Forgiveness in the Time of Shelter-Free 8 Week Zoom Class

Did you ever feel like a past hurt was forgotten until something happens and you find yourself reliving it all over again? This Great Shelter has united our world. Everywhere we are experiencing the need to limit our social interactions. Staying home, missing work or school...for a great many has produced a profound sense of isolation and loneliness.

Many report feeling depression,  grief, frustration or even anger and resentment. Some people have had sleep disturbances or insomnia. Others say they have lost their sense of well being the longer this Shelter in Place goes on.

Have you had the experience where you thought you had worked through something? All the sudden something happens or something doesn't work out and the issues you thought you had resolved pop into your life again? 

Anger, resentment, sadness a sense of longing for things to be different can take over when we least expect it and we can loose our normal peace and ease. 

Hawaiian Forgiveness or Ho'o pono pono is a simple, easy to learn practice that can permanently resolve old hurts and the burdens these hurts place in our hearts.

Long ago in a paradise we now call Hawaii, there was no formal code of law and no written language. To protect the safety of the family and tribe the Hawaiian’s used a forgiveness technique Ho’o pono pono. 

Today, around the world this practice of Hawaiian Forgiveness is used as a direct means to experience deep peace and inner freedom and to unburden the weight of our past. 

Ernest Holmes, the founder of Religious Science described Forgiveness as the way to know the Divine within as Love.  The more inner freedom we can create for ourselves the greater ability we have to know love, peace and a greater connection with the Divine. 

Everyone has their own understanding of the Divine. The world's great religious traditions share the idea of the Divine as love. However, we can experience the Divine in different ways. For some,the peace and power that comes from being in tune with Nature and Mother Earth is their greatest sense of the Divine. Others may know it as Oneness with all Beings or a sense of Unity with the entire family of humanity. 

June 15th my free 8 week Zoom class "Forgiveness, Peace and Happiness" begins.

What could greater personal freedom or relief from your past mean to you right now?

I believe what you will discover in this class will be alive in your heart and make a real difference for you, long after our time together is complete. 

 

This weekly 90 minute class runs for 8  weeks.  There is no book to purchase, I’ll provide the handouts for class. I hope you can join me. 

The Class:  "Forgiveness,Peace and Happiness"

via Zoom with Dr. Siota Belle, PhD

                        

Wed June 15-Aug 12 2020

1:30-3pm Pacific Daylight Time

Cost: No Tuition Frees

Link to enroll:

https://santarosajuniorcollege.formstack.com/forms/non_credit_enrollment_form

Course number: OA 505 Section 8853 Forgiveness, Peace & Happiness

For more information:email:drsiotabelle@gmail.com

or call 707-566-6895

The class will not be recorded.

You may also enjoy my articles:

"Hawaiian Forgiveness, Ho'o pono pono and Healing" 

https://tinyurl.com/Hawaiian-Forgiveness

or "Freedom and Forgiveness"

https://tinyurl.com/FreedomandForgiveness

 

I'd love to hear about your experiences with Ho'o pono pono and forgiveness. I can be reached at drsiotabelle@gmail.com

Signs that You May Have a Thyroid Problem

Mister Bluebird on my shoulder

It's the truth, it's actch'll

Ev'rything is satisfactch'll

Zip-a-dee-doo-dah, zip-a-dee-ay

Wonderful feeling, wonderful day!

(Song of the South-1946)



Raise your hand if you feel peppy like these lyrics when you wake up? Yes, no, maybe sometimes?

If you don’t have enough energy and feel like you’re missing a sense of well-being -you might want to check your thyroid.  The World Health Organization estimates that over 200 million people around the world are challenged by thyroid disease. This is one health problem that often goes untreated because people are used to feeling out of sorts.

Are you waking up tired, run down or just plain blue. Your thyroid health affects your sense of wellbeing, vitality and outlook. Take a look at some of the top indicators of thyroid imbalance.  You’ll notice some of these symptoms seem to be the opposite of one another. That’s because this is a symptom list for both underactive and overactive thyroid problems.

• Fatigue even after 8-10 hours of sleep                      
• Inability to lose weight-unexplainable weight gain            
• Difficulty swallowing or chronic sore throat
• Constipation

• Cold hands&feet-feeling cold regardless of how warm others feel
• Dry skin, brittle nails, hair loss
• Unexplainable hoarseness-sore throat                               
• Bags under the eyes 

• Outer third of eyebrow is overly thin                           
• Muscle and joint pain
• Brain fog, poor memory, focus                                         
• Mood swing, anxiety, depression

• Overly sensitive to heat-hot weather                                
• Increased Appetite
• Low sex drive, PMS, irregular or heavy menstrual periods 
• Restlessness, increased sweating
• Rapid-unexplainable weight loss                                    
• Too frequent bowel movements

 
If you have 4 or more of these symptoms do a basal temperature test on yourself at home. Basal temperature measures your body’s metabolism levels first thing in the morning. If it runs below 98 degrees you may have a sluggish metabolism which is an indicator of a possible thyroid imbalance.

Basal Temp Test: First thing as you wake up- before you get out of bed to urinate- take your temperature while you are calm and quiet. Put the thermometer under your arm- not under your tongue as this is a more accurate indicator of your body’s metabolism. Record your temps for at least 3 days.

It's possible for your basic blood work to indicate a normal thyroid yet these symptoms can persist. So talk to your health practitioner about your symptoms and your basal body temperature if it’s low. There are other tests that can be done to help determine if your thyroid and you could use some help. It is common for thyroid  problems to develop slowly over time and it might not be so noticeable until you realize that you are feeling poorly.

All I’m saying is be wise, be well and if you not feeling so great or struggling with some of these issues-think about your thyroid.

You might also enjoy:  Your Thyroid Gland and You

Healing From a Place of Wholeness

"Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year"

Ralph Waldo Emerson

I believe that inside you, inside me and inside everyone a Wholeness exists and that all healing comes from that Wholeness. I believe our thoughts, centered on this Wholeness, can heal us.

Our thoughts help us heal

Each time we  perceive ourselves as well, grounded, happy, calm, peaceful and at ease we strengthen our ability to make that our new way of being.

Have you ever noticed that you can hide your positive feelings about yourself with thoughts that are depressing or anxiety producing by worrying, or by comparing yourself to others? 

Feeling desperate about losing weight or not having a body we like, living with chronic pain and fatigue, inflammation, or more serious illnesses can make our opportunities seem limited.  Needing a new job, a place to live or struggling in a floundering relationship can be equally daunting. Of course not every condition can be permanently reversed but what can change is our perceptions about ourselves and for that to happen we can turn to the Wholeness within us.

Psychologists use Cognitive Behavior Therapy to help people change their thinking in the midst of such challenges.  We can also begin a change inside ourselves with meditation, practicing compassion, gratitude and cultivating the awareness of what makes us happy and what helps us to feel Whole.

"Live quietly in the moment and see the beauty of all before you."

Paramahansa Yogananda

A new reality of Wholeness for deepest healing

As we turn our attention to consciously experiencing Wholeness within we may begin to feel new feelings of oneness, happiness and have  life affirming thoughts. Repeatedly turning our attention to the Wholeness within we will strengthen our ability to remember these feelings.  Over time it becomes easier to call them up.  Focusing on these new feelings several times a week creates a new reality of Wholeness within us and about us.

When we can remember our Wholeness and allow ourselves to embrace it-truly our deepest healing takes place. Then, our remembered Wholeness can become the foudnation upon which our special diets, medications, natural remedies, what we have heard from our families, friends and even our self talk rests.

Stefan’s Story

Recently I was asked to meet a man I'll call Stefan to see if I could help him experience more joy. Stefan is an 80 something gentleman who has many challenges. He can no longer walk and uses a wheel chair. He has dementia and can only speak in short phrases of 2-3 words.

Using simple questions I discovered that he was a retired interior decorator who loves nature and classical music. He liked my idea of driving to see some of the beautiful homes in our area.

Summer is just beginning its end here and the weather for our drive was gorgeous. We took our time driving by homes with dramatic landscaping, covered verandas, entry ways twined with morning glories and roses. Stefan let me know that he liked what we were seeing with just a few words "Beautiful, oh so beautiful"

As the ducks were settling onto the lake I pulled my car close to the water and we sat there sharing the grace of the  morning. "Beautiful, oh so beautiful".

I dialed up Il Divo, Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli. As the music filled the car Stefan began to sway his upper body with the music and smiled.

A friend was out walking and stopped to greet us. After she continued on her way Stefan turned his eyes fully on me and said “So warm.”

We looked at every tree slowly, winding through the woods. Together we became one with each leaf on every tree and one with all the spaces in between each leaf and tree. Stefan’s eyes were luminous and he kept smiling as we drank in the beauty. Each tree was Stefan’s own universe of joy and light. "Beautiful, oh so beautiful."

By the time I returned Stefan to his memory care facility his entire being was glowing. Even though we had few words to share we were able to experience an entire universe of Wholeness which enriched and healed us both.

Try this on yourself

Find a way to recognize your own Wholeness or Oneness and when you are really feeling it say "yes  this is truly me." Breathe it in and if you can stand up straight with good posture and repeat that a few times and then breathe some more.

Anyone can do this-though we may each have a different way of enhancing our experience of Wholeness. It might be with music that sounds beautiful to you. Some people like Stefan can be truly renewed while they are out in nature. Others may only feel at ease and free inside their homes. Whether it is your cat or your car or something different-experiment with what it is that takes you out of your every day self and allows you to remember your own Wholeness and the sense that truly we are all One.

May your heart open.
May joy emerge.
May love flow through you.
May you heal and help others.

  Charlene Costanzo from "The 12 Gifts of Healing"

Music that Stefan enjoyed:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFZ7bBaYpcw

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aF5QKHC7VDA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m5EiBOhSnas