STRESS SOLUTIONS PART 4

Now if you have read the previous articles on here about stress, you will now know what effects it can have on the body and ultimately health (*****links at the foot of this article if you haven't read them). I also mentioned meditation, massage and aromatherapy as solutions to stress so I now will cover Reiki,  Reflexology Bach Flower Remedies and Homeopathy.

REIKI

The word 'Reiki' is a Japanese word meaning Universal Life Energy and it is the name given to a natural healing system developed by Dr. Mikao Usui. It took Dr. Usui many years of study of ancient teachings to develop this system of healing and he dedicated his life to practising and teaching Reiki. Dr Usui rediscovered and developed this system of healing on a trip to Mt. Kurama, At some point in his life he became a Tendai Buddhist Monk/Priest (what we in the west call a lay priest). On several occasions he took a form of meditation lasting 21 days.He took it into hospitals in Japan. Dr. Usui died in 1926 but before he died he passed on Reiki to Dr. Chujiro Hayashi. Dr. Hayashi was a naval doctor. It has been said he is probably the originator of the hand position system used here in the west. He started his Reiki training with Usui Sensei in 1925, 47 years of age. It is believed he was one of the last Reiki Masters trained by Usui.

Following his first training he left the Usui school and started a small clinic in Tokyo named "Hayashi Reiki Kenkyu-kai", which had 8 beds and 16 healers. Practitioners worked in pairs of two to a bed giving treatments to patients. Dr Hayashi compiled his own 40 page manual on how to use the hand positions for certain ailments. This manual may have been give to his students. During his work with Reiki he initiated about 17 Reiki Masters including Mrs Takata. Mrs Hawayo Takata is responsible for bringing Reiki to the west.


Chujiro Hayashi ritually ended his life by committing Seppuku' on May 10th 1940.


Hawayo Takata was born at dawn on December 24th 1900, on the island of Kauai, Hawaii. Her parents were Japanese immigrants and her father worked in the sugar cane fields. She eventually married the bookkeeper of the plantation where she was employed. In October of 1930, Saichi Takata died at the age of thirty-four leaving Mrs. Takata to raise their two daughters. In order to provide for her family, she had to work very hard with little rest. After five years she developed severe abdominal pain, a lung condition and had a nervous breakdown.

Soon after this, one of her sisters died and she traveled to Japan where her parents had moved to deliver the news. She also felt she could find help for her poor health in Japan. Here she came in contact with Dr Hayashi's clinic and she began receiving Reiki treatment. Mrs. Takata received daily treatments twice a day and got progressively better. In four months, she was completely healed. Impressed by the results, she wanted to learn Reiki. In the Spring of 1936, Mrs. Takata received First Degree Reiki (Shoden). She worked with Dr. Hayashi for one year and then received Second Degree Reiki (Okuden).


Mrs. Takata returned to Hawaii in 1937. She was soon followed by Dr. Hayashi who came to help Mrs Takata establish Reiki in Hawaii. In the Winter of 1938, Dr. Hayashi initiated Hawayo Takata as a Reiki Master. She was the thirteenth and last Reiki Master Dr. Hayashi initiated. Between 1970 and her transition on December 11th 1980, Mrs. Takata initiated twenty-two Reiki Masters. These twenty two teachers went on to teach others and Reiki spread world wide.


Being a Reiki Master teacher myself I can name the lineage from Dr Usui. My Reiki master's Reiki master was taught by one of the twenty two initiated by Mrs Takata, this makes me seventh in line from Dr. Usui.


Reiki is a form of spiritual healing using "universal life energy" channelled through the practitioner to the recipient. 
Reiki helps to harmonize body, mind and spirit for yourself or anyone you want to help.


Reiki treatment
You relax, fully clothed, on a couch or seated while the healer holds his hands on or above you. A treatment can last an hour or longer depending on the treatment required. In the western world many practitioners use the standard hand positions and commonly a full treatment is given covering all the important organs of the body.
There is no pressure on the body making it ideal for treating all ages and conditions, sometimes hands are even held away from the body. The energy flows wherever it is required (spiritually guided) and can normally be felt as a warm sensation or tingling in the body. Receiving Reiki is a very relaxing and soothing experience!


The ability to use Reiki is normally given via an attunement or initiation. There are 3 levels of Reiki: Reiki 1 and 2 and the Master level.


During the attunement/initiation process the Reiki master acts as a mirror to help the student adjust to the Reiki energy. This energy creates an open "channel" for the cosmic or universal life energy. From the top of the persons head and through this "channel" the energy flows down through the body and back out through the hands when Reiki is "given". The Reiki attunement is almost always a very special spiritual experience for the receiver and sometimes also for the Master. It is one you will never forget and is a very important milestone in your life.


The Reiki Principals taught by Dr Usui


• For today only: Value today! The present is now, life is not in the future or in the past, there is only now!


• Do not anger Realize that anger and other selfish emotions like resentment, hatred, envy are harmful, avoid such emotions.


• Do not worry Do your best, believe and trust in the universe.


• Express your thanks In this world it is easy to lose ourselves when we forget gratitude for being alive.


• Be diligent in your work, and be kind to others It is not important what we do, it is important what we learn from what we do. "Be kind to others" also means take good care of yourself, there is no difference between self and others in a universal dimension.


REFLEXOLOGY

REFLEXOLOGY dates back to ancient civilisations such as Egypt, India and China, but this therapy was only introduced to the West in the early 20th Century. The oldest documentation of Reflexology comes from a pictograph in the tomb of an Egyptian Physician Ankhmahor (2500-2330 B.C.) at Saqquara near Cairo.

It shows two men working on the feet and hands of two other men. The hieroglyphics above the scene read‘ Do not let it be painful’ says one of the patients.‘ I do as you please’ the practitioner says

In China there is evidence of some form of foot and hand therapy being practiced as long ago as 4,000 B.C., and the North American Indians have practised a form of foot therapy for hundreds of years. It was not until Dr William Fitzgerald USA 1872-1942 who was an Ear Nose and Throat Surgeon. He practiced in the USA, briefly in London and Vienna for 2 years. He was the founder of “Zone Therapy”, an early form of reflexology. But it was medical journalist Dr. Edwin Bowers who suggested his method be known as 'Zone Therapy'. Through research Dr. Fitzgerald discovered that if he exerted pressure on the tips of the toes or fingers, a corresponding part of the body would be anaesthetised. From this theory he divided the body into 10 equal zones running from the top of the head to the tips of the toes. He found that by applying pressure using tight bands of elastic on the middle section of each finger, or by using small clamps that were placed on the tips, he could carry out minor surgery using this technique only. These were very controversial ideas at the time.

However it was Eunice Ingham (1889 -1974) USA “The Mother of Modern Reflexology” who finally developed it to the form we now know and recognise. She was a Physiotherapist who worked in a Doctors practice and she used Dr Fitzgerald’s Zone Therapy method. However, she felt that the therapy could be more effective on the feet than the hands. After extensive research she evolved a map of the entire body on the feet. Hence the saying ‘The feet are a mirror of the body’. Eunice Ingham travelled around America for 30 years teaching Reflexology first to Doctors and Nurses and then to non-medical practitioners. It was in 1966 Doreen Bailey who was a former student of Eunice Ingham, returned to England and became the pioneer of reflexology as we know today in the UK

THE CONSULTATION AND TREATMENT

After a detailed consultation, asking about medical history and making sure there are no contra-indications to treatment, the therapist will make the client comfortable, this may be on a couch or a chair and foot stool and indeed, reflexology is extremely soothing and relaxing, many clients do fall asleep during treatment. There are different methods, some reflexologists like to work on both beet simultaneously others do not and if one or both of the feet are injured for example the reflexologist can work on the corresponding hand instead. The treatment generally lasts approximately an hour and generally begins with a soothing massage to relax and open the feet prior to the more detailed work on the specific reflexes. Each area of the feet when placed together mirror the body and reflexes is the term given to each area of the body mapped on the feet. e.g. the head reflex are the big toes. The type of pressure point massage we use is like finger walking using the thumb though we may use all our fingertips at certain points during the treatment. We can often tell where in the clients body there is an imbalance, this is where we might pick up a 'Reflex' and to describe what we find, its often a grainy area that dissipates when we work that area or the client may say there is a specific tender area, which may correspond to an area in the body where the client has an imbalance.

On completion the reflexologist will make a note of her findings and will often suggest a follow up treatment, the client will find that the treatment is very relaxing and its quite common for the client to state they feel as if they are walking on air.

Often many reflexologists work with doctors these days and doctors have now begun to see how reflexology is a valuable complementary therapy.

HOMEOPATHY
Origins of Homeopathy, the word “Homeopathy” is derived from two Greek words meaning“similar suffering”. History tells us that it was the Greek physician Hippocrates, who, in the fifth century, first wrote of the medical practice of treating like with like. So far as is known he was the first doctor to treat an illness with a substance that produces, in a healthy person, similar symptoms to those displayed by the person who is ill. In the 16th and 17th centuries, the principle “similia similibus curentur”, (let likes be cured by likes), was quoted by many physicians, including Paracelsus, often regarded as the ‘father’ of holistic medicine. Homeopathy is therefore not new but the form we know today is attributed to Dr. Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann (1755 - 1843), a German Physician who in 1796 prove his "Law of similars". The basic principal of homeopathy is "Let like be cured by like". There is no scientific proof as to how Homeopathy works and although individual trials have positive results, some researchers have suggested this is down to a placebo effect. However that argument falls down when it comes to work on animals and many vets use homeopathy on animals.


Homeopathic remedies are prepared by serial dilution, the term used for this is calledsuccession, (succession means shaken) this is known as potentisation. For example the original solution, known as a mother tincture and one example is a plant or herb, though homeopathic remedies are made from a variety of substances, and the herb is placed in a solution of alcohol. This is left to potenize and the liquor strained off and this is known as 'Mother Tincture'. In the "C" system of potency or '100', one drop of this mother tincture is placed with 99 drops of alcohol and succussed and this makes '1C'. To make 2C, one drop of 1C is added to 99 drops of alcohol, succussed and this makes 2C and so on some remedies go on being diluted well into the millions e.g. 2M. The medicines are often given in tablet form, though they can be powders or even applied topically as in a cream. To make the tablets/powders a few drops of the appropriate remedy tincture is added to a bottled or phial of lactose tablets/powder and these pills are to be allowed to dissolve in a clean mouth, that is a mouth not tainted with strong flavours such as mint or coffee as they would neutralise the effect of the remedy as homeopathic medicines are very gentle and delicate. Generally 30 mins should have elapsed since eating etc.


Homeopathy works on an energy/vibrational level and treats the whole person i.e.holistically and not just a specific disease or symptom but takes into account of how the patient is feeling mentally, emotionally as well as physically. The homeopath taking the case will want to know, if the weather affects the condition in anyway, does food for example does eating cold food make the patient feel worse or better and taking a case history a patient can expect an hour long consultation as the homeopath is looking for the correct remedy to match the homeopathic drug picture. The homoeopath, views the symptoms as a direct manifestation of the body’s attempt to heal itself therefore a substance is given capable of producing similar symptoms if given to a well person. Homeopathy does not treat diseases but, rather, individuals with specific symptom pictures.


Homeopathy do not have side effects as they work in a totally different way from orthodox medicine however if a remedy is not quite right the patient could end up proving a remedy, where symptoms may show up but no harm will come to the patient. Occasionally, on first taking a Homeopathic medicine, the symptoms become worse. This is one of the "Laws of Cure" and called an ‘aggravation’, and should be regarded as a good sign as it shows that the remedy is working you should stop taking the remedy until the aggravation has passed and only resume if necessary. Aggravations are most common with skin disorders, as the body “throws out” the disease. Higher potencies work at a much deeper level. Occasionally patients may exhibit symptoms of conditions suffered prior to condition under treatment, or their symptoms may manifest in other parts of the body. For this reason only trained homoeopaths should prescribe high potencies because only they can properly monitor such situations. Other users should limit themselves to the 6th and 30th potencies. When you think about how homeopathic medicines are made in effect it can be quite difficult to ascertain how they do work for when the remedies are succussed theres no actually remedy in the solution especially when it comes down to the very high potencies. There are different theories to how this may be one is that the liquor used in making the remedies retains a memory or the original substances and this is transmuted in an energy.


The "Laws of Cure" from a more important organ to a lesser one i.e. an internal organ to external like the skin, from above down i.e. from pains in the abdomen the pain travels down the legs to the feet then out of the body. And ailments in reverse order, symptoms from old ailments may manifest themselves before leaving the body. You will feel better in yourself, even though you are still suffering from the ailment and the aggravation, where the ailment worsens before getting better.


Homeopathic remedies are made from a large variety of substances minerals, plants and animal substances and the first stage in making a homeopathic remedy is to 'prove' it. The original homeopathic remedy was 'proved' by Hahnemann. Homeopathic medicine, as we know it today, was produced by Dr. Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann (1755 - 1843). He was a doctor who, after qualifying in 1779, soon became disenchanted with medicine as it was practised at that time. Hahnemann advocated much that is far from revolutionary nowadays: proper diet, regular exercise and improved social conditions. He was also very concerned about large doses of noxious substances that were prescribed as medicines.


In 1790 Hahnemann became interested in an eminent Scottish doctor’s explanation as to how a Cinchona Bark extract worked to cure ague, or malaria as we know it today. Cinchona Bark, having been used for centuries in South America for the treatment of malaria, was introduced into Europe by missionaries and was proving successful. The Edinburgh doctor, William Cullen, accredited this success to its toning action on the stomach. Hahnemann did not agree, and was prompted to undertake an experiment on himself. As a healthy person he took a substantial dose of Cinchona Bark extract and found that he developed symptoms similar to malaria, the very disease the drug was used to treat. Hahnemann then went onto test many other substances in this same way; administering doses to healthy people, noting the symptoms that developed - and then using the substance to treat a disease when the substance picture matched that of the “poison” picture.


Many of the substances Hahnemann used were indeed highly poisonous, and this prompted him to spend many years experimenting in order to find the smallest possible effective dose. He eventually developed the method of “potentising” the starting substance, and, by administering infinitesimally small doses, he found that he not only cured without undesirable side effects but also that the curative properties were enhanced. Such was Hahnemann’s success, particularly with endemic diseases, that Homeopathy quickly spread throughout Europe and across to America. Dr. Frederick Harvey Foster Quin introduced Homeopathy into Great Britain in the late 1820’s and 1849 founded the London Homeopathic Hospital. Homeopathy is recognised by Act of Parliament and widely accepted as a safe alternative form of medical treatment. It is practised by fully qualified doctors who are recognised by the General Medical Council and homeopathic medicines are available within the National Health Service.

BACH FLOWER REMEDIES









What are Bach Flower Remedies? Well they are a very gentle and natural remedy for dealing with stress. They were devised by Dr. Edward Bach he studied medicine first in Birmingham and later at the University College Hospital, London, where he was House Surgeon. He also worked in private practice, having a set of consulting rooms in Harley Street. As a bacteriologist and pathologist he undertook original research into vaccines in his own research laboratory.


In 1917 Dr Bach was working on the wards tending to soldiers returned injured from France. One day he collapsed and was rushed into an operating theatre suffering from a severe haemmorhage. His colleagues operated to remove a tumour, but the prognosis was poor. When he came round they told Bach that he had only three months left to live.


As soon as he could get out of bed, Bach returned to his laboratory. He intended to advance his work as far as he could in the short time that remained. But as the weeks went by he began to get stronger. The three months came and went and found him in better health than ever. He was convinced that his sense of purpose was what saved him: he still had work to do.

Homoeopathic research

His research into vaccines was going well, but despite this Dr Bach felt dissatisfied with the way doctors were expected to concentrate on diseases and ignore the whole person. He aspired to a more holistic approach to medicine. Perhaps this explains why, not being a homoeopath, he took the offer of a post at the Royal London Homoeopathic Hospital.


Once there he soon noticed the parallels between his work on vaccines and the principles of homoeopathy. He adapted his vaccines to produce a series of seven homoeopathic nosodes. This work and its subsequent publication brought him some fame in homoeopathic circles. People began to refer to him as 'the second Hahnemann'.


The flower remedies

Up to now Bach had been working with bacteria, but he wanted to find remedies that would be purer and less reliant on the products of disease. He began collecting plants and in particular flowers - the most highly-developed part of a plant - in the hope of replacing the nosodes with a series of gentler remedies.


By 1930 he was so enthused by the direction his work was taking that he gave up his lucrative Harley Street practice and left London, determined to devote the rest of his life to the new system of medicine that he was sure could be found in nature. He took with him as his assistant a radiographer called Nora Weeks.


Just as he had abandoned his home, office and work, Dr Bach began to abandon the scientific method and its reliance on laboratories and reductionism. He fell back instead on his natural gifts as a healer, and more and more allowed his intuition to guide him to the right plants.


Over years of trial and error, which involved preparing and testing thousands of plants, he found one by one the remedies he wanted. Each was aimed at a particular mental state or emotion. He found that when he treated the personalities and feelings of his patients their unhappiness and physical distress would be alleviated naturally as the healing potential in their bodies was unblocked and allowed to work once more.


His life followed a seasonal pattern from 1930 to 1934: the spring and summer spent looking for and preparing the remedies; the winter giving help and advice to all who came looking for them. Most winters were spent in the coastal town of Cromer. Here he met and became friends with a local builder and healer, Victor Bullen.


The Bach Centre

In 1934 Dr Bach and Nora Weeks moved to a house called Mount Vernon in the Oxfordshire village of Brighwell-cum-Sotwell. In the lanes and fields he found the remaining remedies that he needed to complete the series. By now his body and mind were so in tune with his work that he would suffer the emotional state that he needed to cure and try plants and flowers until he found the one that would help him. In this way, through great personal suffering and sacrifice, he completed his life's work.


A year after announcing that his search for remedies was complete, Dr Bach passed away peacefully on the evening of November 27th, 1936. He was only 50 years old, but he had outlived his doctors' prognosis by nearly 20 years. He left behind him several lifetime's experience and effort, and a system of medicine that is used all over the world.


He left his work in the hands of his friends and colleagues Nora Weeks and Victor Bullen, with instructions that they should carry on his work and stay true to the essential simplicity of what he had done. In a letter to Victor dated 26th October 1936, a month before his death, he wrote:


"People like ourselves who have tasted the glory of self-sacrifice, the glory of helping our brothers, once we have been given a jewel of such magnitude, nothing can deviate us from our path of love and duty to displaying its lustre, pure and unadorned to the people of the world."


Nora and Victor stayed true to those ideals of simplicity and sharing, as does the Bach Centre today.


"Healing with the clean, pure, beautiful agents of nature is surely the one method of all which appeals to most of us"
- Dr Edward Bach, 1936


INFORMATION SUPPLIED © copyright 2009 The Bach Centre

THE REMEDIES

The 38 remedies are divided into seven emotional states and are prescribed for each individual:

Fear (Rock Rose, Mimulus, Cherry Plum, Aspen, Red Chestnut)

Uncertainty (Cerato, Scleranthus, Gentian, Gorse, Hornbeam, Wild Oat)

Insufficient interest in present circumstances (Clematis, Honeysuckle, Wild Rose, Olive, White Chestnut, Mustard, Chestnut Bud)

Loneliness (Water Violet, Impatiens, Heather)

Those over-sensitive to influence and ideas (Agrimony, Centaury, Walnut, Holly)

Despondancy and despair (Larch, Pine, Elm, Sweet Chestnut, Star of Bethlehem, Willow, Oak, Crab Apple)

Over-care for welfare of others (Chicory, Vervain, Vine,Beech, Rock Water)

There is one composite remedy which is often used: and one that I highly recommend and as a good introduction to the Bach System

Rescue Remedy

This contains five of the 38 remedies and as the name would suggest, it is the remedy for emergencies and calming in traumatic situatuions such as visiting the dentist, before an exam, after a shock

*****

http://www.astridestella.info/2012/06/stress-and-effect-it-has-on-our-health.html

http://www.astridestella.info/2012/06/stress-solutions-stress-part-two.html

http://www.astridestella.info/2012/06/instigating-parasympathetic-nervous.html

Maggie Brown (Author)

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CHARLATAN ACITIVITY DON'T BE FOOLED

Something came to my attention by chance today which really annoyed me. Now being a psychic medium I know how powerful the Universe and Spirit are and you will notice articles on my site regarding wishing and spells which are basically concentrated thoughtforms. We are governed by Universal laws and you will find details on the laws on the Universe on this site and basically we can have anything we desire the only proviso is providing it's not detrimental to anyone. Positive thinking is a powerful force and will produce powerful results if its always for the 'Highest Good'. Anyway I was dismayed to come across this below

PLEASE DO NOT FALL FOR THIS SCAM

http://www.wishpill.com/


Now this pill claims 

"The Wish Pill will make ANY wish come true instantly!" Each Wish Pill contains a powerful, complex ingredient called "Psi" (pronounced "sigh"), or "Ψ" in the Greek alphabet. Psi is not found naturally in nature (except by rare accident in young humans or other lifeforms) but has been known to exist since ancient times. In fact, some experts believe Psi to be the tool used by ancient cultures to build some of the world's greatest wonders, such as the Great Pyramid and Stonehenge. It must be cultivated for years and harvested at just the right time by using refined technology to manipulate the atomic structure of the aether Psi is highly unstable and dissipates in seconds if not stored in the proper environment. For this reason, Psi is encased in a specially-lined gelatin capsule and stored in a hermetically-sealed glass vial coated with a special blue cobalt polymer designed to store Psi at its maximum strength and to prolong its shelf life. Through this packaging technology you can be assured that you are receiving the purest and most powerful form of Psi possible. Watch the video below to observe Ψ being released into the atmosphere under controlled conditions at Wish Pill Laboratory: Psi is so unstable and scarce that only a very small amount can be created at Wish Pill Laboratory each year. Through intense research and development and by contributions from our generous benefactors, Wish Pill Laboratory has perfected the creation, encapsulation, and packaging of Psi so that this powerful and willful force can be used by you anywhere and anyhow you wish. The field of Psionics, the manipulation of the aether using synthetic Psi, is growing by leaps and bounds and we are pioneering much of this work at Wish Pill Laboratory. After we are awarded the patents we have applied for, we will be releasing a white paper describing in detail how the Wish Pill is created and why and how it works. Now get this LOL! FREE WORLDWIDE SHIPPING & HANDLING! All Orders Will Be Shipped Using Discreet and Secure Packaging To Ensure Your Privacy. Wish Pills are available in an extremely limited supply... ...and can only be ordered on THIS website. Place your order NOW before they're all gone! And all for the sum of $29.95 It's this kind of Charlatan activity that gives those of us who work in the esoteric field a bad reputation. YOU DO NOT NEED TO SPEND A SINGLE DOLLAR TO CREATE A WISH. As long as your wish is created for the "Highest Good" and not detrimental to anyone else and you concentrate it with positive energy you can manifest it. The sad thing is there will be some poor souls who may be wishing to get out of debt and spending money on this rediculous empty capsule.

Maggie Brown (Author)

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RECOMMENDED BEAUTY PRODUCTS

Now it's been a little while since I've written about beauty but today I am recommending a few products.

The first one is strip lashes I discovered this site recently and I cannot recommend their products highly enough.

http://buyeyelashes.co.uk/en/

The prices are fantastic and the eyelashes are great. Now I wear lashes a lot and have done for years plus I have used many different products having been a college lecturer teaching beauty therapy and these are my favourite strip lashes. Priced at £1.99 you cannot go wrong, if you take care of them you can use the same pair dozens of times and I'm not joking the adhesive I am using is non latex and it doesn't clog up the lashes and ruin them and again available here

click here to visit the site

The price for the adhesive is only £0.99 and a little goes a long way.

This is one site I have bookmarked and will be returning to again and again.

The other product I am recommending is from Mac Prep+Prime line filler I think this is one of the best products I have come across and a lot cheaper and safer than Botox. Having said that prevention is better than cure if you take care of your skin by not smoking and staying out of the sun, drinking plenty of water and balanced diet and watching stress levels you will minimise wrinkles, at £15 it's well worth it as you only use a tiny amount and pat it into the lines over make up

A primer used post-foundation, pre-makeup to camouflage, soften and relax expression lines and wrinkles. Applies as a dense cream: dries to a transparent, smooth, natural matte finish. With ongoing use, clinically proven to help rejuvenate your look.

Maggie Brown (Author)

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AUTOMATIC WRITING (EXCERPT FROM "THE JOURNEY TO SPIRIT")

ME HOLDING 'THE JOURNEY TO SPIRIT'

I use automatic writing a lot for doing chat readings with clients to writing poetry and inspirational writing. One of the best times for me to do this is just before I go to sleep and I am often amazed when I read over the next morning what I have written the night before. I have mentioned here holding a pen but it also works for typing, so whatever works for you.

******

AUTOMATIC WRITING

It's known as automatic writing but this is a bit of a misnomer really, it's not about a pen suddenly moving on its own nor is it strictly about spirit taking control of your hand as you hold the pencil, though there may be a few such as this. It's more akin to your mind picking up spirit thoughts and philosophy and writing them down very quickly and this can be long hand or type written. I have been doing this for many years now and most takes the form of inspirational and philosophical verse, where I will write a perfectly formed piece of poetry within a couple of minutes without thinking about it. So really its just another way of expressing messages from spirit but writing them down as opposed to saying them out loudly. Remember too, we are spirit in a human body, and inspirational writing can also come from your own soul, when it does, the result is something very beautiful and deep.

When you go down this route with spirit its certainly worth trying, hold a pen loosely in your hand and ask spirit to come forward with any messages or philosophy and see if either you hand moves of its own accord or that you feel inspired to write something.

It's worth trying every type of communication on your spiritual journey, some mediums prefer to work with Tarot, others with crystals and some work purely on colour and focus on the aura. By and large its very difficult to hold a spirit link for a long time, because it is a vibration it peaks and dips and when it dips you are often working on a psychic link, with practice you will be able to differentiate between the vibrations and know when you are working with spirit. The energy is quite different its a faster higher frequency and the messages and pictures and words for that matter come in very fast.

Before you start make sure you are protected, have crystals near by to protect you from negative energy and quietly ask your guides to come close. It's like any other form of mediumship rather than speaking the message you are writing it down

● Find a quiet spot without distractions.

● Sit at a table or desk where you'll be comfortable, with paper and pen (or pencil).

● Take a few moments to clear your mind.

● Touch the pen or pencil to the paper.

● Try not to consciously write anything.

● While keeping your mind as clear as possible, let your hand write whatever comes across.

● Avoid looking at the paper; you might even keep your eyes closed.

● Give it time to happen (nothing might happen for quite a while).

● When it seems to be done, if and when automatic writing does occur, look over what your hand has produced carefully.

● The writing may appear to be nonsense or just scribbling, but try to decipher it as best as possible. In addition to letters and numbers, look for pictures or symbols in the writing as well.

● Keep trying. Nothing might happen your first few attempts.

● If you start to achieve success, you can try asking questions to see if you can receive responses.

If you receive messages telling you to do something, you can bet they are not coming from spirit but more likely lower entities.

For me I receive most of my philosophical verse around one a.m. and I am not really aware of what I have written until the next morning. Some of the work I have received is incredibly beautiful and certainly not in the language I myself would use.

******

'THE JOURNEY TO SPIRIT'
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Maggie Brown (Author)

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INSTIGATING THE PARASYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM (STRESS SOLUTIONS PART 3)

Minor raised blood pressure can easily be controlled by simple lifestyle changes, taking some exercise and no its not neccessary to take out a gym membership, brisk walking, taking the stairs rather than the lift, walking instead of driving. Loosing some weight, cutting out fatty foods, stopping smoking and cutting down on alcohol.

Now we know that the Sympathetic Nervous System increases blood pressure, so designed to help us survive in danger, though we no longer have the same dangers today as we did in evolution and we know the body can't differentiate between modern stressors and those centuries ago. Modern stressors tend to go on for long periods of time, this is bad for us, so to combat the effects of the SNS we need to "fool" the body into believing the stress is over and triggering the Parasympathetic Nervous System. The PSN reverses all the effects of the SNS, so therefore blood pressure will fall, the heart rate will slow down, respirations will become slower and deeper, blood will begin flowing to the extremities such as the skin and hair this is due to adrenaline no longer being produced as adrenaline causes vaso contraction (arterioles tiny arterial vessels narrow, this causes a rise in blood pressure as the volume of blood has less of an area in which to flow, blood is diverted from the skin and hair) and the digestive system will start functioning properly. 

Many types of therapies can instigate the PSN one of the simplest and cheapest, as it needs no financial outlay is Meditation. Some people may find meditation difficult as it does take a bit of mind discipline as the idea is to empty your mind of current thoughts and you do get better with practice. By training in meditation, we create an inner space and clarity that enables us to control our mind regardless of the external circumstances. Gradually we develop mental equilibrium, a balanced mind that is happy all the time, rather than an unbalanced mind that oscillates between the extremes of excitement and despondency. If we train in meditation systematically, eventually we will be able to eradicate from our mind the delusions that are the causes of all our problems and suffering. In this way, we will come to experience a permanent inner peace. There are many ways to learn the art of meditation, you can join a class and meditate within a group and by being part of a group it does help and you can discuss any difficulties you may experience but equally a cheaper option is to use a guided mediation CD and this is very effective, remember practice makes perfect. Meditation instills an inner calm so effectively you are working on the Hypothalamus, the area of moods and emotions within the brain, by practicing meditation you trigger the PSN. There are a number of articles on Meditation included 'A guided meditation' on my site here.

Any kind of massage will also trigger the PSN, it does this in the following ways. Massage stimulates blood flow to the surface of the skin due to the specialised cells within the Dermis, Mast cells, to release Histamine, what histamine does is to cause vaso dilation (the tiny arteries arterioles to dilate) this means that the blood is able to flow over a wider area over the body to the skin, this then takes the strain of the heart and reduces blood pressure. The skin and hair will of course will get a better blood supply so increased nourishment for them. 

When we are stressed we inadvertedly tense up our muscles particularly in the area of the neck and upper back, this can lead to tension headaches, by working on the muscles in massage you ease the tension so this can ease those tension aches and aches in the neck and back.

Whenever we touch one another there is an exchange of energy, think back to childhood when you fell over, didn't your mother rubbing or kissing the affected area feel better. Touch is fundamental and massage has been practised as a therapy from ancient times, it is comforting and healing. Massage comforts and soothes, eases tension stimulates peripheral blood flow, this stimulates the PSN.

With Aromatherapy massage it works in two ways, the massage alone is beneficial as I have described but the use of certain essential oils affect the body by evoking a reaction in the hypothalamus via the limbic system (specialsed nerve cells within the upper portion of the nose pick up the tiny molecules of the essential oils these cells are connected to the hypothalamus. The other way essential oils work is by absorption through the skin into the blood stream whereby the can also evoke a reaction in the hypothalamus as  well as being the home of moods and emotions it maintains homeostasis in the body. Different essential oils create different effects in the body and most of them do relax the body but there are those that can raise the blood pressure such as Hysop,  Rosemary, Sage and Thyme, these have a stimulating effect.

In the next article I will explain how other holistic therapies work and further ways of dealing with stress.

Maggie Brown (Author)

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STRESS SOLUTIONS (STRESS PART TWO)

In a previous article I talked about stress and how it is detrimental to our health. Some stress is necessary to keep us motivated and some folk cope with stress better than others, it's an individual thing so don't ever think you are weak because you feel others seem to cope better than you. There are lots of therapies and strategies that can help but the first thing to do is identify what your stressors are, make a list, write it down if you have to.

So now you have decided what your stressors are my theory is this, find someone to help you, this can even be a good listener, and before you say there is no one to listen, that's not true, the Samaritans, will listen without making judgement, you would be surprised how this can help. If you really cannot find anyone to help, is there any point in worrying? what will worry achieve for it will make you ill. This does not mean you put your head in a bucket and ignore problems, no matter where you are in the world there are always agencies who can help and the first step is to recognise your problems and to talk about them this alone will lift some of the burden, bottling up worries in your mind will only increase the burden and lead to more pronounced physical symptoms.

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A TECHNIQUE TO DEAL WITH WORRY

This is a great little technique to deal with worry you will need first of all a large glass jar, with a tight fitting lid. It doesn't have to be an expensive jar a large washed out coffee jar is ideal for you are not going to keep the jar when it is full

The jar should be kept near to your front door as the idea is you place all your worries in the jar e.g. worries about work, money, health etc. You will also require something like string, or wool, you can have different colours for different things e.g. green for health, yellow for money, it really doesn't matter but the more you can relate to the worries the better.

You will also need a pair of scissors and you keep the scissors and wool/string beside the jar by your front door. For every worry you have cut a length of wool/string you think represents how big your worry is e.g. for a big money worry cut a piece of yellow wool 12 inches long say and for a little health worry cut a piece of green wool 1inch long and place them in the jar and replace the lid. I am sure you will get the idea.

Over time you will find the lengths you cut will get shorter and shorter until you don't see them as worries at all. When the jar is completely full and full of all your worries you can either bury it in the garden or put it in the trash can, then you can begin a new worry jar.

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Many problems in the scale of things are not really problems at all but if you have been under a great deal of stress for a long time and even if that original stressor has gone, it can still leave you in a stressed state and it can be hard to wind down and sometimes because you are so stressed you cannot see a solution, when there actually is one.

So the solution what can you do to alleviate the effects of stress? 

Well you need to reverse the physical manifestations caused by stress. In the previous article I wrote what happens in the body physically how the Sympathetic Nervous System initiates changes in our hormones and if these hormones are secreted for a long period of time it can be detrimental to our health. The solution is to instigate the opposite effect to the SNS and that is the Parasympathetic Nervous System, by triggering this we can slow down heart rate, incur slower deeper respirations, reduce blood pressure, antedote the digestive problems by instigating stomach motility (when stressed you can lose your appetite and food just sits there like a stone in your stomach, this is because the SNS takes blood flow and activity in the stomach and redirects it to the heart lungs and skeletal muscles SEE STRESS PART 1) All of this will enable you to relax and think clearly.

In the next article I will tell you how you can reverse the physical effects of stress and instigate the Parasympathetic Nervous System

Maggie Brown (Author)

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STRESS AND THE EFFECT IT HAS ON OUR HEALTH (STRESS PART ONE)

STRESS AND OUR HEALTH

The human body is very clever and nature has really thought of everything. One of the reason's why I loved teaching anatomy and physiology was how amazing and wonderful,l how cleverly crafted and designed it is. Anyone can remember anatomy by rote but it is understanding the physiology that brings anatomy to life and it makes the anatomy easier to remember. When you begin to understand the body's physiology you will become hooked and want to know more. It is all the more amazing when you realise what happens in our bodies during stress.

As we evolved as humans like most animals we had predators but nature being clever it gave us a mechanism to enable to deal with predators and danger for when we lived a simple life, it was this that caused us stress, this is known as "The Fight or Flight Response".

What this fight or flight response did was to make us super human for a short space of time, it gave us an extra boost of energy, it raised our heart rate, boosted blood flow to the muscles, so we could run away fast or give us the strength to fight off our predators and increased our oxygen levels so our muscle cells, both in the heart and skeletal muscles could function properly, like so.

The most primitive part of our brains is known as the 'Hypothalamus' it is this part of our brain that maintains homeostasis in the body, in other words regulates everything, it is the home of our moods and emotions and our drive and an important part of its job is to regulate our hormones, these are chemical messengers that target various organs in our bodies to achieve an effect. We can influence our hypothalamus via holistic therapies more about this later.

When we are frightened this evokes a reaction within the hypothalamus, now its a long time since we've had to cope with being a victim of predators and the stress that caused but we do have other stressors, as far as the body is concerned the stress of work, not having enough money or an argument with a partner, its all stress and we can expect the body to react in the same way as we evolved as humans. Therein lies the problem, life was simpler all these years ago, we hunted for food, we didn't have the society as we do now, we didn't have to keep up with 'The Jones's' as we do now coveting the latest gadgets and cars and not having the money to pay for them. As a result we are switched on to 'The fight or flight syndrome' for longer than nature really intended and this mechanism was only designed to be in use for a set period not the length of time it is today. The trouble is, how can you compare being chased by a hungry tiger to that of your work colleagues annoying you? In my opinion I would say the stress of having a tiger chasing me was the real stress and not the latter. I feel as humans we have somehow allowed ourselves to become more easily stressed for longer and we don't know how to switch this stress mechanism off.

To understand how stress affects the body you need to understand the physiology of what actually goes on in the body. Now anxiety, fear etc is felt in the hypothalamus it has a two fold reaction.

HYPOTHALAMUS

has two actions

1 Hypothalamus releases a hormone to the anterior lobe of the Pituitary gland to stimulate it to produce Adrenocorticotrophic Hormone (ACTH)	2 Fight or flight response Sympathetic Nervous Response
ACTH targets the Adrenal cortex (Adrenal glands) to produce Mineralcorticoids and Glucocorticoids and this can also trigger the release of more Androgens	Activates Adrenal Medulla to release Adrenaline and Noradrenaline
It is the Mineralcorticoids and the Glucocorticoids which sustain the effects of stress by keeping the blood pressure raised. Glucocorticoids also release more sugar into the blood to give the bodies cells more energy to deal with the stress	These hormones increase the heart rate and blood pressure by constriction of the very small arteries (arterioles) in the body diverting blood flow away from the less important organs in the body i.e. The skin and hair and keeps the blood to the core important organs such as the heart, lungs and brain. Adrenaline also keeps the brain alert to enable a fast response to danger
However if this stress continues for a long period the increased blood pressure which is sustained due to the effects of the release of mineralcorticoids impairs the body's immune system, it has an effect of decreasing the body's inflammatory response as this hormone affects the body's electrolyte balance (salts) Glucocorticoids whilst initially releasing more sugar into the blood as fuel can instigate type 2 Diabetes and thus poor healing if this continues for a long time. These corticoid hormones damage Fibrocytes, it is these cells which produce collagen and elastin so skin is damaged, losing its elasticity and firmness Increased Androgens (a knock on effect of the other adrenal hormones being produced) can stimulate masculine hair growth patterns and stimulate the oil glands in the skin causing spots	Adrenaline increases the blood pressure, increases the heart rate Sympathetic nervous system diverts blood from the less important organs such as the skin and hair and the digestive system to the muscles, lungs and heart and makes the mind very alert

Now nature never designed this system to go on indefinately it was only meant for short term use to protect us from danger, so can you now see how stress can affect our health, by impairing our immune system (the corticoid hormones damage T-lymphocytes and important part of our immune system) and how long term stress raises the blood pressure, straining the heart and can lead to kidney damage and strokes. It also has a detrimental effect on our skin and hair by reducing blood flow and damaging collagen and elastin, and impairs our digestion. The adrenaline prevents us from switching off and relaxing and impairs sleep. 

However all is not lost there are effective ways in reducing stress and alleviating all these effects and I shall write about this soon.

Maggie Brown (Author)

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NEW BOOK

FROM MY LATEST BOOK "WHISPERED FANTASIES

TO VIEW ON AMAZON CLICK HERE

TO VIEW ON BARNES AND NOBLE CLICK HERE


TO VIEW ON POWELL'S BOOKS CLICK HERE

And stockists world wide

Maggie Brown (Author)

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NEW PSYCHIC BASED NOVEL ON THE WAY "A PSYCHIC AFFAIR"

I have another new book on the way, it's a novel, but the reason I am mentioning it here on my psychic holistic site as this new book has a psychic/mediumship theme running through it. It is based on true phenomena that actually occurs with some psychic mediums and one of the major themes occuring through the plot is that of teleportation, this refers to the movement of objects. But before you dismiss teleportation something resigned to Sci Fi novels and Captain Kirk and the star ship 'The Enterprise' there have actually been some break throughs within the scientific world and this is only one link.

"A physicist has demonstrated that teleportation of energy is possible, a discovery that has profound implications for the study of physics.

Masahiro Hotta at Tohoku University in Japanshowed that teleportation of energy is possible by using the quantum principles to transport information."

Some Mediums having been doing teleportation for years and in a  similar vein is 'Remote viewing' I recently described this in a recent book of mine "The Journey to Spirit". Remote viewing is being able to transport the soul or rather a tentacle of the Aura, if this makes it easier to understand, to another place, in fact it is possible to go anywhere in the world using this technique, distance is no object and that too has been Scientifically demonstrated the CIA conducted a series of studies over a period of several years reaching it's height during 'The cold war'.

Well the novel details a romance featuring these abilities, it is hilarious at times, very touching and tenderly beautiful in other parts and it will leave you thinking perhaps this is really possible and that's because it is. My book is presently with the publisher just now so I will keep you up to date when it is about to be released. Oh its title is "A PSYCHIC AFFAIR"

Maggie Brown (Author)

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