Tools for Spiritual Living: Barbarah's Blog

WELCOME TO THIS JOYOUS HOLIDAY SEASON

AS WE CELEBRATE THE BIRTH OF JESUS

You’ll find a series of blogs specifically developed to help you move your body, mind and spirit from preparing to celebrate Christmas to moving you toward a oneness with Mary, the Mother of Jesus and those surrounding them during this magical period in the world’s history.

Whether you’re inclined to read — to listen — or to enjoy experiencing Imagery, you’ll find it in the Table of Contents, beginning with Advent. From there, you’re free to browse the blog until something touches your spirit and you take with you the blessings of the season.

Please also take this opportunity to view the many topics developed over the years since I was introduced to the Imagery of Mme Colette Aboulker-Muscat by Dr. Gerald Epstein. That one decision, to join his classes, opened the door to the wonder of our earliest gifts and challenges as ensouled mortal beings. And how we were gifted with extraordinary virtues, which throughout history were lost and then re-discovered through the birth of Jesus, which we celebrate this very week-end.

And please let me hear from you so Tools for Spiritual Living can respond to your needs and suggestions.

May the Joy of Jesus birth ring throughout and shower blessings on those so longing to become American citizens: They have sacrificed their homelands and continue waiting month-upon-month at the border to ensure they gain citizenship legally, many with barely a tent over their heads.

Blessings to all on this Sacred Christmas Day! Barbarah

Fear places us in the past, which is gone: Or in the future, which is not yet ours.

The exercise given to you by DKOT actually places you in the present moment. It shifts your attention to the object you chose to focus on which is now in your memory, where you can easily retrieve it. Now, even when the object itself isn’t with you, you can simply: 1. Close your eyes, 2. Breathe out gently three times and 3. See the image of your Focus Object in your hand. Examine it as previously instructed by DKOT. Then Stay With It for a long moment. 4. Breathe out one time and open your eyes.

By shifting your attention to the image of the object you shifted your attention away from fear. Without your attention the fear left.

EXPERIENCING HOW THIS STOPPING EXERCISE WORKS IN PUBLIC

Let’s say there was a bully who thought it was fun to mock you in the playground. Now you’re an adult standing with a group of friends at a party. You see the bully entering the room and feel the fear inching up on you. This could be a fight-or-flight situation. Or not! You’ve been practicing the DKOT exercise — but you ask yourself “what good does it do now that I’m not at home?” It does everything for you. Just do it! Please! You know what your focus object looks like: You have a memory of it in your mind from practicing. 1. Close your eyes, see, feel, sense and know your focus object is secure in your memory. 2. Calmly allow its image to come into your mind. 3. Examine it for a long moment. 4. Feel the fear leaving you. 5. When you sense the fear has gone, Gently breathe out one time and open your eyes!

Know now how you can control the fear at any moment from any place!

Rejoice, Barbarah

Note to someone who may be reading the exercise to you: Imagery works best when you pace it as if it was a conversation.

Less Is More In Imagery. Try Not To Stay In The Imagery For More Than 60 Seconds After the Image Has Appeared. (Repeat 3 X a day for the first three days, before breakfast, lunch and dinner.) To enhance the experience, draw a picture of your Imagery result and watch how it may change from day-to-day. I’ve used a spiral-bound notebook for this, drawing the pictures side-by-side.(I’ve found Imagery to be very forgiving. If you miss a session’s time, do it as soon as you can after you remember. The most important time, of course, is as soon as you feel a fear episode coming on. Try not to schedule your regular Imagery immediately after a meal, unless an episode is coming up.

P.S. DKOT is still hard at work. Move him along in his process by closing your eyes and sending him your best wishes.

AYUDANDO A NIÑOS A PROCESAR LA TRAGEDIA DE UVALDE

Translation by Josefina Pellegrini

Mientras escribo esto, espero poder brindarle algo útil, algo para aliviar su dolor. Pero las palabras suenan vacías, y las lágrimas caen al imaginarme el dolor que sienten. Mis oraciones van para usted y para todos aquellos que hoy no están con nosotros. Cada niño es preciado. Cada uno tenia su manera única de vivir en este mundo. Y cada uno de ellos estará por siempre en tu memoria. Protege esos recuerdos. De esos recuerdos, vas a encontrar la fuerza que no supiste que tenias. Cariños, Barbara.

Cuida tu casa como un refugio. Usted controla su propio espacio, asique hagamos nuestro hogar un lugar sanador. Aqui hay algunas sugerencias:

Dejemos el televisor por un rato. Va a poder guardar su energía positiva para brindar actos de caridad y amor,y protegera a sus hijos de los detalles de esta tragedia y mantendrá un ambiente de normalidad en su hogar. Haga que su hogar sea un respiro de todo lo que sucede afuera de esas puertas o de todo aquellos que las noticias brindan. 

Escuche los consejos de los school counselors de sus hijos donde sugieren que le respondan las preguntas a sus hijos. Nada es más confuso para un niño que recibir diferentes versiones de lo que sucedió y el porque. E intente no presionar a su hijo a hablar sobre la tragedia. Cuando este listo, ellos iniciaran la conversación. Necesitan tiempo para procesar toda la información que tienen y digerirla a su manera. 

Dibujos espontáneos es una amable forma para los niños – y adultos – para expresar eso que no pueden poner en palabras. Tenga papeles, crayones, y lápices de colores accessibles. No trata de analizar los dibujos. Simplemente pídale a su hijo si el/ella quisiera contarle sobre aquel dibujo. Algunos niños, dibujaran mucho. Otros, quizás dibujan menos, lo cual esta bien, es todo lo que tienen para expresar. Cuando esten listos, el niño lo buscara. Si su hijo desea exponer sus dibujos, eso esta ok, y también bien esta ok si desean mantener sus dibujos de forma privada.

Guarde todos los dibujos de sus hijos. Todos ellos cuentan una historia y pueden ser de mucho valor durante su proceso de sanacion. 

Bendiciones, Barbarah

P.D.: Yo creo en que cada uno de nosotros tenemos un Angel de la Guarda. Sepan que el Angel de la Guarda de sus hijos esta con el/ella en este momento, dandole un atención especial. Estos Angeles de la Guarda traspasan cualquier religion haciéndolos accesibles a todos. 

It’s All About Overcoming Fear

He’s still working on it, making sure it meets his literary standards as well as his witty delivery.

I’m not as witty as DKOT is…

…but when he asked me to work on this project with him, I knew it could change lives. Everyone deserves to experience well-being! Sometimes help arrives when and where you least expect it. Embrace it: It’s a gift from the universe. A gift you’ve no doubt earned.

While you’re meeting the challenge by using the process, know we’re eager for you to succeed — to know how it is to overcome fear and live without it stealing precious moments from you. Stick with it!

One of us will be back in two weeks or less. (Just sayin!), Barbara

P.S. In the meantime, if you didn’t get around to answering the questions in the last post, please take a few minutes now. Just write down the number of the question and your answer. Then e-mail it to barbfed@ptd.net. Your feedback is important!

TO ALL THOSE WHO RECEIVED

THE OVERCOMING OF FEAR PREVIEW MATERIAL

Hi! DKOT’S book, It’s All About Overcoming Fear, is making progress. He’s now asking if you’d like to help someone else living with fear by commenting on the (4) questions below. Shy about sharing your experiences in public? Not a problem. You can send your reply in total privacy and request we do not use your full name.

(1) How many times have you used the Overcoming Fear exercise each week? _____

(2) When you used the exercise, did it relieve your fear? _____Yes _____No

If you answered No, do you plan to use it next time? _____Yes _____No

If no, was it because there was not enough privacy in most places to do the exercise? _____

or _____I stopped thinking about it.

(3) How are those who know you’re doing the exercise reacting

_____Supportive _____Skeptical _____Ignoring what you’re doing

Let’s take a few minutes to discover how it is from the other side: Watching someone experience fear as it expresses itself

I was at lunch with a colleague when I first observed the onset of his fear. At the time I had no idea what was happening. Everything seemed usual until a remoteness came over him and all the joy on his face changed. It was as if he was guarding against something I couldn’t see. Something invisible.

Within a few seconds or minutes — I really don’t know because it was as if time stopped — he pushed his chair back from the table, his posture taking on a leisurely casualness. It could be how relaxing — or even mimicking relaxation — helped him get through an episode. I do remember thinking whatever had occurred was over, until I saw the sadness was still in his eyes. He then asked for a check and we left the restaurant.

The drive back was silent, then general conversation. When I look back on that day, I lost an opportunity to learn more about what he had experienced. Not a good judgement on my part. And he didn’t open the conversation. Were years of potential healing missed? Perhaps. But for as long as there’s a now, there’s time. Be a risk taker. Ask the hard questions!

KNOWING OF YOUR EXPERIENCE CAN BE ALL IT TAKES FOR A READER TO CONTACT DKOT AND RECEIVE THE INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE EXERCISE. PLEASE REPLY!

Blessings, Barbara

Oh how comfortable it is to know some things remain the same. But there are times, like this, when change becomes essential. I’ve struggled over this as I faced the new WordPress.com Blog Program. Mind Resistance What if that’s not quite the program”s name? (Pushback) So what!

Mind Resistance But I don’t get a sense of the program’s whole picture. Push Back “There are times when seeing the whole picture is a hindrance. It can be overwhelming.”

“This morning I got up with the mindset of changing my approach. Mind Resistance: “Maybe I should have breakfast first.” Pushback: “You already had breakfast.” Mind Resistance: “Who was this nudging me to sit down for a few minutes and know from gazing at the screen how to take advantage of this new program.” Pushback: “Me!” Mind Resistance: It’s starring me in the face. Push Back: So what!” Then I had a flash! What could possibly be keeping me locked in place? I’ve had good support when stuck. Knowing that should be enough. The worst thing that could happen is Mind Resistance: I might lose my copy. Push Back You haven’t even typed yet.

More Mind Resistance: What if I lose this copy? Pushback: Try it. And even after hitting Preview, the blue box near the upper right corner of the screen (the demon I dared not touch) my copy was intact.

Blessings, Barbara

P.S. Thanks to those who got me over this hurdle.