Article from the Daily OM, Nurturing Mind, Body and Spirit

September 17, 2009

Spreading Your Light

How You Affect Others Daily

As the pace and fullness [...]]]> The following article was forwarded to me by a special friend. The message is so powerful that I wanted to share it with you. Tell me what you think after reading it…

Article from the Daily OM, Nurturing Mind, Body and Spirit

September 17, 2009

Spreading Your Light

How You Affect Others Daily

As the pace and fullness of modern life serve to isolate us from one another, the contact we do share becomes vastly more significant. We unconsciously absorb each other’s energy, adopting the temperament of those with whom we share close quarters, and find ourselves changed after the briefest encounters. Everything we do or say has the potential to affect not only the individuals we live, work, and play with but also those we’ve just met. Though we may never know the impact we have had or the scope of our influence, accepting and understanding that our attitudes and choices will affect others can help us remember to conduct ourselves with grace at all times. When we seek always to be friendly, helpful, and responsive, we effortlessly create an atmosphere around ourselves that is both uplifting and inspiring.

Most people rarely give thought to the effect they have had or will have on others. When we take a few moments to contemplate how our individual modes of being affect the people we spend time with each day, we come one step closer to seeing ourselves through the eyes of others. By asking ourselves whether those we encounter walk away feeling appreciated, respected, and liked, we can heighten our awareness of the effect we ultimately have. Something as simple as a smile given freely can temporarily brighten a person’s entire world. Our value-driven conduct may inspire others to consider whether their own lives are reflective of their values. A word of advice can help others see life in an entirely new fashion. And small gestures of kindness can even prove to those embittered by the world that goodness still exists. By simply being ourselves, we influence other’s lives in both subtle and life-altering ways.

To ensure that the effect we have is positive, we must strive to stay true to ourselves while realizing that it is the demeanor we project and not the quality of our wondrous inner landscapes that people see. Thus, as we interact with others, how we behave can be as important as who we are. If we project our passion for life, our warmth, and our tolerance in our facial features, voice, and choice of words, every person who enters our circle of influence will leave our presence feeling at peace with themselves and with us. You never know whose life you are affecting, big or small. Try to remember this as you go out into the world each day.

Powerful thoughts, wouldn’t you say?

I did a Google search on “quality sleep” and got 350,000,000 hits. I searched on “sleep deprivation” and got 2,030,000 hits. So my assumption in writing this article is that you already know about the top medical, environmental, and behavioral causes of sleep deprivation and what [...]]]> By Jill Jones, Owner of Inspired Motives, LLC

I did a Google search on “quality sleep” and got 350,000,000 hits. I searched on “sleep deprivation” and got 2,030,000 hits. So my assumption in writing this article is that you already know about the top medical, environmental, and behavioral causes of sleep deprivation and what you can do to take corrective actions. And I assume you know the recommendation for adults is 7 to 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep for optimum health.

So my objective in this article is to provide insight on how to overcome a major sleep inhibitor that doesn’t seem to get as much attention…it is your attitude toward sleep and the habitual thoughts playing over and over in your head. Have you ever thought about how you view sleep?
Did you realize that healthy sleep time is one third of your adult life?

When I came to that realization several years ago I decided to take charge of my sleep and use sleep time to my advantage. I understood that our conscious mind, or thinking mind, is the part that requires rest. And our unconscious mind, the part that dreams and holds our memories and creativity and runs our body, will continue its activity 24 hours a day; it never sleeps.

With practice I learned to let my conscious mind drift off to sleep and tap into the creativity and imagination of my unconscious mind to solve problems, generate new ideas, heal my body, and motivate myself to do things like exercise or walk the dog…the list goes on and on. Now this is exciting! I could go to bed at night and tell my unconscious mind what I wanted it to work on. Then sometime during the day I would typically get the response I wanted. New, creative ideas would pop into my head or I would get a unique solution to a problem in my thoughts. Believe me, it works and it is that simple!

Okay, I admit it may take a few attempts to find a technique that will relax the conscious mind and allow it to go to sleep, particularly if you have a major stress happening. Habitual thoughts are usually replaying past events or imagining what will happen in the future. So you want to give your thinking mind something pleasant to focus on in the present.

That is an individual preference and includes things like listening to calming music or a guided imagery cd, praying, meditation, reading a relaxing book, writing in your journal, imagining a healing light moving through your body relaxing each muscle group, or visualizing yourself in an inspiring natural setting feeling content and peaceful.

I believe that creating a pattern of quality sleep is an individual responsibility and must become a priority. Above and beyond the normal health reasons we have an opportunity to use this time, one third of our life, to become masters of ourselves and achieve great things. That’s my view.

Jill Jones, Certified Hypnotherapist and NLP Practitioner
Inspired Motives, LLC
231 West Giaconda Way #133, Tucson, AZ
797-6907
www.inspiredmotives.com

However, I did [...]]]> Curiously enough, I too have asked myself that exact question almost everyday since taking my first class back in March, 2008. I had no clue what HT was when I arrived at that faithful class. Besides being clueless, my background was construction not alternative therapies and I thought…are YOU nuts?

However, I did have this uncanny drive to be there. I’m sure you’ve experienced similar feelings when something deep down inside of you says…YOU will attend! That’s hard to argue with, isn’t it?

I couldn’t argue with my inner voice, thank goodness, and here I am several months later doing what I was uncannily driven to do.

My first client, brave soul, was my mother-in-law. She had had her right shoulder operated on a week prior to my first class. She was in pain, tired, and just plain worn out. I expressed that I had learned a few things in class that might be beneficial and she agreed to give HT and a green student a chance. The treatment went extremely well, she was able to relax and slept well that night. The next morning was the shocker! She was a completely different person, she was radiant, relaxed and almost pain free, plus she said she felt great. It was a done deal for me…when is the next class!

That is only one example of the power of Healing Touch. The other side of the story is how incredible it made me feel to be able to help her. I recently completed my last required HT class to become a HT Practitioner. During that class many of the students shared their mission statements and I did not have one to share. After returning home, from class, I realized the importance of those statements and I put pen to paper to write my own. The following is my mission statement:

“To create a loving and joyful space that allows each guest to relax, become one with their true self, as they honor their whole being.”

In a nutshell, that’s “Why Healing Touch” is for me. It allows me to help relax, rejuvenate, inspire, and teach others the importance of honoring themselves. My mentor, Lynne Jeffrey, sees her work as a dance between art and science to facilitate the clients ability to self heal. I’m here to tell you, it is a beautiful dance…Shall we dance?

Have an enchanting day!
Brenda

By [...]]]> My intention for this blog is to share information that relates to Healing Touch, energy therapies and other similar modalities or interests.

First on the agenda, I’d like to share an article that was published in the AZ Daliy Star on Sunday 25, 2009. Please read this article and post your comments.

Oversight elusive in alternative-healing sphere

By Tim Steller

Arizona Daily Star

Tucson, Arizona | Published: 10.25.2009

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Arizona has no shaman licensing board, no reiki review center and no sweat-lodge inspection department.

That means that in Tucson’s booming alternative-healing sector, the practitioners operate in a largely unregulated environment.

For customers, word of mouth, the Internet and the free market tend to guide their decisions about whom to see for sessions that can cost $100 or more per hour, local practitioners said. If something goes wrong, the practitioner won’t have a license revoked, but customers can take some recourse by voting with their feet, spreading their opinion, complaining to the Better Business Bureau, or in extreme cases, filing a civil lawsuit.

Perhaps the most extreme case of something going wrong happened in a crowded sweat lodge near Sedona on Oct. 8, leading to the deaths of three people and injuries to about 20 others.

Sidney Spencer of the Patagonia area was one of the people in the lodge during the multiday Spiritual Warrior seminar led by James Arthur Ray, said her attorney, Ted Schmidt. She is recovering in Tucson after suffering what appears to be neurological problems from the two-hour sweat lodge session, Schmidt said.

Schmidt could not envision a regulatory structure that would work for the variety of practitioners working today, he said.

“You could single out sweat lodges and say, ‘Let’s establish licensure regulations for running a sweat lodge,’ but there are so many other activities that these shamans and such do, that it’s hard to imagine licensure for all the different activities that they do,” he said.

A few alternative approaches are licensed: Acupuncturists, massage therapists, naturopathic physicians, homeopathic physicians and chiropractors all have state boards regulating their practices.

But the unregulated alternative healing methods available in Tucson are numerous. There are shamans, energy workers, sound healers, reiki practitioners, life coaches, and medicine men and women, among many others. And healers’ services are available in places ranging from small home offices to large wellness resorts like Miraval Life in Balance.

“Tucson is quite a spiritual mecca,” said Nancy Newton, who opened A Wild Purple Ranch and Retreat on the northwest side last year. “When I got to Tucson (in 2001), I knew it was going to be a place for me to become spiritual.”

Some Tucson practitioners bridge the unregulated and regulated worlds: Lynne Namka is a licensed psychologist using mainstream approaches such as cognitive behavioral therapy, but she also maintains a practice as a shaman carrying out “soul extractions” and other alternative activities.

To stay in good standing with the Arizona Board of Psychologist Examiners, Namka keeps the two activities separate, she said. She has one Web site, Tucsonshaman.com, for her alternative practice, and another, Angriesout.com, for her psychological practice. She has separate fee structures for the two activities, and she only files insurance claims for her psychological practice.

Training emphasized

In an industry without broadly enforced standards, practitioners work to highlight the validity of their training. Often that comes in the form of abbreviations after their written names that can be hard for the untrained eye to discern.

“CSP,” for example, stands for Certified Shamanic Practitioner. “CHTP” means Certified Healing Touch Practitioner.

“We’re such a degree and certification-based society,” said Tamra RowlandZaher, a certified shamanic practitioner in Tucson, explaining why people use the titles. “You’re talking about an area where people are using their gifts.”

On the Web site of Newton’s ranch, she spells out her qualifications in more direct words: “Nancy Newton is an adopted medicine woman of the Nemenhah Tribe.”

The Nemenhah band, as leader Philip “Cloudpiler” Landis calls it, is not a federally recognized tribe. Rather, Landis said, it is a branch of a Native American church. Using that status, Landis offers “spiritual adoption” in exchange for a donation.

Through this adoption process, he explained, the adoptee can become a medicine man or woman and be protected by the Native American Freedom of Expression and Religion Act, or NAFERA. As part of the adoption, the Nemenhah Web site says, the adoptee takes part in a “Sacred Giveaway” in which they make an “offering” of $250 at the outset, and $100 per year thereafter.

But some question the legitimacy of Landis, the Nemenhah and the titles he bestows, which also include “principal stone carrier.” One critic is Al Carroll, who operates the Web site Newagefraud.com.

Asked whether being a Nemenhah medicine woman would protect a person under the act, Carroll wrote: “No. I doubt any lawyer would argue that either. Legally, Indian is a legal term that only applies to those enrolled in a federally recognized tribe.”

Word of mouth referral

Alternative practitioners say many of their clients come to them through word of mouth, referred by friends who have benefited from seeing the practitioner. RowlandZaher said she only takes new clients by referral these days.

Some clients find practitioners by attending fairs and open houses that happen occasionally and are attended by a variety of practitioners, said Newton. Her ranch and retreat has hosted several such fairs to show people the services the ranch and its main healer, Darrell Hicks, offer.

She and others suggested that potential clients use their intuition — an important power for many alternative healers — in deciding whether to go with a given practitioner. Then afterwards, they can judge whether they got what they wanted.

It may not be easy to argue with a practitioner that your chakras weren’t properly balanced, but it is possible to file a complaint if an agreement or contract isn’t followed, said Nick Lafleur of the Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona.

“If they came to us with a complaint, we’d contact the business and mediate so that both sides reach some kind of understanding,” Lafleur said.

In the case of a greater problem, such as sexual abuse or fraud, attorney Schmidt said, that’s what county prosecutors and the Arizona Attorney General’s Office are for.

Contact reporter Tim Steller at 807-8427 or tsteller@azstarnet.com