Body

Mind + Body + Spirit = YOU So another blog about healing…why not! 🙂 I’m captivated about stories of old where spiritual advisers were also physical healers and psychologists – it was all one science, one approach, and one way to be ‘whole and healthy’. In my own meandering way, I have made that idea my life’s work. The definition of ‘Holistic’ according to the Miriam Webster dictionary is: “relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts; holistic medicine attempts to treat both the mind and the body”  It’s a word and a concept that is much bandied about these days, however I feel that this definition has been lost in the practice a little.  To me (and to Miriam it seems) addressing the whole is treating mind and body together – rather than simply using an ‘holistic approach’ that is by and large, still reductionist in application, but using something other than pharmaceuticals. So often these days we hear or see of ‘this one thing’ that will fix all that ails us. One exercise, one herb, one oil, one vitamin, one practice. Self compassion is a wonderful tool, but we can’t self-compassion our way out of everything. Sometimes it takes a different strategy. So for me, ‘healing holistically’ speaks to the ability, the potential, the skills and the knowledge to take it all on, and by that I mean, being as the healers of old, and willing to improve the functioning of the mind (through mental alchemy), as well as the body. And going further still – I believe the spiritual self also needs to be activated and part of the process! This may mean working with the energetic body, or it could also mean activating the soul mind and spirit to assist in the healing process. This holistic (or whole-istic) approach is so important. The further we go with the science of brain and body, in addition to mind and vibration – we can truly start to see that we sell ourselves short if we try to look for one cause or one remedy. Give yourself some credit – you are far more complex than this reductionist view. Everything impacts everything else… Mind is the light, the builder, and the bridge between spirit and body… Edgar Cayce To address the physical self we must also approach the mind, as every thought we have causes a cascade of chemistry to be released in the body (yep, you have your own little pharmacy going on up top there). So the mind interfaces with this beautiful world through an organic structure – the brain. This is exciting, as it means that through intention, thought and will, we can use mind to release particular chemistry that can help us to be balanced, strengthened, relaxed and restored! This is how mind can aid in the recovery of the body, as well as in recovery from brain states such as anxiety, depression and other unhelpful psychological experiences. The physical body though, is of the Earth, and so often needs physical remedies (in addition to assistance from our mind). In his over 9,000 psychic readings on physical health conditions, Edgar Cayce would often direct people to passages in the Bible to assist with healing, stating (and I’m paraphrasing) – ‘you have to get your head in the right place first’. These passages often spoke of love, acceptance, forgiveness etc. So, before getting deep into the physiology of the body, he went to mind. In my own practice, I also find this so helpful, because now we are reaching out to the higher parts of ourselves, we are reaching out to our soul – our spiritual self to give us the strength of heart and direction of mind to send the right kind of chemistry flooding through our system. Mind yes, but we working through the brain to impact the physical. And what of the spirit? That which imbues every aspect of our existence… When we truly learn to open up to this energy – it becomes impossible to deny. It goes from being a nice idea, or something we better take account of because we’re just not sure what is coming next – to that which causes us to tingle, takes our breath away, makes us giddy and moves our heart to sing. That universal force or creative energy or vibration – moving through every cell, every colour, every sound, every emotion, every thought…. every experience… every moment. So we employ practices and strategies to heal and attune our whole mind-body-spirit complex. This doesn’t need to be overwhelming or over-complicated. Is it ambitious though? Absolutely. But how can it be otherwise? How can we do it any other way and have real and lasting change. Real and lasting growth. More and more therapists are coming online with multiple modalities in their tool kit, and this is fabulous. For me, my gathering of skills has included (from physical to energetic) nursing, herbalism, psychology, spiritual mentorship and dowsing of energies. I love science and I love mysticism. Even my practice of Psychology is now more openly spiritual or mystical, particularly as I lean more into the study of Hermeticism. I have always had a touch of the Alchemist about me though – which is why I love my herbs. And there again, I have always loved to add the practice of dowsing or divining to the development of my herbal formulas. It is all one science at the end of the day – the science of life, the science of energy. We are spirit, we are mind, and we are body. Let’s embrace that and start acting like ‘it’s a thing’. If you’re interested to learn more about my ‘holistic’ therapeutic’ offerings – here’s a link to my Signature Therapies page. #soulutiontherapy #signitureprograms #integrative therapy

  Know Thyself It is so important to understand how the mind and the body play together in states such as Anxiety. And to ‘Know Thyself’ is the first step to taking your power back, because let’s face it – we are often left feeling powerless in the face of this really powerful chemical cascade. And it is a cascade, which occurs with every single thought we have – all being released into your body. Every single thought. Anxiety happens in the mind, but it is experienced in the body… As you think, so you are. So this post goes to understanding the process of anxiety in your body. Why is this important? Because knowledge is power, and empowering. There is nothing worse than feeling out of control – and that is exactly how you feel when ‘anxiety’ kicks in! By the time it’s in your body though, it’s a helluva lot harder to do anything about it! 🙁 That’s why it’s important to learn about the process of Anxiety, so that the work can happen in those ‘inbetweensy’ times – as that, my friends, is where the difference is made! This part of therapy is normally referred to as ‘psychoeducation’ – and it’s where I always begin. Here’s why: 1) Understanding takes away the fear and helps prevent one of the biggest traps of Anxiety – getting anxious about feeling anxious! That just confuses the whole thing even more… 2) You can see how different practices and processes (often called interventions) fit in. It all just makes a bit more sense, and helps you have the ‘conviction of your courage’, as well as the courage of your conviction to dump anxiety. Well, to dump the unnecessary and unhelpful anxiety, because sometimes it shows up for good reason! So let’s dig a little deeper 🙂 Sun and Moon At the most basic level what we’re talking about is the ‘fight, flight and fear response’, or sympathetic arousal. There are lots of people talking about this now (Joe Dispenza is a good one) – so its an easy one to get more information on. What we have here though is not a textbook, it’s a blog post, so here it is as I tell it in counselling… The fight and flight response takes place in the Autonomic Nervous System. The Autonomic Nervous System has two aspects to it, like most things in our experience they can be seen as opposing forces that need to be held in balance – Yin Yang kind of stuff The two parts are known as the Sympathetic (S) and the Parasympathetic (PS) Nervous System One gets you up and going (S), the other (PS) calms you down. When I was nursing many moons ago the PS system was simply referred to as the ‘resting and digesting’ system. And that’s exactly what it does – helps you relax so that so that you can eat and sleep, rather than stress and pace when the whole thing is out of balance! I like to refer to these two arms of the Autonomic system as Sun (S) and Moon (PS); so when you are in a state of Anxiousness – or sympathetic arousal – it’s like your out in the sun for too long – you start to feel a bit burnt out. How does this happen? As stated earlier, it is mostly triggered by thinking – which is impacted by emotions and memories – however it can also be as simple as ‘you’re mind telling you crap’. Just because you think something, doesn’t mean it’s true. This is why we need to challenge our thoughts from time to time. So, when we have a ‘negative’ thought (judgemental, catastrophising, self critical etc etc),  it gives our brain the idea that there’s something not quite right in our world, and we need help to deal with it. This happens next… It responds by pumping out adrenaline and cortisol to help us deal with a perceived threat – but we could be just sitting on the lounge thinking about stepping out the front door! When this happens on a daily basis, it builds up in the system and we get to a point where we just tip over into ‘flight and fight’ mode, really really easily. And what does this system do? Prepares us to fight or to flee, so that’s what we feel like doing! A part of our brain yells – ‘there’s trouble afoot! quick – get ready to run!’ Sound familiar? We get agitated or aggressive, or alternatively, avoid… run away, and hide. Sometimes behind closed doors, sometimes behind the couch, sometimes in the bedroom, sometimes under the bed! With a bottle of Whiskey… cause that might help (not). And while this might sound silly – I’ve been in that exact space 🙁 Shifting Energies Understanding this process better also helps us to understand that some practices will encourage the sun to set (just have a rest buddy), while others are all about bringing up the moon! For eg: Cognitive therapy changes your self-talk and therefore the chemistry you release, effectively bringing down the sun (sympathetic arousal); breathe work (oh so powerful) will help to raise up the moon. When you get a handle on the physiology behind this, you start to find your own ways to break into it and make a difference. This ‘difference’ can be felt as a shift in perspective, a shift in how your body feels, or even a shift in your energy body… Yep, our thoughts have a huge impact on our vibrations! So, start to ‘know thyself’ better 🙂 While this is a very basic introduction to what can seem a complicated process – you don’t need to understand it for the changes to happen! Be compassionate, rather than self critical, and for now, simply breathe with intention 😉 And feel free to ask some questions! Finally, it’s important to understand that while ‘awareness’ is important – it’s not the...

YOUR SOUL ESSENCE COLORS * CRYSTALS * CHAKRAS * TONES I’ve been reading a lot about the Solfeggio frequencies of late, and their use in healing. The Solfeggio frequencies make up the ancient 6-tone musical scale. They’re used in sacred music (such as the Gregorian Chants), and the tones are also believed to impart spiritual blessings when sung in harmony. Each Solfeggio tone is comprised of a frequency which balances your vibrational energy, keeping your body, mind and spirit in greater alignment. According to Edgar Cayce, we each resonate to a particular frequency depending on our level of evolvement and the gifts we want to utilise in this life experience, and he often recommended people listen (or chant) to certain Solfeggio notes or tones to assist with greater attunement, however he also recommended some be avoided! If you understand your particular resonance point, and work with that specific tone, it will assist in bringing previous knowledge and skills gained in past life experiences – into greater conscious awareness through your chakra system. So you can use those gifts now. In talking about the Solfeggio tones in healing Cayce often referred to the do re mi scale… so, while there is an abundance of information available on these frequencies, and a vast array of music that you can download – you can hear more of these beautiful tones in the wonderful Julie Andrew’s version of Do Re Mi from The Sound of Music. Vibrational assists We have much more than the vibration of music to play with though! In very broad terms, Cayce taught us (while in a trance state) that if we become more aware of our particular vibrational point of resonance, we can use this knowledge to surround ourselves with the right kind of energies. This includes the energy of music as noted above, however it also includes the energy of crystals, color and scent. Playing around with this idea, I created a ‘Soul Essence Report’, using the Cayce material as a jumping off point. I then  drew on color psychology, crystals, chakras, and the latest research on the vibration of thought and word (see Dr Emotos’ work for more on this). Well, it’s great to have that kind of information, however how to discover which energies are right for us? We attune to our higher self, our intuition, and see if we can find the answers there. For me, I do this through the divining of energies using a pendulum. I find this very exciting as this is how we can make our intuition an observable force! I’ve spent many years (ok, decades) divining (or dowsing) the various energies of ‘things’…(crystals, water, plants, plant remedies etc.), so I was able to identify an someone’s individual Point of Resonance, and then use this knowledge to match their vibrations to the ones that would support them most. Going further, I dowsed the health of each chakra, and identified specific vibrational assists that could be used to cleanse, open and attune each of the spiritual centres – opening them up for more goodness to flow through. I was able to identify which colors, notes, and crystals a person could attune to for enhanced spiritual growth and overall well-being (mind, body, soul). My work has taken me in different areas now, however I still find it a fascinating story – a story of energies. And when you walk around each day with the right kind of energies in your home, you experience that same sense of bliss that you feel when you are by the ocean or in the forest. Perhaps a workshop is in the making 🙂 #solfeggiotones #chakras #colormyworld  #crystalpower  

Why you should pick up the pendulum I have used dowsing as part of my practice, and part of my life really, for more than 20 years now. I was first introduced to the art of dowsing when spending time in the gem fields of Nth West Queensland Australia, areas known as Sapphire, Rubyvale and Emerald (what’s not to love there!). It was affectionately known as ‘The Gemmies’ to my parents, who went there every winter for around 10 years, to dig for sapphires. I spent a couple of winters with them the first few years of my son’s life and while I was up there I met some very special people – characters all 🙂 One of whom taught me the art of dowsing. He grabbed a couple of copper rods one day and said simply, ‘lets see how you go’… and, well… I went good 🙂 I left it alone for a few years; then when studying herbal medicine I worked in a wonderful little ‘new age’ book shop. This is where I first came across books on ‘dowsing'(otherwise known as divining). New Age stores were very popular back then and what fabulous places they were – all full of spiritual texts, crystals, essential oils, flower essences and so much more. The first instruction was to find a pendulum (something heavy(ish) that hangs on a string or cord or chain or whatever), and ask it to show you a yes, and then to show you a no. I simply used what was hanging around my neck… and it just kinda took off! This was pretty special to me, as my pendulum of choice was a beautiful sapphire crystal, sometimes called a ‘dogs tooth sapphire’, that my wonderful mother had dug out of the earth herself, and gifted to me many years before. Joy. I still have it. And it’s very powerful. Intention and detached awareness So what have I found out about the art of dowsing since then? A number of things over the years, such as – do not ask it if you are going to meet the man of your dreams this week (or any time soon)! It loves to play games, and intention is everything. I’ve learnt that if I use it to assist with the development of healing protocols, the wisdom and depth of information that is able to be teased out is nothing short of astounding. (You might now be asking – what exactly is this ‘it’ you’re referring to? More on that later). When using the pendulum to assist in dowsing up herbal formulations, it’s important to understand that I use it in combination with 4 years of formal study and many years of experience! If something is contra-indicated, I’ll know about it. Beyond that, it offers true beauty as it’s able to see far beyond my current understanding. You may have heard me say this before, but I’m going to say it again… I see it as drawing together specific notes to create a beautiful piece of music to enhance the health of the individual person (body & mind) that I am working with. I start by choosing indicated remedies according to my training, however for each specific organ system there can be up to 6 or more herbs indicated. So when this is combined with other remedies for other organ systems that may need addressing, there are quite a few combinations on offer! This is the art of herbal prescribing. For me, dowsing first broadens the potential herbs that can be considered (as generally you only want 5-7 herbs in your formulation to maintain potency), before fine tuning the remedy into something that is absolutely specific for the individual I am treating. You can learn more about this on my therapies page. There is much, much more that can be done here, such as working from a diagnostic perspective… but that’s beyond the scope of this blog 🙂 I believe that working from this place of science based learning and intuited understanding, allows me to ‘SEE’ (Science, Energy and Empirical knowledge) so much more… Dowsing basics to get you going I also use various crystals to dowse and cleanse chakras, however there are many simple day-to-day uses as well. A very simple one is to place an item (anything and everything from crystals and jewellery… to food, vitamins and even books!) next to your hand, and then dowse the two. For me, it will look like this (and I say ‘look’ as I bear witness and learn so much about what this is while dowsing)… the pendulum will arc and encircle your hand and the item while it reads it, then it drops for a moment. After that, it will either circle and encompass the two again, indicating that the item is ‘good’ for you to take into your mind-body system, or if there is no value (or if it is detrimental) – then it will divide the two with a straight up and down motion. You can also use it to ‘read’ any ad or piece of information to determine the value of it ‘for you’. And of course, the most obvious one is to use it to answer a question, however this is not my forte when it comes to the pendulum. I’m more a dowser of energies. Start with finding what your ‘yes’ and ‘no’ looks like… to do this just ask it. Always remember though, that the potential for healing and insight offered will be matched by your intention, as well as the depth of your intention. Work with your values and ground yourself in your ideals, and keep your heart and mind pure – or at least working toward that place 🙂 Shhh – secret dowsing business Another very special thing that I have discovered along the way, that I have not found in any of the literature, is that if you place your left hand over your brow chakra while dowsing (divining), it...

Everything is vibration… You may have heard that right? Everyone seems to be saying it right now 🙂 Did you know though, that the ancient Mystery Schools of Egypt have been teaching this exact information for over 3 thousand years! So we are now in a period of time when we are re-discovering this old knowledge ‘en masse’. More importantly, we are ready to take this knowledge on again, and create something spectacular – our Divine Selves. It’s heartening to know however, that ancient ‘metaphysical knowing’ is being backed up by the latest understandings in science (think Quantum Physics). I see this as the ‘conviction of our courage’. In other words, all of the spiritual, metaphysical and mind mapping principles that are being espoused right now help in giving us the ‘courage’, however the more we actually believe in these truths, the more ‘convicted’ we can become. So what has this to do with Dowsing? Simply put – dowsing is working with energy, with the vibratory energies of anything you can imagine in your mind, anything you can hold in your hand, and anything you can consume… and then some! It’s a very interesting phenomena, and one that can go far deeper that many other forms of energetic practice. It can be as simple as asking a yes/no question; or as deep as working with the vibrational codes that exist in the etheric forces around us, as well as those within our very own DNA molecules. I’ve been dowsing for nearly 30 years, and over that time I have learnt a great deal… about myself, about dowsing, and about the potential that this skill holds in assisting all of us to heal, to grow and to emerge. Helping us to determine what is right for us ‘right here right now’; as well as for our relationships, our environment and our planet. We do not exist in isolation, and each one us comes to this experience from a very different place: genetically, environmentally; socially; culturally; and spiritually. Dowsing then, is the conduit between our higher self, our intuitive mind…our soul mind…and the manifested world. “It is where we take our intuition and make it an observable force”. Putting to Practical Use We can determine, amid the bombardment of information that is coming at us right now from the digital world – things such as: Is this food right for me? What is the best dietary approach for me: acid/alkaline; Paleo; Mediterranean; Macrobiotic; Vegan????? Does this book contain valid and worthwhile information for my journey right now? Will this therapeutic approach assist with improving or healing my mind? my physical body? my etheric body? or advance my Soul journey? Medical Dowsing… the wedding of internal and external forces After my first exposure to dowsing, I simply experimented and observed for a number of years. This is likely due to the fact that when I first grabbed a crystal pendulum and said ‘show me a yes’, it nearly hit me in the eye! It was an extraordinary response, which was made more potent (I believe) due to the crystal I was holding at the time. This crystal was found by my own dear Mother, in the gem-fields of North Queensland, Australia. Commonly known as a ‘Dogs Tooth’ – it is a beautiful sapphire crystal point. So, taking my sapphire crystal I started to experiment, and I learnt a great deal, and I think one of the most important things that I have learnt is that I am a Medical Dowser. Life comes together in mysterious ways, and it has not escaped me that my ability in this area marries with my life’s work  When I use dowsing in developing herbal formulas, or healing, or determining health related knowledge… the information that comes through is extraordinary. Over the years, I have developed a tremendous trust and respect for the information that is offered up, that at times borders on amazement. I’m fortunate in that I have enough knowledge in this area to know when I should be truly impressed. It adds insight and intuitive knowing to what I am doing, so that I see more deeply into the person I am working with. I liken it to drawing together specific notes to create a beautiful and unique piece of music for a particular soul. I have also noted the connection between the energy centers and the ‘vitality’ displayed by the pendulum through it’s arcing, or what I call ‘reading’ of the object, person or situation. For example, hold the palm of your ‘non-dowsing’ hand over your brow chakra to really energise the intuitive flow of the pendulum. Vibrational Codes You can also dowse the chakras of another person, which is a more potent practice than you may realise... This is because we marry our own intuition and energy of the crystal we are using (you can use anything, but the energy of the right crystal adds to the potential of the healing), to tap into the vibrational codes that underlay the universe. Now that’s a big statement…. however this understanding has come to me from my own observations, my own experiences, scientific readings, esoteric studies and personal meditations…over many years. It’s exciting, it’s powerful, it’s unique and its potential is vastly underestimated! If I’ve peaked your curiosity and you would like to start learning more about the potential for dowsing to awaken and develop your own intuitive knowing, in addition to assisting you to keep well (rather than overwhelmed!)…. then start right now. Go and grab something you can use as a pendulum. Generally something that comes to a point, and has some weight to it is best. Remain detached as well as focused, and ask the pendulum to show you your YES, and your NO. If it’s feeling a little ‘lacking in energy’, then try my tip of putting your other hand over your forehead (at the point of the brow chakra). This skill is so empowering, and can help beat back the...

It Shoots Up Through Stony Ground (U2) I’ve often thought that many lyricists are our modern-day poets. In years gone by I was often beset by excruciating, and at times soul destroying….cycles of anxiety and depression. The kind that has you running and hiding (hiding under beds and running to other states – of place and of mind). If you’ve experienced either of these conditions then I don’t need to explain further, it’s sometimes quite a painful thing to try to explain that which is, ultimately, unable to be explained. The inability at that moment to manage the vagaries of life, the point at which overwhelm sets in. Most of us experience it, what is more important however, is what we do when we find ourselves in that place. I remember my 42nd birthday… one of a few that I have had in my life (what is it about birthdays?)… where I am just not able to look the world in the eye. On this particular morning I was lost, wanting to hide, and just stay under the covers. I literally could not get out of bed, despite the fact that I was in a fairly good position at the time (to some anyway) working as a sales rep for a pharmaceutical company (hahaha), a beautiful son, and a partner who loved me – all good, right? Except No. Just no. I had lost myself from an existential perspective… I had lost myself from an existential perspective. I was living in a way that was not reflective of my true self, and in so doing, I had placed myself in the wrong environment, and surrounded myself with the wrong social group. Let me say though, part of my depression was that I had placed myself in the right and wrong situations on many many occasions prior to that. As capable as I was, my anxiety would slowly unravel the situation, slowly unpick the person I had set myself up to be. I was now heading toward a sizeable list of something like 30+ jobs… and it begs the question, what is the true cost of Anxiety? But that’s another story. So on that beautiful November morning when I was unable to move my mind or my heart, my 11-year-old son walked into the room with a small hand-made card – not pretty – but just perfect on that morning, as he had made it himself. On this card he had drawn (in lead pencil) a flower growing out of rock base – and then he said the words of a song he knew I played a lot at that time… ‘the heart is like a bloom, it shoots up through stony ground’ The words are of course from U2’s gorgeous song ‘It’s a Beautiful Day’. My son’s not silly (for all of his attempts to make me think he is), and he knew it was a favourite. I still wonder though, how he found his way to those two lines… on that morning?  Whatever it was, the idea helped me find some courage in my heart, and I was able to see my way out of the darkness that had descended. Working as a sales rep in those days I was on the road a lot, and as I would drive around the music I listened to in the car would inspire me, lift me, and encourage me. This has really been the way of things for most of my life… music has been my saving grace, and I recall that Edgar Cayce once said that… ‘music should be a part of every soul’s journey’ if they were to progress.’ So here’s to those great muso’s that really do light our paths along the way! My coffee table dream book At some point along the journey, I started to make a list of songs with the hope of one day creating a beautiful and visually inspiring coffee table book. My vision was to take the song (words + music), and give to someone who was experiencing (or had experienced) a ‘dark night of the soul’ – and ask them to listen with their heart, and then interpret the song visually. How do you imagine these words, these ideas? What emotions and ideas do they invoke in the deepest part of you? Then to lay the visual art piece side by side with the words in a gorgeous sleek and colourful book, that someone could pick up and sit with, contemplating each word, each image and each note – as an inspiration to healing. I have developed quite a list over the years, and I hope one day to create a history of words and music that inspire us to look for beauty, to see one another with compassionate eyes, and to dance! to laugh… or to simply ‘just keep going’. Some are magnificent. Some are gentle. All are healing. So here’s to those that really do light our paths along the way – it had to be their intention – so if we ever meet – the drinks are on me! #givetheguruabourbon #musicforthesoul #So(u)lution Therapy