by Lillian Nader, ME.d, Cht  

            What do Goldie Hawn and SMHAS have in common? Both are teaching mindfulness to parents and children.

            What we at the School of Multidimensional Healing Arts and Sciences refer to as “consciousness”, Goldie Hawn, Hollywood actress turned advocate for children, calls “mindfulness.” In her book, Ten Mindful Minutes, Ms.Hawn explains the benefits of “brain breaks” for short periods of slow breathing and reflection. Based on the latest scientific brain research, programs called “Mind-up” are being implemented in schools to teach children vital social and emotional skills, empowering them to manage and reduce their own stress. One elementary school psychonogist participating in the Mind Up program stated that academic performance increased and classroom management improved because the kids learn how to manage themselves. 

            Meanwhile, back at SMHAS, we are busy launching our Conscious Parenting Program with classes designed to create a new paradigm for parents faced with the challenges of today’s youth. Some challenges are new, and others are age-old patterns of behavior. Challenges such as the following:

            Childhood Obesity--Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years.

In 2008, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.

• Bullying–Bullying is a common occurrence in most schools. According to the American Psychological Association, approximately 40% to 80% of school-age children experience bullying at some point during their school careers.
• Suicides–third leading cause of death in young adults aged fifteen to twenty-four. Sixth leading cause of death for five to fourteen year olds.(American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, AACAP)

            Emotional Challenges—the US Public Health Service estimates that 6 to 9  American children        have a diagnosable mental disorder that impairs daily functioning. By their teens, as many as 20          percent are experiencing problems such as attention deficit disorder (ADD)  and  attention     deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

            Depression—children as young as three years old are being diagnosed with depression.     AACAP states that 5 percent of our youth suffer from depression.

            Pharmaceutical use and abuse—according to the American Psychiatric Association, there has        been a 68 percent increase in pharmaceutical use to treat emotional disorders in girls and 30             percent in boys in the past decade, and the figures are escalating annually.

            Poor Academic Achievement—in the latest Organization for Economic Co-operation and     Development report (2003) 15 year olds in the U.S. placed twenty-third in the global ranking of    student performance in reading, twenty-eighth in mathematical literacy and twenty-seventh in     scientific ability.

            School Dropout Rates—according to American Promise Alliance, 48 per cent of our children do not graduate high school in the fifty largest cities.

            Add to the above challenges health concerns such as childhood diabetes, sleep disorders, asthma, allergies, etc. that have an impact on the child’s school performance and  sense of well being. As Goldie Hawn states in her book, “our children are overwhelmed, stressed, and overstimulated, and the need for solutions that simultaneously promote their social and emotional skills, mental health., and academic performance is more critical than ever.” Parents want and need to have tools and tips for skillful parenting from professionals and from other parents. Just as Goldie Hawn has based her Mind-Up program on personal experience with anxiety, SMHAS teachers draw from personal experience as parents, counselors and teachers. We at SMHAS also rely upon scientific research and resources. Help is not just on the way, it’s already here at SMHAS.

            This is a call to parents to check out the SMHAS website to find a variety of Conscious Parenting classes being offered this month and in the months to come. Just click on Parenting at the top of the home page to learn about presenters like Judith Freyer, Child Life and Trauma Specialist, and her class called  “Intro to Conscious Parenting.” Judith’s  compassionate  teaching style encourages parents to be authentically courageous while creating their conscious and enlightened family life. Or consider  Pat Murphy’s  class.  Pat has a PH.D in Philosophy., and her one day workshop, “Five Steps of Life,” is geared to parents with special or troubled children. Another class offered by Maryann Castellanos called “Why Isn’t My Kid Learning?” is for parents whose children have poor academic performance.  Leonard Szymczak, MSW, LCSW presents”The Roadmap Home for Parents: Your GPS to Inner Peace,”  another excellent option for parents.Leonard has been a psychotherapist and educator for the past 35 years. Throughout his life, he as been committed to ongoing personal growth and believes in the power of the individual to overcome adversity and transform one’s life. Finally, in our line up of excellent presenters  is Bruce Dickson, MA, MSS, Waldorf Certified, who offers his class, “The Learning Style of Your Child ~ For Parents and Educators”  Bruce invites you to bring your specific concerns!

            We at SMHAS know that individual parents have unique and individual needs and concerns for their children. We hope to offer  the resources for parents to become more informed and supported. We’re here to enrich  lives and improve  family time with happier, more well adjusted children.

            It is my goal to form a support group to provide an ongoing forum for hope, communication and resources to use at home to enhance quality time as a family and to enhance the well being of all family members. In the words of  Albert Einstein, “Your imagination is your preview of life’s coming attractions.” If you are a concerned parent, I’d like to  invite you to imagine taking time to participate in a support group with like minded people. Take a moment to breathe in that idea. Take another moment to breathe in the feeling of being in the right place at the right time. Imagine being able to express your cares and concerns for your children. Imagine taking time for yourself in order to be better parents and family members. Breathe in the feeling of having support from others and the opportunity to avail yourself of the vast resources this group has to offer. Imagine learning new tools and practices for the reduction of stress and for increasing quality time with your children.

            If you can  imagine participation in an ongoing support group as a coming attraction in your life, I invite you to contact me at Lnader1910@sbcglobal.net to sign up for the support group or to be placed on the mailing list of interested parents.

 Look for the coming attraction:

. – Safe Haven Family Support Group

Friday nights at SMHAS from 7:00 to 8:30.

Benefits of the support group:

Safe Adult Time

Learn Effective and Positive Parenting Practices

Access tools and skills for relieving stress

A place for questions and answers

            ‘Communication leads to community, understanding, and mutual valuing.”

                                                                                                                                Rollo May

The one thing we all have in common – the one thing that no matter how many degrees, ideas, street smarts, victories or defeats one has – we all must breathe.

This common denominator of breath awareness is the quiet, simple, ever present and eternal solution for many of the human challenges we encounter today.

Take for instance anger – anger in itself is not bad – in fact it has been proven that anger as a mechanism for awareness – for those of us on a spiritual path – can be a wake up call to the idea that we are harboring energy unlike love and perhaps it’s time to work on forgiveness in order to set things right and let go of clogging energy.

The goal is to not become consumed by the anger because when unchecked – anger will morph into resentment and eventually into rage – and that is not the healthiest place to function in….

Well the simple tool of breath awareness can gift you the skill of being able to quickly shift you from a state of anger to a state of control and eventually to a place of peace and compassion.

Did you know that shallow rapid breathing is required for anger to flourish and function?

Did you also know that when anger begins to boil up from within our egocentric perception systems – that deep breathing sucks the life out of the destructive direction that unchecked anger can lead?

Developing the simple tool of a deep breathing practice will always put you and i into a state of being-ness where clarity, assimilation, circulation and elimination function with ease grace and efficiency!!

Try this affirmation on for size as you move, choose and thrive throughout your day:  “Any time I am out of balance – I shift my awareness to my breath and i am immediately connected to the source and supply of all life and my breath work brings me forth with a new energy!!!

By David Phears

Author of ‘A Book of Weeks’

www.davidphears.info

One of the most compelling aspects of connecting consciously to spirit by any means is the freedom that is experienced – the reminders of our soul inner truth and eternal being-ness!

Freedom is an aspect of love itself – it is defined as: a state in which somebody is able to act and live as he/she chooses – without being subject to any undue restraints or restrictions.

As a friend – to your self and others – being in a state of acting and living by choice must be honored and appreciated! And the strength to do all of this comes from your divine source!!

The way to achieve this state of love as a friend in training is by through the action of pure acceptance.

A – ALLOWING

C – CREATIVE

C – CHOICES

E – EVOLVES INTO

P – PRECIOUS

T – TRUST

Truly accepting others just as they are – on their own path – creating their own results and learning their own lessons along the way is the path to true friendship.

The active practice of consciously accepting things as they are and diligently working on the way we perceive them – puts us in the power position of making things shift, change and transform – it’s all about non-attachment or not getting hung up on expected results laced with our own preferences and agendas!

Life is about freedom; attachment is the antithesis to freedom itself – it is the constipation of the desired demonstration!!

F – FRIENDSHIP

R – REQUIRES

E – EACH PERSON’S

E – ENTHUSIASTIC

D – DEVOTION TO

O – OBSERVATION &

M – MOTIVATION

The love of infinite spirit is freedom, and the friendship that we develop with life through love is our direct connection to the source and supply of life itself – be grateful – be a friend and in-joy the freedom that acceptance brings – it’s always up to you.

BY DAVID PHEARS

In organizational terms, a collective/shared leadership vision is far healthier than one person’s vision force fed to its management or leadership team. The power of words is in the energy behind the words and the energy of a valued vision that is accepted in heart, spoken in words and expressed in the written word is boundless.

It is said somewhere in a sacred text that a people without a vision will perish. Well that may be so but here at our beloved SMHAS we are on a higher path moving in a successful direction. The leadership team of SMHAS has gotten together with a vision facilitator and through a spiritually centered vision evolution process, have birthed a shared statement that is already opening up channels of prosperity, joy, collaboration, community, kindness and a service oriented consciousness.

Here is the Vision Statement [short, sweet and powerful]:

SMHAS IS A BRIGHT LIGHT FOR THOSE LOOKING FOR HEART CENTERED EDUCATION.

The Mission Statement and Statement of Intention will evolve soon.

Walk in Balance & Live Inspired,

David Phears – ‘Bloguy’

www.davidphears.info

david@smhas.com

Contributed by: Bruce Dickson, MSS, MA

 Bruce has eleven years of professional practice as a Health and Medical Intuitive.  Author of 11 books on self-healing.  A trained Waldorf teacher, he’s also USM and Peace Theological Seminary trained.  Bruce uncovers solutions for people’s health concerns without drugs or surgery. Your body sends you many messages. Are you listening? Bruce can “hear” your immune system, translates what it’s saying for you, and matches disturbed conditions with 30 years of solutions. Together we “connect the dots” and identify the “issues in the tissues” so you can throw off burdens you no longer wish to carry. Bruce follows the Law of Gentleness for Healers. 

For more information about Bruce see www.healingtoolbox.org

part II

by Vaishali, author of “You Are What You Love” and “Wisdom Rising”

Nature does not like a vacuum. When we fail to bring a transcendent meaning to our lives, whatever stimulus we are exposed to moves in and defines our internal understanding and knowing of ourselves. The risk is that without actively participating in the search for meaning, the “know thyself” quest becomes a shallow, unsatisfying excursion.  

Frankl based his theory of the critical nature of the search for meaning on his real life experience as a holocaust survivor. But what most interested me in this search is this: within the framework of personal and individual freedom to create meaning, are there some universal choices that would bring liberating results no matter what the underlining circumstances might be? If you are struggling with the loss of a loved one, employment layoff, divorce, foreclosure, medical complications, bad hair day or all of the above, is there a choice you could make, a default, which would bring life-enhancing meaning to your experience unconditionally? And if so, what exactly is that meaning choice? We always ask why bad things happen to good people, but what I’m asking is what do good people choose when bad things happen?

Although not on the scale that Frankl went through in a Nazi concentration camp, I found myself searching for meaning amid the grief and sadness following four deaths within the span of two weeks. Two were violent and traumatic deaths; two involved watching the final suffering of loved ones as they crossed over. I wanted to choose a meaningful way of growing beyond the shock and unhappiness. I wanted to choose a deliberate and conscious method of life operation. What could I choose to bring alive and nurture an intelligence that would counterbalance the outflow of life that had just occurred? Is there a meaningful choice I could make that would cover this deep and widening gap, providing a stable supportive path for moving forward through the tragedies and ugliness that find their way to this planet?

I needed to know where the truth that sets one free could be found. So I started in the most fundamental area of life ~ relationships. I wanted to search for meaning in the human contact I encountered, with every person, no matter how brief. These passings had awakened the realization that tomorrow is promised to no one, and that with each interaction we have with our fellow human beings, any one of them could be our last. I wanted to choose to connect with everyone I encountered with the essence of the old Christian adage, “love thy neighbor.” I wanted to know if this, the greatest of all Spiritual Laws, was a choice that would bring meaning to my life, ubiquitously, no matter what the source of limitation might be. If I died unexpectedly, and the last person I spoke to was a hi-tech customer service rep in India, I wanted to choose that even as transient as that contact might be, not counting my time on hold, I was going to speak to this person with the same integrity, patience and understanding that I would to the most important person in my life. That was the meaning of reality I chose to bring to that exchange. I found that honestly thanking them for being of service brought a profoundly comforting meaning to my life. I also tried to make them laugh if I could.

Interjecting a quality of basic human kindness into all relationships I encountered was the meaning I choose to see in the loss I could not change in my own life. My choice, love, considered to be the highest ethical, philosophical teaching, and laughter, did in fact bring a life-liberating meaning regardless of the source of the suffering. The old Christian adage “love thy neighbor” worked! It worked to provide that universal, one size fits all meaning. I could apply it anywhere and everywhere in my life, and it brought a transforming power that gave my life a richness of meaning and purpose.

Don’t get me wrong, I still cried and grieved for those loved ones who died. Emotionally digesting these events still manifested to its fullest extent and intensity. Finding meaning did not give me a vacation from being human; it is not a reprieve from working through challenging emotions. It did not change the details of the exterior world. However, infusing this search and alignment with meaning made it a journey I could endure with grace and dignity. A quality of self-realized development strengthened my understanding of what is truly valuable and important in life and what it means to be fully human.

The extent of my wisdom is this: meaning is chosen by your free will. It is not inherent. There is no “meaning instruction tag” sewn into the fabric of life. Finding a meaning choice is not based on how much money you have or don’t have. It is not determined by what education you have or have not completed. It has nothing to do with politics, religion or sexual orientation. It is an internal action that is applied externally through the exercise of free will.

So much of the suffering on this planet is intrinsic to the human experience itself. Regardless of what your life is yielding, you are not alone.  Many others on this rock know what it is like to share your pain. If the “love thy neighbor” choice achieved such a deep-seated across the board deliverance quality of meaning for me, I suspect there is boundless value in it for you as well. After all, my suffering and your suffering do not exist in a vacuum. We are all connected.

When I choose to interact from a core of love, I can see the Divine in all, and it endows my life with a pristinely elegant, expansive, tangible sense of meaning. The best part of all, I have yet to find a downside to relating to others from an authentic inner place of tolerance and compassion. And most importantly remember, when a customer service rep asks you if there is anything else they can do, always answer with, “How about a life without suffering and a body without cellulite?” And when you find one… call me day or night!

About Vaishãli:

Vaishãli, who has healed herself from terminal illness twice without western medicine, prescription drugs or surgeries, combines the wisdom of Indian and Tibetan ayurveda, Chinese medicine, Eastern philosophies, and the works of Emanuel Swedenborg, an 18th century scientist and mystic that will improve your health and your mindset in ways that are practical and easy to implement.

Vaishãli is a faculty member at The Omega Institute and a columnist for the Huffington Post, she has appeared on national radio and network television programs including The Dr. Oz  Radio Show.” and she has been featured on the home page of Oprah.com Vaishãli graduated Magna Cum Laude from San Francisco State University, with degrees in both Philosophy and Religion as well as the Radio and Television Department. Visit www.purplev.com/mediakit

Tags: Vaishali radio, Emmanuel Swedenborg, Swedenborgian church, self-help books, Dr. Oz, life management, recovery from addiction, free will, freedom of choice, chi nei tsang, you are what you love, omega institute, huffington post vaishali

by Vaishali, author of “You Are What You Love” and “Wisdom Rising”

Reality. This crazy little thing called existence. What is it? Most likely, Lilly Tomlin gave the best celebrity answer in her one-woman show. She described it as little more than a collective hunch. Of course, she also described reality as a crutch for people who can’t cope with drugs, and a leading cause of stress. And here I thought it was something complicated. Start with a collective hunch, throw in some drugs, and add a dash of stress. I got it!  Reality is college life in the 1970s! 

For the sake of this discussion, it is not important whether or not we fully comprehend or even agree upon the scientifically approved definition of reality. The mechanics of reality, quantum or otherwise, are immaterial.  What is paramount is the meaning and perspective we freely give to reality. From a purely existentialist point of view, reality is an indestructible freedom – a freedom of choice.  You are free to choose your attitude, perspective and the meaning of your life’s situations, challenges and relationships. The entire content of your life is completely predicated upon the imbued meaning you freely chose to give it. It is a daunting task; so much is riding on your choice. A choice most of us are not even aware we are making, much less have so much invested in.

The definitive expert on the meaning of life is Victor Frankl, author of the classic, Man’s Search For Meaning. In his book, Frankl even goes so far as to say that choosing the meaning of reality is a pre-requisite for good mental health. He states that therapy and living an “examined” life can help us grow beyond our baggage and inner wounds. However, without choosing life-sustaining meanings, our minds will never heal or be completely whole. Great!  More pressure. Now if you make a foolish choice you put your relationship with quality mental health in a precarious position. I guess that explains why so many of us have “issues.”

Three existential philosophers from Texas, ZZ Top, ask the practical question, “How could anyone be so unkind as to arrest a man for driving while blind?” Their subtle point is to consider how much of the time you are even consciously aware of the navigating choices you make that drive your life. How deliberately conscious are you of the meaning you attribute to the events of your life, or even of the world in which you live? I suspect that most of us are so distracted and caught up in the movement of our everyday existence that taking the time to choose the meaning of our life’s lessons as they unfold and present themselves simply gets overlooked.

So what choices are worth making and what choices are not worth making? After all, if the quality of our human growth and our perceived value, power and worth are a direct by-product of the meaning we freely choose, then the prime objective of a successful life would be to consciously make wise choices.

First let’s consider what happens if we decide not to make a choice – that is a choice that is not worth making by the way. How many times do you see senseless acts of violence on the news or witness an insensitive act by someone? The usual thought response is, “I could have lived without this inconvenient occurrence in my life.” When we fail to harvest meaning from the events in life, we plant the seeds of being powerless, a victim, worthless, miserable and unhappy. Meaning provides the distinctly human ability to cultivate depth of character and gives us access to the strength to grow beyond any limitation.

To illustrate this, a man came to Frankl completely distraught by the death of his wife. She had died a few years earlier, but the man just could not get over her death. Frankl asked the man what would have happened if he had died first instead of his wife. The man answered that his wife would be struggling to move forward, as he was now. Frankl suggested the meaning behind the man’s suffering was that he was going through it so his wife did not have to. The man then responded, “Okay. Now I can move forward knowing I am doing this for her.” Nothing in the man’s life actually changed, except he now had a meaning for his suffering, which made it bearable and provided him with a means to evolve beyond the stagnation of grief.

There are an incalculable number of things in life that we cannot control or change. Without applying meaning, we have the accumulation of pain and suffering without a means of transcending it. If no attempt is made to find meaning, then what we have in fact chosen is an absence of meaning in our personal experience of reality.  Welcome to the void.  Whenever we create a “quality meaning” vacuum in life, the emotional and psychological aspects of our existence start to erode and diminish. Ultimately this will affect the physical. As Frankl points out, the ability to choose meaning in our lives is what makes us distinctly and uniquely human. So whether we derive life-enhancing meaning, or suffer from a lack thereof, our choice is going to affect every aspect of our reality.

If you have ever run out of creative juice or felt stuck regarding a specific life issue, you will love the rewards of dream work.  Sleep dreams, daydreams and “guided” waking dreams are more than stories about your life. Your Dreaming Mind proves you to be an inspired problem-solver, a creative artist, a natural poet, storyteller and mythmaker.
Dreams also reveal how you really feel about something, where you have been, where you are headed, and the easiest way to get there.  Dreams are really about waking up…to living your highest potential.
Through the ever-changing balance between conscious and unconscious activity, your Dreaming Mind offers rich and rewarding evidence that you are indeed an Artist of the Everyday.
 

When you engage in any creative act—from drawing a picture, arranging a bouquet of flowers, or writing a poem—you are listening to your soul’s voice.  These soulful whispers can be heard more clearly through dreams. Dreams draw from both the well of personal experience and from the reservoir of universal experiences, images, metaphors, symbols and mythology. Sometimes these dream messages defy words and can only be expressed in a drawing, a dance, a poem, a sculpture, a collage or some new invention.
 

These creative outpourings also offer additional ways to interact with your dream symbols to discover new and deeper layers of meaning. When acted upon, the muse discovered within your dreams will naturally spark your imagination for self-expression in your waking life—with amazing results.
 

When working with any dream or dream symbol, the key to discovering your creative soul is to adopt an attitude of playfulness and discovery. Then trust—and act upon—the creative flow that follows.
.    
“I dream my painting and then paint my dream”—Vincent Van Gogh
 

Allow Various Creative Forms to Evolve
When you track your inner impulses, you will find that a single dream or dream symbol can produce more than one form of self-expression.  For example a story derived from a dream can be used to create a poem, which can then become a drawing, which can be transformed into a dance and eventually even into a song.
 

Three Easy Steps to Write a Dream Haiku
1.  Select a dream element that intrigues you and list three adjectives that describe this character or object.
2. Then adding other words, arrange your adjectives (in any order) into three lines consisting of five syllables  in the first  line, seven syllables in the second line, and five syllables in the third line.
3. Make sure you give your poem a title.
Using these three adjectives (1) imaginative, (2) transform, and (3) playful to describe my Inner Dream Muse—with whom I connected during one of my “guided waking dreams”—I created the following Haiku:
Title:  “I Am the Inner Dream Muse”
Playful describes me
Being imaginative
Transform ideas
.  
It’s your turn now…simply select a dream or daydream that intrigues you. Silence any judgments from your inner writer’s critic and just listen to your soul’s voice with an open and playful heart. Allow your imagination to soar.  The possibilities are limitless!

For more opportunities to write with your inner dream muse, register for Dr. Marjorie’s upcoming creative writing sessions beginning Thursday, February 2, 2012 at 7:00-8:30 PM at www.smhas.com .  To register call:  (949) 752-5272
 

Dr. Marjorie Miles, DCH, MFT
Dream Coach, Speaker, Author and Poet
www.JourneyOfYourDreams.com
www.DreamDoorsBook.com
(714) 963-6686

Namaste and Happy New Year!

My name is David and I’ve been asked by Jerry to manage and illuminate
the blog-ability of this awesome community with its diverse beliefs,
modalities and areas of expertise. We are all here in this universe
showing up in the forms of human and spiritual beings. Those of us on
paths of self discovery, service to others and who are also excited
about generating and circulating income are being called – right now -
this year – to step up to the opportunities before us to change the
consciousness of the world. How? The simplicity is mind-blowing!! All we
are being called to do is to let people know that we are here at SMHAS
to teach, heal, reflect, guide, remind, love and connect.

Spiritual Seekers find what is sought and what they find depends upon
what is being shared and promoted – love, peace, joy, companionship,
salvation, guidance, healing, fun or whatever is on the ‘front burner’
for them at the moment. As we here in the SMHAS community share the news
of our varied and numerous gifts, talents, processes, procedures and
methodologies – more and more people will awaken, become inspired and
carry on the wave of unconditional love that is healing the world under
the radar and off the front pages.

The young people in some of my classes have a phrase: “get in where you
fit in” and I think that applies here. I’m asking you to consider my
invitation to you to write about your craft, your ideas, your classes,
your beliefs and your positive projections for the unfolding present.
Yes – get in where your passion fits – get in where your interests fit
in – get in where you want the seekers to find you, contact you,
contract with you and grow because of you!

So you soon to be fellow bloggers [beginners and seasoned] start
sending your stuff to: david@smhas.com and lets make a mighty difference
in the hearts and minds here in southern California one ‘Metablog’ at a
time!!

Walk in Balance & Live Inspired,
David

You Are Worthy!

Do not undermine your worth by
Comparing yourself with others.
It is because we are different
That each of us is special.
Do not set your goals by what
Other people deem important.
Only you know what is best for you.

Do not take for granted the things
Closest to your heart.
Cling to them as you would your life,
for without them, life is meaningless.
Do not let your life slip through your fingers
By living in the past nor for the future.

By living your life one day at a time,
You live all the days of your life.
Do not give up when you
Still have something to give.
Nothing is really over until the
Moment you stop trying.
It is a fragile thread that
Binds us to each other.

Do not be afraid to encounter risks.
It is by taking chances
That we learn how to be brave.
Do not shut love out of your life by
Saying it is impossible to find.
The quickest way to receive
Love is to give love;
The fastest way to lose love
Is too hold it too tightly;

In addition, the best way to keep
Love is to give it wings.
Do not dismiss your dreams.
To be without dreams
Is to be without hope;
To be without hope
Is to be without purpose.

Do not run through life
So fast that you forget
Not only where you have been,
But also where you are going.
Life is not a race,
But a journey to be savored
Each step of the way.