How to overcome any health issue – 5 Secret Steps

A couple of weeks ago, I invited one of my practitioners from Energesse, Jenny Fitzgerald to give a presentation on ‘How To Overcome any Health Challenge’. After having been a doctor for many years, I did not think it was possible to have one consistent strategy for every illness under the sun. But frankly I was very surprised when Jenny’s tips did indeed resonate with me for treating any medical condition.

The reason is that in western medicine, we are often focused on fixing the physical or sometimes mental components of a condition and very rarely do we consider the emotional impact or component of the illness.

As such, Jenny’s experience as a vastly experienced Counsellor, Life Coach, Conflict Resolution practitioner and Energy coach provided a unique insight into the emotional aspects of disease. And wouldn’t you know it, every illness, trauma or medical condition has an emotional component.

Here are her recommended these 5 simple steps to instantly change your health and wellbeing.

  1. Acceptance: Guide yourself to fully accepting the situation you are currently in. Don’t play victim.
  2. Deal with the emotions that arise: Take the time to accept how you feel in the present moment. These emotions are normal, embrace them as they emerge.
  3. Get Support: Find people who support you in your journey to health. Friends and family can sometimes help, but occasionally they don’t have the skills. In these situations, seek professional support.
  4. Discover your strengths: Find out what you are truly good at and apply that to your journey to health. Get others to help you with the areas that you are not good at, perhaps daily motivation or creativity in the recovery routine.
  5. Take Action: Decide what you need to do to make permanent changes to your life and health. Outline a plan and go do it!

To watch the full webinar that was held with Jenny, simply click here.

It was truly astounding to learn how much our daily emotional state can significantly affect your health. I have in the past had strong negative feelings around stressful situations, particularly in relation to any risk of me failing as a CEO.

Sometimes I would even get stressed about the Sunday driver in front of me who drives as slow as possible or when the restaurant I went to messed up my order. Particularly during one of my last business ventures, I found myself feeling irritable most of the time, in reaction to even the smallest things. Whilst on the outside I would appear calm and cool, on the inside I was firing up.  As a result, I made lifestyle choices that were unhealthy.

Negative states of mind are kind of like a road map or an alert system, that lets you know when you need to make changes in your life. Neuroscientist Joseph LeDoux thinks emotions are the precursor to life outcomes and wrote in The Emotional Brain that “…once emotions occur they become powerful motivators of future behaviors. They chart the course of moment-to-moment action as well as set the sails toward long-term achievements.”

Your emotions affect your physical wellbeing. In another study conducted by Sheldon Cohen, PhD, psychology professor at Carnegie Mellon University, 193 subjects were assessed to determine their level of positive emotions (including happiness, calmness, and liveliness). He then exposed participants to a virus—and found that people who scored low on positive emotions were three times as likely to succumb to the bug.

Our emotions and thoughts fuel our body’s energy system. We have the choice of how we think which in turn dictates the choices that we make. Once we can more efficiently control our emotions and identify our triggers, we take full control of our lives. So don’t wait until you are too ill to take action, take the steps now to change the course of your life.

If you do just one thing around your emotional health, here’s a tip of the day: ‘Tune in’ to your emotions a few times a day and ask yourself – “how am I feeling right now?” And just listen to what your body tells you.

Have you ever a sensed a strong emotional connection as a part of your illness?

The Basics of Energy Medicine

Up until mid 2012, I was a sceptic of any form of alternative therapy. My background as a medical doctor made me think that if I had not learned it in medical school, then it can’t work to help people get better. My entire perspective changed, when a friend of mine help my symptoms of stress and burnout, simply by changing the energy of my body, through a method called tapping.

So what is tapping and how does it fit into this growing paradigm of energy medicine? Well, tapping refers to a process of using your fingers to tap on certain energy points of your body, the same ones used in acupuncture. This process helps shifts your energy can alleviate the symptoms of stress as well as other forms of illnesses. It is but one of the methods used in the broader context of energy medicine.

On a basic level, energy medicine is based on the underlying principle that our physical and mental states, and life as we know it, are based on flows of energy. In essence, disruptions in the subtle energy flow in humans can cause or contribute to illness and disease processes. Principles of energy medicine are grounded in thousands of years of history and acknowledged in over 97 cultures.

In Chinese medicine, bioenergy is referred to as ‘Qi’, in Indian Ayurvedic medicine, it is referred to as ‘Prana’.  Many different energy therapies such as acupuncture, kinesiology, Reiki, Qigong, are based on similar principles and increasingly substantiated and practiced by Western medical and scientific communities. In Australia, therapies like these are included in the context of alternative medicine and are even being taught as a subject in some medical schools.

In the Western world, energy medicine techniques have been referred to as bioenergy therapy, biofield therapy, contact healing, distant healing, therapeutic touch, emotional freedom technique or thought field therapy, tapping or quantum techniques.

Traditional religious faith is not a prerequiste for practising or receiving energy therapy (thereby different to ‘faith healing’). The science behind bioenergy is growing everyday, with many experts such as Deepak Chopra and Dr John Demartini speaking on these topics to packed audiences around the world.

Aside from the theory, the skill of healing the body’s energy system is very practitioner dependent and therefore it is important to understand the credentials or experience of the practitioner. The therapy can complement existing medical treatment in the treatment of certain illnesses, particularly those with mental and emotional components.

Energy-based techniques can also enable a lighter and more attuned mental state, which aids personal development, career aspirations and interpersonal relationships. These widespread benefits are one of the reasons for their popularity, and why they are sought after outside of the western medical system.

Energy medicine is an exciting space that is moving rapidly, and transforming lives for the better all over the world. The future is sure to see more integration with mainstream therapies and undoubtedly some significant breakthroughs in healing the mind, body and soul.

Have you ever experienced an energy medicine technique for yourself?

What are complementary and alternative medicines (CAM) and where does energy medicine fit?

Several years ago, as a UK medical practitioner and also a senior figure in the pharmaceutical industry in Australia, I was relatively naïve about complementary and alternative medicines. As a matter of fact, I felt that anyone that sought help from a complementary or alternative medicine practitioner was wasting their time and money and it actually made me quite frustrated.

Over the years, my viewpoint has matured significantly, mainly due to my growing understanding of these therapies, the science behind how they work and most importantly, the actual benefit that I have experienced and seen others experience first-hand, particularly when working with the body’s energy system.

As such, it has become my personal mission (and that of my organisation, Energesse) to educate people everywhere on the role of such therapies and how they can heal and transform everyday lives.
Complementary and Alternative Medicines (CAM) are a group of diverse medical and health care systems, methods, and treatments that are generally considered separate from mainstream Western medicine. Complementary therapy is used in combination with mainstream Western medicine, whilst alternative medicine is used instead of conventional medicine.

Energy medicine falls into the category of CAM, and it includes a whole gamut of therapies that work on the body’s energy system – one of the main methods is Acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine.
The increasingly used term ‘Integrative medicine’ combines mainstream western medicine and CAM therapies where there is significant evidence of safety and effectiveness.

The World Health Organization estimates that between 65% to 80% of the world’s population (about 3 billion people) rely on CAM as their primary form of health care (Reference 1). Scientific evidence exists regarding some CAM therapies, for many there is a need for more scientific trials.

Organisations such as the National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicines in the US, the Royal London Hospital for Integrative Medicine in the UK and many others around the world are researching these practices using rigorous scientific methods and building an evidence base for them. It is important work as in the United States alone, approximately 38% of adults (about 4 in 10) and approximately 12% of children (about 1 in 9) are using some form of CAM. (Reference 2)

Most people don’t realise how methods of Complementary and Alternative Medicines there are:

  • Acupuncture
  • Ayurveda
  • Biofeedback
  • Chelation therapy
  • Chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation
  • Deep breathing exercises
  • Diet-based therapies e.g. Atkins diet, Vegetarian diet
  • Energy healing therapy/Reiki
  • Guided imagery
  • Homeopathic treatment
  • Hypnosis
  • Massage
  • Meditation
  • Movement therapies – Alexander technique, Pilates
  • Natural products (nonvitamin and nonmineral e.g. herbs, enzymes)
  • Naturopathy
  • Progressive relaxation
  • Qi gong
  • Tai chi
  • Traditional healers – Botanica, Native American healer/Medicine man, Shaman
  • Yoga

In the past decade we have seen methods like acupuncture, osteopathy and homeopathy move more into mainstream Western medicine and become part of the Integrative Medicine movement. It will be interesting to see how many more complementary practices become absorbed into the Western mainstream in the next decade. This will be an exciting and progressive change.

Have you ever tried a form of Complementary or Alternative medicine? What was your experience like?

References

  1. Alternative Medicine Online http://library.thinkquest.org/24206/facts-stats.html
  2. National Centre for Complementary and Alternative Medicine – for the National Institutes of Health http://nccam.nih.gov/news/camstats/2007/camsurvey_fs1.htm

Remember your New Year resolutions? 5 tips to focus your goals

Earlier in the year, I wrote a blog about how to set goals for 2013. If your life is anything like mine, some of my goals have changed significantly just in the last 9 months.

To keep me focused on achieving my dreams, I just keep going and adapt accordingly. But I found some tips that work for me, in keeping focus, which is where most people let themselves down in leading a fulfilling life.

Here are my top 5 tips for staying focussed your goals.

1. Check your goals are SMART.

In my 5 year stint in the corporate world, we were told that our goals had to be SMART. That is Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time Bound. These goal setting rules are highly valid and you are much more likely to stick with them for the year.

For example, I have a goal for Energesse to help 1 million lives by 2022. Whilst it is a huge goal, it is specific to our service of helping people. It is also very much achievable, has a realistic time frame and can be easily measured. Ensure your goal meets the SMART criteria, and is still inspiring to you.

In terms of timeframes, there are a couple of schools of thought. A goal like “I want to be rich in 6 months” may be an inspiring challenge, however may be less realistic if you’re starting from scratch and not very specific of what ‘rich’ means to you. The clearer you are about your goals, the more your thought energies are focussed and the more likely the universe will help you materialise them in 2013.

2. Balance all 7 areas of your life

At Energesse, we have the Energy Wellness Wheel has divided life into 7 key areas – Spiritual, Mental (mind), Physical (body), Social & Relationships, Financial, Career and Environment. I have set my goals in these seven areas to have a clear vision of how I want my life to be. Since using that framework, I’ve had more complete alignment with my life dreams.

Any area of your life in which you do not set a goal or empower, you will allow other people to empower and have control of over you.

If that’s OK with you, no problem, but if you wish to have full control of your life, then setting a goal in that aspect is the first step to your empowerment and designing the life that you want.

3. Focus short term, adapt long term

I first started with 10 year goals and then broke them down into goals for the next 1 year and then 5 years. Breaking them down like this gives me more focus on a timeframe and set of activities that I wish to be accomplish in 2013.

I then break this down into what I need to achieve in the next 90 days (3 months), which I call a 90 Day Plan. This gives me IMMEDIATE focus and ensures I have ‘baby steps’ that I have to do NOW, to get to that 5 year plan. Remember the Chinese saying “the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”.

90 day plans might seem a little anal and restrictive, but I can tell you from experience that once you set clear defined tasks aligned to your big goals, you are not distracted by unneccessary work and you have more flexibility and FREE TIME to enjoy the other areas of your life.

By doing 90 day plans, I have plenty to energy for the ‘Social and Relationships’ area of my life. I can have fun and connect with my family while still working on my career ambitions.

4. Keep up Repetition and Visualisation

Visualisation and Repetition are INCREDIBLY POWERFUL techniques for achieving your goals. I have visual images aligned to my goals on a powerpoint slide deck, which I try to look at as often as possible, at least once a day.

Others have a ‘Vision Board’ in the bedroom, or create a list of positive, goal related affirmations that stick on the bathroom toilet or office wall.

What you visualise will materialise, as our thought energies attract what we want from the universe. I have plenty of experience of this coming true and there is a lot of anecdotal proof about this.

The images should be inspiring and make you “feel” like you already have what you want when you look at them. I have compiled pictures of the places I want to travel to, the people I want to connect with, activities I want to try and even a bank statement with the bank balance I want to have!

If you are a more auditory person rather than visual, then saying out your goals & affirmations daily can be very effective. I have recorded myself verbalising my goals on the iPhone voice recorder and listen to them on the way to meetings!

5. Be Grateful for what you’ve already achieved

Whilst it is really fulfilling to set inspiring goals and strive toward achieving them, we WILL face enormous challenges and setbacks along the way. This is GUARANTEED! So always be grateful for what you already have.

Challenges are a natural part of living and a test to see how you handle such situations. During these difficult times, it is so important not to focus on the negative, act as a victim or blame others for your bad luck. Sadly, most people are focussed on negativity, we have 60,000 – 70,000 thoughts per day and most are negative!

Though it may be difficult to comprehend the reason for averse situations, difficult personalities or unforseen tragedies, I strongly advise you to find things that you can be grateful for and apply focus to think that.

It will change your perspective and reposition your energetic field quicker to ‘bounce back’ in pursuit of your goals. One technique I adopted include adding to my ‘Gratitude List’ – 10 things I am grateful for every morning (they can be a small as a smile from a colleague). Again, this is on my iPhone to look at when I’m feeling the blues.

Another is holding a ‘Gratitude Rock’ before I go to bed at night and recount the one thing/experience I am most grateful for from that day. Rhonda Byrne’s book – The Magic – is particularly good for Gratitude techniques as well as any Dr John Demartini’s books.

I hope all this information helps you with your continuing journey to your dream life in 2013 and energises your mind, body and spirit toward your true greatness!

Out of curiousity, which goal have you already achieved this year?

A movie that changed how I saw my body

You are probably aware that my personal journey into energy medicine and healing is relatively new, I made the discovery of the body’s energy system only in mid 2012. Yet, I gained amazing clarity toward my higher calling, and despite being a ‘high achiever’ personality all my life, I now have greater fulfilment in what I do.

Nonetheless, the transformation can be confusing, as you try to rationalise all these new insights, with what you thought to be ‘true’ in the past. From my perspective, it is OK to BELIEVE in something, but I also needed some FACTS to help justify my new BELIEFS. I needed to see the science!

Whilst trawling through all the scientific literature behind energy therapies, I came across many trials, research institutions, ‘gurus’ and books explaining the scientific basis behind energy medicine and healing. Methods such as Emotional Freedom Technique (tapping), Thought Field Therapy, Reiki are becoming more mainstream, evolving into terms like ‘Energy Anatomy’ and ‘Energy Psychology’.

One form of energy therapy, which everyone has heard of, is Acupuncture, which now has a widespread body of evidence so clear that Western medical practitioners use it to treat lower back pain in Emergency Departments and General Practice – Hallelujah!

We could not imagine this to be the case 10 years ago, yet things have changed because Western science has caught up. A similar scenario is occurring with Energy Coaching and Healing, as the science in this area is growing rapidly, there is a lot to cover!

However, in my good fortune, whilst reviewing all these clinical papers, scientific journals and books, all of which go into quite a level of detail, I came across A MOVIE that explained EVERYTHING in one place! It is called the Living Matrix was probably the most rewarding discovery for me a number of reasons:

  1. It was a feature length movie, and I love movies (don’t we all)!
  2. It had interviewed the top scientists around the world in Biophysics, Cell Biology, Quantum Physics, Medicine, Energy Healers which presented the concept of bioenergy fields and healing in a holistic context.
  3. It was viewable on Vimeo for free (woohoo!), which is licensed through Creative Commons -, while the DVD can be purchased from the Living Matrix website.
  4. It has high production values – it has strong visuals and animations, well directed and edited. It must have had a decent budget.
  5. Whilst it is a little science-heavy, most people would be able to understand the gist of the research and there are some fascinating experiments, particularly around the role of the heart in our energy fields.

Needless to say, this movie was one of the key answers I was looking for –  it does point you in the direction of which centers are leading the research in this area around the world, and how far the science has come. It also shows you case studies for the healing effects of your body’s own subtle energy.

This is not suprising, when you look at the high rates of satisfaction from many practitioners of Pranic Healing, Reiki, etc and how quickly those practices have grown. I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that the future of medicine in the next decade lies in the understanding of the Energy System, which is why I created Energesse to help that process along.

Bioenergy therapy and Energy Medicine certainly has it skeptics, but my strong view is that this is changing thanks to the vast numbers of people around the world that have been gaining benefit over the years – and as is the case now, Western science is catching up.

These are exciting developments, transforming lives everywhere and it is our duty to be able to view such therapies with an open mind as well as to continue to ask the important questions about how we can build on this work, for the good of all.

I look forward to the future of scientific discoveries in this area and will continue to dissect the theories, practices and developments in future blogs.

Do you think there is enough awareness of our body’s energy system? I’d like to hear your opinion.

The importance of taking time for yourself

Did you miss the opportunity to attend our live Master class with Irina Gladuschenko? Her incredibly informative and insightful session covered how to control our emotions and how they can help improve our relationships. IF you missed it or would like to see it again, the good news is we’ve made it available online. You can click on the link below to see the entire Master Class from start to finish.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BRXXJ3Uw7Qs


“The time you take for yourself daily is a must, not an option
By Avnesh Ratnanesan


These last ten days I have been on a speedy two part holiday which firstly took me back to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia where I celebrated the birthdays of both my mother and father, who have their birthday’s one day apart. The second part involved a trip to Darwin in Australia’s Northern Territory, where I spent several days out in the natural wilderness of Kakadu, a World Heritage Site with wonderous animal and plant life.

The actual decision to take a long holiday was rather spur of the moment, I simply felt drawn to go away for a good while and to spend it with people and locations largely unrelated to my work.

My intuition, i.e. the sixth sense which arises from our Brow (Third Eye) Chakra knew that it was exactly what I needed and was clearly indicating to me that it was time to go away. I listened to my body, or if you like my ‘higher self’ or subconscious mind which was clearly instructing me in no uncertain terms. When I initially resisted the urge to go away and stay with work, I kept getting very uneasy sensations, so I gave in to my inner voice. And that was the right decision.

The change of Environmental energy (one of the 7 areas of the Energesse Wellness Wheel) gave me the time I needed to reflect on many important things, particularly what I really want in my life and whether what I was working on was getting me there. All too often we get stuck in the grind of doing what we think we want, and then several years later look back and say “Well, I’ve done it now….and I’m still not happy…… so what was my life all about?”

The fact is your body and its subtle energy system already know what you want. It is always speaking to you, it’s just that most people don’t listen to it – they have lost the ability to connect with themselves. A change of environment from the usual routine of daily life, allows for some major listening to happen, and some real breakthroughs to emerge about what you really want. It is also the most efficient and fastest way to get there – saving you years of time. Reconnecting with your inner self can actually help you be more productive for the rest of your life.

Pulitzer prize–winning writer John Updike, author of 51 books, attributes his astonishing productivity to a schedule that honors empty time. “Ideally,” he explains, “much of my day should be, in a strict sense, idle, for it is often in idle moments that real inspiration comes.” It allows you the time you need to reassess your life of maybe even acknowledge situations or people that are affecting you in ways that you are not initially aware of. So whether it is an hour writing in your journal or a backpacking trip to South America, simply taking the time to acknowledge the desires of your soul can create an abundance of opportunities in your life and maybe even lead you down a path you least expected!

Being GOOD vs. Being NICE

“Living up to an image that you have of yourself or that other people have of you is inauthentic living.”
― Eckhart Tolle, A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose

As I was sitting at a café on Saturday morning, psyching myself up for another day of writing a chapter in my book, I glanced at the daily paper. I do not spend too much time with newspapers these days as it is often filled with irrelevant negativity and I am prefer to get my news elsewhere. However, whilst sipping a cup of my favourite chamomile tea I came across an article interviewing a famous model.

She was quoted as saying “There’s a difference between being nice and good, I consider myself a good person. And I think people perceive me to be nice as in, ‘Oh, she’s nice,’ but being a good person, knowing your strengths and working towards those strengths, and encouraging those around you to do the same, that’s a good person. A nice person will sit back and go, ‘Oh yes, OK, no worries, yes.’ A nice person is a yes person, whereas a good person is a person who accepts their responsibility in things and moves forward. He or she constantly evolve and isn’t afraid to say no, challenge someone or be honest.”

Most people would expect such profound words from a model, but indeed her thoughts are backed by scientific research. The Psychology Foundation of Canada reports that one important aspect of your personal self-esteem is feeling that you have a “voice” ─ that you have the right to be listened to and heard in a way that helps you have some control over what happens in your life. When you speak up and stand up for yourself, you are, in effect, saying to yourself and the world, “I am a significant person whose ideas and words are worthy of respect.”

So you can be nice, but also be good – be good to your authentic self.

On Tuesday the 20th of August, we had our first ever live, online Energesse Masterclass on Discovering your Higher Purpose. Both Julian Noel, Higher Purpose consultant and I spoke about living your life’s purpose. We had an amazing turn out from around the world and if you would like to see it again, click here.

How do you know you need an ‘Energy Makeover’?

By Martine Negro and Dr Avnesh Ratnanesan

One of the interesting and challenging aspect of understanding your own energy field is that most of us cannot ‘see’ it. In fact most of us cannot taste, hear or smell it.

Most of time however, we can ‘feel’ it or ‘sense’ a problem, though in many cases, we don’t realise that the root cause of the problem is related to our Energy field.

This is common in Western societies as the concept of human energy fields is not widely taught. In Eastern societies however, the concept of a body’s energy as the cause of health problems is pervasive.

I recently spoke to Martine Negro, our Energy Practitioner at the Divinity Wellness Institute with over 30 years experience in diagnosing and treating energy fields, using modalities such as Acupuncture, Reiki and Emotional Freedom Technique.

Here’s what she had to say about “How to Know if you need an Energy Makeover

Q: Martine, how can you tell if there is a problem with your Energy?

A: There are several ways, for example:

  • You have physical symptoms or illnesses that are not responding to conventional treatments or the treatment is taking too long to work. Perhaps you have been taking medication, herbs or supplements for months with little noticeable change or the symptoms return as soon as you stop the treatment.
  • Occasionally, no physical reason can found for your illness, despite extensive tests and medical consultations.
  • You have bouts of feeling physically tired or mentally exhausted for no obvious reason.
  • You become moody, anxious, angry or depressed very easily.
  • You have a history of trauma (physical or psycho-emotional), either a major one (e.g. accident, death of a loved one, miscarriage, abortion, divorce, betrayal, etc.) or multiple minor stresses (long term irritation, financial or relationship frustrations, etc).
  • You are aware that something is not quite right about yourself but you are not sure what is happening
  • You have difficulty moving through a difficult issue, despite your best efforts and counselling from family, friends and professionals.
  • You dislike a habit or phobia and cannot change it
  • You have a destructive addictive pattern that you are unable to control

Q: Is there a way to test yourself to see if your energy is being affected?

A: Sure, focus on the issue or problem that you currently have – can you sense how your body responds? Do you feel any tension or negative change in your emotional state?

Nothing is “trivial”, energetically speaking. Over time, small prolonged stresses can cause as much damage as a major one that happened once!

Our society and “disease care” system rarely encourages people to be aware and listen to the body’s messages. The Western medicine approach is often geared to be more “re-active” rather than “pro-active”.

In order to to be proactive, you need to pay attention to your Mind-Body system.

 

Q: What typically happens at an ‘Energy Makeover’ consultation with you Martine, or in fact with other similar energy practitioners?

A: During an energetic session, you are invited to tune in into your body and start connecting to your innate inner wisdom which knows exactly the core issue behind the symptom.

As you connect, you will be guided to activate the energy flow through various energetic tools (acupressure, hands on, imagery, deep breathing and so on)

Quantum physics research demonstrates that when you observe something for a period of time…it changes! Observation is a major component of the energetic experience, a highly unique, organic and flowing process simultaneously involving mind, body and energy. As the energy block gets untangled, the brain gets “rewired” in such a way that after one or several sessions, you feel different. You may gain new insights, new perceptions of the situation and also have great new tools to engage yourself actively in your treatment.

So an energetic session is very much a “team-working” exercise between you, the ultimate expert on your body and the practitioner’s expertise in energetics.  We explore and work together to allow the energy to naturally get back into balance, ultimately inviting you to trust your amazing Mind-Body system which is designed to heal.