LOVE Rocks!

Robbie and I were walking to the car and I was telling her about my heart rock collection. I told her that I was waiting for Chiro-sister in a parking lot and looked down to see a heart rock. As I was telling her this, I looked down to find this:

I heart Robbie.

How cool is that? A quartz heart rock that I charged up with Reiki and is now in her collection. Some people marvel at this talent for finding heart rocks. It's the same with 4-leaf clovers. It's a visual skill that is an elegant illustration of the reticular activating system. It's the part of your brain that filters out information. We have so much stimuli coming at us that our conscious mind has to sift thru. It's about what's on your radar, and what you're focused on. Whatever you're into, there was a time when you didn't know about it. Take labyrinths, for example. There was a time when I wasn't aware of them. Then I had an experience of them with Susan and suddenly I saw them everywhere. In fact, I saw that Doug O'Brien had one on the cover of my Ericksonian Hypnosis instruction manual that I'd had for a few years before I even noticed!

I guess the question is: What's on your radar? What new thing are you noticing? What has become automatic? Something to think about . . . .

Sending Warm Breezes

It rained all weeeeeeeeeeeeeek before I left to go to FL and now I've come back to...RAIN. It's cold and wet and drippy. This is where we dust off the sun-above-the-clouds metaphor. Whatever. So I'm remembering the beach from Sunday. Blue skies and breezes:

. . . and jelly fish:

Eeeewwww!!! ;-)

Whenever you wish for things to be other than they are, you just annoy yourself.

I'm paraphrasing Jerry Stocking, but you get the idea. So I'm not going to wish for the rain to stop. I've had a delightful,creative, quiet day of writing which would not have come about if it had been sunny and I went running out into the world to do busy-and-important things. Yay, me. :-)

Back from Florida with a few pix

I went to visit my friend Robbie. She has a beautiful little lake that I walked everyday. Once around = a mile. Lots of beautiful flowers and wildlife. Apparently every once in a while, an alligator sneaks in. Bummer.

These are Norfolk pines. Mum has one in her sun room. Not this big, tho.

Robbie taking a walk.

Trumpet flower?

Awesome mimosa tree!

I could write a whole story on The Rose in the Lake . . . .

Shy turtles.

This guy was such a show off for me everytime I walked by!

I see hearts wherever I go.

I didn't have internet (yes, I know: Starbucks), but I did have my Blackberry. So I got v. good at tweeting on Twitter. It's like micro-blogging; little phrases here & there. John Morgan is on there with little Grasshopper messages. Way cool. I've put a widget on the blog sidebar for you, Mum. I know you won't sign up! Anyway, I'm back in VA and will be regularly blogging again.

Day of Rest

I'm heading out the door to go visit my friend Robbie in FL. I used to have tea on Tuesdays with her before we both moved. Pictured above is her flowering cactus. I'll have limited internet access, so prolly won't post until I get back next week. Happy Sunday! :-) H.

In the Matrix

The above quote is in answer to a question about a time travel technique, but it could be used to describe Matrix Energetics as a whole. I have delayed writing about my experiences because I can jump down on either side of the fence. I'm reminded of a saying, Some people will swallow a camel but choke on a peanut. So here's the camel part for me, based on personal experience--and Star Trek:

I get the concepts and the content. None of it was really new. [Side note here: Even tho I spent 3 days with Richard, my favourite "Matrix" memory is still the first time I saw Bruce Lipton. He was waving his arms around saying how our beliefs govern our biology and I raised my hand and said, "Bruce, what you're describing sounds a lot like The Matrix." He said, "It IS The Matrix!!!"]

Back to Richard (& this is the peanut part): I said in yesterday's post, he's a bit of a goofball. A lot of getting people up on stage, touching them or not, watching them drop to the floor, and then he's falling over laughing. Literally. In fact, any time a participant gets up there, there's a staff member who follows them up with the express purpose of catching them when they fall. No hypnosis there! [In fact, there was a whole lot of hypnosis going on, more on that later.]

Brother D & I were talking about religion. He said, "They all look crazy from the outside." That is what Matrix Energetics is like! And what is crazy? What is normal? What is real? All of it and none of it. We're in a quantum soup. Richard says that every healing modality has a set of rules that you have to buy into. e.g. Reiki. Those rules set the parameters, your expectations and your filters about what's possible. Or not. When you're on the inside looking out, it's all normal. For Reiki or Resonance Repatterning, it's normal to be able to do distant healing. Playing a tuning fork on a diagram of an acupuncture point will affect the client whether they're sitting in the room or across the world.

This is Richard's normal world: dolphins swimming around the seminar room and the carpet melting. He had a participant up on stage and he said that he saw a pair of purple bunny ears on him. "Some of you can see them, too." I look around and people are nodding their heads. Yes, we see the purple bunny ears. I'm watching this and thinking that the emperor has no clothes. At the same time, people are having fun with this. And he's obviously having fun. What is it like to enter someone's world?

The metaphor that comes to mind is this: do you take the bible literally or symbolically? In other words, 6 actual days for the creation of earth or is it a metaphor? Do you see with your physical eyes or your third eye? Is it real? Again, what is real? It's real if you're in that world. So I entered Richard's world. Some of you may not think that was much of a stretch. There are a few techniques, but really, anything goes:

The 2-point technique~put your hands on 2 points of the body (whichever you're drawn to) and imagine dropping a pebble in a pond. That's it. The pebble is a metaphor for the energy field. It's really to keep the conscious mind occupied. His assistant Melissa said she's at Nordstrom's shoe shopping.
Time travel~ count backwards to before something happened and see the desired outcome of an incident not happening. e.g. spraining your ankle
Parallel universes~ alternate realities that are going on elsewhere. I see it as whenever you have a choice, there's a split into another reality. e.g. you married your highschool sweetheart--or if you did in this reality, you didn't in another.

You can work on the body or on the energy field. Whatever you see, go with it. Richard
has a thing for hotel carpet. I was working with Vicky-from-NY and she said that I needed the star in this carpet on my back:

This is how it looked:

Sort of Maria de Guadelupe, huh?

I've had a difficult time putting this to words because there were so many experiences to integrate. And for the first couple days, the loud music and the constant giggling felt a bit ungrounding. Blah blah physics blah blah melting carpet blah blah Hahahaha

People will either buy into this or not. I don't think there will be any middle ground with Matrix Energetics. You'll be in the club or not. And all of that is fine with Richard, I'm sure. He's just having fun with it all.

Matrix Energetics

After Jerry Stocking, I went with my friend Vicky-from-NY to a Matrix Energetics seminar with Richard Bartlett, D.C. I'm posting this intro to it. What do you think? I saw this and thought Tent Revival. But Vicky did some work with me, and I could feel a difference. And I've been playing with it and I'm noticing . . . things. I was telling Chiro-sister about it this morning. Blah blah blah weird blah blah quantum physics blah blah Bruce Lipton blah blah and Richard is such a goofball. She said, "Wait. This is weird even for YOU?" And then she said, "I guess you have to decide if you want to be a goofball." Because you know. Healing is serious. Hahahaha Except when it's not. This is where Brother D would say, "What did you say about snot?" Hahahaha So I will be back tomorrow with tales of dolphins and carpets and fainting spells. Oh my!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

I got an email from my friend Doug O'Brien asking if I knew anyone who would be interested in working in sales for John Morgan. Can I stay home in my jammies and not go anywhere? I replied back. I was out in the wilderness with 2 aging dogs, trying to figure out what to do with my life. Enter John Morgan.

Our first conversation lasted an hour, and I felt like I'd met an old friend. I had. Over the course of almost 2 years, he has been my boss, my mentor, my coach, my cheerleader, favourite blogger, and my dearest friend. I don't know what I would have done if John hadn't come into my life. He has given me the means to support myself without having to have a soul-sucking 9-5 job. I get to stay out in nature or go out into the world if I need to. As long as I have a phone & internet access, I can pretty much go anywhere & still work. How cool is that?

Beyond teaching me about sales and radio, he has taught me a tremendous amount in the hypno-world. I would never have done Virtual Massage without his guidance. It was his idea, and we worked together over the phone. He was also a student of Dave Dobson's and has a way of simplifying complex ideas and at the same time, making it entertaining.

Reminds me of a story . . .

"Remember when Dave said you have to climb out on the skinny branches?" he asked me.
"Skinny branches? What?" I replied.
"You have to risk climbing out on the skinny branches to get the best fruit."
It's a lesson in sales, it's a lesson in life. It's an ongoing lesson for me--risking. I like to think I'm getting better at it.


Dave & John on their last visit. I love that impish look on Dave's face. John didn't know he was giving the finger until he got the photo back. I'm just impressed that John's eyes are open.

Dave was supportive of my work with John and thought it was a good match. I have to agree. Words can't express how grateful I am for our friendship. So I will end with a quote*:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JOHN!

*which John likes to call my "hair wash posts."

A pocketful of smiles

What do you do with your pennies?

If someone isn't smiling, give them yours. I don't know who said this, but I like the quote. When I was on the road with John Morgan, I ran out of nickels while registering. You can lose weight or stop smoking for only $59.95? Yes! So I got out my pennies. What's a nickel worth? Apparently a sparkley penny. And a smile. Pass it on. Add your own stickers. Have a SMILEy day . . . now . . . .

Time

Have you ever woken up and lay in bed arguing with yourself about getting up? This morning I wasn't even arguing.

I have spent the past few months on the phone seemingly non-stop. I have a photo of a woman on the phone that I kept from a Washington Post magazine story. I love the retro vibe to it, and it always reminded me of John Morgan. This week is most likely our last seminar week unless it's not, and I find myself with a sudden abundance of time. This is what people complain that they don't have enough of, right?

When the lay-offs happened at XM, XM Radio Guy said that people would say things like, "Now I'll have time to finish my movie script, write my book, open up a recording studio." XM Radio Guy said, "Now I'll finally have time to create my own breakfast cereal." Yeah, gluten free.

As XM Radio Guy is fond of saying, "I got nothin'. I got crickets." Back tomorrow . . . with something?

Easter Pix

Sign on the way to Pioneer Sister's:

NOT-SO-SECRET NOW.

Pioneer Sister's very own creek.

So this next pic has a bit of a STORY:

I like to knit. Scarves. I've never gone beyond that except when a scarf turned into a blanket. Mum said that there was more to knitting than scarves and that I should be graduated to a sweater. She got some purple yarn for me and a pattern. I started to do it but I wasn't casting on right. Your stitches are too loose. Here, let me help you with that. [and by "help" she meant do for me] Then I missed some knitting or pearled when I shouldn't have. Here, let me help you with that. So she redid. The next thing I know, she's knitted the first 3 inches. OK, now try the next bit. Well . . . it sat there and I left it behind when I back to my house. I thought I'd get to it eventually . . .

Apparently not:

Well, you know I've done this pattern so many times, I thought I'd do something different with it, Mum said when she gave it to me. WOW! A labyrinth sweater!!! So what's v. funny about this sweater is that it's a finger labyrinth. Which kind of invites people to trace it with their fingers. Which Pioneer Sister's kids kept trying to do. Hahahaha THANKS, Mum!

Happy Easter from Eddie Izzard

I couldn't find the clip of the convo between Jesus & God:
God: Jesus, you've got to go down there, start a new religion.
Jesus: Awww, Daaaad...what's Mum think of all this?

Jesus: I said, "Take this wine, it is my blood."
God: You said what? Why couldn't you just say, "Take this wine, it's a merlot?"

Hahahaha Happy Easter, everyone! Going over to Pioneer Sister's for an egg hunt. YAY!

blah blah blah

This was one of my favourite parts of the weekend with Jerry. We did an exercise where we were only allowed to say "blah." And we were to tell our partner about a problem we were having, and then our partner would give us advice, also saying nothing but "blah."

Rewind to break time right before the exercise. I had just had a conversation with Jamie along the same theme. Blah, blah, blah what should I do? I don't remember how I responded, but it didn't feel all that inspiring. Back to the exercise:

I felt much more present listening to the blah blah than I did when we were having an actual conversation with words. Taking away the content opened a path to the other-than-conscious. I was much more aware of Jamie's physiology, tonality, facial expressions, posture, etc. At the same time, I felt a calmness and sense of peace. It sort of took the pressure off of having to know anything or give a right answer. I just had to be there. And it didn't matter what I said, but how I said it. How do you communicate presence and warmth and caring? That's what came out of it. And in the process, I felt more deeply. There was a deeper sense of connection that hadn't happened in our previous conversation. All from a few blah blah's.

P.S. blah blah internet down blah blah no post yesterday blah blah sorry. :-)

Michael??? Jerry Stocking Part 2

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, Jerry gave us an assignment during lunch. Not something we had to do, but we got to. So Anne & I were off to the Indian restaurant across the street, all ready to catch up with each other's lives. Armed with 4 phrases we were allowed to say, with an optional 5th phrase:

There was lots of pointing to order lunch. It was a buffet, so it wasn't too complicated. We were v. quiet & didn't speak, and I pointed at the biggest vat of chicken tikka masala, nodding my head. I looked over and Anne was writing instructions on the take-out menu: 1/2 palak paneer, 1/2 something else. And soup. It was v. funny. There were 2 women at the table next to us, unrelated to our Jerry Stocking Tribe, chatting away, Blah blah blah. And then she said, This is very complicated. Funny how things get on our radar.

After lunch we went for a walk . . . and I took a few pix:


This was a really cool store with decorative things. Anne's hair sort of matched the colour and twistiness of the tree branches, so I was trying to capture that. We went into a plant store, and it could have been Anywhere, USA instead of NYC:

Michael.

I got the most verbal when I saw this:

And spat out all 5 phrases in rapid succession. It's the Subud symbol, something I grew up with.


"Michael?" Anne asked as I was taking the above photo. I laughed. I thought it was funny. It... slays me. Hahahaha

I was v. grateful for the 2-syllable Michael. It became, hello, good-bye, thank you, pretty, excuse me, awesome! and for the above photo, really? It was not so complicated, altho perhaps people around us may have been a bit confused. It was rather nice having a break from language. And then! we had an exercise where we had no language. But that's tomorrow's post. Michael!

Blah Blah Blah Jerry Stocking

People ask me about Jerry and I have a hard time giving the 30-second elevator summary of what he's all about. But just as I write this, I come to this conclusion: He's all about you. What do you want from your life? What do you want from yourself? What do you want from your relationships? He's brilliant at zoning in and helping you see your patterns--whatever they may be. He pulls your head out of the sand, or for some people, other places. He shines the light on those dark places that need healing. He . . . I need an auditory metaphor here . . . .

Anyway, I invited my old college friend, Anne, to Jerry's introductory talk on Friday night. During the break, we had a chance to talk and she just kept saying, "Wow. I get it!" She was even going to join for the weekend course. Jerry wanted to do a word-association exercise before we left for the evening and so he used Anne & another gal to demonstrate. It's all fun and games until someone gains awareness. She thought he was making fun of her response and nothing could convince her otherwise. I, being the lifelong friend I am, recognized this particular pattern. I called it "being present" for her . . . and turned my back. She's under the bus with Jerry. She'll be fine.

So there was a bit of dramedy with it all, and as we're walking to her car, I managed to calm her down a bit, but she said she was not coming back for the weekend. Blah blah blah she was embarrassed blah blah blah. And then. Then! She realized she'd left her coat. We walked back and couldn't get into the building. I said, "Perhaps this is the universe telling you that you need to come for the weekend." And . . . she did:

Sooooooup?

So she thought that Jerry was making fun of her for the way she said, "Soup." It was an old pattern of feeling embarrassed in school. No matter what anyone said, she was stuck there thinking we were all laughing at her. We weren't, but she couldn't see it. That's what happens when you get stuck; you don't have other ways of doing, being, seeing available to you. And then! It shifted, and she got it. Jerry is fond of saying, "Get it?" Yeah! What was also interesting about this interaction, was that there was a "Life Coach" who sided with Anne on Friday night and was reinforcing her reaction. Jerry later emailed her because she had been so concerned. He told her that Anne had joined for the weekend. As it turns out, she wasn't concerned about Anne. It was all the stuff it brought up in her. Isn't that interesting? We think an outside event did something to us, when really it was the catalyst for something inside us, already there.

Anne & I were looking forward to lunch that first day, so that we could catch up. And then! because it's Jerry, could we have a normal lunch? Hahahaha Of course not. But you'll have to wait til tomorrow to find out what happened. In the meantime, I will tell you this: guess what Anne had for lunch. That's right . . . soup.

Just a few NY photos . . .

I'll do a PROPER post tomorrow. It's been a whirlwind 2 weeks! I ate more cheesecake last week than I did in 2 years. Mum said, "Well. That was silly." I said, "No, it was delicious."

I shot this out the window as I was driving to College Friend Anne's house.

My friend Vicky-from-NY's backyard. Would you ever leave??? BEAUTIFUL! THANK YOU Vicky for your WONDERFUL hospitality! Did we have some adventures . . . but I'm getting ahead of myself. Back tomorrow with a Jerry Stocking report.