Be Careful What You Wish For: Goal-Setting is Self-Care
We set goals daily.
We set goals when we decide when and where we’ll buy groceries.
We set goals when we schedule our days and weeks.
For some reason, I sometimes wonder why we leave the big things to themselves. It makes no sense. When we postpone goal setting, we run a real chance of experiencing something that makes us deeply unhappy.
I know many people working in dream jobs that are really working in nightmare jobs.
So, whether you are seeking a new job, more money, a successful diet, or that perfect home, be as clear about what you want as you can. Clarity and detail count for a lot when you communicate with the universe.
Use a Goal-Setting Journal
In the first chapter of your Goal-Setting Journal, describe whatever you are willing to do to achieve your goal. Are you looking for a new house or a job or a new friend?
Describe your goal with as much detail as you can. You are not just looking for your dream job. You are looking for a job that will allow you to perform specific tasks which you want to participate in.
Explain your job description. Where is your dream job going to be located? What are the hours? What kind of person will you work for? What will your co-workers be like? What will your space look like? How much will it pay?
Write down your intentions with as much detail as you can. This is how you will bring your goal to life. Be as long and as specific as you can.
Describe what you’re willing to do to get this dream job. Do you have the proper training? Do you need to update your resume?
Focus in and get detail-oriented. The more narrowly you focus, the more powerful your intention will be.
Finally, embrace that dream! Think about all the things you can achieve. Be as clear as possible.
While you are on your path, keep yourself grounded and focused. Include regular healing sessions such as reflexology and Reiki therapy. Throughout my life, I’ve proven to myself that regular sessions help – a lot.
Thank you for reading this blog post. My intention is that each blog post you read can be a conduit for your spiritual growth and healing.
Please forward this article to your preferred social media network and share it with your friends and relatives.
I also hope you’ve had a chance to visit this YOUTUBE channel. “Let’s Live with Thurman Greco” is a positive, entertaining series of interviews which I’ve conducted throughout the last 15 or so years. There have been a few intermissions, but not many.
My guests enjoy being on the show and many ask to return. One thing they all have in common: we’ve all met each other somehow in Woodstock, NY.
Join us soon!
And, let us know how you like the shows.
Thanks again!
Thurman Greco
3 Ways Self-Care Helps + 5 Things to Ease Your Toxic Overload
Self-care is part of my daily life. Practicing self-care develops personal happiness. It honors a balance between personal life and career.
Self-care offers things that are important in daily life. But, that’s not all. Self-care activities diminish burnout, stress, and fatigue.
Occasionally, I review my physical, mental, and spiritual toxicity to boost my self-care agenda. Actually, a toxicity review is good for everyone, whether or not self-care is the issue.
To pamper myself, I’ll declare a detox week.
Your body continually self-cleans. But, sometimes this process needs a focus and boost because of the hordes of chemicals confronting the liver, lungs, kidneys, fat cells, intestines, bloodstream, and skin.
Toxins come in many forms: too much sugar, caffeine, and processed foods.
They also invade us through pesticides in the produce we eat, formaldehyde in carpets and cosmetics, plastics, and paper products.
I’ll start off a detox week with a water flush, drinking filtered water to cleanse my tissues. (I normally drink filtered water but, with a detox week, I’ll add a variety of waters which I get at the health food store. I also drink some of the Saratoga Springs Waters.) And, I’ll alternate my water with herbal teas to support my liver, lymphatic system, bowels, urinary tract and skin.
DRINK 8 GLASSES OF WATER
DRINK 2 CUPS OF HERBAL TEA
For a fresh-air treat, I go to my local garden center and buy a new plant to help detox my home. I love ferns. Truthfully, I love any plant that I can grow. I started growing houseplants during the pandemic. I definitely don’t have a green thumb but I’ve managed to collect plants which are surviving in my home. The oxygen they produce is important.
GET A PLANT FOR FRESH AIR
My detox week includes a daily cleansing walk, a short 20-30 minute walk I take in my neighborhood to breathe fresh air and enjoy my community.
TAKE A 20-MINUTE WALK
Finally, I include breathing properly to dispel toxins and wastes. When I celebrate a detox week, I set aside time each day to practice deep, slow, rhythmic breathing. This clears my mind, lifts my energy, and boosts my mood.
TAKE 10 CLEANSING BREATHS
SCHEDULE A WEEKLY REIKI OR REFLEXOLOGY SESSION
Reiki and Reflexology work well with a detox week. Include one session for the week or, if time permits, include a daily session.
Thank you for reading this article. Please share it with your friends and family. Forward it to your favorite social media network.
Find out more about Thurman Greco at www.thurmangreco.com. You can purchase Thurman’s books in both ebook and paperbook form. ENJOY!
So far, “A Healer’s Handbook” has gone out to readers in over 30 countries.
Explore more about self-care in “Let’s Live with Thurman Greco” YOUTUBE productions.
SARATOGA SPRINGS STATE PARK
PS – Because I live in the Hudson Valley of New York, I’m close enough to Saratoga Springs to benefit from the many mineral springs located throughout the Saratoga State Park. If you ever get the chance to visit this area, just north of Albany, be sure to visit a few of the springs. Maps are available as well as descriptions of the waters found at each one.
Tours of the springs are scheduled regularly. Join in the fun if you are in the area!
www.parks.ny.gov
2023 – Appreciate the Good!
We’re entering another new year! 2023 is an opportunity to create a better world. Let us all join together energetically as we focus in the coming weeks on ways we can expand and grow this opportunity.
Begin by sending Reiki into your future.
If you don’t know Reiki, send a meditation message to 2023.
BLESSINGS…
Take this spot on the calendar to celebrate the new year by sending blessings to friends, family, and coworkers. Send love and kindness to everyone. Send blessings to the world!
BE GRATEFUL FOR…
Begin your transition into 2023 with a gratitude list. This list offers endless benefits. When you work on a gratitude list, you’re not going to have room in your heart and mind for things like fear and worry. Instead, you’ll find yourself surrounded with abundance, love, grace, awe, and appreciation.
LET GO OF…
Dwell for a few moments on things you are not happy about and then – release them to the universe. Spiritual housecleaning is a good new year activity. Let go of thoughts, dreams, beliefs, or habits which you know are not positive and do not fit in with your goals for success.
Make a list. Write it out. If you need help, ask the universe for guidance and support.
When you release negativity into the universe, you make space for goodness and love and all things positive.
WHAT DO I WANT?
With this question, you bring positivity into your life. Write down: What do you need? What do you really want? What does your soul need? What positive situations and resources do you need to attract? Why do you want these things?
Now, write out your answers. Write out the things with the most meaning for you. Use as much detail as you want. There are no wrong answers when you write what feels good to you and is practical. You are attracting things in your life which will bring about the greatest good for the universe.
MAKE YOUR DREAMS REAL…
Using all of your senses, envision your dreams coming to life. Spend a few (3-5) minutes meditating on them. Begin your visualization with cleansing breaths. You may even want to include some calming meditation music.
This step may not come easy to you at first. Don’t worry. You’ll get better at your visualizations as time passes. Practice will improve your sessions.
PROGRESS TOWARD YOUR GOAL
Take an action each week that moves you toward your goal. This can be something either big or small. The important thing is that it is moving you on your path toward achievement.
SCRIPT YOUR AFFIRMATION
Compose a power statement which is going to keep you focused on your goal. You want an affirmation to keep you pointed in the right direction and moving along.
Examples include:
I trust my inner guidance.
I rely on my inner wisdom.
I have abundant health.
I speak my truth.
When you have chosen an appropriate affirmation, you can rely on it daily. Reciting your affirmation regularly will keep you focused while it quiets negative thoughts.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please share it with your friends and relatives.
Forward it to your preferred social media network.
Connect with me on facebook: Thurman Greco
If you are interested in more information about this article, check out my book “Healer’s Handbook”. You can find it at www.thurmangreco.com
You can also find more information in older blog posts.
Two related books which include manifesting, goal setting, and focused action are:
“I Don’t Hang Out in Churches Anymore” and
“Ketchup Sandwich Chronicles”.
These two books are about the spiritual journey of hunger as illustrated by the shoppers in the food pantry line.
Find out more about me at www.thurmangreco.com.
Take a Break From the World. Seriously.
Sometimes things happen at such a fast pace that life becomes confusing and overwhelming. Being alone with yourself for a short time may be the only way to find answers.
Take a break to figure things out. Step away so you can discover a better, clearer perspective. When you step back, you have a chance to figure things out. You may even get to know yourself better.
Instead of being part of everything, when you step away you can discover a better, clearer perspective. How? How can you do this when everything is moving at such a fast pace?
Go on a mini-sabbatical. Take the day off from it all.
No internet, TV, phone, email, social media.
Spend your sabbatical silently as you go on a short internal journey resting, reading, and meditating.
A good question to ask yourself is: What do I need in my life right now?
Being alone, you can look inward and discover truths about yourself. When you unplug from everything, you may find a spiritual guide of some kind.
Going within uninterrupted, you may find a path to pursue your own way. You may even light up your true self.
After your one-day sabbatical, notice how much calmer you are and how clear your thinking is.
Ask yourself this: How can I fit stillness into my daily life?
Can you find a few minutes each day for silence to discover yourself?
Or, you may think of your sabbatical as therapy and set aside an hour or two a week to discover your true self. Over time, these weekly sessions may reveal mysteries for you to experience.
But, whether you choose a one-day event or weekly therapy sabbaticals, enlightenment is possible. These moments alone clear the path for a new you to emerge.
(This may be a good time for a self-Reiki session, if you’ve been trained. Reiki sessions don’t all have to be an hour. Ten or fifteen minutes can be strong healing moments.)
Thanks for reading this article!
Please share it with your preferred social media network. To share with friends who might enjoy this post, please forward it to your social media network and friends and family.
To find out more information, check out my books on www.thurmangreco.com.
This is apron is all about my new book which should be available by December .
The ebook is available NOW!
Your Crown Chakra Meditation
A crown chakra meditation is a good place for physical and spiritual healing. This is where you encounter unconditional love. You also channel wisdom and inspirational gifts of spirit guides and angelic beings.
Find a quiet, safe space for this meditation.
Begin by getting comfortable. Sit, or lie down as you breathe slowly, evenly, and deeply to energize your crown chakra.
When you exhale, you release anger, fear, loss, negativity, and any other toxins.
Beginning with your first chakra, check in with each one as you greet it.
Now move up to your other chakras. Touch or tap each chakra gently with your fingertips and note what sound or image you experience at each one.
You may or may not experience sounds, touch, smells.
You may want to record a word or two in a journal as you journey up your chakra path.
Arriving at your crown chakra, focus on where you are for a few minutes. Touch or tap your crown chakra as you focus on the center of your head. What sensations do you feel? Do you find a message here today?
You don’t have to feel, see, hear, or smell anything. This is especially true if this is your first crown chakra meditation. Whatever you experience, don’t worry.
Breathe into your crown chakra now. Your mind is quiet. Accept this moment as the blessing it is. Take a few more crown chakra breaths to receive any feedback which may come to you as word, sound, song, image, color, feeling, intuitive message, awareness.
Your feedback may come to you at the moment, or later in the day or even a few days later. Don’t try to rush things.
As your crown chakra meditation comes to an end, slowly move your body. Bring yourself to your space gently and calmly.
Return to this meditation any time you want to communicate with your chakras.
Thank your chakras for this experience.
Thank you for reading this meditation today. Please share it with your favorite social media network. Please forward it to your friends and family.
More chakra information is available in “A Healer’s Handbook.”
There is also more chakra information available at “Let’s Live with Thurman Greco – YOUTUBE”
You can find out more at www.thurmangreco.com.
Healing Begins with Balance
BALANCE BEGINS WITH WATER
Sometimes I just get so busy. I wonder how to keep up. With everything happening in our world today, being busy, busier, busiest is a coping mechanism.
When I feel stressed or overinvolved, I come to a stop for a moment and remind myself that my balance begins with water.
Over half of our body weight is water.
Water is included in all the chemical activities that our body generates, whether we’re awake or asleep. Because water plays a vital role in everything we do, even minor dehydration affects our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual balance.
Keeping hydrated is crucial to your balance and grounding.
We lose water when we breathe, sweat, urinate, eat and digest food, walk around the block, sleep. This is a continual process.
The #1 energy drink on the planet: water. You can supplement your need for water with fruits, vegetables, and other beverages like coffee, tea, and juice.
Water flushes out waste and toxins. It prevents constipation. Water optimizes kidney function, preventing kidney stones.
Water holds the balance between air and fire. Its energy is conscious.
Do you want to keep your energy level up and prevent fatigue?
Double your water consumption for two weeks. If you don’t experience a distinct improvement in your energy level and overall feeling of wellness, make an appointment with a well-trained healthcare professional.
The person who might help you the best at this time is someone who will see you as a whole person and an individual. A person who can look at the big picture for you is a good choice. You might have a functional medicine doctor in your area.
Are you thinking of going on a diet? Try this: When you feel hungry, drink a glass of water first.
Are you interested in maintaining your youth? There are several things you can do today along with your exercise: Drink water. Drink more water.
Water is a good health promotion tool.
When you get serious about your water and your health, you are probably going to think about where your water comes from.
It may be time for a good water filter. I have an under-the sink water filter which I use to clean the water I drink, the water I use to wash fresh veggies and fruits, the water I give to my pets, and the water I use to nourish my houseplants.
Your skin is your largest organ eliminating toxins throughout the day.
Bathing and showering are balancing and relaxing activities which can be an essential part of your spiritual and physical grounding program.
Bathing will get rid of heavy metals while getting rid of heavy thoughts.
Use water to unwind when you soak away toxins in a salts bath. Set aside at least 15 minutes to relax in warm water to which you’ve added salts, herbs, essential oils. There are many options here for your enjoyment.
At the end of your soak, shower off with fresh water and dry your body with a clean towel.
Follow this with a dry brushing exercise. Use a natural-bristle brush to softly brush your body, beginning with your feet and working your way up your head.
As you add new balancing health habits, include regular reflexology and Reiki therapy sessions. Homeostasis is easier with regular balancing habits.
Finally, balance is a physical, mental, emotional, energetic, and spiritual experience.
Sometimes, achieving balance for your health requires releasing habits which do not promote balanced healing.
Achieving balance also calls for us to rebuild parts of your lifestyle and your self.
Goal setting is a basic part of the process.
Finally, as you achieve balance, you may find that you are losing a few people in your life. Some new ones may join you.
These things may happen as you achieve a balanced healing state.
It’s amazing what can happen when you begin to drink water!
Thanks for reading this article. Please forward this post to friends and relatives who might enjoy reading it.
For more information, check out my book “Healer’s Handbook”.
More information is available in early articles and on YOUTUBE “Let’s Live with Thurman Greco”
The information you find in these places is a conduit for your own healing.
Thanks for being on the journey!
www.thurmangreco.com
Reiki Healing and your Chakras
Reiki therapy is a specific healing modality used throughout the planet.
Reiki means “Universal Life Energy” and is the word used to describe this system of healing. Reiki is a light touch given to a clothed body to improve the overall wellbeing of the recipient. Using an intention, the Reiki practitioner gives healing energy to an accepting receiver.
The healing energy flows through the hands of the practitioner.
I feel that the Reiki we practice today is old. Its origins are shrouded in the mists of time.
Dr. Mikao Usui developed and used the healing modality we use today. He operated clinics in Japan in the 20th century. Dr. Usui is not only remembered because of the Reiki he developed but also because of his spiritual lifestyle.
Dr. Usui worked with others in his clinic and in his spiritual practice. Two people include Dr. Chujiro Hayashi and Hawayo Takata.
Hawayo Takata brought Reiki to the United States after World War II
It is said that Dr. Usui meditated on one of his five principles daily:
Original Reiki Precepts
Just for Today,
I will not worry
I will not be angry.
I will do my work honestly.
I will count and be grateful for all my many blessings.
I will be kind to every living creature.
When I offer a Reiki session focused on balancing the chakras of the recipient, my client is usually seated or lying face-up on a massage table or other flat surface.
I offer my client a blanket and eye pillow if it’s appropriate.
After setting the intention, I invoke the symbols: Standing at the head of my client, I draw first the ChoKuRei, then SeiHeKi, then HonShaZeShoNen. Finally, I repeat the ChoKuRei again.
I place my hands on the shoulders of my client.
So far, this part of the session should take 5-10 minutes. However, this time length can change with the practitioner. Each practitioner works in a different way so the time will not always be the same for everyone.
I then move to the side of the client and go to the first chakra.
I balance the primary chakras beginning with the root chakra. I balance each chakra by hovering my hands over each chakra about 2 to 6 inches above each chakra. I usually spend about 5 minutes on each one although these times can change depending on the client.
I am an old massage therapist and believe that touching my client will help me do my job better in many situations. As a massage therapist, I feel that I gain a better understanding of what is happening.
However, this is a personal situation and will be determined by your training, and previous experience with not only Reiki but other healing modalities.
A Reiki session works with the physical, mental, emotional, energetic, and spiritual levels of a person’s body. On a physical level, many people appreciate the warmth generated by a Reiki practitioner’s hands. On a mental level, the client is often comforted by knowing where the practitioner’s hands are at all times.
Respect your client privacy at all times. It’s important to do the right thing at that moment. Some people do not want to be touched at all, no matter what.
Always respect your client’s privacy. Chakra balancing is extremely intimate work. And, Reiki energy naturally finds its own path, going exactly where it is needed.
The first chakra to be balanced is the root chakra. When I balance this chakra, I place my hands outside the person’s hips where they meet at the base of the spine. This chakra is your client’s connection to the physical world. Trust is an important issue here.
The second, or sacral chakra is located about 1-2 inches below the navel. This chakra is the seat of creativity and inspiration.
After balancing the second chakra I move on to the third or solar-plexus chakra. This is where the upper chakras and lower chakras meet. The solar-plexus chakra is found just above your waistline, where your client feels the chakra as “butterflies”. This chakra is where your client finds her power.
Moving on from the third chakra to the fourth chakra, balance your client’s heart chakra – the center of love, healing, and compassion. Your client’s heart chakra is located in the central chest.
After balancing your client’s fourth chakra, move up to the fifth, or throat chakra. This chakra houses voice and self-expression. As expected, this chakra is located in the throat.
The fifth chakra, the third-eye chakra, is located in the forehead in the area of the eyebrows. The third-eye chakra focuses on intuition and awareness.
The next chakra, the crown chakra, is found toward the top of the head. This is where the higher self and the divine come together.
After balancing each chakra and finally coming to the crown chakra I focus for a few moments at my client’s feet. After all, I’ve come to a full circle along my client’s body. It has been a session of shifts and adjustments – many not yet known by the client. It may take several days for your client to begin to understand what is happening.
A Reiki chakra balancing session can often be repeated more than once or twice in a lifetime. Your client may want to have several weekly or monthly sessions. A few of your chakras may want to be balanced several times until they are happy in their new place.
Whatever the outcome of the chakra balancing session, a few minutes spent at your client’s feet for grounding purposes are a good idea. The options here are many. Have you taken any reflexology classes?
No?
There’s a video out there that might inspire you. You probably won’t spend more than about 5-10 minutes on your client’s feet. You are there to offer a path back to present time for your client.
The are many classes waiting for you on YOUTUBE. Some are mine and some are produced by other teachers. But, whichever one you choose, the idea is to gently finish your session.
One final suggestion: a chakra balancing Reiki session, or a regular Reiki session, are both good for the body and the soul. Every person needs some Reiki every week or so. If you feel you don’t have the budget for this, learn Reiki and partner up with another practitioner.
You can connect with me on Facebook. If you have friends who might enjoy this post, please forward it to your favorite social media network and to your friends.
If you’re looking for more, check out my books. www.thurmangreco.com.
THANKS AGAIN!
A Healing Heart Chakra Meditation –
Your heart chakra is the center of your energy universe.
Your heart chakra is a holy place – holding your ability to love – in all the many ways it can be described.
Your heart chakra is a holy place – holding your ability to heal – in all the many ways – heal yourself, others, all the people in all the places in all the times.
Your heart chakra is a holy place – holding your ability to heal – situations, places, the planet, the universe.
If you are working on yourself, your health, your job, your family, your community, begin with work on your heart chakra.
Align yourself with your heart chakra.
Noticeable changes will permeate your entire being.
Meditation opens and balances your energy fields. The heart meditation written for you below intends to boost, and cleanse:
Begin by finding a comfortable position in a safe,quiet space. Close your eyes.
Encourage each in-breath to slowly and completely to fill your body with oxygen, light, and positive energy.
When you exhale, release toxins, frustration, anxiety, and anything else you don’t need.
As you breathe in and out, relax completely with slow, deep breaths..
When you feel relaxed and peaceful, take another deep breath and visualize a light traveling from your feet to the top of your head. This light fills and surrounds your body with love.
Finally, this light settles at your heart. It has a healing green tint in honor of your heart chakra. See the green energy spiraling at your heart chakra.
Breathe into this energy now and experience its transformation.
Inhale and exhale now focusing on your heart chakra. Take these breaths as you focus on healing yourself, your life, the planet, the universe.
See these breaths balancing, boosting, and cleansing all things need healing.
Take a few extra breaths now to release toxins, frustrations, anxiety, and anything else that you don’t need.
It is time to return to your room now. Gently open your eyes.
As you return to your day, take another moment to ground yourself. Feel the floor under your feet. What does the air in the room feel like at this moment?
Breathe deeply, tensing and then relaxing your entire body.
Softly tap your thymus in gratitude..
You can recall the relaxation and feelings of love at any time during the day.
Thank you for reading this meditation. Please forward it to your preferred social media network.
Share it with friends and family.
Find more meditations in previous blog posts. Find more information about your chakras in “Healer’s Handbook.” If you don’t yet have a copy, you can purchase it at www.thurmangreco.com and Amazon.
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If you have questions, contact me at thurmangreco@gmail.com.
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A Third Chakra Meditation – Strength, Warmth, Energy
I open this meditation with three different photos of a sunlit space.
My message is this:
Go with whichever one works best for you. Go with all of them if you like.
The sun gives strength, warmth, and energy so you can access the power of your solar plexus chakra.
Relax yourself as you breathe slowly, deeply. Breathe in clean oxygen, air, energy, light. Inhale slowly, and deeply to fill your body with cleansing fresh air.
When you exhale, let go of everything negative: toxins, anger, anxiety, pain, fear – anything you don’t need anymore.
PAUSE
As you continue to slowly inhale and exhale deeply, feel your body relaxing. Continue to inhale and exhale until your body is as relaxed as possible.
Experience this feeling as it moves throughout your muscles, bones, your chakras.
As you exhale, release toxins through your feet. Feel the toxins leaving through your toes.
Inhaling, feel your body filled with light. – Feel the sun’s rays beaming down on you. Feel the sun’s warmth and power as it blankets your body. This warmth and power nourishes both your body and soul.
Feel this power give you strength and wisdom so you can move forward in whatever endeavor you choose.
Feel this power focus on your solar plexus. Feel light and peace and positive energy. Experience the strength and wisdom in your solar plexus.
Now, breathe deeply and see you are surrounded with a beautiful, loving and peaceful golden-orange light. This light sends you inspiration.
Inhale deeply.
You may notice a spirit being joining you now. Notice how this being appears to you.
How is this being dressed?
What color clothes does this being appear to be wearing?
What kind of shoes does this being wear?
If you want to ask this being a question, ask it now.
PAUSE
You may not receive an answer in the moment. But, you will receive an answer when the time is right –
Feel the presence of this wisdom. Trust that the answer you receive will be the information you need to empower yourself and your development.
Now, stay relaxed in your golden-orange light as long as you want. Bathe in the light. Absorb this powerful, healing energy.
When you are ready to leave this space, offer a blessing:
Amen.
You can return to this meditation, this spirit guide, and this powerful, positive energy whenever you need, by remembering this experience in the light.
Your golden-orange light is waiting to surround you whenever you want.
Thanks for reading this meditation.
Please forward it to your preferred social media network.
Share it with your friends and family.
You can find other guided meditations in earlier blog posts.
Much of the info in this blog post was shared from “Healer’s Handbook.”
thurmangreco@gmail.com
