Eckhart Tolle on The Hour

There's an interesting interview with Eckhart Tolle with George Stroumboulopoulos. From our own Canadian CBC. :)
Click Here

Processing Negative Experiences

I feel like starting this story by imitating Cliff from the old tv show "Cheers". I am going to quote him and say, "It's a little known fact..."
Well, perhaps it is a little known fact, or perhaps it is just a little acknowledged fact that when we try to move forward in life, we often trigger crises.
This may not appeal to all, but here is my take on it.
I will use an example. You have been wanting to change your life in a certain way for quite some time. Perhaps you want a change in a relationship, or a change in your job. You want to focus on a creative project or start a new hobby. You may have put it off, or been a little too busy or too scared to make any actual moves to make the change.
The change has been sitting in a pot on the back burner of your stove for quite some time. It has been slowly bubbling away back there, making noises and smells that constantly remind you of it's presence. Sooner or later you know you can't put it off any longer, but you still can't quite seem to find the time or the determination to make it a part of your life.
What you have to remember is that if your new ambition or your new desire is sitting on the back burner of the stove, other pots are sitting on the front burners. If you suddenly decide to pull it up to the front you must make space for it first.
If you haven't made space on one of the front burners, you are going to spill something and make a mess. If you're not careful, you might even get burned.
Now, it's hard to have enough space on your front burners. Your most demanding daily jobs are sitting on those burners. They don't like being displaced, and sometimes they don't like to share their space. You might have to put them into smaller pots or something to make room for your new pot of dreams. You might have to invest in a bigger stove!
Now let's take the analogy to more of a real life scenario.
You want some kind of change. You think about it a lot. You begin to imagine what your life will look like if you make the change. You begin to recreate your life in your mind. You may begin to take some steps towards the change.
If you're like most people, you have a lot of things on the go. Your reality begins to try and create what you are manifesting in your mind. The change becomes more and more prominent in your reality.
Your subconscious and the energies around you begin to shift and shake, trying to make room for the change. If you have unfinished business floating around in your life, things may suddenly come to a head. This is all part of you manifesting the change in your life. You need to tie up the loose ends, finish old projects (or maybe let them go) in order to create the space in your life for the change.
This can be uncomfortable to deal with. But having some kind of understanding of why it is happening can be helpful.
Once you understand what is happening, you can expand yourself (get a bigger stove) or tie up your loose ends (move a couple of pots off the front burners) and welcome the beginning of your new adventures.

Don't do it for me, do it for yourself and your family!

Meditation. It's something I can't recommend enough. Yet, I often don't end up doing more than 5 or 10 minutes a day of it for myself. Those 5 or 10 minutes can also end up being the last few minutes of my day before I fall asleep. Sometimes I am not even sure if I am meditating or snoozing, but I still find the effort is sooooo worth it. Those few moments, consciously taken, release the stresses of the day and prepare me for a more restful sleep.
I'd also like to introduce a different idea about meditation that many may not have heard of before. It's true there are some very simple and easy methods of meditation. Some are as simple as sitting and focusing on your breathing, or doing a head to toe relaxation. But, there are many people who just can't seem to bring themselves to sit still even for a few moments. They may have small children or other distractions in their environment that make this difficult. Or, maybe they just feel silly sitting in a meditative pose. It's okay to feel this way.
The good news is, you can have your cake and eat it too! Or, you can bake your cake and meditate at the same time. You may not receive the same kind of benefits as sitting still and getting into a deeper state, but you will receive some benefits. And, so will everyone who has to live with you! People who meditate are more likely to be happy, calm and easy to get along with. They also are better problem solvers and positive thinkers.
Now for the new ideas on how to make yourself into a meditator, even if you don't think you have the time or the patience. There are always mindless repetitive tasks in your day, right? Some of these may include; washing dishes, vacuuming, walking the dog, walking to work, peeling potatoes, chopping vegetables, stirring a pot, raking the yard, or painting a wall. The secret is to turn these mindless tasks into forms of meditation.
When performing a simple task such as the ones listed above, take a moment to focus on what you are doing. Bring your thoughts away from their usual hyper-over-drive, and bring them to what you are actually doing right now. Slice your vegetables slowly and with great care. Watch the knife separate the carrot. See how the part you just sliced off rolls away from the knife. Look at the patterns in the sliced off part. Feel the sensation of the knife hitting the cutting board.
While peeling potatoes, watch as the skin spirals away from the potato. See if you can get it all off in one long piece. Feel the texture and the shape of the potato in your hand. How has it changed shape since you began? Pay attention to what is happening right in front of you.
If you are walking the dog. Pay attention to the sound your feet make when they hit the ground. Listen to the sounds around you. Chances are there are birds singing that you haven't heard before. Smell the smells. Watch when your dog stops to sniff. Wonder about what he is experiencing and learning about his environment.
While vacuuming, watch as the vacuum glides across the floor. See the fluffys being sucked up. Watch how the carpet changes texture as you go. How does it feel in your body when you vacuum. Is it hard work? What part of your body tenses up? Can you improve your posture to make it easier on yourself?
Slow down your thoughts and experience each moment to its fullest. When you are chopping veggies, just chop veggies! When you are stirring a pot, just stir a pot! When you are walking to work, just walk. Allow yourself to have only one thing on your mind for just a few moments a day. Don't think about what happened at work today. Don't worry about the conflict you had with your neighbour, or the noise the kids are making, or how you're going to pay that repair bill. All you need to do at that moment is chop veggies! Nothing else!
Let go of the useless thoughts swirling around in your head for just a few moments at a time and you will begin to notice that your mind becomes clearer, your body becomes more relaxed, and you become happier!
Your loved ones will thank you, and you will be healthier and happier! What have you got to lose?

Bonnie On the Radio

Listen to the link for my radio debut! I was recently interviewed about Reiki, Energy Healing and my Psychic work on CFRU radio here in Guelph.
Click here to listen.

Reiki Healing Share Evening in Guelph

Beginning on Thurs. March 26th from 7:30 to 9:30 pm I will be offering a Reiki Healing Share on a regular basis.
This is an evening to exchange healing and learning with other practitioners. Anyone with Reiki training, or similar training in hands-on-healing is welcome. We begin with a brief meditation and opportunity to share questions and experiences and then we exchange treatments in a small group setting. This evening will be repeated on the last Thursday of each month, except for the months of July, August and December.
A donation of $5 is requested. I am trying to keep costs as low as possible so we can get enough people coming out to keep this going!
RSVPing is essential please as I will only be booking a larger space when necessary.
Call me at 519-265-7440 or email bonnie@pathwayshealing.com.
Would love to see you!

Good news! Below is an excerpt from an article in the Hamilton Spectator. Its nice to see some positive info in the mainstream about Reiki and other complementary forms of care, but its even nicer to know that sick people are being helped.
The article speaks of how much Reiki was able to help cancer patients. Worth a read...
Click here to read the whole article
Last year, The George Washington University Medical Center launched a reiki program for patients, their families and staff members in need of stress relief. Joel Rosenberg, GWU's director of clinical cardiology, says he isn't waiting for a landmark study on reiki. He is convinced it works.

"The heart rate goes down. The respiratory rate goes down. The required sedation goes down. Inflammation goes down," Rosenberg said. "I've seen it in hundreds of patients. And, they are happier."

Reiki Healing a Burn

This is not one of my finer moments. I was trying to do too many things at the same time (mother's syndrome) and I ended up catching a cookie sheet in the crook of my arm. It blistered up bright red and ugly.
Let me just say that you shouldn't try to answer the phone and get a tray of cookies out of the oven at the same time!
This happened right about 5:00 pm. I had hungry kids and I thought that we could have a nice home-baked cookie and then put something easy into the oven to have for dinner. I didn't have a lot of time to spare while cooking dinner and helping with homework, so I started to do Reiki on myself whenever I had a few spare moments. I had one 20 minute span of Reiki and then got busy with getting the kids to bed and later did 10 minutes of Reiki.
My camera and the lighting are not the greatest, but I think you can see that my burn healed quite rapidly. All of the photos were taken on the same night.
3 days after this, the skin peeled and one week later you could not tell I had ever had a burn on my arm.

Now who wants to take my level I Reiki course in January?