How Can Meditation or Self-Hypnosis Improve the Quality of Your Life?

You can co-create your life to be whatever you want it to be. Instead of just getting by and surviving, instead of feeling like you never quite measure up to your own ideal of who or where you should be in your life, you have the power to come to peace with the life you are living. Nothing can prevent you except your own limited beliefs.

You have heard this said before and yet most people report that it is not easy to break limiting beliefs and negative thought patterns. It requires vigilance, perseverance, a strong desire to be free of past conditioning, and a few tools that can make it feel effortless!

I became a certified hypnotist in the 1980’s. I have hypnotized literally thousands of people over the past twenty years and I often hypnotize myself to adjust attitudes and behaviors that are no longer useful. You hypnotize yourself every time you say, “I can’t.” You are just hypnotizing yourself in the negative!

Your own imagination is self-generating. It creates in accordance with what you believe, think, and feel, in addition to how you behave. When you focus your subconscious on what you want instead of what you don’t want, you will propel yourself toward your desired state.

Meditation differs from self-hypnosis. Whereas self-hypnosis can re-educate your unconscious to adjust attitudes and beliefs, meditation provides access to an inner experience of wholeness -- a sense that although the minds longs for more, nothing in actuality, is really missing. In the absence of the problem-generating mind, peace dwells. Meditation provides refuge from the ambitions of the mind, affording an opportunity to regenerate oneself in stillness and silence.

If you are interested in opening to the experience of authentically feeling safe, capable, and whole, meditation can afford you the opportunity by creating space for the ego/mind to quiet down and allow you to rest in the silence and stillness of your own pure essence.

Sunny Massad, Ph.D., has been a meditator for 25 years, experimenting with traditional and nontraditional methods before discovering how to tap into a meditative quality beyond all methods. In addition to her in-depth research on the subject of enlightenment, Sunny has been a hypnotherapist for 20 years.

Nourishing Your Spirit

Nourishing Your Spirit by Roshani Shay, Ph.D.

You feed your body several times a day, but how often do you nourish your spirit? You exercise your mind almost constantly, but how often do you connect with your inner being?

In this hectic world our attention is drawn by all sorts of issues and tasks-clean the house, care for the children, go to work, buy the groceries, plan for the future, and on and on. Sometimes life seems like a giant “To Do List.” Sometimes we move so fast that we forget to stop and take a deep breath, to feel the warm sun on our skin, to smell the flowers and admire their colors, to experience the beauty all around us.

Former columnist Ann Landers used to advise us to “stop and smell the coffee.” She meant for us to wake up, to become aware of how we are living our lives, to stop for a reality check by taking a little time for contemplation, for self-reflection.

For physical well-being, for mental health, and for emotional balance, it is so important that we give ourselves a little time to nourish our spirits, even if we have to literally pencil it into our schedules. It is amazing the difference even a short thirty second breather can make in our lives.

Here are five ways that you can connect with your inner being without taking a lot of time:

1. Close your eyes and feel yourself completely surrounded by healing energy. Place your hand on your heart and feel love and acceptance pour into your being. Sit like this for a few minutes.

2. Take five deep breaths. On each inhalation imagine that you are breathing in all the energy, strength and vitality the universe has to offer. On each exhalation imagine that you are letting go of any tension you feel in your body and worry or anxiety you feel in your mind.

3. Take five or ten minutes to sit amidst the sound of beautiful, soft music, focusing your attention on your breath. Just breathe normally. If thoughts or emotions or body sensations try to divert your attention, simply gently refocus your awareness on your breath.

4. Whenever you are feeling stressed, whatever you are doing, just STOP for thirty seconds. Notice how deeply or shallowly you are breathing. Notice how your body is feeling. Notice if your mind is dwelling on he past or projecting into the future. Notice any sounds around you. Just be present with whatever is happening, observing yourself with non-judgment and compassion. You will feel calmness returning.

5. Take five minutes to remember a time when you were truly joyful. Close your eyes and envision what you were doing. What sounds were present; what thoughts were you having? What sensations were in your body? How did the experience of joy feel emotionally? Open your eyes and carry this feeling with you as long as you can.

Take a few minutes right now to sit with eyes closed, accessing a sense of gratitude for all the wonderful things in your life. Allow your spirit to dive into that deep sense of peace and calm that rests in the center of your being. Take this time to nourish your soul.

Healing and Self-Discovery by Linda Friedman

I had a student who wanted to learn about Reiki. She expected to add a healing tool to her kit, and instead ended up re-examining her life entirely. “Jane” got a good paying job when she moved to Hawaii from the mainland. She was very happy at first. As the months passed, the situation started to change. Her lunch breaks were becoming non-existent with the increased responsibilities she was being given. Jane was in her sixties. She had never quit a job before lining up a new one. Her friends told her to be glad she even had a job. Jane took a Reiki class and quit her job. She did not have any prospects for another job lined up. Jane told me that she had developed a new sense of confidence as a result of her experience with the Reiki energy. Two months later, Jane was offered a better job than she had ever had before. She is now being paid well and feels appreciated. Jane gained the courage from the Reiki energy to stand up for herself. It is now 1 ½ years later and she is glad that she took the risk.

Reiki students often start to honestly look at their lives, sometimes for the first time. On one level, Reiki is the art of channeling universal energy for healing. But my experience has shown me that it often is much more than that. A student who is ready for the challenge will find Reiki to also be a catalyst for change. The Reiki experience is very personal. It can be an aid in your evolution. The beauty of Reiki is that it affects both physical and emotional health in a positive way.

One way that you can get a sense of the energy of Reiki for yourself is to think back to what it felt like when you first experienced falling in love. Remember that feeling of peace and connection to “all that is?” A parent feels that same sense of joy and wonder when they hold their baby. Reiki feels just like the energy of love. It has a soothing effect. Reiki is one more effective tool you can use to deal with the situations life throws at you.

Another powerful tool for relaxation and healing is reflexology. Our feet are our connection to the earth. It is also believed that they connect to the organs and glands of the body. Gentle pressure on various points of the feet can result in relief from headaches, cramps, PMS, constipation, neck and back pains, to name just a few. Try the following experiment and see what happens. The side of the big toe next to the second toe is connected to the throat. Rub and stimulate that area gently. Now, try singing and see how your voice is affected. My experience is that after 10 to 15 minutes of reflexology with focus on the side of the big toe the voice gains increased range.