We are very pleased to announce the second annual Imagery International Conference
 October 22-24, 2010 at Vallombrosa Center in Menlo Park, CA.
 The event is co-sponsored by Beyond Ordinary Nursing and offers 11 contact hours.
 http://imageryinternational.org/annual-conference

 We will have an open membership meeting Friday evening, six outstanding
 workshops, an experiential imagery practice session, and live entertainment on Saturday night.  
 Topics are applicable for all healthcare professionals new to and trained in imagery practices.  

 
 Early registration and discount rate by September 22.
 For complete conference details and registration:

 Radio interview with Michael Ray Dresser for Juliet Rohde-Brown

I find myself reflecting, once again, on what a small world we all live in.

and other venues.

          Once at a Rehab hospital, I was sitting with an elderly woman who had lost most of her motor functioning due to a stroke. For a moment, I saw that she was distracted and looking off to her right. I turned and saw an individual who had obviously suffered a stroke or some kind of brain injury that left him stooped over, drooling, and seemingly unaware of who or where he was. She turned to me with great empathy for the man. With tears in her eyes, she struggled to form her lips into words. She was just beginning to gain back some of her ability to speak with the help of a speech therapist. Sitting in her wheelchair facing me, it took her several moments to form her mouth into the words she wanted to speak and I could tell that this took quite some effort. What she felt compelled to communicate to me after observing the other person’s plight, was “There but for the grace of God go I!”

             This woman, after having lost her ability to walk or speak easily, was not focusing on herself in a despairing manner. She was experiencing great compassion for a fellow human being and she was counting her blessings. I was moved to tears. She is yet another example of an elder who can teach us much about how to live.

            The late psychologist, Erik Erikson, in his model of psychosocial development, spoke about the last years of life as years that can lead to either despair or wisdom, depending on how one directs their attention.  There is much to learn from those who have lived long lives, with all of the sufferings and joys that a life contains.

          In families, the intergenerational bond grows stronger when we take time to share stories. My personal experience of having sat with my own parents during their final days and having received the gift of my father’s autobiography leads me to reflect on the power of stories to open the heart and to heal intergenerational wounds within families. I am often saddened by the lack of time and respect our culture as a whole gives to the elderly and their stories, when it is clear that throughout history, in all of the tribes, villages, and households of our ancestry, the sharing of elder’s stories has been a rich and valuable tradition.

          I believe that the sharing of stories can open the pathway to self-forgiveness and the forgiveness of others.  As a writer and researcher on forgiveness, I am considering elder storytelling as a particular type of forgiveness process within families, particularly when sacred time is set aside in a deliberate and formal way for this endeavor and when it is done in the natural environment.       

2) A recent edition of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 95, No. 5) has an article entitled Open Hearts Build Lives: Positive Emotions, Induced Through Lovingkindness Meditation Build Consequential Personal Resources.

 3) A recent edition of the jounal The Humanistic Psychologist (Volume 37, No. 2) has an article entitled Mindful Awareness, Mindsight, and Neural Integration written by one of my favorites, Daniel Siegel.

3) For more on imagination, see my youngest brother’s website www.the-future.com and an article entitled The Past and the Future of the Universe.

          It is quite meaningful that we were selected for this honor, particularly by “just plain folk” who have no vested interest in the commercial aspect or in marketing strategies, but just for the simple fact that they acknowledged a sense of enjoyment and healing from our work.

          To learn more about our series of guided visualization CDs, please press the icon above that says Guided Visualization CDs. It will take you go to the website for Energi Music (www.energimusic.com), where you will learn about some of Energi’s other endeavors. For instance, Shantha Sri has a Samma series with titles such as Right Mindfulness and Right Intention. I just received his new CD entitled Music for Yoga: Volume 1. It is absolutely beautiful! I highly recommend it! He uses Tibetan and Nepalese singing bowls in many of the pieces along with other traditional drone instruments and the tones and frequencies are specifically chosen for heart beat regulation and healing. We have collaborated on another CD as well. It is entitled Chakra Mountain and it is due to be released very soon.

Check out the following websites for conferences and information as well:

 www.imageryinternational.org 

 www.stillpointfoundation.com 

www.healthjourneys.com 

www.nicbm.com

www.pacifica.edu