Happiness is a Muscle

Recently I watched and rewatched a PBS special on happiness. The documentary examined the growing study of happiness.  In attempting to create markers and quantifiable measurements and turn it into a science, some interesting observations were made:

• Money does not determine happiness: once a person is making a minimum that provides for food, clothing and shelter, more money does not equate with more happiness.
• The more meaningful connections you have and the more you work at these personal connections, the more happy you are.  In other words, strong links to friends and families directly and positively link with the likelihood that you will be happy.
• Serving others, volunteering and helping others is positively linked to happiness.
• Countries that support infrastructures that build these connections such as Norway, report happier communities.

Meaningful connections - Happiness! Photo by J. Philipchuk

There are no surprises here.  Being loved and giving love trumps a fancy car and the latest fashion and gadgets. Spending time and serving others brings more happiness than spending money and collecting things. Yet, somehow,  we still behave as though the opposite is true, "If only I lose 10 pounds and fit into this outfit, I'll get a man, and then I will be happy" "Once I get my own car and my own place, I won't need to depend on anyone and then I will be happier," "You get paid the big bucks, must be nice to have an easy life".

Historically,  economic growth and the amount of cash circulating our global economies, is unprecedented, yet we are in the midst of a global "unhappy and anxious" epidemic in First World countries.  We are firmly attached to the idea that things bring us happiness, despite the mounting evidence to the contrary.

"It is easier to change ideas and doctrines in other's minds than it is to change their myths and symbols," writes Madonna Kohlbenschlag. All of this "Happiness Research" clearly points to a doable action plan that all of us in some way, can begin to implement.

The most compelling part of the documentary for me, is the claim that we can teach happiness, practice happiness and train ourselves to be happy.  It is a muscle, that through practice, repetition, and support, can grow and develop and become strong.

The ball is in our court.  We can choose to work on developing our happiness muscle.  No special equipment is required.  All that is needed is a willingness to put down the burden of belief that says things and this illusion of independence matter more than people, service, love and belonging.

Going Slow to Go Fast – Training Your Brain to Embrace Transformation

I have to admit to one of my guilty pleasures in order to give this blog post some context.  I love watching the TV show, “The Biggest Loser”.  I admit to enjoying the catharsis of watching bodies and lives transform right before our television eyes.  I know it is produced, formulaic with a slick intent to appeal to my sense of transformation, and yet, like a car accident on the highway, I slow down and watch.

I watched a segment of a show that kept tabs on previous contestants, and there were a good percentage that had gained a good portion, and in some cases, all of their weight back.  For all of the intense physical, mental and emotional support, many contestants returned to their previous ways, and perhaps only partially, but the goal weight was not kept off.

Real progress takes time.  As much as I am constantly looking for the quick fix to put things back together.  Rewiring our brains to practice new patterns takes time and the longer our patterns have been entrenched, the longer it will take to set new patterns.

In the article, “5 Ways To Rewire Your Brain For Meaningful Life Changes” Dr. Hilary explains that there are five neural pathways to connect any new learning, “One pathway alone is not enough to successfully rewire your brain. However, when you repeatedly align your beliefs, feelings, vision, and actions you will experience lasting changes in your brain” http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-11762/5-ways-to-rewire-your-brain-for-meaningful-life-changes.html

The five pathways, can be summarized as follows:

1.     You are your beliefs.  Christiane Northrup, Candace Pert and many others wrote about this 15-20 years ago. Belief is essentially a neural pathway and you need to have it fired up in order to move towards your goal.  If you want to know what your “living” belief is, just look at your life.  If you believe in loving relationships but constantly find yourself in negative ones, take a look at your beliefs.  If you think you believe in abundance and ease but constantly find yourself in debt, take a look at your beliefs.

2.     Emotion, as Dr. Hilary points out, “is the power behind accomplishing your intention.”  As woo woo as this may sound, your ability to flood your body with the feeling and the positive emotion of your desired belief or intention will lead you to a positive outcome.  Your ability to put your body in a state of calm, joy, peace, or bliss, while imagining your desired outcome, is key.  This powerful feeling state is what supports your brain in moving towards your outcome.

3.     There are plenty of studies around the benefits of visualization, especially around sport performance. And the results are even better if you are in a calm, relaxed state. 

4.     Take Action. As the Nike saying goes, just do it.  Your body needs to have the practice of being in a state of success.  Especially in the beginning, it won’t be pretty and may very well be painful, but your body must have the experience of moving you towards your belief or wants.

5.     Repeat. You have to repeat the action over and over, and build the neural pathways until it will practice this new habit over all of your previous past practices.

Whether you are trying to stop something, like smoking or overeating, or whether you are trying to start something like learning a new language or training for a marathon, the message is the same.  It is also the same if you are trying to change a post traumatic stress response, or anxiety/panic attack, or finding a way to attract a loving partner.

Small steps lead to transformation. Photo by J. Philipchuk

 And what exactly does this have to do with energy medicine? Everything.  When I talk about energy medicine being a tool to help you get out of your “stuck” place, I am talking about helping your brain and body clear out old belief patterns, cell memory or stories that no longer serve you and at the same time, to introduce new belief patterns, new stories and new memories.  Working with the electrical body is comprehensive in that it supports healing and growth from all of these perspectives.  You have to be willing to believe your dream is possible, you have to feel it, see it in your minds eye, experience it and repeatedly practice it.  Energy medicine, can help with the clearing of the old and the beginning of the new, and from my point of you, it is comprehensive and successful. 

But it is normally, not fast.  It usually takes time, practice, some discomfort and more practice. You have to teach you body, mind and spirit your new belief. You have to feel it, see it, know it, anticipate it and you have to do it – Over and over and over again. So, that is why I say you have to go slow to go fast. I know this to be true.

We can train our brains, our beings, our electrical grid patterns to embrace our transformations and over time and practice the results are transformative.  Small incremental consistent changes lead to transformation.

Goodbye to 2013 and Hello to 2014

So I know we are already into our first week of February 2014, but I did want to make a short blog post about entering into a new calendar year and reflecting about the year that seemed to rush madly by.

For me, 2013 was a year of huge changes and shifts in my life both personally and professionally.

When I began CreativeEdge, two years ago, it was out of a deep desire and equally deep frustration.  I was constantly compelled to begin putting my energy work out into the public eye while at the same time feeling a horrible terror of being out in the public eye.

Just like when I defended my PhD in 2003, I was terrified that someone would really see me and in the process of being seen, I would be called a charlatan, a dummy or a fake.  I wanted to stay hidden, protected in anonymity.  At the same time, I felt the growing frustration of being anonymous, hidden and unseen. I was in the in between space where you recognize what you really really want is what  you are equally really really terrified to receive.

In 2012, what propelled me into my public practice of energy work could be summed up in two points:

1. I did not want to die and leave this on the table so to speak.  I realized that I had to start this business and put all of my best efforts into this for as long as my body was on this planet.
2. I no longer wanted to make decisions in my life based on fear.

In 2013, the evolution continued, as I worked on completing more certifications and moving my business into a greater public arena.  I went to marketing workshops and challenged myself to work on things that terrified me, all for the purpose of growing my practice.

At the same time, I took the step of rescinding my contract as a high school vice principal and moved back into school counselling.

Photo by Jill Philipchuk

At the end of 2013, I worked, and I am continuing to work at extracting myself from unhealthy partnerships and to move towards debt elimination. At the same time, I have been working on developing deeper connections with my family, my husband and loved ones.

In all of these changes, I am aware, that I am having to take the same advice and do the same work I ask my clients to do when they bring the courage to lie on the massage table and come to grips with whatever keeps them from being their whole self.

I am doing the work with you.  I am working at removing those very obstacles I claim the energy work helps bring into your consciousness.  I regularly receive energy work on myself.  I am as much a client as I am a practitioner and I can honestly say that 2013 has been one of the most terrifying and freeing years of my life.

My hope is that my own process will only strengthen and improve my role as an energy worker.  My hope is that 2014 will continue the journey of my freedom and fearlessness.

And that would be my wish and prayer to all of you too.  Happy 2014.  Love, Light, Peace and Freedom to you all. 

Why the Connection with Cloud 9 Float Spa

Floating: the practice of floating in a ten inch deep water containing 900 pounds of sea salt in an enclosed dark space.

There is plenty of evidence of the health benefits of floating. In Michael Hutchison’s book, “The Book of Floating” he documents some of the health benefits that have been studied and chronicled by numerous experts. Positive results have been documents include:

·      weight loss,

·      spontaneous reduction/elimination of toxic habits such as drug use and smoking,

·      anxiety reduction,

·      peak athletic performance recovery and restorative recovery. (2003, 7-8)

The connection with Energy medicine and floating come from the same pot of research.  There is a direct relationship between consciousness and brain chemistry – attitudes and thoughts can both change and determine your brain chemistry and your brain chemistry determines what happens in your body. (2007, 77)

In real terms, this means, when you are in a state of panic, or despair or fear, your brain chemistry is altered.  Your brain releases hormones and neurotransmitters that have a profound effect on behavior and your body.  The best example of this is a panic attack.  When you are in the midst of a full blown panic attack, you feel like you are going to die!  Your heart rate elevates, your breathing becomes shallow and constricted and in severe cases, you may even pass out (which is your body’s natural “reset” button because as soon as you faint, you immediately release all of the tension and your body can once again breathe unobstructed).  Over time, we teach our bodies to be in these states and we develop and reinforce neural pathways that make our ‘go to’ experience one of fear, panic or danger.

Just as we can train our brain to go to panic and despair, we can do the opposite. We can teach our brains and our bodies to move into positive states. We can create and reinforce neural pathways that make our go to experience one of calm, joy and peace.

 

Photo Courtesy of Jill Philipchuk

The combination of energy medicine and floating can both reinforce and support this process and I believe that combined, the process can be greatly enhanced. A session of energy medicine can bring up and clear cell memory and an immediate session in a float tank, especially with the 900 pounds of salt would help support the process.

So it is with this theory and intention, that I am now going to work with Float Spa to offer combination treatment and float sessions.  We will be offering introductory special packages and first time treatments to introduce everyone to the concept and package prices beginning at $100 for a 50 minute energy session and 75 minute float session combination offer.

If you are interested, you can contact me at CreativeEdge BodyWorks, or Travis at Cloud 9 Float Spa. If you have any questions about this offer or any other information from this blog post, feel free to contact me.

Photo Courtesy of Jill Philipchuk

Interview with Travis Mclaren at Cloud 9 Float Spa

Hey everyone, this is a quick blog to introduce Travis McLaren, the owner of Cloud 9 Float Spa.  You can see my rusty first attempt at vlogging below.

http://youtu.be/9ro8ahWOiTg
Cloud 9 Float Spa

In the next few weeks I will be writing about zero gravity floats, and I will talk about some exciting collaborations with Creative Edge and Cloud 9.

In the meantime, I wanted you to get a sense of Travis and the concept with the video.

Be well. emi

In a Nutshell

CreativeEdge Bodyworks is a dynamic process that removes obstacles that prevent YOU from living the life YOU want to live.

Through a series of 3-6 50 minute sessions, utilizing a number of techniques which include Conflict Coaching, NLP and Specialized Kinesiology, I help you identify and remove obstacles.  Together we work on an action plan that will move you towards Productivity, Peace and Wellness.

Creative Edge supports you in transforming pain into freedom and well being.

Photo Courtesy of Jill Philipchuk 

CreativeEdge Bodyworks Can Help if You are Experiencing Yourself As: 

•         Always Angry

•         Anxious

•         Depressed

•         Chronically Injured

•         In a state of Crisis

•       Stuck – the same thing you keep trying to avoid keeps happening to you

•         Trying to change a bad habit

•         In a significant transition in your life such as a divorce or death in the family

•         Sick and tired of being sick and tired

Specialized Kinesiology, Touch for Health, Neurolinguistic Programming is not a substitute for any other medical care and makes no claims of treatment or cures.  They are not medical diagnostic tools. Always consult a medical Doctor for treatment and diagnosis.

Working Through What is Broken

Whenever I presented a workshop on Anger or Conflict, I would always begin by reminding the participants that I am teaching this stuff to myself. It was always important for me to acknowledge that I am working through the material and finding myself challenged to do the very practices I worked to show others. Conflict, anger and all of the experiences that mirror our dark sides forever remind us of what needs evolving and as such, merely reminds us we are alive.  It is a work in progress that repeats itself till the day we die. If we are not evolving, we are dying.

So, here I am, reminding you, that I am working on this myself.

What happens when we find ourselves once again, at the place where we told ourselves we would never be?  You would never again find yourself dependent on a man and there you are.  You promised yourself you would never get into debt and you once again find your credit card maxed out.  You promised yourself you would never get drunk and you find yourself passed out on your bed not even remembering how you got there.  You said you would never belittle your children like your parents did to you, and you recognize the face of pain, contempt and grief on your teenaged son’s face to be the one you yourself experienced at his age.

Courtesy of Jill Philipchuk

Whenever we are confronted with our repeated patterns or the place we get stuck, we find the seeds of our crisis.  It may take 10 or 20 or 200 or 10,000 times to repeat the pattern before we decide to enter into the crisis.  It may take one or 50 lifetimes before we gather enough wisdom, courage and brokenness to enter into crisis.  Regardless, the places we consistently find ourselves coming back to, despite all efforts, our broken records, eventually lead us to our necessary crisis.

Crisis happens when a story you hold very dearly needs to die. The most horrific part of this crisis is that entering into one not only brings fear, anxiousness, worry, pain and death.  The most horrific part of entering into crisis is that all of the fear, anxiousness, worry, pain and death, are precisely what bring you to your new life.  It is your crucifixion before the resurrection.  And you have nothing to go on that guarantees you will be brought back to a new life.  You only have another story.

In 2003, in my PhD thesis I wrote:

Crisis arrives because we are alive. Crisis is the Mother of all Undos. Crisis comes because death comes because life comes. We cannot have one without the other and the more we resist our deaths, the greater our surprise and terror at the arrival our crisis. No matter our relationship with death, no matter our religion, or what kind of lives we lead or how many times we go to church or volunteer at the AIDS hospice, we will meet our crisis. Crisis arrives, usually unannounced, unwelcomed, and completely unexpected. It is there in the announcement of your cancer, your AIDS, your chronic illness. It is there in the death of your youngest child in a car accident, the realization that your wife is having an affair with your friend, the termination of your job or in the celebration of your fortieth birthday. Maybe you have hit and/or hurt someone more powerless than you, or maybe you have received a beating yourself. Or maybe it announces itself in your unpaid electric bills, your low exam scores or maybe your high exam scores, in your profound aloneness, in the gang beating/murder of a girl or in the crumbling of the Twin Towers. Or maybe you just wake up one day and think that your life has been a complete waste of time.

Inside every journey of saint and sinner, expect to meet your “bottomless abyss” for inevitably it will arrive, and often, it will arrive when you are feeling some skill in balancing your body on the surfboard, gliding through in-between space. Maybe, you might have even learned the skill of falling/diving in the water gracefully/grace filled. 

In the seemingly big and the impossibly small, crisis will come. If you are alive, even while drowning in your mediocrity, barely breathing, you will eventually experience crisis. It is your birthright. And even if you follow “the formula” or “the recipe” whatever formula or recipe you reside in, crisis will meet you, remind you of your impermanence, your non-deity status.

Energy Medicine does not fix crisis.  It does not take the sting away from the decimation of a story that you have held and nurtured for lifetimes.  It can help make you conscious of what some of the old stories or patterns you held that need your attention, or, it can help clear energy fields of disruptive cell memories that lodge themselves in our physical bodies or energy fields. It can help provide you with a map or a “to do” list that will ease the transition.  It may even help you with the inevitable practice of walking towards your crisis with grace and confidence.  But at the end of the day, working through what is broken, requires you to get off your knees and stop picking the pieces in the hopes of repairing what is familiar and to trust that the dying will bring you a new life that you thought was unimaginable.

Courtesy of Jill Philipchuk

My big prayer, is that we work together on our collective and personal crisis and that we practice walking towards our crucifixions with a fierceness knowing that what lies in the midst of the broken pieces is our New Stories and New Lives that fit us far better than what we painfully cling to.