Navigating the Evolution of the Soul

There is a phenomenon happening for myself and for many of my clients at the moment.  It is marked by inner perturbations, exhaustion, melt downs and various physical and emotional challenges.  These symptoms can appear rather mystifying, especially when so much attention and energy has already been invested in healing.  I have learnt a lot through muscle testing over the past 24 years, which sheds light on such mystifying occasions.  One thing I know about the process of evolution of the soul is that it highlights the patterns, emotions, attitudes, thoughts and aspects of the self which need to be released in order for a greater expression of the true self.  When this happens, we hit up against the unconscious and conscious obstacles and the inner conflicts and outdated programs.  At this point they can become very obvious and disturbing.  This discomfort moves us into surrendering and finding new ways of operating.  Sometimes this requires action, and sometimes it requires no action, other than surrender and trust.  It always requires acceptance and awareness.  When we realise and accept the truth of the body and soul’s callings, we can respond with loving right action.

Every time there is a transition in life or process of evolving, there can be a de-stabilising and re-stabilising effect.  This was the reason for me publishing my book Melting Moments. I had recognised the numbers of times my body and soul had experienced this dismemberment, a type of death and re-birth.   I knew that I was not alone and wanted to share with others the magic that occurs in this place of discomfort.  The section in my book titled Rebuilding and Restructuring gives some perspectives on this.  The Reflection process - Imaginings wanted and Unwanted helps to cultivate awareness to support yourself in times of transition.

Another recommendation I have for these moments is to get yourself a copy of Clarissa Pinkola Estes book, Women who run with the Wolves.  She introduced me to the concept of psychological phases of development.  For females, development tends to run in 7 year cycles.   This book is highly recommended for any woman who wishes to be nourished and supported with the power of story and wisdom.

The 7 year cycles are helpful to consider when you hit those moments in life where you feel a bit out of synch or like you are grating your own gears.  These phases aren’t necessarily tied to the age bracket as every female uniquely moves through her life in her own unique way. They can offer new insights and peaceful acceptance of your process. They represent how women move through changes in attitudes, tasking and values. I have found they have helped me to make sense of my life and to focus myself in the best possible way.

0-7 Age of the body and dreaming/socialization, yet retaining imagination

7-14 Age of separating yet weaving together reason and the imaginal

14-21 Age of new body/young maidenhood/unfurling yet protecting sensuality

21-28 Age of new world/new life/exploring the worlds

28-35 Age of the mother/learning to mother others and self

35-42 Age of the seeker/learning to mother self/seeking the self

42-49 Age of early crone/finding the far encampment/giving courage to others

49-56 Age of the underworld/learning the words and rites

56-63 Age of choice/choosing one’s world and the work yet to be done

63-70 Age of becoming watchwoman/recasting all one has learned

70-77 Age of re-youthanization/more cronedom

77-84 Age of the mist beings/finding more big in the small

84-91 Age of weaving with the scarlet thread/understanding the weaving of life

91-98 Age of the ethereal/less to saying, more to being

98-105 Age of pneuma, the breath

105 + Age of timelessness

Currently I am midway through the phase of early cronedom and finding the far encampment.  In this time I am finding I need more space and time for cultivating connection with the spiritual world that sustains me and supports me in giving courage to others.  I am usually so very proficient in the practical aspects of life and managing a business, yet lately my brain and heart are sending me in another direction, and the practical everyday activities have become increasingly difficult.  Rather than fight this, I have decided to go with it, and I am taking a 6 week sabbatical from my work and business.

From the 13th of March I will be offline and will be offering my clients a host of alternatives for support and healing while I am out.  One of these will be an online membership that gives access to a whole range of courses, tools and strategies for self healing and supporting the body, heart and soul.  This is a culmination of the last 20 years of my clinical experience and research.  I am opening the vault on my healing toolbox and making my healing knowledge available through this membership site.

The Macquarie dictionary gives the definition of the crone as ‘an old woman, especially one who is withered in appearance and disagreeable in nature’.  This amused me and reminds me that knowledge that comes from a book is nothing without lived experience and wisdom.  I am grateful to all the women who have shared their experience and wisdom through navigating this early crone phase.  Discussing the challenges and the gifts for this time has been a soul nurturing experience for me and in the process I get to witness the true colours of some amazing women in my life.  I will be sure to include many experiential learning opportunities for people to deepen their connection with their own body and soul wisdom in the membership tools I am offering.

I hope to re-surface from my sabbatical with a deep and wholesome connection with life that serves myself and others in a greater way. On that note, I invite you all to deepen your connection with the wisdom and strength that has been cultivated through your years of experience and your unique soul’s learnings in the process.  This is what fortifies us to continue growing in spirit.  It can be a fun and illuminating experience to look back at your life through the above 7 year cycles, and reflect on what fortified you in that time.

Soul Nurturing blessings from Simone

Reference: Clarissa Pinkola Estes (1992) Women who run with the wolves, Ballantine Books, New York, p. 484-485

Toxicity's Influence on Mental Health

Pristine Sunrise Over Water

Take care of your mental health by taking care of your inner environment

For mental health month I am taking a focus on the way toxicity affects mental health.

Toxins in our environment are ever increasing and can affect not only our physical health, it also affects mental health in a number of ways.Toxins can be taken into the body via 3 different routes:

Oral - the mouth - food, drink, medications
Topical - on the skin
Respiratory - substances breathed into the mouth, nostrils and lungs.

Toxic substances such as chemicals, synthetics and heavy metals can be found in the environment, some foods, water supply and air.  Another form of toxic burden on the body is the bio toxins (bacteria, mould, mycotoxins, fungus, parasites, viruses, candida overgrowth etc.)

In my kinesiology practice I have seen how all these types of toxins are at the root cause of so many health issues such as anxiety, irritability, fatigue and chronic pain.

Here are some more examples of Symptoms of toxicity:

aching, brain fog, headaches, skin problems, digestive upsets, moodiness, irritability, stiffness, muscle and joint pain, bloating, fluid retention (holding water in the body), menstrual problems, nausea, feeling sluggish, morning fatigue, weight gain, difficulty losing weight

  

All these things make it difficult to enjoy life and feel a sense of mental wellness.  When health issues are chronic, they wear away at our mental health.  The work of Dr Stephanie from the Vagus clinic demonstrates that many anxiety attacks are actually the body’s response to a toxin.  When a toxin floods the system, the heart rate will increase and the adrenal response will increase to  immobilise resources to flush toxins out of the body.  She has found that in these cases, when people take a toxin binder, then it can settle within 20 minutes.  It is important that you use the correct binder for the relevant toxin.  I use muscle testing to identify what toxins are in the body that need to be released and different body’s will respond better to some binders or treatments than others. This is the magic of a muscle test.  It gives direct feedback from the body about what the stress on the body is and what it needs to release it.  I also use bodywork techniques to support the detoxification processes in the body.

Toxins deplete glutathione in the body. This nutrient is not just necessary for detoxification, it also helps with digestion and immune function. It protects the mitochondrial function (essential for energy production, good brain function and mental health), protects integrity of red blood cells, protects the intestinal walls and protects against oxidative stress. It is a component of bile and gastric acid needed to digest fats and proteins. Deficiencies in glutathione lead to cancer, chemical sensitivities, chronic degenerative disease and immune dysfunction. Glutathione is abundant in bone broth, spinach, avocado and asparagus.

There are many reasons to support the body to detoxify in order to maintain and support optimal health. If we listen to, and act on the body’s toxic whispers, they can be prevented from becoming a scream of chronic illness. There are many things you can do to support the body to detoxify.

The liver is a primary detoxification organ and when it is overwhelmed by too many toxins, it struggles to keep up with the 500+ other jobs it has to manage. Body functions such as immunity, hormone balance, nutritional and energy management are dependant on a healthy functioning liver. Additionally, when the liver is burdened by processing alcohol, its capacity to detoxify and perform all these functions is diminished.  People with liver toxicity will also experience irritability and can be quick to anger.  Bitter feelings, hostility, distress and generalised unhappiness are also emotions associated with liver toxicity.

Additionally, the more we can support the large intestine to clear toxins, the better off the liver is.  Toxins reabsorbed from the colon will go to the liver for processing putting extra burden on the liver so it is a number one priority to make sure constipation does not hold you back with detoxification.

Gut toxicity and inflammation from the likes of poor diet, excessive alcohol, pathogens, and pesticides have a significant impact on the brain and mental health.  It can also be the root cause of anxiety and depression.  Most of the body’s serotonin which is important for calm and well-being, is produced in the gut.  Serotonin imbalances lead to anxiety and depression, and its production is affected by toxins in the gut.  Gut inflammation can also cause inflammation in the brain which will cause feelings of irritability and affect cognitive function and decision making.  When we are making bad decisions or feeling incapable with cognitive functions and decision making, it can affect how we feel about ourself mentally.

To support your body to heal, it is important to reduce your exposure to toxins.  It can be impossible to completely eliminate all toxins so choosing less is best.  Begin by making sure that you are always drinking filtered water.  Be mindful of what you are putting on and in your body. Refer to the list below:

FOOD & DRINK:

Heavy metals can be found in tins and cans, aluminium foil, cookware, large fish

Fluoride is a neurotoxin in large doses and is present in most toothpastes as well as town water, which is amounting to large doses

Recreational drugs and medications

Pesticides, insecticides, fungicides and herbicides are used on most plant foods that aren’t organically or bio-dynamically grown

Additives, preservatives, flavour enhancers - be aware of anything labelled with a number Eg MSG 621 or E621

MSG & Artificial sweeteners eg. Aspartame, Saccharin, Sucralose (E950, 951, 952, 954, 955, 956)

Processed vegetable oils - canola oil, safflower oil, soy oil, sunflower oil, rice bran oil are all highly inflammatory and contribute to toxic burden in the body.

Phthalates - most commonly found in plastics (BPA) such as food packaging

BODY PRODUCTS

Shampoos, conditioners, cleansers, moisturisers, body washes can contain chemical compounds that are toxic

Most deodorants contain aluminium and other toxins such as fragrances.

Perfumes (fragrance additives) or perfumed moisturising creams etc.

Cosmetics - foundations, lipsticks, eye makeup, hair dye, nail polish.  Low toxic, natural options can be found

Phthalates found in personal care products, such as nail polish, hair sprays, aftershave lotions, soaps, shampoos, perfumes, and other fragrance preparations

Household cleaning products and bleaches - if it smells bad it is probably bad for you.

ENVIRONMENT

Endocrine disruptors: fragrances, air fresheners, paints, flame retardants, glues, synthetic fabrics (the new smell)

Emissions from cars, aviation, smoke, cigarettes, manufacturing and industry

Fabric softeners and fragranced washing detergents

Heavy metals can be found in dental amalgams, batteries, electrical contacts, skin lightening products, some paints, fungicide, fertiliser, hair dyes, cigarettes, exhaust fumes

Phalates (BPA) found in plastics such as toys, vinyl flooring and wall covering, detergents, lubricating oils.  The safest plastics are numbered 2, 4 and 5, as these are the more stable plastics.

If you are struggling with mental health or toxicity, and want to find out exactly what it is that is causing it, and what you need to recover, I can highly recommend a kinesiology session.

I also have some documents that I can email to you to support you with a liver and colon cleanse.   It is a super easy and achievable program to do to help you out.

Top 6 supports to harness the power of your nervous system

Self healing with touch

Calming the nervous system with touch to support self regulation and inner power

Our sense of safety is fundamental to healing and feeling empowered in life.  When the nervous system is in balance and functioning at it’s optimum we have the power to heal and create our best life.  The life we create is largely governed by our choices.  If the nervous system or brain function is in a state of stress or toxicity, we don’t make the best decisions or can feel uncertainty or insecurity with decision making.  All these things can amount to a sense of. Powerlessness.

The secret to unlocking the power of body wisdom and intuition (higher guidance) is in supporting calm and clarity in the nervous system.  Many chronic health problems and mental health issues are caused by over-active stress responses.  You may have heard of the sympathetic nervous system and a part of the brain called the amygdala.  These neurological functions are involved in the fight/flight/withdrawal/anxiety kinds of responses.  In essence, the amygdala can be overactive and dis-regulate the immune system, hormonal balance, digestive function and higher levels of executive/rational brain function.  Again, these physical states of being can amount to a sense of. Powerlessness. 

These my top 6 strategies to send safety signals to your body and calm the nervous system.  This will cultivate a sense of power in your everyday life and ability to heal. 

Send Safety Signals to Your Body #1

Safe home environment

It is foundational for the body to feel safe in order for it to heal.

Have you created a safe environment in your home for your body to do its rejuvenation?  Is it free from mould?  Is it clutter free and clean?  Are there items that cause you stress or irritation? Do you surround yourself with the things that make you feel good? Do you only welcome into your home those people you feel comfortable and safe with?

Send Safety Signals to Your Body #2

Safe self talk

Negative self talk, and ruminating on angers and worries (fight and fear/flight) gives the nervous system signals that the body is not safe.  This is one aspect of health that we have power over.  Awareness to the thoughts and emotions that we choose to perpetuate gives us the power to make positive changes.  Are your thoughts and emotions towards yourself kind and loving?

Send Safety Signals to Your Body #3

Conscious choice

We all have the power to choose our thoughts, stories, attitudes, beliefs, emotions and behaviours when we are aware.  Busy thoughts and over thinking on problems and worries can be programming the nervous system into a stress mode.  Give your nervous system and brain some restoration by rejecting unhelpful thoughts. The power of choice is the greatest power that we have to positively influence our life.  What are you choosing to say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ to today?

Send Safety Signals to Your Body #4

Be present with appreciation

Train your nervous system to calm by being present to the moment.  Worries about the future or ruminating about the past can cause the nervous system to react in stress.  Instead, focus on what you have to appreciate.  What is good and right in your life right now?

Send Safety Signals to Your Body #5 

Build inner trust

When we consistently dishonour the body’s needs or the soul’s wisdom we create an internal struggle and stress responses.  Taking space and time each morning and frequently throughout the day gives you the chance to hear and act on your body’s needs and intuition.  Then trust, power and confidence in yourself can be strengthened.

Send Safety Signals to Your Body #6

Release toxins and pathogens

Toxic burden from the likes of pathogens (mould, bacteria, virus, parasites, yeasts), heavy metals, pesticides, cigarettes and everyday chemicals can put the body into a fight/flight/withdrawal/anxiety kind of stress response.  It is the body’s way of alerting you to the fact that the internal environment is not safe and needs to be dealt with.  Supporting detoxification and immune function to clear out these toxins can reduce huge amounts of stress affecting the body and brain functions.  These are the most common toxins that I find affecting the people who I work with for healing.

Parasites: Parasites can overstimulate the sympathetic nervous system, leading to inflammation throughout the body.  They disrupt sleep which is a powerful body function for healing.  They can also cause constipation, which further increases toxicity.

Mold: Mold directly affects our body’s stress reaction pathways, creating an inflammatory response in the brain and other organs that can lead to chronic fatigue, anxiety, and depression. It has the energetic affect in the body much like it has in nature where it is associated with the sense of ‘lay down and die’.  So if you are feeling that deep sense of powerlessness and hopelessness then it is worth looking into mold or mycotoxin (the microscopic airborne component of mold) involvement.

Bacteria:  There is a unique bacterial component in the gut and in the brain - it is called the microbiome.  Microbes support the health of the gut and nervous system by providing the optimal environment and symbiotic relationships with the body for health.  When there is a bacterial infection or overgrowth of bacteria that are not supportive, the nervous system of the brain and the gut can be dis regulated and show signs of stress such as irritability, headaches, fatigue.

Candida: This is a yeast that is naturally occurring in the body yet when it is overgrown, it will cause stressful symptoms such as sugar cravings, irritability, fatigue, brain fog, physical discomfort and agitation. 

Chemical Toxicity: Toxins such as pesticides, heavy metals, solvents, and even environmental pollutants can all contribute to fight or flight mode by increasing stress hormones cortisol and adrenaline.  Heavy metals in particular can cause a range of unwanted neurological symptoms such as memory problems, concentration difficulties, restlessness, irritability, mood swings and a range of other cognitive challenges.  This can then contribute to those feelings of powerlessness and anxiety.

The first step to empowering your body in the face of toxicity is to make sure that you are always drinking filtered water.  Be mindful of what you are putting on and in your body.  Air quality is also important to consider. 

And if all of this sounds too overwhelming or confusing then don’t worry.  That is why we have muscle testing.  I regularly use muscle testing to check in with my own body at times to find the root cause of what is disturbing my nervous system.  This was a big part of the reason for our move to Bridgetown.  My nervous system needed less noise, electromagnetic frequencies, wind and other stimulation that I was exposed to while living in Fremantle.

Stay tuned for my online courses that I am currently developing which will help you to tap into your own healing powers.  In the meantime, I am conducting Kinesiology consultations Monday, Tuesday, Friday and Saturday and use muscle testing so that your body can show you its answers. You can email me at info@soulnurturing.com.au to enquire about appointments.

Research Highlights Using Plants for Healing

Plant Remedies

Essential oils and flower remedies are just some of the beautiful gifts we have from plants which support healing

The health of our body and spirit is influenced by both our inner and outer world.

Over the years of being in practice as a health professional, from being a nurse, to a health and safety officer, to a Kinesiologist and KaHuna massage therapist, I have been an avid researcher into the things that influence our body, heart and soul.  This blog gives you some of my highlights.

Research has found that essential oils can be a helpful influence on health.   They can be used to make a shift emotionally and cognitively and be able to reach a space where the mind can be clear to reach greater understanding.  They can help us to make a shift in perception which is more positive or supportive.  They can directly influence the hypothalamus, hippocampus, and the limbic system. These systems are responsible for controlling homeostasis, (balanced states of being) managing conscious thought processes, and creating emotional feelings. A number of components in essential oils have been found to contain antidepressant and sedative properties which can therefore support us to feel more uplifted when we are down or more calm when we are stressed.

Flower remedies are also a medicine for mental and emotional health which has a knock on effect to the physical health of the body and how we feel in our spirit.  In the words of Ian White, developer of Australian Bush flower essences:

‘A flower essence is an extremely diluted liquid that contains the essence and vibrations of a flower.  It is used to bring clarity to the conscious mind and resolved negative beliefs.  Flower essences also directly affect us at the subconscious level where we make decisions about our emotions, health, energy, abilities, life directions and relationships.  As a result, real physical change and emotional healing occurs.’

These are 3 things to consider when managing health:

  1. Mental states: Each day I start with attuning to my Soul’s intentions and my soul’s wisdom.  This morning I was very grateful for the guidance that arose, because it is associated with a fundamental influence on how we feel - and that is judgement.  This was what came through for me to consider today:

‘Don’t put a judgement on the day or the people you will see or the activities you need to do.  Approach everything with an open mind and an open heart and be attuned to what feels right.  Some tasks that seemed important may lose their importance and pull.  The conversation about going to Turkey was just this.  Flexibility reduces feelings of hurt.’

When we resist or judge something or make it seem wrong or right, we can become less flexible in the way we work with situations and opportunities that arise, and then stress can arise.  Much like an inflexible body is more prone to injury and hurt, so is an inflexible mind.  We are more prone to hurt when we are unable to be flexible with perception, prioritising and being able to ‘roll with the punches’ as they say.   The Australian bush flower essence Yellow cowslip orchid is a very good one for releasing judgemental mindset which can cause us to resist what is true or what is simply present for us.  When we are fixated on our preferences it can cause us to feel stress, because as we all well know, things don’t always go to plan or work out the way we thought or wanted.

There are also combinations of flower remedies that are wonderful for supporting positive mental states.  Confid essence, cognis essence, calm and clear essence and abound essence are some which I use regularly in my practice to support people to overcome mental challenges.

2. Emotional states:

By nature emotions are energy in motion.  When they become stuck in the body or if we hold on to them mentally, they become toxins which can compromise cellular function.  Symptoms of emotional toxicity include:

  • Anxiety

  • Overwhelm

  • Depression

  • Irritability

  • Overreacting in Anger

  • Nausea

  • Headaches

  • Insomnia or other Sleep Issues

  • Fatigue

  • Lethargy or low motivation

  • Little to no interest in things you used to enjoy.

  • Tearing Up or Crying easily

  • Feeling spaced out

  • Muscle cramps, aches and pains

  • Feeling jumpy, restless, fidgety

  • Feeling fascial tension

Emotions can be detoxified from the body by moving the body or applying massage for releasing emotional energy that gets stuck in the muscles, lymph and fascia of the body.  Supporting the heart to enhance compassion and transformation of emotional energy is also a powerful way of freeing ourself from emotional stress.  The heart integrates and balances the physical, emotional, and mental body and gives us the power to heal and transform emotional pain.

Essential oils that support the resonance of the heart and therefore coherence of our physical, mental and emotional state of being are:

  • Neroli

  • Spruce

  • Roman Chamomile

  • Blue Tansy

  • Jasmine

  • Rose

3. Environmental toxins

Environmental toxins not only accumulate in the body throughout our life, they can also be passed on from mother to child.  The accumulation of heavy metals and other environmental toxins is having devastating affects on adults and children.  I see it with virtually every one of my clients.  Other environmental toxins that particularly affect the delicate balance of the hormonal and neurological systems are plastics, fragrances, perfumes, pesticides, and synthetic materials such as apolstery, cleaning products and paints.   For example, the smell of a new car or new carpet etc. is the smell of xeno-oestrogens, which are chemical substances that mimic oestrogen in the body and can cause uncomfortable symptoms of oestrogen excess. This can include the notorious baby brain (or brain fog) menstrual pain, headaches, irritability and painful breasts.  With the body burden of toxins that is accumulating in our food chain, we need to make sure that we are supporting our detoxification organs.

Here are some detoxifying oils:

  • Lemon

  • Rosemary

  • Ginger

  • Peppermint

  • Mint

  • Spearmint

  • Lemon myrtle

  • Lemongrass

  • May chang

  • Lemon tea-tree

And this is an immunity blend which can support the immune system to be resilient for toxins such as viral or bacterial burden:

  • cinnamon

  • clove

  • eucalyptus

  • lemon

  • orange

  • rosemary

For more information on how to use essential oils and flower remedies here are some great resources listed below.

An online or face to face kinesiology appointment is also an option for you to find out exactly what your body needs in relation to essential oils and flower remedies. Targeting specific conditions, one at a time, can be a very powerful way of healing and often the body has its own unique order of proceedings.  Honouring the body’s timing and wisdom on this makes the meaning process more effective and easeful.

Resources:

Cohen. J, Vibrant Blue oils, Emotional detox support, https://vibrantblueoils.com/emotional-detox-support/?utm_source=infusionsoft&utm_medium=email&utm_term=emotional-detox-support&utm_content=newsletter&utm_campaign=blog&inf_contact_key=faceaf3ba30f0882fba1d281d2c111037e470d92b8b75168d98a0b8cac0e9c09

White, I. (1999) Australian Bush Flower Healing, Bantam Books, Australia

Zielinski, E. Natural Living Family, 10 Essential oils for detox: all you need to know, July 2022, https://naturallivingfamily.com/essential-oils-for-detox/?inf_contact_key=ca898623fdb945f2a9dfea58433bd7f46bf72b7be6507ffa57af3236798ca349

9 little known influences on nutritional deficiency

Do you have weak and brittle nails, spots on your nails, fatigue, skin that is easily abraded, hormone imbalances, frequent infections, brain fog or digestive complaints?  These can all be signs of nutritional deficiency.  This modern world is demanding of us in many ways and can cause an increased nutritional demand to replace the precious nutrients that get depleted with a high stress, high paced life.  I love my field of work for the way that it helps people to be able to realistically and reasonably meet such demands.  Many demands come from our own internal expectations and pressures, which is great, because these are the ones that we have the power to manage.  Sometimes lowering the bar for ourself is the kindest thing and the most effective way to manage.

Many people who come to my clinic are genuinely depleted in many ways, and for many reasons.  Winter is a good time for restoration and reflection so that we can move through the following seasons with greater resilience.  To support this, we can take the space and time to do less and step back to get perspective on what we need to let go of, and what we need to assimilate in life.  This is helpful for living life more sustainably and more attuned to your own unique cosmic clock (the soul’s journey).  There are many hidden and not so well know influences that can contribute to states of depletion.

1. Appropriate digestive processes are a priority for utilising nutrition appropriately.  The very nature of digestion involves taking in what we need and eliminating what we don’t need.  When these processes are mismanaged, nutritional deficiency can arise.  Dietary input of nutrition may be adequate, yet if the nutrient can’t be recognised and taken into the cells, supplements and healthy eating is not going to fix the problem.  Sometimes there can be a ‘nutritional mismatch’ where the body interprets a nutrient as a toxin or as a waste product and eliminates it rather than using it.  Any metal in large doses is toxic to the body, so if large amounts of iron or zinc for example, are pumped into the body, it may eliminate it.  There are often necessary nutritional co-factors required for utilising vitamins and minerals which if are not present, contribute to a nutrient deficiency. Additionally, nutrients taken in nature’s package of whole foods are a lot easier for the body to recognise and utilise, as compared to if they are taken in a chemical pill form.

2. Digestion requires energy.  Some people are in fact so depleted energetically and have over-expended energy and don’t have the energy to break down and process nutrients appropriately.  There is a universal principle that applies to our everyday functions.  This is the holographic principle that energetically reflects the macrocosm and the microcosm of our life.  That is, what is happening in the big picture/external aspect of our life, is also happening on microscopic levels - internally in the body.  For example, if we are not digesting life’s experiences so well because of overwhelm, avoidance or denial etc., physical digestion of food is also going to be impacted.

3. Gut brain function gives the intelligence for utilising nutrients. It not only helps us with digesting food and assimilating nutrients, it is also involved with processing or ‘digesting' life’s experiences.  It gives us our deep sense of self, and our ability to assert healthy boundaries by identifying what is ok for us, and what is not ok.  If we lose this connection with our gut brain and deep sense of self, it makes it very difficult to discern what to accept and receive in life and what to reject or release in life.  It also makes it difficult to make choices that are aligned with our true self.  Digestive difficulties can therefore arise out of this disconnection from sense of self or disconnection from the body’s intelligence.  Our bodies know exactly what foods they need and we will be drawn to eating the necessary nourishing foods when we have a connection with a healthy functioning gut brain.

More and more I am seeing in my practice that these underlying issues of digesting life and disconnection with the true self is at the root of many imbalances and illnesses for people.  I have clients who are taking supplements, knowing that they are deficient in certain nutrients, yet the body is not utilising the nutrient.  When we muscle test to establish how to support the body with recognising and assimilating the nutrient, the deficiency is quickly resolved.

4. Adverse Childhood Events or trauma can influence organ function and the brain’s ability to manage digestion.  Everything that has happened to us in life is recorded in our intrinsic memory and muscle memory.  This memory system can influence function of the gut brain, muscles, organs and caudate brain.  Negative associations or traumatic or toxic events associated with certain foods can cause food sensitivities and nutritional deficiencies.  Commonly when assessing the gut brain and digestive organs, we discover that there is an emotional stress or an energetic imbalance that has affected the gut brain or the limbic brain which is responsible for many of the unconscious body processes and emotional and physical reactions and responses.  The ability for the body to recognise and use nutrients is dependant on the intelligence of these neurological systems.  Viral infections and other pathogens or hospitalisations can also be classed as adverse events from childhood which disrupt the body’s ability to restore and digest appropriately.

5. A healthy functioning gut microbiome is necessary for digesting and managing nutrients.

Sometimes there are biological problems such as parasites or bacterial imbalances that need to be addressed to restore the body’s ability to manage nutritional inputs.  Poor diet can create unfavourable gut bacteria, so to support your gut microbiome make sure to include plenty of colourful fibre rich foods in the diet … picture fruits, vegetables and whole grains.  Good healthy bile production and flow is also essential for supporting the gut microbiome so foods such as meats, eggs, olives, olive oil, coconut products, avocado, nuts and seeds, butter and ghee are all helpful for stimulating this.

6. Many people are unconsciously in fight/flight (Sympathetic Nervous System) patterns which diminish the body’s ability to ‘rest and digest’.  Some have become so accustomed to living in this way, that they don’t realise just how highly strung their nervous system has become.  This can be the case when little by little, more and more expectations are put onto the self or more and more responsibilities have been taken on.  When overwhelm hits, the nervous system has been in a state of stress already, and for a prolonged period.  MRI’s have shown that a brain in a state of overwhelm looks much the same as a brain that is dealing with trauma.  This is how important it is to manage your life in a way that avoids overwhelm.  When the body is in a fight/flight state of being, it is not wired for digestion.  Neural function and circulation to the gut is inhibited and this can cause symptoms such as constipation, diarrhoea, irritable bowel, bloating, butterflies in the stomach, appetite disruption, nausea and even abdominal tension and pain.  Poor sleep, insomnia and fatigue can go hand in hand with this situation.

7. Vagus nerve imbalances affect digestion in much the same way that the Sympathetic Nervous System does.  The vagus nerve originates in the brainstem and branches to the left and the right side of the throat, chest, abdomen and pelvic areas.  It is an important neural network for all of the digestive organs.  It plays a role in regulating the Sympathetic (fight/flight) and Para-sympathetic (rest and digest) functions.  Emotional trauma, and physical injury can affect this nerve.  Scar tissue from surgeries or accidents and injuries in the vicinity of this nerve can affect its function and therefore the ability to digest and assimilate nutrition.  Structural imbalances such as head injuries, cranial fixations and atlas (first cervical vertebrae) imbalances can negatively impact this neural network.

8. Attitudes towards food can impact our ability to digest food and feel nourished.  Put aside any scientific or emotional vilifications towards the food you eat.  Choose the foods that feel nourishing and don’t eat a food if you are going to be projecting negative thoughts or associations onto it.  There is a saying - ‘be careful of the thoughts you choose, because your body is listening’.  If you are rejecting a food mentally as you consume it, energetically you are rejecting the nutritional support that it can give you.  Fears about calories or negative effects of food elicit the stress response and activate the vagus nerve and sympathetic nervous system imbalances.

9. Epigenetic factors can influence gene expression and set up deficiencies.  Epigenetic factors are lifestyle or environmental influences such as diet, exercise, illnesses, mental or emotional tendencies, pathogens and toxins.  I work a lot with miasms, which are inherited factors that have been a result of illness or toxicity from previous generations.  These inter-generational stressors and traumas can impact the functionality of the body and sometimes affect the ability to digest and assimilate nutrition.

There are many complimentary therapies and lifestyle activities these days that can help to bring the body into balance. Because of the individualised nature of digestive imbalances, I have really appreciated muscle testing as a super effective way to support myself and others with overcoming digestive imbalances and nutritional deficiencies.  The body’s wisdom is superior when it comes to healing because it knows the exact order which imbalances and stressors need to be dealt with. The kinesiology muscle testing process is able to attune to this wisdom and identify and release stress in the order it requires. It cannot be rushed.  It has its own unique timing and requirements which guide us on the path to optimum health.

When I start out consulting with a client using kinesiology I have an idea of the physical, mental, energetic and emotional factors that may be contributing to the problems at hand, yet it is not until I start muscle testing that I find out if this is truly accurate and when that thing needs to be addressed.  Quite often it is not until a second, third or fourth consultation that the body is finally ready to deal with the main issue that is the root cause of the illness or problem.  Attuning to the body wisdom over all these years has taught me to be patient with desired results.  Yet speaking personally, I know how challenging that can be to patiently wait for results while providing support for so long and in so many ways.  May our hearts carry us in patience.

The process of self support for addressing nutritional deficiencies and depletion can begin when we take some space for quiet reflection and stillness.  So this winter I invite you to set yourself up for a vibrant year ahead.  Take time for connecting with your innate intelligence that is so eloquently heard in the quiet.

You may wish to consider the demands of your life and ask yourself ‘What do I need to eliminate from my life to live sustainably?’ And ‘What nourishes me in creating a sustainable life?’ ‘What actions do I need to take to foster these changes?’

Unveiling the Soul

So often people say to me after a Kinesiology consultation “I don’t know what you did, but I feel better.”  Initially this surprised and disturbed me. I wondered if I had been neglectful with involving this person, despite the fact that I thought that I had been educating, listening and responding in an inclusive manner. It really mattered to me that people were informed and felt empowered in the process of healing.  In time I have come to be at peace and accepting of this statement, as it represents the fact that the mind did not get in the way of healing.  The mind can impose bias and judgement and therefore interfere with the surrender process, which is essential for healing and returning to the wisdom of the soul.  Many of our obstacles to healing and a state of peace and comfort, lie within the unconscious and the body memory.  Kinesiology is the best tool I know for supporting the body and the unconscious to release unhelpful patterns and bias, and become more attuned to the power and divinity of the soul.

Our modern day culture holds some very strong views about what is medicine and what is not medicine, and what contributes to health and what does not.  Much of this knowledge is based on science and statistics and is viewing the body merely from a biological and chemical frame of reference. From what I have seen, there is never a study that proves something to be 100 percent effective for 100 percent of people.  Human life is dynamic and ever changing, operating with a multitude of compounding and confounding factors.  When considering health and medicine, the energetics or thought, attitude and emotion alongside the spiritual aspects of the expressions of the soul are commonly ignored.  Yet these energetic forces have huge consequences on psychological and physiological health.  Because of our uniqueness formed by these energetic forces, every human is so individual in the way they respond to different treatments, whether that be modern day medicine or complimentary therapies or traditional medicine.

And paradoxically, we are all so very connected.  Humanity has a shared experience with the main themes of healing that arise throughout the course of time.  With every challenge that arises for us, be that physically or psychologically, there is a common opportunity inherent in the way that we are able to learn and evolve as a soul.  This past week or two I have seen most of my clients very much aware of, and wishing to transcend challenges associated with being around others, or working with others, and particularly in family relations. A common tendency that has arisen for clients is associated with the Bach flower remedy Impatiens, for when there is frustrations and impatience with others.  Additionally the Australian bush flower remedy Dog Rose has been a common remedy required.  It helps us to be able to take on challenges with confidence, express freely, and feel more at ease with others.

Many of my clients have explored a range of modalities by the time they find me.  There is nothing wrong with this.  This is the nature of the healing journey.  Different practitioners can give us different pieces of the puzzle and along the way you get to choose what feels right.  There is an innate wisdom in us which guides us to such opportunities, so that we can personally learn and experience what benefits.  It may not always be aligned with what the mind may think to be appropriate, or what the science says to be an absolute.  This is the joy of the soul’s journey and the soul’s expression - exploring a variety or experiences in order to find what feels true.

Having recently discovered the works and teachings of Rupert Spira, I have felt blessed to find some more words and simple explanations for healing.  His principles are very much aligned with how I work with Kinesiology and massage.  In his book ‘You are the happiness you seek’ he explains that physical pain and suffering arise from the body’s need.  This is exactly what I explore with muscle testing.  The body gives feedback through a muscle test, a structural imbalance, a physical pain etc., to demonstrate there is an imbalance and therefore a need.  This can be the need to release a toxin such as a heavy metal or pathogen (virus, bacteria, parasite, mould etc.)  It may also be the need for a particular nutrient, or the need to release tension from a muscle or from the spine.  It can also be the need to release a thought pattern, attitude or emotional trauma.

The body is just one aspect of suffering that can be experienced.  We also have psychological suffering. According to Rupert, “psychological suffering arises on behalf of the belief that we are a separate and independently existing self.” P 91  I have seen this so many times in my own self and in others.  Through the forgetting that we are so intimately connected with awareness/oneness and through forgetting that there is so much support available on this spiritual level, a huge amount of stress arises in the psychology, the neurological functioning and behavioural tendencies.  Psychological perceptions born from our upbringing, alongside cultural belief systems and our own personal tendencies can become quite fixated and ‘sticky’ in the way we operate and see the world.  Kinesiology offers many ways to release the stickiness of the stories, emotions, thoughts, identifications and associations that veil the truth of the soul.  In Rupert’s words, “Each time we face our current experience with this attitude of openness and surrender, we are, without realising it, undermining and gradually eroding the subliminal store of tendencies and preferences that lies in the depths of our mind.  Likewise, every time we allow our responses and action to be governed by this subliminal layer, we are strengthening it and setting ourself up for unhappiness in the future.” P 113 He invites us to simply step back into the “I am” awareness and not become identified or stuck in the thought, emotion, story, etc. This “I am” can also be defined as the essential being, the oneness, the higher self, the divine self.

In conclusion, to have a felt sense of what feels better, and to have an intimate connection with the essential being, the soul, we can navigate ourselves more gracefully along the journey of healing.  To continue to listen to the body and its needs, we contribute to a greater level of awareness, which guides us so beautifully through this life. 

Simone is available for Kinesiology or Kahuna massage appointments to support you in this process on Fridays and Saturdays at Bridgetown.   Kinesiology appointments are available online Mondays and Tuesdays.  Get in touch with Simone by email or phone for enquiries or bookings. info@soulnurturing.com.au 0427 320 302

Expansive states of Intelligence

There has been a lot of research emerging in the past few decades that proves that our intelligence extends beyond the brain in our head.  We also have a gut brain and a heart brain, which have the ability to process information, remember and make decisions.  So why is it important to know and work with these 3 intelligences?  When we are attuned to their wisdom, it supports us with making great choices for ourself and others.  It helps us to feel more harmony and alignment with the Divine, and it allows us to freely express from a place of authenticity.  Aligning ourself with all 3 intelligences enriches our relationships with self and others.

Here are some basics to know about the 3 intelligence systems.

The Head (Cephalic) Brain

The head or cephalic brain involves many sub areas that are important for running various functions and behaviours.  For simplicity, I will share some key areas and functions to be aware of, so that you can recognise when you are operating in survival mode/reactive mode and when you are operating from a place of high level/rational/problem solving/ divine intelligence type of mode.

The cortical brain - also known as the top brain, is where we store memories and perceptions and process and analyse information to make choices and respond to the world.  When we are operating from this part of the brain we are great at problem solving, innovation, creativity, prioritising and working through challenges.  The limbic brain and brainstem runs many of the body’s functions and contributes to our unconscious and social behaviours.

It is helpful to be aware of the survival brain type functions, which in simple terms mostly involve the amygdala and brainstem.  There are some other more recently researched and less talked about areas, that I use in my kinesiology practice that perpetuate survival responses and post traumatic stress feelings and behaviours.  Some of the survival brain states involve pain/punishment, pleasure/reward/motivation, freeze/escape/withdrawal, fear/phobias, anger, fight/frustration/anger, anxiety and sadness.

Our cephalic brain’s intelligence can be disrupted when these survival states are prolonged or out of context.  Survival emotions and behaviours have a purpose, to keep us safe and to survive when there is a threat.  If they continue beyond the period of threat or are over-active they disrupt our ability to connect well with our cortical and rational brain function.  Because the lower brain relates to survival functions.  The neural pathways of the survival brain are wired more strongly and quickly.   Survival takes priority over any other brain function.  This is simply the natural design of the brain.  A perpetual sense of threat or hypervigilance can occur in response to a physical, mental, or emotional stimulus.

Another type of imbalance in the head brain is the “out of control imagination”.  When we continue to imagine the worst, we are not using this creative intelligence in a constructive way.  We are using it destructively.  Another example of this is creating meanings that are unhelpful.  For example if I am making a meaning that my illness is happening because I have done something wrong or eaten the wrong thing etc. then the meaning of it being wrong or bad is receiving the focus, rather than being able to approach it from a more neutral and supportive frame, which may be that my illness is teaching me something or guiding me in some way and what gifts can I focus on in this situation?  Other destructive tendencies can involve over-exaggeration, sensationalising, over thinking and over analysing.  These can be fruitless activities which involve a huge amount of energy and may not necessarily be focused on the solution or the resolution.  There can be a range of self sabotaging patterns that we can get hooked into when the mind is left unchecked.   

The head intelligence is associated with stories.  At times people can become stuck in their stories and the ego can get quite attached to the drama of these stories, which will channel a lot of emotional energy and focus into perpetuating that unhelpful story.  To utilise the story telling ability positively and intelligently, it is important to notice the stories you tell yourself or others and note if they are serving you or not.

The Heart Brain

The heart intelligence is the most potent and powerful intelligence that we can utilise because it holds the truth of the soul’s purpose and has the ability to activate and transform energy in the body.  It is a powerhouse of energy and communicates with the brain and all other organs to maintain energetic, psychological and emotional harmony.   It enables the integration of the body and the mind and is considered the site of the sixth sense.

Physical functions of the heart brain involve regulating the heart rhythm, blood gas composition, blood flow and respiratory rate.  The heart is always monitoring and regulating these functions in response to mental activity, emotions, posture, muscular exertion, body temperature and blood compositions.  This is why the actions we take and the way we treat our body can have such big impacts on health and wellbeing.  Feeding the body with negative emotions and thoughts, over or under exercising or choosing postures that are not supportive can all have big impacts.

The communication pathways the heart brain utilises are:

  • Neurological (the nerves)

  • Biochemical (body chemicals)

  • Biophysical (pressure and sound waves)

  • Energetic (electromagnetic fields)

  • Structural (pericardium - the covering of the heart, and connective tissue of the circulatory system)

In Chinese medicine the heart is associated with the soul’s expression.  It allows for restful sleep, good memory, clear senses, tranquil mind, and the ability to spread joy and maintain peace.  Disturbances of the heart, such as emotional trauma, shock or overwhelm, may disrupt its ability to maintain this mental and physical harmony.  This can cause restlessness, difficulty sleeping, disturbing dreams, forgetfulness, disjointed thinking, and distraction.  These particular signs can indicate that the heart brain is needing support and attention.

Heart centred relationships with self and others is a route to harmony and health, particularly for the heart brain.  These kinds of relationships are also important buffers to stress.  Allowing space and time to process grievances and to ‘re-calibrate’, so to speak, is important for maintaining strong and healthy heart brain function.

The Gut Brain

The intelligence in this part of the body is instinctive.  The gut can sense things before they arise, causing us to feel unsettled or activated as if in readiness.  We draw on this resource of intelligence to know when it is time to act on something or to take action on an inspiration.  The mind/creative brain can come up with a multitude of ideas which would run us into the ground if we acted on them all.  The gut intelligence informs us about the ideas which are worth acting upon, and which we have the inner resources for.  For example, the sayings ‘didn’t have the guts to do it’, or ‘I can’t stomach it’, is in fact important guidance.

Functionally, the neurology of the gut is not only involved in digestion, it is also responsible for immune function and serotonin production (the calm and wellbeing neurotransmitter).  Metaphorically and physically, it is in charge of what we take on board, and what we eliminate.  The gut intelligence is connected to sense of smell and taste which helps to inform what is safe and welcome for the body and what is not safe or welcome.  If you are someone who has psychic gifts via smell (clairolfaction) or taste (clairgustance), just like the gut brain, these are valuable for informing you about what is friend and foe, ok or not ok.

The gut can sense danger or opportunity before the heart or head.  Just like the cortical brain, there can be hypervigilance developed in this part of the neurology due to memories of threat or pain that have not been processed and released.  Just as we would over-eat and not be able to digest food so well, it is possible for the gut to have too much information, emotion or mental activity to deal with.  The gut brain can then be compromised in being able to reject what does not sit well, or is not aligned with the deep sense of self.  It can also be compromised in being able to decipher what is going to be of service and be able to receive that information.  This is when we need to use the cortical brain to prioritise what we put our attention on and for example, how long we spend on a device taking in social media etc.

The neurology for the gut is the first network to be developed in utero and can have traumatic imprints from that time.  This can affect the healthy function of gut intelligence.  The gut brain represents our deep sense of self and can be influenced by our mother’s and father’s experiences and perceptions during gestation.  This is commonly why many people find themselves behaving like their parents, despite having the intention to do it differently.  Our sense of self always has the potential to evolve, grow and expand when we use tools of awareness and re-patterning.  This is the journey of healing, finding our truest and highest sense of self.

Gut intelligence is particularly supportive for rising above our fears and comfort zone and expanding our sense of self, hence the saying ‘got the guts for it’.  It is the power behind the heart because it has the ability to spot an imposter, a liar, or any form of deceit, and thus gives the power to say ‘no' when on the surface everything may look ok.  Conversely, it gives the power to take a supportive path that on the surface may look insignificant or unfruitful.

My book ‘Melting Moments, the delectable art of nourishing the soul’ gives some more discussion and activities that support connection with the intelligences. Reading this book has supported many people to attune to the incredible intelligence of the body and experience the beauty of the soul. I am also available for online Kinesiology consultations for anyone who needs healing and re-connection with the 3 intelligences. These are some signs that your intelligence systems need support:

  • Conflicting thoughts, feelings or actions

  • Self sabotage of dreams, goals or plans

  • Indecisive, scattered, unmotivated, stuck, unable to move forward

  • Health issues in the corresponding physical organ

  • Imbalanced Autonomic Nervous System - Stuck in a highly strung/impulsive (Sympathetic Nervous System) or lethargy/depressed (Parasympathetic Nervous System) state of being

  • Traumatic memory giving a false reading for guidance

  • Pain/punishment or blocked pleasure/reward patterns interfering with guidance

  • Stuck in a past time/memory/experience

  • Repeating unwanted patterns of behaviour

Positive Mindset Controversy

Compassionately considering all sides of the story

Trends in consciousness are continually moving through our cultural modus operandi.  “Just think positively” is one of them.  Sometimes there is some truth and support in these trends.  Yet they can be problematic when they become dogmatic and applied too globally, rather than being appropriately contextualised.

“Just think positively” can be completely inappropriate when someone has lost a loved one and still carries that grief in the heart and body.  “Just think positively” can bury the truth of what a body and heart is wanting to convey.  It can be a supportive mask to get you through your day. Yet if it is fixated, it doesn’t allow you to listen to that pain in the heart that is asking for a moment of honesty in regard emotional pain needing acknowledgment and healing.  Positive mindset may be denying the mental and physical sensations of anxiety that are directing you to make some changes in life.  “Just think positively” sometimes prevents you from hearing that innate sense of “no that does not feel right for me”.  It can drive you to fatigue through the use of the huge amount of energy required to justify or think yourself in or out of something and over-riding what feels true.

One way that I would love to see “Just think positively” applied in our current cultural climate, would be along the lines of trusting the body and our 3 innate intelligence systems.  The gut brain, heart brain and caudate brain functions allow us to be attuned to the truth of our inner world and our ability to have resilience to what comes to us from our outer world - the environment.  Rather than getting caught up in the fears that get fed to us from the outer world (one particular virus comes to mind) we can attune to a positivity in trusting our inner resources.  We have many generations of body intelligence that survived countless viruses.  In fact we can thank viruses for the evolution of our body function as I learnt recently from Doctor an researcher Zach Bush.  My grandfather was in fact used as a ‘guinea pig’ for trialling Malaria treatments during the second world war.  He was injured and unable to be on the front line of the battle fields and instead was on the front line of medicine development through being exposed to the Malaria virus.  They used his body to trial the effectiveness of medicines such as quinine.

One could become fixated on the tragedies and tribulations that have happened throughout history, which has certainly contributed to intergenerational trauma.  This is a very real thing which I work with in my clinic with most clients.  Sometimes at the root of those sleep problems is a holocaust story, or an alcoholic father for example.  Yet one could also put their focus on the positivity which is humanity’s incredible resilience to recover and continue to play the game of life, despite the suffering that comes and goes.  A remembering of the ability for the body to heal and release it’s expressions of suffering is positivity in action.  This is why I have such a deep love for my work as a kinesiology practitioner.

I am fascinated by the body’s intelligence for healing and the way the soul sits in the heart and transforms energetic states and powers the body for healing.  Most days I will be reading the latest research in relation to the workings of the body or listening to podcasts or webinars on the topic.  It keeps me focused in the positive for what is possible in the world of healing.  There was a time in my life that I was drowning in the stories of suffering that I had witnessed through the patients I nursed and the clients I saw as a kinesiologist.  I believe it was part of the reason I got cancer.  I would have been the healthiest cancer patient anyone had met with the ultra pure diet, exercise and healing regimes I was doing for myself.  Paradoxically, cancer was a welcomed ticket out of a world of suffering for me.  It taught me to turn my focus to what made life worth living and learn to take time out for myself to receive, rather than feel the weight of responsibility to heal.

For me, positivity is cultivated by focusing my attention on appreciation, gratitude and the things that bring me joy.  One of my joys is learning. I have studied the human body for over 30 years now and I continue to study it through the way I work with clients.  I am counting my high school days in here because those biology classes are still so dear to me.  Fast forward to nowadays, my kinesiology consultations allow me to track through the physiology of the body and the energetic blueprint to find out where the imbalances and obstacle to healing lie. The feedback from muscle monitoring shows me what is obstructing the health of the body and contributing to symptoms, whether they are mental, emotional or physical symptoms.

New research has shown the affect of spike proteins on the body and I am amazed at how much it correlates with what I have found through working with so many clients over the past few years.   The research shows that spike proteins mimic a substance in the body called Galectin 3, which causes inflammation in the body.  Galectin 3 also puts the body into a survival response which is an activation of the sympathetic nervous system, also known as fight/flight response.   This system is not designed to be activated for long periods of time, which can occur when spike proteins are constantly being made and present in the body.  It is designed to be activated when the body needs to fight off infection for example.  The body needs to also be able to move into the parasympathetic nervous system (also known as rest, digest and recover) state of healing.  It cannot do this effectively while there is so much sympathetic nervous system activation.  Researcher Dr Isaac Eliaz has been at the forefront of such research and presents much of it in his book The Survival Paradox.

I have been finding that the spike proteins have contributed to countless inflammatory issues in a variety of systems in the body.  It can be experienced differently for different people.  Inflammation generally presents in the body as pain, redness and swelling.  I have commonly seen joint pain, muscle aches, gut, brain and eye inflammation. The spike protein seems to collect in areas of weakness and flare up past injuries or infections.  When inflammation occurs in the brain it can present in a number of different ways - irritability, poor mental health,  poor resilience to stress, hormonal imbalances, headaches, migraines, difficulty concentrating, poor memory, fatigue and feeling wired and tired.

The research also shows that spike proteins can lodge in the body tissue and cause fibrosis.  My grandmother was having terrible trouble with fibrosis of the lungs after her jab, which caused her a lot of discomfort in her final few months of life.  I have found that spike proteins can lodge around neural tissue in the 3 intelligence centres and interfere with their functions.  This hugely affects the ability to connect with intuitive guidance and be able to make the best choices for ourself and be true to the self.  Stay tuned for next month’s blog to learn more about these amazing intelligence centres.

Spike proteins have been found to cause a kind of stickiness in the blood and has a downstream effect of poor blood flow and oxygenation.  I have found in many clients that this poor blood flow and oxygenation from spike proteins is a root cause to many cases of fatigue and brain fog.  It has also affected mental and emotional health.  The body knows when something is wrong and when there is a pathogen (invader) in the system, it mobilises survival mechanisms to alert us to this.  When the body is stuck in fight/flight mode because there is the background invader of a spike protein, it can feel like a constant state of anxiety or depression - which can be the body’s mechanism to make sure you take action and do something about it, or stop so that it can recover.

Looking on the positive side, new research has shown that the body produces a healing chemical called nitric oxide.  Among many wonderful health benefits, this amazing substance supports recovery from viral infection and has healing effects on the vascular system.  Enter our hero for recovering from the particular virus we all have in mind.  It was found that people with a greater amount of nitric oxide had better outcomes in recovering from COVID.  So how do we help ourselves out here?  Stop taking in those things that obstruct its production and take in those things that support its production.  That is the research of Dr Nathan Bryan so you can look him up for more about that.  But I will say, I will never use a fluoride toothpaste again, and I am making sure to eat my greens every day.

Additionally we have wonderful researchers who have carefully studied the healing power of foods.  Dr William Li is one of these people and wrote a book called Eat to Beat Disease.  This fabulous book discusses the body’s natural defence mechanisms and the foods that support these systems.  Sayer Ji is another one of these people and released a book called “Regenerate” which presents research into particular foods and elements of nature that keep our bodies healthy, strong and resilient.  While most of the world was turning their attention to the fear of a virus and being driven to use man made mRNA technologies, Sayer Ji had his focus on mRNA that plants provide us, which give us the information our bodies need to stay healthy.  I am a true believer that nature alway has the answers and I trust mother earth a lot more than I trust most humans in power.

I rest my case, controversy included, positive mindset has its place with focusing our attention on the body’s amazing ability to heal. We are more resilient than we imagine. And I might add, the clients who I have worked with, and who have treated by the functional medicine doctors I follow,  have had positive outcomes for recovering from conditions I mentioned.  The degree of health that people can find following the pandemic varies depending on pre-existing health conditions, constitutional and environmental influences.  It is never too late to care for our bodies.  We turn over a whole new set of cells in the body every 2 years, so there is always second chances for rebuilding health.  You are welcome to get in touch and ask me how.

Turning the ordinary into the extraordinary

Transformation - the ordinary becomes extraordinary

Around this time 11 years ago I was preparing myself for a 10 day vision quest and water fast.  This was one of the most extraordinary things I have done for myself.  Through my Shamanic Diploma training I had learnt about these vision quests in which one would sit in a hole for 10 days.  For much of my life prior to this, when difficult times had arisen, I would fantasise about being buried in the earth.  This was something peculiar to me and I had no understanding why I felt this way, until the opportunity for this type of vision quest came to me.

After the 9 days of being in that hole, which I dug myself, my body was telling me that I had reached my limit and I had received what I needed. So the 9th day is where I ended my vision quest.  I have never had the craving to be buried in the earth since and one of my greatest gifts from this experience was being able to see just how extraordinary the ordinary is in this life on earth.  I have always sensed just how extraordinary the body is, in the way that it can operate thousands of bodily functions in a single moment. The intelligence of the brain and heart can co-ordinate a multi-dimensional system with such eloquence. 

Looking out into nature from my hole in the red centre, this vision quest gave me some unique perspectives and the opportunity to shed many obstacles to a lived experience of the extraordinary nature of life. This space of silence and connection with the earth and the spirit of all things, gave me an appreciation for just how magnificently life is orchestrated.  I could sense the way divine support was always communicating with me and guiding me.  I could release past traumas and punishment patterns to experience greater love and therefore a greater sense of connection to life.  This, I believe, is what makes life extraordinary - the transformations we can make internally to change our perspective and positively influence the experiences we receive in life.

When we can make this shift of perspective from ordinary to extraordinary, it can nourish the body, heart and soul with pleasure and joy.  In turn it feeds the state of appreciation and gratitude, which is fertiliser for growing and attracting goodness into life.  It also correlates with a greater connection with your higher self and your intuitive guidance.

I am still enjoying this quest of exploring the extraordinary in the ordinary.

Here are my first top 5: (more to come next month)

1. DRINKS TO DELIGHT

Hydration for the body is a fundamental necessity and a truly extraordinary aspect of human function.  Water can hold and transmit energetic frequencies and neurological signals, which makes it a magical type of medium in the body.  Ordinary water is essential to drink, thirsty or not –

In fact, the body’s thirst is its mechanism for indicating it is dehydrated, which is an added stress to the body.  So the kindest thing we can do for our body is to continue to give it hydrating drinks, before the thirst intensifies.

Your thirst mechanism is essential for preventing dehydration.  The more you ignore it, the lower your threshold becomes and the more dehydrated you become.  This has detrimental implications for your weight loss attempts, your recurring back pains, your brain function and concentration levels, your ability to release toxins from the body and the health of your skin – just to name a few.

So here are some suggestions for making your ordinary duties of hydrating the body a little more delightful.

You can add to your still or sparkling water

  • Fresh strawberries, chopped in half

  • Slices of lemons, limes and oranges

  • Crushed mint leaves

  • Orange slices and stick of fresh rosemary

  • Watermelon and cucumber slices

  • Instead of ice blocks, you can add frozen berries straight from the freezer

And for your warm drinks in winter, here are some tasty hydrating suggestions to add to your hot water:

  • Slices of lemon (skin and all) to hot or boiled water

  • Slices of fresh ginger and turmeric

  • Coconut milk, molasses, cacao powder and spices such as cinnamon, cardamon, chilli

  • Lemon juice, honey and a pinch of sea salt and cayenne powder

2. GREENS MADE GREAT

For the body to do it’s many incredible functions and keep it running effectively, good nutrition is essential.  Ordinary everyday whole foods such as fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, eggs, spices, herbs and animal products are in fact extraordinary.  Not only do we get an incredible taste sensation with them, they are also the necessary building blocks for mental and physical health.  According to the latest research discussed in Sayer Ji’s book Regenerate plants not only provide essential nutrients, they also provide information via messenger RNA which support the health of the body.  One particular plant food profoundly supportive for health, energy and vitality and packed full of B vitamins and minerals is our greens.  Most of us have probably heard this in one way or another and yet how often are the greens making an appearance in your diet?  Here are a few suggestions to help you to make greens the star of your meals in a way that they can taste great.

  • Splash over your baby spinach some olive oil and that tasty brew - apple cider vinegar and honey.  Melrose and Wescobe are 2 companies that make this delightful combo and bottle it for our convenience.

  • Turn your ordinary green leafy mix into a salad sensation by adding olives, tomato, cucumber, red capsicum and grilled halloumi slices.

  • Steam your silverbeet or kale leaves and serve them with toasted sunflower, sesame and pumpkin seeds.  Almond slivers are also a tasty addition.

  • Toss your steamed greens with olive oil and dukka.

  • Grated parmesan cheese, olive oil and lemon is a delightful topping for a herby greens salad of baby, spinach, lettuce, parsley and basil leaves.

  • Stir fry kale, beetroot leaves and silverbeet leaves in coconut oil and sprinkle with grated nutmeg, sultanas, toasted almonds and sunflower seeds.

  • Rub salt and coconut oil into kale leaves and bake them at 160 degrees until crispy.

  • Macadamia oil is a perfect match for rocket.  It’s like butter meeting pepper on a romantic French cooking tour.  Throw together rocket leaves, baby spinach leaves and macadamia nuts.  Drizzle with macadamia oil and lime juice and season with salt.

  • Steam florets of broccoli and toss them with grated fresh ginger, tamari sauce, sesame and olive oil and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

  • Add a bunch of finely chopped coriander, parsley or mint to your evening meal for extra goodness.

  • Switch your eggs on toast for eggs and greens.  Fry in coconut oil or ghee your silverbeet, kale, beetroot or turnip tops along with eschallots, garlic and ginger.  Fry your eggs on this lovely bed of green and sprinkle with salt, pepper and turmeric powder.

3. FUN-FILLED FITNESS

Movement is life, and you realise just how much life it gives you when you stop moving or reduce your movement. Yet it doesn’t have to be boring or hard work. There are many glorious tools in this world to inspire us to move and appreciate the many ways we can move our body.  The co-ordination of muscles and movements is an extraordinary thing in itself. When I watch an athletic body in slow motion, or you notice all the many incredible ways people can move their bodies in gymnastics, aerobics, circus acts, sports and dance, I am in awe of what the human body can do. To explore my own body and variety of movement through dance and movement practices, I have discovered much about myself, my tendancies, my strengths, my weaknesses and my sheer delights. When you move your body with awareness, noticing its sensations and feedback, you can experience a sense of the extraordinary in you.

Ordinary activities such as cleaning, shopping, hanging washing, gardening and helping another, are movement practices with health and fitness benefits, They can also hold joyful benefits when they are approached in a certain way and when you can truly sense the rewards in these activities.   When we can shift our perception from them being an arduous chore, to being a life giving movement activity, we have new found appreciation for the ordinary.  There are so many glorious movement practices to choose from - dancing, walking, gym workouts, aerobics, yoga, pilates, qi gong, tai chi, swimming, playing on the floor with your kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews.

What helps you to feel inspired to move?

What activities inspire you to feel alive and well?

4. LET LOVE LEAD

Love is an everyday thing in life which we can take for granted and which has extraordinary consequences.  Love can be expressed in so many ways and yet is sometimes missed, especially when the psyche is underdeveloped or the mind gets in the way with analysis, criticism or judgement.   For example as a child I could have felt a lack of love when my mother told me to play outside.  Yet as an adult I see her expression of lovingly setting boundaries and supporting my connection with sunshine, nature and healthy habits.  Looking back on life I can see how my husband shows love by stepping back from household jobs in an effort to lovingly keep the peace and allow me to do things my way.  It is not that he is being unhelpful and unloving.

It is a lack of love or craving for love that has humans doing many weird and wonderful things.  It is an absence of love that instills hurt and drives an intensity of feelings.  It is the joy of love that amplifies every part of our being and supports health and wellbeing.  It is the giving and receiving of love that gives life to the moment.  It is extraordinary that a parent can continue to love and support their child, despite the difficult behaviour, differences in viewing the world or the situation, the opposition, the defiance, the dishonesty, the big emotions, the hiding.  The human experience is fraught with challenges and the ability to continue being loving towards ourselves and each other, is what adds an extraordinary perspective on ordinary everyday human experiences.

To ask the question, ‘what would love do now?’ enables the extraordinary answer. The path of the heart does not always make sense to the mind, yet looking back, you may see just how perfect the heart’s creations are in the grand scheme of things.

5. INTUITIVE GUIDANCE

Magical moments arise when we ask for support and guidance and mindfully listen to receive it.  It is easy to forget that there is another realm of support available to us outside of this physical world.  Not many of us can see or sense the spiritual world of support, yet if you look back at your life, you may connect with a rather special moment or experience which demonstrated that life was happening for you.  You may remember a time when you were being guided to follow a certain path or make a certain choice, despite what your mind may have thought or chosen for you.  You may have experienced something, or someone show up in your life who fulfilled an important need or dream.

When I sit in stillness with an openness to receive, I am amazed at what insights come to me or the things that I remember. I like to create some space each day for this kind of activity. I find that I feel more organised and on top of things when I do this. You can call it meditation, reflection time, quiet time, rest, grounding time in nature. Whatever you call it and however you conduct your space for receiving intuition, it will still offer extraordinary moments. By choosing some quiet moments in stillness, we are choosing to invest in our relationship with the extraordinary.

By remembering to ask and believing we can receive intuitive guidance, we are making more space in our life for it, and this is where the extraordinary is born.

10 top tips to Keep it Simple Sweetheart

It’s around this time of year that you get A LOT of distractions which interfere with health and well-being.  I call them distractions because they distract you from your true state of being, which is naturally and simply a state of clarity and peace. The increase in sensory stimulation, advertising, family issues, social and societal pressures, and cultural expectations can be quite disruptive not only to the mental and emotional state, but also to physical wellbeing.  The “have to’s”, “should do’s”, “can’t do’s” and “not enough” self talk can turn simplicity into complexity.

When life gets complicated, there is excessive mental activity.  Your energy and attention can tend to go to these meaningless mental processes rather than to the most incredible and most important intelligence system you have - the heart.  In the past decade or 2, there has been a lot of research into the workings of the heart intelligence system (the heart brain) which validates what Traditional Chinese Medicine has known for centuries.  The heart has it’s own neurological system independent of the cephalic (head) brain.  The heart brain allows us to make decisions and respond from a place of love and truth.  It is also an important powerhouse for energising the body and keeping in balance the physical and psychological aspects of being.  It allows us to be kind and loving to ourselves and others.  That sounds like the spirit of Christmas right there, yet why does Christmas often bring so much stress to people?  Is it because of all these distractions that contribute to complexity rather than allowing a relaxation into simplicity?

Plain and simple, anything which impacts your mental and emotional state of being will have a knock on effect to your physical wellbeing.  Mental and emotional frequencies sit in your energy field (your body bubble) and inform the body’s physiology to react appropriately.  Therefore if you are having a complexity of thoughts and emotions, the body might respond with confusion and stress.  Brain imaging has shown that physiologically a brain will respond to overwhelm in the same way that it responds to trauma.  Therefore, if you want to feel a sense of wellbeing, it will help to avoid overwhelm by keeping things simple so that you can focus your mind and emotions on fostering peace, love and joy.  There are many things that we can do to foster well-being at this time of the year:  Here are my top ten tips to keep it simple and treat yourself like a sweetheart:

  1. Start each day by checking in with yourself:  How does your body feel?  How does your heart feel? How is your spirit?  Are you energised or tired?  Is today a day that you need to go slow or are you excited to dive into your day and your to-do list?  Is there something that you need to get off your mind or your chest?

  2. Focus on what matters: Make a note or a reminder to yourself to do that thing or the things that matter most to you. Reward yourself with appreciation when you achieve it.

  3. Use the power of the pen:  If you are feeling out of sorts, take a few minutes to write about your emotions or mental challenges and ask your higher self to guide you to a solution as you write.

  4. Prioritise: List down all the things that you want to or need to do, and cross off the things that are not important or urgent.  You can re-visit them later if you have to/want to/need to.

  5. Work with bite size pieces:  If there are any important or urgent activities that feel too complicated or too big, break them down into small simple steps.  Write these down and cross them off as you go.  You will also get more of a dopamine hit when you do this.  Every time you achieve a goal, it triggers off the pleasure and reward feelings which help with a sense of wellbeing.  I use an app called Todoist which allows me to list my jobs for any particular day whenever they pop into my mind.  I can tick them off when I have completed them.  I find this helps to prevent overwhelm when I have a lot of things to do, it ensures I don’t forget things - if I remember to check it ;-)  and it gives my brain a break from having to hold so much information.

  6. Create sacred space for yourself:  Schedule in time each day to take some space from others and from your responsibilities and commitments.  You can decide the amount of time - 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour and how often you need it.  Use this time for quiet reflection, taking long and slow deep breaths, attuning to your heart intelligence.  You can call this meditation, you can call it creative space, restoration time, time out, a self appreciation installment, whatever is going to inspire you to do this.  It is amazing the things you remember and the clarity that can drop in when this space is created in your day.

  7. Let go:  Do a stress audit on yourself and write down all the things that cause you stress.  Let go of your mental chatter and remember that you are a powerful soul that can exercise choice.  With the intention to take the path of higher knowing, decide what you want to do about these stresses.  If it helps, picture yourself viewing the stressful scenario from above and use your intuitive vision to see how you want this scenario to play out.  You may also want to imagine standing in the shoes of a mentor or someone you admire and watch what they might do about this stress.

  8. Let love lead:  Show love to the people who are special to you and do it in ways that bring you joy.  The more you practice being the expression of love, the more love and joy you will receive.  Attune to the question, “what would love do now?”  and trust that your heart will guide you in simplicity.

  9. Clear your clutter:  The clutter in your physical environment can reflect a cluttered mind and both of these things can add to complexity in life.  The more “stuff” you have, the more you have to consider and work around, or work with.  Congestion and ill health in the body can be the result of congestion of thoughts and emotions.  The physical act of clearing out the clutter in your environment can catalyse letting go of the things you don’t need - on so many levels of your being!  Observe what your mind does when you consider letting go of something.  You might learn just how much complexity lies within.

  10. Consider the illusions of “not enough”:  There is a mass cultural mindset of “not having enough” and “not being enough”, that is driving many complex behaviours and poor choices.  These attitudes can subtly work their way into self doubt, causing angst, or into over-eating, causing stress, or into over purchasing, causing regret, or into doing too much, causing exhaustion, or into financial worries, and the list goes on.  Is there a “not enough” behaviour that you do that you want to re-pattern?  What would you do or choose instead?

Sorting the wheat from the chaff

In just 2 months time, my husband and I will be returning to the east to work on the family farm for the harvest. Harvest has always had an air of excitement about it, ever since I was I tiny toddler sitting in the “bucket seat” beside my Dad in that massive big harvesting machine. I am so grateful for my farming roots that have taught me the things that matter most - consumption of good quality food, connection with nature and country, appreciation for supportive relationships alongside self reliance. The farm is a spacious place of warmth where I feel grounded and can appreciate the simple things in life.

Meanwhile, in chilly Bridgetown, I continue to immerse myself in creating the content for my online healing course. It is a long and involved process and I continue to stop and ask myself why am I doing this? I strongly believe in the power of why. When I was a project manager for ‘Health by Design’ a workplace health and safety company, we had this saying … “if the why is big enough, the how becomes easy”. I think it is useful to ask ourselves this question from time to time. I feel that time is precious, so why spend it doing something meaningless, or doing something which I am not aligned with?

I have always been a purposeful person. Since childhood, I wanted to know how I could help my mum, how I could save the dugongs, the koalas. I was aware of the work ethic on the farm and had this frequent sense that there was work to be done. I just felt that I was born to help and I still feel that. So when so many of my clients ask me some big questions at the end of a consultation, and I have zero time left and have been intensely working to cram as much education and healing into the appointment as possible, I am in a difficult place. Some of these questions such as “what can I do for myself ?” or “I don’t understand … what did you do? and any other number of questions that basically say - I want to get in your head and experience the past 25 years of your life of learning and training” can not be answered adequately in my 5 minutes of breathing space.

I can understand why people are asking these kinds of questions. There is an infinite sea of information about health and healing out there, which can be overwhelming and confusing.  And I absolutely love that people have the same curiosity that I have and that people want to take responsibility for their own health and healing. These are some of the things that have inspired me to develop an online self paced, self healing program. There are some foundations for health and personal growth that are simple for anyone to learn.

Emotions, neurology and hormones play an important role in communicating wisdom from the body and soul.  I love the deep dive into these and other factors when I am piecing together the root causes for suffering and imbalances in my consultations.  There can be useful sentinels in the body that signal to us to put our focus and attention on our unique needs.  I feel that energetic frequencies such as emotions, soulful purpose and thoughts are a missing link in our health and wellness model. There is a lot we can do to hear this aspect of the self, which not only can be accumulated from this lifetime but also from our genetic inheritance and through our soul DNA.

My intention is to make it easy for you to attend to your body and soul’s calls for healing so that you can live a healthy and harmonious life. I will be connecting you with resources for health, awareness and personal power, so that you can enhance your own self healing abilities. Relationship with self and environment is another factor which can have a great influence on health, and this too will be an important part of this self healing course.

There is also a lot of conflicting information in scientific research, particularly in relation to diet and health, and it is easy for people to become confused and disillusioned.  Much of our scientific research is conducted by companies with a vested interest, and it is easy to skew the data and outcomes by cherry picking the results that match the agenda.  Without delving into cynicism, I just want to point out that things aren’t always as they seem, and there can be unseen forces behind the information that we are fed from the outside world.  Which is another good reason to become proficient in listening to,  and honouring your own body’s wisdom.  

My intention is to offer a program to attuned to your innate wisdom that gives you your own healing answers, and this will include the valuable tool of muscle testing.  You will get to practice finding what feels true for you and discover the things that help you and the things that hinder you.  You can then be empowered to take the actions that you are being guided to take for your health and wellbeing.  An online self paced program is the perfect space to create the structure and time to listen and act on your own needs, so that you can fortify yourself and deepen in self love and acceptance.  

Since the beginning of medicine it has been said … according to Hippocrates referred to as “Father of Medicine”, ‘Natural forces within us are the true healers of disease’. [1]

We will be exploring ancient wisdom and modern day research which verifies these innate forces.  Sayer Ji states it eloquently, “Symptoms are the body’s way of signalling distress, lack of equilibrium, and its desperate need for support. To truly heal, it’s time to feed, nurture, and tend to your symptoms as you would a crying baby rather than silencing and suppressing them.”  [1]

This is the fundamental principle to the way I work with kinesiology and I want to share my knowledge and experience with anyone who wants to have more understanding of the self healing process.

My course is a multi dimensional program addressing all aspects of your being that influence your health.  Illness and fatigue is rarely the result of a single element, and to fully recover and create health and resilience in life, we need to be able to honour all aspects of the self - physical, mental, emotional and energetic.

I have condensed my 25 years of health research and clinical experience into an 8 week program to address the key principles and strategies for self healing.  You will be introduced to a new lens for viewing your body’s symptoms.  By the end of the course I hope that you can see your symptoms/unwellness/imbalances as a journey to empowerment and awareness rather than an inner battle.  Rather than seeing our body’s or ourselves as being wrong or viewing ourselves pathologically, we can look at the body’s incredible ability to adapt, recover and grow.  Our soul’s unique expression and purpose will continue to shine through and guide us to healing opportunities when we take the time to listen and act.

I do not guarantee a lifelong freedom from unwellness, but rather a lifelong ability to use any unwellness or imbalance to inform and guide you to evolve to your greatness. As described in my book ‘Melting Moments’, a gift comes wrapped in a problem. This book forms part of the online program for self healing. It felt to me a natural progression to bring this book to life by taking a look at some ‘behind the scenes’ knowledge, so that people can nurture the body, heart and soul with the content from the book, alongside a focused support structure for self healing. A large part of healing involves releasing toxicity and the things that don’t serve us - attitudes, beliefs, have to’s, shoulds, should nots, doctrination etc. etc. Whether it is harvest or not, it is time to sort the wheat from the chaff. This is healing.

Reference: [1]— Regenerate: Unlocking Your Body's Radical Resilience through the New Biology by Sayer Ji

https://amzn.asia/hso6717

What we can all learn from Snow White

Fairy tales have long been known to provide us wisdom above and beyond their entertaining story.  The one that has particularly caught my attention recently is that of Snow White. In my intuitive vision, I continue to sense this fairy tale and see a broken mirror, the result of a wicked step mum’s avengement.  I got the hint that it had some illumination for my emotional state, which was somewhat broken and most certainly a feeling of not being at peace in myself.  In this year, which I proclaimed an intention of peace for myself, I recognised that my current emotional state is a gift for me to evolve to greater peace. I dived into my winter woes to see what would be reflected in this frosty story tale setting of Snow White and the Seven Dwarves.  

The wicked step mum, the insecure self

I distinctly remember the day that my husband and I announced our engagement to his son, and at the age of 25, he had the wit and humour to say, “wicked step mother”.  This was said entirely with warmth and jest and I was only amused.  Yet over time I have come to learn a bit about this archetype of the wicked step mother.  There are times when she sees the solidarity and wholeness in a bond between her husband and his child, so much so, that she feels invisible.  There are times when she compares herself to her step daughter and laments the loss of her youthfulness.  She knows that parent and child were perfectly happy before she came along and so she will sometimes ask herself, “Where do I fit? What do I have to offer this tight knit family unit?”  Her insecurities can go as far as asking “How do I measure up and am I enough?” 

No doubt many of you, whether you are a step parent or not, will have confronted these kinds of insecurities and fallen into the trap of comparing yourself with others.  The wicked step mum is the perfect character to teach us about our insecurities.  Her vanity and rage towards that mirror represents any moment that we look at ourself and question or dislike what we see or hear.

The breaking of the mirror - fractioning of the psyche 

When we look at the mirror within and can’t accept what we see, there is often a fractioning of the psyche behind it.  There will have been moments of distrusting, doubting or even disowning or disconnecting from aspects of the self that have caused us pain.  Trauma will often leave a mark of absence by stealing away that part of the self that was present…the young girl who was raped and makes sure not to show her sexual self, the child who was told not to cry and now becomes numb or withdrawn, the adolescent who no longer creates or dreams big because of being bullied in the school yard.  The broken mirror represents all those pained parts of the psyche waiting to be reclaimed and re-integrated. 

Attack on Snow White - the divine self 

When the step mother goes after Snow White she has embarked upon more than a malicious act of vanity.  She has embarked upon a mission to claim back the innocent self, the child self, pure in Divine connection.  Snow white is spared through the divine being she is, which is the part of us that never dies and instead experiences energetic change in form.

Snow white befriends the seven dwarves - seven aspects of self that exist within us all, and in the process these seven aspects can be befriended and integrated. This process of befriending the parts of us that we have previously rejected, or disconnected from, is an important part of an inner healing process which grants us protection and freedom from our wounded judging self.  As the fairy tale suggests, this is no walk in the park, it can be an intrepid time in the deep dark woods, yet rewarding in its challenge.  

My venture into the woods began as I ventured back on a six day drive to Western Australia from seeing my beloved family in Eastern Australia.  There were many moments of contemplation and emotion on that drive while I sat with myself, staring at the lines on the road, aware that my husband didn’t like to have too much conversation.  By day five of the drive, a conversation between my husband and I illuminated the broken mirror. He was triggered and expressed it.  I was triggered and shut my mouth.  I wanted to get on a plane and fly straight back to my family, I wanted to abandon my husband and all the challenges swirling around in my head.  I sat for the next couple of hours of the trip in emotional pain, trying not to make a fuss and trying to understand what all this hurt was about because I knew it was not about him and he was not to blame.  The muscles of my face jumped around frenetically while the tears streamed down my face.  My throat was constricted and my heart was burning.  I breathed all this emotion into my heart for transformation.  Then we talked it over. We held space for each other to be heard.  I wandered into the bush and sobbed, trusting my body in its process and hoping that it was done.  I lay in bed restless that night reflecting upon the mirror and all those fragmented and pained parts of myself and finally in the dead of night, as the frosty air settled to the earth, I came back to peace.  

The relevant parts of myself had been sufficiently grieved and celebrated.  With every painful and problematic part of me there was a golden nugget of learning and a bright and positive side for me to love. In this process I had the chance to accept and embrace all of me, and to look in the mirror and love who I see.  I had the chance to experience my Snow White and know that I was being held by a most precious and pure divinity. 

If you go into the woods to find Snow White and your seven dwarves, you have the opportunity to more deeply connect to all of life and your divine self and repair your relationship with the mirror and reclaim peace within.

Winter is traditionally a time of inner reflection and the reflections are not always pleasing and pleasant.  So if you find yourself affronted by some difficult emotions this season, don’t despair, have courage and be with yourself while they move through you and illuminate you to see and love more of you.  And know that you are divinely loved and held, no matter what.  There is brilliance existing within and on the other side of these dark and wintery experiences.

If you feel like you need some help working through your emotions or physical eruptions get in touch. I am still doing online consultation while I find myself a clinic space to work from in Fremantle. There is a lot we can do on zoom to support the very important inner process of psychological evolution.

RE-ORCHESTRATING YIN & YANG FOR HEALTH

Re-orchestrating yin and yang for health is a gift to the body, heart and soul and to the planet at large

It has been a delightful month of travel and time with family for me. I took the leap of creating a pattern break and took time out from my life to travel around Eastern Australia to spend quality time with family and friends.

My body and spirit are feeling so very grateful for the spaciousness of stepping out of the usual working week activities.


Something which has come into my awareness both personally, and in what I am witnessing in my clients is our societal culture of being overly focused on the yang aspects of life; getting all the things done; moving faster; being more productive, driven, externalising and attention on the external environment etc.  It is the hidden pandemic that we need to address as a society.  The long hours of work and the expectation (or at least availability via mobile phone connection) to be “on” for people at all hours of the day and night, is something that is just as detrimental to our health as the environmental toxins that burden our systems.  


Not only are the levels of EMF’s (Electromagnetic Frequencies) from overuse of technology disruptive to health, but so is the stress involved with the attitudes around work and “being enough” and “doing enough” etc.  Many of the working systems in society are set up in this way.  I am hearing it from many of my clients over the years.  Nursing, teaching, corporate jobs, and aged care are just some of the examples of workplaces where your job requirements are greater than the time you have allotted.  This drives you to work harder and faster.   This can ripple into our personal lives where we take on so many extra activities and time gets eaten up in the busy-ness of life, where extra effort is required to keep up with it all.  This can all be mirroring our internal world which is driving our choices and behaviours. 

What is your driver?  What drives you to keep doing that thing that you don’t want to keep doing?

This is reminding me of a wonderful podcast I heard recently by Alex Howard - Author of Decode Your Fatigue.

He discussed how our personality types can contribute to energy depletion:

This is them in a nutshell…

Helper - everyone else’s needs are made more important than our own.  Self worth based on helping and supporting others. Consistently ignoring own body’s messages in order to help others.

Achiever - Self worth based on what we achieve.  Ignoring body’s own messages to achieve goals and tasks. Pushing and driving to do more.

Anxiety - seeing that the world is not safe. Thinking our way to a feeling of safety - therefore tired and wired with a constantly activated nervous system

Controller - need to control others and environment to feel safe.  Extra effort and stress goes into life.

Perfectionist - sense of self worth and feeling loveable comes from getting things right.  Ignoring body’s needs in order to get things right and make things perfect.

And as you can see, they are all yang qualities, disrupting our inner balance of yin and yang.  This demonstrates how the yin (internal) qualities such as intuition, instinct, innate timing, flowing, self nurturing and soulful connection are over-ridden, and it is no wonder that there are so many people with sleep problems (can’t wind down and let go) adrenal exhaustion and general fatigue.  The yin represents our ability to receive energy and the yang is our ability to give and express energy.  


Now is the perfect time for us to develop our yin qualities, especially in the season of autumn as we attune to nature’s rhythm (which is medicine in itself) and slow down and let go of the things that don’t serve us.  Healing is as much about letting go as it is adding something to the system.  Yes nutritional deficiencies can be at the root of many illnesses, yet if you are unable to utilise nutrition because your body is burdened with toxins or overly taxed in fight/flight/action mode, you are no better off.  When we allow this process of letting go of what does not serve us, we give ourselves space and sustenance from source, so that we can ride the winter period from a place of deep connection with our internal world and wisdoms.


These patterns can be very much hard wired into us and can unconsciously be running us. This is why I love kinesiology.  It allows us to look into the neurology and the psyche to bring the unconscious and conscious to our awareness, and identify how they are affecting us.  Kinesiology techniques additionally offer a pattern break so that you can govern yourself in the way that serves you better.  And in particular, my passion is supporting people to access more of their innate intelligence systems through supporting the neurological system to express the soul’s wisdom.


I have a few working days sprinkled throughout the next month in case you felt you needed a consultation on zoom.  1 hour sessions can feel rather inadequate when we are taking the time for you to be heard and coaching you to use self healing strategies and kinesiology techniques for yourself.  I therefore recommend a 1.5 hour consultation and have a special offer for this next month.  $140 for 1.5 hours.  

1 hour consultations are still $130.  Click here to book your appointment.


You may wish to bring a pen and paper to take notes for yourself.   I will now be charging an extra $30 for any written summaries that you request.  If you wish to purchase a recording of your zoom session, I can send it to you for an extra $10.


Blessings for a beautifully balanced and rich inner life

Hormone Intelligence group program

You are invited to group program based on the book Hormone Intelligence by Dr Aviva Romm

 Introduction:

Many women have been taught to put up with pain and many forms of sub optimal functioning (which is usually the result of hormone imbalance).  Judgements have fallen upon women in relation to being ‘hormonal’ as though it is a disease.  Yet in some cultures and some perspectives, the premenstrual and menstrual time for a woman is her power time.  It is considered the time to address those niggles that can tend to build and explode in emotional outbursts when we have been ignoring them for long enough. Menopausal and peri-menopausal times can also be a powerful initiation into becoming greater, wiser and more loving.

We are all allowed to get emotional, angry or find ourselves out of sorts. It can be illuminating and empowering for women to be in touch with this aspect of self. Emotions and hormones play an important role in communicating wisdom from your body and soul.  Currently we are in a time that has been predicted by Indigenous Australian elders to be a time of the feminine rising and development of this aspect in humanity.  For too long we have been over-developed in masculine ways and all of humanity is out of balance as a result.  So this online workshop is my contribution to focusing energy into developing the feminine arm of humanity.

My role in facilitating this group is to support you to attuned to this aspect of yourself and empower you to take the actions that you are being guided to take for your health and wellbeing.  This program gives you the structure and time to listen and act on your own needs so that you can fortify yourself and deepen in self love and acceptance.

Women - Have you been feeling flat, exhausted, out of sorts, just not yourself?

Many women suffer with pain or fatigue and have come to accept this as being normal or have been told that this is just how it is being a woman.  Or is it your body speaking to you?

Dr Aviva Romm has helped countless numbers of women with these types of issues through her Hormone Intelligence program and it is an honour for me to share it with you via a weekly group call.

What is in store for this Hormone Intelligence Online Program?

Support for developing Hormone intelligence = connecting you with your innate knowing that allows you to live in alignment with your natural blueprint and function.  It will be a bit like doing a study group with your buddies.

Who is this for?

Any woman who is feeling fatigued or blocked with building wellness and vitality or is having a rough time with any phase of womanhood… Premenstrual, Perimenopausal, Menopausal etc.

Working with the beautifully published hard cover manual, we will be going on a 7 week journey together to inspire you to improve your wellbeing.  Meeting once a week, you will be given practical information and home plays to support your wellness and will have an opportunity to share what is on your heart and mind for your health goals.

Why an online group program?

From the comfort of your own home you can be motivated and inspired by the power of group energy.  When groups come together for a common purpose it gives a sense of community and connection, which reduces cortisol (stress hormones) and increases oxytocin (calming/bonding hormone)  This allows for new neural pathways (= new behavioural pattens) to be established.  It also encourages active participation and accountability which leads to improved outcomes.

We have the wonderful Hormone Blueprint questionnaire to see where you need to focus and to track your progress. 

Here is an overview of the book we are working with:

  • Chapter 1 explains the multitude of hormone-related conditions that can bring us down.

  • Chapter 2 outlines the important hormones involved in keeping us healthy and in balance.

  • Chapters 3 & 4 gives all you need to know about supporting a healthy menstrual cycle so that you can keep an eye on the first signs of imbalance. You might also like to take the PMS self evaluation on page 73.

  • If you have stopped menstruating then obviously these chapters are not of interest to you and you can jump straight to Chapter 5 - You are your best healer.

  • Part 2 Find balance with the Hormone Intelligence Plan (Chapters 6-11) is what we will be diving into together online. This gives us the knowledge, tools and guidance for feeling great.

  • You will have the opportunity to share with the group each week and be given weekly home play activities to support your health.

  • We have many delicious recipes in the book to keep us inspired and nourished.

  • There are specialised protocols that you can draw upon if you have endometriosis, uterine fibroids, polycystic ovary syndrome, fertility issues, vaginal or sexual health issues or perimenopause symptoms.

Go to https://avivaromm.com/ for more information about Dr Aviva Romm and her publications and podcasts

Intentions: 

This online group space is for women who feel called to:

  • Rejuvenate and create a more vibrant sense of self and wellbeing.

  • Attune to your body's natural rhythms and intelligence.

  • Embrace the collaborative power of a group to support health goals and intentions.

  • Give yourself the chance to be heard and be able to identify imbalances and resolve them.

There are so many important perspectives that we can explore together as women to tweak the way we operate.  Sometimes it just takes a slight shift in perception, or a kind addition to our day to work more harmoniously with the body and soul.  When women get together, these kinds of perspectives can be shared and nourished.

I am offering a structured space for focused energy.  Energy flows where attention goes, so we will be harnessing this to give you the energy you need to restore your vitality.


You will receive: 

  • Support to listen deeply to the wisdom of the body and the soul.

  • Questionnaires that guide you to identifying the hormones that are out of balance.

  • A wellness program that helps to bring your hormones back into balance and boost your energy.

  • A reference book that gives you a complete guide to calming hormone chaos and restoring your body's natural blueprint for wellbeing.

  • Recipes that inspire you to nourish your body with what it needs.

This program is not intended to diagnose or prescribe.  Please see your doctor for this. 

How much does it cost?

$230 early bird offer if booked by March 24th (this means I don’t have to express post your book).  Free journal included if booked before Wednesday March 16th.

$250 if booked after March 24th.

When do we start?

Date to be arranged to begin our journey in the last week of March 2022. 

I will be deciding the day and time based on the group needs.

What suits you? These are my proposed options:

Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday? 

Proposed times 7am,10am, 12md, 2pm, 3pm WA time

Allow 1.5 hours for each weekly call.

How do I register?

Email me your postal address and phone number and I will email you online payment details and a welcome pack and post you your book and receipt once payment is received. 

Email Simone at info@soulnurturing.com.au or phone 0427 320 302

Opportunity from Adversity

Back when I was a very young nurse I was involved in an investigation into the death of a young child that I happened to be nursing.  The child died between the handover of my shift and the next, and I was in absolute shock that this had happened. Especially because I was not aware of it until I was phoned the next day to be informed.  This was one of the most challenging life experiences I have ever had and I suffered a lot of torment as a result of it.  I was provided counselling, but my first counsellor left me feeling even more traumatised, as much as she was trying to help me, she just didn’t have the skills or the message that I needed to receive.  She also didn’t give me much of a chance to express my grief and I give gratitude to her for the learned experience of the importance of expressing grief and the need to be truly heard. 

The second counsellor helped me in just one session.  She listened well and supported me to turn adversity into opportunity.  This has been a very important life lesson for me as a result.  So this is how I see the opportunities in our current adversity:

The 3 key topics that we are experiencing on a collective level:

  1. Strength and resilience cultivated through adversity

When challenging times arise or we hit a metaphorical ‘breakdown’ of some description, it reflects the ‘seaworthiness of our ship’.  I wrote about this in my book ‘Melting Moments’.  Situations of adversity can show up in our life and expose the cracks, or the things that are not operating so well in our body, or any other aspect of self.  It is a great opportunity to heal and resolve these things, so that we are more resilient and feel more whole in the self, ready for the next metaphorical storm that arises.  To begin to strengthen the vessel of your being you may wish to consider this self enquiry:  

What do I need to release in order to feel more aligned with my personal power?

What do I need to embrace to feel more aligned with my personal power?

2. Too much inflammation causes health problems

A whole range of inflammatory conditions are showing up for people, reflecting the inflammatory emotions that people are demonstrating or feeling in response to the polarising topics of the pandemic and vaccination.  It is very important for us to be mindful of where we put our focus.  With so much focus on controversy and injustice, there is less energy and focus on the things that keep us healthy.  

In many people the vaccination itself is causing inflammation and inflammatory conditions such as joint pain, gut problems, eye irritation, throat pain, skin rashes, headache, aches and pains, irritability and burning sensation in lungs, plus cough. Inflammation is the body’s natural response to any pathogen and the spike proteins the body is producing as a result of the vaccine is considered a pathogen.  For many bodies, it is registering as an injury, and inflammation is the body’s natural response to injury.

These inflammatory issues teach us the importance of taking good care of our own health and make us more accountable for consciously choosing what supports us and reject what does not. For energetic healing, you can release inflammatory emotions such as anger, resentment and irritability through using breath and the power of the heart.  Taking deep breaths into your heart as you allow yourself to feel the emotion can support the release of this energy that contributes to inflammation.  The energetics are the program for the physical body so if things are not addressed on this level, they will continue to influence the health of the physical body.

Physically we can support the body to release inflammation through addressing root causes of neuroendocrine inflammation. 

They include:

  • Insulin resistance, where the body is unable to use blood glucose for energy. Obesity, food intake, stress and stress response, glycemic metabolism, and adipose tissue biology may all play a role in this.

  • Chronic stress - affects cortisol dysfunction which can result in chronic, widespread inflammation.

  • Disruption in circadian cycles - disruption to sleep and wake cycle and sleep deprivation can lead to a range of chronic inflammation and health problems.

  • Mold exposure & Chronic infection - any pathogens cause neuroendocrine inflammation to fight infections.

  • Heavy toxic load - Heavy metals, parasites, candida overgrowths, bacterial overgrowths, and xeno-oestrogens such as parabens, pesticides, BPA and other chemicals found in plastics can all disrupt the body’s immune system and regulation of inflammation.

  • EMF exposure - can cause neuroendocrine changes and hormonal disruptions that contribute to inflammation.

  • Nutritional deficiencies that have been found to contribute are B vitamins - particularly B6, folate, and B12, vitamin D, Zinc, Iodine and Magnesium.

  • Food sensitivities may be contributing to inflammation and identifying these can take a lot of pressure off. Commonly we can balance the body for the sensitivity so the diet doesn’t become stressfully restrictive. There may be some foods that need to be removed completely from the diet, but mostly food sensitivities are tied up in stressful associations and once the stress is released the body no longer associates the food with pain or trauma.

Dietary support for inflammation is an important consideration to remove some of the toxic load.  Pro inflammatory foods include highly processed foods, highly refined grains, most packaged foods trans fats such as deep fried foods, margarine, sunflower, safflower, corn and soy oil, grain fed meats and eggs and sugary soft drinks.  Anti-inflammatory foods include turmeric, ginger, bone broth, wild caught salmon, apple cider vinegar, extra virgin olive oil, olives, coconut oil, coconut milk, coconut flakes, fermented vegetables, onion, garlic and herbs such as basil, oregano, thyme, chives.

3. Evolution of consciousness requires us to rise above the good and evil paradigm

When we get caught in the global narratives and media stories, we are feeding the paradigm of good and bad and contributing to the polarity and separation which perpetuates our pain patterns.  There is an invitation to stay focused on our own personal truth and commit to our highest potential so that we can operate from a higher frequency, which is more aligned with divine will, and therefore is more supportive for all of life.

It is time to ask: What are the things that truly matter to me and where in my life am I not being true to this or being distracted from this?


References:

Dr Jockers. Neuroendocrine Inflammation: Symptoms causes and support strategies, Published online https://drjockers.com/neuroendocrine/?ck_subscriber_id=891041820

Diz-Chavez et el. Journal of Endocrinology. 2016. Stressing diabetes? The hidden links between insulinotropic peptides and the HPA axis. Published online https://joe.bioscientifica.com/view/journals/joe/230/2/R77.xml

Hannibal KE, Bishop MD. Chronic stress, cortisol dysfunction, and pain: a psychoneuroendocrine rationale for stress management in pain rehabilitation. Phys Ther. 2014 Dec;94(12):1816-25. doi: 10.2522/ptj.20130597. Epub 2014 Jul 17. PMID: 25035267

Kıvrak EG, Yurt KK, Kaplan AA, Alkan I, Altun G. Effects of electromagnetic fields exposure on the antioxidant defense system. J Microsc Ultrastruct. 2017 Oct-Dec;5(4):167-176. doi: 10.1016/j.jmau.2017.07.003. Epub 2017 Aug 2. PMID: 30023251

What does 2022 mean to you?

Image thanks to Olimpo Ávila Salazar

Image thanks to Olimpo Ávila Salazar

Welcome to 2022, the year to be true to you.

Many people ask me questions along the lines of - ‘If I do this, will it help me to feel/achieve this?’

These questions don’t have a clear cut answer as that is just not how this world seems to operate.  I am sure you have probably noticed this in life already, that what works for one person might not work for another. You may have already noticed that what works for you today might not work for you tomorrow and this is why our inner guidance system and our ability to be present, is so valuable.

When it comes to the human body, I have not found any healing modality in this world that can 100 percent guarantee a set outcome in 100 percent of people.  Even pharmaceutical medications are not 100 percent effective for 100 percent of people, 100 percent of the time. There are way too many variables that influence the context of how we operate in a human body.

My modality being kinesiology, demonstrates this with muscle monitoring.  I can muscle test someone and their muscle response can show they are in balance, their chakras are in balance, their meridians are in balance, and their body can tolerate all the foods they are eating.  I can then put an issue ‘on line’ (this means that I expose the person to an experience or have them remember or think about an experience) and the body will give me a whole different set of muscle responses.  The muscle response shows stress or imbalances in the body, emotions, meridians or chakras etc. and can show up a food intolerance when an emotional issue is present.  I can challenge the body with the frequency of a heavy metal, bacteria, virus or toxin and there is again a different profile of stress or imbalance that the body shows.  The same toxin - for example a particular vaccination, can show very different effects and imbalances for each individual.  

Our bodies have an incredible intelligence system and energetic structure which supports our health when we listen to it.  I associate this intelligence system as being a sense of personal truth.  There are many things in this world that teach us to stop listening to it and to trust more sources outside of our own intelligence - the knowledge of a doctor - the latest science, the media, our parents or the voice of authority for example.  I read a quote recently by Albert Einstein that verifies exactly what I have been sensing as the learning opportunity available for us all at the moment. He stated, ‘Blind belief in authority is the greatest enemy of truth’.

My invitation to you this year is to tune into your intention for yourself, so that you can continue to orientate yourself and your life from a place of being true to you.  And on this note, here is an extract from my recently published book ‘Melting Moments’.

◆  Set your direction with your intentions and this will be like travelling to places with a favourite companion. Intentions give the support that a close friend will give. They are a guiding force, holding your hand and stirring you to action. They are light when you are lost and thinking, What am I doing here, and how do I get out of here?

◆  Ask yourself: 

◆  What are your intentions?

◆  What choices and experiences are aligned with
your intentions?

◆  Take these intentions with you when you walk,
swim, dance, and move in any meaningful way.

◆  Who knows where your intentions will lead you
and who knows what they may bring you? 

It is truly incredible to see what does show up in your life when you set an intention for yourself for the year.  I would also invite you to ask yourself what you need in order to support your intention.  Asking is a powerful prayer in itself. This year the intention that felt best for myself was the intention of peace, to choose the thoughts and actions that bring me peace.  While I was reading one of my favourite books called Boundless Love by Miranda Holden, (this is in fact the second time I am reading it) I came across this quote which felt much like a gift of guidance in response to my intention:

‘Gratitude offers an inner sanctuary of joy and abundance in a world full of cynicism, defensiveness and fear.  It is the simplest means to open up the vast power of your heart.  Gratitude interrupts negative emotional states, melts destructive victim mind-sets and releases you back to profound peace.’

Many blessings on your quest for this year.  May your potential be activated in many magical ways.

References:

Miller, S. 2020, Melting Moments, Ocean Reeve Publishing, Australia, pp. 105.

Holden, M.  2002.  Boundless Love, Rider, London, pp. 93

Support tips for digestion - physically and energetically

As we enter the season of spring we are entering into the time of the liver and gall bladder organ systems.  According to Traditional Chinese Medicine 1 “What we eat, and how we eat it, plays a part in how we feel and how we express our feelings.  People with a healthy liver and gallbladder are calm, make decisions easily and are stress-free.  The liver stores emotional issues we haven’t dealt with, so it can be the home of anger and frustration.  It is also the home of the mood.”

Spring time is therefore a good time to focus on the health of our liver and gall bladder.  The liver is the organ system that supports the process of transformation.  Physically, one of the liver’s functions is to transform toxins in the body, in order to safely eliminate them.  It also has a role in transforming nutrients and fat stores to produce energy for the body. Mentally and emotionally it provides energetic support to be able to move through major life changes.  Currently I am witnessing in many of my clients and in myself personally major changes going on internally.  Just as spring is a time of new growth in nature, we can be experiencing the same natural cycle within our own selves, in the way the growth of the soul calls us.  In a time where there is so much global division and polarisation, the callings of the soul and our purpose for being on the planet at this time, is pressingly important to honour.  When we take time to listen to what feels true and best for us personally, and use this to guide every choice we make, we are supporting this transformation process.  

Something which can impact our ability to grow and transform in alignment with the soul, is a digestive process that happens energetically.  Globally we are encountering a time laden with mental information that we are having to process and digest.  We are exposed to so many social media platforms, mainstream media channels and means for receiving information - books, magazines, newspapers, radio, television, billboards, text messages, phone messages, emails, and the list goes on.  Communication arrives to our mobile phones at a fast and relentless pace from friends, family, colleagues and advertisers. This can be distracting, overwhelming and disorientating if we are not equipped with the appropriate environment and resources to process it.

In view of this, it is of no surprise if you are having trouble with your physical digestion at the moment.  With kinesiology I work with something called the Hologram model 2.  It is what makes up the energetic and physical construction of our being.  The premise for this model is that what is happening in the energetic template of our being, is being reflected in the physical template of our being.  Therefore, in order to address difficulty digesting foods, sometimes it is necessary to address difficulties in digesting information mentally or emotionally.

In order to digest food, the body needs to neurologically be in a state of rest and digest.  Therefore if we are in a state of fear, fight or flight or eating on the run for example, our body is not going to be able to digest, absorb and assimilate nutrients as well.  It will also be compromised with the elimination process which means that toxicity can build up in the body and put a greater burden detoxification organs such as the liver. Additionally, overeating can also put stress on the liver and affect our ability to digest food well. This is number 1 support for the liver and digestion.  Give your body the appropriate environment for digestion - a calm, slow, peaceful eating environment, and eat just until your stomach feels full.

Support tip number 2: In order to digest energetically, what needs to be considered is the information that you are choosing to allow into your space.  Do you feel you have the time to be able to process more information?  Is there an optimum time for you to be reading your emails or looking at your Facebook messages and notifications in order for you to take in what resonates with you and be able to let go (eliminate) what does not resonate with you?  If you are constantly taking in information and taking it all on without discerning what is nourishing you energetically, then it is like overeating and it will be taxing on you.  If you don’t have the ability to discern the information you need to eliminate, then your mental and emotional state of being will become toxic.  

Support tip number 3: Energetically, the heart chakra supports the health and energy levels for the liver and gall bladder.  Therefore what feeds your heart and supports you to feel love and joy, assists these organ systems and aids their corresponding behavioural states:

3 Liver - transformation, happiness, contentment, resilient, secure, calm under pressure, handle stress well, balanced ambition and drive, energetic, assertive, flexible, responsible

3 Gall Bladder - decisive & wise choice, rational & logical, orderly, organised, purposeful, sound judgement, motivated, powerful, assertive, able to stand up for what you believe in

Every time you encounter information your cortical brain has the job of reading, interpreting,  analysing, judging, comparing, prioritising and putting into perspective the information received.  It requires a huge amount of energy to power these types of executive brain functions.  Therefore the more you are doing this, the more energy you are using.  Therefore you may need more rest, sleep, meditation and recharge space if you are applying your brain to a huge volume of information processing.  

A very well functioning brain and nervous system is required in order to express the soul and its purpose.  If your nervous system is overwhelmed by sensory information from devices for example, then it doesn’t have the chance to be able to attune so well to what our instinctive, heartfelt, honest authentic self has to say.  Support tip number 4 is therefore to choose wisely how much time you dedicate to processing information online, or anywhere else.  There is many other aspects of our being which also require our attention. One is our heartfelt soulful self, which is our true navigation system and supports our ability to achieve our highest potential. Another is our instinctive wild self, which gives us the ability to take care of our foundational needs such as feeding, healing, hydrating and resting. 

Support tip number 5 is plain and simple.  Sometimes we just need some good old fashioned rest.  The more we over-ride and ignore that, the more exhausted and overwhelmed we become.  The body knows what it needs as a vehicle for the soul.  When we listen to this, we have a beautifully harmonising system in which the body and soul work effectively together.  Personally I have to be completely honest here and say that this isn’t always easy to remember when I am very much conditioned to ‘get the job done’.  Yet there is also another voice in my head which came from a wonderful Kinesiology teacher of mine, Yamuna Jansch; “The work will never be finished, but it will finish you - if you let it”.  I know in every cell of my body that rest is best when I hit this wall.  Then I have choice about which voice to listen to, and I know which one helps me to feel better.

I have specialised in Kinesiology over the past 25 years with a focus on supporting the integration of the body and soul.  If you are feeling like your brain or your body are needing an upgrade to continue to grow and evolve on your soul’s journey, I would love to be a part of that.  Together we are stronger.

References:

1.Professor Lun Wong & Kath Knapsey, 2002, Food for the seasons, Black Dog books, Victoria, Australia.

2.Richard Utt, 1993, Applied Physiology Holographic Workshops, https://iiap.com.au/whats-on/ap1-agape-quest-foundation-module/

3.Robbi Zeck, 2003, The Blossoming Heart, Brolga Publishing, Australia

Why Emotional Intelligence is so valuable

prayer.png

I was astonished to read recently that studies have found that stress can be more detrimental to our health than smoking.[1]  It reminded me of the ancient wisdom of the KaHuna Principles, number one being - IKE - The world is what you think it is and you create your own reality.  If we perceive the world as stressful, then we suffer.  If we perceive the world as something that we can have resilience with, then we are empowered to live life in that way.  This hits on another one of the KaHuna Principles - MANA - All power comes from within, being confident you can live an empowered life.

There are seven principles in total that come from this ancient wisdom of the Hawaiian/Polynesian Island traditional ways, and all of them are lessons in Emotional Intelligence.  Our culture appears to be very focused on mental and intellectual Intelligence, which doesn’t seem to be doing much for our foundations of health and happiness in society.  This is evidenced in the book ‘Science of the Heart, Exploring the role of the heart in human performance’ released by The Heart Math Institute in 2015.[1]  It covers a lot of research into the impact of stress on our health along with emotional and heart intelligence, which captures beautifully the nature of my work as a Kinesiologist.  

What first lead me to Kinesiology back in 1997 was this fact that mental and intellectual intelligence was destroying my body and starving my heart.  I was an eighteen year old young woman who was very focused on health, eating well, exercising and having high ambitions in life, but not able to be functional because my body and heart were screaming at me by displaying a number of debilitating symptoms.  In my practice as a Kinesiologist over these 20 plus years I have witnessed many other people in the same quandary and my practice has become very much focused on supporting people to connect with the wisdom of the body and the heart, in addition to the intelligence of the brain and mind.

There is a whole branch of science now that is dedicated to explaining this aspect of life - psychoneuroimmunology - which explains how our emotions and mental state of being creates chemical messages in the body which affect our neurological and immune functions.  The Chinese have known this for thousands of years and know that certain organ and glandular functions are affected by certain emotions and this forms the foundations of many Kinesiology techniques for balancing the body.  Now we are all agreeing that emotions get stuck in the body and affect our health and our resilience in life.[2]

In the interest of keeping this article short, succinct and punchy and thus to be palatable for our modern, fast paced, information overloaded life, I am going to hone in on the intelligence of the heart and give you some strategies for emotional intelligence and housekeeping.  If you need more evidence about how important it is to tend to your emotional intelligence there are resources listed at the bottom of this article that delve into this.


In my work as a health practitioner I am frequently working with an incredible intelligence system in the body called ‘the heart brain’.  The gut brain has received a lot of attention in our modern world, yet our heart brain is more central, as this is the intelligence system that keeps in balance our brain, nervous system, fluid balance, blood chemistry and psycho-emotional aspects of health and supports our resilience in life.[1]  It has the capacity to learn, remember and make decisions for our wellbeing.[1] In Chinese Medicine it is known to help us to have a good restful sleep, clear thinking and physical and emotional resilience.[3]

One of the KaHuna principles is the principle of Aloha - to love is to be happy.  If there is only one thing you remember from the article when you head back out into your life, I want this to be it.  It is so simple and so powerful.  When we focus our attention on the things that we are grateful for, on loving and caring for ourself and others, and on respecting and appreciating our environment that is our beautiful and restorative natural world, we have the power to heal so much.  

Simply by giving attention to our emotions, what our heart is feeling and sensing, we are doing our housekeeping for emotional intelligence.  Emotions have an energy frequency that needs to be heard and channelled with a heart-centred perspective.  By giving some attention to them, moving with them and refocusing ourselves on the love and support that is available, we are supporting the heart brain.[1]  We not only positively influence ourselves when we develop strong connection and coherence in the heart brain, we also positively influence those around us and support the entrainment of the heart coherence for others. [4]

A simple activity that can support you to connect with the power of the heart for healing is to take a minute or two to stop, close your eyes and breathe slowly and deeply with awareness to your heart.  Here lies another of the KaHuna principles - MAKIA - energy flows where attention goes - the power of focused awareness. The heart has an amazing ability to transform emotional energy, and you can imagine breathing that challenging emotion into your heart, hold it there a moment and then breathe out with the intention of letting it go.  Another simple practice which I love comes from a quote from the famous poet Rumi. “Close your eyes, fall in love, stay there.”

If you want any more suggestions or support in cultivating your emotional intelligence and heart brain functions, I would love to continue sharing with you.  You can get in touch with me at my email info@soulnurturing.com.au or phone 0427 320 302.

Love and joy to us all, 

Simone.


1] McCraty, R. 2015. SCIENCE OF THE HEART, Exploring the Role of the Heart in Human Performance, Volume 2. HeartMath Institute. Accessed online https://www.heartmath.org 

2] Pert, C. 1997. Molecules of Emotion. Simon and Schuster 

3] Beinfield H. & Korngold, E. 1991. Between Heaven and Earth: A Guide to Chinese Medicine, Balantine Books, New York 

4] Morris, S.M., Facilitating collective coherence: Group Effects on Heart Rate Variability Coherence and Heart Rhythm Synchronization. Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 2010. 16(4): p. 62-72.

The Archetypal Missing Link to Health

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These past few months in my work as a Kinesiologist there has been a definite trend in the missing link to good mental, emotional and physical health.  The one archetype that keeps revealing itself as a foundation to health is the Mother Archetype.  Archetypes are patterns of behaviour, roles, and modes of perception that inform our being in the physical world.  Throughout history archetypes have been a source of fascination and guidance.  The famous psychologist Jung was known as the father of archetypes and archetypal used theories and philosophies in his work with people.  Medical Intuitive Carolyn Myss and Neurosurgeon Norm Shealy are two more recent and well known professionals who have worked closely with archetypes to achieve health outcomes.  Each chakra has its own set of archetypes that can give a picture about the imbalances in these energetic centres and the glandular and hormonal functions they affect.  By creating balance with archetypal energies, we are able to heal more than just psychological maladies.


The Mother Archetype is associated with the base chakra and our sense of stability, belonging, self nurturing and security.  It also supports the development of trust.  Imbalances with this archetype and chakra affect the adrenal system, the stress hormones and hormones that affect fluid balance in the body.  Conditions associated with adrenal imbalances, particularly adrenal exhaustion can have devastating affects on how we feel physically, mentally and emotionally.  It then becomes a downward spiral where the ability to recognise and care for our needs becomes debilitated with the fatigue that is being experienced.  I have worked with a lot of people lately to support recovery from adrenal exhaustion.  


The archetype of the mother and the energy flow in the base chakra also affects the heart meridian.  According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, anxiety, blood pressure imbalances, a racing heart and insomnia are all associated with imbalances of the heart, and these are common ailments in our society these days.  The small intestine meridian is also affected by base chakra imbalances. I am seeing increasing numbers of people with gut problems and food sensitivities that are commonly related to the imbalances in the base chakra.  Gut problems are often associated with wounding in relation to the mother archetype and the archetype of the wild woman as well as the ability to give and receive care and nurture.  This fundamental ability is wired into our primal wild spirited being, yet with the domestication of our society, it is commonly not so well expressed. 


We can’t deny that the topical themes in our current worldly affairs at the moment revolve around the mother.  We have heard the shocking stories in the news of women being disrespected sexually.  Just yesterday I heard that politicians and people working in the legal system were only now subject to the standard sexual harassment laws.  I was astonished to learn that previously they had been indemnified from sexual harassment and abuse.  It would appear that the sacredness of conceiving a child and the honouring of a potential mother is abolished with this historical precedent.  Disrespect for the environment and Mother Earth are also global issues of the modern time.   It is yet another example where fundamental priorities, such as having a healthy environment, is over-ridden by other agenda’s, such as greed and power.


Historically the role of women as mothers has not been well supported or revered.  In fact, in many cases women as mothers have been viewed as ‘less than’ their corporate counterparts.  It is understandable that women want to focus on their career path ahead of being a mother.  Being well developed financially is a lot safer and less vulnerable than being developed maternally.  I have heard many stories of trauma associated with being a single mum.  I have also heard about how challenging it is to have your needs met as a mother even in a nuclear family unit, let along being a single parent.  In tribal culture it was viewed that it took a village to raise a child.  These days with the degree of migration and the increase in the age of retirement, access to a set of grandparents for support, let alone community support can be hard to come by.


I often wonder ‘If the mothers of the world were given the reverence, respect and support they deserve, would there be less pain and suffering in the world?’


A mother’s relationship with her child sets the child up with a compass for self care.  It is the model for how to meet our needs physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.  We develop our sense of trust in our first twelve months of life through our mothers ability to nurture us and meet our needs. These formative moments also support us to have a sense of belonging and thus a sense of connection with others and with life.


In the past few months I have consulted with may women who feel alone and are yearning to develop a greater sense of trust.  They know in their mind how important that is in order to achieve greater ease and flow in life.  They know how much energy it costs to be the one who constantly organises and manages and be everything for everyone, because they don’t trust it can be done without them.  Yet to embody letting go and trusting is not as easy as it sounds when you have been conditioned to do what your mum did.


How did your Mum go with her mothering roles and how much support did she receive?

How much stress did she have being in this role of caregiver?

How did your Mum care for herself while caring for you?


At some point in life, the archetype of the mother visits us and calls us to listen deeply to the needs of our own soul, and to take care of our inner child and our unmet needs.  When we can reognise this calling and respond compassionately, we re-pattern ourselves and create solid foundations of security, unconditional love and trust in self and the soul’s journey.  When we respond to this call to self care and taking responsibility for meeting our needs by 1) asking and 2) being open to receive, a deep inner peace and expansive joy is available to us and to those around us. 


When you look at the dis-regard for the earth and see environmental issues such as littering, pollution and desolation of forests, it is no surprie that this macro cosm is also being reflected in the micro cosm of a mother’s world.  As our Indigenous cultures say, ‘What we do to the earth we do to ourselves’.  I am hearing many stories of children mistreating their mothers, despite that mum’s intention to love and care for her child in the best possible way.  Everyone has their own unique story that encompasses these types of pain patterns.  Our higher self works in mysterious ways, and these moments of pain and rejection are good times to ask ‘What do I need to do for me?’  It begs the question, ‘Is the abandonment giving a mother space to heal and regenerate herself?’  Much like what we witnessed when we all had to retreat from a pandemic.  A lockdown of people on mass gave our Mother Earth the opportunity to clear toxic pollution and rebalance with less human interference.


So now is a good time to give our own self the space for re-mothering, and stay in touch with our own needs in order to be healthy, strong and compassionate humans.  We not only make the world a better experience for ourselves and prevent stress related illness, we also lead the way for future generations to experience less suffering.  Now is a great time for connecting with our own mothers and forgiving all that was.  Chances are, they didn’t receive the guidance, support and mothering that they needed either.  Now is the time to love and nurture ourselves like we have never done before.

In Utero Healing

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These past few weeks there has been a trend in people hitting up against unwanted feelings, thoughts and behavioural patterns with no apparent cause or trigger.  Many of these kinds of foreign or inexplicable problems have stemmed from in utero experiences. If you are finding you are frustrated with a physical symptom or emotional response that you just can’t seem to shake, despite all your self care and self awareness, you may also be one of these people needing to heal trauma acquired in utero.

What Happens In Utero?

Understanding the stresses affecting how we develop and function is a key to being able to heal the experiences that have impacted us while in utero.  These are the primary influences on us while in utero…

Teratogens, are any toxic substances that affects a baby while in utero.  Alcohol and cigarette smoke are two highly toxic substances for a developing baby. The most extreme form of this is where children are born with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and have extremely poor brain function and ability to modulate their emotions, learn and problem solve.  Any environmental toxin such as cigarette smoke, air pollution, diesel fumes, pesticides, fungicides and heavy metals can affect a developing baby’s brain, immune and digestive functions.  Additionally, heavy metals can be inherited from the maternal blood, so toxins such as heavy metals and pesticides are accumulating in the food chain not only through the creatures on land and sea, but also through our human selves. 

The brain is a very complex and highly tuned organ.  It regulates absolutely every bodily and behavioural function.  A baby’s brain is easily affected if there is inadequate oxygen supply to all its cells which can be a result of these types of toxins circulating in the blood stream.  The nerves of the brain have a number of highly specialised support cells (glial cells) that influence neural signalling and therefore brain function.  A baby’s immune and digestive functions continue to develop rapidly after a child is born and if these functions are already compromised by dealing with toxins, then these systems will not be as adequate.  In my time as a kinesiologist I have found a number of areas of the body showing stress and deficits in functioning as a result of these kinds of toxins, not only from in utero experience, but from any age in life.  We have kinesiology techniques for supporting detoxification and for re-activating areas of the brain affected by oxygen stress. 

Maternal viral or bacterial infections can also cause some stress to organ or brain functions.  A study of the effects on the Zeka virus on developing babies gives some explanations about how this happens, yet there are still things that haven’t been definitively explained by science. 1  The good news is that the body gives direct feedback with muscle testing about what stress is associated with imbalances in the body, and in many cases, I have used kinesiology to restore health and balance for a number of people who had stress in utero.

Cortisol and other biochemical imbalances that the mother is experiencing can influence the health of a baby. For example a 2003 study showed that low vagal activity (therefore high levels of stress) was noted in newborn babies born from women who experienced chronic anxiety, depression or excessive anger during pregnancy. These babies also showed low levels of dopamine and serotonin. 2  If this persists for the baby, it can set up patterns such as depression, anxiety, lack of drive, poor sleep, poor immunity and poor learning.

A mother’s emotional state, ability to bond with the baby, degree of stress and perceptions of the world are all subtle influences on a developing baby.  Emotions have an energy frequency and an infant in the womb is energetically receptive and has intrinsic memories developing in relation to this. Intrinsic memories are the unconscious memories that are stored in certain parts of the brain and the body and are associated with our automatic responses. They are not conscious thought memories, they are body response memories.  

For example, a mother who is highly anxious and perceives life to be in service to one person after another and who has never taken time for herself to relax can influence her child in the same way.  An infant has intrinsic and therefore unconscious memories of this and is wired so that it can be prepared for the world it is being born into.  There have been a number of people who I have consulted with who are doing everything they can to not be like their mother ,and yet still tend to unconsciously act out their mother’s behaviours.  When we clear the energetic patterning from the unconscious and support the more conscious brain functions, then these people have more capability to choose their behaviour.  

Like conscious memories, these unconscious memories and responses can be triggered by things that happen in life that remind us of the original moments of experience.  The nervous system is like muscle tissue.  The more those triggers happen, the more those same neural pathways respond in that way, and the stronger they become.  Additionally, these areas of the brain are usually brain functions associated with survival which means they are wired to respond more quickly than our conscious thought pathways and therefore create the initial experience.  The good news is that with kinesiology we can calm down these pathways and support the conscious brain’s ability to respond instead.  This gives us the ability to problem solve and use creative thinking to form new responses and behaviours.  Looking at it all in a positive light, when we feel triggered and feeling reactive rather than mindfully responsive, it is a wonderful opportunity to heal.  These are the perfect moments to stop, breath and connect with our heart, which has the amazing power of compassion and ability to transform emotional energy and guide us on the path of love and truth.  In each moment we have the opportunity to re-pattern and re-define ourselves in a way that is more true to our soul.

Our Innate Healing Abilities

This all sounds like there is so much against us and there is no wonder that we are doing a lot of healing in relation to in utero experiences.  However, the good news is that there are many incredible little souls being born these days who are showing us a new way of being in the world.  They are a lot more aligned with truth and the spirit of creation in its purest form when coming from this womb space.  You may have noticed it yourself as a Mum when that little baby gets upset when you do too much, rush too much or get wound up.  Many of us are learning to be more balanced in our masculine and feminine energies.  We are learning the benefits of slowing down, being more gentle with ourselves and connecting with our intuitive knowing.  

The womb space is a beautifully feminine space of connection with elemental energies which will live within us and support us throughout life.  The book Womb Awakening describes these processes in great detail and is a brilliant read for anyone interested in this topic. 3  It suggests that by visiting our time in the womb, we can not only understand more about the patterns that unfold in our lives, but we can also restore our elemental balance.  For example, connection with the element of water helps us to access and process our states of feeling. Fire can fuel our heart’s desires and sexual energy.  Air can support our visionary capacities.  Earth can ground us and support our ability to thrive on the earthly plane.  We have all these elements available to us in nature and can embody them simply through imagination.  This can guide our healing journeys, so if you ever feel drawn to a particular experience in nature, such as smelling the bush, swimming in the ocean or soaking up the sun, remember that there is wisdom and healing in this simple act.


Take Aways:

  • Don’t be hard on yourself if you keep falling into the same patterns throughout life. Compassion and forgiveness to self and parents is an important healing step.

  • There are ways to re-pattern ourselves. Awareness and self healing acts, such as spending time in nature, using emotional stress release, listening to music and moving our bodies can all help. My book ‘Melting Moments, the delectable art of nourishing your soul’ goes into detail on this.

  • Healing can come in many forms. Trust your soul with the experiences it offers you and practice choosing from a place of self love.

  • There are ways to rebuild your neurotransmitters that may tend to be imbalanced from stress in utero. My Blog on neurotransmitters affecting mental health gives more information about this. http://www.soulnurturing.com.au/blog/2020/6/19/mental-health-super-heroes

  • Pregnant women and mums - listen to your body, your baby, your needs and know that you only need to do your best. Trust the soul of your baby. It is receiving exactly the experiences it needs to learn and grow as a soul.

  • Reach out for professional help to make the transformation easier.

References

1 J Adibi et al,Teratogenic effects of the Zika virus and the role of the placenta, The Lancet, Apr 09, 2016, Volume 387 Number 10027, p1483-1590. Published online https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(16)00650-4/fulltext

2 T Field et al, Pregnancy anxiety and comorbid depression and anger: Effects on the fetus and neonate, Wiley Online Library. 2003, May. Published online https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/da.10071?casa_token=A_A__b5jUTkAAAAA:yPgFubMYtcWdiqkRwQ9sdd-O-jitwiRv-CsEDR-XbZ4Ibpak4ClFTRge94lJnIBDPvFS_fnaXa9-e9YAeg

3  A & S Bertrand, Womb Awakening, Bear & Company, Toronto, 2017.

N Doidge, The Brain that Changes Itself, Scribe, Melbourne, 2007.

Krebs C. LEAP®: The Learning Enhancement Acupressure Program: Correcting Learning and Memory Problems with Acupressure and Kinesiology. http://i-leap.org/pdfs/LEAP-Research.pdf