A blast from the past

A fun blast from the past, in the later half see my armchair therapy segment, enjoy a good laugh!

http://hamptons.plumtv.com/videos/hiff_guide_box_office_therapy

DOWN TO EARTH FOR NEWCOMERS

My site for newcomers: WWW.DOWNTOEARTHTHERAPY.BLOGSPOT.COM

FREE PRAYER SERVICE

It's nothing religious, quite the opposite really. Just email your prayer request, anonymously if you like and I will say a prayer for you. If you like(please indicate so), I will post it and all those who visit here can have the opportunity to pray for you too. A friend mentioned how helpful this is and it's had me up all night thinking about it. Prayer is such a beautiful ancient ritual, so simple and direct, such a beautiful way for us to connect and re-connect without obligation. So please, consider yourselves invited.

SCORE: NOTHINGNESS 1 AGGIE 0

My newest challenge is that all is relatively quiet on the western front. Nothing much is happening these days, nothing on the go, no action, none at all actually. So I go through my trusty daily routines; exercising, meditating, walking in the park, eating, cleaning, cooking, talking to clients, writing, reading, seeing my fiancee, occasionally talking to or seeing friends & family. No major disasters to report, silently working through my issues on a vibrational level (sometimes there's nothing else to be done i guess). Faced with many moments of boredom during this relatively peaceful time, I notice how my anxiety rises in waves, hoping for some drama, something to keep the show exciting. Nothing comes, and I am forced to realize how hard it is to be in this place that I have so often hoped and prayed for. Quiet time has it's very own cross to bear it seems. Not as easy as I thought it would be, not as much sipping on pina coladas as I had envisioned. Being in the nothing is a brilliant challenge for all of us. Of course there are always things to work on, but when it's about letting go-it's about letting go, not circling again and again and prodding with the same stick. Watching the fire burn out on patterns and issues that no longer serve us seems even harder than when we were unconsciously participating in those troubles. To not create problems when there are none is a lot harder than solving ones you already have. At least you've already met the ones you have. 

MAYBE MY FAV QUOTE OF ALL TIME

whoa, this one is major...

"To live is so startling, it leaves but little room for other occupations..."

-Emily Dickinson

way to put it em-dog

NO RISK NO REWARD

No matter how often I do it keeping my boundaries is still one of the hardest things for me to do. With full awareness I blame my parents, hehe. No but really, I grew up in a very loving, very enmeshed family dynamic so now when it comes to having boundaries with people, I find it very hard to stick to my guns. There is however an irony whenever I do stick to them. I gear myself up for rejection, abandonment and all sorts of death and destruction scenarios that will surely result from my "selfishness" (co-dependance anyone?) Instead, I am met with respect and understanding and most unbelievably of all, more love. The part of my brain that after all this time still doesn't completely trust that it's ok for me to have boundaries becomes a little more convinced each time I do. Each time I say no, each time I hold steady my ground I get stronger and my relationships get stronger because I am not just a yes machine. And who can really have an honest, trusting, authentic relationship with a yes machine? I know I can't-because you never really know where you stand with them. So as much as we might love the instant gratification, the fix we get from ignoring ourselves and bending our own rules/limits to suit another or saying yes when we want to say no, there is a long term benefit to NOT doing so. It's called Integrity. Integrity is as good a gift as one can give and if that's what we are putting out, we can be sure that it's certainly what we are going to get back. In essence, it is a message of encouragement to myself and to you readers, that it's worth standing up for ourselves, even if we feel the fear and even if it means losing favor with someone we love. In the end we are gaining our own respect and learning a deeper kind of love, and that my friends, is a reward for which I am fully willing to risk.

SLEEP

I just woke up from possibly the best sleep I have had in a month. Not that I was having crappy (or as one of my clients likes to say crappity) sleeps all along, they were just nothing to rave about; some tossing, some turning, some intense dreaming, some hot feet, someone's knee in my leg space on occasion. I was getting enough rest but once in a while it's nice to have the cadillac of sleeps, the kind that can only be described as delicious. The kind you don't want to hear about when you've laid awake all night and someone else is telling you how fresh as a daisy they feel. It truly makes me realize how important it is to do whatever we can to get a good night's sleep. I know mom's, night owl's, artist's, teenager's and insomniac's have a greater cross to bear than most in the sleep deprivation department, but man oh man, what a difference it makes. It reminds me of going to the chiropractor, because when he's done cracking and snapping me, the world is just a brighter place, colors are vibrant again and my senses are re-engaged. For the scientific final word to back my own findings, I went to the National Sleep Foundations website ( i love there are people that care that much about how you sleep that they are willing to start a foundation!). Well the impact on health is massive, from more car accidents to terrible decision making to loss of brain chemicals- these are just a few of the things that can happen without sleep. I am willing to concede that I've certainly made some terrible decisions from lack of sleep and frankly I can't afford to lose any more brain chemicals, I need all the ones I got, no accidents so far and not driving a car here in NY may be the only reason why. So let's make a pact, nothing gets assessed until we get a decent night's sleep and a nourishing healthy meal- it's the least we can do for all we put ourselves through, don't you think?