Heal Me

Heal Me

We people are so passionate, even when we think we aren’t all that invested in anything. I love how vehemently we believe our beliefs, even when those beliefs make us suffer. These are ideas we are even willing to die for. Many of us have them, and we tend to think of religion and politics as the two biggies, but there are others to which we are so committed.

Health, diet, and exercise are the trifecta.

Why am I healthy? Why does all I consume nourish me? Why am I alive?

I believed, because of a doctor’s casual comment, that I would be dead by the time I was twenty-three. I was working nights at the time, and waiting for midnight was pretty tense. I actually was scared that I would drop dead before the stroke of midnight.

I didn’t.

You might guess that I was almost obsessed with my health, but I was actually more obsessed with illness. My focus was on sick. I had the chronic. Chronic headaches, chronic back pain, stomach issues, joint issues, vision problems, chronic colds and flu. I could always find some symptom in my body to fret about. So I slept poorly. I was so clenched that I ended up at the Mayo Clinic to find out why I couldn’t move my neck or shoulders.

I was obsessed with my diet. I starved me, I overfed me, I went on health-food kicks that left me feeling weak and feeble. I took dozens of supplements at a high cost every month. I was sure that there was a miracle food I could find that would solve all my problems.

I expected the dentist to bring me terrible pain, and was never disappointed. I was sure I would suffer the day or two after a big workout. I was exhausted and lethargic much of the time, even though I was running all day long. And  I knew that by the time I reached middle age I would be crippled.

I’m not.

Why do I enjoy radiant health? What makes me feel my vitality? Why am I energetic?

By processing through our old emo-stuff, we let go. As we let go, specific parts of our body also unclench allowing our life-force to flow there, bring health back to those parts. Our bodies make symptoms in the places that correspond to our idea. When the middle finger is sore, for example, we are often having a “f*ck you” thing going on that is just out of awareness. I had a very experience-y toe joint when I was refusing to “toe the line.” I know it sounds goofy as all get out, but more and more we are finding that the correlation between mind and body can be very specific.

As I have come to soften my hold on my beliefs, I am willing to let go of ideas that make me suffer, like focusing on being sick. When I focus on what feels great, I can often let go of discomfort. If it is very insistent, I will attend to it, and do what I can to uncover my very personal message. I find that relaxing, breathing deeply, and asking good Creative Questions about my health and wellness will often do as much for me as taking a pill ever did in the past, without nasty side effects.

Because I know my body and how it feels so well, I know when I need to address a topic with healers, and when I can just let it run its course.

How have I changed from believing I am sick to noticing how I feel healthy?

(c) Pam Guthrie 2014 all rights reserved 07292014

The River of Happiness

The River of Happiness

There is something in us that gives us life. When it is not in us, our bodies die. There are a lot of words for it. Life force will do for us for now. We also call it happiness.

Wait, what?

Yes, you heard me, happiness is one way we experience life force. It’s why practicing something like qi gong feels so good as we strengthen our life force.

I am not speaking about the kind of happy we feel when we get something we’ve wanted, or other nice things from outside. I am speaking of that feeling that bubbles up from deep inside us.

Why am I happy? What makes me feel alive? How do I choose my natural life?

In the olden days, I tried to be happy. I tried hard. I didn’t get very far trying. I tried looking at the bright side. I tried counting my blessings. It was work. Eventually I let go.

That was the difference that did it. When I let go, I relaxed. When I relaxed, it was easier to go with the flow. Instead of seeking the good in my life, I noticed it. Way easier. Instead of counting my blessings, I felt grateful and appreciative. Way easier. Instead of trying, I let it come up from inside. Way easier. I like easy.

I have a number of things I do that help my life force flow. Shaolin qi gong is one. Unlimited Breath work is another. Meditation does it, too. Dancing, a good walk; there are a lot of things I do to reap the flow. Relaxing in my daily life keeps it flowing. Then, I automatically look at the world with joyful filters, and it takes no effort to experience my life as wonder-filled. I like effortless.

Why is it just so easy? Why can it be effortless? How do I relax? Why do I choose?

We all try so hard. We strive to make a nice life for ourselves, our loved ones. We struggle to make ends meet. We pull our expectations in tight and hold them there. We believe we can only have a life that is so big, and no bigger. Sometimes, we feel like it’s all for nothing, and we resort to addictive behaviors to mask our feelings. As we let go of struggle, as we relax our grip on our expectations, as we change our beliefs about how our life can be, it all gets easier and softer.

Why am I wealthy? Why do good things happen for me? How do I enjoy my life?

Sometimes we have one of those days. Usually, if I stop and look at it, it’s not that the whole day was awful, but that a few parts were. Or were annoying, or frustrating, or sad. My choice is to hang onto those things and let them color the whole day, or week, or month. Or I can choose to let each thing go, and start fresh. It took me some practice, but like so many things, it was worth it.

Somedays, it is just one thing after another. When I am choosing to let each thing go, I can usually chalk it up to wonky energy on my part, and laugh at it. I know that this too shall pass, and that a wonky day is one of the ways I appreciate my normal days.

How have I changed from trying to make myself happy to letting my happiness flow?

(c) Pam Guthrie 2014 all rights reserved 07192014

How to Banish Negativity

How to Banish Negativity

I like music. A lot. I love to sing, I love to listen, I love to learn songs, I love to write songs. I tend to prefer songs whose chords are harmonious, rather than discordant, although sometimes that’s kinda fun.

It’s also how I prefer my life. Harmonious, I mean.

Harmony isn’t born of discord. It isn’t born of negativity, and I am always blown away by how many of us don’t have a clue how negative we are.

Here’s the tip-off: If I don’t feel good, I’ve got some negativity going on. If I pay attention, I may be aware of it, but chances are good that it’s unconscious thought being my party pooper.

Here is the most annoying thing about my negativity. It’s not your fault, it’s my responsibility. You can be a total jerk, but I have to choose to go down down down with it. Sometimes I really want it to be your fault. And no matter how much I blame you, it will never be true.

Okay, so here is one of my relatively new, dynamic, life-changing beliefs. I believe that part of what we are here for is to grow up. That suffering and misery are optional, and that becoming an adult means learning to grow past misery, past suffering. It doesn’t mean really icky stuff won’t happen, it means that I don’t take it personally, I don’t blame anyone, I am responsible for my feelings, and use them to tell me when I am on my good path or on my bad path.

I also believe that when I am feeling negative, nothing will ever change, and nothing will help. When I am feeling negative, you are an idiot or worse, and you don’t have to have done anything. I may feel punished when stuff happens because I take things personally.

When I am feeling negative, I am giving my personal power away right and left. I often can’t sleep because you drive me crazy. I look for things to go wrong, I discount things that go right, and it will never be enough, whatever it is.

Yikes.

Why do I choose to be positive? What makes me feel light? Why would I take responsibility for me?

Why am I good enough? What makes me okay? How am I clear?

How do I feel when I am peaceful? How do I feel when I surrender? How do I feel when I am relaxed?

What happens when you slow down a bit and really ask those Questions? How does your body feel different? What emotions are you having? Do you like it?

I have been making choices like this for a long time now. A lot of it was trial and error, and that’s one of the reasons I decided to write this stuff down, so you might find it easier. You deserve a nice life. You deserve some soul-happiness, and enjoyment. You deserve smiles that come from your heart.

How have I changed from seeking the cloud to rejoicing in the silver lining?

(c) Pam Guthrie 2014 all rights reserved 04042014

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Eat It

Eat It

There are few topics outside of politics and religion that are as frothy with opinions as what we should and shouldn’t consume. We have rules galore. We have dictums. We have medical professionals declaiming with great pomp. Nutritionists contradict each other, Major corporations want to do things to it, Governments like to regulate it. Gluttons chew it, Breatharians eschew it. Heh.

Our nourishment comes more from our minds than our outside.

This is not a popular opinion.

I don’t expect you to just say, “ok,” but rather, I want you to think about what you think about food.

Victor Frankl, the psychologist and concentration camp survivor, talks about his bread and water diet, and how amazed he was that people didn’t get sicker because of it.

Some people can drink alcohol and never be affected.

Some people eat tiny portions and gain weight, other eat huge portions and stay slim.

What do you think about what you think about food and drink?

Do you think some food is good and some food is bad? Or maybe some things to drink are wholesome and others toxic? Do you think that your nourishment is contingent on what you get around? Or could something else be going on?

Breatharians claim to obtain all their nourishment through breath. Taoist masters of documented great age are observed consuming a few herbs and maybe some tea in a day. Religions have a wide variety of rules and restrictions.

“You are what you eat” is an old saw, but it might be more accurately stated as, “You are what you think about what you eat.” It’s not as pithy.

We all have stuff. Some of us have stuff around food or drink. Bringing those topics to the surface can be profoundly life changing for us.

Imagine how your life would feel if everything you consumed was for the sheer joy of it.

How do you feel when you feel beautiful and attractive right now?

How do you feel when you feel healthy and clean right now?

How do you feel when you transmute all you consume to nourishment?

If we think of all food and drink as neutral, what happens to our beliefs. So much else in the world is all about our attitude, our beliefs, our judgments, it’s easy to see how food and drink can fit in here, too.

How have I changed from feeling rigid in my ideas about consumption to knowing I am always sustained?

(c) Pam Guthrie 2013 all rights reserved 12182013

Going Your Own Way

Going Your Own Way

Have you written your manifesto? I like the word because I like to feel like I am a good manifestrix.

A manifesto is a written statement of goals and beliefs, perfect for we who are cleaning up our acts.

To write my manifesto, I need to know some stuff. I need to know what my goals are. On the one hand, thinking about my goals can make me roll my eyes, I mean, really, free spirits don’t have goals, they just live! They let life unfold before them. They live in the moment. Except that if I don’t have a good idea of where I want to go, I’ll end up somewhere else, and maybe not where I wanna be.

What makes me decide what I want? Why do I choose? How do I know I have preferences?

Thinking about what I do want is so worthwhile in a bunch of ways. When I am clear on what I want, and what I don’t want, I can let go of what I don’t want and put my energies towards what I want.

A clear goal is specific. “I wanna be rich” is not specific. “I will own a million dollars by my birthday in 2018,” That is specific. It has a how much and a by when.

We can do the same with any goal, just make it specific, and be sure to include a by when time.

One of the other things I need to include in my manifesto is some of my beliefs. It is especially helpful to include here things that I want to believe, but maybe haven’t quite accepted yet.

A good place to start is with your Creative Questions card deck. Flip through your deck and notice  the questions  where you get a bump. These are the questions where you have some resistance, the ones you can do a little work on.

When you have your list of goals and beliefs, you are ready to write. Use pen and paper, not the computer, to start. Writing with a pen is a very organic tool to help get your whole system involved.

Do you have a theme you like to live by? Mine shifts around a bit, but the gist is this:

*I believe that each of us has within us our perfect self and our natural life. I see my work as providing a safe place for us to nurture our perfect selves and natural lives.

*I believe that happiness is a choice. I believe that peace is a choice. I believe that I have the power to choose.

*I choose to double my readership by April 2014.

*I choose to publish my ebooks by April 2014

*I choose to simplify my space by April 2014

(In case you didn’t guess, April is my birthday month. That’s a nice goals marker.)

There are a hundred websites that tell you how to write your manifesto. If you feel stuck, use them for inspiration.

If you want my help, message me.

How have I changed from drifting through my life to choosing my own way?

(c) Pam Guthrie 2013 all rights reserved 10312013

Believe You, Me!

Believe You, Me!

I am about to tell you a freaky fact. So take a good, calming breath and listen up: If I believe I am right, I am right.

I can only understand the world based on my experience. That means that I will believe and trust mislearnings, misinterpretations, misunderstandings and stuff that is just plain made up. I will also believe stuff that really is True.

That means it will be a challenge for me to separate the true stuff from the True stuff. It means I can be absolutely one hundred percent committed to things that are really not good, or really not true.

Scary, huh.

So here I am. I will think that I am right, or I will think that I am wrong. Both, curiously enough, are beliefs, not Truth.

So the first bit is that feeling wrong is just a feeling and I can change that in an instant: How do I feel when I am right?

The second bit is to open my mind to the possibility that maybe what I believe is wrong. If a believe doesn’t support my perfect self, it’s probably wrong. If a belief doesn’t support me supporting your perfect self, it’s probably wrong. If a belief leads me away from loving you, it’s probably wrong. If a belief leads me to negative, emotional judgments, violence, despair, hopelessness, disregard for me or you, disrespect for same, it’s probably wrong.

Are you seeing a pattern?  

We are amazing. Brilliant, creative, innovative, curious, the list goes on and on. We are fantastic storytellers, and we start telling ourselves stories from the time we are pre-language. “Once upon a time, this is how the world is.” And we buy it.

So now that we are grown ups, we can look at the stories we’ve told ourselves, about how wrong we are, about how we aren’t good enough, about being stupid, or lazy, or worthless. All those stories we told ourselves back in our own dark ages.

Now that we are grown ups, we can correct our crappy beliefs about life being horrible and hard, and that we have to suffer with poverty, or loneliness, or pain, or existential angst, victimhood or martyrdom.

Now that we are grown ups, we can resolve our emotional traumas. We can heal our spirits. We can choose to spend time with people who uplift us.

Now that we are grown ups, we can accept where we are and move on.

If it’s True, it’s True for everyone.

How have I changed from believing in my old stories to believing in the highest good?

(c) Pam Guthrie 2013 all rights reserved 08222013