Tag Archives: Chronic Pain

Energy Medicine: activating your “inner mom”

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“Once you choose hope, anything’s possible.” ~ Christopher Reeve

Today, we’ll look at simple ways to turn on your “inner mom” to help all your organs and energy systems work in a more harmonious and coordinated way.

This is the third article in my series on Energy Medicine.  If you haven’t done so already, you might want to take a look at Part One, an overview of Energy Medicine and the invisible energies that flow throughout your body.

In Part Two we explored Energy Medicine and the Immune System - allergies, autoimmune disease, chemical sensitivity and other immune dysfunctions.  We  learned that the triple warmer meridian - an energy pathway and one arm of the immune system – can be reprogrammed with  the self-help techniques of energy medicine to help it relax, be more discriminating, and back-off when other energy systems can kick in to do the job.

This series is based on the book Energy Medicine, Balancing Your Body’s Energies for Optimal Health, Joy, and Vitality by Donna Eden. [Just follow the link to learn more about Donna Eden.]

Activating your “inner mom”

Onto easy ways to kick-start the “radiant circuits” (strange flows) – another invisible energy system and the second arm of the immune system.  These circuits mobilize your “inner mom” to support, strengthen, and encourage all your organs and energy systems to work together like a closely-knit family.

Unlike the aggressive approach of the triple warmer meridian, the radiant circuits employ a strategy of cooperation. They quickly redistribute energies where they are most needed in light of whatever the body encounters.  Unlike meridians, the radiant circuits are not limited by specific pathways.

The spleen meridian is the leader of the radiant circuits, although like the Triple Warmer it’s also a meridian.  It is sometimes referred to as ‘spleen-pancreas’ because it corresponds roughly to the pancreas function in Western medicine rather than the function of the spleen.  The spleen-pancreas meridian greatly influences all aspects of digestive function.  According to Donna Eden, it is also “involved with the thymus, lymph, nodes, tonsils, and bone marrow and oversees the blood supply, metabolism, homeostasis, production of antibodies and the distribution of nourishment throughout the body.”

When the triple warmer is at war and the immune system has gone wacky, it conscripts energy from the spleen-pancreas meridian in particular, depleting the digestive functions and all the other activities listed above.  As you can see from a glance at the list, the magnitude of potential impact is enormous. It’s no wonder that people with overactive immune systems, often have digestive issues and acquire other co-occurring conditions.

Your chemistry follows your thoughts

Here’s the key point:

  • The spleen meridian and radiant circuits are greatly impacted by your thoughts, images, and beliefs - more so than any other energy system of the body.

Therefore, to strengthen the spleen-pancreas meridian, the other radiant circuits, and all the adversely effected functions listed above you simply need to speak to them with kindness, empathy, and understanding.

It’s true!  Your body chemistry follows your thoughts. Where you mind goes, the energy flows.

This is not hocus-pocus. Scientific research has repeatedly confirmed the beneficial effects of a positive, optimistic attitude on health and healing.  It has also documented the gains made from using visualization in the healing process.  And, all the ancient wisdom traditions of the world tell us that mind has a powerful effect on the body.

Here are just three scientifically demonstrated examples of the healing power of mind from Donna Eden’s book.  You can find many more in the research literature:

  • Cancer patients with “optimistic explanatory styles have a significantly greater survival rate than others whose styles were less optimistic.”
  • There’s a a heightened immune response after watching an inspiring film as opposed to violent one.
  • Humor reduces the physical impacts of stress.

Shower your body with empathy and understanding

There are many ways to shower your body with a positive, life-affirming force. These are a few mentioned by Donna Eden.

  • self-hypnosis
  • guided imagery affirmations
  • being in nature
  • laughter
  • pleasure and delight

In addition to several easy physical exercises for supporting the radiant circuits and improving health, Donna also provides the following exercises that use visualization and the imagination:

  • Sending joy through your body
  • Sending color through your body
  • Sending forgiveness through your body
  • Sending gratitude through your body

Take a moment to consider this – How do you feel when someone gives you love and appreciation? It almost always boosts your mood and energizes your body.  This is precisely how you turn on the radiant circuits:  with love, joy, appreciation, understanding, and positivity.

Let me be clear that this is not the same as saying that “illness is all in your head.”  Rather, it’s using the mind to heal the body.  A positive attitude is not necessarily a magic panacea on its own, but it can be a powerful element in any treatment program.

Illness comes about due to a complexity of reasons.  In the same way, healing often depends on the coming together of several different causes and conditions.  For some people, healing may occur quickly.  For others, it may take much longer.  There is no “right” way to heal.  There is just “your” own way – the route you discover on your own healing journey.  Physical healing is not always the outcome or even the main point.

The Triple Warmer – Spleen Archetype

Donna Eden believes that some of us are genetically predisposed to a Triple-Warmer-Spleen imbalance.  She says that “no energy pattern can yank a person around as much as a triple warmer-spleen imbalance.”  An overactive Triple Warmer robs the spleen of all the energy it needs to do it’s job:

“This throws off the balance in every other system of your body.  It ensures metabolic, chemical, and hormonal disarray.  It particularly affects the nervous and immune systems, and it leaves you with the feeling that you body’s reactions make no sense and that you are powerless to help yourself.”

She sees a triple warmer-spleen imbalance as responsible for:

  • food-cravings
  • a yo-yo weight situation
  • obsessive eating
  • anxiety
  • foggy thinking
  • mood swings
  • premenstrual syndrome
  • allergies
  • most autoimmune diseases
  • chemical sensitivities
  • recurrent infections

Let’s face it, modern medicine is somewhat at a loss when it comes to effectively addressing allergies, autoimmune conditions, and immune deficiency – all of which are dramatically increasing as our environment becomes more polluted.

But all is not hopeless! Amidst all the confusion and suffering, the explanations provided by Donna Eden are lucid and the tools she offers effective.  However, they are just one approach to Energy Medicine – there are many others for you to explore.

Energy Medicine is not a “quick-fix.” It requires patience, diligence, the courage to take responsibility for your own health, and the guts to work with your own mind and imagination.

It’s a whole new world of possibility and healing waiting to be discovered.

I would love to hear your thoughts about Energy Medicine and your own experiences.

Please be aware that I am not a medical practitioner nor offering medical advice.  I am only sharing research and information on approaches that have worked for me.  Also, I am not receiving compensation for recommending this book.

If you liked this article, please share the link with others.  Thanks very much! Sandra

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3 Enjoyable Stress Reducers

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Does life become more complex for you when September rolls around?

I know it does for me. But I plan to beat the stress before it beats me! You can too.

Here are three highly enjoyable and effective relaxation CD’s that I’ve personally used to dissolve stress. They are valuable elements in my stress first-aid kit.

1. Body Scan Meditation

The voice guiding you on this CD is Jon Kabat-Zinn, Professor Emeritus of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. He is also the founder of the medical school’s world-renowned Stress Reduction Clinic.  The clinic has helped thousands of people address the impact of stress especially in the context of illness and chronic pain.

The full CD set constitutes the core curriculum – called Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction – of the clinic. You can achieve the same benefits at home without having to travel miles to a stress reduction clinic.

“This is the first guided meditation program that people use in the Stress Reduction Clinic. The body scan is a closely guided journey through your body as you bring moment-to-moment awareness to every region in turn, starting with the toes of the left foot. It is done lying on your back if possible. Through regular practice, it can help you to enter and explore deep states of relaxation, become much more intimate and accepting of your body as it is, learn to work effectively with body sensations and feelings of discomfort and pain, and cultivate increasing powers of concentration (one-pointed attention) and mindfulness (a flexible, moment-to-moment, non-judging awareness).”

The Body Scan Meditation (45 minutes) is the first in a set of 4 CDs.  The set also includes:

  • CD 2: Mindful Yoga 1    45 minutes
  • CD 3: Sitting Meditation    45 minutes
  • CD 4: Mindful Yoga 2    45 minutes

These CD’s (also available in audio tape format) are meant to be used in conjunction with Dr. Kabat-Zinn’s book, Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain and Illness, which provides detailed instructions on all these topics. The CD’s are only available as a complete set for $30.00 and the set does not include the book.

Since I’ve only used the Body Scan Meditation, I can’t personally report on the entire series. However, I give a hearty thumbs up to the Body Scan Meditation and the book Full Catastrophe Living.

2.The Bone Dreaming Meditation

This CD features the beautiful voice of Gilles Marin, with his delightful French accent. Gilles is a long-time student of Taoist master Mantak Chia and Director of the Chi Nei Tsang Institute in Oakland, California.

The CD contains two different meditations – The Bone Dream Meditation and the Bone Breathing Meditation.  These gentle meditations originated in the Taoist monasteries of China thousands of years ago.  I’ve used the Bone Dreaming Meditation many times to help me successfully fall into a deep and replenishing sleep.  The Bone Dreaming Meditation is especially designed to:

“…induce sleep and/or a deep sense of relaxation. It is highly recommended for people with a high stress level, hypertension, breathing difficulties, joint and nerve pain, bone deterioration, low vitality, spastic muscles, etc., and anyone just wanting to be able to relax deeper and enjoy a more satisfying sleep without experiencing the side effects of drugs. This practice has a profound healing effect.”

The single CD with both meditations costs $15.

3. Sounds of Nature

If you search online for “sounds of nature” you will find a vast number of CD’s that feature a variety of nature sounds. Ocean waves, chirping frogs, tropical rainforests, thunderstorms, songbirds, Humpback whales, forest serenades – the options are almost unlimited.  They are all designed to help you relax into a more peaceful and serene state.

You can sample recordings online at Amazon or Target. You want to be sure that there are no potentially irritating sounds. For example, ocean waves may include gull sounds, which I don’t find relaxing at all.

Thunderstorms are my favorite.  Unlike the longer meditations above, the sounds of nature can be used for a short pick me up when you only have 10 or 15 minutes between activities.  It’s wonderful when we can get out into nature to experience it’s full range of benefits.  But since that’s not always possible, these CDs are a terrific alternative.

Costs varies from $6 – 15$

Chronic stress has many ill effects. I invite you to break the stress habit before it breaks you!

What’s in your stress first-aid kit this September?

[Note:  I don't receive compensation for recommending these items.]

If you liked this article, please share the link with others.  Thanks very much! Sandra

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Vibrant health through energy medicine

“…the next big frontier in medicine is energy medicine.” - Mehmet Oz, M. D.

Do you have an open mind?

If so, there’s no need to wait for the future.  All the benefits of energy medicine are available to you right now.

In fact, you can even practice Energy Medicine on your own – free of charge – to stay healthy or feel better if you are already ill.

This 3-part series on Energy Medicine will:

1. Introduce you to energy medicine - what it is and how it can help you with a wide range of physical and mental complaints.

Donna Eden’s book, Energy Medicine, Balancing Your Body’s Energies for Optimal Health, Joy, and Vitality is used as the basis for this series. There are many models of Energy Medicine – this is just one.

2. Take a look at the energy systems that impact immune function, according to the unique view presented by Eden.

3. Explore how Energy Medicine can help immune related conditions: auto-immune disorders, allergies, environmental sensitivities, chemical sensitivity, and immune-deficiency syndromes.

4. Discuss how to activate your “inner mom” to create more harmony and cooperation among your body energies.

Let’s move on to part 1, an introduction to Energy Medicine

Energy medicine – what’s that?

A flow of invisible, interconnected energies courses through and around your body day and night.  Like the wind cannot be seen but is surely felt, these subtle energies are not apparent to most people, but their impact is undeniable.

These energies include various combinations of:

  • electrical energies
  • electromagnetic energies
  • “subtle” energies

Illness occurs when energy flow in and around the body becomes obstructed.

Energy Medicine understands the body as this interconnected system of energies.  It works directly with the body’s energies to sustain health, prevent illness, and treat illness when it does occur.

A variety of modalities come within its purview.  These include using the hands and the energy that flows from them, tiny needles or fingertip pressure, movement and exercise, the mind and imagination, and others.  Even modern electromagnetic and imaging technologies can be seen in the context of energy medicine.

Invisible energy systems are the basis of many ancient healing arts including the traditional medical systems of China, Tibet, and India, the methods of acupuncture and acupressure, and exercises like Yoga, Tai Chi, and Chi Gong / Qigong.  There are many modern applications of energy medicine too – like Touch for Health.

Donna Eden explains:

“Energy medicine is the oldest, safest, most organic, most accessible, and most affordable medicine there is.”

You can learn and apply the principles of Energy Medicine on your own and at very little cost.

Or, you may choose to work with an Energy Medicine practitioner.  If you do so, self-care techniques remain important, especially to support the reversal of long-standing patterns.  Energy Medicine can be used to complement Western medicine or on its own.

Energy Medicine:  the book

Donna Eden’s book is acomprehensive guide to Energy Medicine.  It is so packed with useful information that I’m on my second read, and know I will return to it again and again.  It’s a self-help book that shows you how to apply the techniques of Energy Medicine to yourself or use them with a partner.

Fortunately, you don’t need to read the cover-to-cover.  As Donna points out, if you have chronic pain, you might want to go to directly to the chronic pain chapter.  If you are healthy, you may want to read just Part 1 to acquire an overview of Energy Medicine and learn a 5-minute daily energy routine to optimize your health.

The handy “How-to boxes” are like having an energy first-aid kit at your fingertips.

Donna’s book is divided into three sections.  Simply sharing the outline of the book’s contents, I hope, will give you a good feel for the breadth, depth, and potential of Energy Medicine and how it might help you.

Part 1 – Awakening the Two-Million-Year-Old Healer Within You

This section includes Donna’s background and story, an overview of Energy Medicine and energy testing, a simple 5-minute Daily Energy Routine to keep your energies “humming.”

Part 2 – The Anatomy of Your Energy Body

Donna reviews – in detail – nine energy systems existing within and around the body.  These include:

  • Meridians – your energy transportation system
  • Chakras – your body’s energy stations
  • Aura – contains your energy
  • Electrics – connect your energy systems with one another
  • Celtic weave – provides patterning that balances and strengthens your energies
  • The Basic Grid – provides their foundation
  • The Five Rhythms – the drummers to which you march
  • Triple Warmer – the energetic arms of your immune system, along with the  Radiant Circuits
  • Radiant Circuits – the energetic arms of your immune system, along with the Triple Warmer

Part 3  – Weaving It All Together

If that all seems like a lot, don’t worry.  Remember, you don’t need to read the entire book – you can zoom in on what’s useful for you.  Plus, in Part 3, Donna shows us how to weave it all together.

This section focuses on how to overcome illness and pain, including a step-by-step strategy for getting well and energy techniques for relieving pain. Donna also touches on optimizing electromagnetic environments and setting your habit field.

Energy Medicine how-to’s:

Interspersed throughout are 33 “How-to Boxes” – short, simple-to-use, practical guides that address an assortment of common body-mind complaints, for example:

  • How To Get Your Kids Out of Bed in the Morning
  • How To Release Neck and Shoulder Tension
  • How To Rid Yourself of an Allergy Headache
  • How to Overcome Digestive Problems
  • How to Keep Your Memory Sharp
  • How to Relieve Lower Back Pain
  • How to Feel Joyful More of the Time

Success depends on you

Energy Medicine is not a miracle cure – although miracles do occur in all systems of medicine.  It is an empowering and systematic way to work with the body’s energies to stay well or feel better.  I highly recommend this priceless self-help guide to anyone who is open to new possibilities.

Like all self-help approaches, its success lies in direct proportion to your own willingness, determination, and regular use of the techniques.  But the process doesn’t have to be full of struggle by any means!  These techniques are fun, empowering, and energizing.

Energy Medicine series:  part 2

In Part 2 of this series on Energy Medicine, I look at Donna’s approach to working with a wacky immune system and how this relates to auto-immune disorders, allergies, environmental sensitivities, chemical sensitivity, and immune-deficiency syndromes. I am fascinated by Donna’s unique presentation of the “energetic arms of the immune system” – which differs somewhat from the traditional interpretation in Chinese Medicine.

Please be aware that I am not a medical practitioner nor offering medical advice.  I am only sharing research and information on approaches that have worked for me.  Also, I am not receiving compensation for recommending this book.

If you liked this article, please share the link with others.  Thanks very much!  Sandra

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