Monthly Archive for October, 2011

M.E., Visualisation and Belief

It is one thing desiring to change our lives for the better but it is quite something else to believe that we can. It can be surprisingly difficult to ascertain exactly what we want.

I realised how difficult this can be when I tried a visualisation technique in which I had to imagine being alone in a theatre with the doors closed. I was to write the play of the rest of my life and I could create anything I wanted. At the time I was almost bed-ridden with M.E. I had three young children and life was very, very hard.

The more I thought about it, the more I realised that the idea of creating my own life was an astonishing concept that I didn’t believe I had much control over. We, in the Western world, have been brought up in a culture that tells us that things happen to you – you certainly don’t create your future for yourself.

Still, I was desperate so I closed my eyes and began.  The first change was obvious – I wanted to be healthy. Immediately, my sceptical mind butted in. If I hadn’t managed to rid myself of this ghastly condition for the past ten years then what made me think I would succeed now?

Within minutes, I was exhausted. I could barely concentrate long enough to clean my teeth let alone change my life. My mind went into freefall and I gave up.

It wasn’t until  I discovered the amazing properties of therapeutic sound that I gave myself another chance. Gradually, the sound tuned me back up again and I began to heal. Eventually, I realised that I could only create a new version of reality by envisioning it first. The crucial key, however, was the belief I had about myself. I had to change my beliefs that I was not good enough, valuable enough, worthy enough, lovable enough etc in order to change my experience.

As my beliefs transformed from negative to positive I, at last, began to experience the positive and become healthy again. Once I had regained my energy, I was able to continue re-fashioning my life and today my life is full of treasures and enjoyment.

I am living proof that ME is not the end of the road but the beginning. But you need to believe that you can get better.

As Henry Ford once said, “Whether you believe you can or you can’t, you are absolutely right.

Don’t despair if life is not all you would wish it to be. Let sound waves help you to rediscover your health and happiness. If it was possible for me then it can be possible for you too.

Chanting

During a trip to India back in 2001, I was perplexed by the sight of people sitting quietly by themselves, their lips moving silently as they ran beads through their fingers. It took me a long time to discover that they were chanting in Sanskrit.

Sanskrit is the most ancient language we still know and it is intriguing. Whereas our modern languages are languages of meaning, Sanskrit is a language of energy. For instance, in English, we ascribe meanings to each word we use. Trousers means trousers; a bird means a bird. In Sanskrit, each syllable changes energy around it. When we set an intention – e.g. to create better health or more abundance or a better relationship with our spouse, the intention combines with the Sanskrit to produce a powerful change in the energy around us.

Sometimes, if our intention and focus is strong enough, results can be immediate and seemingly miraculous. I remember chanting for a new harp. Three days later, someone offered me their harp!

Chanting in Sanskrit is an enormously powerful way of changing our lives. By deciding what we want, we can begin to carve our new futures for ourselves and take back control of our lives.

Sound and the Brain

Scientists are puzzled that the area of our brains devoted to sound and music is bigger than the area for language because there is no evolutionary need for sound. Actually, this may not be true. Sound and music have an enormous impact on our bodies and emotions.

Recently, I visited a concentration camp in the CzechRepublic. Because there are no words to express such horror, the experience plagued me until I listened to Gorezki’s Symphony of Sorrowful Songs. A Polish composer, he was only too familiar with having to live with the aftermath of Nazi atrocities. The music took me to a place in my brain which lay far beyond language and, at last, I was able to process the information and, in a strange way, begin to come to terms with experience.

In going beyond language, music can therefore help us with the extremes of emotional feeling, replacing words with sound so that we can find a way to integrate the extremes of human existence rather than being blocked by them.

October 2011 Newsletter

Meditation

Meditation? Come off it, we don’t have time. Let’s face it, we do everything we can to avoid meditation when the positive benefits are enormous. Yet numerous psychological studies have shown that regular meditators:

  •  Are happier and more contented
  • Live longer and healthier lives
  • Experience decreased anxiety, depression and irritability
  • Have improved memory, reaction time and physical stamina
  • Enjoy better and more fulfilling relationships
  • Experience less stress and hypertension
  • Have less chronic pain and cancer
  • Have fewer substance addictions
  • Have a better immune system

What is there not to love about this? And yet most of us will still find a way of not doing it. We’d far rather tumble out of bed, cram a piece of toast into our mouths and run out to the car.

And this is precisely the point. Our lifestyles are getting out of control. We are running everywhere so fast that we don’t have time for anything. Indeed, we are terrified of not being busy. If we are not doing anything then we might actually be forced to be. Yes, it’s true – we have officially stopped being human beings. We are now human doings.

(Give me a minute while I catch my breath…)

Does this mean, then, that we have found the secret of happiness? Sadly not. We are exhausted, burned out, unable to sleep, either overweight or underweight and definitely discontent.

So, just to debunk the “I don’t have time” excuse, just try this – sit straight in a chair, observe your breath and observe. Thoughts will drift in. The secret is not to judge them and to let them drift out again. And that’s all there is to it. Be gentle with yourself and never criticise. As soon as you find you’ve gone off with a thought, bring yourself gently back. And again. And again. And again.

All it takes is a minute. You can do it at the bus stop, in a shopping queue or before a meeting. You can even do it sitting in your car before you start the engine. Your journey will be calmer and a lot safer. Meditation gives you a home inside your body where you are safe, at peace and never criticised. You can retreat silently to that place whenever you need to and find what you need at that moment. As a result, your life becomes richer and more beautiful.

So try it. Practice lots of times and eventually you’ll get the hang of it. Then, you’ll never look back and, you never know, you might actually start enjoying your life again…

 

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