Follow Your Dream

Live Your Dream

How often have we followed our ‘dreams’?

Too often lack of time, lack of finances, so many responsibilities, etc stop us from taking the steps to achieving our dreams.  Is there something that you have always wanted to do?  What stops you?  Is that realistic, or is there a fear of actually having/achieving what you want?

There is a little book in my library called “Living Juicy. Daily Morsels for your Creative Soul.” By Sark

I love what she has to say about dreaming.

“Dream on …

Each of us has a dream – at least one!  Not living that dream ever, can be an unfulfilled path.  What could be better about being human than living our dreams?

My father didn’t exactly understand my creative spirit while I was growing up, and would sometimes sarcastically say to me, ‘dream on, kid’ about various ideas and plans I would talk about.  Well, I took it literally, and I did keep on dreaming…

Let dreams surround you …

Move to Alaska; Be a Mom; Be a Painter; Change the School System; Invent a new Ice-cream; Publish stuff …….”

What is your dream? Share it! Give it wings!

Shared by Alexia Miall

Alexia Miall

Alexia’s career began in banking and then moved via advertising to a major career change in 1980 to Adult and Transformational Education.  She has been privileged to share this incredible journey with 1000’s of like minded souls through her extensive experience as a facilitator, trainer, life coach, therapist, and mentor.  She managed her own training company in Victoria during the 1990’s, and during this time was the Course Leader for a training program from which the Banksia Environmental Foundation formed.

Alexia has acquired further education in Adult Education in Training; Somatic Psychotherapy; Life Coaching; Conflict Resolution; plus Accreditation in many behavioural and culture change models. She is an Associate of EcoSTEPS, a niche Sustainability consultancy, which supports her love of the natural environment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Read Full Post »

Review of The Essence of Health Craig Hassed

Review of The Essence of Health by Craig Hassed

I’ve known Craig Hassed for many years and he and Petrea often present at the same conferences.

What we appreciate and admire about Craig is his absolute authenticity and commitment to his work as a medical doctor and a senior lecturer at Monash University Department of General Practice. Craig introduced meditation into the medical curriculum at Monash as an examinable subject throughout the entire training of medical students and has also introduced it into Harvard Medical School.

Dr Hassed’s teaching, research and clinical interests include:

• Mindfulness based stress management
• Mind body medicine
• Meditation
• Health promotion
• Holistic health care
• Complementary therapies
• Medical ethics

The Essence of Health is Craig’s 4^th book.

If you are interested in your own health and changing your attitude to health this is the book for you.

It provides a practical and systematic approach to health that empowers you to take a more active role in your own health and wellbeing.

The secret, it seems, is to learn to change our own attitudes and healthcare practices, which is what the program, the Heart and Science of Healing being conducted in June by Craig and Petrea, is all about.

Craig’s approach is to lay the foundation of what he calls, “The Seven Pillars of Wellbeing”.

About 15 pages later you have covered:

• Education
• Stress Management
• Spirituality
• Exercise
• Nutrition
• Connectedness (one of the 4 Cs that are the basis of Quest programs)
• Environment

The next 2 chapters explain how to put these “Pillars of Wellbeing” into practice.

The last chapter is devoted to Prevention and Management of Chronic Illness.

There is a complete outline of an 8 week course if you’re looking for a clear guide to follow.

Also included are useful Health Websites for you to browse and pages of References that reassure you that Craig Hassed knows what he is talking about.

This book is essential reading as a handbook for achieving wellness and as a guide to preventing and managing serious chronic illness.

It is indeed The Essence of Health.

Join Craig and Petrea for a 3 day program on the Heart and Science of Healing 14^th – 16^th June, 2014. Further information can be found at http://www.questforlife.com.au/heart-and-science-of-healing

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.

 

 

Read Full Post »

Spirited Women – Journeys with Breast Cancer

Spirited Women by Petrea King

Spirited Women – Journeys with Breast Cancer by Petrea King

Spirited Women provides a wealth of practical information and support for women with breast cancer. It addresses the emotional and psychological reactions to diagnosis and treatment as well as focusing on the practicalities of living well, once you’ve been diagnosed with breast cancer.

It is packed full of information, suggestions, skills, tips and techniques and many refer to it as their ‘bible’ during their breast cancer journey. It is also a handbook for men and women who know someone with breast cancer.

Petrea has allowed women to tell their own stories in this inspirational book. She has conveyed the thoughts, hopes, feelings, joys and frustrations of the many thousands of women who have sought her counsel, either personally or in retreats during the past three decades.

In Petrea’s words

“My role with the women in this book has been one of friend, counselor, nurse, meditation teacher, group facilitator and naturopath. My function has been to minimise their emotional, spiritual, psychological and physical distress and to provide information and guidance about how to regain control over their lives and actively participate in their healing process”.

“Breast cancer can precipitate us into a journey of self discovery, self healing and self accomplishment. In this way, regardless of the outcome of the illness, the destination can become deep and profound peace. To achieve this peace is a victory beyond words”.

Spirited Woman was the first handbook for breast cancer published in Australia and it is equally relevant today.

It is a resource packed with information on the following areas and more:

Reactions to diagnosis

Choosing your healing team

Decision making

Support from family and friends

Work related issues

Peace of mind – what it is and how to get it

Relaxation and meditation – how and why to meditate/relax

Finding support in the community

What to eat and why

Reducing symptoms of disease and side effects of treatments

Managing issues around body image and sexuality

Women who love women

Children – what and how to tell children, rituals which help, understanding children’s behavior

What if I die?

Creating an environment for healing

Talking through the difficult issues in relationships

Unlike other available resources on breast cancer this book focuses on what women can do to help themselves when they are diagnosed with breast cancer.

Gentle, honest, informative and moving, Spirited Women is an essential resource for any woman whose life has been touched by breast cancer. It is also a valuable read for anyone who knows someone who is living with breast cancer or has had breast cancer.

If you are living with cancer you may like t attend Spirited Women:  An inspiring, practical, educational and experiential residential program for women living with cancer. The next program is in Bundanoon from 8th – 12th April, 2013. Visit our website for more information.

Read Full Post »

Book Review: The Biology of Belief by Bruce Lipton, Ph.D.

The science of EPIGENETICS

Book Review: The Biology of Belief  by Bruce Lipton, Ph.D.

Here is a science based book that is not only accessible reading but has the potential to radically change the way we think and ultimately the way we live our lives. That’s quite a claim! If you’re not interested in changing your life for the better right now, don’t read any further as it takes a bit of time to read and absorb all the science. My first read admittedly was a scan to see if I wanted to really get into it. As I had a science background in my early life, I found it compelling and illuminating. And I don’t often go overboard about books, especially when my main genre of reading is travel stories.

Back to the topic of how our thinking and beliefs affect our lives totally. It’s simple, but not easy.

We’ve been taught that we are like machines, run by bio-chemicals and DNA. As a world renowned cellular biologist, Bruce Lipton has discovered that it is actually the opposite. Our entire biology is shaped by the intelligence of each of our 50 trillion cells. And the single most important way to influence them is through the energy of our beliefs. Some of the areas included in this book are:

The science of EPIGENETICS – what it is and why it is important and revolutionary.

Bridging the gap between QUANTUM MECHANICS and biology. This is the key to knowing how your cells listen to the energy of your thoughts

The chemistry of STRESS and LOVE. How your body, mind, and immune system change with each emotional state.

Turning the immense power of your MIND into your most valuable tool for health and well – being.

“Since the publication of Biology of Belief, Bruce Lipton has been widely embraced as one of the most accessible and knowledgeable voices of new biology”.

I can’t really say more than that.

We would love to get your feedback if you have already read it. If you haven’t read it yet but do later, please let us know what you think.

 

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.

 

Read Full Post »

Authors We Like: Rachel Naomi Remen

Rachel sees the practice of medicine as a spiritual path.

Rachel Naomi Remen is an honoured physician and a long time teacher. Her early professional life was spent immersed in the world of science. After four decades of working with cancer patients, medical academia, and her own chronic illness (the reason she doesn’t come to Australia) she has come to see that life is defined not by science, but by mystery.

She was one of the early pioneers in the mind/body holistic health movement in the US.

And like Petrea, she recognised the power and the role of spirit in maintaining health and the recovery from illness that can sometimes happen when this was not expected.

Rachel sees the practice of medicine as a spiritual path.

Teaching health professionals to remember their calling is her passion. Her holistic curriculum enables her participants to strengthen their commitment to serve life. That commitment can turn their practice around.

These same principles apply to her work with people with chronic and life threatening illness.

You can find part of this journey and revelations about her work in her two main books: Kitchen Table Wisdom and Stories My Grandfather Told Me. Both are best sellers, even though they have been in print for years. For a full list of her publications check out her website above.

Rachel has also has an audio presentation called The Will to Live and Other Mysteries which can be a good start to come to terms with her overall philosophy on life and how this applies to her teaching. If you are keen to get started try getting it on www.soundstrue.com

Her basic premise is that science cannot fully explain how we heal, and people who open to the mystery of how we heal, often against all odds, do actually heal. Healing is not always physical but in the stories she tells, many actually find peace and physical healing. Exploring the power of mystery of how we heal actually switches on the physical power to heal. “The source of wonder and hope is available to us all at any time.”

If you want to be more up to date visit her Facebook page: Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D.

One of her presentations asked the questions:

What if the world is not broken?
What if fixing is too small a strategy for making a difference?
What if our power to make change is greater than the sum of our skills, our training, our education, our politics, or even our wealth?

These are great existential questions that can lead us to question the purpose and meaning of our individual lives. Whatever the questions or our path to engage with them, programs that give us a safe place to consider these questions are offered at the Quest for Life Centre on a regular basis. Those of you who have experienced a program may like to make some comments about your experience and what happened to change your view on your own life.

We welcome all contributions.

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.

Read Full Post »

Letter to My Doctor

Dear Doctor

I have been reading ‘Love, Medicine and Miracles’ by Bernie Siegel, a surgeon who advocates treating patients with equality and respect for their intuition, wisdom and choices.  He absolutely advocates conventional treatment options but he is also holistic in his approach and inclusive of the patient’s beliefs, dreams and feelings.  In this excellent book, he gives an example of what someone might write to their physician and I thought you might like to read it.

‘Dear Doctor

Please don’t conceal the diagnosis. We both know I came to you to learn if I have cancer or some other serious disease. If I know what I have, I know what I am fighting, and there is less fear. If you hide the name and the facts, you deprive me of the chance to help myself. When you are questioning whether I should be told, I already know. You may feel better if you don’t tell me, but your deception hurts me.

Do not tell me how long I have to live! I alone can decide how long I will live. It is my desires, my goals, my values, my strengths and my will to live that will make that decision.

Teach me and my family how and why my illness happened to me. Help me and my family to live now. Tell me about nutrition and my body’s needs. Tell me how to handle the knowledge and how my mind and body can work together.  Healing comes from within, but I want to combine my strength with yours. If you and I are a team, I will live a longer and better life.

Doctor, don’t let your negative beliefs; your fears and your prejudices affect my health. Don’t stand in the way of my getting well and exceeding your expectations. Give me the chance to be the exception to your statistics.

Teach me about your beliefs and therapies and help me to incorporate them into mine. However, remember that my beliefs are the most important. What I don’t believe in won’t help me.

You must learn what my disease means to me – death, pain or fear of the unknown. If my belief system accepts alternative therapy and not recognised therapy, do not desert me, please try to convert my beliefs and be patient and await my conversion. It may come at a time when I am desperately ill and in great need of your therapy.

Doctor, teach me and my family to live with my problem when I am not with you. Take time for our questions and give us your attention when we need it. It is important that I feel free to talk with you and question you. I will live a longer and more meaningful life if you and I can develop a significant relationship. I need you in my life to achieve my new goals.’

Bernie also suggests that it’s highly beneficial if you feel cared for and supported in your choices by your doctor.  We are not all lucky enough to find a doctor with whom we feel this way but there are some wonderful physicians out there and feeling cared for could be worth considering when you are next shopping for a doctor.

Love to you for now.
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.

Read Full Post »

You Can Let Go Now

Do you have control issues?  Has anyone told you that you are controlling?  This meditation will help you learn to let go.

Benefits

·      Makes life more pleasant for you and others

·      Helps you understand that everything changes

·      Helps you learn to let go of wanting to control everything

Do you always have to be on top?

If you are a controlling person, it is important to get beyond your symptoms – your need to control the actions of your loved ones or to have the magazines on the coffee table just so – and ask yourself what you are afraid of.  Fear usually motivates the desire to control others or your physical space.

Meditation

When

If you have received many complaints about your controlling behaviour, you might want to try this meditation.

Preparation

Write about three occasions on which you can remember feeling anxiety and wanting to control someone else’s behaviour, even if it seemed justified to you at the time.

Practice

1.    Sit on a cushion or chair in your meditation space.  Watch your breath for five minutes.

2.    Choose one of the events you listed.  Try to recall it in detail.  Feel what you were feeling at the time.  Perhaps your partner moved a chair and didn’t move it back to where you had placed it when he or she left the room.  Was your first feeling one of anger?

3.    Ask yourself why it is so important to have things the way you want them, especially since you are sharing your life with another person.  If you weren’t feeling anger, would you feel fear?  Are you afraid something may happen unexpectedly and you will feel powerless, alone, abandoned?  Are you trying to ward off unexpected and hurtful things happening by trying to control your environment, the people around you and the future?  Explore the fear behind your need to control.

4.    Commit to letting go a little at a time on a daily basis by looking for the fear behind the need for you to control.  Relax your grip on things and notice that usually nothing terrible happens.  Be kind and patient with yourself in this process.

The Meditation Bible
Madonna Gauding

Alexia Miall

Alexia co-facilitates Meditate for Life (in Sydney) and Take a Stand for Life (in Bundanoon).

Alexia’s career began in banking and then moved via advertising to a major career change in 1980 to Adult and Transformational Education.  She has been privileged to share this incredible journey with 1000’s of like minded souls through her extensive experience as a facilitator, trainer, life coach, therapist, and mentor.  She managed her own training company in Victoria during the 1990’s, and during this time was the Course Leader for a training program from which the Banksia Environmental Foundation formed.

Alexia has acquired further education in Adult Education in Training; Somatic Psychotherapy; Life Coaching; Conflict Resolution; plus Accreditation in many behavioural and culture change models. She is an Associate of EcoSTEPS, a niche Sustainability consultancy, which supports her love of the natural environment.

Read Full Post »

Wendie Shares: Authors I Like

Wendie's Favourite Authors

“Healing may not be so much about getting better, as about letting go of everything that isn’t you – all of the expectations, all of the beliefs – and becoming who you are.”

Rachel Naomi Remen

Over many years of facilitating groups and being involved in workshops around Australia I often get asked, “Can you suggest some women authors I can read in addition to Petrea’s work?”

Here is a quick  list of authors I have enjoyed . They are listed in no particular order.

Pema Chodron
a Buddhist nun who is essential reading on forgiveness

Shakti Gawain
teaches similar concepts to Quest

Rachel Naomi Remen
a medical doctor who teaches health professions to care for themselves. Rachel is a must read. Rachel and Petrea know each other.

Susan Trout
runs an organisation that teaches in a similar way to Quest.

Christianne Northrop
a medical doctor who is passionate about women’s health.

Joan Borysenko
another wonderful writer who runs workshops. She wrote a comment in Petrea’s, Quest for Life 2nd edition.

Jean Houston
best to google her as she is very active on the topic of Consciousness.

Barbara Hubbard
google her as she has a lot to offer and has online courses. She has been in the field as long as Louise Hay.

Louise Hay
a legend in her time. You may have heard of Hay House Publishing.

Caroline Myss
started her career as a book publisher and look at her now!

Candice Pert
a leader in the field of epigenetics

Marianne Williamson
has a holistic Christian approach that shines through in a non-religious way.

If you have any:
Names to add to the list or questions about these authors please let us know.
If you have additional authors we’d love to hear.

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.

Read Full Post »

Walking Meditation

Walking Meditation: gets you outside and moving, and reconnects you with your inner self.

I truly enjoy my Walking Meditation, it fulfills two functions, gets me outside and moving, and reconnects me with my inner self.

The following Informal Walking Meditation is very simple and easy to do.

On the Meditate for Life program, one of the many meditation techniques we teach is a form of Walking Meditation, again very simple and easy to do. So, I encourage you to give it a go and enjoy the outdoors whilst attending to your inner self. HAVE FUN.

Alexia Miall

INFORMAL WALKING MEDITATION

When we are too centered on our own internal dramas, too full of our own subconscious gossip, we become out of touch with the world around us.

Rediscover a sense of awareness by going for a walk.

The act of walking literally establishes contact with the ground, and the constant input of new images helps break up fixed moods, let in fresh air, and diverts attention from a fixation on problems.

This informal walking meditation does not require any particular technique of the body or hands and so can be performed anywhere – in a city street or a park, for example. It simply focuses on maintaining awareness.

1. Select a place in which you feel relatively secure. An unsafe part of town is not the right scene for a walking meditation.

2. First focus yourself, bringing your mind back to your clear intention to remain aware. The purpose of the exercise is to be fully present while you take your walk.

3. As you set off, feel the energy rising up from the ground to the top of your head. Consciously relax your body and mind. Let the motion of walking be easy and natural.

4. Let go of mental chatter, and focus attention on the sights, sounds, smells, and sensations of the environment around you as you walk.

5. When you notice that you have been thinking, come back to the sights and sounds around you. Simply acknowledge that you have been thinking, and return to the immediacy of the present moment.

From The Meditation Year – A Seasonal guide to contemplation, relaxation, and visualization
Jane Hope

Read Full Post »

Glass Half Full

Is your glass half full?

It is easy to take what you have for granted and be chronically dissatisfied.  Focusing on what blessings you have can transform your mind and your life.

Benefits

• Provides antidote to chronic dissatisfaction
• Increases your awareness of your blessings
• Helps you stay in the present moment

It is so easy to be caught up in feeling a chronic sense of lack, encouraged by a culture that says you never have enough and are never good enough.  You may find yourself fixated on that new car, a better relationship, new towels or a different place to live as the key to making you a happier person.  But you may have noticed, seeing your glass half-empty all the time makes for a miserable life.  Always looking to the future means you aren’t really present in the life you have right now.  By meditating on gratitude on a daily basis, you will reduce your dissatisfaction and increase your contentment with the life you have.  Happiness, you will discover, is ultimately a state of mind.

Meditation

When

If you are preoccupied with wanting things you don’t have.

Preparation

Write down everything you want that you don’t have.

Then write down ten things you are grateful for.

Practice

1. Find time to be alone in a place where you will not be disturbed.  Sit in any way that makes you comfortable.  After doing the preliminary exercise above, read over the ten things that you have listed.
2. Generate a sincere sense of gratitude for each item on your list.  If you are grateful for your health, feel thankful for your good fortune.  If you have a car, no matter what condition, be sincerely grateful to have transportation.  If you have a partner, think of their wonderful qualities and be grateful that they are a part of your life.
3. After you have gone through your list, sit quietly and thank yourself, God, the universe, or whomever or whatever you choose, for the gifts you have been given.  Resolve, on a daily basis, to be mindful and grateful for the blessings you have.

From the The Meditation Bible by Madonna Gauding.

Alexia Miall

Alexia Miall

Alexia’s career began in banking and then moved via advertising to a major career change in 1980 to Adult and Transformational Education.  She has been privileged to share this incredible journey with 1000’s of like minded souls through her extensive experience as a facilitator, trainer, life coach, therapist, and mentor.  She managed her own training company in Victoria during the 1990’s, and during this time was the Course Leader for a training program from which the Banksia Environmental Foundation formed.

Alexia has acquired further education in Adult Education in Training; Somatic Psychotherapy; Life Coaching; Conflict Resolution; plus Accreditation in many behavioural and culture change models. She is an Associate of EcoSTEPS, a niche Sustainability consultancy, which supports her love of the natural environment.

Read Full Post »