“In order to be a realist, you must believe in miracles.” David Ben Gurion

When you choose to open the door to your heart and begin to allow in various extraordinary events, you open yourself up to a whole world of new and meaningful experiences, all of which have the capacity to take you to a deeper part of you, perhaps, even to the level of your soul. It is the beginning of you connecting with you, something that is so powerful that you know you are undergoing a transformation.

As you open to receiving a variety of messages and synchronicities, you will find yourself becoming conscious in a way you have never before experienced. Your consciousness will begin to allow you to experience even more moments of joy, inspiration and peace.

What follows is one of my favorite exercises which I use in seminars and with my patients to help nurture an awareness of the healing power of the extraordinary in one’s life. I borrow this from Rachel Naomi Remen, MD, who so beautifully describes it in The Will to Live and Other Mysteries (available on CD).

Take a few moments each evening and reflect on your day. First, take a few deep breaths, relax, and consider the question, What surprised me today? Then write about that for a few moments. Second, do the same thing with the question, What touched and/or moved me today? And third, again, do the same thing with the question, What inspired me today? I find these questions to be powerfully healing in that they connect you with a Higher Power and in this connection there is healing. The whole exercise should take no more than fifteen minutes. Do it for at least 10 to 14 days, and you will likely begin to notice a sense of feeling better, if not joy and peace.

A word of advice: if you are in need of working with a physician, be sure to align yourself with a physician who recognizes that to heal the body, you must heal the body and the soul. Trust your intuitive wisdom when you meet with your doctor. Your intuition or Higher Wisdom will let you know if this individual is one you should choose to allow into your life. If he or she listens when you speak of your intuition or what you sense is going on in your body, then you are probably with the right person.

As an example, I have had many patients share with me that during their treatment for their cancer, they began to have uncomfortable feelings regarding their physician. This led them to leave the doctor who was treating them and find another with whom to continue treatment. They believe that by being open to the extraordinary and listening to their inner voice, they have been able to experience success and healing in their lives. As always, the choice is yours as to how far you choose to open the door of your heart to the extraordinary.

Susan Barbara Apollon
Author of “Touched By The Extraordinary”

©Copyright 2008 Susan Barbara Apollon

“You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” Eleanor Roosevelt

Are you one of two million American adults who feel as though you are on an emotional rollercoaster and wish you could stop the ride, but are at a loss as to how to do that? Some of us are born with a chemical makeup that may need extra assistance in enabling us to live life with a greater sense of stability and peace.

Yes, you can feel good. You can even learn how to move from feelings of depression, sadness or intense anger to feelings of joy and peace, but in a more appropriately timed manner, rather than with suddenness that catches you by surprise!

The FIRST STEP: MAINTAIN THE HOPE THAT THIS, TOO, SHALL PASS AND LIFE WILL BE GOOD. Keep in mind that you are blessed to live in the 21^st century in which science has developed new medications which have restored to millions a quality of life that would not have been possible a century ago.

The SECOND STEP: Recognize that you are a unique being, born with great potential and many gifts– and that all of this is absolutely perfect. Accept that this is one aspect of who you are – rather than pretending that this part of you belongs to someone else – because it does not! In fact, honor all aspects of who you are; own each with respect and admiration.

The THIRD STEP: Become aware of how your mood shifts affect you and your life. Become conscious of what triggers these shifts within you, and become even more aware of how you respond to them, including what you say to yourself when you notice you are shifting downward or upward and how you are behaving, as well as what you are feeling while you are shifting. This beginning phase of accepting and taking responsibility for becoming more conscious of what is taking place within you in response to your environment is a KEY STEP.

A FOURTH STEP and key piece of this equation: Visit your family doctor, just as you would with any physical issue which disturbs your daily quality of life. Let him or her know what you are experiencing, noticing, and becoming conscious of and how this is interfering with your quality of life.

A FIFTH STEP: Your Ask your doctor to recommend a psychiatrist for you to see – and not because you are crazy!!! But because you are lucky enough to live in a time when we have medications available that can restore a healthy chemical balance to your life. Remember, you are an amazing being who has much to do during this lifetime and, in order to do it, it is helpful to have a re-stabilization of your mood or a balancing of your chemicals.

Now, here’s the thing: If you do not feel comfortable with your psychiatrist, find another with whom you do feel comfortable. This is the doctor who will be suggesting medications for you to try until you find the right medication or combination of medications which can help you stabilize your mood. And be sure to be patient with this process. It usually takes time to determine just the right amounts of the medications that work best for you.

TO BE CONTINUED…Part 2

Susan Apollon
Author of “Touched By The Extraordinary”