Cancer is assumed to be a sign of organ/system dysfunction. The dysfunction did not happen overnight.  Cancer or acute pain may just seem to appear in a short time. The truth is that they were developing over a long period of time. We just weren’t listening to what our bodies had to say to us.

Today, most people are highly focused outwardly. We have all sorts of technology to listen to and be distracted by. We have long commutes and long days at work. We have children to shepherd from here to there. Our western society keeps us distracted. It supports communication technologies which irritate our cellular function, causing fatigue, anxiety, and lowered immune function.  While we cannot leave this society behind, we can start paying more attention to our own bodies and the messages that it is sending us.

When we are young, the body uses subtle messaging. Your back aches, you’re tired…but you are able to bounce right back. As you age, the body doesn’t bounce back quite so quickly. Then we have chronic pain or a bad stomach, or we have less and less energy. However it is for an individual, the first messaging from the body is subtle. Then it may become louder and louder until we cannot ignore it.  We hope if we ignore the pain, then it will go away. It doesn’t. It just compounds itself until we finally cannot ignore it any longer.

So start the practice of listening to your body and the messages it is sending. The first step is to get some help if your body is yelling at you. Go to a massage therapist for muscles aches and pain.  Give yourself quiet time. Change one food in your diet to one that is organic and locally grown. “A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step”  Lao-Tzu, was true thousands of years ago in China and it is true today.

If you want to truly be adept at listening to your body, then take the changes one by one. Then listen some more. The body responds to the massage therapist’s hands and it starts to relax. The muscles release their restriction and you can move far more easily. Your mind ceases its endless chatter on that quiet walk. Your skin begins to glow as it receives nutrients.

Listen and you shall receive. Listen before the pain or illness is extreme. Listen if you have cancer or other major illnesses.

In the beginning it feels like learning a foreign language. Listening to the quiet voice within takes attention inwardly. It takes a desire to help our bodies function better. It takes stepping away from the standard American diet and taking time for yourself. It’s a great journey. Take your first step.

There are acts of creation that we perform on a daily basis.  Some are so grand that we must be acting in a contract of participation with God to create life.  Maybe this is what farming is and the birthing of children is.  Yet, we do create every day just as plants grow everyday.  We create the new state of our bodies in how we care for it.  We create the energetic flow of our day in how we come to each moment.  We create the kinds of relationships that we have with others in how we treat them.  We create change in this world with every choice that we make.  The world indeed is being re-created at every moment because of the interaction of the thoughts/emotions/actions of all its inhabitants.

The problems with changing our bodies is that we have become unconscious as to how we are treating it.  We get so busy we forget to exercise.  We are so busy that a fast food meal is our only sustenance.  We are tired and fatter because we have become unconscious to the effect of our habits on our bodies.  The first step to changing how our bodies look and feel is simply to become conscious of how we treat it.  So, First, write down what you eat and do every day for a week.  Second, compare this diary to the recommendations for adults your age.  Third, pick one, just one, area that you want to change and focus on it for the next month.  If its salads at MacDonalds instead of a burger, great!  If it’s drinking more water, great!  If it’s walking up the stairs at work – great!   Then each month add just one more change to your schedule.  By the end of a year, you will have made 12 changes in the way that you care for your body.  These changes will become good habits leading consistently to better health.

The amazing thing that happens in this approach is that you become more conscious of not only how you were treating your body, but also of how you physically felt.  You will notice changes in fatigue levels, stomach issues, skin suppleness.  Yes, and you will see changes in weight.  Often it helps to get the help of a professional in choosing the best first step.   A Nutritionist can show you how food can heal.  An Intuitive Healer can help your aches and pains release, so that you want to move more; and so that you are more aware of how your body feels.  A Fitness Trainer can advise you on appropriate exercises for each stage of your healing.  Each of these professionals can help you make the choices that will lead you to the body and the kind of day that you desire.

Salvation  - the dictionary definition is “ something that saves”.    For me, there is nothing greater than experiencing the emotions of Joy and Gratitude for they both save me and heal me.  When I experience Joy and Gratitude, they resonate within me.  They vibrate both my physical body and my spirit.  They lift my heart, and my emotions.

I spent this past week in the company of 2 of my sisters, a brother in law and my 90 year old mother.  We took her back to visit the places where she spent her early years – Pierce,  Idaho, and the University of Moscow.  We drove through hay fields on mountain tops, pine saturated mountain sides in Idaho and Montana, and gazed into turquoise glacial lakes of Glacier National Park. 

The patch of earth that molded my mother and her community is economically poor and abundantly rich in the beauty of nature.  Her first cousins are funny, warm, hardworking, loving people who I am proud to be kin to.  That land and those people molded my mother, who, in turn, brought those values, hopes and joy to my life.  It was in this complex interaction of nature and family that I was reminded of these greatest gifts of life on this planet.   

Joy and Gratitude can be stimulated by relationships with family and community.  They can be induced by stopping to marvel at nature.  They can flow forth when we have honed a skill or morphed a challenge into a gift.   No matter the origin, these emotions have the power to expand our soul and our love of this life.  They cleanse us and invigorate us.

I believe that we are here to enjoy the gifts and challenges of this three dimensional world.  I don’t’ always remember this.  I find that I get so deep in service and survival that I forget to take a minute,  or 5 minutes,  to just enjoy being alive in the sun,  or just being in the nurturing presence of family and friends.  

I  see life as a process of working with the gifts and challenges in both our physical body and in our spirit.    I believe that our purpose here is both to hone the gifts and to work with the challenges of our personal body/soul experience.  More importantly to create a better experience for the greater human and non-human communities of this earth. 

We come to this planet to experience it as fully as possible.  When I forget to emphasize the joy of this experience, I am the loser.    No matter how little we have, or the challenges we are experiencing, we can always take a moment to allow gratitude and joy to fill our hearts.  They are the best pill for our lives.  They will save us. 

For as we are joyful, we spread that joy to others.  Who can resist another’s smile or spontaneous laughter?  Whose heart does not respond when gratitude for life fills the room?

I choose the experience of Joy and Gratitude as my salvation for both my body and my soul.    IF this life is all we have, then creating and taking the time to be joyful and grateful can only make this life more enjoyable.  If our soul is immortal, what better gift could we give to that immortal being that is our soul, than to expand it with the vibrational WOW of gratitude?  I choose Joy and Gratitude as my salvation.  How about you?

Intuitive bodywork can move a client from pain and restricted movement to fluidity, flow of movement, with  less or no pain.  It can help client’s lower their medication levels and do the activities that bring them joy in life.  The more effective the bodyworker is at listening and responding to the unique patterns of pain in an individual, the better the client can learn to listen to the messages of their own bodies. 

The message that brings a person to bodywork is PAIN, which is the message of last resort from the body.  While muscles, connective tissue and organs are in a constant state of inter-relationship in the normal process of living,  there are patterns that become locked in our body’s tissues at the time of an accident, from repetitive movements, or from the aftermath of surgery or illness.  These are unique to each individual and therefore need a unique approach in the treatment that the bodyworker provides. 

Patterns of restricted tissue will not release fully with painful pressure.  Instead light touch at the points of pain allows for the point to ‘blow off steam” so to speak, so the trapped energy is released.  Then the tissue softens and the bodyworker can open and widen the tissue without pain to the client.   This approach allows the client to stay relaxed and so the release can actually be deeper and broader than otherwise.   The old adage, “No pain, no gain” is not operative in a bodywork session.  In fact, if there is pain, then there is little gain.  If a client experiences pain, they might hold their breath or brace/tighten other muscles in order to deal with the discomfort. 

Each bodyworker, be they a Massage Therapist, a Craniosacral Therapist, an Energyworker, etc.  has been trained to look at the body through different systems (Muscular, Nervous, Fascial, Meridians, Chakras for example).  Then, in the session, they choose from their toolkit those therapies that the client’s body needs in that particular session. 

Through bodywork as described above, the client can get in touch with their own body’s wisdom.   Then it becomes a wonderful dance of communication between the client, their own body and the bodyworker.  I always ask my clients “What would you like me to focus on today?”  Their body will let them know just what needs to be worked on through sensation, through an idea or story.   Each client begins to see themselves in relationship with their body that serves this life journey.  Then fluidity returns not only in how their body feels but more so in how they listen and support their body.  They change how they move or sit; they add stretching or movement work.  In short, they respond to their body’s needs in a way that they haven’t before.  Bodywork done in the intuitive manner described above, can be the beginning of a new journey of cooperation and support with one’s own body.

Bio

Michele Porzel is an Intuitive Healer, Massage Therapist and Craniosacral Therapist.  She owns The Intuitive Healing Center in Burke Va.  She can be reached at 571-321-0379, www.intuitivehealingcenter.com.

Did you ever want to capture the essence of a subject? Catch that special glow? Use your photography to center and calm yourself?

During this interactive workshop, you will explore how imagery – photography – can transform your mental state, helping you feel more centered, connected and uplifted in your everyday life. We will meditate, connect to nature in Great Falls Park VA and experience moving our inner connection to an outward reflection through the pictures that we take.

Join Intuitive Healer, Michele Porzel, The Body Whisperer, and Elizabeth Linares, Photographer and Artist, in a one day experience of moving your inner experience into outer expression. Michele will provide the practical exercises to help tap into an expansive state of presence and possibility. Elizabeth will help you learn to identify and surround yourself with imagery that supports your individual life goals.

When: Saturday, October 18, 2008, 8am – 3pm
Where: Great Falls Park and at Elizabeth’s studio in Reston
Cost: $85 payable in advance
To register: Mail your check and contact information to Michele at the Intuitive Healing Center. After 9/22, you can register online at www.IntuitiveHealingCenter.com and click on Classes.
Questions? Call Michele Porzel at 571.321.0379 or Elizabeth Linares at 703.850.2441.

Bring with you: A digital camera; A cord that can connect your camera to a television: A tripod (optional); Your own lunch and drinks.
Dress: Comfortable clothing in layers. In case of rain, we will work in a local nursery.

Day Outline:
8am - We will start our day at Great Falls Park where we will learn to meditate and connect with the plants, trees, rocks and water of the park. Afterwards, Elizabeth will briefly discuss how the meditative process works for her, as well as hints on light, composition, texture as she walks you through hands-on photography techniques. Elizabeth will act as a coach as you photograph your chosen elements of Great Falls or the nursery. You will have time to experience and capture nature while paying specific attention to your set intention.
12 noon
We will leave the park, pick up lunch and meet at Elizabeth’s Photography Studio in Reston. We will eat lunch together and share our experiences. After lunch, each participant will have an opportunity to review and share their images with the rest of the group for open critiquing and deeper understanding of how our intention is reflected in our images. Photography as a Spiritual Practice promises to be a fun, exciting workshop!

To learn more about the workshop leaders:
Michele Porzel, The Body Whisperer, www.IntuitiveHealingCenter.com
Elizabeth Linares, Photographer/Artist, www.elizabethlinares.com

Be the Self that you imagine yourself to be while handling the commitments, the stress , and the social functions of the Holidays.  Create a plan to be move toward your Best Self in 2009.  Join Life Coach Eileen Caroscio (www.passagewayscoaching.net) and Intuitive Healer Michele Porzel, The Body Whisperer, (www.IntuitiveHealingCenter.com) to learn how to increase your quality of life during the next several months.   You will come away with ideas that you can use immediately as well as those that will give form to your hopes for 2009.  We will be sharing insights and supporting each other in the process of putting our best selves forward …the one we imagine ourselves to be!!  Come join us for learning, sharing, fellowship and support!!  Space is limited so be sure to sign up soon! 

Location: The Intuitive Healing Center

                 8996 Burke Lake Road, Suite L101

                 Burke, VA 22015

Time:      7:00 – 8:30 pm                              

Cost:       $25 each To register:  Go to www.intuitivehealingcenter.com 

Questions:  Email Michele at Michele@Intuitivehealingcenter.com or call Michele at 571-321-0379.

 November 6, 2008

Nurturing Yourself as You Nurture Others

Is this a time of stress for you?  How so you manage expectations – yours and others?  We will offer you ways to handle expectations and learn some ways to reduce stress and much more! What ever your concerns…you will leave feeling lighter and more in control of what you can do!!

December 8, 2008

Make the Winter Season Fun & Fulfilling

Come learn how to make this season a time of what you wish it to be!!!  We will look at different ways of thinking, being and doing.  What does your mind, your soul and your heart desire?  We will help you build a path to make those desires real for you.

Come away feeling inspired and enthusiastic about the New Year and the New You

 
January 8, 2008

Create Your Plan for Stepping Forward to Your Best Self!

Be sure to attend this one !  Bring a friend!  This will get your started and support you on your journey to a new life, to a new way of doing and being.

This is what you were wishing for …..something fun that will get you started on the best you … the one that is inside,  just waiting to come forth.   Bring your resolutions and come away with a plan for the new you.

 
February 5, 2008

The Gift of Momentum

We all need support as we choose to change the habits of our lives.  This session explores the process of maintaining our focus while we make adjustments to our plans.  When the weather is cold and dreary, let’s warm each other with mutual support of achieving our dreams.  You will learn how to stay on track with techniques that identify ways that your  body, mind and spirit support you in moving forward.  

ElectroMagnetic Frequencies affect your body’s biofield. They disrupt cellular function and are linked to brain tumors, cancer, leukemia as well as fatigue, brain fogginess, anxiety, and lowered immune function. These sessions provide videos, and handouts for discussion and research. Learn how to protect your health from EMF/EMR’s from Cellphones, Computers and Wireless systems!

When: Thursday 10/16, 11/20: 7:30pm – 9:00pm

Where: The Intuitive Healing Center

8996 Burke Lake Road, Burke,VA 22015.

Cost: Free

To register: Call Michele at 571-321-0379 or mail your check and contact information to Michele at the Intuitive Healing Center.

Questions? Call Michele Porzel at 571- 321-0379 or Michele@IntuitiveHealingCenter.com.

Come and explore the concepts of the One Human Soul, Soul Layering, Lineages of body and Spirit; Types of consciousness and How they work together; Soul Agreements and Sacred Trusts. Classes will include presentations, discussions, meditations, and journaling.

When: Thursdays 10/9, 11/13, 12/11: 7:30pm – 9:00pm

Where: The Intuitive Healing Center

8996 Burke Lake Road, Burke,VA 22015.

Cost: $25 payable in advance

To register: Call Michele Porzel at 571-321-0379 or mail your check and contact information to the Michele at the Intuitive Healing Center.

Questions? Call Michele Porzel at 571- 321-0379 or Michele@IntuitiveHealingCenter.com.

Come and join Michele Porzel for this spiritual retreat where we will each spend time listening to our inner spirit, and exploring the possibilities for our spiritual journey.

During this spiritual retreat, participants attune to the messages of their soul. The soul’s knowing is always with us, but we often are too busy to pay attention. There are also levels of consciousness that frame our commitment to this life. Discussions and meditations bring participants to an experience of these consciousness levels and thus nearer to reawakening to their Soul’s purpose, why they came to this planet, and why they are here at this time and at this place.

Participants will experience intuitive sounding, crystal bowls, movement, and journaling to open their minds and hearts to hear the message within their soul. On Sunday, each participant receives an energetic gift, a Seed of Cosmic Consciousness (SCC), which will nurture, accelerate and magnify their soul’s journey. Their SCC will help them live with greater Soul Integrity and deepen their relationships with their Inner Self, with their higher selves, and with the universal consciousness. These retreats are non-denominational.

When: Friday evening, all day Sat & Sun: Nov. 7-9, 2008 -

Where: Springfield, VA

Cost: $295 payable in advance

To register: Go to www.SeedsofCosmicConsciousness.com. Click Register

For more information: Go to www.SeedsofCosmicConsciousness.com

Questions? Call Michele Porzel at 571- 321-0379 or email at michele@IntuitiveHealingCenter.com.

Water is essential to a healthy life. Not all water is the same. What factors determine which water is best? Bio-Energetic Medicine expert Marc Melton reveals the secret of 22-molecule structured healing water. Film and discussion and taste testing of structured water. Co-lead with Dr. Sue Ann Lewine of the Z Life Center.

Location: “R Place” Center

8136 Old Keene Mill Road, A-209
Springfield, VA 22152

Dates: Tuesdays, Sept 16, Oct 21, 10/28, Nov 11

Time: 7:30 – 9:00 pm

Cost: $5 donation at the meeting. Donations will be given to the Katherine Hanley Family Shelter

To register: Go to www.intuitivehealingcenter.com

Questions: Email Michele at Michele@Intuitivehealingcenter.com or call Michele at 571-321-0379