08 November 2009
Answers to Life's Questions
12/11/09 23:47 Filed in: Food for Thought
Answers to Life’s Questions...
For much of my life I have attempted to understand what has appeared to be two divergent philosophies. When I was young my godmother was my spiritual mentor. Her premiss was that life was about being in service to "God" or the Universe," whatever you call the I AM THAT I AM. She believed that it was God’s will that we should, live by faith and trust and that all that we needed would be provided for. It was important not to "push" our will and to trust that the Creator always knew our needs better than we knew ourselves. She lived this way throughout the time I knew her and she made a lasting impression on me.
As I entered my late 20's I became aware of a somewhat different philosophy, "We are the creators or creator gods and Source or God was a loving but neutral energy and it was up to us to set goals and take an active part in the creative process." This also means accepting responsibility for what you choose or create. For much of my life these two philosophies seemed to contradict one another. I went back and forth between both realities for periods of time trying to understand them and to gain an awareness on which held true for me. As time evolved I began to accept that the two concepts worked together in varying degrees. As you might imagine my new question became how and when to apply each.
For me a part of this process has been the evolution, not only of how my role was in the universe, but also my beliefs on how I really saw myself. I have never been wealthy and my youth, like many advanced souls, had its share of challenges that affected my self-esteem. In this reality my godmother’s beliefs gave me comfort and so I left it up to God to portion out what HE/SHE felt I deserved. I rarely went without but spent most of my life living on the edge. What this approach did for me was teach me to trust. As I grew to both accept my self worth and to trust, in both myself and the Universe, taking charge of my creative process began to make more sense. In the last few years more information has surfaced to support this reality. Although I found “The Secret” to be a good overview of what I had already worked with for years, it did not do much for me. Eckart Tolle is another popular philosopher and metaphysician. Much of what he writes I understand and accept. I find that “living in the now” seems to be the crossing over point for the two philosophies while weighing in toward my godmother’s beliefs. Esther Hicks’s channelings on Abraham speaks to me more directly. Her information has helped me to sort out the two philosophies into their proper place. I feel that Abraham definitely subscribes to the “creative” process. Abraham’s analogy of “flowing down stream” and using your emotions to be your barometer to indicate to you whether you are “flowing up” or “down stream,” helps me to merge the two philosophies in a way that they no longer feel dissimilar. My godmother spoke of how emotions are a strong component of the creative process. I have also experienced rare moments when emotions serve as a monitor to indicate when I was receiving guidance from my teachers. At this point I should mention that for the last thirty years, I have learned to rely on guidance from my “inner council of teachers and guides” to help me make decisions, especially the more important ones. This has been a part of my process in living my godmothers philosophy and more importantly to learn trust. However, there are moments when my guidance and my gut emotions are not in agreement and up until now I have listened to my guidance.
Recently I have opened up to the Human Design blueprint and although I understand very little about it, Human Design has helped to clarify some of the loose ends that I have struggled to understand. My particular “design” is a manifesting generator. My inner authority is emotional-solar plexus. My emotions, according to my design and Esther Hicks’s channelings, are an important barometer for me. Eckhart Tolle, on the other hand is, quite possibly speaking to another design inner authority which calls for live in the now.
Learning to use my emotions as my guidance has become very helpful. In the last couple of years my guidance, from my inner-council, has become more ambiguous. It is not that I have lost my connection to “Source” but more that my “Dharmic” path has been to foster more responsibility in making my own choices. It is as though I am being trusted to choose as I may which I find to be both an “honorable” and somewhat scary path to be on. Then again, if you see life as a stage.......well you decide.
If you would like to learn more about Human Design contact Stephen Rebolledo on Kauai at (646) 533-5418 or visit his site at www.humandesignnow.com. There you can find a link to create your own free human design chart.
For much of my life I have attempted to understand what has appeared to be two divergent philosophies. When I was young my godmother was my spiritual mentor. Her premiss was that life was about being in service to "God" or the Universe," whatever you call the I AM THAT I AM. She believed that it was God’s will that we should, live by faith and trust and that all that we needed would be provided for. It was important not to "push" our will and to trust that the Creator always knew our needs better than we knew ourselves. She lived this way throughout the time I knew her and she made a lasting impression on me.
As I entered my late 20's I became aware of a somewhat different philosophy, "We are the creators or creator gods and Source or God was a loving but neutral energy and it was up to us to set goals and take an active part in the creative process." This also means accepting responsibility for what you choose or create. For much of my life these two philosophies seemed to contradict one another. I went back and forth between both realities for periods of time trying to understand them and to gain an awareness on which held true for me. As time evolved I began to accept that the two concepts worked together in varying degrees. As you might imagine my new question became how and when to apply each.
For me a part of this process has been the evolution, not only of how my role was in the universe, but also my beliefs on how I really saw myself. I have never been wealthy and my youth, like many advanced souls, had its share of challenges that affected my self-esteem. In this reality my godmother’s beliefs gave me comfort and so I left it up to God to portion out what HE/SHE felt I deserved. I rarely went without but spent most of my life living on the edge. What this approach did for me was teach me to trust. As I grew to both accept my self worth and to trust, in both myself and the Universe, taking charge of my creative process began to make more sense. In the last few years more information has surfaced to support this reality. Although I found “The Secret” to be a good overview of what I had already worked with for years, it did not do much for me. Eckart Tolle is another popular philosopher and metaphysician. Much of what he writes I understand and accept. I find that “living in the now” seems to be the crossing over point for the two philosophies while weighing in toward my godmother’s beliefs. Esther Hicks’s channelings on Abraham speaks to me more directly. Her information has helped me to sort out the two philosophies into their proper place. I feel that Abraham definitely subscribes to the “creative” process. Abraham’s analogy of “flowing down stream” and using your emotions to be your barometer to indicate to you whether you are “flowing up” or “down stream,” helps me to merge the two philosophies in a way that they no longer feel dissimilar. My godmother spoke of how emotions are a strong component of the creative process. I have also experienced rare moments when emotions serve as a monitor to indicate when I was receiving guidance from my teachers. At this point I should mention that for the last thirty years, I have learned to rely on guidance from my “inner council of teachers and guides” to help me make decisions, especially the more important ones. This has been a part of my process in living my godmothers philosophy and more importantly to learn trust. However, there are moments when my guidance and my gut emotions are not in agreement and up until now I have listened to my guidance.
Recently I have opened up to the Human Design blueprint and although I understand very little about it, Human Design has helped to clarify some of the loose ends that I have struggled to understand. My particular “design” is a manifesting generator. My inner authority is emotional-solar plexus. My emotions, according to my design and Esther Hicks’s channelings, are an important barometer for me. Eckhart Tolle, on the other hand is, quite possibly speaking to another design inner authority which calls for live in the now.
Learning to use my emotions as my guidance has become very helpful. In the last couple of years my guidance, from my inner-council, has become more ambiguous. It is not that I have lost my connection to “Source” but more that my “Dharmic” path has been to foster more responsibility in making my own choices. It is as though I am being trusted to choose as I may which I find to be both an “honorable” and somewhat scary path to be on. Then again, if you see life as a stage.......well you decide.
If you would like to learn more about Human Design contact Stephen Rebolledo on Kauai at (646) 533-5418 or visit his site at www.humandesignnow.com. There you can find a link to create your own free human design chart.
Anal Breath-Or How to Get Your Head In Your Ass
09/11/09 22:38 Filed in: Healthy Tips
During my training as a Sacred Intimate one of the most valuable teachings that came from that training was conscious breathing. Chester Mainard, my mentor, friend and one of the instructors at the Body Electric School, considered this the most important teaching of the course. Of the different breath styles we learned, I feel that the anal breath has been the most useful to my clients. Before I go into the function and technique of anal breathing I feel it is important to start with a short anatomy lesson.
Technically a diaphragm is any muscular sheet that forms a wall. Our body has three main diaphragms that we are concerned with; the diaphragmatic muscle which controls the lungs, the urogenital diaphragm which extends between the pubic bones and the pelvic diaphragm forming the foundation of the anal triangle. The last two are part of the perineum.
The diaphragmatic muscle is the band of muscles that cause the expansion and contraction of the lungs and therefore controls our breath. For the most part this activity requires no conscious effort yet it can be voluntarily controlled. The perineum is the root of our body and is the location for the root chakra. Because it is the home of the root chakra it connects us energetically to the Earth and gives us a sense of grounding. The perineum can provide a deep feeling of pleasure when touched properly. Contracting the muscles of the perineum is another way of creating pleasure (a future article). These feelings can be channeled up the spine and into the head, stimulating the other chakras and endocrine glands.
There are three parts to the anal breath:
1) The first is to establish awareness of the anal sphincter. This can be done in one of two methods, whichever is easiest for you to accomplish. The first is to imagine the anal region as though you could project your conscious awareness in the area-sort of like putting your head in your ass. OR you can very gently push out on the anal sphincter. This is more about intention than actual pressure. Again the idea is to bring your focus to the area.
2) Once you have established awareness of the anal sphincter, the next step is to take a full breath. One of the advantages of the anal breath is that it relaxes the pelvic diaphragms and allows you to expand into a fuller breath with less effort.
3) The third, and probably the most challenging for you to understand, is to surrender the breath on the exhale. When you exhale it is important to let the diaphragmatic muscles that control the lungs to naturally contract without resistance. You are not forcing the air from the lungs you are simply to surrender and let the lungs contract without resistance. It helps that the throat is relaxed and to exhale through your mouth.
Benefits of the anal breath include:
1) A sense of grounded awareness which helps with presence.
2) Performing this breath regularly can put you in touch with a deeper state of awareness, a deeper internal wisdom.
3) Your pelvic area will relax which can reduce issues with sciatica, prostate and hemorrhoids because your pelvis will relax.
4) This breath will increase your balance, both physically and energetically. When your pelvis relaxes you will walk with more fluidity. You will also feel balanced energetically. For example if you feel stressed or someone is giving you a difficult time, performing this breath will take the charge off of you and ground it into the Earth.
5) Performing this breath for ten minutes before a vocal performance will deepen your vocal resonance.
How do you know if you are doing the breath correctly? Even if you have difficulty in surrendering the exhale, relaxing the pelvis through the breath will help tremendously. One way I know I am doing the breath correctly is that I will immediately feel more relaxed. If I take a walk and practice the anal breath I feel as though my feet have grown roots and start to get heavier. My gate takes on a slight swagger as well.
The beauty of this breath is that it can be performed anywhere and at anytime. It is subtle yet effective. Enjoy!
Technically a diaphragm is any muscular sheet that forms a wall. Our body has three main diaphragms that we are concerned with; the diaphragmatic muscle which controls the lungs, the urogenital diaphragm which extends between the pubic bones and the pelvic diaphragm forming the foundation of the anal triangle. The last two are part of the perineum.
The diaphragmatic muscle is the band of muscles that cause the expansion and contraction of the lungs and therefore controls our breath. For the most part this activity requires no conscious effort yet it can be voluntarily controlled. The perineum is the root of our body and is the location for the root chakra. Because it is the home of the root chakra it connects us energetically to the Earth and gives us a sense of grounding. The perineum can provide a deep feeling of pleasure when touched properly. Contracting the muscles of the perineum is another way of creating pleasure (a future article). These feelings can be channeled up the spine and into the head, stimulating the other chakras and endocrine glands.
There are three parts to the anal breath:
1) The first is to establish awareness of the anal sphincter. This can be done in one of two methods, whichever is easiest for you to accomplish. The first is to imagine the anal region as though you could project your conscious awareness in the area-sort of like putting your head in your ass. OR you can very gently push out on the anal sphincter. This is more about intention than actual pressure. Again the idea is to bring your focus to the area.
2) Once you have established awareness of the anal sphincter, the next step is to take a full breath. One of the advantages of the anal breath is that it relaxes the pelvic diaphragms and allows you to expand into a fuller breath with less effort.
3) The third, and probably the most challenging for you to understand, is to surrender the breath on the exhale. When you exhale it is important to let the diaphragmatic muscles that control the lungs to naturally contract without resistance. You are not forcing the air from the lungs you are simply to surrender and let the lungs contract without resistance. It helps that the throat is relaxed and to exhale through your mouth.
Benefits of the anal breath include:
1) A sense of grounded awareness which helps with presence.
2) Performing this breath regularly can put you in touch with a deeper state of awareness, a deeper internal wisdom.
3) Your pelvic area will relax which can reduce issues with sciatica, prostate and hemorrhoids because your pelvis will relax.
4) This breath will increase your balance, both physically and energetically. When your pelvis relaxes you will walk with more fluidity. You will also feel balanced energetically. For example if you feel stressed or someone is giving you a difficult time, performing this breath will take the charge off of you and ground it into the Earth.
5) Performing this breath for ten minutes before a vocal performance will deepen your vocal resonance.
How do you know if you are doing the breath correctly? Even if you have difficulty in surrendering the exhale, relaxing the pelvis through the breath will help tremendously. One way I know I am doing the breath correctly is that I will immediately feel more relaxed. If I take a walk and practice the anal breath I feel as though my feet have grown roots and start to get heavier. My gate takes on a slight swagger as well.
The beauty of this breath is that it can be performed anywhere and at anytime. It is subtle yet effective. Enjoy!