 October 1, 2010
HealingHeartPower Newsletter
Reclaiming the Power of the Heart |
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About Linda
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Linda
Marks, MSM, is pioneer in body psychotherapy who has developed, taught
and practiced Emotional-Kinesthetic Psychotherapy (EKP) for more than
two decades.
Author
of LIVING WITH VISION and HEALING THE WAR BETWEEN THE GENDERS, she
co-founded the Massachusetts Association of Body Psychotherapists and
Counseling Bodyworkers and is the founder of the Boston Area Sexuality
and Spirituality Network. She holds degrees from Yale and MIT, and has
a vital 14-year-old son.
To find out more about Linda . . .
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HealingHeartPower Calendar
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Would you like to learn how to do Emotional Kinesthetic Psychotherapy
(EKP)?
Applications are being accepted for
the 2010 EKP Apprenticeship Program. The apprenticeship group meets
once a month for a weekend training session beginning in September
2010. For more information, contact LSMHEART@aol.com or call Linda at (617)965-7846.
If
you would like to apprentice in EKP and get involved before September,
you may want to consider participating in a half-day EKP workshop or a
special seminar for current apprentices.
The
Thursday night EKP Therapy Group has room for another member. If you
would like to be part of a committed long-term group using EKP, this is
a very special group. An interview and one EKP session are required to
apply. Contact Linda if you are interested at LSMHEART@aol.com
"Healing and Nourishing Your Heart" workshop 1 - 4 pm in Newton, MA
"Community As Healer Clinic Workshop"
1- 4 pm in Newton, MA
November 13th
EKP Clinic Day featuring free 45 minute EKP sessions facilitated by EKP apprentices. To sign up for a session contact LSMHEART@aol.com.
December 11th
"Healing and Nourishing Your Heart" workshop at Healing Moon in Norwood, MA
January 2011
EKP Apprenticeship Program begins
Upcoming
Special workshop on Making Peace With Money
More details to follow soon
If
you are interested in being part of an on-going EKP group that meets
once a month, let me know. We had run a Sunday EKP Process group for
many years, and could consider forming another one, if there is
interest. Whether your schedule is too busy for a weekly group, or you
live far enough away that a monthly session is more sustainable, if a
monthly group would best meet your needs, we can try to put one
together.
EKP opportunities in Newton include:
* Being a guest client in the Student Clinic
* On-going Thursday night EKP Body Psychotherapy Group
* Apprenticing in EKP
If you would like a Healing the Traumatized Heart workshop near you, or have a group of people who you would like to bring EKP to, please contact LSMHEART@aol.com.
To find out more . . .
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This past weekend was the fourth annual Natural Living Expo sponsored by Spirit of Change magazine.
I am incredibly grateful to have been part of this amazing event and
love watching it grow and reach more people each year.
We had the opportunity to run another EKP Community Clinic,
and thanks to EKP therapists Gretchen Stecher, John Yep and Sharon
Crowley, and EKP apprentice Sam Nelson, who all served the community
this year. Seeing what safety and heartful presence can create in even
30 minutes is extraordinary.
I also enjoy what I learn from the people who take my workshops. In the "Making Peace With Money"
workshop on Sunday, one of the participants cited a statistic that 50%
of Americans live on $10K/year, and of the other 50%, the majority have
no more than $60K in savings/assets/home equity. The reality that the
gap between the wealthy and everyone else continues to widen is so
clear and sad.
When hard things happen--loss of jobs, contracts being ended
mid-stream, difficulty finding appropriate work after months of trying,
difficulty taking meaningful skills and translating them into
money-generating propositions--it is so easy to ask, "what is wrong
with me?" rather than seeing that the economic context we are living in
has changed for the worse.
If we can do more to build our own small businesses, and provide
services that have meaning to those around us, and that are built on
solid human relationships, we will find more ways to sustain ourselves
than by continue to be eaten alive by what one workshop participant
called, "corporate narcissism."
This winter, I look forward to leading two workshops in Emerson Hospital's innovative Health
and Wellness Program. The dates are being set as this goes to press,
but I am excited to be bringing "Healing and Nourishing Your Heart:
The Physical-Emotional Connection," and "Understanding Your Child's
Emotional and Spiritual Needs" to a new community.
Taping a segment on "Emotional Safety" on Chew-Hoong Koh's
Mind-Body-Spirit television show was a delightful experience.
Chiropractor, nutritional consultant and total wellness coach, Peter
Martone, and heartfull Life Coach Meghan McChesney Gilroy, were
wonderful colleagues who are part of the series Chew-Hoong is creating..
After the "Making Peace With Money"
class, at the Natural Living Expo, I think it might be time to run
another 6-week "Money Class." If you are interested in being part of a
coaching class that will help you get more grounded in your
relationship with money, let me know. The first article in this
month's newsletter is "Getting Grounded In Your Relationship With Money."
We've scheduled two new "Healing and Nourishing the Heart" workshops, October 17 in Newton, and December 11, at the Healing Moon in Norwood.
October 31 will be a new Community As Healer Clinic Workshop in Newton, MA, where you get to be part of a healing community and learn how in EKP, when anyone has a turn, everyone has a turn.
Our next EKP Community Clinic is on November 13 in Newton.
"Tips for Green Living: For Your Health's Sake" will show
you some simple ways to improve your own health while also helping
improve the health of the earth and others arounds you.
In an effort to create more ways to connect with community members, dialogue and share ideas, I have created a new blog at HealingHeartPower.blogspot.com. Sign up for new posts and please add your thoughts to discussion threads.
You can also "like us" on our HealingHeartPower Facebook page. By "liking us", you will be notified whenever a new blog post is published.
Your comments and feedback are always welcome!
Heartfully,
Linda
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What is EKP?
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EKP is
Emotional-Kinesthetic Psychotherapy, a heart-centered,
body-centered psychotherapy method Linda Marks developed and has taught
and practiced for nearly twenty years. Working with the heart, touch
with permission, the wisdom of the body and the intuitive guidance of
the spirit, EKP creates a special sense of intimacy that deeply touches
and transforms most all who participate.
Participants can be "client," witness or helper as an individual group
member has a "turn" to do deeper heart-centered, body-centered
psychospiritual work in the center. Since the electromagnetic field of
the heart extends out 10 - 12 feet from our bodies, as we go deeper and
open our hearts, we are all touched.
EKP helps restore our capacity as organs of perception. The skin is our
largest organ, and a source of soul deep knowing, perception and
expression. When our hearts and hands can work as one, we move beyond
defenses safely and respectfully and find freedom, connection and
expression.
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| Getting Grounded In Your Relationship With Money |
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On
September 26, I gave a keynote on "Making Peace With Money" at
the Natural Living Expo in Sturbridge, MA. The following are key
points about getting grounded in your relationship with money.
1. Track your money "inflow" and "outgo."
Keep a
journal where you record everything you spend and tally it up at the
end of the month along with your monthly bills will give you a very
clear picture of how much you spend and on what. With ATM's,
electronic banking, and credit cards, we can spend money without ever
touching money...and it is easy to lose track of where our money goes.
2. Spend money on what you truly want and need
Are
the things you are spending your money on consistent with your values
and goals? Sometimes we are mindless in our spending and don't take
the time to think about what we are spending our money on. How much
money do you need to do the things you really want to do? You might
want to list the things you truly want and need and then figure out how
much money you want to allocate to each one. Compare this with what you
are actually spending your money on with data from your money journal.
3. Reduce spending on things that don't really matter
Some
expenses may be reducible. Some purchases may be unnecessary,
convenient or simply habit. Better to make conscious choices, and
think about what does and does not matter. Are you spending all your
money now rather than putting any aside for your future? Do you spend
more than you bring in? How do you balance today's needs with
tomorrow's? These are all important questions to ask yourself to be
more grounded with money.
4. Give yourself permission to have what you REALLY want
One
thing that stood out for me when I lead money workshops is how much we
resist letting ourselves have what we "really" want. We may judge it
as "too much" or "impossible." And this is not always related to a
financial price tag. What we may REALLY want is more time to relax, to
spend with our loved ones, and even to spend time in the natural
world. These experiences are priceless. And when we do not let
ourselves recognize how much they really matter, we may compensate with
"things" we can "buy" to fill our inner void.
5. Let go of old baggage
This
goes hand in hand with giving yourself permission to have what you
really want. Once you are clear about what you want, you can get rid
of old things you don't need and make space for the new. Give old
clothes to Big Brother Big Sister. Give old books to a school or
library. Recycle old papers. It may be time to let go of possessions
you have been holding onto for decades that you will never really use
or look at again. Getting rid of physical "stuff" can also lighten our
emotional load. Physical baggage carries with it emotional baggage.
Sometimes the emotional barriers are what make it hard to let go. So,
if we are able to break through and clean up on the physical level, we
may also break through and clean up on the emotional level.
6. Live simply
Living
simply does not mean denying yourself basic needs or being excessively
tight or frugal. One can be simple and elegant not just simple and
meager. Articulating your values and then basing your actions on them
helps simply your life. Living "on purpose" is a way to simplify.
What doesn't matter melts away. Hoarding often comes from fear of not
having enough or of letting go. Living simply means letting go so we
can go with the flow-the inflow and the outflow. Living simply may
mean having a few beautiful things rather than large quantities of more
ordinary or meaningless things.
7. Increase your money consciousness
This
means being more intentional with your choices to spend and save money,
as well as with what you save it for and spend it on. Money is an
energy, and how we use our energy matters-both in our own lives and
also in the world. Support what you care about and refrain from what
you dislike. Balance the present with the future. Balance your own
needs with the needs of others, including loved ones.
8. Realize your time and energy are resources to invest as well as your money
Our
culture focuses so much on money, we often forget or devalue our time
and energy. Our time and energy are critical resources, and deserve to
be consciously monitored and managed. We often trade off time and
energy for money and money for time and energy. It's important to look
at the balance between time, energy and money.
9. Count your blessings
No
matter how tough life is, there are always things to appreciate. They
can be small or large. They can be qualities as well as things. They
can be parts of our make-up. They can be random acts of kindness by
others or conscious acts of care. Finding what we appreciate and
taking the time to voice appreciation brings inner peace.
©2010 Linda Marks Please share your thoughts . . .
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| Tips For Green Living: For Your Health's Sake |
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"Multiple chemical sensitivies (MCS) is not a disease that
suddenly appears. It is a process," reflects Jeannette Kearney, who at
age 45, found herself in doctors' offices trying to understand what had
happened to her language ability.
"No one instantly comes down with it. For me, it started at
birth. My parents had a 'new home,' with all the off-gasing of new
products that comes with it." Most products off-gas in 24 months, but
carpets take 11 years to off-gas.
After
10 years living in the "new home" with its chemical impact, Jeannette's
family moved to a farm, where a new set of chemicals came into play.
"It was a 'gentleman's farm,' with cows, horses and rabbits.
Fertilizers were the main chemicals there, along with antibiotics for
the animals We had a high voltage power line near our property and
were exposed to EMF's 24-7."
Jeannette
continued her journey into the land of chemicals, without consciously
realizing it, working at Xerox, Clorox and a cosmetics company. The
cumulative effect of the chemicals was breaking down her
decision-making process. Jeannette reflects, "As my body was breaking
down, I took jobs that weren't healthy."
Moving to Massachusetts from the West Coast on 9/11, Jeannette and
her family rented a home, that like most New England built homes
was "tight." "Homes are built well and tight in Massachusetts,"
acknowledges Jeannette, "But the 'tight' is a killer. Things stay
inside the house, including all the toxicity."
When Jeannette and her family bought a leather couch, it was
Scotch-guarded. They bought a rug that was PVC nylon. "Scotchguard
and PVC pushed me over the edge," reflects Jeannette. "Most houses
don't have HAVC sytsems to bring fresh air in. Even though I was a
communications major in college, I found myself not being able to
remember the next word or my daughter's name. The doctors thought it
was early Alzheimers or a brain tumor. But when testing revealed it
was neither, the conclusion was that something chemical-oriented must
be inhibiting my speech."
This
took place at the same time as ground was being broken on the new house
Jeannette's family was about to construct. With all the chemicals
involved in new construction, Jeannette, realized her options were to
spend 24 months in a hotel as the house off-gased, or to build
green. Jeannette went to the West Coast and had allergy testing done,
and learned that formadehyde or anything with an alcohol base would
negatively affect her. Anything with a perfume or fragrance would
affect her as well."
"When
we are being toxified by chemcials, something happens at an organic
level. It may be language, or executive functioning. And when the
body is trying to get rid of toxins, they have to show up somewhere.
For me, it was my skin with psoriasis and eczema Anywhere from 50 - 75
elements of building materials affected me, and with the chemicals in a
hotel, that was not a feasible option."
While green
building was not yet on the radar on the East Coast, it was growing on
the West Coast, so Jeannette found a builder who was open to learning
about this new trend, and kept doing just enough research to keep a
step ahead of him. In 2003, it cost 30% more to build green than build
conventionally, since it was so new and products were made is such
small quantities. But, build green she did.
Jeannette's
house in Lexington is an amazing tribute to inner and outer beauty
possible with green building. However, she notes that even without
building a green house, there are many ways we can make our
environments healthier. Here are some tips:
1. Take your shoes off at the door. Your
shoes are the #1 source of air pollution in your home, bringing
gasoline, dirt and other inorganic biological substances through the
door.
2. Make your bedroom more green.
Get a green mattress. If you can't do that, get green sheets. If you
can't do that, get a green pillow. If you can't do that, get a green
pillow case.
3. Use green products in your kitchen.
Windex may be the most toxic thing in your home. It takes 14 days to
dissipate. Green products do not perform the way conventional ones do,
but it's better for your health.
4. Change your washing machine soap. The perfumes on your clothes may be making you sick.
5. Switch to greener personal care products.
The average woman is exposed to 187 chemicals when she leaves her home
in the morning. The average 15 year old is exposed to 125. Consider
changing you shampoo, conditioner, soap, hairspray, toothpaste,
deodorant, body wash, lotions and cosmetics.
Jeannette
underscores, "it's all cumulative. The things that make our life
convenient are killing us.. Even our poor pets are taking on our
diseases. The rate of cancer in dogs and cats is unbelievable.
Changes may not be noticeable right away, but in the long run it will
be good for you, and good for your children. We need healthier
interiors, and this means our home, our workspace and our car."
Jeannette
also emphasizes that with our focus on "sustainability" we may lose
sight of health. What is sustainable for the earth is not always
healthy. Just as putting an air mask over your face on a plane in
necessary before you help others, we need to take care of our own
health to be able to sustain life on the earth. In this sense,
green living is self-care.
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| Congratulations to EKP Certified Therapist, Gretchen Stecher! |
When
I started the EKP Apprenticeship Program in 1991, EKP apprentices had
the benefit of a 1000 hour, 3 year training program. Having become a
mom in 1996 and a single mom in 1998, the last group of apprentices who
had the opportunity to participate in this original program finished in
2001.
In
2005, at the initiation of Gretchen Stecher, I put together a new
apprenticeship program that provides solid training, but did not
provide all of the components or hours needed for the 1000 hour
certification. With great pride, I congratulate Gretchen on completing
the certification requirements this month!
In
addition to 4 years of apprenticeship study, Gretchen has done
additional clinic work, study and community service to meet the 1000
hour standard needed for certification! I invite you to join me in
congratulating Gretchen on her dedication, perserverance and vision to
achieve certification without the benefit of the complete
infrastructure the old program provided! Good work Gretchen!
Gretchen practices EKP on Cape Cod.
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My first blog at www.heartspacecafe.com/blog
will still be active, but it is built in forum software, which many
people find more cumbersome to use than official "blog" software.
In an effort to cultivate more dialogue in more contemporarily relevant ways, my new blog at HealingHeartPower.blogspot.com is user friendly, and even something you can subscribe to.
Please let me know what you think of this new blog.
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