Autumn Musing

As Autumn nears, or in some cases fully arrives, our thoughts turn to the end of summer, the last baseball game, football, marching band, ice hockey, a pot of chili (beef, pork or vegetarian) and preparing for winter. Even though the days of stocking up the cellar with summer's bounty is long gone for most of us, our bodies seem to remember that time. We knit, we make stew, we start to think about home made goods for friends and family, and, if we're lucky, we start to plan for seeing family and friends over the holidays which will arrive all too quickly. As we settle into our afghans in the evening, possibly in front of a fireplace, it's a really great time to go to the heart. Even for those of us in Florida who are experiencing 50s at night--hurray for winter!--there's a feeling of going deep and feeling love, anticipation and even some old warm memories.

The heart is a multi-faceted beautifully energetic space, as I've talked about in earlier blogs. This is a time to open to our feelings and emotions and make an effort to forgive old wounds (and wounders) and be grateful for those in our lives that come to us with their whole hearts. As we've also talked about, forgiving is not for others, nor is it about forgetting. Forgiving is for us. It's the leaves falling off our blame tree, making room for the blossoms of Spring. Gratitude is one of the healthiest emotions possible. The more gratitude we hold in our hearts, the healthier our hearts become. Keep a journal by your bed, and every morning when you wake write down one or several things you're grateful for and why. Before bed, review your day and do the same thing. Note when you have been able to forgive or accept someone in the day who is different, annoying, or even "in your face." Use your heart's empathy to know they are in a bad place if they are acting badly. Don't make an effort to spend more time with people who affect your energy in a negative way, but do forgive it so that you don't carry it around in YOUR body. I wish everyone a wonderful season of introspection ( sort of like mulching a tree) that will lead to a new year of positive blooming. You have the skills, the energy and the motivation to birth a new you. In love, Therese

CHANGING STRESSING TO BLESSING!

Stress--it's all around us! Inside with our worries about money, family, health and outside with the daily trauma of the news about floods, earthquakes, tornadoes, war and rape in the military, Africa, the streets and homes of America and even in the Peace Corps! Acts of violence and the faces of those violated. Is it any wonder we are traumatized by stress? Do we add to it by the daily ingestion of reality television outside the news? What about shows with the "housewives of..."--you name the city; bridezillas; women and men attacking one another; shows that grow more violent every year as our appetite for them increases? Are the choices we're making causing our stress load, and thus our diseases and behaviors? The latest statistical data says it's so. So what can we do about it? First of all, it's important to know that our brain CANNOT TELL THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN REAL AND IMAGINED PAIN AND ANGER! If we are watching something violent and our body reacts to it, the body is releasing a chemical stew of toxins like adrenaline and cortisol into the body that tells it we're being attacked. All of our nerves and messengers believe we are in danger and respond accordingly, sending us into fight or flight. This happens to us multiple times a day. These chemicals break down the health of the body. On the other side, when we are receiving, or having a memory of receiving, love, care, appreciation and kind touch, endorphins (good chemicals) are released that make our bodies feel good. These chemical baths lead to healthy bodies. What we can do is experience the good stuff throughout the day instead of the bad stuff.

How often do you talk to those you love--face to face or voice to voice, not through FB or email? How often do you say "I miss you; I love you; let's get together"? How often do you touch another human or animal with affection? All of these are healthy, healing parts of life.

Here's a tip: Every day, several times a day, breathe into your heart and remember a time when you were loved, appreciated or just plain contented. Breathe this memory into your body, and your body will respond as if it's happening in the present moment. Do this consistently, and you'll feel your shoulders drop and your chest relax as you are going into a meeting or just facing a stack of papers on your desk. It's so easy and so amazingly affective. The AMA reports, and ABC news followed up on the fact, that meditation is the one and only effective relief for stress. What I just gave you is a form of meditation. It doesn't have to be hard. It doesn't have to involve a class or a pillow--just you and your heart. May both of you thrive in love. I'd appreciate hearing from you! Therese www.IsisInstitute.org

Love or Lust?

This, my friends, is a true musing. My dictionary say of musing; absorbed in thought; contemplative. Ah, so what could I be musing on that would stop you from doing what you’re doing—scrolling? writing?—and tune in to me? I hope it could be because I’ve had a breakthrough of sorts. I’ve been in an amazing eight week course and connecting with some of the wisest, funniest, most creative women on the planet. I began with “wisdom envy” and as we come close the end of the course, I have nothing but gratitude. It is so good for us to notice how connected we are in a world that tries desperately to divide us. I have written in the past, for those who are long time readers, about “us” VS “them”, but it was more than that. It was “You are alone here. Get used to it!” What I have learned in the past weeks is that we are connected in so many ways that I have to laugh at anytime I felt alone, and chalk it up to inexperience. Well, that’s not exactly it. I think I fell for the “Lonely Crowd” hype, one reason one should only go to college after 50! Those somber grey headed men I took classes from are partially responsible for the huge growth in people running to therapy in the 60s. Of course there were other contributing factors, but I remember being so depressed by the sociologically supported data that showed we were a world of lonely people unable to connect. I think these feelings of loneliness contributed to the marriage machine that sent co-eds off the deep end when a date turned out to be just that—a date. What? No proposal? Off we went, desperately seeking what? My guess is company, locked in for a lifetime, guaranteed. (Remember, these were the days when a man couldn’t run for president if he was divorced!) Now I don’t discount the lust/love factor. Many of us have tried to separate those two, but unless you were one of the amazing few who met their true soul mate at 17, lust was a contributing factor. Feelings not felt before; weakness in various body parts; the pitter-pat of the heart as “HE” rounded the corner; the electricity when his hand touched yours. What could this be but love? Well, these days, anyone 14 and over can explain the chemical formula. And yet, young women are still afraid to bond with other women because they are the competition and they can’t be trusted. I wish I could create a pill that would let them taste the beauty of women connected through energy and compassion. The true miracle is when friendship, respect and yes, love, arise in moments and last—however long they last. Feeling the support of others who have never met you but pledge to be part of the net of your life is not a chemical charge; it’s a gift that raises one to the heights of gratitude times ten. I have been given that gift from 1000 women spread across the globe, connecting on the website, e-mail and phone. I have been given the gift of understanding technology. When we connect through our writing or speaking our hearts, with no fear of judgment and no competition, it is a high equal to—well, whatever you consider a high. The sense of cooperation and the desire to help each other reach our highest potential through our passions is something I’ve only experienced once or twice in my life. I have been thinking about it a lot, and my musing led me to you. I send you each love, compassion, respect and support as you live your life.