A passion for speaking out

After being declared cancer free in 1978, the story of my recovery was published in the Australian Medical Journal and soon hit the press. Almost immediately I was asked to explain my survival from community and veterinary groups in Adelaide where I was living and working.

To be frank, I was scared stiff. With little experience in the public arena, it took me ages to prepare for each of those early talks – both to get the content together and to get myself together!

Time has moved on. Adaptation and learning occurred, and I became used to appearing in public. Currently in 2015 I am stepping back a little from the steady round of public seminars, workshops etc, which has been a large part of my work in these last few years, so that Ruth and I can focus on the retreats we present – both for everyone interested in deepening their mindfulness and meditation practice, and the more specific residential programs we run together for people affected by cancer.

Also, we are both giving time for our own personal retreats – I am going into retreat for 12 weeks in the middle of the year – and it may well be that I am writing another book this year.

However, we have agreed to present a couple of public talks in 2015, the first is on quite soon in Sydney (this is the only Sydney event planned for 2015, the others will be in Brisbane and Cairns).

Greg Fitzgerald is the Sydney organiser - Ruth and I have joined him in a series of well-received events in the last few years - and he has contributed to this blog below.

If you are in Sydney and can join us, please come and say hello personally on the night. If you know anyone in Sydney who may be interested, please share the details with them.

Also, we have received a large number of enquiries asking when our Pearls will be back in stock and available again from the webstore after the first sold out in record time before Christmas.

Happily, we can announce that stocks have been replenished and the full range of Pearls is available once more - including the 'Pearls Collection' bundle.  Check them out : CLICK HERE.

So now, at the risk of self- aggrandisement, to help publicise the Sydney event I have decided to post the guest blog Greg has written - as he talks about what makes for a worthwhile speaker, but first




            Thought for the day

People do not care how much you know, 
Until they know how much you care!

                         Greg Fitzgerald









“During my 35 years in the natural health field, I have spoken at hundreds of seminars here and overseas, and shared the stage with countless speakers. I can honestly say only a handful of speakers have left a deeply unforgettable impression.

I have thought about this long and hard. How is it that that people’s lives can literally change in one talk at one seminar? Firstly, you have to know your stuff. If you talk nonsense, you will be seen through and lose all credibility.

Secondly, you have to have passion. If there is no “feeling” in your communication, you will become the best drug for insomnia ever discovered. In other words, passion for the subject is inspiring, and keeps the audience’s attention.

Thirdly, you have to care. People do not care how much you know, until they know how much you care!

And lastly, and this applies to the health area particularly, the best teachers are those who have suffered themselves. What I call “wounded healers”.

Great communicators in the health field are as rare as great communicators in the political or financial field.

Dr Ian Gawler overflows in all 4 criteria.

He has studied the field of mind/body medicine for well over 35 years. He lectures doctors and the public alike. He knows his stuff, no question.

His words, knowledge and very presence is inspiring. The fact that he is alive and in wonderful health is inspiring. His presence forces you to listen to his message. He is certainly no drug for insomnia!

Thirdly, he cares. He and his wife, Dr Ruth, deeply care so much about the declining state of mental and physical health in the western world and the conflicts of interest which confuse so many people, that they have devoted their lives sharing this wisdom. He has been awarded the Order of Australia Medal in 1987 for services to the community.

He founded The Gawler Foundation in Victoria, where people travel from all over the world to learn the best ways to live and overcome or prevent chronic health issues.

Lastly, Dr Gawler has suffered. In his mid 20’s AFTER his entire leg had been amputated and his cancer returned, he was given only weeks to live. While he had palliative radiotherapy and chemotherapy, he was told there was no real prospect that modern medicine could cure him. He was told “Get your affairs in order”. 

But Ian thought there might be something he could do for himself. So he did. And from this transformative experience, Ian has helped change literally millions of lives directly and indirectly.

By utilizing mind/body techniques and dietary change, Dr Gawler not only survived but thrived.

My wife dawn and I are very excited to announce that Dr Gawler will be speaking at our first seminar of the year on 3rd of March, 2015 at Kareela Golf Club, 1 Bates Drive, Kareela in the south of Sydney.

Modern studies have shown the tremendous effect the mind has on the body. Our psychology affects our biology! The issues in our heads often become issues in our tissues!

Dr Gawler will be addressing the critically important subject of what to “feed" your mind. This covers the sort of thoughts and emotions that feed our mind for the better. He will also address what thoughts and emotions poison our mind, predisposing us to unhappiness, inner turmoil and chronic illness. 

Dr Gawler will also discuss what he calls “The Missing Link”. This link is what is lacking in most people’s lives today, something that almost guarantees unhappiness and a restless mind. 

He will also explain the wonderful benefits of simple meditation, and take the audience through a deeply relaxing practical session."

                                                        Greg Fitzgerald

Ian again: 
This is the only public seminar I am likely to present in Sydney for 2015, and I am very pleased to be doing so in conjunction with Greg Fitzgerald. Greg, a Naturopath, Osteopath and Chiropractor and Principal of Health for Life Clinic and Seminars, will speak on ways we can nurture our physical bodies.

What is the good of having inner peace but a body that is falling apart with pain and disability? Greg will cover 10 life-changing areas, including explaining the puzzle of why some people eat well but still suffer health problems and the biggest exercise mistake most people make. This one tip alone can change your life.

See you there?

FEED YOUR BODY, FEED YOUR MIND

Public Seminar with Ian Gawler and Greg Fitzgerald

South Sydney -  Tuesday, March 3rd 2015

When?  Tuesday 3rd March 2015

Time?    Registration  6.30pm  Seminar 6.45pm - 10.15pm

Where?  Kareela Golf Club,  1 Bates Drive, Kareela

EARLY BIRD OFFER $39.00 only - until 24-3-2015 or until seats sold
(Normal price $59.00)

How to register and pay for this event?  Register online : CLICK HERE 


For enquires please call Dawn at Health for Life Seminars on 9540 1962 or 0424246847



2015 CALENDAR OF EVENTS
Full details are on the website, click here

NEXT MEDITATION RETREAT

Meditation in the Forest        March 27th to April 2nd  2015   Yarra Junction

During this meditation retreat, we will be focusing upon the deeper stillness of meditation. We will explore the theory, but moreso, the actual practices that help us to go beyond the activity of the thinking mind into a more direct and profound experience of the still mind.

Deep, natural peace. A calm and clear mind. So many possibilities follow…..

FULL DETAILS Click here 

NEXT SPECIFIC CANCER PROGRAM

CANCER and BEYOND  May 2015   Monday 4th at 11am to Friday 8th at 2pm

Five Day Residential Follow-up Program at the Gawler Foundation in the Yarra Valley

This program is specifically designed for those with cancer along with their support people who have attended a previous Gawler Foundation program or equivalent such as with Sabina Rabold, CSWA, Cancer Care SA, CanLive NZ, or with the Gawlers

A unique opportunity to meet with like-minded people once again, to consolidate what you already know, to learn more from the combined knowledge, experience and wisdom of Ian and Ruth, to reaffirm your good intentions, and to go home refreshed and revitalised.

FULL DETAILS Click here 


NEWS

CANCER SUPPORT IN MELBOURNE

GOOD NEWS for people affected by cancer in Melbourne. Much respected colleague Liz Stillwell has recommenced the Cancer Support Group and is meeting each Tuesday at the Augustine Centre.

The group will meet in term-times and all are welcome, including caregivers of course.

Many of you will know the Library at the Augustine Centre/Habitat Uniting Church, a large & wonderful book lined place of comfort, well seasoned with history for this group (I was running groups there in the early eighties and for those who have seen the historical documentary Mind the Healer, Mind the Slayer that was made in those heady days, this building featured quite prominently).

Liz has an excellent volunteer in Katrina Jenner and is well resourced. She is very experienced having trained extensively including with me, we have worked together for many years and still do and she has just completed her first unit of Clinical Pastoral Education at Royal Melbourne Hospital.

PS : Sleep workshop:  Please note Liz is also facilitating a 3 session Sleep Improvement workshop at Sentient Being Wellness at Eltham on Friday 20th, Sat 21st & Friday 27th Feb.

A melting pot of sleep information and experiential Hypnotherapy.

For details contact Liz on 041 5665 822 or  www.stilwellinhealth.com

Ian Gawler Blog: Accelerated healing 101 – Part 2

In the last blog - Accelerated Healing – Part 1, we covered the first 2 principles that assist with accelerated healing:

1. Use the power of the mind

2. Have a solid base for healing

Now we pick it up again at the third point, with the specifics of how to Use Mind-Body Medicine. Also, details of the last cancer healing residential program Ruth and I will present this year, and our last meditation retreat for 2014, but first




    Thought for the day

The revolution that will save the world 
Is ultimately a personal one

             Marianne Williamson







3. USE MIND-BODY MEDICINE
The principle
The body has a vast array of healing mechanisms and they are all regulated by the mind – mostly by the unconscious mind. This regulation involves two-way communication – from the mind to the body AND from the body to the mind.

To use the mind to accelerate healing we need to be able to send positive messages from the mind to the body and receive the body’s feedback.

Here, there are 5 core principles to consider attending to:

i) Relaxation is the key – profound relaxation
The principle
When injured or in pain, instinctively the body tenses up. Doing so, blood flow is limited, muscle tension actually aggravates pain and the potential for healing is reduced. The antidote is to over-ride this instinct with deep relaxation.

What I did
I lay down and spent hours deeply relaxing my body generally and the affected area specifically.

This process involved putting the centre of my awareness into the area being relaxed, particularly the area needing healing and it was guided by the pain – see part iii) to come.

Development
This is another technique where having pre-existing skills is so helpful. How nice it would be if everyone knew how to do this by teenage years. However, it is never to late to learn.

Start with the Progressive Muscle Relaxation, focusing upon the feeling of the body relaxing. Learn to take that feeling of relaxation into the affected areas. This does take time. It does take practice. It does bring rapid relief and it does definitely accelerate healing.

ii) Meditation and imagery are the mainstays
The principle
Meditation is highly therapeutic. It leads to a state of deep physiological rest; a state of deep natural balance in which the ideal conditions for natural healing exist.

Imagery provides the means to connect our conscious intention to heal with our mind’s unconscious healing control centre that knows how to do it.

Together, the two techniques are synergistic.

What I did
I meditated in my usual way 3 times daily for 40 – 60 minutes each time. This was done with the gentle but clear conscious intention that this meditation would help to accelerate healing but it was done without “trying” to make healing happen.

By contrast, I also imagined the injured area healing using semi-literal healing that highlighted the end result of a fully functional, healthy, strong muscle and shoulder, with me being able to move and use it through its full range of movement.

Development
Again, ideally these are pre-existing skills. Good to learn and practice when you are well, but it is certainly realistic to learn and apply these techniques when the need is immediate – see the Resource list later.

iii) Pain is the guide
The principle
Perhaps paradoxically, pain is a great asset to accelerated healing. Obviously pain lets us know something needs attention, but more specifically, we can use it to focus our Mind-Body techniques; and to get feedback.

What I did
With the deep relaxation, I focused upon the painful areas (which did relate directly to the injured tissue), put my full awareness (free of judgement or reaction) into them, and worked on relaxing those areas until they felt the same as the healthy areas of my body.

This took some doing. It required some resolve, some capacity to feel the pain purely as it was, and some persistence. It was often only partially successful in any given session, but then I took heart from any progress made towards a more relaxed, less painful state (rather than bemoaning what was left to do). Occasionally there was complete relief from the pain and a deep sense of healing flowing.

Development
My sense is that this technique is a key principle in accelerated healing. Quite simply it takes practice and while what to do is essentialised above, the details of how to do it more thoroughly are in Meditation – an In-depth Guide and on the CD (or Download) Effective Pain Management.

iv) Sleep is an ally
The principle
While we sleep, the body and the mind are at rest. Sleep provides a refuge, a relief from pain if we need it; and while we sleep there is plenty of energy available for healing.

What I did
Before going to sleep I reminded my body, programmed it really, to continue healing.

Development
This one is simple. In a kind, friendly way, just before going to sleep, remind your body it will be free to heal unhindered, undistracted while it is asleep and maybe even imagine it doing so.

v) Talk to yourself kindly
The principle
Self talk can be very destructive or very self-affirming, very healing.

What I did
I was pleased to notice that after all my years of conscious experience with this principle, the fact was this was easy for me.

Development
For many I have known, destructive self talk can provide a major challenge and can require a concerted effort to transform. What to do?

Firstly, be gentle with yourself. Do aim to remember to notice the conversation/ the thoughts that flow through your mind. Recognise they are but thoughts. They are just thoughts. So even if they are potentially destructive thoughts, unless you take them seriously they are just thoughts – they come and go and no harm is done.

Where the problems arise is when we take our thoughts (especially potentially unhelpful ones) too seriously and allow them to dictate how we function, how we are.

So the ideal is just to recognize thoughts for what they are – just thoughts; to follow through on constructive thoughts and to let go of any unconstructive ones.

Maybe it as an interim measure that is helpful while we work towards this somewhat idealistic goal, it can be helpful to gently correct or to actively dismiss unhelpful inner chatter and to give more weight to positive self talk.

If this area is a major issue for you, affirmations may well be useful.

4. FOLLOW A NATURAL HIERARCHY OF HEALING – use medication sparingly
The principle
In my view, there is a very clear hierarchy of healing. It starts with being so well that sickness and injury are simply no problem, and leads all the way to major external interventions.

My approach is always to focus on what works and aim to do what is easiest, most natural and has the least side effects. So in healing, my personal approach is to start with the most natural thing that is likely to work, to give that some time and be open to noticing the response and moving down the hierarchy until something or some combination of things actually works. Surgery often makes really good sense.

THE HIERARCHY OF HEALING
i) WELLNESS 
Being really well involves consistently living a healthy lifestyle. The emphasis is on recognizing how precious life is – and how fragile. It is a delight to be alive and it makes sense to celebrate life by following a healthy lifestyle.

With a healthy lifestyle, prevention flows naturally, good health flows naturally, wellbeing flows naturally.

ii) PREVENTION
Here there is a more conscious attention given to the prevention of illness.

In my experience, while prevention makes all the sense in the world, people in general are completely under-whelmed by it as a motivator to adopt a healthy lifestyle. Illness is a great driving force, wellness can do it, but not so many are motivated long-term by the notion of prevention. Sad? Maybe. Fact? Absolutely!

iii) RESPONDING TO ILLNESS
The principle
There are two big areas to consider – first what you can do for yourself, and then what can be done for you.

a) What you can do for yourself
This is the vital first arena to consider in response to any illness. This approach to healing and wellbeing is best described as Lifestyle Medicine; not Complementary Medicine (athough it does complement just about everything), definitely not Alternative Medicine or even Integrative Medicine, no, this is Lifestyle Medicine - what you can do for yourself

Maybe you can completely resolve the injury/illness yourself – the body does have an amazing capacity for regeneration and healing. But if you do need any external help, how you respond, what you do, all of that will have a profound impact on the experience you have during the healing process and upon the final outcome.

Break a leg, disregard the healing, eat badly, use it excessively – bad outcome!

Break a leg, work with the healing, eat well, exercise judiciously etc, etc – good outcome!

A healthy lifestyle, Lifestyle Medicine, creates the ideal conditions in which the body can best contribute to its own healing, and in which the body can work powerfully to gain the best result from any treatment, and to minimize the risk and impact of any side effects.

b) What can be done for you – external interventions
Of course it can make sense to seek external help for healing, and this help can come in many forms. Each culture has its own Traditional Medicine. In the West we call this Conventional Medicine, but there is Traditional Chinese Medicine, Traditional Aboriginal bush medicine, Ayurveda, Tibetan Medicine and so on.


There is also Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Palliative Care. The point is that all these modalities involve something being done to, or for you.

The Australasian Integrative Medical Association (AIMA) has recently published a major policy statement on the range of healing modalities on offer and I will blog on that soon.

Again, my personal preference is to use the most natural modality that is likely to work and that has the least side effects. What this is will vary from situation to situation and ideally we can be helped/advised by someone with a broad view that has our own best interests at heart.

This is where it is valuable to have a key health practitioner and in my view the ideal person for this role is a General Practitioner who is trained and experienced in Integrative Medicine. AIMA is the peak body for this group and their website features contact details for accredited practitioners.

What I did
I do like to have a sound medical diagnosis, so I did visit an orthopaedic surgeon, had X Rays and an MRI. (I was also curious to see how my lower spine looked on X Ray after all these years - crap basically, but it works well ).

This proved to be a bit of a waste of time because once it was all organized, the arm was pain free and fully functional again. However, the tear was confirmed by the physical exam and on MRI.

I have become pretty good with pain management over the years (have had root canal dentistry without anaesthetic) but this injury was excruciating. I needed to travel and I had commitments to lecture. I took two Nurofen three times and plain Panadol going to bed twice.

Development
Hard to give specific advice here – probably not appropriate either. Situations can be so different. Best to reflect on the principles, discuss your own situation with your family, health practitioners and any other confidants you trust and then decide what works best for you. Taking time to get to a point of confidence, including making time to formally contemplate the possibilities are two things that seem to help most people.

These principles are usually discussed during the specific cancer residential programs Ruth and I present, and in the doing, people are assisted to sort out their priorities and options. Many of the actual Mind-Body techniques are practiced and developed in all our retreats.

5. ACTIVATE YOUR SUPPORT TEAM
The principle
When unwell, constructive support is vital; support from family, friends and health professionals.

What I did
Ruth looked after me extremely well. She also managed her own natural concern for how we would manage if the injury persisted and embarked on the trip expecting the best. It is fair to say that after working initially as a conventional doctor she has needed time, training and experience to be confident of accelerated healing, but having accomplished this, we were united in the possibilities.

I am also fortunate to have a senior orthopaedic surgeon as a friend so I was able to call upon him for early phone advise and then to see him personally when we arrived in Sydney. The injury healed too quickly to call upon any other services.

Development
Seek out the best health professionals in every area of need that you have, ask for help, ask lots of questions, take your time, reflect upon and contemplate the answers and the options, then make deliberate (as in conscious) choices. Then seek help to follow through.

FINALLY
This may be the longest blog to date. If you are still reading, maybe it has been helpful.

Obviously there is a great deal of detail to fully explain what to do to develop each point.

The material presented in this and last week’s blog will be at the heart of the material to be covered in the next specific cancer programs Ruth and I will present – the first, Mind, Meditation and Healing at Wanaka, New Zealand in November 2014, the second, Cancer and Beyond in the Yarra Valley, Australia in May 2015.

(Nutrition will be given thorough coverage as well, while there will be ample time with myself and Ruth for questions and discussion, along with good conversations amongst like-minded people).

To be clear, there is a lot that can be done to accelerate healing. However, in my experience, to do this well it takes some commitment to learning and practice. Both are required. So I have added a resource list below featuring where more details are available via my own books, CDs etc, and I am working on an expanded reading list that I will add to my website soon – suggestions for inclusions are welcome via the comment section below.

In conclusion maybe you know someone else in need and could forward this two-part blog. Maybe together we could help someone else to experience accelerated healing.

RELATED BLOGS
Accelerated healing - Part 1

Radical Remission

NOTICEBOARD
1. Meditation Under the Long White Cloud 
Five day residential retreat in New Zealand with Drs Ian and Ruth Gawler.

It is not too late to end the year with deep natural peace. Profound insight. With over 50 years of leading meditation retreats and a wide variety of groups between us, Ruth and I invite you to join us for a 7 day meditation retreat amidst the beauty of the Coromandel Peninsula.

DATES: Saturday October 25 to Friday October 31

Details, bookings and a flier to download can be accessed by CLICKING HERE

2. Mind, Meditation and Healing
Five days for people affected by cancer led by Drs Ian and Ruth Gawler and where the focus will be on accelerated healing. More details and a flier to download can be accessed by CLICKING HERE

DATES: Arrive 12noon, program commences with lunch together at 1pm Monday 10th Nov.; until 2pm Friday 14th (after lunch) Nov. 2014

VENUE: The Snow Farm Lodge, Cardrona Valley Rd, Wanaka.

BOOKINGS and ENQUIRIES:   canlive.org or call Stew Burt 03 443 4168 OR +64 3 443 6234 New Zealand

RESOURCES

BOOKS 
The Mind that Changes Everything – for details on how to connect the conscious thought “I want to heal”, with the unconscious part of the mind that actually regulates healing.

You Can Conquer Cancer – the complete manual for healing.

CDs and DOWNLOADS
Meditation – a Complete Path – the ideal starting point for meditation and the 2 key guided meditation practices.

Relaxation for Everyone – how to deepen your relaxation – good to use for the purposes described above with the techniques explained and guided on:

Effective Pain Management – how to transform the experience of pain and use it to accelerate healing.

Mind Training – 2CD set that describes how the conscious and the unconscious mind works  and how we can use both intelligently to support healing

Emotional Health – how to recognize and let go of destructive emotions, while enhancing healthy emotions.

PROGRAM TO WATCH VIA YOUTUBE
A Good Life – ABC Compass program outlining something of my life and work.

Link via my website – CLICK HERE 

MASTERS of MIND and BODY

As part of the Mindbody Mastery on-line meditation program I helped to set up, we feature a regular blog series of masters of mind & body..

The aim is to keep going back to that question – Ever wondered what real-life masters of mind & body look like? Who they are? What do they do with their lives? How do they think, speak and act? 

And the answer – Would it surprise you to learn that by and large, they look very much like you and me, and that they mostly live in our own communities? Though some do choose to be renunciate monks and nuns and live in splendid isolation at some of the most spectacular places on earth (like the Himalayas) while yet others choose to live nomadic lives, spreading goodness and inspiration through the world (like the famed Sadhus and Fakirs of India). Invariably each has a keen sense of how they can help make our world a better place, and go about their work in their own unique ways – sometimes in the glare of public limelight, but most often just quietly, and with great dignity.

Having show-cased some who have spectacularly renunciated the world and their identities in their quest for mind-body mastery in our previous two blogs, this time we venture closer to home, with Liz Schiemer of Pt Stephens, NSW, Australia, a Master of Positive Thinking. Her untiring work in improving mental health in her community is an inspiring story as you will see.

Read on...

Accelerated healing 101

The 5 principles you can learn and apply to accelerate the healing of any condition.

Do you sometimes wonder if people who heal quickly are just lucky? Or did a miracle (an unexplained event) occur? Or is the notion of accelerated healing through using the power of the mind actually real, and if so, how best to take advantage of it?

What follows is very personal. It describes my own recent encounter with a major need for healing. And it provides direct advice based on nearly 40 years in this field. It is also a long article as the attempt has been made to make it fairly complete, almost like a healing manifesto, so it will come in 2 parts, but first


Thought for the day

             Without the heart 
             The eyes cannot see 
             And the ears cannot hear


                     Japanese saying





Recently I had the opportunity to put what I teach into practice. Two days before leaving on the recently completed 3 month road trip/speaking tour, I tore the rotator cuff in my right shoulder.

There was the car to pack, the prospect of many miles to travel, many talks to present. And an arm that was completely immobile and excruciatingly painful! Would it heal? How long would it take? How would Ruth and I manage?

Apparently, rotator cuff tears commonly take 2 – 3 months to heal. Some require surgery and some are very slow. Recently a friend was severely debilitated by this injury for 2 years. My rotator cuff tear was diagnosed on clinical examination by an orthopaedic surgeon and confirmed by X Ray and MRI. It was completely healed in 5 days. I decided to delay writing of it until returning home, just to ensure there was no relapse - it remains as strong and reliable as ever.

Just lucky? Maybe, but here then is “Accelerated Healing 101”. The 5 key principles are explained, how I actually applied them to healing a rotator cuff tear is described, and details of how you can develop these principles are provided for whenever you may need healing.

ACCELERATED HEALING 101 – the five key principles

1. USE THE POWER OF THE MIND 
The potential for the mind to limit healing or to accelerate it is vast. This is not about some simplistic “wishful thinking” – hoping for the best with very little action to back it up. No, this is about realizing the potential of our mind, training it and using it intelligently.

i) Have a clear, positive intention
The Principle
Intention is the starting point. Clearly, when it comes to using the power of the mind, the more certainty the better. Dare to aim high. Do expect the extra-ordinary!

What I did
I told my body that it was completely unacceptable to go on a 3 month road trip with an excruciatingly painful, immobile arm. I expected it to heal quickly and fully and I was committed to doing whatever was necessary to bring that about. Healing became my number one priority.

Development
Maybe we are starting with one of the trickiest principles. I have worked with so many people who, when it came to healing, started with doubts, confusion, uncertainty. However, clearly there is hope. This is a skill that can be learnt like all the others we will be discussing; it simply requires some clarity (about what you are really aiming for) and some courage (to dare to commit to that goal and to follow through on it).

ii) Trust in the cause
The principle
A rotator cuff tear is not “an accident”. Like other things in our lives, it follows on from a string of causes and conditions; some of which we will be aware of, some of which will remain somewhat mysterious.

Have confidence that the cause is clearly to do with our life and that it has the potential to be destructive or constructive depending upon how we respond to it.

What I did
Before leaving on this trip, there had been a lot to do. Heaps of organizing for the tour. Heaps of preparation before leaving the farm for 3 months. Heaps of overhead pruning with the chainsaw in the orchard while balancing on one leg.

No obvious specific trigger, but the injury made sense! And while it did provide an excellent and compelling opportunity to revisit and re-examine what  teach, on the surface, it still seemed extremely inconvenient!

Development
The aim is to recognize cause and effect. To let go of any “victim mentality thinking”, the disempowering “poor me” stuff and to recognize that if something has a cause it also has a solution. Logical analysis will get you to this if common sense does not do it even more directly.

It is wise to reflect on all this, to contemplate it and to clarify your own thinking, your own beliefs around healing.

iii) Let go of the past – along with destructive states of mind
The principle
This means letting go of blame, shame (that feeling of not being good enough), guilt and despair. Tough work for some.

What I did
I need to be honest here and at the risk of sounding immodest or deluded, say that fortunately I attended to these destructive states rather thoroughly some years back and they were simply not an issue in this instance. However, I observe that for many people they can provide a major impediment to accelerated healing.

Development
The simple first step here is to work out what you want. If it is to be angry and resentful then healing will suffer. If accelerated healing is what you want, then you have an imperative: work on transforming any destructive mind states you are aware of. For example, forgiveness is possible when you are committed to it and it transforms resentment.

However, there is an important proviso. Sometimes transforming difficult emotions can of itself take a lot of energy and time. Sometimes it can be expedient to focus on getting well in the first instance, then attending to these difficulties later. Timing can be a major issue and the key is to be comfortable with where you are at.

Some people just know they need to work on forgiveness as a major, immediate priority. Others sense that now is not the time; that there is a knowing that these personal issues will need to be attended to, but that healing will be better served by shelving the issues for now and coming back to them later.

The secret is to aim to develop a comfort with where you are at, to avoid beating yourself up and to develop the intuitive skills that give you confidence to know what to do when (this can be reliably accomplished through the practice of contemplation).

iv) Expect healing
The principle
Be confident. The body’s capacity to accelerate healing is truly amazing. There are so many amazing stories to draw upon; to be inspired by. (In the cancer field, read Surviving Cancer and Radical Remission).

What I did
I knew I could heal quickly.

Development
Take inspiring stories to heart. Be comforted by the fact that even if just one person has accomplished remarkable healing before, it can be done again. Draw strength from the growing body of research that documents and analyses many remarkable recoveries.

Avoid negative people. Or better still, use their doubts to constructively challenge and build your own resolve. Remind yourself regularly of the amazing potential for healing you have. Whenever possible, hang out with people who have done it. Attending a well run, like-minded self help/support group can be very useful.

v) Talk to your self kindly and positively
The principle
The messages we give to ourselves directly impact upon our potential for accelerated healing, and on our wellbeing.

What I did
The pain I experienced with my rotator cuff injury was extreme – for a few days. Over the years I have developed some pain management skills (have had root canal dentistry without anaesthetic) but a couple of times I just felt the need to yell! But then I smiled. It was a release. No need to beat myself up, make judgements or feel guilty in some misguided way. Just let it out and move on the freer for having done so. Move on expecting to heal and thanking the body as the positive signs of recovery began to emerge.

Development
Watch your self talk. Learn to actively participate in your own thinking. Rather than allowing your thoughts to dictate how you feel, take control. Notice when you stray into negative or destructive self talk, recognize it, do not take it seriously, do not beat yourself up and instead, give your energy to creative, constructive thoughts.

2. HAVE A SOLID BASE FOR HEALING
The principle
Accelerated healing is based upon the regenerative powers of the body. Inflammation can be important in the early stages of healing, but chronic inflammation and meta-inflammation are both decidedly “anti-healing”.

What we need for accelerated healing is a solid baseline that is anti-inflammatory and regenerative. This is achieved by living a healthy lifestyle.

So good to be doing this before an injury or illness, but again, it is never too late to begin. Two key points:

i) Nutrition
The principle
High levels of meat, dairy, saturated fats and processed foods are all confirmed to promote inflammation and degenerative processes in the body.

Plant based whole foods, good oils, exercise, high fluid intake – all the things you know about – are confirmed to be highly anti-inflammatory, highly regenerative.

What I did
Thoroughly attended to all this

Development
Simple choice really!

ii) Stress management
The principle
Stress also leads to inflammation and aggravates degenerative disease.

What I did
I knew I was under pressure, so I meditated more. Prior to the injury, I had been doing all possible to minimise the load and making time to exercise more.

Development
Especially when healing, do all possible to minimize stressors and make time for relaxation, exercise and meditation. Make meditation a priority and use CDs to help keep focused if you are distracted or have trouble concentrating.

3. USE MIND-BODY MEDICINE
The principle
The body has a vast array of healing mechanisms and they are all regulated by the mind – mostly by the unconscious mind. This regulation involves two-way communication – from the mind to the body AND from the body to the mind.     To be continued….

NEXT WEEK – Accelerated Healing Part 2
How to use the mind to accelerate healing directly using Mind-Body Medicine techniques.

The hierarchy of healing modalities

Activating your support team

FOLLOW UP – specific cancer residential programs with a focus upon accelerated healing

The material presented in this and next week’s blog will be at the heart of the material to be covered in the next specifically cancer related programs Ruth and I will present – the first, Mind, Meditation and Healing at Wanaka, New Zealand in November 2014,  the second, Cancer and Beyond in the Yarra Valley, Australia in May 2015.

(Nutrition will be given thorough coverage as well, while there will be ample time with myself and Ruth for questions and discussion, along with good conversations amongst like-minded people).

RELATED BLOGS
Cancer survivors? Cancer thrivers!

Radical Remission

RESOURCES
BOOKS You Can Conquer Cancer,   Radical Remission,   Surviving Cancer

CDs and DOWNLOADS
Mind Training,   Emotional Health

PROGRAM TO WATCH VIA YOUTUBE
A Good Life – ABC Compass program outlining something of my life and work.

Link via my website – CLICK HERE 

Ian Gawler Blog: Mind-Body Medicine in daily life – the big 3

We hear so much about the wide-ranging benefits of Mind-Body Medicine these days. Relief from stress and anxiety, mind made healing, the power of the mind. So many possibilities.

The recurring question I have been asked over many years is “How do I apply this in daily life? What works best? Where do I start? What next?”

Well, it comes down to three things. So this week we examine the big three with the intention of making clear how Mind-Body Medicine can bring comfort and ease, along with chronic good health into a busy, modern life.

Then details of new events along these lines in Melbourne and around New Zealand; but first

Thought for the day
Recent definition of meditation

Learning to focus our attention 
and suspend the stream of thoughts 
that normally occupy our mind

from the (USA) National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine 





The Big 3 of Mind-Body Medicine
Number 1. RELAXATION
Yes, simple old relaxation. Well perhaps quite not so simple in that Mind-Body relaxation involves relaxation of body and mind.

But a major principle. Based on many years of experience, it is my view that many people, books, even institutions fail to recognize the importance of physical relaxation. The point?

The basic tenet of Mind-Body Medicine is that the mind and the body are connected. A tense body equates with unhealthy changes in the body’s biochemistry and physiology. If we want to have a healthy body, we need to be free of physical tension.

Now, it is possible to be mindful in a tense body. It is possible to do creative imagery or meditation in a tense body. And yes, maybe enough mindfulness, imagery or meditation does enable us to let go of tension. But in my experience it can take years and some never seem to get there. What about you? Ever met a tense meditator?

The answer? Take time to learn, practice and become proficient at relaxing the body and the mind. Start with the body, allow it to flow into the mind. Number 1 taken care of!

Number 2. MEDITATION
For simplicity we will include mindfulness, contemplation, and imagery in this process of training the mind. All are useful. All warrant serious attention with more time dedicated to learning, practicing and become proficient.

Number 2 taken care of in 3 lines! Could take a little longer in practice, but well worth the effort.

Number 3: POSITIVE THINKING
Yes, good old positive thinking. So under-rated. So misunderstood.

When I speak of positive thinking I speak of studying how the mind works and using it intelligently to best advantage.

Clearly it is the mind that changes everything and in Mind-Body Medicine we recognise that the mind decides what we eat and how much of it, what we drink, whether we smoke or exercise, how we manage our relationships, our own mind and our spiritual life.

At the very least, positive thinking is about how we make decisions and how we follow them through. So there is a huge difference between “wishful thinking”, which is when you hope for the best and do nothing about it; and “positive thinking” which is when you hope for the best and do a lot about it.

Positive thinking is not just a state of mind, commonly it is an invitation to quite a deal of focused hard work!

So Number 3 is using the thinking mind intelligently.

PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER.
Again the common question: Where to start? Well, I usually suggest meditation. Meditation that takes Mind-Body Medicine into account and so begins with a focus on relaxing the body and calming the mind. Instant relief from stress and anxiety. A rapid calming and clearing of the mind so that decisions seem easy to make and the confidence is there to follow them through to conclusion.

Sure it makes good sense to develop all three, but meditation is at the heart of Mind-Body Medicine.

COMING EVENTS
Ruth and I are fortunate to be hosting a world authority in Mind-Body Medicine during October. Dr Nimrod Sheinman has taught mindfulness and creative imagery techniques in a wide range of settings – including Universities, schools and hospitals. He and I will present a day seminar in Melbourne, then combine with Ruth for a 5 day retreat/training for individuals and health practitioners in the Yarra Valley.

In November and December, Ruth and I travel to beautiful New Zealand for a series of seminars, evening talks and retreats – see below for details.

We hope to re-connect with those of you who live locally at one of these events. Please help others know about them by sharing this blog post.

NOTICEBOARD - for full details, CLICK on the highlighted sections

1. With Dr Nimrod Sheinman
i) MIND-BODY MEDICINE in DAILY LIFE. Sunday, October 20th - day seminar
Relaxation, meditation and creative imagery for health, business, healing and wellbeing

ii) IMAGES, WORDS and SILENCE  October 28th - November 1st
Five day training/retreat for those interested in mind made healing – either for personal use or as a health professional.
With Dr Nimrod Sheinman, Ruth and myself in the Yarra Valley.

2. NEW ZEALAND
i) AUCKLAND
       Evening Public Lecture: Medicine of the Mind.  Thursday November 14th.
Let go of stress, activate healing, maximise performance in all you do. The power of the mind at work in everyday life.
       Weekend workshop: A New Way of Living
Saturday November 30th: Meditation and the power of the mind
Sunday December 1st: Living Well, Being Well –
A way of living that generates good health, profound healing and log-term wellbeing.

iii) Rotorua: Health, Healing and Wellbeing – Saturday November 16th - day seminar
The essence of what Ian has found most helpful.

iv) Christchurch: Inner peace, Outer health. Sunday November 24th.
A free event - find peace and clarity amidst troubled times.

v) Nelson: Mind-Body Medicine in Daily Life. Evening of November 26th.
Relaxation, meditation and creative imagery for health, business, healing and wellbeing

vi) Meditation Under the Long White Cloud. December 2nd – 8th. Seven day meditation retreat – the first from Ian and Ruth in New Zealand - at Mana Retreat Centre.
Ian will detail how to deepen your understanding and experience of relaxation, mindfulness and meditation; then he and Ruth will guide you into the direct experience of inner peace.

vii) Five day follow-up cancer program.
Specifically for people who have attended a CanLive program in NZ, or Gawler Foundation program. November 18 – 22 at Wanaka out of Queenstown - one of the most beautiful environments there is.

RESOURCES
My books, CDs and CD downloads are all now available once more on line: CLICK HERE
Downloads going to all parts of the world!





Ruth and I are leading
Meditation in the Desert
in the incredible, meditative
Central Australian Desert
so there will be no new post for 2 weeks.

Ian Gawler Blog: Why the Dalai Lama thinks you are so special - a photographic essay

It is a fact. Maybe The Dalai Lama has not even met you, but he is in no doubt; he thinks you are really special and has good reasons for thinking so. He made all of this very clear in Melbourne last week.

So let us go “Out on a Limb” once more, investigate how it is that the Dalai Lama could know you well enough to say he likes you so much, and share some great photos that convey something of the man and his message.

Also, a fabulously interesting new study from Herbert Bedson showing how the Relaxation Response alters genes for the good, and a reminder I am in Brisbane next weekend presenting seminars, then Coffs Harbour,  Katoomba and Sydney. If you are local, hope to see you there. But first

Thought for the day
Happiness is a skill,
emotional balance is a skill, 

compassion and altruism are skills, 
and like any skill they need to be developed. 

That is what education is about.
                                 Matthieu Ricard


Last week, Ruth and I along with nearly 6,000 others had the good fortune to attend the Dalai Lama’s public talk in Melbourne, following up next day with more formal teachings on the Heart Sutra and The 8 Verses of Mind Training.






So why is it that the Dalai Lama respects you so much and is so confident you are so special?


His answer is simple.

It is because in so many ways you are just the same as the 7 billion other people on this planet.

We all share much in common.

Physically we all eat, drink and … you know the rest!

He thinks it is funny too!

But then again, we all have emotions and minds that can be beset by one trouble after another, but we all (well most anyway) have minds that are coherent enough that if we decide to, we can train them and go beyond ordinary human difficulties and confusions and sufferings, and find long-lasting happiness.











However, of even greater significance, the Dalai Lama is in no doubt that as a human being what you undoubtedly share with the other 7 billion of us is that we all have fundamental goodness.

The inner potential for full enlightenment - as he would put it.

This is what he really admires in you.

Fundamental goodness.

This is what he sees in you.

This is what he bows to.











This is why he travels the world speaking wherever he can, and giving his life to teaching everyone who will listen.










For this message, when taken to heart, when realized, is a direct antidote to any personal misgivings we may have about our selves. A direct antidote to any feelings of low self-esteem or self-hatred. When we know that in our hearts, in our essence, there is this fundamental goodness, this intrinsic purity, then how can we do anything but respect who we really are?

My sense of it is that the root cause of so many of the current maladies that affect people, and I see this over and over in young and old, is low self-esteem. An uncertainty about fundamental worth. Confusion about "who I really am?" and "what I am really worth?"

With low self-esteem comes low self-love and then comes recrimination. Guilt, shame, self-abuse in both obvious and subtle ways. 

So much chronic, degenerative disease has low self-esteem at its heart.

With a healthy sense of self-worth comes self-love and self-care. How could you not look after yourself if you have a sense of this fundamental goodness? Dare I say it, this self-love is like having a direct and unshakeable sense of the sacred within. What follows has to be self-care. So much good health has high self-esteem at its heart.

But then of course there is a major bonus. When we recognise the essential goodness in our self, we naturally recognise the essential goodness in others - all 7 billion of them. While we also can recognise that on the outer level people stuff up, we stuff up, we know that in our hearts we are all pure and good; so there is a basic respect for the potential of each and every person. By finding peace in our heart, we naturally generate peace towards others and contribute to peace in our world.

Peace will never be imposed on the world. A peaceful world can only ever be made up of a world full of people at peace in their own hearts. Recognising our fundamental goodness brings "a peace that passes all understanding". Deep, natural peace.

How do we deal with the fact that we stuff up (well just occasionlly maybe)? How do we develop our own confidence in this fundamental goodness?

The Dalai Lama is clear about the answer to these questions as well: train the mind and practice meditation.



Of the specific teachings he gave, the Heart Sutra is a famous teaching that brings out the essence or the heart of the Buddha's teachings. Through the gradual process of cultivating wisdom, it points out that we can develop the ability to cut through delusions and understand the ultimate nature of the way in which 'I' and all phenomena exist.

The Eight Verses of Mind Training shows us how, through generating compassion, loving kindness and altruism, we can transform our ordinary mind into attaining enlightenment.





It being 2 years since his last visit, one of the first things His Holiness said in Australia was:

I’m very happy to be here once more, having the opportunity of meeting with long-time friends. So, two years have passed, I’m wondering, among our old friends, in the last two years, how many have progressed, in your mental quality? 

Physically we have become older and older, no force can stop that… so it is really worthwhile day by day, week by week, that there is some improvement to mental quality, so that our life can become more meaningful.

With thanks to the official photographer for the following picture with its insert
(for more official photos LINK HERE)

So there is the challenge: What have we done recently to improve our “mental quality”?

What have we done to train our mind? How much meditation have we been practising? This is one of the great benefits of a visit from someone like the Dalai Lama, he reminds us, he re-inspires us to do what we know is so good for us.

If interested, you can view the Public Talks and Sydney/ Darwin Teachings on the Dalai Lama in Australia You Tube Channel (There were some technical issues in Melbourne, but the audio is available) LINK HERE

If you feel motivated to support the Dalai Lama’s work and help the Tibetan cause, go to the Australia Tibet Council and see what inspires you: LINK HERE 

NOTICEBOARD
SEMINARS COMING SOON in Queensland and NSW
This will be my 30th year presenting at the Relaxation Centre in Brisbane.

Ruth and I love these events where we get to meet up with people we know, make new friends, to remind ourselves and others of what works and to share the latest in our field of health, healing and wellbeing.

Please do forward the details to those you may know in any of these places and if you live nearby, we hope to see you at one of the events. Bring your family (we had 5 members from the same family share a day seminar recently), come with a friend, tell your colleagues.


These seminars are interactive, a great way to review what you already know, to be re-inspired and re-enthused, and to learn exciting new things, like the latest breakthroughs in epigenetics, the neurosciences, telomeres and nutrition.

Something for everyone!

Brisbane
June 27; Evening Public Lecture: Health, Healing and Wellbeing
29 – 30; Weekend seminar: A New Way of Living

Coffs Harbour
July 6; Day seminar: Medicine of the Mind

Katoomba
July 9; Day seminar: Health, Healing and Wellbeing

Sydney
July 13 - 14, Weekend seminar: A New Way of Living

RELATED BLOG
On enlightenment

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Famous Harvard Professor demonstrates that the Relaxation Response positively changes gene expression – even in a single session!

Herbert Benson (author of the highly recommended The Relaxation Response) first described the relaxation response – the physiologic opposite of the fight-or-flight response – almost 40 years ago, and his team has pioneered the application of mind/body techniques to a wide range of health problems.

Studies in many peer-reviewed journals have documented how the Relaxation Response alleviates symptoms of anxiety and many other disorders and also affects factors such as heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen consumption and brain activity.

In 2008, Benson and Libermann led a study finding that long-term practice of the relaxation response changed the expression of genes involved with the body's response to stress.  The current study examined changes produced during a single session of Relaxation Response practice, as well as those taking place over longer periods of time.

Both short-term and long-term practitioners evoked significant temporal gene expression changes with greater significance in the latter as compared to novices. Relaxation Response practice enhanced expression of genes associated with energy metabolism, mitochondrial function, insulin secretion and telomere maintenance, and reduced expression of genes linked to inflammatory response and stress-related pathways.

The published results for the first time indicate that Relaxation Response elicitation, particularly after long-term practice, may evoke its downstream health benefits by improving mitochondrial energy production and utilization and thus promoting mitochondrial resiliency through upregulation of ATPase and insulin function.

Benson stresses that the long-term practitioners in this study elicited the relaxation response through many different techniques – various forms of meditation, yoga or prayer – but those differences were not reflected in the gene expression patterns.

"People have been engaging in these practices for thousands of years, and our finding of this unity of function on a basic-science, genomic level gives greater credibility to what some have called 'new age medicine,' " he says.


The full reference is : Bhasin MK, Dusek JA, Chang B-H, Joseph MG, Denninger JW, et al. (2013) Relaxation Response Induces Temporal Transcriptome Changes in Energy Metabolism, Insulin Secretion and Inflammatory Pathways.
To read it, CLICK HERE

Ian Gawler Blog:The 3 most powerful tools for personal transformation

Announcing an exciting training for health professionals and keen individuals that focuses on the clinical application of therapeutic language, imagery and meditation.

It is with real enthusiasm that I write to tell you that Dr. Nimrod Sheinman is coming again to Australia in October, to join Ruth and myself in a 5-Day residential training that will focus on the use of imagery, meditation and language for inner transformation, personal and professional development.

In this special guest blog, Nimrod describes how he became involved in this aspect of his work, what is on offer (a huge potential for major insights, personal breakthroughs and transformation!), and a little of the program we have put together.

It has been my good fortune to get to know Nimrod well over the last 25 years, and to host several of his previous trainings. He is an excellent teacher, great communicator, highly experienced, compassionate and passionate!

Who will attend?
This training is primarily intended for clinicians, but individuals keen to learn and apply these principles and techniques in their own lives, and who have a good grounding in meditation and imagery already, are encouraged to attend.

It is a special feature of the style of this training that we encourage clinicians and clients to interact and learn with each other as well as from each other.

NOTE: 30 Category 2 CPD Points applied for from the RACGP, and this training/program would qualify as training hours for those applying for registration with ATMA.

To download the flier, CLICK HERE                               For further enquiries call 03 59666130


But first
Thought for the day
Light will someday split you open

Even if your life is now a cage.

For a divine seed,

the crown of destiny,

Is hidden and sown on 
an ancient, fertile plain

You hold the title to.
                           Hafiz

Dr Nimrod Sheinman on Images, Words and Silence




It was 1986. I was an Israeli naturopathic physician who had trained for four years in the US, and now I was visiting Melbourne to meet my brother, who later became the founder of the wonderful organic Himalaya Bakery and Café in Daylesford.









As I was standing in front of my brother's library, a blue book caught my eyes. I pulled it out. The photo on the front cover reminded me of a Rene Magritte painting (the famous European surrealist painter), showing a man in black suit with blue sea and blue sky in the background.










The book's photo showed a tall man standing in front of a blue fence, beyond which is a blue sea and blue sky. The man wears a long blue robe, from which only one leg is seen underneath. The cover extolls "You Can Conquer Cancer". As I opened and began to read the book I became excited. "I have to meet this man", I said to myself.







Back then in the summer or ’86, I was on my way back to the US for a one year Mind-Body Residency at Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington. My area of expertise was mainly Mind-Body Medicine. Although I was well trained in clinical nutrition, manipulation therapy, nutritional supplements, herbal medicine and homeopathic prescribing, "Healing, Consciousness and Transformation" (the name of a course I was co-teaching) was "my thing".

I was very inspired by the then new Mind-Body Medicine findings. I had been lucky to be in the US during the '80s, the years during which psycho-neuro-immunology was discovered, Mind-Body Medicine evolved and holistic medicine organized. I met leading mind-body innovators and thinkers, heard the best holistic experts and learned first-hand from great mind-body pioneers.

I was most interested in the practical application of these exciting new developments, and from amongst the various mind-body tools, Interactive Guided Imagery stood out. I went on to learn skills in this area from Martin Rossman MD and David Bresler PhD, experts, pioneers, authors and later the founders of the American Academy for Guided (Interactive) Imagery.

The forte of Interactive Guided Imagery is the unique guided dialogue between the patient and his or her images or inner metaphors, and the skills needed by the clinician to direct this communication process. Interactive imagery beautifully integrates Mind-Body Medicine principles, along with the Jungian perspective, Mindfulness-based approaches, Empathic Dialogue and lots of "trust the process".

It was my last day in Australia, so all I could accomplish at the time was to find Ian's phone number and call him. We spoke and agreed to meet next year. This became the first time I visited one of Ian's support groups, participated and taught in a 10 day cancer retreat and gave a seminar to his staff.





In 1990, we presented Medicine of the Mind, a two day conference, which as our brochure said, was devoted to presenting "up-to-date information on the theoretical research and clinical data that could well change the face of health, healing and medicine".


My connection and friendship with Ian is now over 25 years old!





In these 25 years, much has been discovered on the mind-body connection, the complementary aspects of imagery and meditation, the power of the mind to heal and the roles of the patient and clinician. A huge body of research is now available to us, as well as experience gained in numerous mind-body and integrative medicine institutes.

Interactive Imagery combined with mind-body and mindfulness-based approaches is a "must have" for clinicians. As a technique, it is a great ally to meditation, because it enables people (with the therapist as a guide) to contact inner feelings, processes, struggles and moods; to look at them differently, to explore them as possible positive guides, to learn from them and reduce their hold.

During the last 25 years, I have been fortunate to teach Interactive Imagery training seminars in Europe, USA, Australia and Israel, and to explore its unique value with physicians, psychologists, social workers, nurses and complementary medicine practitioners.

We have witnessed its usefulness in diverse situations, such as in extreme life events, chronic stress disorders, oncology care, trauma work, pain control, and more. Here is what some practitioners have had to say:

"The Interactive Imagery training helped me to connect with my patient's woundedness and their strength, and to empower clients in their healing process", said one psychotherapist.

"Interactive Imagery is a wonderful technique", said one physician, "because it enables me to guide my patients towards their deeper Self, and to harness its healing potential".

Or a social worker’s statement: "Integrating Interactive Imagery with mindfulness enables me to reach the patient's unconscious mind, in order to identify its hidden messages".

All of which will be translated into our coming training in October where those who join us will be experiencing and learning how to:

• Integrate the latest research findings and insights of Mind-Body Medicine with Imagery-based Therapy and Mindfulness-based Meditation  

• Use language, imagery and silence therapeutically, and how best to combine them synergistically to generate healing and wellbeing

• Guide Dialogue between the Person and the Image– the step-by-step approach of communicating with symbols and metaphors 

• Use Interactive Imagery and meditation to transform troublesome "symptom makers" into unique and interesting allies  

• Bring imagery exploration into loaded clinical situations, mobilize personal resources and fortify resilience

This will be a highly experiential, interactive and practical training, uniquely suited to practitioners and informed people keen to work on their own health, healing and wellbeing.


To download the flier, CLICK HERE

For further enquiries call 03 59666130

HOW TO REGISTER

NOTE: 30 Category 2 CPD Points applied for from the RACGP, and this training/program would qualify as training hours for those applying for registration with ATMA.


RELATED BLOG
The Mind that Changes everything

RESOURCES

BOOK: The Mind that Changes Everything

CDs: Mind Training

Mind-Body Medicine

RESEARCH ARTICLE
Bowel cancer? Get off your backside!!!

Associations of recreational physical activity and leisure time spent sitting with colorectal cancer survival.               Campbell PT et al, J Clin Oncol.  2013; 31(7):876-85 

Little is known about the association of recreational physical activity or leisure time spent sitting with survival after colorectal cancer diagnosis. This study examined the associations of prediagnosis and postdiagnosis recreational physical activity and leisure time spent sitting with mortality among patients with colorectal cancer.

CONCLUSION of the Study?: More recreational physical activity before and after colorectal cancer diagnosis was associated with lower mortality, whereas longer leisure time spent sitting was associated with higher risk of death.