May 2006, Issue 41 ~ Creating Space for Joy and Peace

When we put this newsletter together each month, we are usually rather Zen about the articles that are submitted by our wonderful content providers but sometimes a clear theme evolves with little effort on our part. The theme that evolved this issue in great part is about creating space… clearing space - be that space in your mind, body, or spirit. We hope you find the articles in this issue of support and interest and that you will consider enrolling in one of our courses for self healing today!

Blessings for joy & peace, June Cook Self-Healing Expressions (S-HE)

Clearing Space for the Divine By Rev. Elizabeth A. Reed, Ph.D. with Neil Douglas-Klotz The second line of the Aramaic Lord's Prayer is traditionally translated as "Hallowed be Thy Name." In the context of the Prayer, have you ever consider the meaning of the word translated as "hallowed" to mean creating more sacred spaciousness in your life? If your bookshelves are full, there is no space for new books. If your closets are full, there is no room for new clothes. If your mind and heart and emotions are full of chaos and clutter from daily activities and unresolved experiences, there is little space for the Divine Light to shine within and through. The Aramaic words of the second line of the Prayer are... Read on. Elizabeth A. Reed is the instructor of A Healing Journey with the Aramaic Lord's Prayer: Reclaiming the Mysticism of Jesus through His Native Language, co-created with Neil Douglas-Klotz.

AUDIO Reiki Meditation: Finding the Chi By Maggie Wahls, RMT Enjoy this audio Reiki visualization meditation. Feel your connection to the Chi.

Reiki Master Teacher Maggie Wahls is the creator and instructor of Reiki for Healing: Level I, Reiki for Healing: Level II, and Discovering the Shaman Healer Within: Apprentice Course.

Living with Purpose: Creativity and Your Essence By Melanie Votaw My mother passed away in January, and I've discovered that one of the things losing a loved one will do is connect you once again with your own essence. You are brought back to who you are on a core level, no longer able to keep up the pretenses and denials of day to day living. This is a good thing. Most of us spend entirely too much time living someone else's life, adhering to conventions and beliefs about who we're "supposed" to be rather than who we truly are. In fact, this conditioning is so ingrained in our culture that we... Read on. Melanie Votaw is the instructor for the course Discovering Your Life Purpose: Living the Life You Were Born to Live.

Things That Make You Go Ommm. . .

Have you seen the NEW Meatrix II: Revolting flash show?
Every day, more and more people are choosing to eat sustainably by changing their buying habits, helping their whole community eat healthier with locally-grown food. Find out what you can do to get involved in this movement.

~*~ Science & Theology News ~ 4-issue trial ~*~
Let Science & Theology News, the publication devoted to science, religion, and health, be your guide. We dissect the biggest topics - like prayer and health studies, intelligent design, altruism, mind-body medicine- and also analyze how science and spirituality intersect in places you might not expect. Fre.e 4-issue trial:

~*~ Holistic Prayers: Healing the Mind, Body and Spirit Through Prayer ~*~
Subscribe to this (no fee) uplifting Self-Healing Expressions e-course and get a sense of how our self-paced delivery system works while being inspired by interfaith prayers. Enroll now.

Low Fat Menus: Do You Need to Cut the Fat? By Julianne Koritz, registered, licensed dietitian Do you need fat? What would happen if you excluded all the fat in your diet? Would you lose weight, look better, be healthier? Do you think all fat is bad for your health? How does that affect your food choices? During the nutrition revolution, the "quick fix" solution to the number one killer in America (i.e., heart disease) was "cut the fat." Nutritionists rose to the challenge, informing the public that animal fat is the real culprit in causing heart disease... Read on. Julianne Koritz is the creator of The Healing Power of Food: Conscious Eating.

Spring Clearing & Cleaning By Deborah Redfern As you clean your home this season, invite the healing forces of the four elements into your home: air, earth, fire, and water. Not only will it help you clean your home, but it has a powerful cleansing and renewing affect on your body, mind and soul. Also, try smudging and essential oils to remove stagnant energy and clear negative energy from your home. But before you get started with your spring clearing and cleaning, take a moment to call forth Spirit and your guides with a brief invocation... [Read on] Deborah is a certified Practitioner and Master Teacher of Interior Alignment©. She is the creator and instructor of Healing with Feng Shui and Color. Learn how to use colors for healing.

"Refresher" Tools: Prayer and Meditation By Linda Pendleton We all have spirit guides who work closely with us. Meditation is the opportune time for you to communicate, through visual or auditory efforts. Within the slightly altered state of meditation, you hear messages with somewhat more clarity. Do you recall times when you were caught up in negativity and could have used some spiritual insight to move you more swiftly into the positive? Have you been given spiritual answers from time to time? Within the dream state, do you often feel you leave the body and... Read full article. Linda Pendleton, medium and author, is the creator and instructor of the course Journey to the Heart: Exploring the World of Spirit.

Dear Marty ~ A 10-year-old Girl Whose Cat Has Died Q & A by Bereavement Counselor Marty Tousley

Question: Question: Today my cat Mischief died! She was the best cat in the world! She died with my parents at our house. I am VERY heart-broken! Besides my dogs she was the only friend that would NEVER get mad at me!!! I mean this is a lot for me to go through at the small age of 10! Do you know of any ways for me to cope but never forget the good times we had? Read Marty's response here. Marty Tousley is the instructor of A Different Grief: Coping with Pet Lossand The First Year of Grief: Help for the Journey.

Comments from You ~ Thanks for Writing in!

"I used to hear people say laughter is medicine, and after completing this course I truly believe it. To be quite honest I had been going thru a little bit of depression and one of your techniques (laughing 10 minutes a day) is actually rebalancing me and starting to make me feel happier, lighten up and have much more energy. Thank you Lynn for coming up with such a GREAT idea such as a course like this, wouldn't have dreamed that there was a laughing course out there, you have opened my eyes, FANTASTIC!!!" ~ Ms. P., Australia ( Laugh Therapy couse)


"I would recommend going through this process to anyone. It has been very valuable to me thus far and I am looking forward to learning what happens next!" ~ C.C. New Hampshire (halfway through Life Purpose couse)


"This course adds another dimension for the journal writer by incorporating scrapbooking of some of one's significant life events. From that perspective, visual as well as written documentation can be appreciated as having lived an interesting life." ~ Karen Rippstein, New York ( Writing for Life course)


Thanks for Writing!   Find our full course catalog here.

The Courage to Heal By Steven E. Hodes, M.D.. Does the concept of courage and healing seem at all intriguing? It does to me. As a physician, a gastroenterologist with over 25-years clinical experience of caring for patients I have pondered the difference between how I was trained to practice my profession and my present understanding of healing. As a product of the traditional approach to medicine, I viewed the patient as a machine who was suffering from some undisclosed mechanical failure. Why else would they be sitting before me in my office? Certainly I was aware that anxiety or depression could exacerbate the symptoms of disease, but the extent to which the mind, body and spirit were united was unappreciated... Read on.

Steven E. Hodes, M.D. is a board certified gastroenterologist with over 25 years private practice based in Edison and Old Bridge New Jersey. He also has a degree in Religious Studies and teaches Contemporary Metaphysics at Brookdale College as well as lecturing and writing on Kabbalah and Healing, the Jewish View of Afterlife and on Near-Death Experience. Visit him at his daily Blog, Physician to Meta-Physician.

A Coping Blurb from Art ~ Making Room for Happiness By Arthur Soissons-Segal, Ph.D. ~ Therapist and Brain Tumor Survivor

Happiness is my goal. Everyday I look and find happiness in life. Sometimes it's my dog wagging his tail or my wife's reports of the day. It's so easy to experience happiness yet some people never do. The morning e-mail can bring joy and laughter... laughter so hard your face hurts. Other sources of happiness: no lines in the supermarket; favorite songs on the radio; lying in bed listening to the rain outside; friends. Some of my happiness moments: listening to the birds each morning, discovering new buds on my cacti, and hot tea. What makes you happy? Care to share? [Visit the Happiness Room and share what makes you happy] Arthur Soissons-Segal is the instructor of the course The Joy Of Coping: Overcoming The Stress of Dis-ease.

ANNOUNCEMENTS


Save the Internet.com: Don't Let Congress Ruin the Internet
Right now Congress is pushing a law that would abandon the First Amendment of the Internet -- a principle called "network neutrality" that preserves the free and open Internet. Congress needs to hear from you today or they will hand over control of what you do online to companies like AT&T, Verizon and Comcast. Politicians are trading favors for campaign donations from these companies... Learn more here. Online petition here.
This Month's Holistic Prayers

Great Mother, I am your daughter and I call to you.
Teach me courage and kindness and how to love myself
Help my heart be pure and my vision clear
Show me how to live without bitterness and blame
Let me know nature which is always true
Fill me with your silence as I learn the art of patience
Teach me of my own power and purpose
Send me your light as you guide me into your dark cave
Hold me when I am afraid
Help me to see there is no fault in the Universe, only life dancing
Reveal to me that timeless space inside
Where the dance has no beginning and no end
Fill me with wonder as I touch once again the delicate magic that is life
In my heart there is much longing
I am ready to face whatever your Mystery may unveil

~ Sedonia Cahill, (1945 - 2000) teacher of circles, vision quest guide, women's advocate


   

Peace, Love and Light,

Your Friends at Self-Healing Expressions



Disclaimer

About Self-Healing Expressions

Self-Healing Expressions Self-Healing Expressions provides self-paced email courses on holistic topics. Site features guided meditation and healing prayers. Course topics include Dreams for Healing, Romantic Resumé, Grief Healing, Pet Loss, Nutrition, Laugh Therapy, Healing the Earth, More Power to You and more. Its popular (free) Holistic Prayers email course contains interfaith prayers, worldwide prayer vigil announcements and inspiring quotes.