Five Types of Energy Work for Holistic Health

Posted on April 18, 2013 by Julianne Victoria

There are many different types of energy work,                                                    incorporating a broad range of often166698_333919493394807_1160464088_n-300x290 ancient techniques. Energy work may be one of the oldest forms of healing and many types of energy work stem from ancient shaman and seer practices from centuries ago. Though, as the name indicates, energy work focuses on balancing out and promoting the flow of energy in the body, it often also takes a holistic approach by including breathing and movement exercises, meditation and self-awareness practices, herbal and food/diet remedies, as well as lifestyle changes to assist the healing process. Here I will introduce five types of energy work for holistic health:

1) Reiki

Reiki is an energy work technique that guides and transfers the universal ki (energy, qi, chi) through the practitioner’s palms or hands to promote healing within the client. A fixed number of hand placements are commonly used, but some practitioners let their intuition guide them to where the energy flow is blocked or to where healing needs to take place. A Reiki session might also focus on balancing the seven Chakras. Reiki can be done hands-on or with the hands a few inches over the body. Reiki practitioners also use empowered Reiki symbols and breathing techniques to facilitate the healing process.

2) Polarity Therapy

Polarity Therapy seeks to find where energy is unbalanced, blocked, or fixed due to stress or other factors. This allows pain and disease to arise. Energy blockages in the human energy field begin at the subtle level but eventually manifest at the denser level of bodily tissues such as muscle and fascia. Polarity Therapy views health as a reflection of the condition of the energy field, and there are 3 types of energy fields in the human body: Long line currents that run north to south in the body; transverse currents that run east-west in the body; and spiral currents that start at the navel and expand outward. With its goal of addressing the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of healing, Polarity Therapy combines energy-based bodywork, diet, exercise, and self-awareness practices.

3) Qigong (chi kung, or chi gung)

Qigong is a practice to cultivate and balance qi (chi, ki, energy) for the promotion and maintenance of health. It incorporates breathing exercises, movement exercises, self-awareness practices, and meditation. Its goal is to master the mind through self-awareness of the body, mind, and emotions, and to open the heart with gratitude and compassion. Mindfulness and awareness can remove negative emotions, which are qi blockers, hinderers, and causes of pain and suffering. As Qigong instructors say: Mind is a good servant, but a bad master.

4) Shiatsu

Shiatsu is a finger-pressure or Acupressure technique similar to Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine. A Shiatsu practitioner works by putting pressure on specific points along the meridian energy channels to balance out, increase, or decrease the flow of chi to that given point and/or through the specific meridian channel. As with Reiki, there are some Shiatsu techniques that are a fixed pattern, but healing sessions are also individualized according to the clients’ needs. As with Acupuncture, Shiatsu can also incorporate the recommendation of herbs and herbal tea remedies and diet modifications.

5) Matrix Energetics

With Matrix Energetics we move beyond the physical, mental, and emotional aspects of energy work and add in quantum physics to the healing mix. Matrix Energetics practitioners work with the vibrations and waves of energy at the quantum energy level. They open up the blocked pathways of very subtle energy for transformation and healing to take place. Through teaching awareness of the limitations of the mind and with gentle touch, disease, which is a disruption or distortion arising in the matrix of the energy fields, and physical and emotional injuries, which impair communication at the cellular level, are cleared. Matrix Energetics also repairs and improves the flow of energy so that the body can better respond to injury and illness in the future.

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Bardo: Life, Death, & Everything In-Between

Posted on April 16, 2013 by Julianne Victoria

From the Buddhist perspective, death is not the end,                                                             and it is nothing to be feared. It issoul-leaving-body just one of the steps in the continuous cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. These steps are called bardos: states of consciousness, which include life, death, and everything in-between. These in-between, or intermediate, states include the state of meditation and the dream state. Most commonly when the word bardo is used, it refers to the time between one life and the next, the intermediate state between the moment of the final breath, when the body and consciousness separate, and the moment when consciousness enters its next incarnation.

This period of bardo is a time for consciousness to try to let go of attachments of the previous life and an opportunity for consciousness to become aware of and recognize its own true nature. This opportunity is provided by consciousness itself in the form of visions of both deities and demons, or wrathful ones. These visions are projections of one’s own mind, and if they are recognized as such, liberation is achieved. Consciousness becomes one with the luminous, pure white light.

However, most of us do not reach luminosity or enlightenment, and we are reborn. This state of consciousness after death of the physical body is an opportunity to see that the wrathful ones (our fear, anger, and attachments) are products of our own minds, but we can also strive to achieve this awareness in the state of bardo called life. As consciousness becomes more and more aware of itself, as we become more and more aware of what is our ego (fear, anger, and attachments) and what is our true consciousness, we can open up towards compassion. With more and more clarity our true consciousness can guide us to favorable rebirths so that we can continue on our journey towards greater self-awareness, a life of compassion, and eventually luminosity.

Life, death, and everything in-between is a journey of consciousness through states of uncertainty. All states of consciousness, waking, dreaming, dying, etc., are impermanent. Consciousness will shift from one to the next in a continuous cycle until it lets go of all things uncertain and impermanent and becomes one with the permanence of the pure white light.

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I Am Therefore I Am

Posted on April 14, 2013 by Julianne Victoria

This morning while watching this video on                                                              poet4justice, I was reminded of a poem IQuasar wrote back in 2008:

cogito ergo sum

i think

therefore i am

am i

if i am perceived by myself

i must exist

if i do not perceive myself

do i exist

if another acknowledges me

i must exist

if no one gives me a thought

do i exist at all

this ego

this i

this me

this myself

who are they

it is the mind

the ego

that thinks

if there are no thoughts of this ego

then does this ego exist

once the mind engages

the ego exists

when the ego is not

what is

soul is

spirit is

consciousness is

sum ergo sum

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The Sky Is Not Always Blue

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Julianne Victoria

We all see our lives and the world from                                                                           different perspectives depending upon ourphoto-1 upbringings, education, and life experiences. The word perspective comes from the Latin perspectum (ppp of perspicio), meaning to see through or examine. Our different perspectives are the ways each of us looks at life, that is, how we see and perceive life through our own eyes and minds.

Like our perspectives, our perceptions are individual too. For example, we may all say that on a cloudless day the sky is blue, but what I perceive as blue, another person may perceive as red (to me). We don’t really know what another person sees and perceives. We are all alone in our minds with our own perceptions.

photo-7It is with these perceptions of the mind that we are able to function on this physical realm, but it is the illusions of the perceptions of the mind, whether they be fears, prejudices, misconceptions, anxiety, brain injury, etc., that hinder us from seeing our inner knowledge and wisdom. Through self-awareness and self-study practices, we can learn to pull aside the veils of illusion and begin to “see the light” with our hearts, our consciousness, and our third eyes.

There is a lot of overlap in language between the meanings of “to see” and “to know.” A Shaman is one who knows and sees the spirit realm. Seers are prophets who have an intuitive knowledge of the divine. Buddha, which means one who knows, is the Enlightened One who sees the world as consciousness. Old Norse wise women were called spakona, seer woman. Etymologically the words vision and video also overlap with the meanings of knowledge and wisdom:

  • Sanskrit: Veda – knowledge; vid – to know; vidus – wise
  • German: wissen – to know
  • Old Norse: Woden (the god) – inspired seer
  • Old Irish: wat – seer
  • English cognates: wise, wisdom, wizard

photo-2Seeing is believing and knowing. In the physical world, seeing with our two eyes and understanding with our minds allows us to learn and be productive in life. Beyond the superficial, practicing and learning to see from within, through the wisdom of our True Self, will allow us to expand beyond the limits of the physical world and become one with the vibrations of the light of All.

The Self, pure awareness, shines as the light within the heart, surrounded by the senses. Only seeming to think, seeming to move, the Self neither sleeps nor wakes nor dreams.

– Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? Do you have eyes but fail to see and ears but fail to hear?

– Mark 8:17-18

Weekly Photo Challenge: Color

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A Poetic Duet: The Star Within

Posted on April 6, 2013 by Julianne Victoria

I’ve had the honor of writing another poetic duet, this                                                         time with TooFullToWrite. TheStarWithin process was smooth and a joy. TooFullToWrite is a talented writer and his blog is full of poetry, flash fiction, short stories, and information for other writers including writing and creativity advice. Be sure to check it out. Many thanks to TooFullToWrite!

The Star Within

Awaken the spirit and the taste of trust
A star burns under flesh covered bones
Energy builds, emboldening us as it grows
Stories reside within, desiring to be told

The pressure builds as it wells up inside
Leaking out through our subconscious realm
The battle of the winds in our minds increases
Mystifying and awakening our conscious dreams

Myths become legends, fantasies now realities
At one with our Father’s and Mother’s legacies
Drawing upon their strength and knowledge
Forging a sacred path to honour their lineage

The heritage of the flesh no longer matters
As matter dissolves into the Cosmic Energy
The stories of Father Sun and Mother Moon
Becoming the light of our true spiritual legacy

Proud of choices we make to influence our fate
A mantra cancelling all of our negativity and hate
Fools will not be suffered gladly on our own quests
Pushing all the boundaries, accepting nothing less

And nothing more is there to be found
Once the veils of Maya and Mara come down
Illusions and desires no longer trap our souls
The star within bursts out, we become whole

Pieces of the puzzle now fit snugly into place
Understanding the logic of the human race
Peace and love dwells deep inside all of us
Shower it on others, in their joy we can bask

Bodhisattvas of compassion and love
Angels and spirit guides sent from above
Awakened beings we all are meant to be
Trust the light inside for we need it to see

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Sustainable Living: We All Have the Power to Clean and Green Our Environment

Posted on April 4, 2013 by Julianne Victoria

There probably are very few, if any, of us who                                                                       have not heard of, read about, orYinYangGreen seen and experienced first hand how our own kind litters, exploits, and wastes away our homes, city streets, parks, other species, forests, and oceans. We cannot control what others do or think, but we can take action ourselves and in the process both educate others and set examples for others to follow. Whether physically able or not, there are ways in which we all have the power to clean and green our environment, and though many of us can’t afford to put solar panels on our roofs or go out and buy a new hybrid vehicle, there are definitely simple and inexpensive things that all of us can do to be less wasteful and live sustainably:

1) Unplug electronics and appliances when not in use. 

Though some newer computers and gadgets go into energy-saving mode while still plugged in, most electronics, such as TV’s, stereos, and computers do not. Go around your home or office and touch all the electronics and appliances. If they feel warm, they are using up energy when not in use. Unplug and save!

2) Take shorter showers.

The average shower lasts 10-30 minutes! Now, it may be unreasonable for everyone to cut down to a 3-5 minute shower, but each of us could probably shave a few minutes off of our shower time. With most shower heads flowing at 2.5-4 gallons per minute, just cutting down our shower time by 5 minutes, could easily save 12.5-20 gallons of water per person each day. That’s a lot of savings of our most precious resource!

3) Walk or ride a bicycle if you can.

It’s easy to get into the habit of driving everywhere, but if you are physically able and you have the time, try walking or riding a bicycle to get coffee, run errands, or meet a friend. Decide on a certain radius of what you consider walking/biking distance, and try to stick to walking or biking to places within your radius. For one person that may be a few blocks, another a few miles. Whatever it is, it will be good both for your health and the environment!

4) Buy locally grown foods.

A lot of gas and oil is used transporting foods from distant locations. Buying locally grown foods and other products can reduce this waste and encourage producers to sell more locally. Our food choices and demands can influence how the environment is used – holisticly and sustainably, or wastefully. Also, eating locally and in season food is better for your health!

5) Grow some herbs and veggies.

There’s nothing like picking and eating fresh herbs, fruits, or vegetables from your own garden. Growing your own food saves on energy, packaging, and consuming in general. It also tastes delicious! Even if you don’t have a garden, a couple of window boxes and pots are enough to grow some basic herbs and greens.

6) Clean up.

Pick up trash you see on hiking trails, in bushes, or on your street. It could be a random act of kindness, or you could set aside just twenty minutes a week or month to help clean up.

7) Volunteer.

Volunteer with environment work parties in your area, or organize your own.

8) Donate Money or Time.

Donate to or volunteer with nature conservancy and animal rights and conservancy groups. We are all part of this great web of life. When strands are cut, lost, or weakened, it creates a domino effect on the other strands in the web.

9) Live Consciously.

Expressing respect for the environment through actions, words, thoughts, and intentions can also have a great impact on the world at large. Set an example of love by how you live your life. It just might be contagious!

10) The Power of Energy.

If you are not physically able to volunteer in some way, harness the power of intention though meditation and visualization. Visualize the good, help, cleaning, greening, and love you wish to be for the world…sort of like biofeedback for the planet.

If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see what others do. 

– Gandhi

There are steps all of us can take, even if just tiny baby steps, to help out the planet and the environment. Our actions, however small, can have an impact, for it is also the energy and intentions that we put out into the world that can bring about positive change. We all have the power to help clean and green our environments: our homes, our cities, and beyond all the way to the depths of the seas. Intentions from the heart do have the power to change the world.

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Spring Cleaning: Eating Well for Our Health and For the Planet

Posted on March 30, 2013 by Julianne Victoria

Springtime is the time of year when we come out of                                                               the darker days, hibernation, andSquash Blossoms by Julianne Victoria colder weather of the winter season. We soak in the warmth of the sun, our energy levels begin to rise, and we become more active with the longer days. All of Nature, including us humans, begins to wake up, grow, and become more energetic. Along with this we often have an urge to do some spring cleaning – to clear away the old and stagnant and to create the space for rebirth and growth.

Besides the usual dusting and polishing, we can also spring clean ourselves from the inside out through diet. Eating a well-balanced diet can be challenging, but there are some simple and easy steps we can take to eat well, or at least better. Whether we are trying to lose weight, need to modify our diets for a health condition, want more energy and vitality, or just want to eat better in general, these five easy diet changes can help us cleanse from within and improve our health:

1) Reduce and/or substitute sugar

Reducing and even eliminating sugar consumption is maybe the easiest way to lose weight and reduce the risk for diabetes and other common health conditions. Substituting sugar with a natural and healthier alternative, such as agave nectar or honey, is another option.

2) Cut down on processed foods

Processed foods are often high in sugar and/or salt, but they usually also contain preservatives. Too much sugar, salt, and other preservatives taxes our bodies, and the process of processing leaches the nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals, out of the food we eat.

3) Eliminate “man-made” foodstuffs

That is, if Nature didn’t make it, we probably weren’t meant to eat it. If there are chemicals (preservatives, food colorings, sugar alternatives) or hydrogenated oils and fats in the ingredient list, it’s best to not eat it. Our bodies are part of Nature, and we should nurture our bodies with food that it knows how to digest.

4) Buy fresh, local, and organic when possible

Fresh and local fruits, vegetables, dairy, and meats not only taste better, but can be more nutritious too. When our food hasn’t had to travel long distances or be packaged in cans etc., it can be higher in nutrients and enzymes. Buying organic ensures that our food was grown without pesticides or other unnatural substances that can get into our bodies.

5) Make conscious choices when food shopping

Being conscious of where our food comes from, and how (if you eat dairy, eggs, or meat) our food was treated can also influence our health. The negative energy and stress of unhappy farming conditions can lead to the production of less nutritious milk, eggs, etc. Though subtle the energetic impact can also affect our health.

We are what we eat, and though we may not be able to completely change our diets, these are five easy ways to slowly, but consciously change our diets to improve our health and in that process cleanse our bodies. When we focus on the quality of the food, our bodies will function more efficiently and regulate the quantity and our overall health for us.

Eating well not only cleanses and nourishes the physical body, but by doing so, we also help to nourish our planet and Nature. Many of us go through each day without really thinking about the impact of what we eat except for how it might affect each of us personally. Food is a vital substance. We should eat to live so that we have the health, energy, and strength to live fully each day. But how we eat also affects how we live, our personal environments, and the planet as a whole. Our food choices and demands can influence how the environment is used – holisticly and sustainably or greedily depleted and pillaged.

If we all took steps, even if just baby steps, to eat well, we can have a positive influence on others around us and on the global environment. We can eat well by consciously trying to eat better quality food more often: local, organic, sustainably farmed, in-season, and humanely-treated. With positive intentions when we live in natural alignment with our immediate and, in turn, our global and even universal environments, we can all live healthier including the planet. Good intentions do have the power to change the world.

The body is your temple. Keep it pure and clean for the soul to reside in.

– B.K.S. Iyengar

The Second Limb of Yoga: Saucha (Cleanliness)

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By the Light of the Full Moon

Posted on March 27, 2013 by Julianne Victoria

A piece of short fiction in honor of and in celebration                                                               of the blossoming of Spring, Holi, andJerry'sBlueMoon the Full Moon:

Sara suddenly awoke from a deep sleep. The light of the full moon was so bright that at first she thought that dawn was approaching. Intrigued she went out into the backyard to look at the majestic and magical moon. The moon seemed to hang directly above her as she stood within the semicircle of trees she called her little forest. Sara was amazed at how warm she felt on this frosty night even though she was only in her pajamas.

Just then she heard rustling on the branches, and looking up she saw three ravens perched above her, watching her. From her shaman studies, Sara knew that ravens were carriers of sacred wisdom, guides for working in shadow, and carriers of souls from darkness into light. The ravens were bringing her a message, a very important one.

As she pondered this, Sara felt her body lift off the ground. Her form had shifted into the shape of a raven, and she was flying straight towards the moon. Soon the brightness became so intense, Sara seemed to melt right into it. She felt like she was one with the light, as if she too were mere energy waves or vibrations.

Sara could now see and understand everything: past, present, and future. It was all the same really. The confines of time did not exist in the realm that she was now flowing through. The limits of space did not exist either, for she could be anywhere, on earth or in a distant galaxy from one moment to the next. Sara had been transported into a realm beyond space and time, the realm of Spirit. As she flowed through the infinite Universe, she was overwhelmed with the beauty of the interconnectedness of everything. She was no longer Sara; she was the Universe.

Sara suddenly awoke from a deep sleep. The sun was just beginning to peak over the horizon, filling the morning sky with hues of pink and orange. She decided to go out into her backyard to soak up some of the colorful light and warmth of the majestic and magical sun. As she did so, she remembered what had happened during the night. Was it a dream? It seemed so vivid that it had to be real. She did feel different this morning too. Sara felt an incredible sense of peace and awareness that she had never experienced before.

Somehow she knew that this feeling was not temporary. She still had the same ability to see and understand that she acquired in her “dream”. Her psychic and clairvoyant abilities had magnified overnight. She had come into her power. By the light of the full moon, she had been transported through the realm of the subconscious and connected with the realm of Spirit, the continuum of One, Nothing, and Everything.

Just then she heard rustling on the branches, and looking up she saw three ravens perched above her, watching her. Ravens…the carriers of sacred wisdom, guides for working in shadow, and carriers of souls from darkness into light.

Sara then thanked the ravens for their important message and went inside to begin her new life dedicated to helping others to connect with Spirit.

Blue Full Moon photo by: Jerry Stolarski.

To read more Short Fiction, click here.

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Springtime Poems

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Julianne Victoria

When I was asked by Joe at Iamforchange if I                                                                     would like to co-write some poetry withblue-flowers-wallpaper him, I thought it would be a fun, experimental, and very creative writing project, especially since I haven’t written much poetry in the last couple of years. We decided to compose the following poems inspired and intuited from the Tarot. For the first poem, we each drew a three card spread and alternated lines. For the second poem, we each drew a Celtic Cross spread and alternated lines. Here are the results:

#1 New Beginnings

The chains that had bound no longer found

But the process of grief still lingers

A good message brings courage to follow dreams

For the seed has been planted for the heart to heal

Balance and control confidence and success they bear

And the Alchemy brings forth what previously wasn’t there

#2 Movement and Growth

The time has come to be reborn and transform
Shining bright all will be well like summer born
Winter’s wounds weathered standing firm
Change is in the wind an adventure yearned
All will flow smoothly like an ocean breeze
Treasure arrives on the journey to destiny
Through the distant towers the sun rises anew
The wheel turns, events fortunate arise
 
Foundations of truth and justice firmly set
Break clean and begin anew say yes
Wishes unfulfilled now past
New love comes fast
The spinning wheel of karma is in play
Fame and fortune come your way
 
But slow the mind to move swiftly forward
The world is yours, around the corner freedom waits
By others your hard work will be appreciated 
Someone important into your life soon arrives
Move forward in hope, but not fear,
Appearing wealthy, comfort as the time draws near
In the end you see the sun shining brightly, but it always has
Raw power and strength brought to bear, setbacks overcome

Thanks to Joe for this collaborative effort! Though we did not see or know each others cards, it flowed smoothly like the ocean breeze. Happy Spring to All!

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Let There Be Peace on Earth

Posted on March 23, 2013 by Julianne Victoria

When I first joined Bloggers For Peace a certain                                                                 hymn from my childhood startedimages vibrating in my mind. With the Catholic and Christian Holy Week beginning tomorrow, I felt this would be the perfect time to present this mantra of peace and love. This hymn, Let There Be Peace on Earth, is a perfect example of the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who preached only peace and love. There is no fighting, there is no violence, there is no war, there is no acting out of anger nor hatred in the name of Jesus Christ, nor in the name of God, whoever God is for each of us. To live a life through Jesus Christ, through Krishna, through Buddha, through God, through the Divine, or through Mother Earth, is to live as a Spiritual Being. Spiritual Living is living through compassion, love, and peace.

Let there be peace on earth
And let it begin with me.
Let there be peace on earth
The peace that was meant to be.
With God as our father
Brothers all are we.
Let me walk with my brother
In perfect harmony.

Let peace begin with me
Let this be the moment now.
With every breath I take
Let this be my solemn vow.
To take each moment 
And live each moment 
With peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth,
And let it begin with me.

The Prayer of Saint Francis, another hymn of love and peace.

Please visit fellow Bloggers for Peace too. Peace and Blessings to All!

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