Mice, Memory and Creating Your Inner Light

#a world that works for everyone

Sometimes experiences from the past keep influencing us-again and again and again.....

It could be that the circuits in our brain  get stuck in an endless loop. Researchers at MIT have been changing the brains of mice with light. They call this new science Optigenics.  It appears that as a memory is encoded in the brain negative or positive emotions associated with that event are stored in another part of the brain. Every time the brain remembers the event the emotions associated with it are triggered.

By shining a light for only 12 minutes on  the brain cells that store these emotions mice were able to let go of previous conditioning  and no longer experienced negative emotional reactions. 

Optigenic studies will help MIT better understand how the brain works and in the future they may help to relieve depression, post traumatic stress, epilepsy, chronic pain and some forms of mental illness.1

Are you planning your future based on your past?

I believe it is possible to erase the pain and limitations we may remember from our past.  Yesterday’s disappointments and hurts can keep us from experiencing happiness today. In years to come we will be able to use Optigenics to heal our brain, body and psyche.  Today we can use meditation, prayer, EMDR and other techniques to free ourselves from the negative influences or  hurtful things from our  past. We can also create our own inner light to help us let go of previous experiences that no longer serve us.

Change your mind by shining your inner light

Find a quiet place, whether that is in your room, outside in nature or even sitting where no one knows you. Take a few moments and breathe deeply until you feel yourself settling down. When you feel quiet  read or say these words:

Always I am aware of being part of a greater Whole. The Oneness I share with Spirit and all beings brings permanent safety and refuge from the events of my past. 

In this Wholeness, I am strong, safe and secure. Nothing from yesterday can ever harm me again.I let go of anything from

the past that no longer serves me.

  

I feel the light of Wholeness inside me.The light of Wholeness shines all around me.  I am the light and the light is me. Peace and joy live in me now and I embrace my future knowing it is Good.

Take a few moments to come back to the present moment and then go on with your day. 

Powerful words like this or others you might choose write for yourself can shine your inner light on your brain and help to releases burdens of the past. Our thoughts are creative and we can use them to change ourselves, our lives and our environment. I believe you can feel a gentle and permanent change inside yourself from regularly shining your inner light.

Give this a try for a month. I'd truly enjoy hearing about your experiences of creating your own inner light. 

References:

1.Optigenics Changing the Brain with Light

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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