Counseling, Hypnosis, Reiki, Holistic Healing

Liquid zeolites are a mineral supplement derived from volcanic mineral sources. They have been used to effectively facilitate safe and rapid detoxification of heavy metal toxins and other harmful substances. Zeolites have a unique crystaline structure that gives them the power to carry out important roles in the body. The company Waiora has been at the forefront of refining zeolites for therapeutic use, with their liquid zeolite formulation, which has been subjected to research and found to show benefit for health concerns such as cancer and autism. In Asian cultures, zeolites had been used in powdered form as a healing aid. Now, resources of modern science have been applied to create an even more effective way to use zeolites to enhance health.

Toxic elements and compounds can cause a variety of disturbances in the body. They can damage mitochondria, the centers of energy production in cells. They can disrupt enzymes and deplete nutrients in the body. Toxins generate a variety of chain-reaction effects that cause or contribute to illnesses. When these are safely removed from the body, the body can naturally repair and heal itself. Thus, while detoxification therapies don't directly treat a diagnosed illness, they help clear the conditions that have led to the illness and thus allow the body to restore itself to a state of health. Direct treatments for illness often focus on suppressing symptoms rather than helping the body heal itself. To fully resolve an illness it is better to take steps to enable the body to carry out the healing processes that it is capable of.

Zeolites are a valuable healing resource due to their unique mineral content and electrical properties, which allow them to go through the body to capture toxins and flush them out through natural excretion methods. Drinking extra water is important while using zeolites, as the body will be quickly flushing out a lot of toxins. If this is done too rapidly then the excretion channels can become overwhelmed and the body will attempt to cope by creating rashes (excreting toxins through the skin) or other extreme measures to release toxins. As toxins are released there can be some discomfort and even feelings of sickness. When this happens just be sure to continue keeping yourself hydrated and give yourself rest so that your body can better keep up with the toxin release process. You can always lower the zeolite dose to slow down the detox process if desired. Once you have released a lot of toxins you will likely feel much better - and lighter. Your body will be able to handle more energy and your cells will function more effectively since there is no longer a heavy load of toxins stressing and disrupting cellular activities.

If you do any kind of detox you are encouraged to maintain a lifestyle that greatly reduces your stress and toxin exposure. Since you are clearing out that which is toxic and negative it doesn't make sense to clog yourself up with toxins again.


Article by Jed Shlackman, LMHC, a holistic counselor and healer in Miami, FL.
http://www.phinsights.com

What happens when we are faced with a loss? The writings of famed psychotherapist Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross outline a process of grieving that offers a general guideline for recognizing stages or varieties of psychological response that people exhibit when reacting to loss. These reactions appear when people are faced with loss in a variety of forms. Loss of a job, a child, a parent, a partner, or a sense of one's own security, status, and well-being can trigger this grieving process. Anything that upsets the status quo can be experienced as a loss. This includes gaining knowledge or experience that shatters one's existing belief systems or perceptions of how things are.

In the Kubler-Ross model, introduced in her 1969 book On Death And Dying, there are five stages of grief which are described. The stages described by Kubler-Ross were initially seen in people's response to impending death. She then expanded this model to apply to other forms of loss and grief. The stage that is seen as being likely to appear first is the reaction of denial. This would likely evolve into anger, bargaining, depression, and finally acceptance. Acceptance is seen as the psychologically mature stage of handling loss. The prior stages are natural, normal responses seen throughout the population, but remaining stuck too long in those stages of response to loss is unhealthy. If we are not accepting life as it is then we keep ourselves stuck in the past. If that occurs, then we can become immobilized and unable to engage fully in new experiences, new relationships, and new opportunities to create love and joy. Not everyone goes through all of the stages outlined in the Kubler-Ross model, and one may vacillate between different stages while in the process of coping with loss.

Denial can appear in a variety of ways. In cases of abuse, denial can be exhibited as refusing to acknowledge that abuse exists. This occurs in many families where physical, emotional, and/or sexual abuse occur. The denial can be so well-developed that people creates amnesic barriers in their mind to keep from recalling the abuse experiences. This occurs also on a societal level where the masses often maintain denial about the abusive nature of systems of power and control. Nazi Germany is a frequently cited example, although American history is also quite full of corrupt and inhuman actions by the ruling elites which many Americans continue to deny.

Denial can also be expressed as acting as though the loss hasn't happened. Someone who loses their job may be seen spending money as if they were still earning their previous income. Someone who has lost a family member may be seen maintaining the deceased person's belongings as if the person were still alive. A parent who's spouse has left may tell his/her child that the other parent has just gone on a trip and will return. Denial can even appear as attacking and denouncing anyone who says things that challenges your existing beliefs or viewpoint. That is the "kill the messenger" reaction which occurs when people don't wish to hear the truth and project anger toward the one who speaks the truth. Once one chooses to face the truth/reality then they are moving past denial and can begin to face their anger or other emotions that arise regarding the loss.

Anger is an emotion that occurs when a person feels victimized by others or by life's circumstances. The perspective that generates anger is the belief that one's own emotions and self-worth are dependent upon external factors. If these weren't somehow dependent upon or influenced by external factors then no one could harm you or cause you to feel bad. Those who don't seek to blame others for their feelings of sadness or distress will likely experience depression. Depression is a feeling that can be likened to having one's spirit drained. It is often associated with a feeling of hopelessness, a disconnection or withdrawal from life (rather than enthusiasm for life). Rising beyond depression involves learning to see life in a different way, seeing beyond the reactions of the limited human self and embracing a higher spiritual perspective that gives new meaning and inspiration to fuel the human journey.

Life is a continuing process of transformation and evolution. When our existing sense of comfort and stability is shattered we can fall into despair or clutch at illusions that offer temporary consolation or relief. We may also work through the challenges and lessons that are provided by life and rise to a higher level of awareness and understanding. We may benefit by having compassion toward one another as we navigate the journey of life and the inevitable emotional tides of life.

In Managing Depression with Qigong, author Frances Gaik introduces this Eastern healing art as an effective method of helping relieve depression. Gaik is a professional counselor with a doctorate in clinical psychology as well as years of experience working in the health insurance industry. Gaik uses energy therapies and hypnosis along with traditional psychotherapy in her clinical practice and seeks to integrate the concepts behind Qigong with the concepts that are used in Western psychology.

The book begins looking at what depression is, both from the psychiatric diagnostic perspective and from a more holistic perspective that integrates body, mind, and spirit. It uses the concept of an information system to help readers understand the mind-body connection. The author describes what qigong entails and how it can be applied to promote balance and wellness. Toward the end of the main text, the book describes a clinical research study that measured the effects of both qi transmission from a master and subjects' use of qi exercises following instruction in Spring Forest Qigong techniques. A "sham" treatment condition was included as a type of placebo control in this study. Whether or not it is possible to have a true placebo in energy healing experiments is a debatable issue.

After exploring the study and the results and conclusion drawn from that preliminary research, the author proceeds to include an appendix with the actual exercises used in Spring Forest Qigong so that readers can begin to practice these on their own. This appendix section takes up about 30 pages of the book. The book is relatively short, simple to understand, and practical. It offers information about how qi has been measured and how the power of qi transmissions by medical qigong practitioners has been validated via things like kirlian photography and EEG brainwave measurements. The book cites previous research examining qigong's application for mental health concerns, demonstrating how it has already been applied successfully in this area. It also discusses some other relevant topics such as nutrition and cognitive influences on mood, giving some tips about addressing those elements of a holistic approach to healing depression.

One weakness arises when the author summarizes conventional medical ideas about mood disorders and their treatment. For example, suggesting that those with bipolar disorders will need to be treated throughout their lives with pharmaceutical medication is pessimistic and not accurate, as many people have successfully recovered from those patterns and lived a healthy, stable, drug-free life. The author does not offer adequate input about potential dangers of using psychotropic medication. She does acknowledge potential hazards of overdoing qi exercises.

In general, this book is quite informative and offers information and guidance about ways of addressing depression that are not often considered in other sources that examine how people may treat depression. With growing evidence for benefits of mind-body and energetic therapies in treating psychiatric conditions, it is great to see this information shared in books for the public.


Jed Shlackman, LMHC, C.Ht. is a counselor, hypnotherapist, and energy healer in Miami, Florida.
http://www.phinsights.com

This week officials at the University of Miami announced that the John P. Hussman Foundation has gifted the Miami Institute for Human Genomics with 20 million dollars to be used for autism research. The institute, located at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine, reports that this is the largest private donation they've received. The UM genomics institute was founded in 2007 and will now be renamed to honor this new benefactor. Officials from the genomics institute report that the money will be used for technology to aid in analyzing the DNA of thousands of children and families affected by autism. Existing research has found that there are dozens of genes which appear to be correlated with autism, making autism a challenging condition to research at the genetic level.

Meanwhile, the very nature of DNA, genes, and how they interact with consciousness, environmental stressors, and subtle energies is not being investigated by facilities such as the UM genomics institute. Understanding how and why the genetic processing gets corrupted in those with autism would shed light on how autism can be effectively prevented and treated. Currently, evidence that vaccines and other major immune system stressors may be triggering autism is being ignored and suppressed. Genetic findings associated with autism are important parts of the puzzle for understanding autism, with evidence that familial vulnerability to autoimmune illnesses is a factor in susceptibility to autism being one recent finding that gives insight about autism. The role of mitochondrial DNA corruption in autism is another example of how genetics gives clues to understanding autism.

With this infusion of funding, the UM genomics institute will hopefully have more opportunity to step outside the box of current dogmas in genetics research and explore things in a more holistic way by examining how consciousness, energy fields, and various environmental factors shape genetic expression. Those seeking to learn more about this are encouraged to view the new film The Living Matrix, which features some of the world's foremost researchers in information medicine and energy medicine.

In the new audio learning course Transforming Trauma: A Seven-Step Process for Spiritual Healing, acclaimed author and medical intuitive Caroline Myss and psychologist James Finley discusses the futility of conventional psychotherapy approaches to healing trauma. Myss describes how the intellectual mind becomes an obstacle to healing and must be transcended in order to access a higher perspective that allows for healing. This course teaches a mystical approach, offering guidance in going beyond the egoic mind and the programmed beliefs that dominate human thinking.

Trauma threatens one's physical survival in a real or imagined way, and when the survival compass and survival defenses are overwhelmed the mind develops dysfunctional programs in its desparate efforts to gain a sense of safety. In order to heal these patterns it is seen as necessary to connect with a spiritual compass, an awareness of oneself as the eternal essence that transcends the physical life experience. Thus, in this view, trauma presents an opportunity, a catalyst for the individual to reach for a greater understanding of onself and an awareness of a transcendant reality.

This is an important contribution to this subject area, as common therapies provided for those with difficulties related to trauma seem to be ineffective. People suffering from the aftermath of abuse, traumatic stress, heart-break, job loss, death of a loved one, and other life stresses often continue in a dysfunctional manner for the remainder of their lives even when receiving counseling or psychiatric treatment. These approaches (talk therapy, medications, etc.) fail to address the level of consciousness where the disturbance or disharmony exists. Working solely with the conscious, logical mind to address issues that are present in the subconscious is not likely to yield much benefit.


Therapies that tap into deeper levels of one's being are valuable healing tools for issues related to trauma. Hypnotherapy, energy psychology, energy healing, meditation, shamanic healing, spiritual healing, and other mind-body healing approaches are the most effective resources to help lead people toward healing shifts. People dealing with trauma don't heal the trauma by merely remembering it - it is healed by reprocessing it from a higher perspective which is not traumatized by it. Therapists seeking to help their patients will want to help connect the patients with that higher realm of consciousness when guiding them to face the past.

Shamanic traditions consider healing trauma as a type of soul retrieval - using spiritual resources to access a part of oneself that is stuck in time-space due to trauma. This involves helping that part or soul fragment reconnect with the self so the individual can be fully present in the now rather than having a portion of one's essence frozen in the past. Meditation, hypnosis, and other tools that help bridge the conscious and unconscious can be used to facilitate this healing process.

While support groups and talk therapy can help people feel that they are understood, accepted, and cared for, they are not a very reliable or effective way to resolve trauma. If you have been attending therapy, support groups, or recovery groups, but don't feel healthy and whole, then perhaps it's time to use another approach and address these challenges at the level where they are arising from. If you merely want to suppress your symptoms and suffering with drugs - either medications or recreational drugs - then don't delude yourself into thinking this will resolve anything - more often than not resorting to chemical suppression of emotional pain eventually compounds people's problems. Finding healthy tools to handle stress and connecting with spiritual resources for healing is a wise path to pursue - and a path that is always available for those who are ready to step away from the role of victim and step into their spiritual power.


Jed Shlackman, LMHC, C.Ht. is a counselor, hypnotherapist, and energy healer in Miami, Florida.
http://www.phinsights.com

The light frequencies on the electromagnetic spectrum just below the visible light range are called infrared. The infrared segment of the electromagnetic spectrum is divided into 3 segments of wavelength measured in microns or micrometers (a micron = 1/1,000,000 of a meter); 0.076~1.5 microns = near or close; 1.5~5.6 = middle or intermediate; 5.6~1,000 = FAR or long wave infrared. The infrared segment of the electromagnetic spectrum occurs just below red light as the next lowest energy band of light. This band of light is not visible to human eyes but can be seen by special cameras. We can, however, feel this type of light that we perceive as heat. The sun produces most of its energy output in the infrared segment of the EM spectrum.

Infrared heat provides many of the health benefits of natural sunlight without the dangerous effects of solar radiation. Infrared heat has some advantages over traditional steam heat saunas, though some people prefer a steam heat experience. Infrared heaters warm the body in the same manner as natural sunlight. FAR Infrared heat therapy uses the wavelength of the visible and non-visible light spectrum of sunlight that heats the body normally. Steam saunas raise the temperature of the air to a very high level within the chamber to warm the body. Some people can have difficulty breathing in this extremely warm air. Infrared saunas work by heating the body directly rather than by heating the air. The result is a lower electricity bill and deeper tissue penetration. With an infrared sauna, the body perspires and receives all of the healthy benefits but avoids the extremely hot air of a steam sauna. Thus, FAR infrared saunas are considered safe for all ages and there are only a few counter-indications for FAR infrared therapy.

FAR infrared saunas penetrate, refract, radiate and reflect light. The human body can absorb the infrared light because of its deep penetrating ability. When this penetrates through skin it transforms from light energy into heat energy. The thermal heat effect within the deep layers of tissues causes bloods vessels and capillaries to dilate, promoting improved blood circulation. Enhanced blood flow combined with heat helps clear body toxins and metabolic wastes through sweating. Benefits of this are many, as this enhances cellular energy production and benefits the immune and cardiovascular system. Healing of pain and inflammation issues is common and the detoxification process helps people recover from addictions and illnesses.

Massage therapist Jaimie Arkelian, former owner of the InfraTherapy Center in Miami, has used these treatments to help enhance her own health as well as her clients. Working with a range of people that includes professional athletes, Jaimie describes seeing exceptional results with infrared therapy. Jaimie states that upon beginning therapy with FAR infrared light "Right away the body starts to heal itself, the healing process begins. It actually helps stimulate blood in the body to the bones." Since the air is not heated and the light penetrates deeply into tissues, this therapy is typically more comfortable and less time-consuming than ordinary saunas while producing a greater cleansing effect and impact on cellular metabolism throughout the body. Those wishing to learn more about FAR infrared saunas and how they can complement massage and other therapies may contact Jaimie Arkelian by email.


Article author Jed Shlackman, LMHC, is a holistic healing practitioner in Miami, Florida.  www.phinsights.com

One classic approach to psychotherapy is the cognitive therapy of Rational-Emotive Therapy (RET) created by Albert Ellis. In this paradigm, one's psychological distress is seen as a result of one's thoughts and beliefs. People's thinking and perception of what they encounter in life generate the emotions that they feel. Whatever happens in our lives has no inherent meaning - all experiences and events are neutral until the observer or experiencer interprets them according to that individual's cognitive structure of values, beliefs, and judgments. When people can reinterpret experiences from a new perspective then the psyche changes. RET focuses on consciously re-examining one's beliefs and thoughts. Other therapeutic approaches have been developed that focus on shifting how people process experiences on an unconscious level. Hypnosis is one popular therapy that fosters changes on a subconscious level of one's mind.

One excellent example of how we can change our experience of life by changing our beliefs and perspective is seen in the Oscar-winning Italian film "Life is Beautiful." In the movie a father and son are subjected to a Nazi concentration camp. The father pretends that they are really there playing a sort of game, leaving the child oblivious to the danger faced by those contained in the camp. In that situation the child would not be able to change anything in the external environment even if he did have a more accurate view of the circumstances, so his father's clever act spared the child fear and distress that would arise in those who perceived things as negative.

Many people become habitual "negative" perceivers, focusing on seeing disappointment, failure, and loss in their life experiences. Others learn to see experiences as learning opportunities and the inevitable changes and losses in life as valuable catalysts leading to personal growth and new endeavors. In those situations, a person's self-concept and identity are shaping their experience. Those highly attached to material goods and status are vulnerable to experiencing feelings of depression and loss, or fears of loss that haven't even occurred. Those with a more sage, spiritual perspective are better able to see how life is not punishing them or making them suffer but is instead providing challenges and opportunities to develop skills and master life lessons.

A popular set of ideas to help people shift their identity, beliefs, and perspective comes from the book If Life Is A Game, These Are The Rules, by Dr. Cherie Carter-Scott.

The Ten Rules For Being Human

Rule One - You will receive a body.
You may love it or hate it, but it will be yours for the duration of your life on Earth.
Rule Two - You will be presented with lessons.
You are enrolled in a full-time informal school called "life". Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or hate them, but you have designed them as part of your curriculum.
Rule Three - There are no mistakes, only lessons.
Growth is a process of experimentation, a series of trials, errors and occasional victories. The failed experiments are as much as a part of the process as the experiments that work.
Rule Four - The lesson is repeated until learned.
Lessons will be repeated to you in various forms until you have learned them. When you have learned them, you can go on to the next lesson.
Rule Five - Learning does not end.
There is no part of life that does not contain lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.
Rule Six - "There" is no better than "here".
When your "there" has become "here" you will simply obtain another "there" that will look better to you than your present "here".
Rule Seven - Others are only mirrors of you.
You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself.
Rule Eight - What you make of your life is up to you.
You have all the tools and resources you need. What you do with them is up to you.
Rule Nine - Your answers lie inside of you.
All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
Rule Ten - You will forget all this at birth.
You can remember it if you want by unraveling the double helic of inner-knowing.

A similar set of guidelines are shared by Ron & Denny Reynolds in their book The New Perspective.