8 Ways to Heal Your Chakras
When you balance your chakras, you change your physical self. This happens because your chakras affect all levels of your body – physical, psychological, and spiritual.
Balanced chakras facilitate homeostasis. A chakra adjustment boosts healing and recovery from illness, emotional wounds, negative lifestyles and other physical and mental issues.
INTENTION
Wherever you are on your healing path, your foundation is your intention to heal, which guides your journey.
Keep it close throughout your travels because healing can often reach into your past. Your health issues may have begun years, decades, even lifetimes ago.
Write your intention. Meditate on your intention. Stay with your intention. It leads your energy, telling it what to do.
Your intention has a second task: it converts your healing goals into your new normal, maintaining your good health and your spiritual wholeness.
Without this second task focusing on your good health goals, your body may revert to its previous state.
Your goal is to make strong and durable changes so you can become your new normal self.
This may be scary stuff. After all, it’s much easier to “keep on keeping on”.
If you really seek healing, change the things you do.
AROMATHERAPY
The sense of smell is primal.
When you focus on grounding and safety, aromatherapy is a good choice because these qualities rely on the sense of smell. This is especially important for health issues affecting your root chakra.
Aromas work on the unconscious self and the physical body.
Smells have a frequency which reaches far back in time to heal your chakras and energetic fields.
Smells reveal memories traveling instantly from the past – beyond this life even.
This time travel can balance chakras. Essential oils can focus on a specific chakra.
I’ve listed various essential oils in previous blog posts. I’ve also listed them in all editions of “Healer’s Handbook”.
If you want to own the fewest number of essential oils possible, lavender can be a good first choice.
Good essential oils for the root chakra include wood-related oils: sandalwood, rosewood.
If you want to use essential oils to promote healing and balance, select only a few for the chakra you are focusing on. Buy the best quality, therapeutic grade oils you can find. Store them in glass in a cool, dark place.
Once you select an essential oil, learn to use that particular oil. Depending on the oil you choose, you may dilute it and then apply it topically.
You may also use the essential oil aromatically.
Finally, you may decide to ingest it.
However you decide to use the essential oil, learn the best way to use it before you begin your treatment.
SOUND
Sound affects us all deeply and instantly. Sound is powerful because it changes our vibration. Going straight to our deepest core, sound alters vibrations of illness and disease.
When using sound to heal, choose those sounds which touch your heart, your chakras and emotions.
You may decide to engage in formal sound healing sessions. Or you may simply choose to pay more attention to the sounds in your life. What sounds promote healing, calming, or balancing? Which ones are disruptive and damaging?
Don’t underestimate the power of healing music.
MANTRAS AND HEALING NOTES
A mantra is a word which is repeated for healing purposes.
Om is a universal mantra. The vibration of the repeated word is the power in the mantra. Vibration, not the word itself, is the power in the singing bowls, tuning forks, chants, and mantras.
It’s not necessary to know the literal meaning of a word for it to work as a mantra.
Tools that create notes for chakra healing include Gregorian Chants, singing bowls, and tuning forks designed to heal chakras.
Singing bowls and tuning forks resonate to the energy of specific chakras. Any word or sound carrying a positive resonance has a powerful, therapeutic effect.
Silence can be powerfully calming and healing. If you are attracted to the vibration of silence, try to practice it a few minutes each day.
YOGA
Yoga poses have been used for ages to boost and balance your chakras. The poses strengthen and stabilize your body. They also activate your chakras.
Yoga poses open, strengthen, and balance different chakras based on their location. There are many different yoga poses, each anatomically related to different chakras.
CRYSTALS AND STONES
For me, crystals and stones live. Each has a unique vibration which communicates with our energetic fields. This communication has the capacity to bring harmony and balance.
The best way to select a crystal or stone is to trust your body’s response. When you hold a particular stone in your hand or place it on a chakra, how does it feel to you? Does it feel bad? Are you positively attracted to it?
If the response is good, you may be on the right track.
Selecting the crystal and gemstones is a personal decision. It’s hard for someone else to choose your stone.
A good way is to select a stone in the same color as the chakra you’re trying to balance.
For example, if you are seeking a stone to balance your root chakra, choose from red stones because that chakra’s color resonates with red.
Occasionally, a stone will call out to you. This happened to me recently. Black tourmaline presented itself to me, uninvited. I saw evidence of this stone everywhere I went.
When I opened books, a picture of this stone would be on the opened page.
When a colleague asked me about stones, she wanted information about black tourmaline.
I visited a tarot store in Great Barrington – and there sat a dish of them, right at eye level.
I simply couldn’t avoid them.
So, I finally gave in!
I bought a stone and silver chain at the Mower’s Meadow Flea Market from a booth there.
I’ve been wearing the black tourmaline for over a week now and I feel totally different than I felt a week ago.
I held out as long as I could and when I finally did what I should have done in the beginning – I felt good.
MEDITATION
Meditations balance and heal on several different levels.
For me, meditations work because energy follows intent. A guided meditation allows you to focus on your intentions in a relaxed state.
If you are looking to find a guided meditation suitable for your chakra balancing, maybe I can suggest a starting point for you. I’ve used several books for years. Larry Moen wrote my three favorite books: “Meditations for Awakening”, “Meditations for Healing”, “Meditations for Transformation”.
I’ve worn out several copies of these books and shared others.
I’ve also written some guided meditations. You can find them in earlier posts of this blog.
REFLEXOLOGY AND REIKI
Both reflexology and Reiki therapy balance your chakras. I wrote about this in my book: “Healer’s Handbook”.
When my chakras need attention, I always turn to reflexology and Reiki first.
While I definitely embrace different healing methods to balance my chakras, I refer to reflexology first.
A reflexology session is my first stop.
Thanks for reading this article! Please forward it to your preferred social media network. Share it with your friends.
Some information in this blog post was shared from “Healers Handbook”. Purchase a copy from www.thurmangreco.com.
Search “Let’s Live with Thurman Greco on YOUTUBE and check out the ever-growing selection of videos focused on reflexology, Reiki therapy, and healing.
Please share this article with your preferred social media network and with your friends.
Thanks again!
Thurman Greco
I’m planning a couple of special year-end blogs and YOUTUBE shows. I hope they work out. Sometimes the universe sends me in different different directions.
Thanking you again!
www.thurmangreco.com
Your First Chakra and Your Better Health
“I don’t know what I did, but I know what I’m going to do now!” My fellow yoga student blurted out recently at class.
“What’s wrong?”
“I don’t know what happened, but my lower back really hurts! I’m going to a doctor tomorrow. I’m afraid I’m going to need surgery..”
Your first chakra is located at the base of your spine. Whatever the issues, a painful lower back is a strong indication of a spiritually stressed spine and an unbalanced first chakra.
When things are right in your life, you feel safe and secure. You have a positive mental attitude and can protect yourself from life’s daily issues.
When your first chakra is unbalanced or blocked, depression and other negative experiences impose themselves on your daily decisions. You have difficulty sleeping and worry about money, health, and your job.
An overactive first chakra produces anxiety, greed, hoarding, and control issues at home and at work. Basically, you feel unsafe.
Health symptoms and ailments involving your first chakra include: adrenal fatigue, anger, anxiety, low back pain, codependency, fear, hemorrhoids, leg pain, panic attacks, sciatica.
Addictions are root chakra issues.
Chakras are often out of balance for quite a while before health issues and diseases manifest themselves in the physical body.
Chakras are energy. And, they are communicators. They talk to us, giving us valuable information we need to be well.
Where is your disease or issue located?
When you have an injury to your lower spine, you probably have a first chakra imbalance.
Any issue connected with the rectum, anus, or any elimination issue is a first chakra issue.
Other first chakra issues include addictions to alcohol, food, coffee, gambling, drugs, sex, shopping.
For men, any issue with the testes, or prostate cancer is a first chakra issue.
Things to remember about first chakra imbalances:
Chakras are connected to the total body.
When you’re dealing with a health issue, work with your physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional body. If you have a kidney infection, for example, heal your total body, not just the infection, and not just the chakra.
And, you need to balance your other chakras also.
It’s harder to fight a disease with a unbalanced corresponding chakra.
Finally:
Your chakras don’t work in a vacuum. They collaborate with other chakras. They work with your physical and mental bodies and they work with your energetic body.
So, don’t just give one chakra a boost. Don’t just give your swollen ankle an ice pack. Help your entire body.
Take the medicine you’ve been prescribed.
Look around, is there something in your environment that you can change which will help you get well and stay better?
At times in my life, the answer to this question involved eating a specific diet. At another time, I had to buy a better desk chair. Recently, I joined a combination exercise/yoga class.
Well…DO IT!
As your body and your spirit and your mind improve, what can you do to keep things that way?
Well…DO IT!
Everytime I ask myself those questions, I always come up with…guess what!
Reflexology and Reiki!
Thanks for reading this blog post. I will continue on with other chakras as well.
For me, this article was a real eye opener! I knew, existentially, that men and women experience their first chakra issues and balances in different ways. After all, women do not have testes.
Sex is very different for women than it is for men. I’ve known this all along but I just never connected the differences to the chakra system.
These basic differences affect how we feel about belonging in our bodies.
I now realize that our chakras and how we experience them is a very different experience for women and men.
These differences, of course, carry over to the second (Sacral) chakra. But that’s another blog post.
Thanks for reading this article! Please forward it to your preferred social media network. Share it with your friends and relatives.
The YOUTUBE channel has an ever-growing selection of videos focused on reflexology and healing.
P.S. Some info in this article was shared from “Healer’s Handbook – Wellness for All” by Thurman Greco.
Buy this book at www.thurmangreco.com.
At One With the Earth – a First Chakra Grounding Meditation
I was inspired to share this meditation after an experience when I deeply understood the interconnectedness of all beings. My goal in this meditation is for us all to be closer to the oneness we have with this planet.
Sometimes we don’t feel the connection. And, I realize that some people never experience this oneness.
Use this meditation to connect with your place of inner peace and grounding.
PAUSE
Get comfortable on the floor, healing table, or other flat space. Position your body face up.
Breathe slowly and deeply. With each breath, your body relaxes more.
You feel a greater sense of awareness; experience a very peaceful feeling.
You are filling your body with a feeling of lightness.
When this happens,you know you can come out of this experience any time you want by simply opening your eyes.
PAUSE
Release your conscious thoughts, letting go of “mental activity.” You are in this place at this moment.
You feel so light now that you can lift up off the floor. You feel yourself gently floating.
A carpet appears at your side. It is just big enough to hold you.
When you climb on, this carpet gently lifts you up. You gradually move up – up through the ceiling.
Riding on your carpet, you move up, above the trees and the skyline.
Glancing down, you see the treetops appearing gradually smaller and smaller.
Stretching out on your carpet, you drift up – right through a cloud.
You feel warm sunshine on your entire body. Your body absorbs a beautiful pale red light.
You look down at the earth now and see it as a ball of light.
PAUSE
Your carpet begins to slowly descend to the earth. Passing through a billowy cloud, you see the skyline, now familiar from the trip up. You see the tree tops.
You peacefully return to the place where you began your journey.
You are grounded, and calm. You feel safe and secure.
Know that you can return to this space any time you desire.
Take a couple deep breaths and sit up. Continue your day now – energized,
rejuvenated, and rested. You feel more grounded and calm.
Go in peace!
Thank you for reading this meditation.
Thurman
www.thurmangreco.com
Please refer this article to your preferred social media network and share it with a friend.
Some information in this post was sourced from “Healer’s Handbook”. Further information regarding chakras and meditations may be found in prior blog posts and on “Let’s Live with Thurman Greco” YOUTUBE presentations.
If you have further questions or remarks, I can be reached at thurmangreco@gmail.com.
Thanks for Asking!
One important thing to know about reactions we experience in a reflexology session: a client will not always experience the same reaction at every session.
After all, our bodies are different every day. The most common reaction I experience during a reflexology session is sleep. I slip off into a sleeplike state during most sessions.
Reactions vary with each session. They are based on what your body needs on a cellular level at that particular time.
One thing consistent in a reflexology session is this: reflexology encourages homeostasis: the balance of all body systems.
Reflexology students ask questions about reactions to reflexology treatments.
The reactions your client experiences during a reflexology session are homeostasis in action.
It’s amazing what reflexology can do!
Because many healers read this blog, I don’t give nearly enough blog time and energy to these inquiries. People ask, I answer, and then my focus moves on to other things.
Well, at last, I’m focusing some time and energy into sharing information. After all, for every person who asks, others remain silent.
And, for those of us who practice reflexology either as a career or as a hobby, how often do we think about these important pieces of information?
My training is that there are more than a dozen different reactions to reflexology sessions. Reactions listed in this article mostly happen during or soon after a session.
Other reactions happen several hours later. They are all important.
A reaction is a sign to me that the reflexology session is working.
As a reflexologist, you and the session you give are a vital wellness link between a person experiencing a challenge and appropriate professional support.
INCREASED URINATION – Focus on urination becomes part of the session when it becomes obvious. I have a client who simply cannot make it through a session without a trip to the ladies room. For me, this is a good sign. The session stimulates her urinary system!
FLATULANCE and INCREASED BOWEL MOVEMENTS
Marge d’Urso taught us that fully 50% of our clients have digestive issues. Unless a client brings up the subject, I don’t really ask. I prefer to hear about constipation or other irritable bowel solutions when my client initiates the conversation. I love it when a client reveals she no longer has issues.
Marge d’Urso taught, and I believe, that health begins and ends in the digestive system.
AGGRAVATED SKIN CONDITIONS SUCH AS PERSPIRATION and
PIMPLES
IMPROVED SKIN TONE and TEXTURE
Skin changes are pretty common for my clients. I love to ask my client to look in the mirror on her way out of the healing space after a session. There is nothing like looking 10 years younger after a reflexology treatment.
INCREASED MUCUS SECRETIONS IN NOSE, MOUTH and BRONCHIALS
DISRUPTED SLEEP PATTERNS – EITHER DEEPER or LESS RBED
Disrupted sleep patterns are personal with me. I always sleep so much better after a reflexology session! Occasionally, rarely this can be extreme.
One December, after receiving a reflexology session, I felt a strong need to rest about an hour after my appointment ended. I returned home, got comfortable, dozed off, and woke up the next day.
When I recall this event, I’m not really surprised. I was working too hard and my body, after its reflexology session, demanded a time-out.
DIZZINESS – NAUSEA
Reflexology sessions can modify and minimize dizziness, nausea, and pain experienced by cancer patients.
The first time I offered a reflexology session to a client cancer patient, I wasn’t prepared for how how dramatically she felt better after her appointment.
After seeing the changes she experienced, I studied more about reflexology and the cancer patient. I took continuing education classes and even attended one at the prestigious Memorial Sloan-Kettering Hospital in New York City.
It wasn’t too many more sessions that I began to use words such as pain reduction, improved quality of life, reduced fear of the future, better sleep, and reduced fatigue.
TEMPORARY OUTBREAK of a SUPPRESSED DISEASE
INCREASED VAGINAL DISCHARGE
FATIGUE – HEADACHE
These symptoms often disappear during a session if not long after. They can also be a reaction to a session.
FEVERISH – TEARING
Some feverishness and tearing can happen during a session. A lot of this happens when the client feels safe in the healing space. I keep boxes of tissues handy for tears.
Everyone needs to cry tears at one point or another. Reflexology sessions can be a safe place for this.
Sometimes, reactions to a session can be subtle, even silent, for a short period of time after the end of the session.
Just because you don’t see any behavior or skin changes immediately, don’t assume that there aren’t any reactions. Chat with your client for a few minutes after the session to be sure that everything is okay.
After all, you don’t want your client to leave your healing space and wander out into the parking lot, still a little vague about the session.
One time I received a scheduled session from a practitioner in New Paltz, New York, just a few miles away from my home in Woodstock.
It was a wonderful session. I left her office a few minutes too soon, though. It took me over an hour to get out of her area and on my way home.
Thanks for reading this article! Please forward it to your preferred social media network. Share it with your friends and relatives.
The YOUTUBE channel has an ever-enlarging selection of videos focused on reflexology and healing.
ENJOY!
Thanks again!
Thurman Greco
P.S. Much of the info in this article was shared from “Healer’s Handbook – Wellness for All” by Thurman Greco
Boost Your Energy With an Autumn Detox!
I love autumn and I love to celebrate the season with a detox.
When September rolls around, I know a detox will put sparkle in my eyes, and boost my energy.
One reason I like an autumn detox is because I’m a reflexologist and I know that one of the things a reflexology session does best is encourage a mild detox.
So, I begin my autumn detox with three days of reflexology sessions right in a row.
My next step is to eliminate. After all, that’s what a detox is all about. My autumn detox is a little different from any other detox, though. I’m not looking to eliminate everything – just the foods and drinks that weigh me down and make me feel sluggish. That means I’m going to ditch the junk and processed foods.
Because of the foods I eliminate, this detox is different from all the other detoxes that I do. Junk food and carbs top the list.
This season’s detox focuses on eating fruits for one day. Use them to rebalance your system. Because fruits always make me feel so good and energetic, I’ll probably stretch the one day out to two or three.
Each year, when I schedule my detox, I always schedule a few days of elimination when I cut out the junk foods, carbs, processed foods and the caffeine. (If you smoke, this is a good time to offload the nicotine.)
It’s never more than a couple days before I notice that my body is energized.
While I’m getting rid of the toxins and replacing them with good nutrients, I feel lighter, cleaner, and more energetic.
That’s when I take time to walk, schedule a yoga session, or go for a swim. The idea is to participate in activities which relax and rejuvenate your body.
An autumn detox is not new in my life. I remember autumn detox events dating back to my childhood in the South.
As the days grew cooler, a neighborhood mother prepared her special concoction and gave everyone a giant spoon full. To this very day, I have no idea what was in it.
This I do know: It tasted terrible! And, our bodies smelled terrible for several days afterward. If I ever smell that aroma again, I’m going to ask whoever is walking around with it to talk to me. I want to know everything!
Another neighborhood mother put herbs in asperfidity bags which she personally prepared for us. We wore them around our necks like necklaces. The only thing I remember was garlic. After that, my memory grows hazy.
Well, now is the 21st century and I prefer my autumn detox. It’s practical and easy. There are no smelly asperfidity bags to wear through the winter.
The power you will achieve by getting junk foods out of your life and your body encourages good things for you.
Several days worth of reflexology sessions bring bliss!
Adding exercises like walking, tai chi, or yoga are ideal for autumn rejuvenation and relaxation.
Complicated changes are not always necessary to promote wholistic health improvement and a longer life.
I hope you’re planning to join me and take the autumn equinox detox challenge!
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please share it with your favorite social lmedia network.
More health and wellness shows are available on “Let’s Live with Thurman Greco” on YOUTUBE.
There are even a few reflexology and Reiki therapy tutorials.
Call me to schedule or attend a “HOPE on the Road” event.
https://www.thurmangreco.om
thurmangreco@gmail.com
THANKS
September Brings a New Season.
September is a time to honor your health – your wellbeing.
Have fun with this! Celebrate the season!
LOCAL FARMERS’ MARKETS offer a bounty of fresh and local fruits, vegetables, and artisanal products.
September’s markets bring my favorite foods.
Tomatoes, potatoes, squash, apples, melons, figs, and beets are in season this time of year adding color to your plate and your soul.
Stick with these new fresh produce options throughout your Autumn and into Winter. Two fruits which I make a point to buy and eat in September include pears and pumpkins. I love both these foods and they taste best during September.
Find a farmers’ market and plan your meals around the seasonal produce you discover. A bonus on this food is that you’ll boost your antioxidents when you eat fresh seasonal produce.
Cook up a soup or stew.
I think of my breakfast as a September food. Every morning I have a serving of muesli topped with yogurt and blueberries or other seasonal fruit.
Visit your LOCAL HEALTH FOOD STORE for what you can’t find at the farmers’ market.
While you’re there, stock up on immune-boosting supplements. Go for a multi-vitamin, calcium, D3, a protein, and probiotics.
Commit to staying hydrated with lots of water.
It’s sweater time! Is your wardrobe ready for that extra layer you’re going to need? Consider LOCAL THRIFT SHOPS AND YARD SALES. Make eco-friendly options a priority.
Is someone in your house returning to school? Check the backpacks and lunch boxes. Are they in good condition?
SLEEP BETTER in this cooler weather. When September rolls around, I enjoy renewing tranquility with soothing colors in my bedroom.
I look around the room and remove any and all electronic gadgets that have somehow sneaked in during the year.
September is the time of the year when I ban TVs, computers, phones, and anything else with an electromagnetic field which can produce irritating attitudes and challenge my sleep.
My goal is to refresh my bedroom so that it’s a retreat where I escape from the noise of everyday life. This sanctuary reminds me that meditation, rest, and contemplation are important for a renewed state of mind.
Nourish your mind and rejuvenate yourself for the coming winter months.
Go a step further and schedule a regular reflexology or reiki session. Better yet, get one of each!
ENRICH YOUR LIFE a bit. September is a good time to learn to play a musical instrument, visit a museum, investigate your family history, take a walk, or just daydream.
Thanks for reading this blog post. Please forward it to your favorite social media network.
Share it with a friend.
If you are interested in learning more:
This new channel is improving daily. I always enjoy visiting it on Tuesdays because that’s when the new video productions are loaded.
T-shirts, hats, books, and aprons are sold at www.thurmangreco.com.
The summer book sale ends on September 22nd. That’s the date of the autumn equinox.
Your Spiritual Journey
I really like this beach scene. When you look closely, you’ll see foot prints in the sand.
I recently attuned a young man to first degree Reiki. He’s at the beginning of his spiritual path. I confess that I was impressed with him. After all, to have just “opened the door” on his journey with a Reiki attunement can be special.
The young traveler/Reiki student, newly arrived on his path, seemed hesitant and almost fearful of where he was going. He was trying to find his next steps.
To be young, and newly realizing you are on a spiritual path can raise issues of trust.
As I reflect on this young student, I wonder: What would I have done if I had been introduced to Reiki when I was 18?
Youth is an important detail. Sometimes that’s how a spiritual journey goes.
At other times, people discover Reiki after they’ve traveled on their path for awhile. I also see questions in a new, middle aged Reiki practitioner.
For me, finding Reiki was a middle age event. In my 50’s, my questions had to do with how I could experience more Reiki.
If you’re not careful, Reiki will surprise you in the middle of your spiritual journey. This can be especially true if you don’t have enough room for your own journey’s details.
If you are middle aged, you may not want to clutter up either your trip or the path with too many details. After all, you’re the only one on your spiritual path. No one else will join you.
Maybe you’ve been on your path so long you feel like that’s just how you “roll”.
Through the years I’ve attuned people to Reiki 2 who received a Reiki 1 attunement many years before. These travelers had questions also. Was trust the issue then? Or was it fear of failure?
I never asked. Now, having met Mark, I know there is more to hesitancy than readiness.
A teacher is a vital link between a student experiencing a challenge and the professional practitioner.
That’s where we return to the journey.
Wherever you are, take what you can use and leave the rest for a traveler coming up behind you, the one you may never meet.
Select what you need. Pack what you can use.
Look around you. Is there any space left? Maybe you have room for a few more things to use further down the road.
Remember, it’s okay to carry a few extra things – just in case.
The first thing to pack in your spiritual journey bag is positive feelings.
Can you use joy? What about gratitude or kindness? Patience and laughter may come in handy. Finally, courage and self-love will fit in somewhere.
What are some things you might be cultivating?
As you focus on your inner life, how important are rest and sleep?
.What are some activities which will help?
Positive feelings are the foundation for how you engage with these elements. Being calm and focused is basic.
Then, you can work on your vision, values, and your goals.
You’ll need them when you develop healthy relationships.
Throughout your journey, look for meaning, purpose, and a sense of accomplishment.
Wherever you are, the single most important skill (for me, anyway) is intention.
An important piece of your spiritual journey is the opportunity to learn about yourself. What fun! This is where you get to make discoveries and seek laughter.
This is also where you get to like yourself!
As you discover yourself, you get to choose the type of person you’ll be. This is where you drop things that are no longer important. You can choose what’s important, and what you stand for.
You can examine how far you’ve traveled.
And, discover the true meaning of gratitude. This is where you see your achievements for what they are and how important your journey is to mankind.
As you clean your spiritual closet, your pilgrimage smoothes out the bumps and gets easier.
You’ll learn how unimportant comparison really is.
Find ways to be gentle with yourself.
See all these things you’re learning as if they are lovely flowers blooming along the path on your spiritual journey.
And, finally, go at YOUR pace and in the direction that’s right for YOU.
WOW!
Thank you for reading this article. Please forward it to your favorite social
media network. Share it with a friend and relative.
Are you interested in learning more about Reiki? You’ll find YOUTUBE programs about both Reiki and Reflexology on “Let’s LIve with Thurman Greco”.
New programs are loaded on Tuesdays.
Thanks,
Thurman Greco
thurmangreco.com
What is Hope?
Hope is a feeling. It is also a skill.
Hope is honest. You can pretend to be happy but it’s pretty much impossible to pretend to have Hope.
Hope can be learned. How do you do this? Practice being Hopeful. Your first step is to make space in your life for Hope. This is also a good strategy for boosting your sense of well-being.
You don’t have to be positive to learn about Hope. I learned about Hope recently when I experienced some dark days. In the midst of these negative and painful feelings I discovered I felt Hopeful.
Hope just popped up and said “hi”.
When this happened, I felt I suddenly weighed several pounds less. I felt like I could smile even.
I think this happened because I refused to gloss things over. I decided I could try to change my situation. I felt strong enough to cope with the eventual outcome.
I was ready to try, anyway.
I wanted to do everything possible I could to make things better.
I was finally willing to even ask others for help.
I realized I needed to sleep and rest each day. For me, sleep and rest are holy.
One thing I was not ready to do was give up.
Once I dug my heels in, I felt inspired. I was through just sitting on the sidelines watching things go in the wrong direction.
Suddenly, Hope boosted me to take action! It was time to make things happen. Perfection was not in my situation but momentum and Hope were.
I soon learned that Hope covers many ills. I began to see what could happen because I had faith in things moving in the right direction.
Hope taught me, once again, that with a belief in the strength of a higher power and a faith in the universe, things can’t go wrong. I stumbled onto the wisdom of universally higher power.
We can all tap into universal wisdom. All we have to do is see it for what it is.
Sometimes, with Hope we have to reach out to others for help, answers, and direction.
I did this. I reached out to those around me. I didn’t stop with just one or two people. I asked everyone I could find for help, inspiration. I heated up the phone (and email) lines, as my grandmother would have said.
The result was not necessarily what I envisioned. It was, however, far better than what I saw as a good outcome. A lot of my reaching out resulted in “no” or “not now” or “I don’t know”. Even these negatives were encouraging.
All it took was Hope..
I knew what I needed to do was “go it alone”. I arrived at the TV studio with a basket from Karen filled with donations to put on the altar: stones, feathers, a singing bowl, an alter cloth, herbs, fruit, empty bottles, bread, rocks.
The first presentation of HOPE on the Road went out on Channel 23 this week. Ellen knew how to arrange the altar pieces.
You’ll find HOPE on the Road on YOUTUBE in early September.
Because I reached out to others, the outcome was beautiful.
Will you participate in HOPE on the Road?
Do you practice Reiki? Can you host your own HOPE on the Road?
You don’t practice Reiki?. That’s not a problem. Invite a Reiki practitioner to facilitate a HOPE on the Road presentation for you. Encourage people to enjoy your HOPE on the Road event.
A HOPE on the Road event includes a guided meditation opening followed by a group Reiki session. A hand blessing closes the experience. A HOPE on the Road event only takes an hour.
The Reiki practitioner is a vital link between a person experiencing a challenge and appropriate support.
Does that not seem right for you? Give me a call. Send me an email. I’m ready, willing, and able.
I’ll offer HOPE on the Road through Zoom or on the porch of a building, or in a garden somewhere. I can work with social distancing.
Don’t overlook your neighborhood library.
The important thing is that we share HOPE on the road.
What we all need now is HOPE.
Thank you for reading this blog article. Please forward this post to your preferred social media network.
Share it with your friends.
Thanks for joining HOPE on the Road!
Thurman Greco
HOPE – a Guided Meditation
Hope focuses on renewal, rebirth, and healing.
Find a place to be comfortable where you can rest undisturbed during this time.
As we experience this meditation, feel the “old” drop away and “new” opportunities present themselves.
Leave everything around you behind and bring your attention to yourself.
Relax as you go on this journey.
Get comfortable.
Breathe in from your abdomen – slowly, slowly, to the count of three.
One – Two – Three
Now – hold your breath to the count of four
One – Two – Three – Four
Now – exhale to the count of five.
One – Two – Three – Four – Five
Repeat this breathing pattern three more times.
In – one, two, three
Hold – one, two, three, four
Out – one, two, three, four, five
In – one, two, three
Hold – one, two, three, four
Out – one, two, three, four, five
In – one, two, three
Hold – one, two, three, four
Out – one, two, three, four, five
Continue to breathe deeply as you go into this relaxation.
Your relaxation becomes a blanket of warmth. Sink down into this quiet place inside yourself.
PAUSE
You are calm and peaceful now. It is time for your journey.
PAUSE
You are strolling along a path in a forest. Notice this path. How does it feel under your feet? Is this path a smooth grassy path? Are there pebbles? What kind of shoes are you wearing?
As you walk down this path, take a moment to feel the air on your skin – the sunlight shining down – gentle breezes caressing your clothes.
As you travel, notice sights, sounds, and fragrances: birds, butterflies, wind in the trees.
What is your reaction to this place? How do you feel beyond your body?
Strolling for a short time, you come to a clearing in the forest with openings to different paths.
As you look at the different paths, one attracts you.
You look down this path and see something shining in the sun off in the distance.
You’re drawn to this shining spot in the sun. What is it?
You walk along this path that you just selected. How does it feel under your feet? Is it smooth? Are there pebbles? Is it a smooth dirt path? Are there stepping stones?
As you walk toward the shiny spot ahead, you feel layers and layers of your past drop away.
The weight of the world evaporates from your shoulders.
PAUSE
You soon arrive at the end of the path where you see a bench waiting for you.
There, on this bench, you see new clothes, neatly folded.
When you look at them, you see they are more beautiful than any you’ve seen before.
You remove the clothes you are wearing and put on these new clothes. They are a perfect fit.
You walk up a slight hill toward the shining object you saw at the beginning of your walk.
As you approach the shining object, you discover it is a mirror.
You look in this mirror and see your reflection.
You see:
The person you have always known you were.
The person you have always wanted to be.
You see yourself as strong, and happy.
NOW – you can continue to explore your new “you” as you return to this room.
You know you can return to this place anytime you want.
This meditation is part of a new program I’m offering called “Hope on the Road”. I am sharing this meditation along with a reiki session and hand blessing to anyone who requests it.
This program is adaptable to zoom and in- person groups large or small. It will also be on my YouTube channel.
Thank you for participating.
Thank you for reading this meditation blog post. Please share it with your friends and forward it to your preferred social media network.
Thurman
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Now, Try a 1-Evening, Digital Detox
My last blog post focused on having a mild detox – actually, a limited detox. It focused on receiving three extra reflexology sessions and cutting out the inevitable junk food which greets us every day.
Now, I’m inviting you to enjoy something you may not have even thought of – or even dreamed of – in a long, long time:
A digital detox event one evening every month.
Several years ago, I signed up for a detox vacation. I enrolled in a 7-day, supervised, fast. This vacation included drinking special juices during the day.
I also drank 2 broths each day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. This broth was a specially prepared soup of vegetables designed to rid my body of toxins.
Pure water was also part of the menu. I drank glass after glass of glorious, pure water.
Between drinking juices, broths, and waters, we went on walks around the area. Some of us practiced yoga daily. Others of us received massages. Yet others listened to live guitar concerts.
I don’t have to tell you that I loved this whole experience. The juices, the waters, the walks…everything.
We did one thing that really wasn’t on the brochure. Nobody even whispered about it. WE SLOWED DOWN.
Stress simply was not part of the reality.
As I recall this experience, I feel the absence of stress was probably the single most important positive portion of this whole event.
As the toxins left our bodies, they took the stress with them. When our bodies realized that they were on vacation too, other things happened:
We laughed more.
Our kidneys relaxed.
Blood pressure began to slowly, gradually, lower for some of us.
Intestinal problems took short holidays.
People commented about brain responses becoming a bit faster.
Most of us lost a few pounds.
Since that fasting vacation years ago, I’ve sought ways to replicate this experience in smaller, more intimate events when the seasons change.
I felt then, have felt since, and still feel now, that it is easier to do a good thing for my body more often. An ongoing detox can pamper my body in ways that an occasional week-long fast cannot.
So, now, one evening a month, I go all out for a digital detox.
I give my ears, my eyes, my brain, and my hands a break from phone calls, emails, social media pages.
heart with wings
At first, it felt a little weird. But, now I know that a technical vacation is less a luxury than a necessity.
One evening a month I turn everything off: TV, phone, tablet, laptop, and everything else eletronic in my home. I close these things up and put them away.
Imagine: no little blue light!
I sit down in a comfortable chair and enjoy the evening. This is my time to meditate for a few extra moments, read a book, have a conversation with a loved one.
When this break is over, I’m refreshed, grounded, and feeling positive.
Guess what. I know something that a lot of people don’t yet know. There is more to my life than the small screen and the little blue light.
Now, I’m inviting you to do something you may not even have thought of – or even dreamed of – in a long, long time.
Turn off everything that has a little blue light. Everything. Just for one short evening. Silence your phone, computer, tablet, TV, and every other distracting electronic thing in your space.
A short break from technology can refresh you, ground you, and remind you there is more to life than a message from a small screen.
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