Saturday, June 30, 2012

Abraham: Pre-Paving/Back Book Correction

The new pathway.
And thanks for the lovely comments and emails.


Another beautiful day from my Vortex perspective. I am very much appreciating our slightly refrigerated summers here in Oregon lately. I am thrilled to report that I did some deep relaxation last night and my neck and shoulders are feeling grand. An extra-long luxurious sleep delivered a complex three-part triumph-over-peril dream. Many things nearly went afoul in this dream yet solutions materialized in each scenario. I awoke realigned and chipper. 


I had a chance to practice going general last night. I quickly became petulant when a subject about which I've practiced negative thinking was raised. I had already been doing a bit of sloppy thinking, so when I touched upon this subject--WHOOSH--I was in full-on activation. I made one derisive statement and instantly law of attraction provided another and another, a couple of which I voiced. After this bit of indulgence I withdrew from the conversation by saying, "You know what, I need to stop talking right now. I got very negative and I need to realign." 


In the moment I made those negative statements it really seemed I had no choice. I don't remember even thinking, "don't go there". It felt like I HAD to put my hand on the hot stove. But thanks to Abraham and Somatic Experiencing (and the myriad other modalities and methods that address brain and nervous system  function currently springing forth from the cosmos), I know that patterns can be changed. I know that the WHOOSH of activation I experienced is simply my primitive brain's beautiful 1/125th of a second hair trigger responding to a perceived threat. Many of our modern brains don't differentiate well between real and actual threat; thus we have dug many deep neural pathways for intense activation into our brains. By taking my hand off the burner, I jumped the neural groove and began firing and wiring other neurons into new patterns. I got off the subject and soothed myself with an "I don't have to think about this right now" statement and began activating other subjects. It didn't feel completely authentic, but I began by noticing the beautiful vegetation along a huge concrete wall. Then I looked at the sky and the clouds. My heart rate decreased. Muscles began to relax. Breathing slowed.


It occurs to me as I write, that the dream is a reflection of this incident. During both the incident and the dream, things looked dire initially but solutions were close at hand. Nothing like a little contrast to stir the pot, make life interesting and offer practice at being who we really are. This little incident took maybe 15 minutes. I got negative for less than three minutes before getting off the subject. My hand got a little red and there might be a few blisters. Next time I'll be probably be swifter still.


I love this Abraham clip:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bCQVWEgZOe4



**And in yesterday's post, I cited the wrong book. Here's the book I actually used:


http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Back-Pain-Naturally-Mind-Body/dp/0743424646

Friday, June 29, 2012

Abraham: The Book In the Back Seat

I love birds and bunnies.




What a wonderful week this is being for me. I'm wearing shoes that feel like they were made for me for which I paid an in-the-Vortex price of $8. I've had pleasant visits with friends and family. And as I sit comfortably to type I notice how soft and supple my trapezius and deltoid muscles feel today, just as I knew they would eventually. Earlier this week those muscles told a different story and I chose to worry for a moment and blame myself for their tightness. Then I remembered that physical manifestations are the result of unchecked negative emotion and attention to contrast. I took my attention off the muscles even though they spoke loudly at me for days. I soothed myself with statements like, "I've had sore muscles before and it didn't last forever," and "I'm really excited about what I'm putting into my Vortex with this physical contrast." I focused on the many things that are going well in my life. I did self-care that even if it didn't fix the soreness was of benefit. I went about with my daily activities and stayed open to helpful information or suggestions for remedies. I've had a book for the last several months called "Healing Back Pain: The Mind-Body Connection":


http://www.amazon.com/Healing-Back-Pain-Mind-Body-Connection/dp/0446392308

As is often the case, I bought the book and put it on my reading table and left it there. I thumbed through it a few times, but never sat down to read it. My wonderful partner read several portions and gave it a very favorable review. A few days ago I threw the book into my back seat in case I needed something to read on my mythical coffee shop visit. Almost every day I think I'm going to go to a coffee shop to read a book. Almost every day I don't. But that little fantasy of mine is what got the book into the back seat and lined me (and a friend) up with some good-feeling muscles.


I went to Portland yesterday to spend time with my son and his wonderful partner and to run some errands. The three of us coffeed and dined and shopped and joked and told stories. We enjoyed each other's company for several hours and accomplished all our goals. I had one more errand and then planned to visit a longtime friend whom I had not seen in a very long time. Every so often throughout the busy day I would notice those sore muscles and redirect my thoughts if I strayed into negativity. It wasn't even that difficult, because everywhere we went, the people we encountered were above-and-beyond pleasant. We had so many lovely interactions that we ended up having a short conversation about them. I'm sure we basked for a good 68 seconds and I know that we had a high collective vibe as we parted ways. I noticed the book in the back seat as I dropped them off. 


So when I called my friend to give her an ETA and she mentioned that her back had gone out, I realized that the book being right there at the perfect moment was just part of the grid I had been establishing this week. I told my friend I had just the thing for her back and that we would work on it. I began to get a little stressed because I had lined up with rush hour but I decided to enjoy the stream of invigorating hip-hop on the new-car perk of XM radio. Jeezy, Snoop, Jay-z, Niki Minaj, Drake and Fifty Cent entertained me as I pre-paved the perfect route and some lovely breaks in traffic. I mused that I didn't have a clue what I would do for my friend, but figured that I would know what to do. I called on Metatron and Raphael for good measure and enjoyed the ride, which was quite brief and very pleasant. In my quest for things to appreciate in the 5 MPH traffic, I was treated to an amazing composition of concrete lines and curves populated by scores of automobiles. I had a we're-all-in-this-together flash that combusted into laughter that went well with the music.


I was thrilled to share my finds of the day with my friend and do some catching up. It was obvious that her back was not currently right. I had shown her the book and told her I was going to open it at random and let it lead me to something valuable. That book and I found THE most perfect spot to align with a beautiful section on deep relaxation. I read the information to myself and would have been amazed at its perfection, but I know better than to be amazed. When I am in a mode of appreciation and fun, fabulous things flow to me. I read the section to my friend and off we went.


The author, Dr. John Sarno, tells us that our back goes out on us at inopportune times because of stress. He relates a couple of stories about prescribing 30 minutes of deep relaxation to patients who reported excellent results and relief from acute pain. Deep relaxation stops the noxious loop that fear, worry and anger (negative thinking) perpetuate and that then causes us to tense our muscles.


Following the instructions in the book, my friend propped herself into a comfortable position on her couch. She lay so that there was no strain on her muscles or joints. With the lights low I began to read and as much as possible to do the deep relaxation myself as I sat in a comfortable chair. Dr. Sarno had us bring awareness to our breath and just notice the flow in and out of our lungs. He asked us to become aware of our toes, the tops and soles of our feet and our ankles. We breathed deeply, held it for an instant and then exhaled slowly. Next we moved to the lower legs and calf muscles. I used my phone's stopwatch to time about 3 minutes for each area (2 minutes is more like it). We spent 45 minutes in this altered state, and while my own muscles were still tight, I felt absolutely bouyant in all other aspects. My friend reported great relief and soothing. On my drive home I appreciated the power of establishing a positive grid where the next logical step is extremely apparent. I actually didn't notice how wonderful my neck and shoulders felt until a couple of hours after I awakened. I guess I just knew that things always work out for me.