The Power of Crap - Wow! This manifestation thing is really catching on!

Chris Krohn and Dani Burling

So you got "The Secret" DVD and rushed home to watch it, certain that it held the key to bringing miracles to your life. As you saw each person in the video receive their dream - the bike, the car, the smiley-faced million dollar check - you thought "yippee, that will be me, too!"

So off you went to become a Law of Attraction practitioner. You learned that "like attracts like", and that what you think about determines how you feel, and what you are feeling determines the vibration you are sending to the universe, and that the universe will give you things that match that vibration. So if you are thinking about financial prosperity, that creates feelings of joy, freedom, and security. These "higher vibration" feelings are projected out from you to the universe and, in turn, you are rewarded with events that bring you financial prosperity. Yes! You receive what you send out. Simple.

But, wait! Things you don't want keep showing up. What's up with that?

We love it when crap shows up in our reality! It reminds us that we are always manifesting, whether intentionally or not. Whenever crap manifests, we stop and ponder what our thoughts have been lately. Have we been worrying, thinking about things that make us sad, or fearful, or angry. The answer is always "yes." Hallelujah! This means that the Law of Attraction works! Constantly! We've just been focusing on what we don't want instead of what we want.

See yourself as a big human magnet. That's exactly what you are - an electromagnetic being. There's a dial on the magnet, however, and you control what channel it's tuned to. When crap shows up, think about what you've been thinking and feeling lately. If it's not what you want, change the channel. Focus on the love, joy, health, laughter, and abundance you want for your life.

Play a little game with yourself. Check in with your thoughts frequently throughout the day. What are you thinking about? How are those thoughts making you feel? At first, you may find that you are normally in low vibration (thinking about what you don't want), but every time you check in you have a chance to change the channel. As you practice this, holding higher vibration thoughts and feelings will become more automatic for you, and more frequent. What you desire will show up in your life more and more.

If you find yourself struggling with holding high vibration thoughts and feelings, even with checking in and practice, you may be holding subconscious beliefs that are limiting you ("I am not worthy of success," "If I love, I will be betrayed") and that you are not aware of. If this is the case, these old beliefs need to be cleared. One or two sessions with an energy worker can accomplish this, and clear the path for you.

The goal for each of us is to live a life of conscious creation, a life where we choose our desires and bring them to reality. This is our birthright and with focus and support, it is attainable!

An intuitive healer by birth, Chris Krohn had a 16-year career leading manufacturing organizations before answering her call to serve others through energy medicine. She is a mother, a graduate of the Four Winds Healing the Light Body School, Reiki Master, Thetahealing Practitioner, Holistic Life and Business Coach, and a Certified Holistic Massage Therapist.

Dani Burling is a mother and grandmother who chose her path through a desire to help her mother heal from cancer. She is a graduate of The Four Winds Society, is certified in Thetahealing, is a Master Reiki practitioner, Herbalist, Registered Nutritionist, Iridologist and practicing Inca Shaman.

“Letting Go of Your EGO – the Secrets to Meditation and Manifesting.”

- Part One of a Series
by Steve O’Sullivan

If you’ve never hear the expression “Let go and let God” before, well, now you have. Think about that for a minute. What exactly does that mean and what does that have to do with meditation? Let’s answer those questions.

But first, let’s talk about the Ego a bit. From a spiritual perspective, the Ego is the part of your thinking mechanism that judges you and others, compares you against other people or some set of standards, evaluates you and your performance and tries to control your world. It’s your inner critic; also know as ‘The Committee’. The Ego creates a false sense of being separate. It is this perception of separateness that separates you from God.
That’s right; it’s your perception of being separate that makes you separate!

Just to clarify, I am using the word God for the sake of simplicity. You may substitute any word for your concept of a higher power. Be that Buddha, Allah, higher self, ‘the force’, spirit, source energy, or what ever term that works for you.

Now, back to the question of what does the statement ‘Let go and let God’ mean? It means to move your Ego out of the way of your connection to God, and allowing the perfection of your being to work without interference from The Committee. I know, that sounds kinda weird, and it may take some time to digest the concept, but I’m telling you it’s true.

There’s a saying that EGO stands for Edging God Out. It’s your Ego that constantly engages your mind in a dialog or monologue keeping you separated from God. So by learning to get quiet or set aside your Ego, you can begin to connect with your source. This is where meditation comes in!

So, think of yourself as a toaster, and God as electricity. When the toaster is plugged in (and it always is), you can have instant access to ‘toast’, but you have to drop in the bread (meditation) and push down the lever first. The lever is letting go of the Ego, and meditation is the process for doing that. Does that make any sense?

Great! Now sit down and give The committee the next 30 minutes off. Yeah, right! Not that simple is it? There are a few tips you need to know if you are just starting. First, it takes practice. Sort of like playing the piano. You don’t sit down to the keyboard and crank out Beethoven’s 5th symphony, a better approach is learning ‘chopsticks’ first.

Begin with finding a time and place where you won’t be disturbed. It should be a quiet spot, and most people find it easier in a darkened room, but it’s your choice. Get in a comfortable position in a chair, on the floor or on some pillows. Don’t worry about assuming the ‘Lotus Position’ or how you hold your hands yet. Stick with being comfortable so you aren’t distracted with the ache in your back or whatever.

When learning meditation, you have to start small, say, with 5 minutes. Next, you have to be consistent. Do it every day. Then go to 10 minutes a day and so on until you are practicing 20 to 30 minutes each time you meditate. Then once in the morning and once in the evening. Look, you are going to have to put some effort into it first before you get the awesome benefits. Get it?

During your daily practice, focus on your breathing. Observe your breath going in and out. If you find your mind wandering you can make a statement to yourself like ‘thinking’, and get back to paying attention to your breath. Keep it simple for now.

The next tip for you is to not judge your meditations. I don’t believe they’re good or bad, the just are. Each time you make the effort, you build up the mental muscles that allow you to get quiet. Don’t worry if you couldn’t slow down or eliminate the chatter in your head, just acknowledge it and continue to work at setting your Ego aside. Like the piano, you will hit some bad notes on some days and play like a master on others.

So for now, just get in the habit. Be dedicated. I promise it will be worth it. In the next part of this series we’ll get more into ‘proper’ technique, some tools for pushing that darn Ego aside, and achieving the mindset you need for manifesting the life of your dreams.

Until then,
Namaste!

Author, speaker, and teacher Steve O'Sullivan has been studying and practicing meditation for over ten years and is the creator of The Chi of Love Meditation CD

925-513-0955

Love@TheChiofLoveCD.com

Chiropractic for Kids: the Basics

By Dr. Suzanne M. Lowe

One of the things I hear most frequently when I tell people that I adjust children, is “WHY would I bring my child to a chiropractor?” The question generally comes from two perspectives:

1. The parent ( or an aunt, uncle, brother, neighbor etc.) currently utilizes the services of a chiropractor or has at some point in their life and they cannot imagine “adult” chiropractic adjustments being given to their child and/or
2. They have not been educated in the many benefits of chiropractic care for children and some of the reasons why they might seek chiropractic care for their child.

First, a simple chiropractic review:

- The body is a self-regulating organism, which includes self-healing capabilities. (Body, heal thyself! It often can!)

- The nervous system directs all bodily functions, and therefore is requisite in the restoration and maintenance of health. (A healthy nervous system is required to function at 100%.)

- Improper motion of the spine is known as vertebral subluxation. Subluxations can interfere with the proper function of the nervous system. (Improper motion of the spine + chiropractic care = a healthier body!)

- Removal/ reduction of vertebral subluxations via the chiropractic adjustment relieves/minimizes nerve irritations, and thus enhances the ability of the nervous system to promote health and healing from within. (And…you ARE going to feel great!) (1)

In my practice, I always consider the size of the pediatric spine, bone development and natural ease of the pediatric client. This ease can often equate to a “less is more approach” while adjusting the pediatric practice member. Adjustments are generally extremely light force, very precise and gauged to the child’s comfort level. I have small hands to begin with but consider precision and specificity in the pediatric adjustment one of my gifts.

In the first issue of The Essence, I talked about “As the twig is bent, so grows the tree”, a strong case for preventative chiropractic care for your child so that their spine grows straight and in motion. I would like to share with you some of the “common” reasons why parents are bringing their children to our office for a chiropractic evaluation and care if determined necessary.

- Headaches. Spinal misalignment can cause undue muscle stress and strain in the area just below the skull. Poor posture (what we call ‘anterior head carriage’) can cause headaches – your child’s ear should line up directly over midline of their shoulder when checking them from the side. If it doesn’t, this can be indicative of poor spinal alignment. Backpacks that are too heavy and/or worn incorrectly can cause unnecessary spinal stress and strain. Backpacks are to be pulled up taut and tight, around BOTH shoulders. Rolling backpacks can relieve some of that stress but your child should try pulling the backpack using alternate hands…right hand one day, left hand the next.

- Growing Pains. These are often inevitable. As the bones grow, the muscles must stretch to accommodate the new length of the growing bone. Spinal misalignment can cause imbalance of the muscles, which can cause your child to experience an increased amount of growing pain discomfort.

- Back/neck Pain. This can be caused by a myriad of conditions. But, in general, what I tell parents is if your child “complains” on a regular basis that he/she is experiencing neck or back pain, please pay attention. We all experience fleeting aches and pains but a regular complaint from child may be indicative of something more serious going on.

- Sports injuries. I think our kids are expected to perform at a much higher level and with a greater degree of intensity than kids of my generation. That means they are getting hurt. Small spinal misalignments, left unattended potentially puts your child at a higher risk of back/neck issues and pain later on their life. Even our cheerleaders are expected to perform at an extremely high performance level and if your cheerleader is a flyer (and risks being dropped) or a catcher, experiencing a great deal of compression to their spines on a regular basis, preventative chiropractic care can be a significant gift to ensuring they grow healthy and strong.

- Scoliosis. This is an abnormal lateral (a side to side) curve of the bones of the spine. The spine should look straight up and down – from their neck to their bottom - when viewed from behind your child. Visible indicators of scoliosis can be one hip or shoulder higher than the other, a “rib hump” – one side of the rib cage sticking out more on one side or the other either on the front or the back of your child. A head that tilts more to one side than the other. Our children are typically screened for scoliosis in 6th or 7th grade in school. While children are still growing is an excellent time to address a lateral curve of the spine utilizing a team of health care professionals if necessary. Children with scoliosis in our office are adjusted and given age-appropriate exercises to strengthen weak muscles groups and stretch taut muscles. We teach them about the responsibility they have in caring for their bodies and their spines. It is a great lesson to learn as a child.

In the case of these conditions, few debate the benefit of chiropractic care. I work with a pediatrician in our community who is open-minded enough to learn about another pediatric profession that could assist him in the care of his patients. Working as part of your child’s health care team is a high priority to me.

Next month, I will discuss some of the conditions in children that are altered by regular chiropractic care like ear infections, bed wetting, asthma, and hyperactivity disorder.
Until then, “Live your best life – Discover Chiropractic!” Namaste…..

Dr. Suzanne Lowe is a family chiropractor in downtown Brentwood and she adjusts young and old alike! Her practice is Essential Care Chiropractic – offering exceptional chiropractic care which is essential to good health!


(1) Complementing Chiropractic Philosophy with ScienceCynthia Hey DC Bio [June 11, 2007, pp 1-11], JVSR