What is in a name?
How about the name for “Tuesday” for instance, is it just a way to keep track of time or does it provide greater meaning?
Tuesday gets its name from the Anglo-Saxon's god of war Tiu, also known as Tyr to the Vikings. The Romans named their third day of the week after their god of war, Mars. That is why romantic languages like Spanish, French and Italian all have similar names for Tuesday: Martes, Mardi, and Martedi.
My Greek husband would never forgive me if I didn’t point out that the Romans got their gods from the Greeks and changed the names so Mars is really Áres (Άρης in Greek). Are you starting to see the zodiac here? The majority of those born in the month of March (Mars) are the astrological sign of Ares.
In Greek Tuesday is Τρίτη pronounced “Tríti”. Third is trítos (τρίτος) from the number 3 tria (τρία) which is the third day of the week.
This gets the mind wandering about the number 3. The number 3 is also significant in mythology, folklore, and history. It has a prophetic connotation. Think of the divine trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. It represents the body, mind spirit connection and the cycle of birth, life & death. In Astrology 3 is associated with Zeus or as the Romans call it Jupiter. Jupiter/Zeus is the planet associated with Expansion, Knowledge, Wisdom, Abundance and Good Fortune. But life is about balance and we can over expand or over do things (think of working too much, gambling or overeating), so it is important to be grounded in our energies. I know when we are challenged by life, we don’t see abundance and expansion as being a negative thing. It isn’t. Nothing is solely good or bad, but for how we perceive it. Think of the yin yang symbol. Everything is meant to be balanced and from balance we find harmony which is peace and happiness.
Do you see how the mind can take us many places in its musings? Just be sure you are practicing awareness of the mind. We want to have command and awareness of where the mind wanders and what it focuses on. Remember, where the mind goes the Qi will follow. Meaning where we put our attention and energy will grow. Not necessarily the exact situation we are imagining but the negative or positive energy behind it. Try some long deep breathing to help slow down your thoughts and better observe the connection between thoughts, emotions, and the body. Why are we having this thought? What is it about? What is it making me feel? How is my body responding to it? What is this thought based on? Where is the truth in it? When we slow down and deepen our breath, we gain awareness of our thoughts and feelings and our body (aches, tension, posture, etc.). We start to observe how we are viewing life, how we are responding to it physically and emotionally. From this awareness we can begin to have an understanding of where we are. Then we can begin to create a change in our present state of being with understanding, wisdom & compassion.
What is Meditation?
This is something I ask all of my students. Everyone will have a different perception of what meditation is. There are no wrong answers. I ask this to bring awareness of our perception. Will it help you deal with stress? Yes. Will it bring you peace? Yes.
Meditation for me is becoming aware of all aspects of ourselves and learning how to work with those energies to understand them, to heal what needs healing and to elevate our human consciousness and experience so that we may live our truth with peace, purpose and compassion.
Meditation can be incredibly challenging, especially in the beginning or when we are going through a difficult situation. Because, in meditation we are sitting with ourselves. We are facing our thoughts, emotions, and physical discomfort. We are in essence becoming conscious of where our energies are.
Now from here we have an awareness of our challenges. You can not change what you do not acknowledge so first we must learn to sit with and work with ourselves where we are. Observe. In observance we do not judge and yet we must acknowledge all the judgments, fears and ill thoughts that arise. Each time a thought arises we observe it like watching a movie. We observe our physical and emotional reaction to it, and we keep pulling back and observing each thought upon thought until we find neutrality.
Energy needs a healthy expression. We neutrally observe to expand awareness. We bring in neutrality to understand the negative mind set. For when we are emotionally reactive, we do not think clearly. We bring in positivity to lift ourselves up, set goals and find happiness. We cultivate compassion and knowledge to shift our mode of operation and elevate our experience. Negative energy is always fear based. At its essence it is a protection mechanism. It is the fight or flight response to things we do not understand or are afraid of.
I suggest trying all kinds of meditations to find what works for you. Have several meditations in your tool kit and be able to pull out what you need at different times. Just as we eat seasonally and dress seasonally, we can have meditations for different circumstances to aid us.
Breath Work- In meditation there is breath work. There are many breathing techniques and so much to learn about breathing. This is the most important place to start. Breath work can immediately change your state of mind and bring the body into balance. Balancing the energy or life force also called qi or prana is key. Breathing commands, the mind. The minds thoughts create emotions. The Minds thoughts and emotions messages the body creating physiological reactions. Working with breath is key to healthy, happy, harmonious living. Breathing has been practiced in many cultures for millennia.
Mudra- In meditation we have mudras which are mostly hand positions. Mudras allow energy to travel via meridians for a specific purpose. Mudras affect the flow of energy throughout the body. Meridians also referred to as channels are like rivers or you may think of them as roads. There are intersections and on and off ramps that connect different organ systems and have different purposes. Acupuncture works through the meridian system as well. Think of a window and its shutter. You can open them fully to let light and air flow in or position them specifically to your requirements.
Sound & Mantras - Many meditations use sound. The use of gongs, bells or sound bowls resonate a vibration, as does listening to the ocean, rain or sounds of nature. Mantras are repeated phrases chanted or sung. They are akin to affirmations or prayer in that they are specific in their purpose. Our bodies are made up of mostly water as is the earth and sound vibration travels easily through water to create a very healing vibration. When we speak ill of others or ourselves, we manifest into the world a negative vibration. When we focus on specific sounds, mantras, and positive affirmations then we raise our vibration. We feel elevated. Observe what you say, how you say it and why you say it as best you can. It is not to judge yourself or others it is to start to command the vibration we put into our lives and the world in our spoken word.
Focus- We can focus our thoughts and eyes during a meditation for a particular affect. Meditation can be calming or activating. For example, we can focus on a particular chakra (energy center in the body) or focus on imagining ourselves at the beach. We can close our eyes and visualize an object like the sun or a tree in our mind. We can focus our eyes in a position during a meditation. We can direct our eyes to focus on the tip of our nose. We can open our eyes and focus on an object in front of us. There is a myriad of focus & visualization techniques.
Movement- movement in meditation is like moving through the asanas in yoga. It can be specific in posture and mudra or it can be like a free-flowing dance. The expression can be like boiling water or it can be fluid like a flowing brook. There are many aspects to movement in meditation just as there are many types of dance.
Starting out- Meditation is very vast and yet it’s quite simple. I start my students with simple long deep breathing in and out through the nose with equal length inhales and exhales. On the inhale the belly falls open like a balloon filling up. On the exhale we pull the navel in toward the spine. This engages the diaphragm muscle. It is simple but for so many who breathe shallowly or through the mouth they have to relearn how to breathe.
How we begin and end a meditation is important and helpful. Anytime you want to meditate it is the right time. However, I like very much to follow ancient traditions of meditating first thing in the morning. When we meditate before we start our day, we have a chance to get ahold of the mind before it gets ahold of us.
If you are interested in working with me on meditation you can contact me via my website www.acunora.com I am happy to work via zoom or facetime with individuals or families during the pandemic until I can teach groups in person again . There are also many wonderful meditation apps out there for your phone which will guide you. You can also look up different meditations on You Tube to find something you like.
Namaste
Nora
PRESENCE
April 5, 2020
The only thing you have is your consciousness. How you are in the present moment. Observe your thoughts and stop them from taking you out of a state of peace. Listen to your breathing. There is no good nor bad, only your state of being. Feelings are signals and emotions are their expressions. They are reminders to find balance. We will be sad, angry and face hardships. We also will have joy and happiness. Happiness and peace are a choice and can be cultivated. Feelings/Emotions; they are to be used as tools, not to lead us astray from our truth. You must learn to work with them energetically. It is easier said than done my friends as the mind is processing a tremendous amount of information and the majority of our thoughts are negative and the majority of those negative thoughts are repeat thoughts. Take time to cultivate some positive ways of being. Go inward and find quiet moments of gratitude and thanks. Watch who and what you allow into your consciousness. Don’t get addicted to the news or gossip. Be aware, but not sucked in. Find your presence and your peace. It is within you. You won’t be losing yourself you will be finding your way home. Looking out into nature is a beautiful way to find peace. The dandelion stretching through the cracked concrete sidewalk is the miracle of nature, a thing of beauty to behold.
Blessings & Peace, Hanorah
Παρουσία
Απρίλιος 5, 2020
Το μόνο που έχεις είναι η συνείδησή σου. Πώς είσαι στην παρούσα στιγμή. Παρατηρήστε τις σκέψεις σας και να τους σταματήσει από το να σας πάρει από μια κατάσταση ειρήνης. Ακούστε την αναπνοή σας. Δεν υπάρχει ούτε καλό ούτε κακό, μόνο η κατάσταση της ύπαρξης σου. Τα συναισθήματα είναι σήματα και τα συναισθήματα είναι οι εκφράσεις τους. Είναι υπενθυμίσεις για την εξεύρεση ισορροπίας. Θα είμαστε λυπημένοι, θυμωμένοι και θα αντιμετωπίσουμε δυσκολίες. Θα έχουμε επίσης χαρά και ευτυχία. Η ευτυχία και η ειρήνη είναι μια επιλογή και μπορούν να καλλιεργηθούν. Συναισθήματα / Συναισθήματα; πρέπει να χρησιμοποιηθούν ως εργαλεία, όχι για να μας παραπλανήσουν από την αλήθεια μας. Πρέπει να μάθεις να δουλεύεις μαζί τους ενεργητικά. Είναι πιο εύκολο στα λόγια παρά στην πράξη τους φίλους μου, όπως το μυαλό επεξεργάζεται ένα τεράστιο ποσό των πληροφοριών και η πλειοψηφία των σκέψεών μας είναι αρνητικές και η πλειοψηφία αυτών των αρνητικών σκέψεων είναι σκέψεις επανάληψη. Πάρτε το χρόνο να καλλιεργήσει μερικούς θετικούς τρόπους. Πηγαίνετε προς τα μέσα και να βρείτε ήσυχες στιγμές ευγνωμοσύνης και ευχαριστίες. Προσέξτε ποιος και τι επιτρέπετε στη συνείδησή σας. Μην εθιστείς στις ειδήσεις ή στα κουτσομπολιά. Να είστε ενήμεροι, αλλά δεν αναρροφάται in. Βρες την παρουσία σου και την ειρήνη σου. Είναι μέσα σου. Δεν θα χάσεις τον εαυτό σου, θα βρεις το δρόμο για το σπίτι. Κοιτάζοντας έξω στη φύση είναι ένας όμορφος τρόπος για να βρείτε την ειρήνη. Η πικραλίδα που εκτείνεται μέσα από το ραγισμένο πεζοδρόμιο από σκυρόδεμα είναι το θαύμα της φύσης, ένα πράγμα της ομορφιάς να βλέπω.
Ευλογίες και Ειρήνη, Χανόρα
Presencia
5 de abril de 2020
Lo único que tienes es tu conciencia. Cómo estás en el momento presente. Observa tus pensamientos y evita que te saquen de un estado de paz. Escucha tu respiración. No hay nada bueno ni malo, sólo tu estado de ser. Los sentimientos son señales y las emociones son sus expresiones. Son recordatorios para encontrar el equilibrio. Estaremos tristes, enojados y enfrentaremos dificultades. También tendremos gozo y felicidad. La felicidad y la paz son una elección y se pueden cultivar. Sentimientos/Emociones; deben ser utilizados como herramientas, no para desviarnos de nuestra verdad. Debes aprender a trabajar con ellos enérgicamente. Es más fácil decirlo que hacer a mis amigos, ya que la mente está procesando una enorme cantidad de información y la mayoría de nuestros pensamientos son negativos y la mayoría de esos pensamientos negativos son pensamientos repetidos. Tómese el tiempo para cultivar algunas formas positivas de ser. Ir hacia adentro y encontrar momentos tranquilos de gratitud y gracias. Mira a quién y qué permites en tu conciencia. No te hagas adicto a las noticias o chismes. Se consciente, pero no tentado. Encuentra tu presencia y tu paz. Está dentro de ti. No te perderás a ti mismo, estarás encontrando el camino a casa. Mirar hacia la naturaleza es una hermosa manera de encontrar la paz. El diente de León que se extiende a través de la acera de hormigón agrietado es el milagro de la naturaleza, una cosa de belleza para contemplar.
Bendiciones y Paz, Hanorah
Wednesday April 1, 2020
Covid-19 Check In
So how are you doing? Ask yourself this question silently and slowly. “How am I doing?”. Now do it again breathe long, slow deep breaths. Where are you tense? Where is your mental focus? Bring your focus to your breath. Command your body to rejuvenate on the long inhale and relax on the exhale to the sound of your breath like the ocean. Inhale deeply and slowly through the nose counting to 8 or repeating a positive affirmation. On the exhale let the air out fully with emphasis, like you’re shooting the breath out for the same equal count through your mouth. The exhale is likened to the crashing of the waves. Relax your forehead, your face and jaw. Relax your neck, shoulders and arms. Continue this all the way down to your toes. Continue the long deep breathing meditation for as long as you like. Try to practice one to 11 minutes daily if you can.
Affirm to yourself, “I am strong, smart and resilient”. Look into what you can do to get support from what is available to you. Maybe you need to file for unemployment or deferment in rent. Keep up self-care with things like online exercise videos. Shop for basic needs to keep costs down. Eat healthfully. Stop smoking and drinking. Now is the time!
This pandemic is something none of us has ever seen the likes of. We cannot yet know the economic fallout, let alone the loss of life or how long it will take to come up with a vaccine. How we handle this is more important than anything. Stand strongly in your grace, dignity and truth. Practice self-care and self-love. You are resilient. It is a choice. You are strong. It is a choice. You are smart, it is a choice to learn and grow.
Be compassionate with one another as well as with yourself. We are all on edge. Practice safe social distancing protocols, wash hands with soap and water for 20 seconds or more and often. Consider making a homemade mask to wash and reuse when you have to go out shopping. Reach out to neighbors, friends and family via social media or phone calls. Listen to health experts and not social media junk. Verify sources and do not give out personal information.
We are all in this together. You are not the sum of your anxiety or suffering no matter how great; you are the sum of your dignity, character and compassion. Meditate, mediate, meditate…. the quality of the meditation will evolve the more you practice. May peace be with us all.
Chinese New Year
Saturday January 25, 2020
Lunar year 4717
Year of the Golden Rat
The Rat is the first of all zodiac animals. According to one myth, the Jade Emperor said the order of the zodiac would be decided by the order in which they arrived at his party. The Rat tricked the Ox into giving him a ride. Then, just as they arrived at the finish line, Rat jumped down and landed ahead of Ox, becoming first. This strategy and cunning are part of rat energy. It is a highly respected sign ruling intelligence. How we use our intelligence is key to understand honorable use of power.
People born year of the rat are able to think outside of the box and that is exactly what we will all be gifted with this year.
While we should enjoy items, we have acquired and worked hard for, be careful to not be a pack rat and have too much stuff overwhelming you. Yet, it is a good idea to plan ahead and take care of ones needs not only for today but for the future.
Let us make sure we use our imagination and drive with integrity.
Because rats multiply easily, they were seen in Chinese culture as a sign of wealth & fertility. They are yang or action oriented in nature and 2020 will be a year to put your ideas and strategies into action. The metal rat seen as golden or white can be stubborn and at times appear overly confident but in truth have some self-doubt. Rat year is a great time to stand strong on our principles while putting into action creative and intelligent problem-solving skills.
Enjoy delving into work or an upcoming project. It is a great year to get things done. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
恭賀新禧 Gōnghè xīnxǐ
TO THE POINT NEWS LETTER
FEAR
So, I was listening to a client discuss the dreams they recently had at night this past week. There seemed to be a common thread. It was one side of his family and it was fear based. It was a very specific fear based around health. In life his mom was a hypochondriac. Often people with hypochondria will run to the doctors over nothing and live in fear that they are on deaths door all the while completely ignoring a real health issue.
We can’t change what we don’t acknowledge. I heard Dr. Phil McGraw say that many years ago when watching his show and it has become my go to phrase, because…well it’s the truth.
Emotions are signs, signals from within. They come from thought patterns of beliefs. When you are feeling an emotion that is negative, it is like a child having a temper tantrum. More than the thing it wants or is throwing a fit about, it wants to know you see it, hear it and accept it. So, don’t run from your fears, turn and face them. Figure out how to resolve them. Have an internal dialogue with them.
In this example I suggested for him to say to himself, “Heh…I see you. I know you are afraid of this and it gives you anxiety, but I am here for you and we can face this challenge. We are doing the best we can to ensure our health and well-being. We have our own destiny. We are strong and healthy. Thanks for letting me know how you feel, but I have this, and I have you. Its ok. I see you; I hear you and all is well.”
Of course, he is healthy. Extremely health conscious. He eats well, he exercises and meditates. If he wasn’t, I would have suggested he make a health plan. Listening to those fear-based dreams as signals are here to help us to create a change. This client takes care of his health partly because he fears ending up like his mother and some of his family members. We have to change the reason he is healthy to one of enjoying taking care of himself instead of doing so because of fear.
This same day this client’s son woke up middle of the night with an anxiety dream. Feeling as if energy and thought and language was moving too fast and out of his control. The same applies to him. I suggested speaking to those feeling aspects of his being. Address it, have compassion for it, and then show a different reality and way of thinking and feeling about it. Assure yourself you are okay and capable.
I know it may sound like you are crazy speaking to yourself as if you have different personalities. We all have different aspects of ourselves. We all have self-speak. The inner voice and voices are going on whether we admit it or not. If you run from it, it will manifest in the world louder until you address it.
I was taught in Yogic Eastern tradition that when we heal something within ourselves, we energetically aid that healing for generations. That is a beautiful concept. No wonder the man I was working with was dreaming of family members some of whom have passed. No wonder his son also had anxiety. Fear comes in many forms. It rules the first chakra. It is there to protect us. Fight or flight. Flight (fear) can also manifest as frozen energy like staying hidden and frozen to protect us, like an opossum playing dead. This can be a paralyzing emotion when we don’t address it. But its significance is protection.
The problem is our negative thoughts, beliefs and feelings have gotten out of control. We have to retrain ourselves and we do that by addressing them with compassion. By the way, it’s okay if you aren’t perfect! Set up a strategy to check in with yourself morning and night. You may have not caught a negative reaction or fear-based way of acting in the moment but in setting up intention in the morning and using contemplation retrospectively in the evening you can begin to bring awareness to where your emotions are running rampant. Without a plan of checking in and asking yourself about your day then nothing will likely change. Did you have any negative emotions that threw you off center? If so, then have that internal dialogue with them.
It takes time & fine tuning, like bringing a cloth bag shopping. At first you forgot or maybe you did not care, then you left it in your car , then you put it in the front seat and forgot, then you forgot but remembered before you entered the store but was too tired to turn around. The next time you did turn around mid-parking lot and walked right back to your car and got it. Yeah, you! You did it.
It takes time to change a pattern so be patient with yourself, but do set up times to check in with yourself morning and night to see where you were in some form of fear, how you dealt with it and what you can do to change it.
Address with compassion. Respond don’t React.
Practice Long Deep Breathing with equal length inhales and exhales. Then gently massage your ears from top to bottom tugging downward on the lobe. Rub your hands together to create warmth. Then place them on the area of your back where your kidneys are and give yourself an affirmation. I hear you, I see you, all is well. Do this for even one minute daily. It is an energetic way to help with fear and anxiety.
Blessings,
Hanorah
Chinese New Year 2019 Year of the Pig
Gong hei fat choy or gong xi fa cai
This year’s Lunar New Year is on Tuesday February 5th, 2019. It the first new moon of the lunar year. Now is it a pig or a boar? People see it as both. But think for a moment about our perception of each animal. Boars we see as courageous, strong, fierce, wild and perhaps reckless. Yet, pigs we see as loyal, friendly, sweet and gluttonous.
It is an earth year so wearing hues of brown are fitting for the earth, however for the New Year’s celebration it is fitting to reign in the new year with more festive, bright colors. In general, wearing new clothes is a symbol of new beginnings in China. Wearing red is auspicious. Celebrating the new year is all about color and rebirth.
It is a yin year and we want to nurture nature and what we take into our lives. Consider your impact on the environment and commit to conscious practices. Use reusable shopping bags and water bottles, eat food grown and raised humanely and support small local farms. Make an effort to carpool and recycle. Hold elected officials accountable for clean drinking water and uncontaminated oceans, rivers, lakes and streams. These are just some ideas to guide you. This is a year to think about what we put in our bodies, minds and hearts with compassion not judgement.
The pig is the last of the 12 symbols of the Chinese Zodiac. The earth in pig symbolizes wealth. Pigs are social and this year it is about using that grounded earth energy to support us in expanding our network of friends and business associates. Success tends to come at the end of a project and not during because pig is the last symbol of the zodiac. Just remember to not be so social that you are afraid to speak your mind when necessary, sometimes we need to add a little boar to that pig energy. On the flip side, be mindful to not participate in reckless behavior. Social graces start at home so be a friend to yourself and your loved ones. Pig energy is a good time to gather loyal friendships but remember love and kindness is give and take.
Some say pig is the last symbol because he was lazy and the last to arrive at the emperor’s request when choosing animals for the zodiac. Other’s say wolf destroyed his home and he had to rebuild it securely before he would leave and that is why he was late. I look at these two stories and say we should look this year at where we need to activate and where we need to take care of our personal matters with responsibility. These would be good ways to support ourselves. Responsibility means simply that we are ABLE TO RESPOND. We want to have moral integrity to balance our lives.
Planning comes easy for some and is more difficult for others. I think what often happens is we plan certain aspects of our lives but not all. Do we plan our meals and when we will eat? Are we planning when we will sleep, bathe, work, play and rest? Planning helps us to not feel the guilt/resentment cycle. Many times, there is guilt when we have down time for ourselves or socially engage and resentment can pop up when we are working and everyone else is off on a lovely vacation or taking that extended lunch break. However, if we plan these things within our days, weeks & months then it lessens the emotional reaction and does not feed the guilt/resentment trap. If pig was late because he over slept should he feel guilty? If his home was attacked and he had to fix his home first and received last place in the zodiac should he be resentful? Blame has no place in pig energy. It is not in pig’s nature and we should learn from that and let go of blame. We all have strengths and weaknesses. Peaceful movement through life can be cultivated. Practice becoming aware of your thoughts and feelings. We cannot change what we do not acknowledge. If we spend too much time worrying about what others think then we have lost sight of our purpose to take care of ourselves with strength, dignity, balance & love.
So, as you are looking at your plans and working through your schedules, remember that life throws us curve balls and none more than in the last hour so be prepared to be flexible when appropriate and stand firmly rooted where needed.
Pigs in the Chinese Zodiac are gentle in nature and even tempered so practice those qualities for the New Year. What a wonderful world it would be if we were all gentler and even tempered.
Healthy, Happy New Year!
Nora Sullivan Houndalas
Practitioner of Traditional Chinese Medicine
Acupuncture, Herbology, Kundalini Yoga & Meditation Teacher
L.Ac., Dipl. Ac., M.T.O.M., C.M.T.
