Mon, 14 May 2012 18:11:09 -0800WeeblyMon, 14 May 2012 15:08:41 -0800http://www.inspiringenergy.com/1/post/2012/05/visualizing-creating-the-as-if.html Do you ever stop to consider how powerful your thoughts are?  Have you noticed how challenging it can be to change a thought process - especially about a problem - once it's started?  And how that experience can propel you into an emotional state of being.  

That's because our thinking mind holds a great deal of influence on us.  We can become almost slave-like to our thoughts.  And indeed, that's pretty much what we do with the negative ones. 

There's a very strong upside to the powerful thought process too.  We have the ability to influence and change our health and well-being by using our thoughts to visualize.  We can make our bodies and our lives more vibrant, engaged and loving - all with visualizations that encourage our thought process to see what we want.

Tapping (EFT - Emotional Freedom Technique) is a pain/stress relieving methodology that can be employed by anyone to self heal.  Years ago when I studied EFT, I was astounded to learn that I could also just "imagine" that I was tapping on my body via the EFT protocol and receive the same effects as if I were actually physically tapping.  There are situations when I feel the need to tap but am not in an environment where I want to do so publicly so I will just imagine - visualize - myself tapping and it works! 

I experimented with a wonderful Qigong meditation/visualization technique today which helped me clear the cobwebs in my head.  The process had me visualizing white mist being inhaled all the way down and up my spine (central meridian) continuing on into my head and cleaning out all the areas in my mind.  On the exhalation I visualized the dirt leaving my system.  It was incredibly powerful and helpful.  I loved it and have now shared it with many people who feel the same way!

A simple visualization is to breath in white healthy light and exhale any pain.  See the white light glowing brighter and brighter with each inhale and with each exhale. 

With this practice you will be improving your health mentally as well as physically!

To your health and wholeness!

]]>Fri, 13 Apr 2012 08:45:58 -0800http://www.inspiringenergy.com/1/post/2012/04/its-only-a-breath-away.html
Perhaps the most efficient and powerful energy practice I know is learning to breath.

Yes, I know it sounds strange.  We all do it, but it's mostly an unconscious act and so we don't get the wealth of benefits available to us when we make it a conscious activity.

When I speak of breathing, I mean the kind of breath that you feel expanding your belly.  The type that takes more than a couple of seconds, but that can be done anywhere, at any time.  

The key to making breath productive (that is - beyond basic living) is having some focus on what you want it to do for you.  When our thoughts and body are working together, we can accomplish a great deal.

Here are some topics that can be effective to use with your belly breathing:
Relaxation
Doing what I'm doing with ease and flow
Feeling loved and sending love to others
Making a decision about something

As you focus on a topic, take in the breath and feel it going through your whole body, feel it nourishing your system, energizing your limbs and bringing a smile to your face.  Allow yourself to take that brief moment as you relish the entire experience.  


Notice the change in your approach to whatever is happening for you after a conscious breath.  How does it feel for you?]]>Fri, 30 Mar 2012 08:23:29 -0800http://www.inspiringenergy.com/1/post/2012/03/whats-a-practice-anyway.html The term "practice" has many definitions and emotions that surround it. 

Originally when I started hearing about Practice, the following childhood phrases would come to mind:

• Practice makes perfect...
• You HAVE to practice your flute/trumpet/language/tennis now...
• I can't play with you...I have to go practice my....

In the above examples, practicing is a hassle, a burden and in the way.

As an adult I've come to understand and appreciate the Practice concept. 

Practice does not have to lead to perfection.  Practice is something that I am able to engage in to explore something.  I practice by choice, because it serves me, not because I've been told I have to do it.

What are the areas where you are engaged in a practice?  Raising your children, studying a new subject, changing your eating habits?  These are all opportunities to practice both for improvement and enjoyment.

Qigong is a series of gentle movements, self massage, breath work and visualization.  Qigong is done as a practice.  Every time we do it, we are engaging in learning more, about our body, our health, our mind and our connection to the environment.

When we engage in a qigong practice we build our ability to respond in healthier ways to stress which can lead to dis-ease and dis-comfort.  We strengthen our bodies internally and externally.  We learn with practice to calm our mind and to improve our body's own innate healing abilities.

And the way to do this is simple, it's just practice. 

One exercise - 5 minutes a day - to begin making a difference.  When you do it with focus and intention, you'll be amazed at what this practice has in store for you.

What one exercise can you do today to begin your regular practice to reap those benefits and feel good?!

]]>Wed, 31 Aug 2011 08:02:06 -0800http://www.inspiringenergy.com/1/post/2011/08/new-habits-and-toilet-seats.htmlMuch time is spent in figuring out how to improve our lives.  And often that includes taking on new behaviors and actions, the goal being to make a change that serves us.  That means we are looking to develop new habits. 

For me, developing bad habits seem to come so easily, and based on what I see when I walk down the street, I'm not the only one. 

I was told recently that keeping the toilet cover down is a way to energetically attract more to one's life.  Seemed easy enough to me.  So I began the process of changing this habit, prompted and cheered on by a dear friend and adviser.  Happily I can report that the attraction component has indeed been a plus.  However, the challenge of replacing a lifelong practice of leaving the cover up has proven infinitely more challenging than I would have ever thought.   It reminds me of how much support we need when making change, e ]]>Fri, 11 Mar 2011 08:56:13 -0800http://www.inspiringenergy.com/1/post/2011/03/we-are-all-connected.htmlWe woke this morning to hear the news of an 8.9 magnitude earthquake in the NorthEast of the island of Japan.  As I contemplated this devastating situation, I was hit by the idea of how there was a time when what happened overseas was just overseas.  It's no longer that way, as we all know from our experiences with the econ omy, jobs, uprisings and more. 
When I saw the diagram map showing the after effect waves across the Pacific and how far reaching the powerful impact will be, I was humbled.
And that experience exists on an energetic level as well.  Our personal energy transcends our individual body and mind.  What attitudes we have, manner in which we operate, tone we use to communicate all have an energy that impacts us and then leaves us and gathers with other like energies.  We are all Connected. 
So what can you do today to power up your personal energy in love and peacefulness.
]]>Thu, 24 Feb 2011 12:52:21 -0800http://www.inspiringenergy.com/1/post/2011/02/world-tapping-summit-2011.htmlHave you ever wanted to remove pain quickly and easily?  Learning to apply EFT - Emotional Freedom Technique tapping is the answer.  This is a simple painless system that involves talking to yourself and gently tapping on various pressure points.  It is a real gift and I encourage anyone interested to check out the free 2011 Tapping World Summit to experience the information and power of the process that can help you remove all sorts of blocks and pains that get in your way. 
To your continued good health and happiness.  Give it a try!
]]>Tue, 07 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0800http://www.inspiringenergy.com/1/post/2010/09/use-what-youve-got.htmlWalking on a gorgeous Chicago afternoon, I came across a man who was doing using his grocery bags as weights and doing bicep curls. I had to stop and compliment his good use of time and resources.
I like to single task. I like to be focused and present. I also like to use my time efficiently and sometimes that means doing more than one thing at once (walking and listening to a book, walking and running the neighborhood errands). 
Using the resources wisely and with intention, helps us improve the energy and gives us more time and space to do the things we love to do.
]]>Sun, 04 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0800http://www.inspiringenergy.com/1/post/2010/04/meditation-experiences.htmlAbout 8 years ago I realized that I wanted and needed to get rid of some of the noise of my overactive brain. Life was overwhelming, every decision took on massive proportion and I was generally left with a sense of less than-ness. So I learned how to meditate. The goal was to quiet the thoughts at the outset and later become a process of not attaching to them. 

But what I really was learning was to show compassion for myself in my process. To lessen the judgement and inner dialogue that was so filled with how I was not ________ enough - you can fill in the blanks if this resonates for you.

I've been practicing meditation now for over 8 years. Mostly alone, sometimes when I'm lucky, on a multi day retreat, and lately in a new setting for me.

There's a Meditation center in my neighborhood called Shambhala Meditation Center of Chicago. I wandered in after being told by a friend that she had visited it and thought I'd like it. And was she right. There is something about sitting silently in a group that provides an entirely different experience to the meditation journey. You are doing it yourself, but you are not alone. When you stand you see others, and you realize that you are not alone in your desire to find that peacefulness and help repair the world, one mind at a time.
]]>Tue, 09 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800http://www.inspiringenergy.com/1/post/2010/03/energetic-simplification.htmlLately I've been involved in a number of conversations about simplifying our lives. When I mention that I've been trying to lessen the stuff I buy, everyone looks with that same longing look of "oh, I wish I had less stuff."
Now this may be a function of my age and who I know but I think it has more to do with a desire to connect with what matters to each of us. And for so many, all the stuff just gets in the way of that.
We are overloaded with clothes, books, technology and in my case, yarn. 
Sometimes all the things that surround me can make me feel safe. And often times all the things around me can make me feel stuck. It's a fine line. But what I know for sure is that none of the stuff actually does make me safe, the only thing that makes me safe is my thought of being safe.

Some of my home simplification steps are:
1. Keep a paper handled bag in my office to put books in when I look through my shelves. If I don't use the book, it's time for it to go.
2. There's a space in my closet, on the floor, where I pile up clothes that I no longer wear. At least once a quarter I bag them up and take them to the Howard Brown or Salvation Army Resale stores in my neighborhood.
3. I try to use up the food in my house.
4. I clean my closets once a quarter and my drawers twice a year. 

I remind myself that
a. If I am holding on to something I don't use, I'm keeping someone else from it.
b. More choices do not always add anything to my energy or my life. 
c. It's ok to like oatmeal for breakfast everyday.

With each new simplification step, I feel my energy grow. There's nothing like lightening up.
]]>Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800http://www.inspiringenergy.com/1/post/2010/03/great-customer-service-inspires-energy.htmlI'm a big fan of great customer service. To me it can make or break any experience. I'm fortunate in that I tend to have more of it than less.

My home is the third floor of our condo building. That means that everytime there is an issue with the roof of our building, I'm the one who takes the brunt of it. I'm fortunate in that we have a wonderful condo association, made up of the 4 adults who live in the building, we seem to always agree and have made life very easy together.

In the fall of 2009, I started to hear gnawing noises above my head in my front sunroom (9 windows, like a treehouse for me) and started looking around and found a hole and 2 little squirrel faces peering out from that hole outside on the eves. It was distressing to say the least. 

After asking for referrals, we landed on Accurate Pest and Animal Control, and a lovely vibrant smiling man named Gary. He held my hand figuratively (over the phone) as he explained why squirrels move in to your roof and walls and how they work to get them out. His two workers came to my home the next day, looked at the situation and came back the next day with a customized eviction system. Within 2 days the critters had evacuated. It was glorious.

Recently I noticed squirrels roaming around the outside of my sunroom, trying to get back in but unable to do so because of the eviction system Gary and his team devised. But lo and behold, on Saturday I started to hear that gnawing sound again, and knew they were back in somehow. 

The guys came out and find another hole the squirrels had created above the gutter this time. The fix will entail the guys hanging by ropes off the roof to reach the opening. I just assumed that this would be another expense of the same level as the last.

Imagine my surprise when I spoke to Gary yesterday who told me that they would not be charging us for the work as they consider this part of ridding our building of the rodents. For him the job isn't done until the critters have moved out and on for good. He told me it just felt right to do it this way. He remembered what I did as a consultant with inspiring energy and leaders and we continued with a conversation on those topics and his interests for quite some time.

The acknowledgement of this experience provided me with an immediate boost to my energy. I felt it surging through my body as I took in the kindness of this gesture. Just as easily, Gary could have chosen to not do this, there was nothing about that that would have surprised me. What did surprise me was the commitment to his service and to his customer. It made a difference.

4 points for providing inspiring energy customer service:

Start with a smile on your face, even and especially over the phone!
- everyone feels it when you do and is impacted negatively when you don't.

Get to know your customer. Spend some time sharing your human-ness with them. This is an interaction between two people. It's never "just business."
- people are people, the more you get to know them, the more human they become to you. We are connected and this is an easy way to increase positive energy flow by knowing someone past their professional role.

Listen to your customer, hear what they need, understand where they are coming from. 
- ask questions of your customer to know what is truly causing them discomfort, listen fully. 

Go beyond what you think they'll expect. Do it to the best of your ability.
- bring some joy to someone, go past the ordinary, it will raise your energetic feeling and theirs.

Gary did this for us, and we'll be a customer for a very long time.
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