FEATURED IN THIS ISSUE: Soul Resolutions Inspirational Thoughts Interesting Links Video Review Healing

Happy New Year!  For many of us, January 1st announces the opportunity to start life with a clean slate.  It's a time when many of us plan for the future by making New Year's resolutions. Our list usually includes things that we want change on a physical level by either doing them more or doing them less, like exercising, taking a vacation, or quitting smoking.  While making a list like this is definitely useful, what I'm going to focus on here is the importance of also making changes for our hearts and souls.

From a shamanic perspective, we are beings of energy whose natural state is one of harmony and balance.  Energies like anger, regret, grief, fear, resentment and even unexpressed love can bring us out of balance and cause symptoms on the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels.  What can also keep us stuck is when something powerful or traumatic has happened to us, and we begin to identify with it (e.g. "I am a survivor of..."). Shamanism teaches that we are not our experiences nor our memories. This kind of association although understandable, can be limiting as it keeps us connected to the energy of the past.

Shamanic healing and sacred ceremony are ways to swiftly and permanently release and transform the past without having to re-experience the events that have wounded us.  They work on a deep level to heal our hearts and souls and help us to remember our true, loving selves.  Our energetic "baggage", emotional "charge" and beliefs about the past are consciously released, thereby transforming our thoughts, feelings and behaviour. This heals our souls and helps us to live consciously and authentically in the present.

Below are a few ways to make changes for your heart and soul that you can do on your own:

1. Forgive - Make a list of all those you need to forgive, including yourself.  If you feel a resistance, then ask yourself what benefit, if any, it provides and then intend to let go of the block to your forgiveness first.

2. Ceremony - Set a clear, loving intention for what you wish to let go of.  Design a sacred ceremony or ritual that is meaningful for you, like burning an old journal.  Really intend to release the past with love, integrity and gratitude for any strengths you may have gained.

3. Grieve - Ask yourself if there is a loss you haven't grieved. Give yourself time, and allow yourself to feel the sadness and loss that you've held within. Ask for support if you need it. Consider doing a simple ceremony to say "good bye" to a loved one, or situation in your life.

4. Love -  Intend to show your love to others and to yourself if you aren't doing so already.  Begin in small ways: a kind word, smile or simple gesture. Ultimately, the goal is to release your true, loving self.  The more you do, the easier it becomes.

5. Play - Do something light-hearted and fun on a regular basis! Laugh, laugh and laugh some more!

INSPIRATIONAL THOUGHTS

"To laugh often and love much, to win the respect of intelligent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one's self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived - this is to have succeeded."  Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now." Goethe

INTERESTING LINKS

Included below are some web links I found that I thought might be of interest to you:

Journey of Hearts - online healing place for anyone grieving a loss
Grant Me the Serenity - site for self help, addiction and recovery
DrWeil.com - online resource for healthy living based on an integrative medicine philosophy

Many more sites can be found on my Links page.

VIDEO REVIEW

I just borrowed Dr. Andrew Weil's DVD, containing "8 Weeks to Optimum Health" and "Spontaneous Healing" from the Vancouver Public Library. I found his 8 week health program to be refreshingly simple and easy to integrate. He focusses on the body's natural healing system, and how to support it on the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels. The program is based on simple exercise (walking), eating organic foods and drinking pure water, vitamin and mineral supplementation, rest and easy meditation and breathing techniques that anyone can do.  If you're not already doing these things, Dr. Weil shows how positive change can be easily integrated into your lifestyle.  Andrew Weil, MD is the founder and director of the Program in Integrative Medicine at the University of Arizona.  See his web link above.

HEALING

One of the joys in my life is being able to assist people with their healing processes. I work intuitively and integrate Inka shamanic healing techniques with energy healing (Healing Touch), Archangel healing, crystals, sound and counselling.  My approach is gentle, respectful and client-centred. Sessions take place in loving, sacred space and last about 1 1/2 hours.

Click here for more information about sessions.

What Some of My Clients Have Said:

* "This healing session was excellent!"
* "I can feel that something really deep and powerful has taken place."
* "Thank you! I feel like myself again."