Good Stress

Our daughter's boyfriend proposed to her last week and now she is engaged. My husband and I are beyond thrilled.

We are also really goofy. Last night my husband walked around the entire house looking for a bottle top that ended up being in his hand the whole time. This is my usually grounded-like-a-rock husband.

This morning in my Bikram Yoga class I caught myself in the the wrong posture, totally out of sync with the rest of the class because my mind had drifted to plans for a family party we'll be hosting in a few weeks.

I keep having to pull my breath down out of my upper chest into my belly. My daily Vimala Alphabet practice is showing some weird patterns that I have to stop and fix as I write.

It occurs to me that this wonderful development in our lives has activated the ancient fight-or-flight response that's usually associated with bad things, not good ones. This good-stress factor kind of sneaked up on me, but now that I'm aware of it, I am doing my best to address it the same way as I teach my anxious clients to address theirs:

1. Take a deep, deep breath! Make sure I'm breathing in through my nose every time and doing my best to draw the breath all the way down into my belly.

2. Pay attention to grounding myself. I like to imagine roots coming down through the soles of my feet and into the earth.

3. Go to bed earlier -- in case my brain wakes up at 3 am (as it has done a few times already) and decides to walk me through all the details it thinks I need to be aware of right then and there.

4. Pay attention to the direction of my thoughts. What is it about wedding plans that generate catastrophic thinking?

5. Write everything down. At least one comic incident illustrated quite clearly that our minds cannot be trusted to hold new information.

6. Remember to laugh!

7. As much as possible, keep JOY as the launching pad for any and all planning. It's all too easy to get sucked into should's that rob me of my perspective, my energy and my sense of self.

If you have anything to add to my list, please comment. I plan to post updates as we go through the days counting down to October 6, 2012. What fun!

Tied Up In Knots

Most of my clients just don't get the benefit of the handwriting work I do. They balk at the idea of making changes to their handwriting and dismiss the transformational value of a daily handwriting practice.

I'd been working with "Hermine" for several months. We had a few intense sessions in my office, and then, because of the distance between us, we followed-up with weekly TAT sessions over the phone. Once in a while, in response to the TAT sessions, I recorded a new hypnotherapy CD for her and mailed it.

For the past four years, Hermine has dealt with a phobia that's manifesting as a physical condition. As with most phobias, this one is anxiety-based and the result of a hyper-vigilant response to a perceived danger.

For a number of reasons (that now leave me scratching my head) I did not initially ask for a handwriting sample from Hermine. As our phone work was not yielding the dramatic results I would have expected given the consistency of the sessions and Hermine's motivation to heal, I asked her to mail me a page of her writing.

The capital H in her autograph looked like a maze. There were little loops everywhere, especially in the upper left hand corner where she began the letter. I compared this autograph with the one on her initial consultation agreement and there was a huge difference. The H in the current autograph was significantly loopier.

When I questioned Hermine about this, she said that the sample she had sent me was representative of her usual autograph. She mentioned how much she loves the way the H in her name looks with all the loops.

I asked her if she'd be willing to take on a daily handwriting practice, focusing on the capital H in of The Vimala Alphabet which is simple and dynamic. The only loop is in a "tie stroke" that projects positive energy in one's day-to-day activities. She was less than thrilled but said she'd be willing to try anything if it would help.

We then proceeded with a TAT session.

Because of holidays, our next phone session was two weeks later. I had received a new handwriting sample from Hermine from her now-daily practice and her H's were beautiful. As we caught up, she mentioned that our last TAT session must have been particularly powerful because she had been doing much better since then. The grip of the phobia had loosened and she was less anxious overall.

I pointed out that she had been working on her handwriting since the last TAT session and suggested that it was her new H that had made the difference. The old H had been reflective of Hermine's long-standing subconscious tendency to "tie herself up in knots." The more work we did to loosen those tendencies, the tighter and more plentiful the knots became as the subconscious held on to its old, familiar, "secure" ways.

Hermine's experience was as significant for me as it was for her. It is a perfect example of why the handwriting work is foundational and essential. For more information, check out Vimala Rodgers' websites: http://www.alphabeticalblessings.com/ and http://www.iihs.com/. Sign up for Dr. Rodgers' weekly e-letter. It's free!

Full Moon, Full Heart

Last week was very intense for me. Nothing really specifically bad or wrong, just that the world was "too much with me." A lot of people around me are in great need of one thing or another: money, hope, peace... I've been holding space for them and my arms started aching from that heaviness.

Friday afternoon I found myself as depressed as I ever remember being. The depression lifted after several hours, but boy was it awful while it lasted. I remember what it was like to live that way 24x7, so I was able to be grateful that it's no longer that way for me. I may visit depression once in a while, but I no longer live there. Yay!

I had read that this full moon Sunday would be a perfect time to set intentions so I applied myself this morning to writing what I call a "Manifestation." I wrote a journal entry dated March 20, 2011 and described what my life was like on that day. In performing that exercise, I realized that I have been so caught up in being in the moment (actually, so caught up in getting through each day) that I had somehow lost a larger vision of what is possible. As I wrote out my "druthers" for my life, I felt my vibration recalibrate upwards. Those few minutes of focus on what can be made what is more bearable and shifted things back into a more positive perspective for me overall. I ended my Manifestation as I always do: For this or more, I give thanks.

Love that Bikram!

Just wanted to shout out that I'm still doing the Bikram at 6 am most weekday mornings. Today I will try an afternoon class; although I'm not interested in shifting the practice away from the early morning. Who would ever have believed that I, confirmed not-morning-person, would turn into someone who thrives on being out of the house by 5:45 am? By the time I return home, my husband is up, coffee is made and I'm ready for my Vimala Alphabet daily handwriting practice, still giving me time to be ready for a 10 am client. I love it!

Somewhere over the past few weeks, I've shed a couple of pounds. I'm watching the shape of my body change. I've never experienced this level of visible improvement at this pace before. But then I've never had a 90-minute intense workout in a 103 degree room several times a week before. The funny thing is that as rigorous as the practice is, it doesn't feel like work. I enjoy testing my body's limits day by day. Again, such a surprise for me.

Every now and again that little voice grumbles, "Why couldn't you have found this sooner in your life?" But I know that I wasn't ready for it before. I'm grateful -- and proud -- that I'm ready for it now.

Personalizing Tragedy

Just received an email from one of my dear clients. She was cancelling her appointment this week. My client was a good friend and co-worker of one of the women who died in the San Bruno explosion last Thursday. Suddenly names and photos in the newspaper take on new meaning.

The world just keeps getting more and more uncertain. This is one of the reasons I cherish my daily handwriting practice. It provides a thread of certainty throughout the chaos and keeps me anchored to my spiritual perspectives.