Do you believe in the power of your thought? Do you believe that your thoughts can affect your health and well being? Well, I hope you answered yes.

Modern research is proving that what we think can both positively and negatively affect our health. The work of Dr. Candace Pert in her book, Molecules of Emotions, elaborates on how our emotions can literally trigger different hormones in our body. When we are in calm, a host of chemicals, such as serotonins and norepinephrines, are secreted, promoting a strengthened immune system. When we are in chaos or fear, the body likewise produces chemicals; those which can literally impede our natural, daily cell repair. So, in these tumultuous times of earthquakes and tsunamis, political unrest in Egypt and Libya, the list goes on and on, it’s imperative that we, first and foremost, seek calm and relaxation as best we can. Whether it’s carving out a few minutes each day to just sit and meditate, do a guided imagery, listen to gentle music, or practice yoga, find that place of peace often. Your body will thank you. Be in the world, not of it.

Do you believe that the power of your thoughts can affect your outside world? Again, I hope you answered yes.

It’s amazing to read all the studies being conducted to prove that our thoughts, our very intentions, can indeed affect change. Years ago I attended a lecture conducted by Wayne Dyer, renowned author and speaker. He shared an experiment where a computer would randomly pick the number ‘one’ or the number ‘two”. Obviously, with just two choices, the statistics would show an approximate 50% split for each period of time the program was engaged. The computer would run for six hours each day. A group of people were selected in a nearby town to consciously put their thoughts and energy into either ‘one’ or ‘two’. Today, think about ‘one’. At the end of each day, the computer stats were tallied and the researchers found that contrary to the 50% that was expected, the random occurrence of each number was increased to over 80%.

Dr. Masaru Emoto, author of the book The Message from Water, introduced the concept of micro-cluster water or magnetic resonance analysis technology. In simple terms, his research showed that the actual structure of water molecules can be altered by thought and intentions. He used just simple beakers of water, affixed with various labels to each, such as ‘love’, ‘hate’, ‘thank you’, even ‘bad luck”, or simply having someone hold the beaker and think positive or negative thoughts.

After freezing the water samples and then slicing them, his microscopic photography revealed incredible results. The water molecules had changed. With positive statements, the molecules were symmetric and beautiful. With negative statements, the shapes became irregular and disjointed. Since our planet is comprised of over 65% water, and curiously our bodies are made up of that same percentage of water, think about the effect going on around us and within us.

Now, I’ll ask the question, do you believe that the power of your thoughts can affect other people? You bet.

As described in The Spontaneous Healing of Belief, by Gregg Braden, one of our pioneers in the field of bridging science and spirituality, a study was conducted in 1982 known as The International Peace Project in the Middle East. The experiment included a group of individuals told to meditate and feel peace within themselves on specific days of the month. These ‘meditators’ were scattered throughout the war torn areas of Lebanon and Israel. It was discovered that during their times of feeling this peace, the actual rate of terrorist activity stopped, the rate of crime decreased, even the number of emergency-room visits and traffic accidents reduced considerably.

In reading the conclusions of this experiment as published in The Journal of Conflict Resolution in 1988, it was discovered that looking at the actual number of people involved in sending peace and the number of people their thoughts effected, I quote Braden, …it takes the square root of just one percent of the population. The calculation represents only the minimum needed to begin the process. The more people involved in feeling peace, the faster the effect is created… In a world of 6 billion, that’s just under 8,000. Pardon the pun, but indeed food for thought.

I urge you to google and read about The Peace Intention Experiment, conducted by Lynn McTaggart. Through the internet, tens of thousands of people joined the experiment to send love and peace to the Wanni section of Sri Lanka, where civil war has been raging for over 25 years. The findings showed a remarkable 75% decrease in the number of deaths and a 48% decrease in the number of injuries. Remarkable, but I was more impressed with the effect this experiment had on the people who were sending this love and peace. In questioning these participants, McTaggart found, more than a quarter either felt more love for their loved ones or for people they normally dislike or argue with, 41% felt more love for anyone with whom they came into contact, and 19% found they were getting along better with perfect strangers…38% said they noticed the biggest change in their relationships with strangers.

So, here’s my experiment. Let’s create our own ‘power of intention’.  There’s no way I can document any results, but we ‘know’ the power of thought; it’s already been proven.

So, I invite you to stop. Stop right now and take a deep breath. Feel peace within yourself. It may take a few minutes, but visualize yourself in a beautiful, peaceful place. Whatever you have to do next in your busy schedule can just wait for awhile as you begin to relax and feel this peace. Feel a gentle calm wash over you. Now, smile. Come on, smile.

Still smiling, send that peace to somewhere on this planet that needs your thoughts of love and peace. It could be Japan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Libya, wherever. Whether it’s sending love to honor all that have died, comfort to all the survivors of the earth quakes and tsunamis, or strength to all the men and women trying to repair those nuclear plants, the power of your thoughts can make a different.

A penny for your thoughts, I dare say not; it’s priceless!

Namaste,

Patti Leviton

Synergy Seminars

March 17, 20118

www.synergyseminars.com

In the world we live in, pain has never been thought of as a welcome event.  As a matter of fact, the world of medicine makes untold amounts of money providing instant relief from pain; from aspirin to morphine, from uppers to antidepressants. We’ve become a society of the quick fix. We’ve become addicted to the elimination of our pain, both physical and emotional. These addictions are a direct result of avoiding any discomfort, even if they do make us feel better. Most of us therefore believe pain to be an enemy that needs to be defeated, ignored, repressed, or avoided at almost any cost.  We certainly don’t want to pay attention to it, or experience it fully, that would only increase the pain and make it worse, right?

But think about this. We have another way of looking at it. What if pain was just a messenger from our body, trying to get our attention that something is out of balance, needs our attention now, or is making us aware of a need to change behavior? What about an injury? Is that our body trying to tell us to change something? If someone broke their arm, the pain is a God given reminder that the body has suffered damage and needs time to heal. Go easy on it!  Without that reminder, many of us are just dumb enough to keep on using that arm and break it worse. We put casts on broken limbs to make sure people can’t move the limb and prevent it from healing.

All of us carry both emotional and physical pain in various places in our bodies. When I was much younger I would suffer sciatic pain down my left leg.  Going to the chiropractor, I was told that my right shoulder was carrying my stress, going out of alignment and pulling my left hip out, thereby causing the pain.  A simple adjustment and I was fine. But, at one point, it would come back within a week, over and over and the doctor informed me this was very unusual and asked what was I stressing about? After awhile I figured out that there had to be some connection between the emotional stress in my life and the physical pain I was experiencing. I broke off a very stressful relationship I was in and I haven’t had the problem since. It’s wasn’t difficult to see that my body was screaming at me to make some changes.

In our work with Guided Imagery, we see all pain as good information from the body and find that through the journey of imagery we can take people into that place in their subconscious that doesn’t experience judgment of good or bad truth and reach out to the pain. For more information about the process of imagery, see our article What is Guided Imagery, http://synergyseminars.com/blog/index.php/2010/09/what-is-guided-imagery/

An example would be to ask the person to find the place in their body where they hold an emotional pain. When they locate it, we ask the following questions: What does the pain feel like? What does it look like? Let it take some symbolic form. What it feels like will often define what it looks like; a stabbing pain will probably be seen as a knife or a heaviness could be a large black rock.

Then we ask the person to become the symbol. This is easier than you think. When someone is in a relaxed state of imagery and in touch with their imagination, it’s easy to empathize and literally become the pain. Now, we can ask questions directly to the pain.

What is the most important thing you want the client to know about you? Almost always the answer will be something like this: I am here. I don’t need to be here. I want him to pay attention to me. This validates that the pain wants the person to pay attention. That’s why the pain exists. 

The next question is, What do you want from the person you’re not getting? This generally is how the pain wants the person to change.

And finally, How would life be different if you got what you asked for? And the answer is invariably, I’d go away. Remember in imagery, we’re dialoguing with the subconscious part of us, where we indeed have all the answers.

Then, we ask the person to become himself again and ask how he feels about what the symbol told him. Would he like to make peace with this pain? The answer is almost always, Yes.

We then ask to imagine himself putting his hands around the pain, just hold it and then send it love. Watch and see what happens. It usually gets smaller, changes color, or improves in some manner. Still in the imagery, we then offer a spray bottle of a magic or healing solution, made up of all chemicals from their own body that knows exactly what the pain needs for healing.

We are told there is not a chemical in the pharmacy that the body can not replicate and create better. And, with no side effects. Also through modern research we have discovered that the brain cannot distinguish between what’s real and what’s imagined. So, in the subconscious, to see this healing solution soothing a pain, mending an imbalance, we can literally get out of our own way to give the body permission to heal. 

Using this healing solution, watch and see what happens. Usually more improvement. At this point we ask the person to remove the pain from his body and place it on a nearby shelf, where he can come and visit daily to get more information as needed. We don’t want to get rid of the pain. Without the benefit of the warnings that pain brings us, we couldn’t survive. If we make peace with it and continue to receive messages from outside the body, we can be more pain free.

Try this experiment for yourself. Even with your eyes open and no relaxation, you will be able to experience this. Right now, think about a pain in your body, it could be a physical pain; a headache, a back ache. Or it could be an emotional pain; a loss, a disappointment. Where do you feel it in your body? Literally see that pain as a symbol. Got it? What does it look like? How do you feel about? Can you remove it from you body and just see it in front of you right now?

Become the symbol? How does that feel? And, as this pain, this symbol, ask these three questions.

What is the most important thing you need to tell me right now?

What do you need from me you’re not getting?

How would life be different if you got what you needed?

Just let whatever comes to mind just come. There’s really no right way or wrong way to do this. Just allow the information to unfold. You may want to write down your answers. 

This may be a new concept for many of you. We are not implying that all pain can be eliminated with this process; however most pain can at least be lessened or relieved temporarily. We have witnessed people who suffered chronic pain for years totally eliminate their discomfort. But we can’t promise that to everyone. Through imagery, the body is relaxing, rather than tensing up against the pain, which actually makes it worse. Relaxing into the pain diffuses the discomfort and is the first and most important aspect and benefit that imagery provides.

If this process of making peace with your pain appeals to you, we have a very powerful CD that first explains imagery and then provides four different imageries to experience. The imageries include Making Peace with your Pain, The Fear Factor, making peace with your fear, Meeting the Critic, making peace with your inner critic and Time to Sleep, helping to fall and stay asleep for a healthful rest. Visit http://www.synergyseminars.com/bookstore/bookstore.htm.

Indeed, all pain is a messenger from the body. Once we pay attention to the message, we can release it.

Charles D. Leviton, EdD

February 23, 2011

Synergy Seminars

www.synergyseminars.com

Within all of us, we carry many different aspects of self, often referred to as sub personalities.  Some are relational, such as I am a wife, I am a daughter, and I am a friend. Some are more defining of who we are and how we view ourselves in the outside world, such as I am a teacher, I am the nurturer, and I am a victim. Still others are more emotional, again such as I am fearful, I am happy, I am angry. They are all parts of us that make up the total package of who we are. Take a moment right now to think about some of the statements you could make about yourself that would define you. In doing so, you are really identifying the many different sub personalities within.

The most elemental of these sub personalities is the masculine and feminine. I’m not talking about being a woman or a man, or your sexual orientation, for that matter. Within each and every one of us are both feminine and masculine aspects. The feminine side is where all our feelings reside; the thoughts, the ideas, even our intuition. The masculine is that place of action; the doing, the accomplishing. Both are vital in our psychological development and functioning.

Without getting in touch with the feminine side, we would have no emotions or opinions, and would become just robots doing a task. On the other hand, if we denied our masculine aspect of action, we would indeed just be a puddle of emotions, unable to accomplish anything. So, it’s about balance, a dance, if you will, of honoring these two aspects of self. One is no better than the other. They both serve different purposes and should be respected for their uniqueness. 

Along with my husband in teaching and facilitating seminars for almost thirty years, we have discovered and developed a theory that within the feminine sub personality, there are really two different parts. And, likewise, the masculine. In my last post, Honoring the Masculine and Feminine Within, January 3, 2011, I discussed this concept in some detail.

 But, briefly to reiterate, within this feminine aspect, there are two distinct energies, one is passive and one is active. So, the passive feminine would be the part that feels an emotion or has an idea. The active feminine would therefore be the part of us that expresses that emotion or begins the creative process. For simplicity, I call the passive feminine, mother and the active feminine, daughter. For example, it would be mother who feels the emotion of love for her child, but it’s the daughter aspect that expresses those feelings in a hug, singing a lullaby, or just saying I love you. Seeing a beautiful sunset, the mother would feel the beauty of it, but it’s the daughter that would perhaps paint a picture of the grandeur or write a poem.

Honoring both aspects is vital. How many times have we experienced strong emotions about something or someone, but were unable to express how we truly felt? All those gentle words of love and appreciation left unsaid; all those things we could have said or should have said. Indeed, that daughter aspect was not honored or utilized.

Similarly, within the masculine, there are two parts; the passive and the active. The passive masculine, the son, would be that aspect that makes decisions, kind of like our moral compass that decides if our actions are appropriate. The masculine active, or father, would be the one who has the energy and just does something. I often refer to this aspect as Mr. Nike, just do it! As an example, after the mother has the idea of gee, I’d like to go to dinner and the daughter has come up with all the various restaurants available, it would be the son to decide where to go. Then, the father would just go to dinner and enjoy himself. Without the father, nothing gets accomplished. We have all those grand plans, those lofty goals that never get accomplished. We’d starve to dead. Without the son energy, we would have trouble making decisions and following our true desires. How many times have we all done something and said later what was I thinking.  Obviously, the son wasn’t involved.

So, I’m sure you’re thinking, ok, that all sounds logical and makes sense, but how to I get in touch with these aspects of myself? Good question.

Facilitating a training program in the process of guided imagery, my husband and I have come to appreciate how powerful the subconscious is, and through this process of imagery, we can delve into that 95% of our brain that is beyond our conscious awareness, and find all these aspects within us. We are all wired in balance, we all have these tools available if we will only stop and acknowledge these various sub personalities. Since we are told by modern research that the brain cannot distinguish between what’s real and what’s imagined, through imagery we can invite, say for example, the daughter part of us to give us more creativity, to invite the son aspect to provide help in making decisions, or even the father to get us off the couch and moving to accomplish something. More on the power of guided imagery is available in the post What is Guided Imagery, September 28, 2010.

In reading the job descriptions of these various aspects, I’m sure we can all identify an area or areas where we are not fully comfortable. How many of you are sometimes overwhelmed in deciding a course of action, or lack that creativity spark of joy, or continually find yourself doing something that was not appropriate or saying something that you truly didn’t believe in, or even just feeling bored. Perhaps it’s time to visit all these aspects and honor them. They all have a lot to offer us, if we will just acknowledge them and ask for their help.

 As Dr. Hal Stone reflects in his book, Embracing Ourselves, and his work in developing his theory of voice dialogue, we need to build an alter to all the different parts of self. Also, the incredible work of Dr. Roberto Assagioli and his theory of psychosynthesis, explores the integration of all the many parts of self.

Below is an actual guided imagery script we have used. Normally, in doing an imagery, we would guide you through the experience with our words, with some gentle music in the background. Slowly as you would begin to relax, your brain waves actually start to slow down and you enter the world of your subconscious. In this place, you would begin to see pictures and through your imagination, begin a journey of self discovery. Again, since the brain doesn’t know the different between what’s real and what’s not real, as you explore all these possibilities in your subconscious, the brain is processes it as if it were real.

So, I invite you to read the following and take your time. As I describe a scene or situation, allow your imagination to just take over. Perhaps, read a few sentences and then stop and just reflect. Allow yourself to picture the adventure in your mind and allow anything to happen that wants to happen, and see whatever comes into your mind.

Sit down or lie down. Take a deep breath. Slowly breathing in through your nose, exhaling out your mouth. And again.

With every breath, feel your body relax. With every breath feel a sense of peace and calm. Nothing you have to do, nothing you have to say, but relax.

I invite you right now to be in a beautiful place in nature, you know the place, somewhere that you have visited, or perhaps a picture of a far-away place, or maybe even a place in your imagination. Just be there right now, the most breathtaking, peaceful place.  You feel so calm, you feel so safe.

Where are you? Are you at the beach, or perhaps a beautiful meadow, or maybe you are high atop a mountain.

The day is absolutely perfect. Wiggle your toes, what’s beneath your feet? What’s the temperature of the air on your skin? Smell, what are the aromas in your place of peace?

Drink in all the beauty. Stop right here and really find that place in your imagination and be there.

You find yourself strolling along, as a path opens up in front of you and you begin to wander and explore. Take all the time you want to just imagine this place as you walk along.

Now, up ahead you see a huge square drawn in the ground, 20 or 30 feet in diameter. Do you see it? Your step quickens as you approach and you step inside the square. Find the center, as if there is a balance when you find and stand in the center of this square.

You look to your left, and see two women, one at each corner.  You look to your right, and see two men, one at each corner.  The four corners of this square, surrounding you. 

You look at each of these four individuals, an older woman and a younger woman, and an older man and a younger man. You feel a familiarity and comfort in acknowledging each of them.

Now watch, as the figure to your left approaches, the older of the two women, she represents the mother within you.  Watch as this woman walks towards you.  She is the wise woman, the intuitive, the gentle spirit filled with love and compassion, she represents emotions. Can you see her approach?

How do you feel about her as she now is standing right in front of you?

What do you like most about her? What do you like least about her?

Watch as she hands you a gift. You thank her for the present and watch as she returns to her place on the square.

Now watch as the other woman on your left approaches, the younger of the two women.  She represents the creative part within you, the daughter.  She possesses all the energy to express emotion.

What does she look like as you watch her gracefully approach you.

What do you like most about her? What do you like least about her?

She gives you a gift, what is it? Watch as she now returns to her place on the square.

You look to your right and see the younger of the two males approach you, the son. He represents that place of making decisions, deciding what is the right thing to do, our ethics, our morals.

What does he look like as he slowly walks towards you in the center of this square?

Again, what do you like most about him? What do you like least?

And watch as he gives you a present. You thank him and watch as he returns to his place at the corner of the square.

And lastly, the older of the two men, the father, comes forward and is standing right in front of you. The father part within, that energy to just do, to take charge, to take action. With such strength and intention, what does he look like?

What do you like best about him? And, what do you like least?

He also hands you a gift, a symbol. What is his gift to you as you watch him take his place back on the square?

Turn yourself around and thank each of these four individuals.  Thank them for their gifts and for presenting themselves to you. Be aware of who you resonate with the best. Be aware of who you resonate with the least. Good information, indeed.

Now, reflecting on the whole experience, you bid them farewell, promising that you will meet again to learn more about the talents and skills they can offer you. 

Watch as they leave, and slowly remembering everything that has just happened, the beautiful place of peace you visited, remembering the square drawn in the ground, remembering each of these four individuals, the mother, the intuitive, emotion energy, the daughter, the creative, expressive energy, the son, the decision maker, and the father, the energy of action and intention.

Remember what each of them gave you, their gifts, each a symbol of their part within you. Remembering everything, slowly start you journey back to this room.

Slowly, take a deep breath, wiggle your toes, wiggle your fingers, feel yourself coming back to this room, the weight of your clothes on your body, the temperature of the air, slowly come back, and when you are ready, you can open your eyes, feeling awake, refreshed, alive, aware.

Welcome back.

Ok, so what did you learn about yourself? Were you more comfortable with some of these characters than others? What did you like best and least about each of them? What were the gifts they gave you? This is just a way of gathering good information about yourself, and through the process of imagery, you can learn to call upon each of these sub personalities to bring you love, support and clarity.

To all of you reading this, I invite you to comment on your experience. Analyzing the imagery, almost like you would analyze a dream, can bring some new insight. I await all your remarks, dear ones.

P.S. If the idea of imagery is intriguing and you would like to experience the process with narration and music, this particular imagery is available on our website at http://www.synergyseminars.com/bookstore/bookstore.htm. This CD contains two complete imageries, along with tools to help you interpret your experiences of honoring the feminine and masculine within.  

Namaste,

Patti Leviton

Synergy Seminars

www.synergyseminars.com

January 29, 2011

Well, Happy New Year to all our blog readers out there. We truly hope 2011 will be a wonderful year, filled with love, joy, peace and prosperity for all of us.

It has been a joy to write and post our various articles, and we indeed appreciate all your compliments, comments and questions. One of the most repeatedly asked questions is about the actual theme of our site. It’s just WordPress, with a program called White as Milk, Azeem Azeez. Most of you seem to like the layout. Thanks. Another frequently asked question is if you can use any of our material on your own sites. The answer is always yes, however, we would appreciate the credit to us, Synergy Seminars, and also a link back to our site.

Additionally, we receive a number of comments that you don’t agree with what we’ve said. We welcome your comments and would indeed love to hear your thoughts, your struggles with what we’ve written. What any writer presents is merely his or her observations and personal theory, and a theory is no better than the challenge, the words are no better than the response. So, give us your feedback and elaborate.

To those of you new to our site, welcome, and allow us to introduce ourselves. I’m Patti Leviton, and together with my husband, Dr. Chuck Leviton, www.synergyseminars.com, we are co-founders and facilitators of a training program in the art and science of guided imagery. Archive http://synergyseminars.com/blog/index.php/2010/09/what-is-guided-imagery/  with more details about the process.

The intent of this blog is dedicated to sharing some of the spiritual truths we have developed through the years in teaching imagery, as well as our philosophies and discoveries we have made in the powerful realm of the subconscious. We have discussed such topics as honoring the shadow side within all of us, and even looked at the symbolism of dreams. Through our various articles, we bring you, hopefully, some new insights into your fears, your struggles, your dreams. We hope to continue to provide you with material you will find enlightening, inspiring and yes, challenging.

In working with clients and doing imagery, we have developed the following theory. Again, a theory is just a personal observation of the human condition, but we hope you will enjoy our musings. 

For centuries, man has recognized the difference between male and female.  We’ve written about it, we’ve been mystified by this polarity.  But, just within the last few decades, theorists and psychologists have come to believe and honor that both the feminine and the masculine are within each of us. 

First, we possess the feminine and generally this attitude or concept can be labeled the nurturer, the mother, the ultimate unconditional, intuitive side of our nature, the emotional part of our process.  The feminine is the place where ideas begin, where feelings are wrapped around reality. In examining this feminine energy in more depth, we have discovered there are two completely different and separate parts, the passive and the active.  The passive or feeling part would be the unconditional feeling mother, and the active or doing part would be the creative daughter.

The mother or the passive is the feminine part of us that is pure emotion, the birth of an idea. The daughter, therefore, would be a natural progression or the manifestation of that thought or feeling into reality.  This doing part of the daughter takes action and responds to the feeling part of mother. The blending between the passive and the active parts dances as we create, whether writing a beautiful poem, capturing a fabulous sunset on canvas, or soothing a young child to sleep with a lullaby.  The feminine feeling or mother within us feels the emotion of the poetry, whereas the daughter actually writes the words into verse. 

Mother feels the beauty of the sunset; daughter picks up the brush to paint. The unconditional mother feels the emotion of love for the child and the need to nurture; the daughter is the part that transforms the feelings into song. The mother/daughter parts of the feminine side of us create an exquisite synergy between intent and action, feeling and doing.  These two separate parts ultimately represent and express personal responses of the psyche to the world, for example, how we feel about the ocean, the sunset, while providing the internal care and feeding of the self. 

If we follow the progression of the feminine feeling and doing, it correlates that there are two parts to the masculine, the father/son.  Whereas the feminine represents the unconditional nurturement of the self, then the two parts of our masculine would represent father/son and the ability to protect one’s self in the outside world, a conditional love. 

The mother/daughter cares for the emotional and physical needs, whereas the father/son’s job description includes all those outside needs such as providing a home, physical protection, and earning a living, our reality.

The feeling part of the masculine is the son.  This is the place of emotional responses to collective energy from the outside world, rather than responses to personal experiences or self, which is the identity of the mother.  Such external feelings of the son include valor, honor, feelings of integration within the community, the tribe.  He is the decision maker, deciding what is right and wrong, ethical or moral.

The masculine doing represents conditional father, the power of intentionality, the ability to go forward with all the facts.  Father propels us in our energies to earn a living and support ourselves, to integrate with the outside world, he’s takes action, we call him Mr. Nike, just do it!

In a healthy person, the integration of the parts, mother, daughter, son and father, are symbols or metaphors that should continually flow and blend.  Each part should have equal value and importance to function in life, creating balance and harmony.  The interplay between these four is a constant dance back and forth.

Let’s look at how these four parts can be separated and evaluated in our life.  Right now, think about a recent decision you needed to make. It can be as simple as what movie do I want to see tonight or as extensive as what do I want to do with my life? A healthy integration of all the parts, the mother, daughter, son, and father, are necessary to resolve the situation and come up with the best answer to the question.

Now, the mother within us receives the intuitive feeling that a situation needs attention; there is a question or a need. She is the one who inspires us to say, I feel like doing something different today. The daughter takes the information and acts in creativity, looking for the many options of expressing these feelings or emotions.  She is the one to investigate the different activities available for the day, I could go to the museum, I could go to the beach, or I could write a story.  This is the feminine process, from the feeling to the doing.

Now, we move to the masculine side. The son reviews the various options and choices passed from the daughter, and makes the appropriate decisions as to what to do. This decision best reflects his integrity, his internal belief system. I feel creative today. I think I will tackle writing that short story. Then, the father proceeds with the intentionality and right action. He is the energy that gathers all the notes, turns on the computer, and begins to type.

The working dynamics of this feminine/masculine energy is illustrated in the following manner: mother receives information intuitively, raw, almost psychic. It filters through her process to ultimately reach father, refined and edited to perfection in action and intent.  In this filtering through process, we are referring, of course, to the daughter and son energies.

The separation, identification, and honoring of these four parts of self is vital.  Each member plays an important role in our life.  Can you imagine what life would be like without our ideas or emotions, the mother part of us? Can you imagine what life would be like without our ability to express our feelings, the daughter part, without our ability to create?  Without this daughter part, we would have no stories told, we would have no pictures painted, we would never express to a friend how much we care and love them, all the unfinished projects sitting in the attics of our minds.

What would life be like without our ability to make decisions, to know our likes and dislikes, to decide what is right for us, the son or masculine feeling part.  What do you want to do tonight?  Gee, I don’t know.

And lastly, what would life be like without the masculine doing, the father part within us all?  Without him, we would take no action about anything.  Without this energy, we would never accomplish anything in our lives. This article would never get written.

Namaste,

Patti Leviton

www.synergyseminars.com

January 3, 2011

A word from Chuck -

 As we are quickly approaching the end of another year, we are given a wonderful opportunity for reflection of the past year and anticipation of the new one ahead. Looking back provides a chance to review and reflect.  How would you define the year of 2010? Did you reach your goals? What were the biggest successes, or most glaring disappointments?  Did the Universe treat you well? How did YOU treat the world you live in?

Are you a better person today then a year ago, or more bitter and angry from what happened to you? Circumstances out of your control do not define you.  We all suffer setbacks and disappointments. How we handle these, both rationally and emotionally describes who we are in that moment of time.  Even our behavior, both appropriate and destructive, doesn’t necessarily define our character.

In our teaching of the process we call IntraPersonal Imagery, the journey into self; one of our major goals is helping people make peace with their anger, fear, critic, hurtful behavior. The list is endless; making peace with your own personal behavior or weaknesses that we haven’t been able to accept or forgive. Understanding the past for the purpose of better clarity of what happened and why, provides the opportunity to let go of our crippling judgment regarding the character of self and others and learn to understand and forgive, both self and others.

Many people fear looking into the pain of our dark side, buried in the denial of our unconscious, and yes it is there.  What we often forget is the truth is also there and as the Bible so aptly reminds us, you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free.

Through imagery, facing our fears and pains, which are simply messengers trying to get our attention when we are self destructing, so we will listen to their advice of how to change our lives and heal, brings us to our real truth about self and others. If you would like to know more about the healing power of imagery, visit our website at www.synergyseminars.com.

When the true motivation is to reveal myself in a vulnerable way, reaching out to you, truth becomes the contact that promotes healing, through intimacy and caring.

I would like to leave you with this poem I wrote many years ago. Happy New Year to all.

Chuck Leviton

www.synergyseminars.com

December 18, 2010

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We’ve become a society of politically correctness. Indeed, I honor that we are more sensitive to our multi-cultural differences, but in being so careful not to offend someone by saying Merry Christmas, Happy Chanukah, Muharrum, Kwanzaa, whatever, we have homogenized our own beliefs and customs. We’re losing our celebrations and beliefs and what they represent to us personally.

When I go shopping, I’m Christmas shopping and wish people my culture’s greeting with Merry Christmas. When I buy my tree, it’s a Christmas tree, not a holiday tree. And, if I’m wished a Happy Chanukah, I am certainly not offended, but respect their traditions and their sacred rituals. Likewise, I expect nothing more in return.

Wishing you all the best in your celebrations of life, love, family and peace, whatever they may be. Be in honor for what YOU believe in. The only way we can offend another is to withhold our own true authenticity.

I write the following as a Christmas story. I truly believe it reaches beyond all our differences and cultures. I hope you will enjoy my words.

Once upon a time in spring, so very, very long ago, or maybe it was just yesterday, there were three dogs that lived in the forest. Now, these were very special dogs. There was a mama dog, and of course a papa dog, and a beautiful little puppy. The puppy was indeed a prize for he was birthed into the world alone, not as one of a customary litter of many pups, and he was cherished in his singular beauty. As this tiny puppy, barely able to see, started to suckle on his mama’s milk, he quickly felt the embers of his soul begin to stir and ignite in passion as he was welcomed into the world. Together, the three dogs formed a bond of love. This little creature began to grow and soon the forest became his playground to romp and run, and frolic endlessly with his parents.

Then one horrible day, one terrible day, wolves appeared and killed the mama dog and the papa dog, sparing the little pup. Now, the wolves are a frugal lot, and two dogs were all they needed to feed the pack, and the little one was not a necessary slaughter. As the wolves began to retreat with their catch, one of them took pity on the trembling animal and tenderly carried him by the nape of his tiny neck home to their den.

 The puppy was introduced to the other baby wolves in the pack with much curiosity at first, but soon he was romping and playing, and accepted. It wasn’t long before he could scarcely remember his real parents, then it was gone, and life became the wolves, and he was one of them.

As the summer unfurled her fields of green grass and butterflies, the little ones played and grew, all becoming strong young wolves. Now, the puppy began to slowly feel somehow different. He didn’t look like the other wolves, now his sisters and brothers, and he couldn’t jump and run as fast or as high. They began to make fun of him, calling him the little runt, for he wasn’t growing as big or as staunch.  You’re such a baby, you’re so different.

Indeed, he did feel different, especially at the hunt. How awful, being a part of the hunt. For it was so hard for this little pup to prey the other animals in the forest. He knew he looked different than the others, and oh how he felt so different. Often, during quiet times when no one would see him leave, he would wander alone in the trees to cry bittersweet tears of sadness and confusion.

What’s wrong with me, why am I so different? He would scream when he knew there were no wolf ears to hear.

Then one day, while alone in the forest, he came upon a beautiful, tall pine tree. It was the most beautiful tree he had ever seen. The graceful branches laden with soft needles reached so high he was sure they could touch the sky, and he just knew that strong, straight trunk had roots that grew deep into the earth forever. He felt such peace just being around this tree. He whispered, I wish I could be a tree, you know what you are!

To the young puppy’s shock, the tree began to laugh and said, little one, we must all find our purpose, we must all find our home.

Now, this was very strange to find a talking tree, and soon the puppy found himself drawn to its magic. Each day, somehow, someway, he would sneak away from the other wolves and sit under the beautiful branches of the tree and talk of his pain, his sorrow, this awful uncertainty of who he was. He found comfort just being around this tree.

Winter was slowly creeping into the wind, and dark clouds hid the sun. Excitement began to erupt as all the wolves began to prepare for the big hunt, the hunt to last the season. The puppy did not want to go and found his mounting fear comforted only by the words of his friend, the tree, little one, we must all find our purpose, we must all find our home.

These words echoed in his head as the big day arrived, and all the wolves began their prowl. The wind was cold and snow had blanketed the earth, glistening in the moon light, like diamonds. All the tress in the forest were draped in breathtaking coats of white. As the pack began the hunt, the terrified little puppy was paralyzed in fear. His only comfort was the tree, his only direction in his wild running was straight to the strength and wisdom of his friend, his only friend, the tree.

He ran faster and faster into the forest to the tree, his tree, and it was gone. At first, he was sure he had just gotten lost and confused, but soon he realized that the tree was gone. He found a stump where it had been cut down. The tree was gone. The puppy curled his shivering little body around the base of what had been his strength and cried desperate tears. He eventually fell asleep. But even sleep had abandoned him for soon the angry laps of frigid air shook him awake.

The words, little one, we must all find our purpose, we must all find our home, echoed in his frozen ears. He knew he was going to die if he didn’t get some food to eat and a warm place to sleep. He thought of the town, which was a forbidden place for wolves to go, but decided that somehow, someway, he must go to the village for help.

The journey was long, and finally the puppy reached the outskirts of town. The night air was still in this little valley, and all the houses were aglow with warm billows of light streaming from each window. The peaceful snow covered each roof with a blanket of stars. He finally reached a small farmhouse and with trembling paws, he scratched at the door. It seems like a lifetime before, finally, the door opened just a crack and an old woman looked down at the half-frozen puppy and said, go away, I have no food for you, I have no room for you, go away.

With strength that came from somewhere deep inside of him, he journeyed on, until he heard bells, church bells, and through his tears of desperation, he climbed the steps of an old chapel. The puppy heard singing and he scratched on the huge oak doors. Quickly the doors flew open and a tall, stern man glared down at the puppy, go away, we don’t allow dogs in church, go away!

And once again, the puppy was turned away. His little body now a trembling mass of fur around a frozen heart, he wandered further into town. He found another little house, and again scratched on the door, his body now so weak there was barely a noise. After some time, the door opened and an angry man stood for a moment looking at what was at his feet and lunged at the pathetic puppy, yelling, come here, you mutt, you’ll make a fine dinner for me!

The man grabbed at the puppy, and again, with strength he mustered from somewhere deep inside, the puppy ran on frozen paws away from his avenger. After running and running he just collapsed in the snow. He just knew he was going to die. Ahead, he saw one last house, and he knew that if they would not help him, he would surely curl up in the whiteness of the snow and fall into an icy sleep of death.

Music and children’s laughter came from within, and as he slowly scratched at the door, he heard the sound of bells. The night air didn’t seem as cruel, there was almost a comfort in the air. He thought surely he must be dying. Then, suddenly the door flew open. The sounds, the smells of food, and beautiful lights whirled the senses as he was scooped up in the arms of a beautiful little girl, her long blonde curls feeling so warm against his frozen face. The puppy thought this must be an angel as she squealed, look mama, Santa didn’t forget me after all, a Christmas puppy!

The puppy’s eyes soon focused to the light and there in the middle of this warm little room filled with laughter and love, stood the tree, HIS tree, standing so straight and strong, filled with lights, and bows, and scraps of brightly colored ribbon, with the most beautiful silvery star on the very top branch, surely reaching all the way to heaven.

Welcome home, little one, welcome home.

This story has two powerful messages. As Joseph Campbell so beautifully stated, follow your bliss, I believe this story captures the true essence of finding one’s purpose in life. We have all asked ourselves the question, what am I supposed to be doing, why am I on this planet? To know our passion and DO IT is the key to our existence. The puppy found his purpose by becoming the cherished pet of the little girl. As the tree kept repeating, little one, we must all find our purpose, we must all find our home, we are all on that journey.

The second message is our quest to find unconditional love and acceptance. I have tried to capture the spirit of the child within all of us searching for love, that ultimate acceptance, not for what we do, but for just our being, indeed unconditional. Having lost my parents when I was just 17 years old and being an only child, writing about the puppy was truly writing about me. My life, after their death became a relentless pursuit to find a place to belong, to find a family. It has taken me a long time, but I think I have found my Christmas tree.

Patti Leviton

www.synergyseminars.com

December 1, 2010

We want to wish all of you a Happy Thanksgiving. Whether you’re traveling to join in a family celebration, honoring the day with a small gathering of friends, or perhaps finding yourself alone, may we stop and reflect on the true meaning of this holiday.

We all know the story of the original 102 Pilgrims who sailed the Mayflower and set ground at Plymouth Rock on December 11, 1620. That first winter was devastating, and within the first year, 46 people died. However, with the help of the Indians, the harvest the following autumn was a bountiful one and they celebrated with a feast, including the 91 Indians who had helped them survive.

First, the Pilgrims ventured to a new land, escaping what they felt was religious persecution, seeking freedom. Indeed, aren’t we all on that spiritual journey right now, trying to find our truth? I dare say we are all Pilgrims searching for our own personal authenticity.

These Pilgrims landed in a strange, hostile place, survival near impossible. And again, on our individual journey, we all travel through the winters of discontent and fear, not knowing if we will endure and survive.

With the help of the Indians, who taught the Pilgrims how to plant and hunt, they did survive, and they began to flourish. And, likewise, for each of us, during the dark nights of our voyage, there will always be a teacher, a guide, a book, an idea that will help us plant the seeds of hope again and keep going.

The Pilgrims celebrated their harvest and honored all those that had helped them. Indeed, a THANKSGIVING.

Let us take the time during this sacred holiday, to reflect on our own courage, our own Mayflower adventures – to think about our winters of despair and pain – and then rejoice in celebration to honor all our personal Indians who helped us along our journey to take harvest in our strength and authenticity.

So, to all of you who have blessed us with your participation in our seminars and workshops this past year, to those of you who commented on our blog or purchased some of our imagery CDs and books, and offered your friendship and love, we thank you. We honor you as being our Indians to continually help us nurture and take harvest in our joy, gratitude and thankfulness. Happy Thanksgiving, my friends.

Namaste,

Chuck and Patti Leviton

www.synergyseminars.com

November 24, 2011

Thanks for all your comments on my post, Honoring the Shadow. Agreed, we all have a shadow side. The greater the light, the greater the shadow. In today’s world, we’ve learned to project these negative feelings, our demons and dragons, onto other people, other groups, and other countries. I’m right, and you’re wrong. We dare not reflect that shadow within ourselves; it’s got to be out there somewhere. Society has placed a very high standard of how we are supposed to be, in our goodness and productivity. There’s no room for the dark side, or at least, no safe place to share those negative thoughts, our fears, our anger, our envy, our shame. The list goes on and one, wouldn’t you say?

But, even though we may project this dark side, that doesn’t extricate that shadow completely. As my favorite book by Karol Truman states in her title, Feelings Buried Alive Never Die, and indeed, even though we may deny, reject or project those emotions and feelings, they’re alive and well and will, indeed, stay within us, buried alive, to surface at sometimes the most inappropriate times, or even worse, manifest into a physical imbalance or disease.

As Chuck shared in his follow-up post More on Honoring the Shadow, we subscribe to the belief that this shadow needs to be honored, to acknowledge it and hopefully, make peace with it. The journey into the shadow needs to be an inside job, an internal journey, rather than projecting it outwardly. I know I’m the eternal optimist, but wouldn’t it be grand if we all did the work personally, without placing the blame on others, that we could honor the shadow individually without the projection outwardly; Democrats against Republicans (yes, I’ve been following our political elections), Whites upon Blacks, Men against Women, Catholics upon Protestants, Capitalists upon Communists, Muslims upon Hindus?

And I re-state and emphasize Chuck’s suggestion of using imagery as a tool to do this internal shadow work. We have a passion for guided imagery as a powerful tool in dealing with the dark side within. Since the brain cannot distinguish between what’s real and what’s imagined, we can indeed meet our demons and dragon within without projecting onto others, and come to balance within ourselves in love, peace and joy.

I subscribe to the philosophy of Roberto Assagioli, MD and Pychosynthesis. You may want to Google and read more about Dr. Assagioli’s breathtaking work. His belief, as is mine, is that there are the positive, as well as the negative, aspects within us, and that we need to make peace with all these parts, often referred to as sub-personalities. When we can come to a place of honoring that dark side, we can indeed come to balance. There is an appropriate place for anger; there is an appropriate place for fear. Honoring that part of us, and understanding, can bring an incredible shift, my friends. And further, Assagioli believes that at the core of every sub-personality is goodness. They came into our lives with good indent.

As Chuck pointed out in dealing with the addict, honor their original motive. They came in an effort to alleviate pain. Of course, along the way, it’s gotten out of hand, but honor their original motive and watch and see what’s happens. Acknowledging their efforts, making peace can bring about some incredible shifts. Even honoring the part of us that is prejudice, for example, can bring new insight, delving into where these beliefs originated, with new ways to handle our differences.

In using imagery as a tool in bringing balance to these many sub-personalities within, and after years of teaching and doing guided imagery, the following is our philosophy.

DIAGNOSIS: Imagery is instant access to feelings and the unconscious, bypassing that censor we call the mind. Trauma, pain and negative sub-personalities can be identified, truth revealed about the past, false belief systems clarified, all without judgment, understanding the past for the purpose of clarification and healing. There is no bad truth.

A SAFE PLACE: In that relaxed place of imagery, you can experience that dark side, the pain, discomfort and embarrassment and not be destroyed by it. Giving both permission and safety to freely experience any and all feelings is the beginning of healing.

UNDERSTAND CAUSE & EFFECT: Why me, why this, why now? What is the meaning of these various experiences in our lives? What is the message or learning we are to receive? Reconciling conflicts between the many sub-personalities or parts of us that we manage to externalize into outside relationships, projections and anger.

ACCEPTANCE & FORGIVENESS: Because there is no judgment, there can be an acceptance of reality, a seeing without distortion or denial, a forgiveness of self and others. Forgiveness does not imply condoning hurtful or unacceptable behavior; it is rather a releasing of the issue or trauma, choosing to not let it go on affecting one’s life. To NOT forgive is to give total power over the rest of your life to the one who injured you. A marvelous quote by Deidre S. MacCannon, Forgiveness is giving up the hope that the past could have been any different.  It’s accepting the past for what it was, and using this moment and this time to help yourself move forward.

HEALING: Of both the physical and the emotional, changing perceptions and beliefs that have crippled us. The feeling good about self that sends forth a host of positive chemicals throughout the body that boost the immune system and enables a natural healing.

TRANSFORMATION: Enlightenment, empowerment, courage and strength by making contact with the spiritual dimensions of the true inner self and its connection with the power of universal truth. Knowing that you are enough for any circumstance or situation.

So, it’s an inside job of acknowledging that dark side, understanding, accepting and hence, making peace with all those demons and dragons within. Reminds me of the ancient fable of Milarepa. An interesting story indeed, and years ago I wrote the following poem.

A brave young lad

Ventured forth in the world

Finding life an adventure

He grew to be a man.

He experienced it all

The good and the bad

Tempted by all the dragons around

He lived, he lost, he fell.

Now life was far from grand

His world was filled with pain

Traveling farther and farther

Away from home he wandered.

Then one day, one fateful day

With strength he found

From deep within

He decided to return.

Finding at last his home

In shock he entered a place of hell

Demons and dragons filled his head

A terror beyond his years.

Instead of running fast away

He faced the monsters one by one

In sheer fright he honored them

And slowly they disappeared.

All but one had vanished

This demon that remained

Was the meanest, the ugliest

The worst of all the lot.

Rather than retreating away from home

This man freed his beast in love

He started to sing

And stood square at the feet of his fears.

In the flash of an instant

The last demon was gone

And the man was free at last

Welcome home was filling his heart.

Also, these negative or shadow parts of us can manifest, as I mentioned, in physical imbalance or disease. As I mentioned in previous blog postings, I am a cancer survivor, no; I’m a person who happened to have had cancer. My original diagnosis was a cancerous tumor on my optic nerve. I lost the sight in my right eye. After many rounds of chemotherapy and radiation, and surgeries, my prognosis was that I had six months to live.

This was when I was introduced to guided imagery, and through the process, I met my cancer. It came in the form of a skinless deer, and rather than trying to get rid of it, I guess project it out there somewhere, I was instructed to listen to its messages, to love it, and yes, put skin on it. Remember, even a cancer, any disease for that matter, is a symptom of a part of us that needs to be healed. By acknowledging the disease, talking to it, honoring it, and yes, even loving it, we are making peace with the issues of a sub-personality within our dark side, so that symptom, the disease, is no longer necessary in our lives.

No part of us can be destroyed. It needs love and understanding so it can change or heal, rather than just wanting it to  go away. If a disease or imbalance comes your way, stop and listen to the message. With the onset of a headache, for example, stop and acknowledge the pain, ask for the message it brings. Perhaps it comes to tell us to slow down and rest. Making peace with that pain and perhaps following the advice to relax, we can allow the headache to leave, halleluiah.

So, imagery by imagery, I visualized putting skin on that deer, listened to his messages and slowly, my tumor started to shrink, I re-gained my eye sight, and today, more than twenty-five years later, I consider myself cancer free with new information and insight. A miracle? I would dare say, yes. But, again, since the brain cannot distinguish between what’s real and what’s imagined, visualizing the transformation of the deer brought about a shift in me. Embracing the deer as part of me, healing it, in turn, healed me. And thus, healing and making peace with all the shadow parts of us, can bring about a healing for not only us, personally, but the planet.

Namaste,

Patti Leviton

www.synergyseminars.com

November 8, 2010

Thanks for all your comments about our recent posts, Honoring the Shadow and More on Honoring the Shadow. I’m just making the finishing touches for yet another post on this subject, which will be coming shortly. However, in the interim, I think we can all agree that:

A.  We all have a shadow side. The brighter the light, the greater the shadow.

 B.  We all tend to deny this shadow side. We try to repress it or project it outwardly onto other people, other communities, other countries.

C.   If we honored that shadow part of us without projecting it outwardly, what a  perfect world it could be. And remember, PERFECT means BALANCE. If we honored both the light and the dark within each of us, a personal inward journey, the world could indeed come to a balance of love, truth, peace and namaste. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hN8CKwdosjE

Abbracci gratis a Sondrio

Namaste,

Patti Leviton

www.synergyseminars.com

October 31, 2010

Hello to all of you responding to Patti’s post on Honoring the Shadow. I’m Dr Chuck Leviton, Patti’s husband. I occasionally comment from time to time and I wanted to respond to those of you who asked how do we do this balancing act with our dark side?

It does sound overwhelming and you asked a very good question. The answer is more simple than you might think.  In a nutshell, this is what Patti and I do for a living, we teach and do a therapy called IntraPersonal Guided Imagery. Imagery is a relaxation method that enables the person to bypass that censor we call the brain and move, in just a few moments, into the unconscious or feeling part of us. This is where we hold all the coping mechanisms of life that, perhaps we’ve learned as a child, and now tend to control our inside and outside relationships, both the good and bad belief systems that control our behavior. Many of us are afraid to explore these beliefs and feelings, for fear the dark side will take over and ruin our lives.  Yes, the dark side resides in our unconscious, but so does the essence and core of our personhood, our spiritual true self.

As Patti said, any part of us that we ignore tends to act out, just like a child and wanting a cookie, to get our attention, with symptoms that range from illness, accident, or inappropriate behavior. What it really wants is our attention. We call these parts of us sub personalities and they really do act out as small, deprived children who prefer negative attention than no attention at all.

Let’s take the addict as an example.  The addict in us starts out with good intent. You’ve got pain, distress, anxiety or depression?  Hey, I can give you instant relief. What’s your addiction, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, food, sex? What’s your remedy to alleviate pain, anxiety or depression? Unfortunately, all these solutions will invariably wind up being worse than the original distress. 

I’m sure you don’t need a lecture on addiction here. We are usually told to get rid of, deny, control the addict, who is our worst enemy and must be overcome in whatever way we can.  With imagery, we can ask the addict to join us in whatever form it wants to take and talk to it.  Let’s say it comes as an angry, even vicious lion who wants to hurt us because we want to get rid of him and he’s trying to bring us relief from pain.

Instead of fighting the lion, the first thing we can do is honor the lion for trying to protect us from a painful life or circumstance we were in at the beginning, and tell the lion we come in peace.  Then we can explain to the animal that we don’t want to get rid of him, we want his stubbornness and power to be used in a new and different way that will help to be free of the addictions. The lion’s strength can be used in other, more positive ways. We offer love, forgiveness and healing, so that the lion can become a true bodyguard or protector that uses our adult wisdom and strength to be the person we were meant to be.

An interesting truth is that all our inner demons or dark side sub personalities can and will give us all the information and help we need to make peace with them and turn them into assets rather then liabilities.

This is a very short version of the process.  If you want more information, check out our web site, www.synergyseminars.com. We offer CDs, which include actual imagery experiences on many different subjects, and two books we have written that will address these issues at great length, The Conflict Between Us is the Conflict within Me and Inner Peace – Outward Power, Guided Imagery to use with the 12 Steps to Recovery. The first book comes with a CD with four imageries in tandem with the various chapters and the second book comes with two CDs, which include twelve original imageries. We also have weekend seminars in Palm Springs, CA, where we live, and all over the country, that you might find useful to attend.

Many of you seem very taken by Patti’s wisdom and way of presenting, even asking where do you get your ideas and inspirations? Patti has an MA degree and is a certified hypnotherapist and guided imagery specialist. I’m a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and retired college professor.  Between us, we have over 60 years experience in the field of Guided Imagery.

Dr. Charles D. Leviton, EdD

www.synergyseminars.com

October 27, 2010