Title: R a i n b o w W a r r i o r

Gender: Male

Age: 36

Sun Sign: Sagittarius

Chinese Sign: Water Rat

Location: Columbus, NC

Consciousness grows

Expanding each day

Transcending the past

And lighting the way

Below the surface

We are all the same

Earth, Air and Water

Empowered by Flame

Our spark is Divine

Our love is our light

The self is reborn

As Spirit takes flight

“Movin On Up”

The Emotional Approach to Total Wellbeing

by Vaughn Loeffler

        There are people who will say the glass is half empty, those that will say it is half full, and even a few quantum physicists that propose; ” there is no glass”.  I admit that I have spent time in all three camps in this lifetime, but these days I would describe my disposition as; “vibrationally mindful”. After learning how the quality of my thoughts directly influence the quality of my experiences and relationships, I decided to become more conscious of my stream of thought. Today, leaders in the field of mind-body medicine have discovered that our emotional state actually creates our physiology, and since our mental, physical, emotional bodies were intended to remain in a state of harmony, finding inner peace actually seems to be good for our health. So in effort to strengthen the connection of our mind, body and spirit we will look deeper at the role emotions play in the construction of our bodies at the cellular level in effort to understand that there is much more to us than we were ever taught.
For me, I found a great deal of interest in the Limbic System due to it's enormous role in our functioning. The Limbic System is the physical apparatus that controls and records our emotional responses to our life experiences and facilatates our memory while also regulating our; eating, drinking, sleeping waking, body temperature, chemical balances such as; blood sugar, heart rate, blood pressure, hormones, sex, as well as the full range of emotions from depression to joy. Dr. Deepak Chopra is one of many medical doctors who have left alopathic medicine for a more holistic model of wellbeing and has explained how thoughts produce feelings which creates measurable physiological changes in our bodies that are responsible for the integrity of the new cells being produced. It's as if our emotional state is more like a fluctuating frequency that has a direct connection to our health and wellness, and the really good news is; we are in control of where we set our “dials”. It's not always possible to feel happy about every subject, but when we realize that our cells are regenerating according to the quality of our thoughts then we want to be more mindful of the things that we give our attention to. But that is only half of the story.
         When we see things that really bother us, it is very beneficial to realize why it does so. For instance, I used to get very frustrated when I read or watched the news covering the ongoing wars and human suffering around the world. After years of pushing against this I eventually had to look at myself and ask questions like why am I allowing something, that is happening on the other side of the world, to negatively affect me in such a powerful way? The answer I found was;  I was placing my attention upon something that my inner being would not put it's attention upon which was causing a tug of war inside me. I realized that by looking at things I didn't want I was literally holding myself apart from my wholeness. It is like being pulled in two different directions and causing a great deal of inner discord.
            So I have found a way that works for me to make peace with any subject. The moment I sense myself going in a direction that doesn't feel good I first ask myself; what is it about this situation or person that I am using as my excuse to be negatively focused? Upon realizing what it is I quickly turn my attention to the positive aspects of the situation, such as; If I see a parent forcing their will over their child's will I think, in a non-judgmental way, “that child is launching desires for more flexible and kinder parenting.” or if I get a notice from the bank saying I owe $35 for being short 2 cents on a check or from the IRS saying I owe them money, I would then think about how nice it will be when we have a more fair banking system and government that actually has the best interests of the people in mind and makes more effort to support small business. There is always a way to find the good that is being born out of what may seem like awful circumstances.

          Maybe Paramhansa Yogananda was on to something when he said; “Always be calm, and you'll always be happy.” Since the limbic system prefers it when we are grounded, balanced and centered, it knows how to make a fuss when we ‘stress out'. Whether through stress at work or home, friction in relationships, disruptions in our health or paying too much attention to the economy, we can tell (with a little practice) when we are out of vibrational harmony with our inner selves by taking notice how we feel. In this new light, stress is actually a very helpful tool we can use to realign ourselves with the whole of who we are, and since our 'emotional set point' is an indication of the quality of our feelings regarding a certain topic, it is our 'point of focus' (also known as our point of attraction) and according to the Law of Attraction, greatly influences our experiences much more than we ever knew. Although our point of attraction fluctuates throughout the day as we place our attention on various situations we can now know that stress is only incurred when we disallow our natural state of appreciation,peace and joy.  It is also extremely helpful to have a resource like the ‘emotional scale' (fig 1 below) to locate our feeling place regarding a situation at any given time.

(fig 1)

1.  Joy / Knowledge / Empowerment / Freedom / Love / Appreciation

2.  Passion.

3.  Enthusiasm / Eagerness / Happiness

4.  Positive Expectation / Belief

5.  Optimism

6.  Hopefulness

7.  Contentment

8.  Boredom

9.  Pessimism

10.  Frustration / Irritation / Impatience

11.  Overwhelment

12.  Disappointment

13.  Doubt.

14.  Worry

15.  Blame

16.  Discouragement

17.  Anger

18.  Revenge

19.  Hatred / Rage

20.   Jealousy

21.   Insecurity / Guilt / Unworthiness

22.   Fear / Grief / Depression / Despair / Powerlessness

            For many of us, our resistance to remaining in a state of wellbeing stems from old controlling thought patterns and inherited beliefs in separation. Conditioned misperceptions like; believing there is an existential source of evil acting against our freewill or expecting negative behavior from others can affect our point of attraction by scattering our emotional set point. In our early years, some of us learned that expressing our emotions was looked upon as “unacceptable” behavior and so we found ways to resist our natural urge to honor our feelings. For example, if there were times when we wanted to cry but instead, tensed-up our throat muscles to inhibit the release of negative emotion, we retained those instances in our cells. Deepak Chopra MD has confirmed; ” Our cells have a type of memory which stores emotion from events throughout our lives,” and as cells die they are able to pass on this information to the new cells which intern continues this emotional memory cycle. Of course this is not a bad thing if they are feelings we want to keep, but if we continue thinking thoughts that produce negative emotion we increase our chance of dis-ease because our cells have the ability to adjust their vibratory relationship with one another through sympathetic resonance. Old repressed emotion stored in the body's tissue is sometimes referred to as “muscle memory” and can be brought to the surface for processing through methods such as Diffusion Therapy, Acupuncture and Therapeutic Massage. These modalities are very effective by themselves for physical, mental and emotional therapy, however, when used in conjunction with essential oils, the results can be spectacular. Speaking here from experience, I have personally received tremendous benefit from these three methods and have successfully raised my overall emotional set point from  # 9 Pessimism all the way up the scale to # 1 Appreciation.(fig 1)
       Through my intention to become reacquainted with my emotional self I have been able to release negative thought patterns that were reducing my potential and no longer serving any purpose.  Emotional release is similar to reprogramming in that it changes our beliefs about ourselves and others which has positive influence on our cells to pass on a higher quality of vibration that will create healthier happier cells.

        There is actually an entire field of science dedicated to the study of how mind becomes matter known as psychoneuroimmunology. Candace Pert PhD, who discovered neuropeptides, offers a down to earth narrative of her extensive work in this exciting new field of research. Her latest book is; “Everything You Need to Know to Feel Go(o)d” (Hay House, 2006)  Dr. Pert refers to “core emotional trauma,” a term used by some psychologists and healers for buried and painful emotions from the past. “The point of therapy ( including bodywork, some kinds of chiropractic, and energy medicine) is; to gently bring that wound to gradual awareness, so it can be reexperienced and understood. Only then is choice possible, a faculty of your frontal cortex, allowing you to reintegrate any disowned parts of yourself; let go of old traumatic patterns; and become healed, or whole.”   

            Although these natural forms of physical and emotional therapy have ancient roots, they are just now becoming widely embraced. You may be surprised to know that many doctors will now prescribe preventative therapies such as massage for back pain or accupuncture for circulation, if they find it benefits their patient. Additionally, when a doctor prescribes the therapy, it is then considered medical treatment, which can be claimed under medical expenses for tax purposes. Today, more people are opting out of surgery and other high-risk medical procedures and taking charge of their health. Most are finding these new approaches to wellness to not only feel better, but are even more effective than traditional treatments. Many would agree that when we make empowered decisions regarding our wellbeing we discovery that we were wearing the “ruby slippers” all along. One of the most profound breakthroughs in my own journey was the intuitive notion that I was already whole and unbroken inside. When I finally took that to Heart, a new awareness was born like a phoenix from the ashes and I knew at that moment my true healing had arrived.

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