Body Presencing™ - Healing the Root of the Matter

“Life is the highest art.” -   Anonymous The Power of Creativity isn’t just limited to creating works of art.  I’ve heard it said that life is the highest art and some of the most passionate people I know create from a place courage and necessity.    I have a client who had a major stroke two years ago.   He is a man who values his strength and always took his physicality and sports abilities for granted.  His great love is golf.  His stroke was sudden and debilitating.  His whole life changed. What came easily to him no longer does.  To regain his physical awareness he needs to find and make new pathways in his brain.  His left side is the side that is affected.  Holding a golf club – what he once took for granted – is now a wonderful feat of accomplishment. Slowly, he is establishing new pathways and is able to do more and more.  He can walk with a cane; slowly.  He can brush his teeth, and can mostly dress himself; all accomplishments.  He is a proud man w

“You can’t use up creativity; the more you use, the more you have.”                                                                                          - Maya Angelou What is creativity, where does it come from, and how can we channel it in creating a life of health, wholeness, and vitality?  This month we will explore The Power of Creativity as the sixth of the Twelve Body Presencing™ Keys. When I was little I saw a movie on a Sunday afternoon which showed a ballet class in Austria. I had never heard of ballet before, and I was awestruck. I remember running down the steps and finding my mother in the kitchen and telling her that I want to take ballet lessons. That was the beginning of my passion for dance which would last the next twenty years.  Dance became almost everything to me; I ate and drank dance. Where did that creative fire come from? It came from somewhere deep in my soul.  The more I danced the more I began to gain control over my

  “When you do things from your soul, you feel a river moving in you, a joy.” -   Rumi Today was a beautiful spring day, full of light winds, people flying kites, playing baseball, and mowing their lawns.  I had an opportunity to sit outside in the sun, just being and thinking; feeling the sun on my skin and the wind in my hair.  I felt alive and carefree. I see many people in my practice who are so driven by their inner voices that control them unconsciously that they don’t allow for much fun.  Some people consider fun juvenile or a waste of time. Then there are the people who surround themselves with drama or think that partying and drinking is “adult fun.”  What is the difference between true fun and joy and forced fun? One of the things I do with my clients is look at their belief systems: where they come from, who in their family carries these beliefs, and if they truly match their authentic selves; separate from their family, community, church, etc.

“Joy is what happens to us when we allow                                 ourselves to recognize how good things really are.” -   Marianne Williamson                                                                                                 Have you ever teased a small kitten with a ball of string, laughing until your sides hurt?  Have you ever shared an inside joke with a friend and just thinking about it made you burst out in spontaneous laughter?  What about reading an entire volume of Calvin and Hobbs before going to bed? Believe it or not there is such a thing as laughter therapy.  There is a doctor named Patch Adams who once suffered from depression and through his suffering he discovered the power of service and “helping others in order to help himself.”   From this painful experience he learned how to help others through a combination of medicine and laughter.  Yes, Dr. Adams is a physician and his most potent medicine is helping others to heal thro

“Most folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be.” -   Abraham Lincolm It’s May; the lusty month of May.  It’s a beautiful month; filled with warmer days, blooming flowers and trees, animals shedding their winter fur, people shedding their warm clothes and walking, running, bicycle riding, and front porch sitting in the sunshine.  It is a time to get out, move our bodies, feel the sun’s rays on our skin and eyes, and take our dogs for leisurely walks.  For some it is a time for weddings or for falling in love with something new.  May is the month of picnics, gardening, and playing with grandchildren in the yard.  Oh, such joy!!! When I ask clients about their lifestyle and how they try to stay healthy, they mention things like eating well, meditating, finding acceptance, granting forgiveness, practicing yoga, doing daily introspection, and exercising.  I often have to ask, “What about finding joy and having fun?”  An apple a day may (or may not)