We are constantly bombarded about losing weight, toning our body, using fake nails or eyelashes, injecting toxins into our body for the sake of less wrinkles, wearing types of clothing, using certain products and the list goes on and on. Yet many of the beautiful people that are featured in magazines or on television feel threatened by an extra pound or unwanted body bulge, so the end result is binge eating and then purging for the sake of being slim.

Young girls are getting the message that they are not beautiful enough without indulging in the latest fashion trend or make up. There is even make up for 6 year olds! Pre-teens and teenagers are feeling pressured to get cosmetic surgery for what is perceived as an imperfection. As the years go by and more imperfections appear, how will these be handled?

When you think of true beauty, what do you think of? By American standards, the supermodels and actresses are the beautiful people. But at what cost?

True beauty is someone who has a loving heart and spirit; someone that has unconditional love for mankind. This type of person radiates beauty from the inside out.

What are some ways that you can nurture the beauty within?
1. See the inner beauty in those you come into contact with.
2. Open your heart to the divinity within each one of us.
3. Let gratitude be your attitude. Appreciate not only the big moments in your life, but every experience, challenge and everything that we take for granted, such as a beautiful sunset, the fragrance of a flower, laughter of a child, every breath we take, and every day we wake up.
4. Take time for you. It could be as little as 5 minutes a day to meditate, pray and breathe…just be in the stillness and silence.
5. Make positive statements or affirmations often. For example, I am loving and lovable, I am worthy, I am grateful for fortunate blessings that come my way each and every day. Say these with conviction and really believe it to be so.
6. Release the urge to criticize yourself or others and change the negative into something positive.
7. Laugh and smile as often as you can. A good belly laugh is good for your immune system and makes you feel good.
8. Be true to yourself and others. Be authentic in what you do and say.
9. Nurture your spirituality. Find like-minded people to network with and support each other.
10. Give away free hugs and smiles. You never know if a smile to a stranger will make their day.
11. Dance, sing, write poetry, be creative, paint outside the lines.
12. Everyday look at your self in the mirror and tell yourself, I am beautiful, just the way I am. And so you are!

“Nearly 90% of disease is preventable, and the most important component of prevention is empowering people to take positive steps to maximize well-being. Prevention is not medical intervention; prevention is living simply and wisely.”

Most of us are caregivers…whether it’s our families, our friends, or our jobs. As caregivers we tend to forget about OUR self-care.  But remember, “You cannot expect to recharge any one else’s batteries unless you recharge your own!”

It is important to listen to what our bodies are telling us.  You may get a small “hint” that you need to take it easy, but chose to ignore it.  Then you may get a larger “hint” but you keep going full speed ahead.  And then, guess what?  Your body will find a way to get your attention and hits you over the head with a 2X4!  Sometimes it’s in the form of pain…we get that message loud and clear.

“The time to relax is when you don’t have time for it.”  ~Sidney J. Harris

When we are out of balance, illness and disease may occur. The mental body must be healed as well as the physical body to regain harmony and be freed from disease.

Mind, body and spirit need to be addressed for optimal health.

You are what you say, think and feel. “Your thinking has more impact on your life than any other activity you engage in,” writes Caterina Rando, author of Learn to Power Think. Are there ideas or attitudes that you have that have made a difference in your life? Can you pinpoint what they are? What you say and think may affect you more than you realize.

Whenever we have negative thoughts or feelings, these become lodged in our subconscious mind/body. As a result, this becomes a challenge to change or eliminate, as we may not be aware that they are there.

Throughout our lifetime, our body has kept a perfect copy of our every word, thought, and emotion. These have been stored as cellular memory. As a result, we have become what we say, think, and feel.

Over time these memories develop into blockages of energy. Blocked energy, disharmonious or congested energy is usually connected with emotional trauma, illness, disease or injury. Author Caroline Myss states, “your biography is your biology. Your body contains your history. A memory of each event and every relationship is recorded in our cells.”

Practice releasing attachment to all the countless thoughts running in circles in your mind right now.  We usually are thinking of what we need to do next, making a grocery list in our minds or replaying a conversation or situation that happened previously.  It is important to be IN the NOW.  Enjoy each moment for what it is.  There will not be another one just like it.

Dramatic shifts in medicine are happening all around us now.  There is growing interest in learning more about alternative and complementary therapies.  We are ultimately responsible for our own health.

Previously, western medicine has looked at our physical bodies from a symptom relieving solution such as drugs or surgery.  If this approach was effective, we wouldn’t be spending billions of dollars on prescriptions each year and still have the chronic diseases and illnesses that we have today.

So, if we want to make changes in our lives, it is evident that we need to move in a new direction.  There is an old saying, “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always got”

We create what we focus on. How often during the day are you focused on what you REALLY WANT? Is it even 10% of the time? This is important, as we are always creating more of whatever we’re focused on. This can be hard as we discuss problems in our lives; we actually BRING MORE of it into our lives. Our thoughts are setting our intentions in very subtle ways and our subconscious follows our directions. Louise Hay, author of Heal

Your Body, Heal Your Life, states that “a thought is just a thought and that can be changed.”

Have you ever said to yourself?

As soon as I finish this, I’m going to crash and burn?

This is a pain in the neck.

This job is killing me.

No pain, no gain.

I never have any money.

I’m breaking my back to do this.

Do you realize no matter what you say, you’re giving your subconscious a message?  If these messages are all negative then the body is going to carry out your instructions. So when you say these things repeatedly, the body gets the idea that the back should be broken, you should have a pain in your neck, etc. It will ensure that you never have any money.

Is this what you really want? If not, stop saying these things, even if you’re only joking. The negative thoughts and feelings that are lodged in the unconscious mind/body are the greatest problem as we are not aware of them and therefore, we are greatly hampered in changing or eliminating them.

A study was done which had participants concentrate on appreciation and love for 5 minutes. The results showed that this helped a component of the immune system for 1-6 hours. Conversely, being angry for 5 minutes caused heart irregularities for several hours.

You can change the limitations imposed upon you by negative programming and a restrictive belief system. A negative mental state is a breeding ground for disease. Illness develops, as energy is lost in specific areas of the body. These can be caused by negative emotions such as anger or fear. In addition, old psychological wounds that have caused pain in the past can be used as an excuse not to heal.

In order to create what you want in your life, it is important to be consciously aware of what you are feeling and thinking all of the time. It is a challenge to become aware of our emotions and how they affect us, but it can also be very rewarding beyond what we can imagine.

The mental body must be healed as well as the physical body to regain harmony and be freed from disease. The effect of negative thought patterns can be reversed and the negative programming itself can be replaced with positive programming, which will nourish you and provide the structure for good health and happiness.

Once you transcend negativity, you will come back into balance and the healing energy will flow. You are far more than you think. Whatever your limitations, they are self-imposed. There is extraordinary potential and healing power in all of us that lies dormant within us.

One way to regulate our thoughts is through meditation. Meditation is the discipline of “Thought Control”. Control your thoughts and you will control your life. It’s that simple. God gave us free will. Therefore, we can choose to create a satisfying life or we can choose to create a dissatisfying life. The choice is always our own.

Meditation and prayer are other natural approaches that have shown to have many healing benefits.  A government survey in 2007 found that about 1 out of 11 Americans, more than 20 million, meditated in the past year. And a growing number of medical centers are teaching meditation to patients for relief of pain and stress.

Practice gratitude whenever you are feeling overwhelmed. As bad as things can get, there is always something to be grateful for: A beautiful day, a rainbow, and wonderful people in our lives.

Energy work, such as Healing Touch, Reiki, Integrated Energy Therapy, Quantum Touch, Body Talk, or breath work deals directly with the unconscious parts of the mind/body that contain negative energy inhibiting thoughts and feelings and helps to eliminate them.

In particular, Integrated Energy Therapy works with getting the “issues out of the tissues.” This type of energy modality works with nine primary cellular memory areas of the body to provide a powerful clearing of suppressed cellular memories and emotions. Energy work can be used as a complimentary therapy with other alternative or traditional therapies. After an energy session, a normal flow of energy helps to eliminate these suppressed memories with ease as the person is restored to a balanced state.

It’s time to focus on what you really want. This is why “whatever you resist persists” and “you attract what you fear.” When you resist or fear something, you’re focused on it. So, it’s a lot more fun to be focused on what you really want. What exactly is that? Is it joy, peace, love, more money?

Are you prepared for the future you are creating now? What have your thoughts been lately?

Consciously sending loving energy to your own being will create amazing shifts in your physical body on a molecular level.  As you start each day, send loving thoughts and feeling into every cell of your body. You will start to heal your mind-body, and experience a dramatic shift in your energy field.  You will naturally feel more energized, alive, and healthier as you continue to bathe your cells in the healing energy of self-love.

On the other hand, worry and stress changes the pH of your body from alkaline to acidic very quickly.  When your body is in a very acidic state, it is easier to illness, infections and disease to occur.

We create positive energy in our mind-body by giving love and accepting energies for others and ourselves.  In fact, the vibration of love will literally create physical healing in the body. The more loving energy you send towards yourself, the healthier you will be and the more energy you will have,

Open your mind~ Open your heart ~Step out of the box ~Intend and Integrate

“Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter, and those who matter don’t mind.”-Dr. Seuss

Sue Heldenbrand BS, CHTP, CIET

Lafayette, La. 70506

337-232-4799

energyworker2003@yahoo.com

Sue became involved with Healing Touch in 1998 and received her certification as a Healing Touch practitioner in 2002.  She is also a Certified Integrated Energy Therapy Practitioner, a Reiki Practitioner, Trauma Release and a Quantum Touch Practitioner.  She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Personnel Management from the University of Southwestern Louisiana.  She has been a guest speaker for numerous organizations, as well as presenting at state conferences.  Sue has written articles on energy work for alternative and complementary newsletters. She has developed material and has been a trainer for education classes for child care providers in several cities in Louisiana since 2003.   She has been able to integrate energy- based therapies into local hospital’s operating and recovery rooms as well as providing these therapies to newborn babies at a local hospital.  As a volunteer at health fairs and cancer survivor retreats offering energy based therapies, Sue has gained experience in dealing with a variety of health challenges.  Sue is also an Instructor at Blue Cliff College and has helped conduct workshops with local hospitals and hospice for caregivers.

Training in an advanced Healing Touch technique for PTSD (“amygdala connection”) proved helpful for recovery personnel dealing with the aftermath of hurricanes as they dealt with anxiety, confusion, sleeping disturbances, undiagnosed pain and other symptoms of acute stress disorder. Trauma Release is helpful for health providers to reduce secondary stress effects of working with traumatized clients or in trauma settings like hospitals, first response settings, disasters, battle zones, etc.

Sue’s private clientele includes World War II and Iraqi war veterans, abuse victims and other individuals reporting symptoms of stress from life-threatening illnesses, chronic pain, accidents, and the death of loved ones. As a volunteer working with cancer survivors and hospital personnel, Sue has assisted individuals dealing with the trauma of their illness.

Sue has a private practice in Lafayette, Louisiana.

http://www.SynergisticCenter.com