I just returned from a wonderful, inspiring Shift-Retreat at the Noetic Science Center in Petaluma, CA. About 100 participants arrived from all over the world: Australia, Canada, Switzerland, Germany, Great Britain, South Africa, Mexico, Venezuela, India and the US. I experienced the commitment from the organizers of The Shift Network and openness of each participant, to make a significant personal shift possible by letting go of beliefs, ideas, emotions, and life patterns that no longer serve us.
I felt blessed by the heartfelt atmosphere and was truly inspired by the great visionary and voice of Barbara Marx Hubbard, for the collective shift in the world. Hard to believe she is 81 years. I expe- rienced my deepest inner work through the Holotropic Breathwork by Stanislav Grof. He was one of the facilitators and I was breathing for a whole day through all the layers who wanted to be shifted. I came home empowered and now I am in a continuation of this retreat through the big shift of moving to Ojai, CA. This is coming up for Brian and me in the beginning of August. It seems to be the Shift-Retreat’s implementation.
Wherever you are in your shift right now, I am sending you my best wishes and blessings. If you need some support, let me know. I will continue my counseling work here until the end of July, and by phone and Skype once we have settled. Just write an email to: lisa@bermanhealingarts.com to schedule.
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your loyalty, openness, warmth, trust and most of all your willingness to heal and to evolve. I am looking forward to stay in touch with you through my counseling, our newsletter, our workshops, and programs.
Enjoy my summer tips.
Light, love and blessings! Yours, Lisa
Enjoy the Summer
Nature blossoms into its fullness finally here in the Pacific Northwest after a long and cold spring. The plants become what they are meant to be and all the fruits are ripening. The warmth and light of this time of the year is the basic component from which all life originates, develops, heals, and evolves. It is the most expansive and fullest outward expression of Nature. It shows itself in us, as we are also that Nature.
It is the time for reaching out, connecting with people and enjoying life. By giving and sharing, we build our own inner fire, open our own flower, and bring more of ourselves to the world.
Questions for the season:
- What do you observe in regard to your fire and passion?
- In which areas would you like more joy and laughter?
- Do you experience close and warm friend- ships?
Physical correspondence:
As the sun is the center of our solar system, so is the heart of our body. Both make life possible and radiate warmth, light and energy. Take a moment to tune into that energy. Feel the power, dynamic, and life force, which influence every cell of you. Feel the warmth of your heart and the sun, the microcosm and the macrocosm, sense the rays of the sun, the pulse of your blood in the rhythm of your heart. What does it feel like? How is your fire burning? Do you spread out your passion into the world around you?
The summer’s energy corresponds in our body with the heart and the small intestine, which is known as the “separator of the pure from the impure”. Its job is likened to an internal alchemist who puts everything through an ordeal by fire, sorting what is good and pure from what is gross and impure. Its responsibility is to ensure that only that which is good, pure, and worthy of consideration gets through to the heart. The small intestine sorts on every level.
If your inner ‘summer’ energy is low and you experience no inner “blooming,” you might feel the lack of something to share, like joy or compassion. Though you might crave these qualities, your relationships may be based on anxiety and fear of rejection. An imbalance can also manifest in over expansion, like a never-ending summer: too hot, too much, always laughing, joking, talking, being “on”, never allowing a decrease.
Summer is a reminder to open your heart to the knowing who you are and entering fully into rela- tionships. Be completely in the moment and ready for a new warming heart connection. Joy is the perfect ingredient to open your heart to another. Love life fully.
Inspiration:
- Create joy in your life. Laugh, play and have fun on a regular basis. Consider fun as important to your well-being as work or anything else you do.
- Connect with yourself and to others, love and have compassion. Take time to listen. Open your heart and give unconditionally.
- Live your passion, whether it be the choir, rollerblading, writing poetry or whatever you are interested in. Be fully alive! Be in your body, dance, swim, run, be vital and vibrant.
The best medicines to get your fire burning bright are love, the company of good friends and a sense of humor.
Diet tips for summer
Take advantage of all the fresh and abundant local foods, which are full of vital life force. Use quick cooking methods like sautéing, steaming and blanching and enjoy more salads and raw foods. Live raw foods provide the enzymes needed for healthy digestion and assimilation and have a positive impact on your heart health.
Grains: Buckwheat, rye, corn, amaranth, quinoa
Legumes: Red lentil, sprouted mung beans, chickpeas
Vegetables: Asparagus, chives, endive, radicchio, okra, scallions, dandelion greens and root, kale, collard greens, watercress, mustard greens, aru- gula, radicchio, lettuce, frisée, eggplant, artichokes, cauliflower, green beans, beets, okra, red bell pepper, scallion, artichoke, chicory, olives
Fruits: Cherries, grapefruit, wild berries, blackberries, strawberries, elderberries, mulberries apricot, peaches, apples, lemon. Depending on where you live: papaya, mango, pineapple, melons, guava, persimmon, banana
Dairy: Goat or sheep cheese, goat milk Herbs and spices: parsley, basil, cilantro, chili, curry, ginger, garlic, cinnamon, cayenne, ginseng, sage, sorrel, hawthorn, paprika, nettle, rosemary, thyme. Spices in general are recommended.
HEALING PLANTS
IMPATIENS (IMPATIENS GLANDULIFERA)
The Time Flower – From Impatience to Patience
Key Questions:
•Are you impatient and irritable with others who seem to do things too slowly for you?
•Do you feel a sense of urgency in everything you do, always rushing to get through things?
•Do you prefer to work alone?
The blocked Impatiens energy is connected to time and being always in a kind of hurry, driven by: ‘Wasting no time’, ‘time is money’, ‘life is to short to waste’. If you are easily running out of patience, if it is difficult to stay calm, peaceful and tranquil with others or in situations, weather in your job or as a parent with your children, the Impatiens flower will help you to balance the energy. Other symptoms you might experience are:
• You’re mentally tense; you feel driven by time
• You expect everything to go quickly and smoothly
• You find it hard to wait for things to take their natural course; you want to finish everything quickly
• You talk, eat, and work faster than others
• People who work more slowly than you drive you crazy – you have no patience or diplomacy for them
• You cut off other people and finish their sentences before they can
• You don’t finish your own sentences
• You impatiently take things into your own hands
• You make rash decisions
• You prefer to work alone at your own pace
• You have a great desire for independence
• You easily flare up and are curt and brusque, though your anger passes just as quickly
• You bring an end to jobs that aren’t completely finished because you just want to get them done
Healing path
As the name of the flower implies, this essence addresses the challenge to be in the flow of time. It is like you wanting to push the river; you are far ahead in your mind. This pattern of yours is calling for a transformation, to immerse fully into the Now, which will give you a new rich experience of the moment as well as a deeper connection with others.
The healing power of Impatiens will reconnect you with great empathy and an angelic patience. You will understand and tolerate the different temperaments and place the quickness of your mind‘s decision-making and intelligence into a patient, gentle and diplomatic way. You will be able to wait for things to take their natural course. You are one with the moment and with ease in time.
Empowering Statements of Impatiens are:
- I have time
- I am patient
- I am relaxed
