The Energy Healing Blog

Can't Get Any Traction? How To Get Yourself Unstuck

Mon, 1 Mar 2021 05:00:00 -0500

--by Nancy Hausauer

Feeling stuck: it's an uncomfortable feeling. You can't seem to move forward in some important aspect of life, even though you desperately want to. It's sooooooo frustrating. And so common.

When we're stuck, we want to break through this discomfort and frustration as soon as possible, reclaiming some feeling of control over our lives. We may search for some or clever trick or technique to help us power through our stuckness. Usually, though, its more useful to step back and reframe the situation.

As an example, let's say you've decided you want to change careers. Your mind knows the steps needed to do that: take some classes, do some informational interviews, rewrite your resume. But as much as you want that new career, you can't make yourself start any of these tasks, and you're really beating yourself up about it.

Energetically speaking, if you're in this situation, you're pushing, pushing, pushing--and overworking your third chakra in the process. What should you do?

GETTING YOURSELF UNSTUCK

First, stop, breathe, and take a step back. Then breathe some more, all the way into your belly. Belly breathing is restorative for your weary third chakra.

Just for a moment (at least) try to suspend self-criticism. There's another way of looking at this:

Your internal deadlock isn't coming from a character flaw. Such standoffs usually happen because there are two opposing forces within you, resisting each other to a stalemate. But the standstill makes no sense to you because you're only aware of one of them--your desire for a career change.

The other force operates below the level of consciousness. It's a benevolent power of great wisdom and love. It might be coming from any of your upper chakras, or even from an external power. For simplicity's sake, we'll call it the Higher Self.

In resisting your conscious plans, the Higher Self is trying to give you information about and protect your deeper well-being. Perhaps you're overtired and need to rest before undertaking a huge project. Perhaps you have a child who is having difficulties and requires your full attention. Perhaps the career you're contemplating isn't really right for you.

Whatever the cause, the more stuck and frustrated you feel, the more information there may be for you about what your heart and soul truly need. It can be a gold mine in disguise.

So instead of pushing harder, stop pushing at all. It can be uncomfortable, especially if you're a high-achieving type. But if trying to force change hasn't been working, forcing it harder isn't going to work either.

Instead, try something different. Rest. Listen to the quiet whisperings of your Higher Self (a sixth chakra function). Be gentle and tender with yourself (fourth chakra!). Know that it's OK to be still, to be patient, like the plants in earliest spring. Growth happens on its own schedule. You can trust it.

You Can Relax

Mon, 22 Feb 2021 06:00:00 -0500

Don't try too hard. You can trust the energy to go where it needs to go and do what it needs to do. You can trust that you will receive the information you need to know. You can relax.

Why You Need Spaciousness: Making Room for Healing and Intuition

Mon, 15 Feb 2021 06:00:00 -0500

--by Nancy Hausauer

A feeling of spaciousness, both external and internal, is important to anyone's sense of inner peace, but especially so for energy healers. We need to cultivate calm and leave room in our lives for the Energy to show up and do its work.

For many of us, this has become even more important--and often, at the same time, more challenging--during the pandemic. Here are some ideas for cultivating spaciousness and making room for healing, intuition and other blessings, even if you're navigating the new realities of being at home full-time with your family. As always, intention makes any act more powerful.

Clear a room or even just a closet or table top; donate or discard.
Meditate to clear an over-crowded mind.
Weed and prune your garden; transplant crowded plants.
Focus your attention on the spaces in your home, rather than the matter in that space.
Let go of past and future and just be present.
In your job and at home, re-evaluate all your tasks and commitments. Is there anything you can let go of or delegate?
Go for a month without buying anything but necessities.
Get out in nature.
Allow yourself to do nothing.
Avoid TV, social media and other mind-invading electronic chatter for a week.
Write your worries down on a piece of paper and burn it.
Expand your body's interior space by belly breathing.
Visit open places such as mountaintops or beaches.
Clear out some emotional space by letting go of grudges.
Let your body relax and expand. Here's one method.
Although I wrote this article specifically for clearing treatment rooms, you may like some of the ideas in it to help clear the energy of your entire home.
You might like to try the "Shield of Light" technique to clear your personal energy field.
When you've cleared space in your life, don't fill it back up again.

Wishing you all the room you need to dance with Hope, Intuition, Potential and Possibility—Nancy

Your Heart's Desires: How To Reconnect When You've Lost Touch

Mon, 8 Feb 2021 06:00:00 -0500

--by Nancy Hausauer

Desire, especially the deep desire that comes from your heart and soul, is a powerful energetic force. It's the life force at work in us and arguably the root of all movement and everything that happens. Desire gives us a trajectory in life. Without it, we can feel lost, rudderless, stuck, like we're spinning our wheels.

Some people seem to be full of desires. They always know what they want, and they go after it. Others of us can get disconnected from our heart's desires, like people with treasure buried in the back yard, but we've lost the map. If that's the case for you, here are some exercises to try:

Four Exercises For Uncovering Your Heart's Desires

If you can't identify any deep desires, work with some of your more casual wants. For example, maybe you've been wishing for a new car. Consider this: When we want something, often what we really want is the way we hope it'll make us feel. (Danielle Laporte writes eloquently about this.) Try this exercise based on that idea.
1. Identify something, anything, that you want. Drill deeper into it. Daydream--vividly--about how you'll feel when you have it. When you've identified those feelings, write them down.
2. Now brainstorm other ways you might be able to generate those same feelings.
3. Once you get the hang of that, dream bigger. Have fun with this. Be outrageous and bold. Does anything here inspire you? If so, work with it. If not, you've identified a way you want to FEEL, and that's important information.
Try coming at it from the flip side.
1. Identify some things you DON'T want. What bothers you, annoys you, makes you want to scream? Write those things down.
2. For each "Don't Want," journal about the most fabulously different situation--including the feelings-- you can imagine. Again, dream big, get detailed, and have fun. You may get some clues to your desires in there.
3. Get some energy moving by changing some of those "don't-wants"!
Pay attention to what you're curious about. Those tendrils of interest are clues to passions that may be hiding or growing in you. Follow up on them. Though not every passing curiosity will lead to a grand passion, a) it's fun; b) it might lead to larger passions; and c) it cultivates our life force and gives us practice in noticing our inner leanings.
Check your calendar and to-do list. Are you over-committed, especially to helping other people fulfill their desires? Is your to-do list full of "shoulds"? Duty and passion rarely overlap much. Prune your commitments and to-do list and see what happens.

Practical Suggestions

And finally, if feeling disconnected from your desires has gone on for a long time:

Get a health checkup.
Get screened for depression.

A final word: Is it possible you're just contented with your life right now? Is so, nothing to be fixed there!

Wishing you desire,

Nancy

Creative Fire And The Power Of Art

Mon, 1 Feb 2021 06:00:00 -0500

--by Nancy Hausauer

In the Northern Hemisphere, February first (or second) marks the ancient Celtic holiday of Imbolc. It's the beginning of the beginning of Spring. (In the Southern Hemisphere, it's the beginning of the beginning of Fall.)

In Celtic/Gaelic mythology, the goddess closely associated with Imbolc is Brigid (usually pronounced "Breed"). Brigid is associated, among other things, with blacksmithing, home and hearth, and poetry. On first glance, this seems like a motley assortment, but there's a common thread there in fire and creativity.

I'm not much of a blacksmith, but I love poetry and take pretty much any opportunity to celebrate it. I believe that poetry, like all art, has strong energetic properties, healing us and calling us to a higher vibration.

So today, February 1, I want to share a favorite poem. Written by the great German poet Rainer Maria Rilke and translated by Stephen Mitchell, it describes an ancient Greek statue, deeply damaged but still holding its original energetic force. The poem defies a simple explanation, but I love its themes of the transformative power of art, wholeness despite superficial brokenness, the holographic nature of existence, the consciousness dwelling in everything. And of course, the breath-taking shift of the last line.

To me, the poem both describes and embodies creative fire, and it always gives me a visceral surge of energy. (The image above, by the way, is an archaic torso of Apollo, but not the one that Rilke was describing.)

Archaic Torso of Apollo

by Rainier Maria Rilke, tr. Stephen Mitchell

We cannot know his legendary head
with eyes like ripening fruit. And yet his torso
is still suffused with brilliance from inside,
like a lamp, in which his gaze, now turned to low,
gleams in all its power. Otherwise
the curved breast could not dazzle you so, nor could
a smile run through the placid hips and thighs
to that dark center where procreation flared.
Otherwise this stone would seem defaced
beneath the translucent cascade of the shoulders
and would not glisten like a wild beast's fur:
would not, from all the borders of itself,
burst like a star: for here there is no place
that does not see you. You must change your life.

In this beautiful, wise season of early spring, more poignant than ever because of the pandemic, I hope you find poetry and art that heals you and calls you to a higher vibration. And I hope that you exercise some of your own creative fire as well. That is always a healing and life-affirming thing to do.— Nancy

You may also enjoy this page about the energetic properties of art on The Energy Healing Site.

Energy Healing Is An Invitation To Transform Your Life

Mon, 25 Jan 2021 06:00:00 -0500

--by Nancy Hausauer

Energy healing is an invitation to reclaim your connection with the Sacred, expand and shift your conscious awareness, and transform your everyday life.

Stuck In Fear Mode? How To Move It On Through

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 06:00:00 -0500

--by Nancy Hausauer

These turbulent times generate fear and anxiety (a mild form of fear) for a lot of folks. Though unpleasant, fear isn't inherently bad. Like all our emotions, it has a function. It's an important survival mechanism that alerts us to potential danger. But all the emotions, including fear, are meant to arise, do their jobs, and move out of the body and the energy field.

Too often, though, fear gets stuck in us. It can become chronic, exaggerated, and out of touch with reality. Then it's no longer helpful, and can lead to suffering, from stress-based physical ailments to long-term anxiety.

Fear is also a major inhibitor to important 5th chakra functions:

speaking truth to power
living our lives in full integrity
bringing our essence fully into the world.

Because of this, learning to work with fear is often key to continuing 5th chakra development, which in itself is necessary for the healthy, balanced development of the 6th and 7th chakras.

So how do we work with this all-too-human emotion? How do we keep it from getting stuck in our body and energy field?

How To Move Fear Through And Out Of Your Body And Energy Field

In this exercise, adapted from mindfulness teachings, you will practice feeling your fear, instead of thinking it and telling yourself stories about it, which keeps it stuck in your energy system.

Take some slow breaths and allow your body to slow down and your thoughts to become more still.
Identify where (and/or how) you feel the fear in your body.
Put your hand where you feel the fear, and mentally put some words to the experience.
If you find yourself beginning a story about the fear, how it arose, or anything else, stop and return your attention to the sensations in your body. (The sensations may change character or location as you give your body attention.)
Breathe into the sensation(s), accepting and welcoming it. Allow your body to respond naturally. Trembling, shaking and feeling cold are all common fear responses. You may also notice wanting to flee or fight. Just notice, name, and continue to feel. You may find that you are afraid of your fear. Feel that too.
Continue re-directing your attention to your bodily sensations whenever thinking or story-telling arises. Just stay with your body and let the fear exist. Observe as it changes, trusting that it will leave.
When you feel ready, if you like you can end by intending/imagining that you are releasing any residual energy of the fear with each out-breath, and breathing in fresh, bright new energy with each in-breath.
Don't jump right back into your day. Take some time and honor yourself for responding to your emotion consciously instead of reflexively.

This practice can be adapted for any emotion.

Do consider seeing a mental health therapist to help with PTSD and other deep-seated fears.

Namaste, Nancy

Image: "Outburst of Fear," by Paul Klee [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

How To Send Energy Healing To Others

Mon, 11 Jan 2021 06:00:00 -0500

--by Nancy Hausauer

Last week I wrote about ways to be a healing force, just in how you live your life. Everything is energy, so you're impacting energy with everything you do. If you generally live with the intention to bring growth and healing to your world, you will do so.

But sometimes we want to be more purposeful and direct about working with energy. One way to do that, especially if we can't or shouldn't be physically present, is to send energy. Here are some ways to do that.

How To Send Healing Energy

Different types of energy healing and different spiritual traditions have slightly different techniques for sending healing energy, but at the foundation of all of them is intention.

Praying for someone is a form of sending healing energy. So is mentally sending good wishes. Quakers say they are "holding someone in the light." If you have a spiritual tradition, I recommend using the form of sending healing energy that's familiar to you. If you don't have a tradition to rely on, here's a technique to try:

Sit in a quiet place and meditate or ground/center/become still. Visualize yourself surrounded by white light.
Set an intention to work for the highest good of the person or situation in need. Don't specify a particular outcome--we can't know what's truly best for another.
Light a candle, sound a bell, or perform some other act that allows you to define a beginning and end to your session.
Close your eyes and visualize the person you wish to send energy to (I find it easier to visualize someone in motion rather than still); or get a felt sense of them; or if they are less familiar to you, just hold their name in your mind. Picture or feel them in a state of serene contentedness.
Send an intention to support and amplify their highest good. Visualize them surrounded by white light. Hold them in this light for as long as feels right.
End the session by taking a deep breath and re-centering. Notice your breathing and the sensations you're experiencing. Open your eyes and conclude by blowing out the candle or sounding the bell.

Of course, there are many other ways you can send healing energy. You don't need to follow a formula. Trust yourself.

A Caveat

In general, you should get someone's permission before sending healing energy to anyone. However, it's OK to send energy to a general situation without asking.

Also, there are times when it just isn't practical to ask. For example, when I pass a car crash or when an ambulance passes, I briefly send healing energy for those involved. I keep it general--sending energy for their highest good.

The more individualized and personal your intent, the more extensive the healing session, the more important it is to ask permission. Common sense is the key here.

Wishing you peace, Nancy

Ways To Be A Healing Force Wherever You Go

Mon, 4 Jan 2021 06:00:00 -0500

--by Nancy Hausauer

Last week, I encouraged you to be a force for healing. I want to expand on that today.

For some people, such as anyone in a mental or physical health care field, it's obvious. You're already doing it. (Thank you.) It's enough, unless you feel strongly called to do more. Others of you may also have a clear idea about how you want to be or already are a force for healing.

But some of you may still be wondering how best to be a vehicle for healing in your world. I want to reassure you that it need not be an ambitious project. In fact, working in ways that come naturally may be best. Defining healing broadly--as helping people rebuild their wholeness, regain the fullness of who they are, live in harmony with others and the world, and be on a fulfilling life-path--there are endless ways to be a healing force. Here are a few ideas:

Is there healing that you yourself need, on any level? Can you commit to good self-care, and can you dedicate that to the betterment of all? Can you keep your own energy highly calibrated with meditation, time in nature, compassion, positive and harmonious thoughts?
Are you a parent? Can you teach your children self-care and self-healing practices? Compassion and tolerance? Reverence for the earth? Can you heal multi-generational wounds and dysfunctional behaviors, so as not to pass them on?
Can you heal a patch of ground? Create beauty? Cultivate order and coherence?
At work, can you refrain from participating in needless drama? Tap into the highest vibration of your organization's/job's mission? Try to be an uplifting, harmonizing influence?
In your interactions with others, can you see the best in people? Give a word of encouragement? Appreciate and acknowledge others?
More generally, can you practice basic principles of energy healing as you go about your life? If so, you'll automatically be a healing force in all you do.
- Presence
  Deep, non-judgmental presence heals and creates space for transformation.
- Intention
  Intentions are directed thoughts, and can be incredibly powerful. You can use this power in any situation by holding an intention for the recipient's highest good.
- Positive thought and speech
  What we say and think has a huge impact on those around us. By maintaining positive thoughts and speech, we help others hold positive beliefs and thus create good outcomes for themselves.
- Directed attention
  Energy flows where attention goes. Your attention feeds whatever you give it to. Whatever the situation, focus on the potential for good, evolution and healing.
- A compassionate heart

I could go on, but you get my drift. Healing work, whether on a global scale or in the privacy of your own heart, is mostly about intention. Start where you are and go from there. You got this.

Next week, I'll write about another way to be a healer: sending energy to people or situations.

Winter Solstice: The Lessons of Mid-Winter

Mon, 21 Dec 2020 06:00:00 -0500

--by Nancy Hausauer

For those of us in the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice is December 21st -- today.

The Winter Solstice, the official beginning of winter, is the longest night and shortest day of the year. It also heralds the return of the light—I love the poetry of that. Like each of the seasons, winter offers lessons about living in harmony with our energy.

The Wisdom of Winter

In winter, nature rests. The nights are long and still, the earth gestates and many of the plants appear to die. It's part of the natural cycle, necessary for the growth and productivity of spring, summer and early fall.

Often we forget that rest and stillness are necessary for us, too. This is true for everyone, but especially for energy healers and others who are sensitive to subtle energy.

In winter, nature teaches us that we must take time for internal stillness, external rest and self-gestation. If we haven't taken care of ourselves, we can't take care of others. We don't have enough extra light to direct toward healing, creating and other positive purposes. We must guard our time for restoration and inner stillness with the fierceness of a winter storm.

Staying Energetically Balanced in the Season of Winter

Here are some winter-solstice-inspired ideas for making sure your precious subtle energies stay in balance:

Let go of traditions and activities that don't feed your spirit. The pandemic gives us a good excuse to overhaul our usual holiday patterns and start new ones. What really matters? What can you let go of?
Get out into nature. Get as much natural light as possible.
Turn off your electronic devices and do something creative.
If you feel tired, take a nap. Your body is wise. Allow yourself as much sleep as you need.
Nurture your inner child with play-time.
Bring rich, beautiful colors, sounds and scents into your home and workplace.
Take a mini-holiday every day, even if it's just a ten-minute jaunt outside for fresh air.
Schedule regular time for stillness and reflection such as meditation, journal-writing or contemplative walking.
Make room in your life for the distinctive poetry and beauty of the season.
Take a night walk (safely, of course). Look at the moon and stars. Feel the richness of the dark.
Allow the return of the light to feed your hope for the world. Light candles or build a fire to celebrate.

I wish you a beautiful, wise, restful winter -- Nancy

How To Rebalance Your Chakra System During The Pandemic

Mon, 14 Dec 2020 06:00:00 -0500

--by Nancy Hausauer

It's obvious that the pandemic has impacted most of us in practical ways. It's also affected our energy systems, too. Here are some thoughts on how the pandemic may be influencing each chakra and some Covid-safe things to help rebalance them.

1st Chakra

Fear, chaos, and uncertainty can knock the first chakra off balance. To help:

deal with the basics, every day. Make a list (1st chakra loves structure), and check them off. Here's an example.
ground
garden
take a break from the news.

2nd Chakra

The pandemic interrupted many of our daily routines and rituals, including how we feed our 2nd chakra with pleasure and beauty. To help nourish the second chakra:

do something that gives you pleasure every day
create or bring some beauty or joy into your sphere
bring scents you love into your home-space (See last week's blog.)
go moon-gazing
tend your beauty, e.g. a bath, a home facial or manicure, wearing something that makes you feel attractive.

3rd Chakra

The pandemic has made most of us feel pretty powerless, so boosting the third chakra is important.

contemplate what you DO have control over, and take charge of that. For example, deal with things in your home that bug you.
make and eat healthy food
set small, achievable goals and track your progress
belly breath
walk.

4th Chakra

Isolation is hard on the heart center. The pandemic is isolating us from our loved ones, one primary 4th chakra area. But nature, that other great heart-chakra connection, is still available.

get outside if you can. If you can't, look out a window, be present and connect to the sky, the birds, trees, etc.
extend compassion to others who may be suffering, and do what you can for them
do something for the larger good, whatever that means for you
reach out to loved ones in whatever way you can.

5th Chakra

The pandemic has stifled many of our usual means of self-expression. To fortify your throat chakra:

mindfully create something. Endow it with "a special something" that expresses your uniqueness.
sing
call up a friend and listen to them deeply
email or call an elected official about something that matters to you.

6th Chakra

While nothing external can really impact the 6th and 7th chakras, 1st chakra-related concerns can certainly hijack your attention. Here are some things you can do to bolster your crown chakra.

contemplate what you're grateful for
practice reframing something that feels negative to you
listen to your intuition
star-gaze
create an altar.

7th Chakra

Finally, to support your crown chakra, you might:

send positive energy or prayer to someone or something
meditate
watch videos of your favorite spiritual teachers online
re-connect to your spiritual practices and community.

I hope this gives you some ideas for bringing more balance to your energy system in these strange and challenging times.

With love,

Nancy

Use Aromatherapy to Stay Energetically On Track This Winter

Mon, 7 Dec 2020 06:00:00 -0500

--by Nancy Hausauer

The winter holidays are often stressful for folks, and this year, with the pandemic and all the political unrest, a lot of us are finding the season especially hard. (Stop here and take a mindful breath, slow down, ground, check in with your body and your heart center.)

There's a lot we can't control, but there's also a lot we can. One way to control your home environment is through aroma. I'm a big advocate of using essential oils to reduce stress, clear your field, and raise your energy.

Like homeopathy, essential oils are a form of vibrational medicine. That means that their effect goes beyond the physical realm, into the energetic/vibrational realm. Here are some easy ideas for soothing and uplifting your energy through aromatherapy.

Essential Oils for the Winter Season

If you've got essential oils, I encourage you to get them out and have some fun playing with combinations in your diffuser (or in a pan of water kept on very low heat on the stove).

Oils such as lavender, chamomile, geranium, yang yang, sandalwood, cedarwood or patchouli are great for calming and smoothing your energy. (I love a cedar wood lavender combination to support sleep.)
Clary sage, melissa, orange, lemon verbena, bergamot, and lemongrass are good to lift your spirits.
Cinnamon, clove, ginger, allspice, citrus and evergreen scents help to conjure up the positive energetics of "winter holidays."

Other Aromatherapy Ideas to Scent Your Holidays

But even if you don't have essential oils--they can be expensive--there are ways to lift your spirits and your energy with scent. Here are some ideas. I can almost guarantee they'll make you smile.

Bring branches of evergreen trees into the house for decoration. Don't have any in your yard? Wait for a storm and go out collecting.
Mull apple cider with traditional spices: a cinnamon stick, a few buds of clove, a few allspice berries, and a bit of orange zest.
Peel an orange, saving the peel. Eat the orange and take pieces of the peel into the room(s) you wish to scent. Bend the peel, pointing it away from you, so that the oil sprays out into the room.
Bake cookies, which spreads the lovely, calming odor of vanilla throughout the house.
Burn a pure beeswax candle. It exudes a subtle aroma of honey. (Thank you, bees.)
Take a walk outdoors in the fresh air, focusing on the scent.

You can learn more about using aromatherapy and essential oils here. I wish you an energetically nurturing and beautifully scented winter season.

There Is An Evolutionary Force In Everything

Mon, 30 Nov 2020 06:00:00 -0500

There is an evolutionary force in everything. Tap into it and you will find your life transformed.

Ways To Incorporate More Gratitude And Appreciation Into Your Life

Mon, 23 Nov 2020 06:00:00 -0500

--by Nancy Hausauer

If you're in the U.S., you'll be celebrating Thanksgiving on Thursday. Whether or not Thursday's an official holiday in your country, counting your blessings is a reliable way to elevate your energy and your life.

A sense of gratitude generates positive energy. You can literally see someone's energy change when they shift from negative thoughts to gratitude or appreciation. (Try it!) Thankfulness clears and expands your energy, redirects your consciousness, builds your light body, and strengthens your connection to the rest of Being.

It's a basic tenet of energy healing that "energy flows where attention goes." So when you focus on negatives, you feed that with your energy. When you redirect your attention to what you're grateful for and what's going right, you feed THAT with your energy.

Ways To Incorporate More Gratitude And Appreciation Into Your Life

Observe your thoughts, speech and behavior. How much of these are negative or complaining, how much positive and appreciating?
At night before you fall asleep or first thing in the morning (or both), reflect on things you're thankful for (or appreciate).
Keep a daily gratitude journal. Alternatively, in the evening write down three good things that happened that day, describing them in some detail.
Be sure to notice and appreciate things you may normally take for granted, like clean air and water. (I hope you have these.)
Give thanks when things are going well, and more importantly, when they aren't. Even in hard times, there are plenty of things that are going right. You can always appreciate the air coming into and out of your lungs.
Regularly voice your appreciation to family and friends, for things both small and large.
Pick some aspect of your life you usually find fault with. Switch your perspective and focus on its merits.
Practice any or all of these things for 30 days. You'll establish new, more positive habits of mind. Notice how this changes your life.

I wish all of us a warm home, enough to eat, health, peace, safety, the love of family and friends—and the blessing of a grateful heart. -- Nancy

Self-Liking As A Fundamental Art Of Living

Mon, 16 Nov 2020 06:00:00 -0500

--by Nancy Hausauer

In our culture, it seems like most of us are awash in self-judgment and self-criticism most of the time. There's a lot of talk about self-love, but many of us don't even appear to LIKE ourselves much. Which is absurd, because there is so much to like--and love--about most people.

The self-dislike has huge implications, both for our own lives and our sense of ease and happiness in them, as well as for our relationships with others. That's because we often transfer our self-criticism and judgment to others. This is true even (especially?) with the people we love. Our energy gets intertwined with theirs, and so the energy of our self-judgment gets transferred to them as well.

An Exercise To Nurture Self-Liking

I have an exercise that I think you'll love, and that I believe may be transformative. I'm aiming to do it regularly, and I invite you to do it, too.

Sit quietly for a few moments, following your breath. Let your thoughts even out and let calm start to enter your body.
When you feel calm and settled, think of a person you really, really like. (It can be easier to choose someone not in your closest circle of friends and loved ones, for the aforementioned reasons about our self-judgment rubbing off onto them.) This should be someone who makes you feel warm and smiley when you think of them.
Get an image of them in your mind and allow the warm, smiley energy of liking to grow and spread to your entire body, and then out into your energy field. Don't overthink this; however you do it is fine.
Then, allow the image of your person to fade. Often this happens on its own. Let their image fade away so that your mind's eye is empty. However, let the feeling of liking and appreciation remain.
Just allow yourself to sit in this warm, smiley feeling of liking, without an object. Enjoy it. It feels good!
What you are doing is sitting with yourself in a state of liking and positive regard. This is a new feeling for many of us! And it is very, very healing.
Try to do this for a few minutes every day. Notice if it affects the quality of your life and relationships.

Wishing you unconditional positive self-regard,

Nancy

More Ways To Manage Stress

Mon, 9 Nov 2020 06:00:00 -0500

--by Nancy Hausauer

What a stressful year it's been. Stress, in the short term, isn't particularly harmful to you. What's bad is getting stuck in a chronic state of stress, which is precisely what's happened to a lot of us.

Emily Nagoski, Ph.D., and Amelia Nagoski, DMA, in their useful book Burnout, define stress as "the neurological and physiological shift that happens in your body when you encounter a threat." Threats can be tangible and short-term, such as a barely avoided car accident. They can also be external and longer-term, like money problems, pandemics, ongoing chaos, or the loss of your way of life . And then, there are internal stressors such as perfectionism and self-criticism.

Prolonged stress makes you vulnerable to illness and accelerates aging. It can contribute to high blood pressure, heart disease, ulcers, autoimmune diseases, cancer, anxiety, insomnia, and depression.

On an energetic level, stress blocks and unbalances our energies, making the energy field less smooth and fluid. The field might seem jagged, discordant, spiky, or like static. You might feel areas where the energy doesn't seem to be flowing or even. If you touch the physical body, you may notice these energetic disturbances manifested in clenched, compacted muscles.

Signs of Chronic Stress

How do you know you've been in prolonged stress?

You're sick a lot
You have chronic pain, injuries that don't heal, inflammation, chronic fatigue
You're having a hard time getting a full breath; insomnia; or digestive upsets
You're isolating yourself, hiding from your life
You're exhibiting self-destructive behaviors
You're doing something repeatedly, even though it's pointless (e.g., checking your phone, having obsessive thoughts, unconsciously fiddling with your body)
You're losing a sense of perspective about problems
You're having brain fog
You're losing emotional resiliency; short-tempered; or tearful a lot
You feel a sense of futility or helplessness that won't go away.

Ways To Move Stress Through And Out Of Your Body And Energy Field

So how do you deal with stress?

You have to move the stress energy, as well as its physical hormones, through and out of your system. This completes the cycle. We need to do this at least once a day.

Burnout offers ideas for doing this, based on current research.

Physical activity (the very best way to move the stress out of your body and energy field).
A six-second kiss
A twenty-second hug
Robust laughter or crying
Creative self-expression (writing, drawing, singing, dancing, painting, etc.)
Meditation
Belly breathing .

Other research-backed ways to help with chronic stress:

Engage with something larger than yourself
Make realistic, incremental goals that are near-term, concrete, specific, under your control, and feel good
Hang out with positive people who deal with stress well and in general, have low-drama lives.

However you choose to deal with stress, make it a priority. Your health and your happiness depend on it.

Be What Happens

Mon, 2 Nov 2020 06:00:00 -0500

VOTE!

Don't ask what will happen. Be what happens.

An Energetic Journey For Healing The Heart Chakra

Mon, 26 Oct 2020 06:00:00 -0400

--by Nancy Hausauer

Oh, the heart chakra. So beautiful, so tender, so pure.

So not alone. But sometimes this primal truth can be hard to remember. And then our heart can ache with the feeling of isolation, or the feeling of carrying too much of the burden of our own and other people's suffering--which is also a feeling of separateness, because the burden is only too much if we are trying to carry it alone.

So here's a meditation for anyone whose heart is aching. Try to keep your mind out of it. Mental "efforting" gets in the way.

Guided Meditation For Heart Chakra Healing

Sit in a comfortable, quiet place where you won't be disturbed.
Notice your breath. Take some time with this. Allow your breath to become more even, more regular.
Let your mind clear, and allow yourself to know this intuitively: Love is everything. Love is all around you and within you. Your heart chakra is an esoteric organ that allows this all-encompassing energy of love to move, to flow, to be expressed.
Breathe into your heart chakra, in the center of your chest. Breathe in and out through it.
Breathe the love that is everywhere, everything, into your heart chakra. Feel love flowing through your heart.
Now, know--without thinking about it--that your heart chakra is the center of the universe, the center of the web of all being. Imagine or experience your heart (or heart chakra), deep in space, held within a vast, love-filled peace. From this place, you are connected to everything.
Know also that everyone's heart is at the center of the universe. Each of our hearts is the One Heart, and we are all connected through our collective Heart.
From this peaceful, central, unified place in the universe, continue to feel your heart chakra filled with love. Feel love and oneness flowing in and out through it. You don't have to do anything, it happens on its own, so allow your heart to rest in this flow.
This beautiful love is a universal love. It connects you to everyone and everything, but it doesn't depend on anyone in particular, and so is always, eternally accessible.
Notice how this feels so you can remember it. When your heart hurts, when you feel alone, go back to this place, this feeling, this central, universal love. Rest in it.
Allow yourself to be in this state for as long as you like. Return to your ordinary surroundings slowly and tenderly, and give yourself all the time and space you need before returning to your daily activities.

With love, Nancy

Where You Place Your Attention Impacts Your Health

Mon, 19 Oct 2020 06:00:00 -0400

Our particular realities—created at least in part by where we place our attention--can get ingrained or lodged in the dense energy of our bodies. Changing where we focus our attention can significantly impact not just our mental and emotional health, but also our physical health.

Cry It Out: Why Tears Are Necessary And Good

Mon, 12 Oct 2020 07:00:00 -0400

--by Nancy Hausauer

In my energy healing practice, it's not uncommon for people to cry. Sometimes a single teardrop, sometimes a flood of water-borne emotion.

I see it as a good thing. It's energy, emotional energy, in motion. Tears are a literal embodiment of the flow of emotional energy.

So when people cry, it's healthy. It clears the energy field, removes blockages and frees the energy to circulate. It releases emotions so that they don't crystallize in the body, showing up as illness, pain, depression or chronic stress. Think about it. Don't you usually feel lighter and clearer after a good cry?

But tears can be unsettling. So often we think of them as a sign that something is wrong, as something to avoid and suppress. So I want to offer you some more information about tears to underscore how totally awesome they are.

Tears: Not Just Salty Water

In this article for Psychology Today, Judith Orloff, M.D. discusses some of the benefits of tears. Tears:

excrete stress hormones
stimulate production of endorphins
contain antibodies that fight pathogenic microbes
improve vision by lubricating your eyes and removing irritants
decrease breathing and heart rate, increasing calm (typically)
elevate mood.

Pretty awesome, right?

I'll close with a beautiful quote from this article, "The Topography of Tears." I recommend reading the whole article if you have time.

"Tears are the medium of our most primal language in moments as unrelenting as death, as basic as hunger, and as complex as rites of passage. They are the evidence of our inner life overflowing its boundaries, spilling over into consciousness. Tears spontaneously release us to the possibility of realignment, reunion, catharsis, intractable resistance short-circuited… It's as though each one of our tears carries a microcosm of the collective human experience, like one drop of an ocean."

Wishing you the ability to cry freely whenever you need to --Nancy

Want A Long And Happy Life? Get Your Zzzzzzs.

Mon, 5 Oct 2020 13:09:07 -0400

--by Nancy Hausauer

So many of us struggle with sleep. Sleeping poorly leaves us feeling foggy-headed. It reduces emotional resilience and makes muscles ache. It also has a huge impact on our physical health. Long-term poor sleep:

doubles your risk of having a heart attack
increases your risk of Type 2 diabetes
increases the likelihood of obesity.

Without good sleep, it's hard to stay well. In fact, when scientists (cruelly, in my opinion) inflict long-term sleep deprivation on rats, they eventually die.

What Good Sleep Gives Us

Good sleep gives us mental clarity, physical vitality, emotional stability, better performance at work and in sports. It gives us greater resilience to illness (and probably to accidents, too), more balanced hormones, and less inflammation. All of which adds up to a longer, happier, more productive life.

Sleep is kind of like a wonder drug, except with no co-pays or side effects.

The Energetic Importance of Sleep

But there's an energetic piece, too. When we sleep, we plug into Source energy. All night long, with our busy minds shut off, we are connected to the Source from which comes our life force, our intelligence, our wisdom, our intuition, our creativity, and our love. Without this, we soon turn into a hollow shell.

The Fix

There isn't just one fix, because there are different reasons for poor sleep. Here are some:

You're not going to bed early enough.
The fix: It's very unlikely that what you're doing is more important than sleep. Especially, stop with the electronics before bedtime. The blue light they emit is a signal to your body to wake up! Make a sleep chart or set up an accountability buddy to keep you on track. Love yourself enough to prioritize this magic healer called sleep, and go to bed.
You can't get to sleep, or wake up during the night.
The fix: This page on my website gives a lot of good ideas (including energy healing techniques) that can help. Also, phase out caffeine, minimize alcohol, and figure out how to relax and reduce stress, especially in the evening. Cut out agitating evening entertainments. Meditate. Belly breathe. Consider calcium and magnesium supplements at bedtime.
Chronic pain
The fix: Pain usually improves with good sleep, but what if pain is preventing you from sleeping well? Here's a link to some energy healing ideas for pain, Also, Google "anti-inflammatory diet" and adopt it. Sugar, gluten, dairy and alcohol are low-hanging fruit here.
You suspect sleep apnea.
The fix: Go to your doctor, get diagnosed and follow the prescribed treatment (usually a C-PAP machine).
Environmental factors
The fix: Noise? Get a white-noise machine. Light in your bedroom? Fix it. Whatever the problem, love yourself enough to solve it.

Sleep well. Please. —Nancy

Open Your Heart: Gratefulness to the Hidden Ones

Mon, 28 Sep 2020 06:00:00 -0400

--by Nancy Hausauer

Opening and refining the heart chakras is a worthy goal for anyone and everyone. Here's a beautiful, heart-expanding practice you can use to do that. It focuses on remembering and appreciating beings who normally remain hidden from our consciousness, even though we are closely connected to them.

Gratitude Practice For Expanding Your Heart Chakra

Every day, be mindful of a new being who helps you or has helped you. Take a few moments to be aware of them, to honor them and to silently express gratitude. Once you start, you'll have plenty of ideas, but here are a few ideas to start you out:

Choose a tree and appreciate it for creating oxygen for you to breathe.
As you put on your shoes, think of the many people who played a part in making them.
Before you begin a meal, take a moment to appreciate the many beings who took part in bringing the food to your table, from the animals and vegetables you will be eating, to the farmers and truckers and store owners, etc.
When you read something, silently thank the people who taught you to read and the people long, long ago who created an alphabet.
As you take a drink of water, give thanks for the people who laid the pipes that bring it to you, and the people who make sure that the water is clean and safe.
As you walk in the forest, give thanks for the mycelia (fungal networks) that play such a huge part in a healthy ecosystem.
As you walk down the street, appreciate the people who created the sidewalk and the people long ago who invented concrete.
When you read a book, take a moment to think of the author as a person who toiled over this work. Think of the many people who played a part in creating the final object.

You get the idea.

This will cultivate your heart chakra and your sense of connectedness in the world. You will realize that many of the people you pass on the street may have helped you in some way, or perhaps their parents or grandparents did. You will have a greater appreciation for the fact that every being on the planet is necessary and deserves honor and respect.

And you will experience the great Web of Life, the energy infrastructure of the universe that supports and connects us all.

Namaste, Nancy

Let the Fall Equinox Help You Balance Your Energy

Mon, 21 Sep 2020 06:00:00 -0400

--by Nancy Hausauer

September 22 is the Fall Equinox. (Spring Equinox if you're in the Southern Hemisphere, but the principles are the same.)

On the equinoxes, day and night are equal.* They're seasons of balance and equipoise, and as with everything in our world, they offer a lesson and a healing if we choose to take it.

Balance: One of the Key Elements of Healing and Health

One of the hallmarks of the Equinox is balance—day and night, light and dark. And balance is one of the key principles of healing.

Physically, our bodies are in a constant balancing process to maintain homeostasis. Most of us instinctively seek the stability and peace of balanced minds and emotions. And energetically, balancing is one of our key goals.

The Equinox is a good time to re-balance your life and energies—and recover greater physical, emotional and psychological health.

An Equinox Self-Healing for Balance

Here's an exercise to help you fine-tune your energies and your life.

Choose a decent-weather day around September 22. Grab a pen, journal, and whatever you need to be comfortable outdoors. Take a walk in a natural setting. Give yourself time to enjoy the signs of the season— the sights, smells, quality of light, feel of the air. Breathe it in, and let yourself feel that you're absorbing it into your cells.
Find a place to sit comfortably.
Ask yourself, "Where does my life feel in balance? Where in my life would I like more balance?" Let your intuition answer, and free-write about it. Does anything really stand out to you or surprise you?
When you feel done, close your eyes and, without trying or using your mind, intend for your energy to become more fluid. Breathe deeply and allow it to shift, adjust and re-balance, without working to control what happens. You may feel it in your body, your energy field, or both.
Take as long as you like to allow this process to work, and then take more time to enjoy your re-calibrated state.
Then—this should take just a second—lightly intend to have your re-balanced energy stabilize into a kind of "liquid crystal" state—dynamic but stable. Again, don't overthink this; whatever you do will be just right. (I visualize giving my field a light, quick tap.)
When you're ready, ground yourself and bring your attention back to your surroundings. Enjoy the rest of your walk, and over the coming days, stay open to opportunities for further gentle re-balancing.

Namaste, Nancy

*(It's actually a little more complicated than that, but the principle stands.)

Live Utopia Now

Mon, 14 Sep 2020 08:00:00 -0400

The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.

--Historian Howard Zinn

Share Your Gifts

Mon, 7 Sep 2020 06:00:00 -0400

It is not a question of whether you "have what it takes," but of whether you take the gifts you have — they are plenteous — and share them with all the world.

-- Neale Donald Walsch.

19 Activities for an Energy Healing Retreat to Recharge Your Energy

Mon, 31 Aug 2020 06:00:00 -0400

--by Nancy Hausauer

Summer's almost over, and many of us have been stuck close to home because of the pandemic. You still need a break from your routines. It's important for your physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and energetic health.

If you can't take a vacation, create an energy-healing retreat. Set aside a week or so to take time off from your normal activities and do a slew of low-cost self-care activities to help clear, balance, and revitalize your energy.

Energy Healing Retreat Ideas

Here are some ideas to get you started:

Meditate daily. You might want to sign up for an online program.
Belly breathe at least 5 minutes daily.
Do energy healings for yourself:
Turn off the news.
Practice a relaxation technique every day.
Get out into nature for a hike or a day at the beach.
Create a personal altar. Or several.
Go stargazing.
Get very still and listen for your intuition.
Do yoga. Dance. Or any form of movement that's restorative to you.
Pamper yourself with delicious and healthy food every day. Take time to really savor both making and eating it.
Plant something.
Take on a rewarding home or garden project that will make you feel great when it's accomplished and boost your home's supportiveness to your energy in the long term (e.g. by increasing order or beauty).
Write in regularly your journal. Journal your dreams.
Buy yourself small, healthy treats—a new book, a fun article of clothing, flowers--whatever pleases you. (But don't spend a lot of time shopping. That's an energy-drain.)
Create something—whether or not you're "artistic." Just play!
Nap.
Forgive someone.
Devote a whole day to loving-kindness—toward yourself. No bad thoughts or words about yourself—only compassion, forgiveness, and cherishing.

Consciously engaging in positive, restorative activities like these can have a huge impact on your energy field. Fun is good for you! Of course if you have kids at home, you may have to get creative, but you can still work in at least some restorative practices.

However you do it, taking a break from your normal life is important. It will help clear and restore your energy field—and you'll be healthier in body, mind, heart, and spirit.

Namaste, Nancy

Ways To Calm Agitation and Anxiety

Mon, 24 Aug 2020 06:00:00 -0400

--by Nancy Hausauer

Anybody out there anxious? Me too. Seems to be in the air.

When we're anxious, it's hard to tap into intuition, feeling, and body-wisdom. Anxiety and mental agitation isolate and disconnect us from forms of energetic nourishment such as earth energy, and generally make us miserable.

Here are some ways to help relieve anxiety.

Acupressure

Everyone develops their favorites, but try

Doing GV 20 and 24.5 simultaneously can be especially powerful.

Field/Aura Work

Bring the energy down into the lower part of your body/field. Donna Eden's technique, the Celtic Weave, is good for this. Perform it lengthwise over your entire body/field. It's easiest to have someone else do this for you, but it's also fine to do it for yourself, tracing a large figure-8 in the air in front of your body.

Chakra Work

When we're anxious, that's a sure sign that the third chakra could use some balancing. Also open the foot chakras to clear and strengthen the connection to the earth. Supporting the 1st and 6th chakras may also be helpful.

Body Work

Massaging the head and feet can be extremely helpful. You can do this for yourself, or even better, trade head and foot massages with someone in your household.

Being Present

Returning to the present, over and over again, is one of the best things you can do for anxiety and fear. Bring your attention to the sights, sounds and smells around you. Check in with your body. Take a few deep, slow breaths. Ask yourself, "Am I OK right this very second?" The answer will almost certainly be yes. Let the realization that you are not in danger at this moment sink into your body. Do this repeatedly throughout the day.

Engage Your Physical Body

Use your body in activities such as gardening, time in nature (my cure-all for everything!), walking, hugging and yoga. Time with little kids and animal companions, if you have them in your household, is also good, because they haven't split off their minds from their hearts and bodies and so are very healing. Anything that de-activates the mental chatter for a while is good.

I hope this gives you some useful resources to help restore your mind and nervous system to a more peaceful place.

With love,

Nancy

Energy Healing Helps Us Liberate Our Power And Creativity

Mon, 17 Aug 2020 06:00:00 -0400

--by Nancy Hausauer

By changing the underlying—often unconscious--view we have of ourselves as nothing but physical matter, we transform our relationship to both life and death.

If we are just physical matter, life is little more than a long plod through a one-dimensional landscape, while death is a terrifying annihilation.

When we recognize that the concept of ourselves as purely material things is not Absolute Truth, but rather just a point of view that our culture taught us, and that we are free beings who can define ourselves as we choose, then our experience of life and our beliefs about death can transform. That alone frees us from so much of the fear, limitation, and suffering that comes with a purely materialist paradigm.

Energy healing has an important role to play in this liberation. It can give us non-physical, "other-worldly" experiences that don't fit within the materialist paradigm that everything, including life and consciousness, is merely matter and the mechanical or chemical processes resulting from that matter. Some energy healing experiences simply can't be explained from within a materialist paradigm.

If we are brave and honest enough to let these "unexplainable" experiences fully into our consciousness, they can free us forever, not just from the materialist paradigm, but from any externally imposed model of reality. It becomes easier for us to see our own blindness and recognize where we have been unquestioningly accepting authority in all areas of our lives. This helps us transcend much suffering, take back our dignity and power, and set free vast reserves of creativity.

Bowing to you in your magnificence, Nancy

Are You An Empath? Here's A Self-Healing For You

Mon, 10 Aug 2020 12:02:06 -0400

--by Nancy Hausauer

Here is an exercise to try if you feel you have taken on someone else's suffering, a common issue for empaths.

Returning Suffering To Its Rightful Owner: An Exercise To Help Empaths

If you feel you've taken on someone else's emotional or physical pain:

Sit comfortably with your hands palms up and resting comfortably in your lap.
Feel, envision or imagine the suffering you've taken on from someone else, wherever it is in your energy field and/or physical body. It may be in one place, or it may be diffuse.
If it's diffuse, use intention to consolidate the energy into one distinct entity (or imagine that you're doing so). It may be a particular shape or thing, or it may just be a lump. Doesn't matter.
Again using intention or imagination, place the object that represents the suffering in your open hands.
Imagine that the "owner" of the suffering is in front of you.
With love and kindness, return the suffering to them. You can imagine handing it to them, or you can actually stretch your physical hands out toward them.
At their highest level, they know the suffering belongs to them alone. Imagine them accepting it. Imagine yourself letting it go with as little emotional charge as if you were returning a borrowed book or sweater. What they do with it is their business, not yours.
If it feels like there's any residue of their energy left in your hands, you can release it: shake your hands off, wash your hands in cool water, or whatever works for you.
Take a moment to notice how you feel. Do you feel any different?

I encourage you to start scanning your body and field any time you have encountered the suffering of others, especially those you're close to. If you notice that you have taken on their suffering--indicated by any feelings of sadness, anxiety, heaviness, etc. that are not specifically related to your own life--try the exercise above.

I hope this is helpful.--Nancy

Consciousness Shifting: Perceptual Agility for the Energy Healer

Mon, 3 Aug 2020 06:00:00 -0400

--by Nancy Hausauer

Energy healing works from a different model of reality—a different paradigm—than the one that is dominant in Western culture. That reality model, or underlying world-view, is philosophical materialism.

Philosophical materialism, to put it simplistically, holds that only physical matter is truly real. Obviously, this is not the way that an energy healer looks at the world, at least not while doing a healing.

Being able to switch your consciousness from the dominant model of reality (that only matter is real and the human body and mind is like a machine) to the energy healing model of reality (that there are subtle, invisible forces that shape us and that what we truly are can never be reduced to mere cellular processes or interactions of matter) is therefore extremely useful to any energy healer.

Is it absolutely necessary to be able to do this? Maybe not. But it is certainly helpful. And liberating. Spiritual teacher Ram Das points out the important relationship between the process of spiritual awakening and being able to shift your sense of reality:

Part of the process of awakening is the recognition that the realities we thought were absolute are only relative. All you have to do is shift in one reality once and your attachment to what you thought was real starts to collapse. Once the seed of awakening is in you, there's no choice – there's no turning back. We all know that reality is relative; we have known it since childhood.

As with most things, we get better at this consciousness-shifting thing with practice.

I think this short video from Rupert Spira, in particular the "I am the body/I am aware of the body" exercise, can be extremely useful for energy healers. It not only helps to develop the ability to shift consciousness/reality models, but also can help us move into a higher energy state to prepare for doing energy work. If you pay close attention, you may be able to feel your energy shift when you go into "I am aware of the body" mode.

If you aren't able to view the embedded video above, you can see it here.

Tap Back Into The Stream Of Blessings

Mon, 27 Jul 2020 06:00:00 -0400

--by Nancy Hausauer

Usually about this time of year, I post about the season of late summer and what it has to teach us about Work. But this year, so much has changed--in every arena of life, including work--that that just isn't useful.

For many of us, work is a major way that we ground our energy. More than just a place, for most of us our work anchors us in a community and a collective purpose.

That place of grounding has been interrupted or at least changed for many of us. Whether we are newly working from home; forced into retirement; furloughed; newly unemployed or worried about unemployment; normally work at/from home and now have kids, spouses or housemates in our space; or have a job that now puts our health at risk--the sense of structure, security, purpose, predictability, solidity and community that work provides for many of us is deeply disrupted.

I have to take a deep breath after writing this, because my own work life has been very disrupted, and I am feeling a little lost. But just this morning I read some beautiful advice from Brother Stiendl-Rast of Gratitude.com, and it resonates deeply with me.

"Blessing, rightly understood, is the invisible bloodstream pulsating through the universe–alive and life-giving."

For me, "Energy" is interchangeable with "Blessing," and the quote reminds me to tap into the Energy, into Source, and let it flow through me. As I do that, I feel it recharge and reorganize my depleted, drifty personal energy; help me restore my shell-shocked energetic boundaries; and clear my 6th chakra, giving me more clarity.

Phew! I didn't even realize the full extent of my energetic disarray until I just wrote about that. Feels much better!

I hope that tapping back into Blessing or Source Energy or whatever you call it will be helpful to you as well. And I wish you and your loved ones (and may that be all sentient beings) good physical health, righteous work, financial security, and a loved and loving heart.

Tenderly, Nancy

Once You Were Powerful. And You Still Are.

Mon, 20 Jul 2020 06:00:00 -0400

--by Nancy Hausauer

Most of us vastly underestimate and under-use our personal power. I'm going to share a commonplace story (that many parents will relate to!). I hope it will help you reclaim your power and use it in the service of goodness, kindness, and light--for yourself and others. Here's the story.

When my daughter was a toddler, I often took her to our city's main library. One day we were leaving after getting some books, and she decided she didn't want to leave. We were in the middle of the library's large central open area when she began wailing. She arched her body and slid out of my grasp and onto the floor, where she started thrashing and howling as only a two-year-old can. It was quite a spectacle, and IT WAS LOUD!

You might think, "Why didn't you just grab her and take her outside?!" But she'd also mastered the art of making it impossible to pick her up. There was nothing I could do, so I just stood there. Glancing around, I saw that everyone in sight had turned toward us, frozen in place and staring.

After a few minutes (that felt like an eternity), she stopped. I was able to pick her up, set her back on my hip, and march toward the door. ("Hi!" she chirped cheerily to each person we passed.)

What I learned from this experience (and others, but none so dramatic) was that even a tiny little person has enough power to foil the intentions of a relatively gigantic grownup (me) and command the attention of an entire building full of adults. My daughter hadn't yet been taught to be polite, blend in, get embarrassed, "follow the rules." To **NOT** seek what she wanted. And so she just let her power rip. Really, it was magnificent.

Each of us still has that much power--and more. But as kids, we're socialized out of using it or even being aware of it.

Of course we need to teach children to use power smartly, responsibly, and considerately. Children must be constrained from running out into busy streets and taught not to snatch cookies away from smaller kids. Society can't function if adults go around acting like two-year-olds.

But I think we go too far in suppressing our children's natural power. I want to encourage us all to reclaim that hidden strength in the service of those who are vulnerable and the parts of ourselves that are vulnerable.

I invite you to examine your life. Where are you needlessly giving up power, consenting to situations that aren't good for you, or following rules designed to benefit others? Moving beyond your own life, where are you under-utilizing your power to increase the collective good?

What if, in the service of the light, you reclaimed and channeled even a little bit of that magnificent power that each of us had as young children?

May the light prevail.

Presence Is Enough

Mon, 13 Jul 2020 14:12:46 -0400

With deep, non-judgmental presence, you create a powerful space for transformation. If you do nothing else than sit with someone in heartfelt witness to both their suffering and their potential for transformation, it is more than enough.

How To Soar Out Of Negativity By Catching Energetic Updrafts

Mon, 6 Jul 2020 06:00:00 -0400

--by Nancy Hausauer

If you're looking for a way to shift your energy out of a negative funk, try working with the image of "catching an updraft"--like a bird using an upward current of air, spiraling higher and higher, gaining altitude with minimal effort.

Mostly, we're more familiar with "down-drafts"--the spirals of negative energy that carry moods and life-events further and further down.

But there are energetic updrafts, too, and in our lives, most of us have experienced those as well. They are the energetic analog of the ascending columns of air that carry birds effortlessly higher. Similarly, these energetic spirals lift us up--out of bad moods, doldrums or runs of "bad luck."

You don't have to wait around for luck to bring you an updraft--you can consciously catch and ride them. Here are some ideas to help you get started.

Consciously Catching Updrafts: Some Ideas

Take a moment to think of things in your life--experiences, thoughts, activities, places--that are like updrafts, or perhaps more accurately, that create updrafts. They lift your spirits, bringing you joy, vitality and a more positive outlook. They're like pressing a "re-set" button on your mood.
There are people who are like updrafts, too. Positive, fun, affirming, uplifting. You may experience them in person, or in books or videos. Spend more time with them. (Be sure that if you are interacting with them in person that you reciprocate the positive energy you get from them in some way.)
Get out your calendar right now and schedule time for "updraft" experiences and people. Be conscious of wanting to soar on the positive energy you are bringing into your life.
You can also use your imagination to get yourself into updraft mode. Close your eyes and visualize being a bird catching an "ascending column of air." Take a deep breath and release yourself to the experience. Feel the lift under your wings, the support of the rising air. Feel a joyful sense of soaring, spiraling higher and higher with almost no effort. Here's a video to help you imagine this.
This is a 6th-chakra experience. From this soaring panorama, can you see anything helpful that you've been missing from an earth-bound perspective? In the stillness of high altitude, can you hear your inner voice of wisdom more clearly?
If you're currently in an energetic downdraft, do this visualization several times a day.

Updrafts are real. Catch one today!

Warmly, Nancy

The Power of Thought

Mon, 29 Jun 2020 06:00:00 -0400

--by Nancy Hausauer

I write a lot about how powerful our thoughts are, and thus the need to choose not only our words, but also our thoughts wisely.

This is true for everyone, but it's especially true for energy healers and others who consciously work with healing energy. Our thoughts really do influence the health of our physical bodies. And since what we say and think influences what our clients (and friends and family) think about their own health and well-being, it's also critically important that we keep our thoughts about others and their prospects positive.

I thought this little video was an interesting affirmation of the power of thought from the world of science.

Here's the link if the video doesn't show up in your browser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-v-IMSKOtoE

The video discusses how, from a neuro-scientifc standpoint, imagining an action and doing it require the same motor and sensory programs in the brain.

It describes a scientific study where one group of participants were asked to practice piano 2 hours a day. The second group was asked to practice mentally only--they couldn't touch the piano. Exactly the same physical changes took place in the motor cortexes of both groups, and after 3 days their accuracy in playing was exactly the same. After 5 days, the physical practice group was more accurate, but the mental practice group caught up quickly when allowed to practice physically.

Another experiment had one group of people do a particular muscle exercise for 4 weeks. The second group only imagined doing the same exercise. In 4 weeks, the actual exercise group's muscle strength had increased 30%, while the imagination-only group's muscle strength had increased by 22%.

Pretty amazing, huh?

The take-away here is that our thoughts and imagination really do change our physical bodies–both the structure of our brains and the structure of our muscles. With just your thoughts, you can rewire your body-mind for a new, more positive reality.

So take some time every day to imagine yourself in glowing health and in harmony with those you love. Allow yourself to think or imagine, before any important thing that you do, that it's going to turn out splendidly. Think well of everyone you love and everyone you meet.

You'll change your body and your world, and be an influence for good to everyone around you. The world needs this!

The World Is Unknowable, And This Leaves Room For Hope

Mon, 22 Jun 2020 06:00:00 -0400

"Hope is not about what we expect. It is an embrace of the essential unknowability of the world, of the breaks with the present, the surprises. Or perhaps studying the record more carefully leads us to expect miracles -- not when and where we expect them, but to expect to be astonished . . .. And this is grounds to act." ― Rebecca Solnit, Hope in the Dark

How To Be A Healing Force Wherever You Go

Mon, 1 Jun 2020 14:09:00 -0400

--by Nancy Hausauer

What things do you need to be a healer? The absolute minimum that you need in your "healer's toolkit" or "skills bank"? Trick question, because actually, there aren't any "things" that you need. The basic foundational principles upon which energy healing rests (see below) are all you really, truly need. With them, you'll be a healing force wherever you go.

Presence
With deep, non-judgmental presence, you create a space for transformation. By bringing your consciousness to a situation, you help others bring their own consciousness in as well. And consciousness is always healing, or to put it another way, it's always "wholing." (Did you know that the word "heal" comes from the word "whole"?) Presence also opens you to the limitless flow of intelligence and potential from Source Energy. If you do nothing else than be with someone in deep presence, deep witness, you'll be helping.
Intention
Our thoughts, like everything else in the universe, are energy. As energy fields, they can influence other energy fields -- including matter. Intentions are directed thoughts, and can be incredibly powerful. You can use this power in any situation by setting or holding an intention for the receiver's highest good (whatever the receiver is). By setting an intention for the highest good, rather than a specific result, you avoid the pitfalls of attachment to outcome (see below).
Positive thought and speech
What we say and even what we think have a huge impact on those around us. In large part we create our own reality through the power of our beliefs, so by keeping our own thoughts and speech positive, we help others hold positive beliefs and thus create positive outcomes for themselves. We support them in creating positive realities.
Directed attention
Energy flows where attention goes. Your attention feeds whatever you give it to. In a healing situation this means that you focus on the potential for healing more than the imbalance that is probably foremost in the receiver's mind.
Non-attachment to outcome
By being non-attached to the exact outcome of a healing, we give up our own ego. We get out of the way of the healing energy (which does not come from us), allowing it to work more fully and freely. We don't limit the outcome with our thoughts.
A compassionate heart
No explanation necessary here.

If you bring these qualities to your work and your life, the exact setting and techniques matter little--you'll always be a healing presence.

Namaste, Nancy

The Importance Of Grounding In An Unsettled Time

Mon, 25 May 2020 12:35:47 -0400

--by Nancy Hausauer

Grounding, also called earthing, is one of the foundational skills of energy healing. It simply means to connect your energy to the earth's energy. It's literally being "down to earth," in the best possible sense.

Connecting your energy to our beautiful planet's helps you orient yourself energetically to the earth, instead of something external. This is important, because external things aren't stable. The earth, by contrast, is stable, neutral and nourishing to our personal energy field.

In these unsettled times, grounding is especially important. Being grounded helps you feel more secure and stable, allows you to release excess energy to the earth and allows you to bring the earth's nourishing, stabilizing energy into your personal field.

 When you are solidly connected to the earth, you can more easily be centered in your own body. You'll feel calmer, clearer and more energized. Feeling more balanced, you'll be harder to knock off your stride. You'll also be less likely to deplete your own energy, since you'll have access to the boundless energy of the earth.

Ways To Ground

 There are many ways to plug into to the earth's energy, and when you get used to it, you'll be able to do it just through intention. But in the meantime, here's a method to try.

Sit somewhere comfortable, where you won't be disturbed, spine straight.
Imagine roots extending down from the soles of your feet or your pelvis. Imagine them pressing into the earth and sinking deep into it. Let them grow as deep and wide as you want.
Feel your connection to the earth--a strong, unshakeable connection. Remember that you aren't "on" the earth, you are part of the earth. Allow yourself some time to sense the earth's energy.
Allow your roots to drain off excess or unwanted energy (such as fear, anxiety, or lingering bad feelings) into the earth, where these energies are neutral. Give this some time.
Then allow the beautiful, calming and nourishing energy of the earth to flow up through the roots, through your legs, your pelvis, your torso, branching at your shoulders and running down your arms and out your fingertips.
Allow the earth's energy to continue up through your neck, into your head and your face. You can either contain it and circulate it through your body, or allow it to stream out your fingers and the top of your head and fall back down to the ground. Allow it to nourish your body and help you feel revitalized, refreshed, and calm. Take a few moments to enjoy this feeling.
When you're ready, open your eyes and return to the here and now.

There are quicker ways to ground, too, such as standing barefoot on the ground, widening the chakras on the soles of your feet to let in more earth energy, or just walking. You'll find your own preferred way.

Wishing you a deep and satisfying connection to the earth -- Nancy

Keep Your Attention On The Positive

Mon, 18 May 2020 13:24:48 -0400

Your attention feeds whatever you give it to, so direct your attention to the positive. Whatever the situation, this means focusing on the potential for healing and evolution more than on the problem.

How To Send Healing Energy To Others

Mon, 11 May 2020 11:50:26 -0400

--by Nancy Hausauer

In these days when it is necessary to maintain physical distance from others, I thought it might be helpful to review some basics about sending energy to others from afar.

Different types of energy healing and different spiritual traditions have slightly different techniques for sending healing energy, but at the foundation of all of them is intention.

If you don't, here's a technique to try:

How To Send Healing Energy

Sit in a quiet place and meditate or ground/center/become still. Visualize yourself surrounded by white light.
Set an intention to work for the highest good of the person in need. Don't specify a particular outcome--we can't know what's truly best for another.
Light a candle, sound a bell, or perform some other act that allows you to define a beginning and end to your session.
Close your eyes and visualize the person you wish to send energy to (I find it easier to visualize someone in motion rather than still); or get a felt sense of them; or if they are less familiar to you, just hold their name in your mind. Picture or feel them in a state of serene contentedness.
Send an intention to support and amplify their highest good. Visualize them surrounded by white light. Hold them in this light for as long as feels right.
To end the session, open your eyes. Take a deep breath and re-center. Notice your breathing and the sensations you're experiencing. Blow out the candle or sound the bell.

Of course, there are many other ways you can send healing energy. You don't need to follow a formula. Trust yourself.

In general, you should get someone's permission before sending healing energy. However, it's OK to send energy to a general situation without asking. Also, there are times when it just isn't practical to ask. For example, when I pass a car crash or when an ambulance passes, I briefly send healing energy for those involved. I keep it general--sending energy for their highest good.

The more individualized and personal your intent, the more extensive the healing session, the more important it is to ask permission. Common sense is the key here.

Sending energy to others for their highest good helps the sender as well as the recipient, by the way. And it can do no harm.

With love, Nancy

One Simple Step To Restore Calm And Focus

Mon, 4 May 2020 06:00:00 -0400

One Simple Step To Restore Calm And Focus --by Nancy Hausauer

These are unsettling times for most of us. So much is in flux and so many of us feel vulnerable. It can kick up anxiety, fear, and worry and wreak havoc with our ability to think clearly and make good decisions. Here's a one-step process for restoring calm and focus.

Simply do this: Bring your awareness into your body.

Here's an analogy. A hectic or worrisome day makes most of us want to return to our homes. Home is where we can center and regroup. Our bodies are the earthly home for our energy, and returning our awareness (which is energy) back to the physical body operates the same way.

Sometimes our energy is flying all around. It's in the past, it's in the future, it's with loved ones we want to visit and can't, it's all over the place. You probably know the feeling. But if we bring our attention to our body, our energy comes together. It consolidates and focuses.

Our Bodies Are In The Present

When our awareness/energy is in our body, it's also in the present, because our bodies are very much in the now. The present is almost always the place of least suffering and most calm. It's also the place of creativity, power and connection to higher wisdom, intuition and inspiration.

Technique For Bringing Your Awareness Into Your Body

There are many ways to bring awareness back to your body. Here's one to try.

In a comfortable seated position, shut your eyes.
Bring your awareness to your feet. Just sense your feet and notice what you notice. Many people feel a kind of tingling or alive sensation when they do this. (This is your energy!) Hang out here for a while. If you're short on time, you can stop here, taking some belly breaths until you feel yourself calming down and your energy becoming grounded and centered.
If you have more time, bring your awareness up your legs and throughout your entire body. Again, stop and enjoy this feeling for a while, taking some deep belly breaths as you do. Especially check in with any places that feel contracted and allow your awareness to rest there compassionately for a while.
If you want to keep going, you can expand your awareness to your subtle energy field as well. (Remembering that your field is three-dimensional.)

You can do this pretty much any time and any place to bring more calm and focus to your day. (Probably not when you're driving, though.)

Wishing you peace, Nancy

The Stance Of Courage

Mon, 27 Apr 2020 06:00:00 -0400

"Deep trust in life is not a feeling but a stance you deliberately take. It is the attitude we call courage." -- Brother David Steindl-Rast

We Are Called To Rise

Mon, 20 Apr 2020 06:00:00 -0400

We Are Called To Rise

We never know how high we are

Till we are called to rise… --Emily Dickinson

Advice For Empaths In The Time Of Pandemic

Mon, 13 Apr 2020 06:00:00 -0400

Dear friends,

I know that so many of you are empaths, and I want to reach out to you in particular in these times, when there is so much suffering and it is so close to the surface of our collective awareness.

I am an empath too, and the past weeks have been difficult. As empaths, we have naturally porous energetic boundaries. We let a lot in, especially emotions, and there are so many emotions swirling around right now. Sadness. Fear. Anger. Some joy too, though, and wonder at the kindness and generosity of some of our fellow humans.

Having been through more than one empath crisis over the years, I have learned ways to manage the overload that can come with being an empath…..most of the time. In this COVID-19 crisis, I go back and forth between being OK and having my energetic container pretty much blown. When that happens, I'm swamped with the suffering of others, and it's hard to function in my own life. I struggle to regain my footing.

Then, as is so often the case when we are in crisis, I need to remind myself of what I already know. I'm sharing it here in case it will be of help.

Advice For Empaths In The Time Of Pandemic

Remember: it's OK to step back. It's not a requirement to take on others' suffering.
Breathe consciously.
Stay in the present. Return to the present when you have strayed.
Exercise daily.
Get out in nature daily.
Take frequent breaks from the news. Or take a complete break from the news and ask someone else to keep you abreast of any essential developments.
Create things.
Find ways to laugh.
Notice beauty. Create beauty. Be grateful for beauty.
Support and develop your third chakra to help you shore up energetic boundaries and tend to your own essential needs.
Practice pulling your energy back to yourself and keeping it contained within yourself. Here's a centering exercise to help you do that.
Practice focusing more of your energy in your sixth chakra . This allows you to still feel compassion while providing distance and perspective so that you don't actually absorb other peoples' energy into your own energy field. Here's a method for doing that (#1 on the list).

Dear tender-hearted people, please take extra-good care of yourselves during these difficult times.

With love, Nancy

Comment on my Facebook page.

"...It Is Only Kindness That Makes Sense Anymore"

Mon, 6 Apr 2020 06:00:00 -0400

--by Nancy Hausauer

I was only going to post Naomi Shihab Nye's sublime poem "Kindness" today, but I woke up thinking of a little more I wanted to write on the subject.

Kindness is an energetic state and a basic orientation to the world as well as a way of relating to others. Whatever I'm doing, when I'm in an in-between state, I know that consciously returning to a state of kindness is a good thing to do.

Being in a state of kindness doesn't mean you can't also have boundaries, be tough, be angry, be strong. Perfection is not required and it's not a failure if you slip out of it. I see it as being like presence--also one of the best default states. Staying there isn't the most important part. The main thing is having the intention to be there and being conscious of when you slip out of it. And repeat.

Next time you're in a state of kindness, I encourage you to pay attention to how it feels, in all aspects of yourself--energy, heart, body, mind, and whatever else you experience as a facet of yourself. Noticing it now will help you return there at other times, when kindness is where you need to be--for yourself, for others, for the world.

I am hoping you and your loved ones are both giving and receiving much kindness. And now, the poem. --Nancy

Kindness

--by Naomi Shihab Nye

Before you know what kindness really is

you must lose things,

feel the future dissolve in a moment

like salt in a weakened broth.

What you held in your hand,

what you counted and carefully saved,

all this must go so you know

how desolate the landscape can be

between the regions of kindness.

How you ride and ride

thinking the bus will never stop,

the passengers eating maize and chicken

will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness

you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho

lies dead by the side of the road.

You must see how this could be you,

how he too was someone

who journeyed through the night with plans

and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,

you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.

You must wake up with sorrow.

You must speak to it till your voice

catches the thread of all sorrows

and you see the size of the cloth.

Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,

only kindness that ties your shoes

and sends you out into the day to gaze at bread,

only kindness that raises its head

from the crowd of the world to say

It is I you have been looking for,

and then goes with you everywhere

like a shadow or a friend.

Feeling Anxious? Here's A Simple Technique For Relief

Mon, 30 Mar 2020 06:00:00 -0400

Dear friends, I hope you and your loved ones are well, and that you are staying safe by staying home. Last week I was a little too off-center to write a blog, but this week I'm feeling more grounded. A wonderful energy healer friend did a mid-conversation energy healing for me over the phone, and it helped a lot. (Thanks, Peggy!). I encourage you to stay in touch with people like her, people who help you feel more centered and calm.

These are anxious times for many of us. Stress and anxiety disrupt the rhythm and flow of body and energy, making our energy spiky and chaotic. (Think of choppy water, compared to smooth water.)

The following meridian-based technique can help you calm and smooth your energy when you're feeling edgy. This is good for your immune system, too. It's super-easy, and there's no down-side to giving it a try.

Triple Warmer

The Triple Warmer (also called Triple Heater and Triple Burner) meridian governs our stress response, among other things. In our culture, Triple Warmer works overtime for most people even under normal circumstances--and these are not normal circumstances.

You can calm it down, reducing your sense of anxiety, by tapping, rubbing, or holding the third point on the meridian (TW3). This point is on the back of your hand.

How to Find Triple Warmer 3

To find TW3, make a gentle fist. Between the bones in the hand that lead to the fourth and fifth fingers (ring and pinky fingers), you will see a slight indentation or depression (just below the knuckle-bones). This is the spot.

How to Calm Triple Warmer by Tapping, Rubbing or Holding TW3

Tap, rub, or press this spot for about a minute. Breathe deeply (but comfortably) while you do this -- nice, full breaths all the way down into the lower third of your lungs.

Then switch hands, continuing to belly breathe.

That's it. Just don't try to do this while you drive. (But you knew that.)

It may take 20 minutes or so for the stress hormones to clear from your body (though it works very quickly for me).

I send you wishes for a peaceful and harmonious time of rest and reflection, along with hopes that this moment of energetic upheaval may serve as an opening for the transformation that our world so badly needs.

With love, Nancy

Comment on my Facebook page.

Breathe. Ground. Center.

Mon, 23 Mar 2020 06:00:00 -0400

Hello friends. I hope this finds you safe and well.

I'm a little frazzled with a lot of moving parts in my life right now. I know I'm not the only one. I find that I just don't have what it takes to write a blog post right now. But I found this wonderful short video from Liz Moyer at We Heal For All that I want to share with you.

Normally Liz works helping people process climate grief. She's turned her attention to helping folks process emotions having to do with the Covid-19 pandemic. I found this video message from her to be wise and calming. Her own sense of feeling called to slow down resonated with me deeply. I'm grateful to her and hope that you will find her short video valuable as well.

Here's the link to the video if the embedded version won't play for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQn8prmTbVw

Please take good care of yourself and in doing so take care of everyone else. Breathe. Ground. Center.

With love, Nancy