Monday 27 February 2012

Live Life!

The Guardian published a fascinating article in February about the top five regrets of the dying, written from the findings from a palliative nurse. I found it an interesting read, thought-provoking and well worth sharing.

“ Bronnie Ware is an Australian nurse who spent several years working in palliative care, caring for patients in the last 12 weeks of their lives. She recorded their dying epiphanies in a blog called Inspiration and Chai, which gathered so much attention that she put her observations into a book called The Top Five Regrets of the Dying.

Ware writes of the phenomenal clarity of vision that people gain at the end of their lives, and how we might learn from their wisdom. "When questioned about any regrets they had or anything they would do differently," she says, "common themes surfaced again and again." Here are the top five regrets of the dying, as witnessed by Ware:

1. I wish I'd had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me. "This was the most common regret of all. When people realise that their life is almost over and look back clearly on it, it is easy to see how many dreams have gone unfulfilled. Most people had not honoured even a half of their dreams and had to die knowing that it was due to choices they had made, or not made. Health brings a freedom very few realise, until they no longer have it."  

2. I wish I hadn't worked so hard. "This came from every male patient that I nursed. They missed their children's youth and their partner's companionship. Women also spoke of this regret, but as most were from an older generation, many of the female patients had not been breadwinners. All of the men I nursed, deeply regretted spending so much of their lives on the treadmill of a work existence."

3. I wish I'd had the courage to express my feelings. "Many people suppressed their feelings in order to keep peace with others. As a result, they settled for a mediocre existence and never became who they were truly capable of becoming. Many developed illnesses relating to the bitterness and resentment they carried as a result."

4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends. "Often they would not truly realise the full benefits of old friends until their dying weeks and it was not always possible to track them down. Many had become so caught up in their own lives that they had let golden friendships slip by over the years. There were many deep regrets about not giving friendships the time and effort that they deserved. Everyone misses their friends when they are dying."

5. I wish that I had let myself be happier. "This is a surprisingly common one. Many did not realise until the end that happiness is a choice. They had stayed stuck in old patterns and habits. The so-called 'comfort' of familiarity overflowed into their emotions, as well as their physical lives. Fear of change had them pretending to others, and to their selves, that they were content, when deep within, they longed to laugh properly and have silliness in their life again."

Hindsight is a wonderful thing. How many times have you thought: “I wish someone had told me that before?" So often people do advise or warn us but we carry on regardless. It is important that we learn from our own mistakes but we can also learn from the wisdom of others – if so many people realise retrospectively that they should have changed their perspective on what is important in life, maybe we should listen more. "

Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP can help you to change your perspective on life and see where you need to focus your energy. It can help you to realise your goals, release any anxiety, fears or old expectations, allowing you to be the person you want to be. This gives you time to focus on the wonderful life you have created, with all its wonderful twists and turns.

By Erika Keat

Erika offers Hypnotherapy, CBT & NLP at Waterloo Therapy Rooms on Wednesdays all day, please contact Erika for more information.   

© EKTherapies

Thursday 23 February 2012

Learning about Crystals and their uses in Therapy


 
I have never worked with crystals before i.e. crystal healing, but I have finally gotten around to some basic reading on common crystals, their properties,  and their uses in therapy.

I too would like to use them in my therapy work, and by doing this I hope to add another dimension to my work, its focus and ultimately the end result.

I would welcome comments from anyone with crystal experience. You may have books you would recommend I read, ways to increase my knowledge, or general suggestions of how I should start working with them. 

I have always had the odd few crystals in my home, which I acquired somewhere and for reasons I cannot remember. I wear a rose quartz, which I think it is for peace, harmony and self-love, but I would like to learn more. I would also like to learn how to become sensitive to their energy and vibrations?

I had two restless nights, and last night I decided to sleep with an amethyst crystal under my pillow (which I read is supposed to help with insomnia). Well, besides some really weird dreams, I did sleep a lot better.

Was this because of the crystal under my pillow, or due to the fact that I had not slept properly for two nights?

Well, I will continue reading about crystals, their properties  and their uses. I am quite interested in how to use them for Chakra Balancing. I do Chakra Balancing with Reiki and also Health Kinesiology (where I use magnets and thoughts  to re-balance the Chakras). It will be interesting to see how it works with crystals…

Comments and suggestions are very welcome. I believe in sharing experiences and knowledge with others,  so don’t be shy!

By Walter Black

Walter offers Health Kinesiology and Integrated Touch for Health, as well as Reiki. He still needs to still complete his EFT case studies in case anyone is interested. Please visit www.walter-black.com for more information.