove past this.

What surprised me the most though was how quickly we were able to go into this and how quickly I could push past the fear of it to get to the core of what was going on. With the sounds of my voice that grew into dull screams, my arms began to shake with a vengeance propelling massive amounts of anger out of my body. As this continued, the strength of the intense anger grew along with the sounds my voice was making. And then all at once, my body let go and subsided into the ease of the moment feeling much more free and feeling the breath moving more easily throughout my body.

Even though I've had many experiences like or similar to it, this one was different. It helped me connect two things in a very strong way. One of those was that the anger of this session mimicked some of the horrible pain I have always lived with in my abdominal region. Some of that pain from my past took me to more medical doctors, hospitals and medication than I could list here. On the table, I connected with all of that in such a deep visceral way that the connection was made of what fuels this pain. I've probably always known this but the brain connections with my body have never been this strong until this point. And seeing just how far that anger went into the muscles of my shoulders and my low back was an amazing realization to connect with it as well.

In addition though, I knew that we didn't do a lot of "activity" on the table to get to this point where I got. Much of it was about letting go of the resistance and moving past the fear to allow myself to being open to this. Words that I've heard so many times and experienced so many times but they still tend to be a struggle for me. It isn't about doing as much as it is letting go of the resistance.

With everything that happened, my body was able to move into a deep place of peace for as Dr. Canali reminded me that as long as the anger resides within, there can be no peace. It is my reminder that instead of doing as I was taught of holding the anger in, I will find more peace by finding ways to let it go.

We Are What We Take In

It seems like far too many humans go on autopilot these days.  I don't think they mean too, but they just do it.  It seems to be more of an unconscious action to me from what I observe.   When we do this, it keeps us from fully realizing what we take in and what we are.

We all seem to know that what we take in, we become.  It is like the old proverbial saying, "Garbage In - Garbage Out".

In fact, I remember learning that saying in a computer class where if you put garbage numbers in, don't expect something good to come out of it.

Healthy Body...

If you want a healthy body, but you put bad food in constantly and plenty of it, more than likely you're not going to get a healthy body.  If you don't read the labels and know what you're putting into your body, it is impossible to expect a healthy one.


Healthy Mind...

If you want a healthy mind, but you take in all the latest sensationalized headlines of the day, the latest bombastic political headline and all the fear that is propagated each day, the mind will definitely struggle.  You might be a little oblivious to how much it impacts you, but from observing others, I think it is pretty easy to see.


Healed Life...

If you want a healed life, but you fixate upon the horrors only, it will make it difficult.  No, I'm not saying ignore them because when you've been through trauma, ignoring it will not make it go away.  I know it isn't easy to reverse the impact of trauma on your life, but to have a healed life, you have to go in and take that control back, pushing past into and past the fear.


Peace...

If you want to have peace, but you constantly engage in the hateful rhetoric of the day, most likely you're not going to find peace.  There is far too much unconscious hate that is being spewed these days online and if you don't limit it, it will overwhelm you and take you as far away from peace as is possible.


Expanding Mind...

If you want to have an ever expanding mind, approaching life with excuses or reasons why something won't work, will keep your mind limited.  Far too often we approach new ideas and new ways of looking at things as foreign objects that are our enemies, rather than potential friends.  Yes, not every idea out there is a good one for us to explore, but if we automatically decry anything new, we're holding our mind back.


More Of A Human...

If you want to be more of a human, than it is best to learn what being a human means.  It involves respect and compassion for one another.  It involves seeing others through the eyes of love, not the darkness of hatred and fear.  Being human is more of an endeavor to realize that we are all on this planet to succeed and by working together in common bonds, we will be better than we are today.


We Are What We Take In...

We are what we take in to our body, mind, spirit, and overall existence in this world.  Even if we are unconscious of what we do every day in this regard, it is still part of us and still activity that we embrace.

It requires a conscious effort to be aware of all that we are in the mind and body, not just what we think we are.  Consciousness is born out of awareness and the more aware we become, the more fully our life shows up

In my view, it is part of the human existence to become more aware and more conscious of who we are.  It is part of our overall growth and experience.

Each day, we get the opportunity to discover a little more about the world we live in and who we are as humans.  May that process never stop and may we challenge ourselves to be more today than we were yesterday.

#Conscious

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Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

• 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.  

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Silent Night, Holy Night - Christmas Piano Songs

On my CD, Christmas Songs, the first track is one of my favorites.  Remembering back to my childhood days in the cold winter snow filled nights, the song "Silent Night, Holy Night" called out to me bringing me warmth and peace.  I remember singing it and playing it often in church during the Christmas season, where the voices of the choir would echo out into the night.  It still holds a very deep place of peace for me in these troubled times we live.

The songs on my CD are my heartfelt piano renditions of many Christmas Songs from my childhood.  Since there are only so many weeks left before Christmas, I will try to highlight the various songs on this CD and include the words to each one.   I do apologize that it may be a little early to do this, but with only a limited number of weekends remaining before Christmas, I have to begin sharing them now before it is too late.

Listen or purchase Christmas Piano Songs on Amazon or iTunes.

Download free Christmas Carol Lyrics at www.ChristmasPianoSongs.com .

Life On The Balance

Life is about balance. In fact, the universe is about balance. How many times do we stop to consider this in the grand importance that it holds?

Many different modalities, healing methods and philosophies address balance to one degree or another. Some have words for it as in eastern medicine like Ying and Yang or something may say that an individual is either not balanced or balanced. We've got all kinds of ways to describe this.

In nature, you see the balancing taking place because there is the hot to the cold, the summer to the winter, the storms to the tranquil days. You can see animals such as kittens race together, play together and then lay down and groom each other together in relaxation. It's all about balance.

I remember back in one of my high school biology classes where the teacher was telling us that all stress is not bad. Negative stress is just as valuable as positive stress in our lives. Without negative stress, we might just sit there and kind of be bumps on a log or never grow or basically just exist.

While negative stress is a good thing, please keep in mind that if we are inundated with negative stress constantly and we do nothing to discharge (or balance) the stress, than our bodies become something that we do not enjoy living in. We need that moment of discharge and that point of deep therapeutic relaxation for our bodies to bring us back towards the line of balance. On the other hand if all we ever had was positive stress (or 100% relaxation) all the time, than our bodies would not necessarily be pushed to evolve and grow. It is through those difficult moments, that when we find peace once again in our lives, we observe just how much we learned.

Let's not stop though in thinking that balance is just a matter of either being stressed out or being in a state of relaxation. That would be too simplistic and somewhat miss the point of balance in our lives. In our bodies, there is a master healing system and when one gets in touch with this and allows it to take over, our body can transform in ways we are not even aware of. It is a wonderful system that helps us discover new things about ourselves, heals our bodies and sets us on a forward path of being human, being conscious and having awareness.

Imagine bringing the body into a state of relaxation or surrender. You may also call it letting go. Whatever descriptive word fits, use it. In this state, the body and the nervous system knows and detects that it is in a safe and trusted place. It is a state where the connection between the mind and the body are one and they are working together. However, this state may not necessarily discharge that negative stress that has built up in our bodies. So while the relaxation is wonderful and the connection is great, without the discharge there is no room for total peace within our bodies.

Keeping all of this in our minds, what if we revved up the body's reaction, with it still being in this safe and trusted place, to push us to the point where we allow ourselves to go in and discharge that negative stress which is residing in our body. It would be then, that we would find a more total and deep moment of peace, not only in our bodies, but in our mind. It is truly a moment of deep healing within us because the negative stress had resided in our body as negative energy. It is potential energy just waiting to be freed and when it is free, the potential for transformation is off the charts. The negative stress or trapped energy no longer holds us back, drains our energy and causes all kinds of health conditions. It gives us one of the greatest gifts we could ever give ourselves in life.

Unfortunately too many times, our culture has taught us that we need to flee from the pain, the hurts, the negative stress in our lives. When in reality, we need to embrace it and go deep into it because at that moment, our lives will be transformed. It is in the balance and the discharge of the negative stress that we find peace, fulfillment and a greater awareness about our lives.

Deep Dark Black Space Of Implicit Memory

There I was - lying on the table - shrouded in complete fear. I could barely feel my left arm and what I could feel was pain that was so intense, I wanted to run and hide and flee. I wanted to crawl under the table, hide in the corner, not do anything that would connect me to the pain I was feeling.

The fears were intense. The questions were strong. Could I do this? Do I really want to do this? This is too hard! All these things were attacking me as if I had come up against an army 100 million times my army of one!

Yet, I had been here before. I had been through these moments in my healing. I knew the process. I was familiar with the feelings, the thoughts, the fears and emotions. Still, my mind seemed like a blank slate. It seemed like all that I knew was not within my grasp. It seemed that reality and pain and being disconnected from my body had all played Russian Roulette, and so the outcome seemed to be impossible to predict.

The more I wanted to flee the pain and hide, the more I felt so alone and lost. My arm at first would barely move, and felt as if the muscles were going to tear apart inside. My body felt as if it was being smashed head first into a wall like a cop frisking a suspect. As the moments wore on, the stiffness invaded my entire body. My body failed to move. It was as if the cells could not turn the ignition on to start their engines. The fears were great. The fears increased. It felt like time had stopped.

Nothing felt safe in that moment. Having someone close to me did not seem to matter. I felt so alone and lost out in space. I felt so engulfed into this deep dark black space that had once again introduced itself to me. While I wanted to flee and run, the stiffness in my body, the pain that ran from my shoulder, led to feeling like I was being stabbed in the neck. It paralyzed me in fear. It seemed like I was getting the crap pounded out of me. It seemed like I had no choice. It seemed like I was destined to live with this.

Yet, I knew I was entering that dark tunnel with the immense darkness of space and time. It was a horrifying and lonely deep black space within me. It was one that I was afraid that if I traveled into, would I be able to find my way back out?

The emotions of sadness intensified, and the tears of feeling all alone and hopeless, void of possibility, swirled around me like a hurricane coming on shore. Emotions of every shape, flavor and color attacked me by a hundred fold as if there was no other moment. The moment of their advance on me, it seemed was now. Thoughts continued to arise, can I do this? Do I want to do this? Can I not go back to where I came from? Can this just be a bad nightmare that will end very soon?

Of course, I knew the answers to these and I knew the struggle. I knew the fight. There was peace beyond this that I had been shown before, but that peace seemed like an impossible dream. Being reminded that I had tools and that this was part of the process was reassuring but the fears laughed in their faces.

And one final last push of going deep into the pain, brought me front and center with the deep dark place I had traveled into. It brought me to a point where I knew I had the strength, the tools and the support to get through this moment. For to stop and turn around now, would only feed the fears and increase the black space. To go head first and take the fears and black space on, I would find something greater than I knew. That one final last push of going deep into the fear and into that which I so badly wanted to escape, gave me the peace I so longed for.

So one last final push into the deepness that engulfed me, while holding on to the fact that there was a way through this - the pain intensified, the fears increased, the sadness overwhelmed me. I stayed connected with my body and kept my eyes on the goal and all at once, my breathing came back to me, the stiffness in my muscles left me, and the pain escaped. My body transformed through all these things into moments of deep peace and insight, showing me all that I could do and had the power to do.

It wasn't magic. It wasn't about the emotions that came up. It was about me connecting to that deep place within myself. It was about connecting with the deep dark black space called implicit memory. The implicit memory has no story, but it holds all the emotions of a lifetime. Its weapon is fear and its strength is feeding from the pain it inflicts upon the body. The only defense is to take it on and say, enough is enough - you're no longer going to rule my life. I have your number! I am in control. I have the power to do this and to continue taking back my life.

I'm once again reminded of just how much power and strength we have within us. We are much more than we often believe, and give ourself credit for. Yet, when the fear looks like a giant before us, we run for cover. In the end, we will soon realize that the giant is filled with nothing more than hot air, and if you poke a needle into it, the giant of fear will deflate.

This is the essence of healing. It is the moment of reclaiming the body. It is about becoming more aware of one's self and finding the insight that we need. Within the body is held vast amounts of information and even though we may feel disconnected to it or afraid of it, looking within is the way to give ourselves life, freedom and hope.

May I remember this each day, for the next time I come up against Implicit Memory disguised as the deep dark black space in my body.


*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

Losing Your Body By Numbing Out

For anyone who has been through trauma, you fully understand how your body is not your friend after these experiences.  Losing your body is so common among sexual abuse survivors because when you go through these experiences, it is a means of survival.

Consider for a moment that if you are experiencing sexual abuse where someone overpowers you and not only is the pain great, but the humiliation and shame are beyond comprehension, the only way to survive is by shutting down.  It is a means to survive.  It is a means to get through the experience because of the overwhelming nature of what is going on.

For a long time, I did not even realize how much I had shut my body down.  It took me going through a Conversion Disorder and being paralyzed to begin understanding this.  Even in the depths of the Conversion Disorder, I could not feel a needle being applied to the bottom of my feet.  I could not feel the pain in my back and neck.  I could not feel much.

Hope For Haditha Children And The Trauma Breaking Point

Hope For Haditha Children
Song by Don Shetterly

Back in 2006 when I heard about the Haditha massacre, I wrote the article below. At the time I was horrified. Yes, I understand that sometimes in war, innocent people are killed. However, in this case, this was not an innocent event. From all accounts in the news, it was a deliberate act upon innocent people. If the war had not been going on and this happened in the US, the individual(s) would have been on trial for murder.

Out of this tragedy, I wrote a song called "Hope For Haditha Children". This song never really took off, but I still wrote it in memory of those children who faced the horrors of watching adults murdered before their eyes. While I can fully understand the trauma breaking point, especially in a time of war, I weep for those little children.

Consciously Connecting With Our Authentic Self

Consciously Connecting
With Others In This World

Do you ever go through your day thinking about how we treat others? Do you ever stop and consider just how you come across to all those you meet? If everyone stopped to consider that in a day, I'm betting we could change the world very quickly. Yet, we as a collective society tend to act as if nothing else matters and we are the only ones that exist in the world.

Our days of course are filled with demands upon our time, more stress than we should endure and all kind of challenges we face in our bodies. We have schedules that dictate we run at top speed from an early hour of the morning while we shuttle our children from one place to the next. We rush into work hoping to not be late so we can accomplish that report the boss needs by 9 am.

By the time, we're at the end of our day, all too often we are anything but kind and conscious to our fellow humans. Sometimes we can manage to put on a good demeanor and a happy face, but that is about it and it isn't authentic. We're just looking forward to some time sitting in front of the TV, resting our weary body and brain.

Why Do We Harm Others?

Do harm to one another.  Isn't that what we are all about in this country and throughout this world?  Do harm to each other.  If you're reading this and wondering, what marbles are floating around loose in my mind, consider the truth of how we treat others in our life.  Okay, I realize not everyone is like this, but there is a majority in this country and this world that seem to harm one another, rather than respecting others.

Every day that I see news headlines, I'm reminded of just how selfish, mean, and harmful we are to each other.  We treat others as if they are less than us, not really mattering to the existence of life.  In fact, it shows we value the life of fellow humans in such a way, that our culture is taking major hits each and ever day.

It has been stated that we as humans are 99.9% alike biologically and only .1% different.  Yet, we go through our days acting as if we are so different.  We focus on the color of skin, the different beliefs, political ideology, different thoughts, and status of our living conditions as the barometers in what it means to be human.  Isn't it sad, that our existence in life boils down to how every other human is so different from us, when in fact they are not.