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Archive for March, 2011

Orb of glistening dew

Luminescent orb of glistening dew
Clings weightlessly to bright green blade
Dawn sun rising gently holds
Evaporation’s soft, warm hand
While tension grows on taut membrane

Inside atoms laugh and dance
No future pain
Or sickly dread
Just rock and roll and always now
Within the silent crystal ball

And so the final moment breaks
The orchestra’s climactic crest
Contents spill, returned to home
Received with earth’s parched gratitude
Triumphant transpiration done
And life continues on and on…

 

I wrote this for you…Now can you honestly say you were thinking about your problems while reading this? That’s presence. I hope you had a moment…

Love Margie

Margie Braunstein

Margie Braunstein

Margie is a somatic psychotherapist and counsellor providing psychotherapy services to the people of the Central Coast and Sydney.  Margie lives on the beautiful Central Coast with her husband, two children, two dogs and a cat.

Over the last 12 years, Margie has also been engaged in the design, delivery and marketing of transformational learning programs. During this time she has regularly facilitated personal development programs for up to 50 people on weekend workshops, week-long intensives and advanced programs of 3-4 months.

Margie has a Graduate Certificate in Adult Education from UTS, Diploma in Psychotherapy from the Australian College of Contemporary Somatic Psychotherapy and qualifications in somatic therapy, executive coaching and relationship counselling.

Margie has a passion for personal development and regards people with respect, empathy and compassion in the belief that while we all do the best we can, a little bit more kindness and care can lead to even greater peace and joy in life.

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Blind spots show up particularly in relationships

I’ve been corresponding with an old friend whose marriage broke down 3 years ago. What has been troubling me is the constant retelling, re-living, and re-interpreting of the events of the past.  In the early days, well for the first couple of years, I gave him some slack – I saw he was trying to understand… The more time goes on I can see that it has not changed for him. In fact he is more and more entrenched in blame, bitterness, anger and resentment and a sour depression.

He believes his ex is a psychopath (he looked up on the internet and yep, she has all the characteristics, so he has ‘proof’ to his argument!)   There are all sorts of stories he has embellished.  And imagined.  Serial affairs, plots to kill him and plans for financial ruin – it gets more and more incredible.  And more and more sad.

It’s the blind spot.  He cannot see his own thinking or behaviour, he has no other perspective.  And he does not believe he is in trouble.

Reflecting to him that he is isolated, has no-one objective to speak with, that his conclusions are but one way of seeing things, falls on deaf ears.

John Christian says of emotional blind spots –  “These things only occur because of our lack of awareness. And our lack of awareness only occurs because we’ve not been taught how to be aware in the first place. We simply haven’t become conscious enough of what we are doing on a deeper level within ourselves, on the subconscious level of our nature.”

There are lessons hidden in our blind spots.  We need to become conscious to learn from them.

The people closest know and see our blind spots.  It’s our cognitive bias, when our emotions are involved, we are too close to see clearly, we deny our own shortcomings.

With my friend, the patterns have become so deep – the wounds from rejection, isolation, resentment, alcohol and drug use, have dulled discrimination – and there’s a steadfast refusal to seek help or change the mind.  No new idea or fresh hope can penetrate or take seed because the fertile ground of the mind has become rigid and fixed.

Questioning  our own thinking is the heart of freedom and healing.   It helps remove our blinkers.  The practice of watching our thoughts without getting involved in them saves us from great pain.  Don’t believe everything you think.

‘A Course in Miracles’ is an excellent guide and support to removing the blocks that stand in the way of our awareness of ourselves.  And much insight comes from good therapeutic counsel that aids our emotional intelligence and competencies

I do hope my friends and colleagues point out to me (gently, of course) my blind spots…

Bernadette Arena

Bernadette Arena

Bernadette has worked with the Quest for Life Foundation since early 2006 and is the Senior Facilitator on our residential programs.  Her work is treasured by our participants and our team. She has also been developing and refining a deep understanding of the use of appropriate yoga and meditation approaches for use in oncology and with serious illness.

Bernadette maintains close association with International Yoga Teachers Association and is a senior lecturer for their Teacher Training Course.  She has designed and delivered yoga teacher training courses for other organisations.  During 5 years in the UK she taught retreats, workshops and classes across the UK and in Europe and worked as a personal ‘lifestyle’ coach.  Bernadette brings a gentle and loving nature with insight and compassion borne out of her experience. She can assist a deeper connection with the body as a means to rejuvenate the spirit.

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What is your favourite simple pleasure?

Margie invites you all to share your simple pleasures with each other…

On our programs, we often talk about the simple pleasures in life and how important it is to ‘fluff yourself up’.

Many of us care for others so doesn’t it make sense that being in ‘good shape’ might give us more energy to do this? Doesn’t it also follow that if you feel burned out and flat, you won’t have much left in the tank for anyone?

Petrea often says “the world does not need any more exhausted, grumpy people” and I agree.

I would like to invite you to share some of your simple pleasures with us all. Here are a few of mine to get started. I would love to hear yours (I need all the inspiration I can get!).

  • Going back to bed with a cup of tea
  • Going back to bed with a cup of tea and talking with my husband
  • Keeping a bud in a vase (50 cents from op shop) on the bedside table
  • A long, mindful, deep breath
  • Stopping work and looking out my window at the trees and sky
  • Focussing on my heart for 30 seconds (try it, it feels lovely)
  • Stroking (my dog) Honey’s soft head
  • Creative ‘free writing’ (writing a story without stopping to edit)
  • Washing my face with beautiful scented organic face wash
  • Drying my face with a clean white fluffy towel

I could go on but would rather hear from you. Please feel free to try any of my simple pleasures or create some new ones of your own…

Wishing you all lots of simple pleasure in life

Love to all

Margie

Margie Braunstein

Margie Braunstein

Margie is a somatic psychotherapist and counsellor providing psychotherapy services to the people of the Central Coast and Sydney.  Margie lives on the beautiful Central Coast with her husband, two children, two dogs and a cat.

Over the last 12 years, Margie has also been engaged in the design, delivery and marketing of transformational learning programs. During this time she has regularly facilitated personal development programs for up to 50 people on weekend workshops, week-long intensives and advanced programs of 3-4 months.

Margie has a Graduate Certificate in Adult Education from UTS, Diploma in Psychotherapy from the Australian College of Contemporary Somatic Psychotherapy and qualifications in somatic therapy, executive coaching and relationship counselling.

Margie has a passion for personal development and regards people with respect, empathy and compassion in the belief that while we all do the best we can, a little bit more kindness and care can lead to even greater peace and joy in life.

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How well do you receive support?

Writer and psychotherapist Dr Stephanie Dowrick describes what best supports us after a diagnosis of serious illness

There is never a “right time” to discover that you have been diagnosed with a serious or life-changing illness.  And there is certainly no one “right way” to respond.  Almost all of us have a picture of the ideal patient in our minds. Which means that in the midst of all that we are already dealing with, it is extremely tempting to test ourselves against that imagined ideal – and to fail.

Our imagined patient is not just brave. He or she is heroic (of course!). She doesn’t complain, even when her treatments feel like torture. She doesn’t weep (or throw up) at the wrong time. She certainly doesn’t shout “why me?”.  However serious the news, she continues to be calm, trusting, infinitely stoic and good to be around. In fact, she is lovelier in every way than she has ever been! What’s more, she (or he) has tireless circles of friends and family whose care and affection is invariably welcome.

Are you laughing as you read this list? I hope so! Because the reality for most or all of us is, of course, quite different.

We are not idealized, one-dimensional people. We are complex human beings and none of us can know in advance how we will deal with the stresses of a serious illness. In fact, it is immensely helpful to remember that illness happens in lives that are already complicated. Serious illness brings new complications and it is likely to need a period of adjustment that may move through different stages, not unlike grief.

Telling ourselves we should not be feeling what we are feeling is never helpful. Even as we learn new and more effective ways to support ourselves – and we can do that – we will still be dealing with old emotional habits, as well as facing the new and sometimes frightening realities of life-changing illness.

Helping ourselves effectively involves discovering new strengths, and regarding our fears and “weaknesses” with genuine compassion – an attitude that is quite different and much more healing than self-pity, shame or denial.  But that takes time, good will and perhaps a new openness to ourselves and acceptance of others.

It is realistic to know that illness will create real stress also for the people around us. A more generous view of ourselves can extend to a more generous view of the people on whom we depend. It is not helpful or realistic to expect ourselves to be “ideal” patients. Nor to expect our loved ones to be “ideal” support people.

A more generous view of ourselves can extend to a more generous view of the people on whom we depend.

Illness can drive people apart rather than bringing them closer. But that is much more likely to happen when expectations are unrealistic or when people are not allowed to live their new roles in the highly individual ways that reflect their inner truth.  We won’t ever all be the same kind of patient. We won’t ever all be the same kind of support person.

In the real world, most of us discover day by day and bit by bit how best to meet a situation we would never have chosen, one that brings all kinds of fears and sorrows but also some quite unexpected opportunities.

These ideas may be helpful.

•   Take it for granted that you can’t predict your response to a serious diagnosis or treatment – and nor can your nearest and dearest. Don’t judge yourself or others against ideals that belong only on television or in your imagination.

•   Take advice – including this – with a pinch of salt. Illness brings many opinions out of the woodwork. Accept only what “feels right”.  Trust your instincts.  For the rest?  Smile and say, “How interesting!”

•   If you are the support person, keep “advice” and opinions to a minimum.

•   Give yourself and others the gifts of time: no sense of hurry; a spaciousness that allows for listening and being.

•   Trivialising your own or someone else’s suffering is a defence mechanism that isn’t helpful. Catastrophizing is also unhelpful. The old cliche of one day at a time, dealing with what’s right in front of you, works well for many people.

•   Step up your communication skills.  Whether you are the support person or the person being supported, share what you are feeling and what you want. When things are not “said” it is far more likely that at least one of you will “act out” your fears or resentments through withdrawing, argument, belittlement, bitterness, criticism, getting drunk, never leaving the office…

•   Asking for what you want and need doesn’t mean you will always get it. Acknowledge that.

•   Appreciate and affirm what you ARE getting!  Gratitude is a wonderful way to encourage others, no matter how helpless we feel.

•   Many people find it difficult to receive. If you are one of them, take a deep breath, open your heart a little wider, and practise!  Use your journal to write down what stands in your way of “easy receiving”, especially old attitudes, and also to note how good it feels when others receive gracefully what you yourself are willing to do or give.

•   No matter how close you and your partner or support person are, recognize that you both need other people in your life to listen, encourage and care.  Support people also need support.

•   Know that fear and stress sometimes mean that the best-intentioned people will behave badly. Intelligent professional help can work wonders, especially when old fears are newly triggered (for example, you or your support person may have lost a sibling or parent as a child, and may be coping with a reawakening of that, as well as the present situation.).

•   Banish criticism, resentment and “blaming”. All are toxic and will seriously undermine your relationships and sense of self when you need them most.

•   Recognize you are likely to feel globally vulnerable – not just about your illness. This is not the time to fix other people’s problems or to put up with behaviour that is abusive, violent or confusing. You literally cannot afford to do so. Again, professional help can work wonders. So can clarifying your needs through journal writing.

•   Make it a top priority to spend time that is not about “managing” your life or illness but experiencing what’s most uplifting and delightful. Know what gives your life its special sweetness. Bring those moments to the forefront of your life.

On 11 April Dr Stephanie Dowrick will begin the first of six evening workshops in the “Support for Life” Sydney series. Although this is Stephanie’s first group with Quest, she has been running groups for many years and also working with Breast Cancer Network..

For further details and bookings for Stephanie’s “Support for Life” visit the Quest for Life website. You are invited to join Stephanie on her Facebook page or visit her website.

You might like to read Stephanie’s other post After the Diagnosis

Stephanie Dowrick

Stephanie Dowrick

Reverend Stephanie Dowrick, PhD  is best known as the author of life-changing, accessible books that are encouraging and inclusive. They include Intimacy and Solitude, Forgiveness and Other Acts of Love, The Universal Heart and Choosing Happiness: Life & Soul Essentials.  Her newest book (2010) is Seeking the Sacred: Transforming Our View of Ourselves and One Another.

She is a qualified psychotherapist and an ordained interfaith minister and has been leading and teaching groups of many kinds for more than two decades, including spiritual retreats and well being groups. She is in constant demand as a speaker both nationally and internationally.

Stephanie was born in New Zealand and lived in Europe for many years. She was founder and first Managing Director of the London publishing house, The Women’s Press. She came to Australia in 1983 and has lived in Sydney ever since. She was the “Inner Life” columnist for Good Weekend Magazine from 2001-2010 (Sydney Morning Herald and The Age), and for many years has been a regular guest on ABC Radio. Stephanie is currently an Adjunct Fellow with the Writing & Society Research Group at the University of Western Sydney where she completed her doctorate in 2008.  She works regularly with Breast Cancer Network Australia and is also an active ambassador with the International Women’s Development Agency. She gives regular interfaith service at Pitt Street Uniting Church in Sydney, is the mother of two adult children and lives in Sydney.

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Create a sacred space

To all our Quest friends,

The recent natural disasters are distressing to us all as we see the suffering of others unfolding before our eyes. I encourage you to consider the following suggestions and implement those that resonate or feel right for you. If you have ideas that could be helpful please feel free to add them through your comments.

1. Consider limiting your (and especially your children’s) exposure to distressing images. This is particularly relevant to those of you who are already facing significant challenges. Being constantly confronted with suffering over which you have no control will only weaken and disempower you. Endlessly talking about the situation will likewise focus your energy in a negative and useless way. Turn off the TV and don’t have it constantly on in the background.

2. Create a sacred place in your home where you keep fresh flowers, light a daily candle and/or offer your prayers and meditations for the benefit of others.

3. Review the activities, environments or things that you do or have that bring you to peace and make them your number one priority. In other words, identify the things, places and activities that ‘fluff you up’ and replenish you and make sure those things are happening on a daily basis. Once you are well fluffed up you’ll be able to discern how best to be of service to the whole.

4. Be connected to nature through listening, seeing, immersing yourself in natures presence whether that’s tending a pot plant on the terrace, being in, on, under or near water, going for a walk, acknowledging the wonder of the stars at night, feeling the warmth of sunshine on your skin, breathing in air – and do all this with gratitude and wonder.

5. Do something for someone else. Cook a meal, pop in on someone living alone to see how they are, volunteer, fundraise, phone someone who is having a difficult time and let them know you’re thinking of them and keeping them in your heart.

6. Exercise (plus plenty of water) is a powerful way to shift the chemical consequences of distress and get them out of your body.

7. Practice gratitude – for your safety, for every breath you take, for every moment you have, for the presence of love, for friends, for nature, for the opportunity of being alive and experiencing it all.

8. Remember that you are never alone and that what you hold in your heart is flowing out to touch the lives of everyone else.

9. When you sit to meditate you join in the company of thousands of others across the planet who are immersed in the eternal stillness of their essential nature. At that level, we are One. Be at One as much as possible.

10. Be gentle with yourself and each other. Practice compassion and kindness as many people are feeling upset or distressed and your presence can uplift and encourage them.

The Quest team are all holding you in our hearts and prayers as well as our larger global family. Please feel free to be in touch via Facebook or by phone. The first of our free 4 part webinar series on overcoming trauma, its impact and how to manage it more effectively will be starting next week. Full details are available on our website.

With love and blessings,
Petrea

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Teach Only Love

I am a great fan of the teachings of Gerald Jampolsky whose work is very much aligned with Petrea’s work and Quest for Life.

Here are some of my favourite quotes from this lovely book… I hope you find them as inspiring as I do.

‘All healing is inner healing… love is our only function and destiny’

‘Be still and listen to your inner voice and trust what you hear’

‘Our emphasis is on how we go, not where we go… Our part is to gently trust so that we can act from peace’

‘We have an internal physician… the voice of love’

‘It is what we do with our hearts that affects others most deeply. We love from heart to heart’

‘Set yourself a goal that can be fulfilled where you stand [that is…right now]’

‘True healing is not a manipulation of an external situation. It is a change of heart, not a change of circumstances’

‘Any form of attack is a call for help, and the answer to every call for help is gentleness’

‘We can be peaceful inside regardless of what is happening outside… we can choose peace’

Personally, I have been working with these inspirational words for many years. It’s not always easy but on a good day, I manage my attitude well and on a ‘tricky day’, I use them to encourage me towards a more hopeful, forgiving state of mind.

I wish you all peace

Margie

Margie Braunstein

Margie Braunstein

Margie is about to facilitate a new program called the Heart of Healing, incorporating some of these principles. For more information please visit The Heart of Healing on our website.

Margie is a somatic psychotherapist and counsellor providing psychotherapy services to the people of the Central Coast and Sydney.  Margie lives on the beautiful Central Coast with her husband, two children, two dogs and a cat.

Over the last 12 years, Margie has also been engaged in the design, delivery and marketing of transformational learning programs. During this time she has regularly facilitated personal development programs for up to 50 people on weekend workshops, week-long intensives and advanced programs of 3-4 months.

Margie has a Graduate Certificate in Adult Education from UTS, Diploma in Psychotherapy from the Australian College of Contemporary Somatic Psychotherapy and qualifications in somatic therapy, executive coaching and relationship counselling.

Margie has a passion for personal development and regards people with respect, empathy and compassion in the belief that while we all do the best we can, a little bit more kindness and care can lead to even greater peace and joy in life.

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When one piece is missing.....

‘Healing’ comes from the old English word ‘hal’ which means ‘whole’. To heal means to ‘become whole’.

I like to use the jigsaw puzzle as a metaphor for healing. When all the parts are joined together, it is ‘whole’ or complete. When one piece is missing, it is very obvious and the whole puzzle is incomplete.

We can be just like the jigsaw. When aspects of our selves are missing from our awareness, we may feel confused, separate and detached and we struggle to understand why our life is the way it is.  Patterns seem to repeat with no clear reason even though we try so hard to improve things. We can feel quite disconnected, hopeless and long to return to a place of peace.

Our search for healing can be physical, emotional, spiritual or all three and is sometimes described as a yearning to return ‘home’ or to ‘wholeness’.

Little babies are usually born with a sense of wholeness and heart connection to mother and to the whole universe! In fact, they have no sense of ‘separate’ and need to learn this as they grow and interact with the environment.

It is natural to feel more separate from others as you grow and in an ideal world, you would feel separate from other people while maintaining a sense of connection to yourself and to the larger whole of society, friends and family.

I am very excited to be running a new program for Quest on the Central Coast; called The Heart of Healing

The Heart of Healing weekend will be an exploration about how you might return to your own sense of awareness, connectedness and wholeness by discovering your own way to greater health and happiness.

This interactive non-residential weekend program will provide you with the opportunity to:

Discover & practice the keys to vibrant peace and joy

Build emotional resilience

Learn practical strategies for meditation and relaxation

For more information please visit The Heart of Healing on our website. We hope to connect with you there.

Margie Braunstein

Margie Braunstein

Margie is a somatic psychotherapist and counsellor providing psychotherapy services to the people of the Central Coast and Sydney.  Margie lives on the beautiful Central Coast with her husband, two children, two dogs and a cat.

Over the last 12 years, Margie has also been engaged in the design, delivery and marketing of transformational learning programs. During this time she has regularly facilitated personal development programs for up to 50 people on weekend workshops, week-long intensives and advanced programs of 3-4 months.

Margie has a Graduate Certificate in Adult Education from UTS, Diploma in Psychotherapy from the Australian College of Contemporary Somatic Psychotherapy and qualifications in somatic therapy, executive coaching and relationship counselling.

Margie has a passion for personal development and regards people with respect, empathy and compassion in the belief that while we all do the best we can, a little bit more kindness and care can lead to even greater peace and joy in life.

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Sometimes it takes guidance to find the stepping stones

Like Petrea – the angel of healing we all admire so much! – I have been working for many years with people in all kinds of challenging moments – many of them provoked by a serious diagnosis or illness.

My professional training is in the areas of psychotherapy and ministry and I am aware how often those “challenging moments” can seem to stretch over months or even years. In fact, sometimes the hardest time with an illness or life-changing diagnosis is not when it occurs and everyone is focused on it, but when the immediate crisis passes and we believe life “should” or could be back to normal!

Yet I wonder if, after a big inner upheaval, life is ever quite the same again.
Or, indeed, if it should be?

Almost always some of the old certainties will have gone. Perhaps some of our old innocence, too. But it is not inevitably a change for the worse. Whatever our physical condition or prognosis, with time and support it’s almost always still possible to find gentle, effective ways to regain our joy in living and even to experience greater and more genuine wellbeing.

Our “health” never depends on our physical condition only. That’s a wonderfully freeing thing to discover and I know this is part of Quest’s philosophy also. It is always deeply affected by our mind and spirit, our attitudes and our openness to inspiration, hope and connection. Some people are truly and increasingly “well” until their last breath, even when the body is going. That’s not something we can always control, and we certainly can’t take it for granted. But we can influence it.

This is not to deny the pain and fear we often feel. Learning to “read the body” to best support it, and effectively to soothe your mind and emotions, becomes an urgently needed resource for most people after a serious illness. Those are skills easily learned and of tremendous benefit. Then, whatever our situation, most of us will indeed discover and identify ways to live more positively. And often with new levels of kindness and a greater sense of meaning.

There isn’t a recipe for this. And it certainly should not be imposed. One size does NOT necessarily fit all!! But psychological insight and loving reflection can help us with some simple yet profound ideas that will work for many people.

That life is constantly changing is a given. But the changes that come with illness often feel incredibly badly timed! And so unwelcome. Nonetheless, when the reality of illness hits us, or someone close to us, it can force us to take stock in ways we might not when things are going well. In fact, it can push us to “audit” what we believe matters most in our lives – where we want to give our time and attention – and what really doesn’t.

In my work with Breast Cancer Network Australia I often say that an illness like cancer gives us the chance to let go of what no longer benefits us and take up what does. Making those choices (and continuing to make them) is wonderfully empowering. Knowing that there is no better time than NOW is also wonderfully freeing.

When we haven’t chosen the changes in our lives – or the inner sense of confusion or chaos that sometimes accompanies serious illness – many of us will feel emotionally fragile or even out of control. It’s often at those times that our usual ways of coping with change come under most strain or even come undone. People say to me, “I feel I am at a loss for the first time in my life.” Or, “I can’t bear feeling as though this [illness] has more power over my life than I have.”  I also hear, “I should be coping better than this…” which can add self-blame to an already potent mix of feelings.

Often, too, the stress of our diagnosis and treatment is all that we can effectively cope with. That means we simply must identify any other stress or unresolved difficulties or frustrations in our lives – and deal with them effectively.  It also means we can no longer postpone what we most want to do – especially when it adds pleasure and delight to our lives.

For many people those small, powerful changes in attitude and focus are not just positive; they are life changing. They certainly have been for me.

Some of you will know me through my books. I have been writing for many years now and my writing includes Choosing Happiness: Life & Soul Essentials, Forgiveness and Other Acts of Love, Intimacy and Solitude and Seeking the Sacred.  You may also have read the column, “Inner Life”, that I wrote for Good Weekend for nine years. Or heard me on radio.

What you may not know is that I’m a breast cancer survivor myself and have also worked with Breast Cancer Network Australia for more than ten years, offering wellbeing presentations at their forums throughout Australia.

In my own immediate family, two aunts and my beautiful mother died before they were forty. My mother was only 37. So I learned first-hand and very early how crucial the choices are that we make after a serious illness.

My own response during and post-cancer was to focus on the qualities that eventually I wrote about in Forgiveness and Other Acts of Love.  They were courage, fidelity (to my values), restraint, generosity, tolerance and forgiveness.  I did this not because I wanted to be a “better person”, but because as a mother of two young children I needed to be a braver and wiser one – even a happier one. The alternative for me was to drown in my own anxieties, and I couldn’t afford that for their sake or mine.

There were good days and less good ones, but my stubborn focus on those qualities, and my increasing trust in them and familiarity with how they resonated in my life, really did change my life for the better. This doesn’t mean that I am glad that cancer is part of my story; it does mean that I am more appreciative than ever about life and living.

On 11 April Dr Stephanie Dowrick will begin the first of six evening workshops in the “Support for Life” Sydney series. Although this is Stephanie’s first group with Quest, she has been running groups for many years and also working with Breast Cancer Network..

For further details and bookings for Stephanie’s “Support for Life” visit the Quest for Life website. You are invited to join Stephanie on her Facebook page or visit her website.

Stephanie Dowrick

Stephanie Dowrick

Reverend Stephanie Dowrick, PhD  is best known as the author of life-changing, accessible books that are encouraging and inclusive. They include Intimacy and Solitude, Forgiveness and Other Acts of Love, The Universal Heart and Choosing Happiness: Life & Soul Essentials.  Her newest book (2010) is Seeking the Sacred: Transforming Our View of Ourselves and One Another.

She is a qualified psychotherapist and an ordained interfaith minister and has been leading and teaching groups of many kinds for more than two decades, including spiritual retreats and well being groups. She is in constant demand as a speaker both nationally and internationally.

Stephanie was born in New Zealand and lived in Europe for many years. She was founder and first Managing Director of the London publishing house, The Women’s Press. She came to Australia in 1983 and has lived in Sydney ever since. She was the “Inner Life” columnist for Good Weekend Magazine from 2001-2010 (Sydney Morning Herald and The Age), and for many years has been a regular guest on ABC Radio. Stephanie is currently an Adjunct Fellow with the Writing & Society Research Group at the University of Western Sydney where she completed her doctorate in 2008.  She works regularly with Breast Cancer Network Australia and is also an active ambassador with the International Women’s Development Agency. She gives regular interfaith service at Pitt Street Uniting Church in Sydney, is the mother of two adult children and lives in Sydney.

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The beautiful dragon fruit

She just looks so exotic, her bright pink flesh calling me from across the fruitologists isle I had to take her home. Her delicacy as I gently slice her open to reveal her soft white spotty flesh. She’s as lush as you can imagine any creation to be.

Originally known as pitaya, due to its scaly appearance, dragon fruit is a beautiful fruit with an intense shape and color and dazzling flowers. Since she blooms at night, she is also known as the Queen of the Night, Lady of the Night and Moonflower.

What I didn’t realise was that the ‘Lady of the night’  is not only gorgeous to look at, a joy to eat and a delicacy to the palette, but she has high nutritional value and is good for your health as well.  She is a good source of antioxidants, prevents free radicals and protects from cancer causing elements and other health detriments from entering your body.

So next time you hear her calling you name from the fuitologist shelf, take ker home as when consumed regularly the ‘Lady of the NIGHT’:

Inside the magestic fruit

  • Enhances the immune system
  • Helps neutralize toxic substances such as heavy metals
  • Can reduce high blood pressure and cholesterol
  • Aids in fighting against cough and asthma.
  • Has high amounts of vitamin C
  • Helps heal bruises and cuts quickly
  • Contains Vitamin B2 which acts like a multivitamin and helps to improve and recover the loss of appetite.
  • Contains Vitamin B1 which increases energy production and also metabolizes carbohydrates
  • Improves the appearance of your skin by smoothing and moisturizing it
  • Improves eyesight and decreases hypertension
  • Is a good source of phosphorus and calcium, it reinforces bones, helps in tissue formation and forms healthy teeth.
  • Decreases weight, thereby creates a well-balanced body.
  • Is helpful in reducing blood sugar levels in people suffering from type 2 diabetes

She is best served chilled and can be used in juices, fruit salads and jams though to me she is delectable all on her own!

Michelle Richmond

Michelle Richmond

Michelle Richmond is a renowned Innovator, Visionary and Facilitator  in Life Transformation. Her previous role as the C.E.O. of the Asher Institute of Integrative Medicine Foundation has seen Michelle working and studying with leading edge Doctors and Physicians from around the globe as she mentored 1000’s of people in sustainable wellness. An experience that embedded the importance of interconnecting the spirit, heart, mind and body both personally and professionally to maximize health and success in all areas of life.

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Fear? or Intuition?

Hallmarks of Intuition

When we experience Intuition, there’s often a feeling of simplicity, clarity, peace that comes along with the knowledge, even if it’s about an outcome we don’t want. In other words we feel calm.

Intuition deals with the present moment , what’s in front of us, and how to navigate through the options to the best choice. There is strength, clarity and conciseness behind an intuitive voice.

Intuition coveys information neutrally and unemotionally. It feels right in the gut. It also has a detached sensation as though we are observing.

Intuition is always supportive, creative and provides a “road map” for our lives.

We need to recognise and believe that our intuition is the greatest tool we can have.

Our bodies respond differently to intuition. We feel calmer, stronger, and there is no tension and we breathe more easily.

Our bodies are always in the present, never in the past and never in the future. When we stay present to what is, rather than to what is not, we are able to access our intuition rather than our fears.

Hallmarks of Fear

When we experience fearful, ego based thoughts, we often feel confused, upset, jumbled, agitated and feel we have to know more.  If there is an emotional charge with our thoughts, it’s probably not intuition, but fear. Fear diminishes our perspective and  feelings of being centred.

Fear is about stories from the past and projections in to the future. It freaks us out, it is confusing and puts emphasis on other people’s reactions rather than our own responses. Reactions are always fear based. They come from a mind in confusion not clarity. Fear can often appear logical. Our mind is a great tool but not our best guide. It is full of reliving the past and projecting in to the future.

For some, the most obvious voice of fear is the inner critic. It often comes with “shoulds”, judgements and attacks on our self esteem. Fear often reflects past psychological wounds.

As children we are often taught not to trust our intuition and to give our power away to others who appear “to know better”.

It is our job to practice recognising what are our fears and what is our intuition. And choose which one we want to guide our lives with.

Remember that fears often speak in a loud voice and can scream while intuition speaks in a small voice until we choose to listen to our intuition and not our fears.

When we focus on listening to our intuition that small voice grows and we lose our fears.

Some quotes from notables

“ The only real valuable thing in intuition.” Albert Einstein

“Faith is a passionate intuition.” William Wordsworth

“ Cease trying to work everything out with your minds. It will get you nowhere. Live by intuition and inspiration and let your whole life be revelation.” Eileen Caddy

“Train your intuition and trust that small voice inside you which tells you exactly what to say, what to decide.” Ingrid Bergman

“Follow your instincts. That’s where true wisdom manifests itself”. Oprah Winfrey

Wendie Batho

Wendie Batho

Wendie has co-facilitated residential programs with Petrea for more than sixteen years. Prior to that Wendie spent over 25 years as a teacher, school principal and was involved in educational leadership and facilitation of school executive groups.

Ten years of this time was spent in PNG where she taught and worked for the government. Wendie has been travelling since the early sixties and is especially attracted to Asian cultures. She holds degrees in Anthropology, Education, Sociology, Theology and Political Science. Her current passions are her grandchildren, travel biographies, exploring Asia, 4×4 driving, reading everything she can get her hands on, and watching movies on the big screen at home.

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