|
 We
are delighted to announce our book Pathways Through Your
Mindfield
is now available!
We've
created a website for the book where you'll find all the details,
including About the Author, Table of Contents, excerpts from
the book and other goodies.
Special
Offer
There
will be an official launch of the book on Amazon.com in a few
weeks time, but we would like to give you, the subscribers of
our newsletter, a special offer. It's our way of saying "Thank
You" for your loyal support all these years. You will be the
first people to have your very own copy of the book for only
$22.95 US (that's a saving of $5.00 off the regular price of
$27.95).
And,
to make this offer even more special, Dr. Lees will sign the
book for you.
We invite
you to visit: www.PathwaysThroughYourMindfield.com
Once
you've had a look at the website and are excited to read the
book, you can purchase it directly from the website.
We would
also appreciate hearing your comments about the website, so
please give us some feedback.
To be one of the first to read
our new book
and to take advantage of this special offer
please click here.
The
Process of Writing a Book
by Dr. Alexander R. Lees
The feedback
on the new book Pathways Through Your Mindfield has been
exciting. We sent the first draft (there was a total of five
drafts by the time we were finished) to various friends and
colleagues throughout the world, and if you can believe them,
they love it!
One letter
that stands out for me included the following question, "How
did you decide to write it?" and that's where this story begins.
I had often
spoken about writing a book and when I mentioned it yet again
to Berit, she simply said, "Do it." That might have been enough
to finally get me going when an interesting thing happened.
I was having an animated chat with a friend shortly thereafter,
and the subject matter was about the mind, human behaviours
and so on. He suddenly stopped in mid sentence, and said, "Why
don't you write a book? I bet there would be hundreds of thousands
of people that would be interested in listening in to this conversation."
A few days
later, I was inundated with "How to write a book" information.
It soon became apparent to Berit and I that we would have to
divide the piles into categories and anything that insisted
we sacrifice our first born and then arrange for a second mortgage
to pay for the course - "If you really have faith in yourself,"
went directly into the basket for recycling.
At some
point in wading through the piles an idea light went on in Berit's
head. "Why don't we get you one of those recording thingies?"
she said. "Whenever we go for a doggie walk, you usually say
something that would work well in a book. The trouble is, by
the time we get home, neither one of us can remember what it
was. Let's go. We need one, now."
 Off
to the store we went, and purchased one. "Hmmm," said I. "Solid
state, no moving parts, records for eight hours, about the size
of a cigar, built-in mike, good battery life, and interfaces
with a computer. I'll take it!"
The first
few doggie walks after its purchase were a total waste of time,
book-wise. Apparently you have to remember to take it with you.
Tap, tap, tap.
Then things
changed. We were in the carport loading the dogs, the water
bottles, the rain gear and leashes when SHE suddenly said, "Do
you have your recording thingie?"
Unlock
house, trudge upstairs. Search house. Find recording thingie.
Place in pocket. Downstairs, lock house, drive to destination.
"Okay,"
she interrupted on the walk. "That was wonderful! Get your recorder
thingie out, and repeat that!" Out it came, and in my very best
voice, I repeated most of the narrative. "Beautiful! I can't
wait," she said with a smile, and we carried on throwing sticks
for the dogs and enjoying the changing scenes as they unfolded
before us.
Once home,
neither one of us could get the tea made and stuff put away
fast enough so as to sit down and listen to the beginning of
The Book. Tap, tap, tap. Note to self: Put batteries in recording
thingie. Tap, tap, tap.
Now, trained
as I am to pick up on the subtlest of clues, I quickly intuited
or otherwise deduced Berit was not pleased with the way this
book writing business was shaping up. I think the first indicator
was that every time she spoke to me I could see smoke coming
out of her ears. The second was sleeping in the dog house, various
references to decapitation, and what kind of a life she would
lead after the funeral. "Best read the manual for the recorder,"
my self preservation circuits declared; so I did.
So, now
we are walking, talking and recording. "I think we're making
progress," she declared one day. "Oh, I'm so glad," I replied
gratefully, just as I threw a stick extra hard, and heard a
"plop" as the little cigar shaped recorder - good for eight
hours recording time and goes forever on triple A batteries
- disappeared into the creek.
"Fetch!"
I said lamely, but Kaylie was far too busy looking for field
mice to even remotely consider jumping into the water to retrieve
the thing and Ty was so busy biting at the burrs caught in his
coat, to even give me a glance, so we needed plan B, and we
needed it fast.
With that
timeless depth of reasoning and insight the female of the species
is blessed with, I switched to listen mode as I saw THE LOOK.
"This is
what we are going to do," she began sweetly, so listen up."
After a pause she said, "We are going to walk back to the car.
We are going to drive home. Once there, I will make tea. You
will sit down with pen and paper. You will not move until you
have written something. Then we will go on with that plan, and
our lives."
"And if
I don't?" I asked bravely. "No tea," she replied. I have to
admit I was tempted to write SOMETHING on a blank piece of paper
just to see how she would react, but then my self preservation
circuits kicked in and I thought better of it.
And that
is how the book Pathways Through your Mindfield came
into being... you just decide to put pen to paper.
 Contributing
Columnist Dave Marshall is retired and lives in Spain. Before
his retirement he taught NLP (he's an NLP Master Trainer)
and now has a website with lots of free information on NLP.
You can contact Dave at www.nlpman.eu
_______________________________________
In
Two Minds
by David Marshall
Have
you ever been in two minds about something? That's just what
I was like when I was wondering what to write about this month.
I was on the horns of a dilemma, not knowing which way to
go and the more I thought about it the more it went round
and round in my mind. And as I felt these imaginary parts
spin round and round in my head, I thought part of me doesn't
know what to write and another part of me knows that I could
write about lots of things. So how can I get out of this?
I thought this sounds like two parts with a conflict - one
knows that I could write lots of things and the other doesn't
know which thing to write about.
 So
I imagined that the "don't know" part was sitting on my left
hand and it looked like a fuzzy ball of grey wool. It felt
warm but quite heavy and was spinning round. On the other
hand I imagined the part that knew I could write about lots
of things and this was like a bright sun with planets and
stars whirring round it and it felt hot and light. So then,
holding both hands out in front of me, I decided to ask the
left hand part (which was the ball of grey wool), " What would
have to happen for you to be able to work with the other part?"
Instantly the reply came, "It's got to slow down!" So then
I went to the part on the right hand and I said "The ball
of wool would like you to slow down. Would you be happy to
slow down, so that the ball of wool can work with you?" And
then it changed and it stopped spinning round and just became
a bright yellow light. Then I looked across at the other hand
and it had become a yellow ball of wool, warm and light! The
idea behind this method is that the different parts have a
common goal, but don't realise it. In my case, both parts
wanted to write an article but one could not decide because
the other was just too busy for it! The negotiation enabled
them to achieve the common goal.
So now I knew that this article would be about how to negotiate
between conflicting parts. Whenever you're faced with two
choices and you don't know which one you should do, just imagine
that one part is on one hand and is symbolised by some visual
image and do the same for the other part on the other hand.
Notice how they feel, what they look like, and any sounds
that are there.
Then you can start to negotiate. Ask one, it's usually best
to start with the more negative part, what would have to change
to enable it to work with the other part. And usually, in
no time at all, an answer will come into your head. So now
you go to the other part on the other hand and asked it if
it is happy to change in the way that the first part wants
it to. This does not always happen the first time, it can
take several attempts to find what each part is prepared to
change so that they can work together. You just keep asking
what they are prepared to change until you get a result. When
they are both happy about making the changes, you will find,
usually, that they become similar in appearance and feel,
and they are prepared to merge and become one. The dilemma
is then solved. As this begins to happen, bring your hands
together and let the parts merge together. Then imagine bringing
the new combined part into your body.
You can easily recognise this sort of situation when people
say, "Well on the one hand I could do this and on the other
hand I could do that." This process puts that language representation
into reality by literally using your hands, plus the visualisation
of the two parts, to sort out a solution to the dilemma.
This process has many variations and can be used in lots of
different situations, you might have to get a little creative
and modify it a bit.
Maybe next month I'll give you some examples.
|
Five
Reasons Not to Mess with Children
A
little girl was talking to her teacher about whales.
The teacher said it was physically impossible for a
whale to swallow a human because even though it was
a very large mammal its throat was very small. The little
girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale. Irritated,
the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow
a human; it was physically impossible. The little girl
said, "When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah". The teacher
asked, "What if Jonah went to hell?" The little girl
replied, "Then you ask him".
 A
Kindergarten teacher was observing her classroom of
children while they were drawing. She would occasionally
walk around to see each child's work. As she got to
one little girl who was working diligently, she asked
what the drawing was. The girl replied, "I'm drawing
God." The teacher paused and said, "But no one knows
what God looks like." Without missing a beat, or looking
up from her drawing, the girl replied, "They will in
a minute."
A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments
with her five and six year olds. After explaining the
commandment to "honour" thy Father and thy Mother, she
asked, "Is there a commandment that teaches us how to
treat our brothers and sisters?" Without missing a beat
one little boy (the oldest of a family) answered, "Thou
shall not kill."
 One
day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother
do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed
that her mother had several strands of white hair sticking
out in contrast on her brunette head. She looked at
her mother and inquisitively asked, "Why are some of
your hairs white, Mom?" Her mother replied, "Well, every
time that you do something wrong and make me cry or
unhappy, one of my hairs turns white." The little girl
thought about this revelation for a while and then said,
"Momma, how come ALL of grandma's hairs are white?"
The children had all been photographed, and the teacher
was trying to persuade them each to buy a copy of the
group picture. "Just think how nice it will be to look
at it when you are all grown up and say, "There's Jennifer,
she's a lawyer," or, "That's Michael, he's a doctor."
A small voice at the back of the room rang out, "And
there's the teacher, she's dead."
|
 Contributing
Columnist Rehana Webster (in New Zealand) is an EFT Master and
NLP Master Practitioner, and also conducts seminars/workshops
internationally.
You
can contact Rehana at webstar@ps.gen.nz
or visit her website at www.behaviourchanges.com
"Jazzing
Up" with EFT
by Rehana Webster
EFT
is a tool in the health practitioner's tool box which greatly
enhances the results in a therapy session. Based on experience,
I feel that having a range of therapeutics tools will get quicker,
better and lasting results for clients. EFT is especially uncomplicated
and simple to use with a range of other modalities. It's like
accessorizing and jazzing up a much loved and well worn dress!
Let me give you an example. A client, whom I shall call Bob,
came to see me for low level anxiety. Nothing major, but annoying.
The anxiety was related to two things. One was answering the
phone; particularly when a certain person was on the line.
Bob has a very successful building business and his client Dave
is particularly demanding as he calls up Bob at home to complain
about problems that are outside the scope of the building project.
This anxiety is generalizing out to answering all phone calls!
Again Bob assured me it's not major, just irritating.
 I
decided to add a simple NLP technique to the steps in this session.
First I asked Bob to tell me where in his mind's eye he saw
Dave when he thought about him. To help Bob with the concept
of location in the mind's eye, I asked him to think of a green
apple and point with his hand to where he saw the apple. That
was easy. He imagined he saw the apple up to the right in his
field of vision. Now he returned to the image of Dave and positioned
him down to the left as a small, fuzzy, black and white picture.
I asked Bob how he felt seeing Dave down there. "Irritated,"
he replied.
To get a counter example I asked Bob to think of his wife. He
saw her in living color and life size, straight ahead of him.
I asked him to check his feelings and he felt good. Then I asked
him to think of his four year old daughter. His face lit up
as he looked up left. I asked him to notice how the feelings
were associated with location of the pictures.
We returned to the picture of Dave. I showed Bob the tapping
points and he did several rounds of EFT citing various examples
of just how irritating this client was. Finally I asked Bob
to put out his hand and pretend to move the picture of Dave
next to the picture of his wife. Bob was amazed at how his feelings
towards Dave changed altogether and immediately!
I asked Bob what would happen if we moved Dave up to the location
of his daughter. Bob understood at once, and he didn't want
to do that! Bob was amazed at how his feelings of anxiety changed
in such a short time.
I set out some tapping homework for Bob and will check up on
him soon. Hopefully the above example will help you to deal
with any annoying people in your life, especially if they are
a client.
 Our
guest Contributing Columnist is Tom Dorzab. Tom is a retired
biologist from Kansas and now lives with his wife in Spain.
Tom followed his passion and is now an energy medicine practitioner
specializing in Eden Energy Medicine.
You
can contact Tom at tomdorzab@ya.com
Energy/Muscle Testing Demystified
by Tom Dorzab
 Firstly,
and most importantly, energy/muscle testing is not a
test of strength! So, what is energy testing?
Energy testing is the science of using a person's muscles to
determine weaknesses or strengths in their energy systems. It
was originally developed by George Goodheart, the founder of
applied kinesiology and he called it muscle testing. Any muscle
can be used in energy testing. One test that is probably used
more than any other is often called the General Indicator Test.
In this test, the person to be tested lifts either straightened
arm until it is parallel to the floor. It is often held slightly
forward from straight out to the side with the palm facing down.
The test is performed by applying downward pressure just above
the wrist. The pressure is applied only long enough to determine
whether the arm will remain locked in place or will easily be
pushed down. It is good to remember that a wide variety of responses
are possible and that practice, practice, practice is the only
way to achieve proficiency, but even after all that practice,
a few people will still make you wonder about the results.
Why does it work? Quite simply, energy testing works because,
for a variety of reasons, energy can either be supplied to or
removed from a muscle.
What causes energy to be added or removed from a muscle? This
is a huge question and we won't be delving into all the possibilities
today. A part of the answer, however, lies in the fact that
we are very much electromagnetic in nature. Different parts
of our bodies have different polarities just as a magnet has
a north and a south side. In Chinese philosophy this can be
related to the yin and yang sides of the body. The tops of our
heads are yang and the bottoms of our feet are yin. The palms
of our hands are yin and the backs of our hands are yang. You
get the idea. These same kinds of relationships exist for all
parts of the body.
Why is this important? We can use these basic principles in
energy testing to show the electromagnetic nature of the body.
When you place the palm of your hand on the top of someone's
head and energy test, assuming the person's polarities are running
in the right direction, you will get a strong test, assuming
there are no irregular energies in the muscle being tested.
When you lay the back of your hand on top of a person's head
you will get a weak test. While this sounds like it has the
makings of a magic show, there are really sound scientific principles
backing it up.
Since the palm of your hand is yin or south, when you place
it on the head the energy is moved from your palm to the muscle
being tested and the test is strong. The back of your hand is
yang or north, so when you place it on the head, the energy
is drawn to your hand, away from the muscle and the resulting
test is weak.
Using only the meridian system as an example, what can cause
a muscle to weaken? Our bodies have the ability to discriminate
energetically between different substances and then respond
accordingly. For instance, if we have a sensitivity or allergy
to a substance, it can initiate a stress response which will
generally weaken many muscles depending on which meridians are
involved. On the other hand, if our bodies need a particular
substance, if provided, it can cause various muscles to be energized.
If we have too much of something, it can also cause an energetic
imbalance that could result in weakened muscles. This is a simplified
version of one of the ways Chinese medicine works. If we have
too little yin, a Chinese doctor would provide more yang influences,
if too little yang he would provide more yin influences. These
influences can be in the form of foods, herbs, light frequencies,
sound frequencies, colors, thoughts, emotions and others. Please
bear in mind that everything around us has its own energetic
signature, and everything around us affects us in some way.
It could be a negative effect, a positive effect or a neutral
effect.
 How
can energy testing be used? Using energy testing, the condition
of a variety of our energy systems can be determined including
meridians, chakras, strange flows and others. Focusing on only
one energy system, the meridians of Chinese and other oriental
medicine systems, it is known that each meridian controls a
specific group of body parts including muscles. For example,
the hamstrings are controlled by the Large Intestine Meridian,
gluteus medius is controlled by the Circulation Sex Meridian
(also known as the Pericardium Meridian) and the deltoid muscle
is controlled by the Lung Meridian. There is usually a pronounced
difference between the strength of a muscle when the meridian
controlling it is balanced versus when it is out-of-balance.
If there is too much energy in the meridian, the test of the
muscle will be rock solid. If there is too little energy in
the meridian, the test will be weak. If the meridian is balanced,
then the test will be somewhere in-between.
Another way that energy testing can be used is in determining
substances that are bad for us, (including allergies and sensitivities)
or good for us, on any given day. There are many methods used
by various modalities in substance testing. A basic test is
to place a substance on the solar plexus and energy test any
muscle. The Spleen Meridian muscle test however, performed with
the arm held straight down alongside the body with the thumb
against the body and then pulling the arm away from the body
with fingers held just above the wrist, may be the best meridian
muscle test for substance testing.
A weak test indicates a substance has some harmful effects.
A strong test indicates either that the substance is good for
you or neutral. By beginning with a weak muscle, it is possible
to determine whether a substance is good for us. There are a
few ways to make the muscle weak before testing. One way is
to flutter the Spleen Meridian neurolymphatic point located
directly over the spleen area (below and slightly lateral to
the left breast). When a substance is tested using a weakened
muscle, if the test becomes stronger, it is an indication that
the substance is good for you. A weak test indicates the substance
is either bad for you or neutral.
The above is only a brief introduction to energy/muscle testing.
Next month I will explain the guidelines to use for energy testing
and how you can test yourself. It's a fun way to learn valuable
information about yourself and your body.
Berit's
Corner
I thought that once we sent the book to
the printer we'd have some time to rest and recuperate from
all the hard work that writing a book entails. Wrong! No sooner
had the book gone to the printer when I came up with the idea
to redo our website. Of course, we also needed a website for
the book. All that meant thinking about and creating new "stuff."
At the same time there were workshops to organize; we're dong
our third EFT Level 1 workshop in three months this weekend,
as well as a Level 2 in April and a Level 3 in May.
The time flew by and then we got the phone call - the books
were arriving the next day! We were finally going to hold the
book in our hands and I wondered what it would feel like.
The truck arrived while Alex was with clients so I thought it
only appropriate that I wait for him so we could enjoy the pleasure
of ripping open a box and hauling out a book. The next two hours
crawled by. Finally, Alex was finished. We both agreed we couldn't
leave all the boxes in our carport so we madly started carrying
them into the house.
An hour later, it was done. Time to have a look at our creation.
Rip open a box and there they were - 20 copies of the book.
We each grabbed a copy and came upstairs. Poured a glass of
wine, sat down and Alex immediately began reading the sentences
he'd created, and I looked at all the great illustrations done
by Rehana Webster. I also checked out all the quotes we'd included
and made sure the "Tidbits" were there as well.
After about 15 minutes we looked at each other - we both had
a silly grin on our face - and simultaneously said, "We did
it!"
Now it's time to send our creation out into the world. Of course,
we'll be anxiously waiting to hear what the world thinks. So,
for those of you that purchase the book, please send us your
thoughts and comments. We greatly value feedback, and look forward
to hearing what you think about the book.
Alex is already talking about writing the next book; he says
he has at least two more books "in him." Personally, I'd like
to savour this moment because it's very special to me. I'm so
proud of my husband!
I hope you find Pathways Through Your Mindfield a fun
read, and maybe learn a thing or two. I know I did.
Till next month,
Take care.
|
The
2008 Darwin Awards
Yes,
it's that magical time of year again when the Darwin Awards
are bestowed, honouring the least evolved among us.
Here is the glorious winners:
1. When his 38-caliber revolver failed to fire at his
intended victim during a hold-up in Long Beach, California,
would-be robber James Elliot did something that can only
inspire wonder. He peered down the barrel and tried the
trigger again. This time it worked.
2. The chef at a hotel in Switzerland lost a finger in
a meat-cutting machine and, after a little shopping around,
submitted a claim to his insurance company. The company
expecting negligence sent out one of its men to have a
look for himself. He tried the machine and he also lost
a finger. The chef's claim was approved.
3. A man who shovelled snow for an hour to clear a space
for his car during a blizzard in Chicago returned with
his vehicle to find a woman had taken the space. Understandably,
he shot her.
4. After stopping for drinks at an illegal bar, a Zimbabwean
bus driver found that the 20 mental patients he was supposed
to be transporting from Harare to Bulawayo had escaped.
Not wanting to admit his incompetence, the driver went
to a nearby bus stop and offered everyone waiting there
a free ride. He then delivered the passengers to the mental
hospital, telling the staff that the patients were very
excitable and prone to bizarre fantasies. The deception
wasn't discovered for 3 days.
5. An American teenager was in the hospital recovering
from serious head wounds received from an oncoming train.
When asked how he received the injuries, the lad told
police that he was simply trying to see how close he could
get his head to a moving train before he was hit.
6. A man walked into a Louisiana Circle-K, put a $20 bill
on the counter, and asked for change. When the clerk opened
the cash drawer, the man pulled a gun and asked for all
the cash in the register, which the clerk promptly provided.
The man took the cash from the clerk and fled, leaving
the $20 bill on the counter. The total amount of cash
he got from the drawer... $15. [If someone points a gun
at you and gives you money, is a crime committed?
 7.
Seems an Arkansas guy wanted some beer pretty badly. He
decided that he'd just throw a cinder block through a
liquor store window, grab some booze, and run. So he lifted
the cinder block and heaved it over his head at the window.
The cinder block bounced back and hit the would-be thief
on the head, knocking him unconscious. The liquor store
window was made of Plexiglas. The whole event was caught
on videotape.
8. As a female shopper exited a New York convenience store,
a man grabbed her purse and ran. The clerk called 911
immediately, and the woman was able to give them a detailed
description of the snatcher. Within minutes, the police
apprehended the snatcher. They put him in the car and
drove back to the store. The thief was then taken out
of the car and told to stand there for a positive ID.
To which he replied, "Yes, officer, that's her. That's
the lady I stole the purse from."
9. The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a man
walked into a Burger King in Ypsilanti, Michigan, at 5
am, flashed a gun, and demanded cash. The clerk turned
him down because he said he couldn't open the cash register
without a food order. When the man ordered onion rings,
the clerk said they weren't available for breakfast. The
man, frustrated, walked away. [A 5-STAR STUPIDITY AWARD
WINNER]
10. When a man attempted to siphon gasoline from a motor
home parked on a Seattle street, he got much more than
he bargained for. Police arrived at the scene to find
a very sick man curled up next to a motor home near spilled
sewage. A police spokesman said that the man admitted
to trying to steal gasoline and plugged his siphon hose
into the motor home's sewage tank by mistake. The owner
of the vehicle declined to press charges saying that it
was the best laugh he'd ever had.
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