Breaking Habits

How to break habits

1) What new habits to you wish to create

a) How do wish to feel, what should your new life look like, what sounds will you hear?

b) What habits need to go before this can happen?

c) What habits do you need to form for 2015 for you new life to become manifest?

d) Are these goals attainable and within the realm of possibility. What's your gut feeling? Trust your intuition.

2) What specific goals are you aiming for?

a) Which habits are you releasing? Write them down. and tell as many people as possible. Check back with them regularly on how you are progressing.

b) What habits are you replacing them with?

3) Create the desire for this to take place by:

a) Visualizing what your life will look like. Draw pictures, cut them out of magazines or download them. Make a vision board. Look at it regularly.

b) What new sounds will you hear? Find some music that reflects the new you.

c) What will it feel like? For example what will you be able to do having lost that weight or worked out at the gym every day.

4) Develop a plan for what you wish to do and by what date.

For example if you wish to lose weight how much do you wish to lose and over what time period? Break it down into sizable chunks that seem realistic and obtainable to you.

5) Plan which goals need to happen and in what order.

For example if you plan to climb a high mountain it would make sense to climb some smaller ones. By gradually increasing the height of the mountains climbed you will get nearer to the goal.

6) Regularly review your goals.

It helps to tell as many people as possible. Check back with them regularly on how you are progressing. 

Harvest Festival Healing

Harvest Festival is a time when the crops have been gathered and people come together to celebrate the bountiful time. In terms of Chinese Medicine this time could be regarded as the time of the Earth element. It is a time when the harvesting of grains and fruits is taking place.

Above is an image representing the Shen cycle. This is a generative cycle. Each element feeds into the next.

The Chinese character for Earth is tu. The top horizontal line is the surface soil and the lower line earth below that. The vertical line represents plants that grow in the soil that are produced by the Earth.

Try out my free healing. To call it in just state your intention to receive the Harvest Festival Healing from Geoff. Use the picture to imagine a field full of corn. The corn is ripe and ready for eating.

Free Healing Session

Try out my "Cave treasure activation." To call it in just state your intention to receive the Cave Treasure Activation from Geoff. Use the first picture to imagine a cave behind a waterfall. You can see the cave behind me in the second picture. Imagine wandering inside and seeing what treasure awaits. You could be being winched down into a huge cavern (like Gaping Gill) where passages may lead you to your treasure. In Chinese Medicine the Metal element can be thought of as being something precious deep in the ground.

Friends

My friend posing by a canal boat

I went for a walk by the canal with a friend of mine. We are both walk leaders for a meetup group called "Manchester Hiking." It was a sunny day and a pleasant stroll by the canal allowed us to have time to relax and unwind. Casual conversation with my friend allowed me to feel at ease. The pace of the walk changed with our mood. It started with a slow pace when we strolled through Dunham Park where there was wildlife to see and photograph. The deer are quite tame on the whole and they can come quite close to you. It increased as we moved onto the canal. We had a chance to sit by Lymm Damn and chat while we ate. Sharing problems allows us to feel heard. In Chinese Medicine the Fire element is what allows us to open up to other people and form relationships. We should open up appropriately. We shouldn't share the same personal information with the Postman as we would with a close friend.

Deer in Dunham Park

Damp

Chinese Medicine regards Damp as being like a soggy/muddy field. The sort of place that would be the perfect place to grow rice. In this country the moors are a similar environment. Heather grows and the moorlands and it suits grouse. One place I visit regularly that brings this to easily to mind is Derwent Edge in the Peak District (see pictures above).

Damp is characteristically sticky and difficult to get rid of. It is heavy and it slows thing down. It tends to settle in the lower parts of the body. It can refer to damp weather. Dampness can refer to living conditions, . such as a moldy bathroom or living on a canal boat or close to a river. Other factors that can cause damp include wearing damp clothes, sitting or working in damp conditions.

Grouse live on Moorland which is damp

Clothes can get damp when out walking

On Howden Edge

Fear and the Water Element

Fear is an emotion that is related to the Water Element in Chinese Medicine. The related channels are Kidney and Bladder. A normal amount of fear is good in that it stops us walking off cliffs or putting our hands in the fire. When fear is in excess we may feel anxiety and suffer from phobias. It can stop us from leading a normal productive life. We may see danger everywhere. It could be of an advantage in risk analysis. When fear is deficient we take crazy risks. These might involve driving at high speeds and being involved in extreme sports. It may manifest as adrenaline seeking behaviour and the failure to assess risks. We can overcome our fears by taking well thought out risks. This could involve scrambling in the mountains in fair weather.

Scrambling up Sharp Edge in the Lake District

Sharp Edge

Scrambling up to Crib Goch

Sleep

In order to get regular healthy restorative sleep it's important to get into a routine. Go to bed at the same time each night. Have no food or drink before bed time except water or some other relaxing bed time drink. Chamomile tea can be calming. Warm milk can help us get to sleep since it contains serotonin precursors. Seratonin is an inhibitory chemical in the Central Nervous System that helps us go to sleep.

In Chinese Medicine the Shen, the spirit of the Heart lives in the Hearts Blood. If we are properly nourished this will be strong and it will be easy for us to fall asleep. If it is weak then we will have difficulty falling asleep. It can be compared to a dog that is restless and wanders around rather than settling in it's basket. We can eat certain foods in order to strengthen the Blood. Meat, in particular red meat, fish and/or green leafy vegetables and pulses are indicated.

If we often wake during the night to urinate then that suggests there is a deficiency in the energy of the Kidney channel. Acupuncture can help to boost this energy but it's also important to rest. If we wake during the night around 1 to 3 am GMT or 2 to 4 am BST and can't get back to sleep it suggests that the energy of the Liver Meridian is too strong. Acupuncture can be used to smooth the flow of energy in the Liver Channel.

There are some acupuncture points that are particularly good for sleep. Yin Tang is particularly good for relaxing the mind as is Anmian (see pictures blow).

A needle in Yintang

Ying Tang

Anmian

Getting out into the Countryside

I like to get out into the countryside as much as possible. I lead walks for 3 meetup groups in the North West of England. You get to see the countryside, get some fresh air and have a chat. As one of the hikers on last nights walk "Macclesfield Forest & Shutlinsloe" said "Occasionally, rarely, everything conspires together to create a perfect walk. Like this one. Terrain, weather, people, scenery, interest, sunset, pub. One to remember." The are we visited was once part of the Royal Forest of Macclesfield – where wild boar, deer and wolves were hunted in medieval times.

I got some help on the walk from a local who knew some local history and points of interest. Since we both knew the route I was able to lead or back mark the walk. This allowed me to chat to my fellow hikers and not worry about the pace or whether people were keeping up. The midges and flies plagued us at the start but once we got onto the moorland where there was some wind they disappeared. These shared walks and experiences help to ground us and bring us closer to nature.

Pictures were taken by myself and other members of the meetup groups I was leading.

Impromptu Headstand on Shutlinsloe

Heading up the Hill

Sunset over the Reservoir

Panorama