The Life Skills Approach

A Healthy Way to be Sick Without compromise

There is probably no better way to free yourself from your past than to consciously deal with a health challenge. To deal with that challenge it is essential to connect to the Wisdom of the Body, which exists beyond your conditioned mind. This inner wisdom is home of powerful inner resources that create the quality of your life. You can either focus on thoughts about your health challenge or connect to the part of you that can do something to improve your health. Tap this inner wisdom & become a partner with your Dr. using inner & outer resources. Challenges evolve you when you're not a victim & you can better deal with your challenge..

When you face a situation that has no easy solution, you naturally search in the Unknown for solutions or you accept the situation you are in as reality. I have multiple sclerosis and if you search all the medical records you will find no cure for MS, but there are ways to slow the progression down. That doesn’t cure you; it just gives you time to search deeper  within.

If I only look outside for my solution to my problem I would be forced to accept there is nothing that can be done for me. That is not the solution I find deep within me with the Wisdom of my Body. I have been given an opportunity to explore beyond the consciousness of thinking (either mine or the world of modern medicine) and it is in that silence the quality of life is found.

Thinking about my handicaps of MS is not a pleasant thing to do. Entering the silence beyond those thoughts (without the mental noise of thinking) is where I connect to the Wisdom of my Body. That inner wisdom has a profound spiritual connection with a tender touch to an Ultimate reality. You can call that what you want, but at that depth names are not that important. Just as in the most intimate time with your lover, their name is not as important as the touch. I find comfort at that depth without anxious thinking.

I feel that tender consciousness touch is the best way to deal with any health challenge; for in that tenderness you are connected to the depths of your being and your inner wisdom. That consciousness can use external resources the best; that is where you participate with your whole heart and all of your inner resources. Of course the conditioning of your ego can limit your efforts; but when you are conscious, ego’s limitations can be corrected.

Knowing how to consciously correct ego’s past is the role of anyone in a health challenge. Do you feel you accept that challenge?

Become my virtual partner as I launch my book to over a million people. Go to this site to sign up to send your message in trade for announcing my book. http://ahealthywaytobesick.org. Empowering active patient participation is a conscious way for health care reform. Join me.

©2009 Marc Lerner & Life Skills Institute

Challenges Can Be Dealt With or Ignored; Is it Really Your Choice?

We basically have two choices when we deal with a challenge and each of them has many options. In this Blog we are going to study the choices and see what serves us the best. I want to show you that, how our mind was conditioned determines how we deal with challenges.  To change that, we need to consciously re-condition our mind.

How we ignore the challenge: Our Retreat.

·         If our past conditioning taught us to focus on something that doesn’t threaten us, when we are challenged we become easily distracted.  This simple past conditioning automatically avoids challenges without even thinking about them.

·         Being a victim to our past conditioning automatically limits our attention and leaves us vulnerable to how we were taught to think. Avoiding challenges in this way takes zero intention and automatically happens.

·         One of the greatest weaknesses learned in our society is in how we process input. When we rely on thinking about something instead of experiencing it, we are disconnected from our inner wisdom and play the victim role. Victims avoid challenges because they lack confidence.

·         When we avoid the moment and focus on ways we were taught to think, we become more concerned with thoughts of the past and future instead of how we are going to deal with this challenge.

·         Victims rely on thoughts instead of using inner resources to deal with their struggles. They are open to opinions, either theirs or others, but lack the ability to discriminate based on their gut reaction.

·         Another habit that helps us avoid challenges is when we do not let go of the past and interpret things through past concepts.

How to consciously deal with challenges using habits so you don’t have to think about it

·         Habits can either serve you or inhibit you. Habits can be consciously conditioned or they can be conditioned automatically without choice. In a health challenge you have to consciously choose the habits that help you heal. If a habit interferes with healing it is your responsibility to change it.

·         The best way to create habits that serve you is to focus on positive life skills like a positive self image, self trust and the Wisdom of the Body. These are the qualities that create positive habits. It is difficult to create negative habits using positive life skills.

·         Ingrained habits are subconscious and happen without thinking. You have the power to condition ingrained habits if you imagine your action before you go to sleep and upon awakening. That is when the doors to your subconscious are open and a simple word or phrase can become a tool that triggers the imagined behavior.

·         Imagine facing your challenge directly and see your positive life skills respond without the limitations of your thinking mind. Spontaneously respond with the confidence of inner wisdom and that will become the way you face your challenges in the future. 

The Patient’s Role in Healing: Connecting to The Wisdom of Your Body

            There is a healthy way to be sick: All you have to do is connect to the Wisdom of your Body. Our whole life, we have been conditioned to focus on our thinking mind, but when we are in a health challenge our focus needs to go deeper. To heal at our potential, we need to go beyond what we have been taught and connect to our powerful inner resources, using what I call the Wisdom of the Body. Unfortunately, during a health crisis, we too often focus on our thinking mind and ignore this inner wisdom. This is a habit we need to recondition so that we deal with our health crisis with our full potential.

This article is going to explore this inner wisdom in seven ways.  First we have to know how we connect to this inner wisdom and where it is.

1) Beyond our thinking mind is a silence that is the home of the Wisdom of our Body. If we could accept this silence as a significant part of our existence, we would discover the greatest qualities of our life. Simply being aware of it is the switch that turns your inner wisdom on and empowers you to become active in healing.

2) We relate to our thinking as though it were reality. Because our symbolic world becomes so precious, we seldom accept the reality beyond our thinking mind as a tool in healing. That is where the Wisdom of your Body can be found. Our greatest challenge is to aspire to a connection to this depth instead of dealing with a health challenge with only our thoughts.

3) We need to develop ways of connecting to inner wisdom without being dependent on logic. If you develop habits that transport your awareness beyond thinking, you can activate your inner wisdom instantly simply by being aware of it. Awareness is your direct link to this inner wisdom. If you are locked into thinking , you will only have a symbolic link to wisdom.

4) Family love can make us aware of the beyond thought reality or it can trap us in our thinking mind. Love and faith activate our inner wisdom, but they can also create blocks that stop our awareness from connecting to that depth.

5) We need to develop love and faith. Our biggest obstacle in connecting to them is our own mind. When our awareness stops on thinking, blocks can be created.

6) Worrying attracts your awareness and prevents you fromactivating the Wisdom of our Body. When you worry, your breath is going to be cut short, which shows you how shallow your focus is. 

7) The simple will to live activates your body's wisdom to be protective and help you heal. Your self- image and self-trust are keys to empower your will to live. They are both under your control.

 

            When you are connected to your inner wisdom, you become a valuable partner with the experts. Are you willing to participate from that depth?

Opinions about Facing Illness in This Time of Swine Flu Concerns

First we will look at the Swine Flu threat from the perspective of what an individual can do when they face that challenge.

"Whenever we face a challenge we cannot control, we have to learn that we can control the way we interpret it. If our focus activates self doubt and fear, our instant responses will carry them as limitations created by our mind. We all hope medicine can cure this pandemic, but until that day comes there is a lot that you can do. Every thought we have is directed to our self image. If you have a negative self image you will get negative responses to those thoughts. If you have a positive self image, you will get positive responses. We have the power to control our self image, how we trust ourself and how we breathe. Creating conscious habits of these life skills won’t cure the Swine Flu, it will just influence the way you interpret what happens. The doctor’s advice guides what we do in this world to protect ourselves. What we eat, exercise and how we take care of ourselves is essential, but how we do those things and the quality of our life is determined by the subtlest way we use our mind. Taking control of that is something we all must do; that is how we become partners with our doctor."

 

Marc Lerner

Author, "A Healthy Way to Be Sick"

Life Skills Seminars Inc.

 

Now advice from a doctor on the best way to face that challenge.

 

"We get what we expect. If our expectation is to be healthy, abundant,

 and to possess rich, fulfilling relationships, this is the reality that

 we will manifest. If we expect that our bodies can deal effectively

 with any threats to our health, our immune systems will respond in

 such a manner so as to protect ourselves from such assaults as the

 swine flu as well as other dangers. Certainly, if we believe we have

 whatever resources we need to protect ourselves from illness, our

 minds and bodies will do just that.

 

 Such  preventive measures as good nutrition, regular exercise, proper

 hygiene, sufficient sleep, positive relationships, conducive energy

 and proper mindset all will support our continued health and well being."

 

 Dr. Joe Rubino

 CEO, CenterForPersonalReinvention.com

 Creator, SelfEsteemSystem.com

 

Joe Rubino, your life optimization coach, www.centerforpersonalreinvention.com. Marc Lerner, the author of “A Healthy Way to Be Sick” at www.ahealthywaytobesick.com teaches ways to empower active patient participation. With very little effort we can use inner resources to protect ourselves.

© Marc Lerner 2009

Earth Day : Learning to Take It Home Where Inner and Outer Space Merge

As we celebrate Earth Day, we have to really look at how we perceive it. When we look at Earth Day and light pollution, we see how limited our perception of the miracle we live in is. Light pollution traps us visually in the earth’s atmosphere as we ignore our greater reality.

On a macro level, without being able to gaze into outer space and appreciate the vastness of the reality I live in, I look at my inner space and the struggle I face dealing with a chronic illness. Looking beyond the atmosphere of earth is similar to looking beyond your mind made reality of ego. In that inner vastness I connect to what I call the Wisdom of the Body. That exists beyond the mind made reality of ego’s atmosphere and is the home of powerful inner resources required in coping with a chronic illness. Unfortunately, because most people are trapped within their mind made reality, we ignore this, just like we ignore outer space.

Beyond the inner space of religion or culture is that vast inner space of silence we all strive for but ignore. If the Ultimate reality exists beyond our thoughts in silence, we focus on beliefs and how we think instead of the vastness and healing powers in silence. Silence is the same to a Christian, a Jew, a Buddhist or a Moslem. Imagine taking the consciousness out of your inner or outer limited reality. You would basically experience that awesome reality of silence. In healing, that inner reality is essential. Even though modern science is incredible, how we respond to medical science still plays a significant role in healing.

We all are trapped in a reality that seems to define our life. That is in simple terms our perceptions and conceptions. Unfortunately those are the illusions created by our own mind. Now let’s look at our outer perceptions and then our conceptions.

As we look into our universe during the day, we see very little without the help of astronomers. We look out and can’t see beyond our atmosphere. That is where we spend our working consciousness and create the reality we identify with. Between light pollution and man’s pollution, we limit our vision to what is around us.

Then we look up into the sky at night and see stars millions of miles away, but actually we see very little of what is really out there. When we think of our solar system, we think of outer space and the vastness of our life. We can only see a very small percent of it.

 Earth Day opens the door into what seems to be a new reality, but it really connects us to our original reality. Just think if we had the courage to explore the vastness of everybody’s inner reality.

Let’s live Earth Day in an on-going state of mind that literally helps us heal, peacefully live in this world and appreciate the vastness we have been given.

"So often we wait for the climate and conditions in life to be perfect before we feel safe enough to step forward, trust, and be our authentic selves. What we don't realize is that in order to create the ideal climate we are waiting for, we must be authentic first." — Sonia Choquette: Spiritual teacher and author

 

© Marc Lerner and Life Skills 2009

Learning To Let Go of Your Life and the Art of Giving Your All

When we breathe into our thoughts we give them life. We surrender our consciousness to sustain the illusions of who we think we are. By holding on to that identity we don’t give life to that what exists beyond our thoughts. I call that which is beyond thinking the Wisdom of the Body.

                That is the part of you that is connected to pure and simple consciousness. In Religion it stands on the threshold of connecting to God. In Spirituality it becomes a Sacred Moment. In sports it is called the Zone and that is where excellent performance exists without thinking. In work, creativity and loving relations it is that Inner Space where we are our true self and we manifest excellence.

                Now let me play with the concept of breathing. Our breath is what transports consciousness to the beyond thought reality. In Latin the word “worry” comes from “to choke”. For when ever we breathe into our thoughts, we cut our breath short and we choke. Worry may be they best example of choking, which in sports means to perform at a lower standard. Think of a basketball player missing a free-throw in a tied game with seconds to play…he choked.

                Now let’s focus on healing and coping with difficult times. Releasing your life from the grasp of “my life” or your thoughts is simply allowing the consciousness attached to the patterns and thoughts in your mind to go beyond thinking. In each in-breath we can allow consciousness to leave our mind-made reality and give life to the Wisdom of our Body. The next exhalation manifests that consciousness.

                Think about that simple habit you can develop. Your in-breath transcends your limitations and gives life to the Wisdom of the Body. Your out-breath then manifests that wisdom into your life, your health and your relationships. I call that the Easy Breath for it floats through you without any resistance. In fact that is your surrendered breath and it is within every person, if they were able to let go of their mind-made reality.

                I have a chronic illness with several handicaps. I am in a wheelchair and legally blind. I could focus on what is wrong and suffer or I could focus on what is right and breathe the Easy Breath, heal at my potential without a sabotaging mind and live a quality life. I found that the quality of my life doesn’t depend on the health of my body; it depends on my focus. When that focus is surrendered, the Wisdom of my Body breathes me.

                In that state I heal better (even with a chronic progressive illness), I love the people close to me and my spiritual connection is not theoretical. When consciousness leaves the limited perspective of my mind-created reality, I find the quality not created by my mind.

                I feel this reality is available to every person who has a body and breathes. Now just think of how you would manifest if that was the consciousness you breathed out. I invite you to try this on every struggle you face. Then try it in your quiet most intimate times. Then I would say welcome to the moment…but I can’t. For when you truly enter that moment, the “you” created by your mind doesn’t exist.

                What a world it would be if we all met there. Religions wouldn’t matter. What sex or color you were wouldn’t matter. The most incredible event would be selfless with only the Highest Consciousness flowing through the beauty of each life.

© Marc Lerner & Life Skills 2009

How to Deal With Chronic Pain Without Being Defeated

Remember when you fell and scraped your knee? Instantly you grabbed it and your attention went there. Fritz Perls used to say “awareness is curative” and that instant reaction was the Wisdom of the Body assisting you. In a chronic illness that is decades old, like multiple sclerosis, there is chronic pain and that simple awareness doesn’t seem to help.

I tried pain medication, but the side effects were a sacrifice that sometimes forced me to tolerate the pain. This is where the Wisdom of the Body uses evolution to solve your problem. These blogs will help me understand a new way to deal with pain.

Understanding evolves man on one level and science undoubtedly manifests those benefits and every person appreciates what we call modern times. In the reality of chronic pain, you could be surrounded by all the luxuries of the day, but if you choose not to be drugged out; it still hurts.

If focusing on pain doesn’t cure it and only makes you more aware of it; your focus can go beyond it and tap a deeper inner reality. I call this a healthy way to be sick. Beyond our perceptions of our body and the world around us plus beyond our conceptions takes you from what Eastern philosophy calls illusions. I heard illusions defined as our perceptions and conceptions or what I refer to as our mind-made reality.

Think about perceptions; the reality you perceive is a neurological symbol of what is perceived. We see an image in our mind, but that is a symbol, kind of like a menu in a restaurant which only gives you an idea of what is available. Unfortunately that idea cannot provide the nutrition we need; we still have to order and eat for that to happen.

The same is true with conceptions. The idea is but a seed for that to manifest in reality. Even though that seed is essential…it is still an illusion. This shows that illusions are not a bad part of reality, they are just not complete. That is one of the traps our society falls into; we relate to thinking too often as if it were reality.

Pain has the beauty to separate illusion from reality and that is sometimes the only way to deal with it. Beyond our mind-created reality is an incredible reality sages and prophets have talked about since we realized the “I” was not the center of life. Pain forces you to go beyond our habitual ways of thinking and perceiving life to discover a greater reality to rest our consciousness in and that is what I call the Wisdom of the Body and silence.

That is where the best part of you exists connected to a greater reality than your mind-made reality. That is where simple pure love and peace come from. That is where you exist without thinking. It is as if you are dancing with your love and you are the one that follows. In that moment perceptions and conceptions are not in your focus. You are in a “zone”, walking a thin line over chronic pain.

I think it is possible to walk that line because if you don’t, you are punished by pain.

Learn to develop the life skills needed to walk that line in a Tele-seminar  “The Life Skills Approach” & read my e-book  “A Healthy Way to Be Sick” at http://lifeskillsinc.com The quality of your life doesn’t depend on the health of your body; it depends on your focus. We are not victims when we evolve.

© Marc Lerner and Life Skills 2009

he Haiku of Self Healing, Sending Messages Directly to Our Body

                A Haiku is a simple three line poem that can send a powerful message to our creative mind. It is as though the poem paints a picture in our right hemisphere and then it gets translated to our emotional intelligence and then to our body. Now imagine the power if we were able to think like a Haiku poem.

                We could create pictures that bubble up from our deepest wisdom and by the time we ended a sentence, our emotional intelligence comprehends it and sends it to our body. Spirituality would be free from the limitations of religion and at the same time religion would become very spiritual. The wisdom of ancient sages would be experienced and not just understood. Rituals would touch the depth where they symbolically emerged from and all Religions would celebrate connecting to the same God.

                Sharing love would be free from attachments, even if those attachments are incredibly beautiful. Of course the bond of attachments would still exist, but they wouldn’t limit you from literally touching the Ultimate in every breath. Parents would love their child in a special way and even beyond that bond, the next step would land in a connection to the Ultimate in silence.

                Creativity in work would be free from the ego needs that cause limitations. Instead of being limited to always being the “doer”, we would evolve to the consciousness of being a “receiver”. That is when our deepest wisdom goes deeper than intellect and receives something new. We enter the depths of silence with a question and we emerge with the answer. 

                We too often look to what blocks us from surrendering in silence as our answer. As a life preserver to a deep sea diver keeps him on the surface, attachments to the symbolic world of thinking keep us on the surface. We only let go of thinking when we love and trust that which exists beyond the creations of our mind. When we accept that beyond thought reality, even in the midst of a painful chronic illness; we find what we are looking for.

The babbling of Blogging creates the beauty of Haiku thinking. Go to http://lifeskillsinc.com & develop conscious habits that connect you to that depth. We all love & heal best from that depth. Go to http://ahealthywaytobesick.org if you want to be my virtual partner in launching my e-book.

Using Your Mind Instead of Your Mind Using You

During difficult times our mind can either evolve us to a higher level or it defeats us. We have to learn how to preside over our mind or we become victims of how we were conditioned in the past. When you accept the power you naturally have, you will never be a victim to your past conditioning.

Think about this thought for a moment. Your body responds to the thoughts and images in your mind. Every person has changed their mind in the past and has learned that changed their way of looking at the world. Imagine a young child, David rushing home on his birthday. He is excited because birthdays were important in his family and this was a big one for him: He was going to be ten years old.

After running home from school, he opens the front door expecting his family’s love, but what he finds is an empty room with the TV running and no body home. He goes into another room and found nobody home. He was disappointed, thinking that they all forgot his special day. He sits down feeling rejected and then all of a sudden, the door to a room they never used opens and his entire family comes out singing Happy Birthday.

Instantly his rejected outlook changed and his heart filled with joy. His body received different messages from his mind. He unknowingly just learned an important lesson about life: The thoughts in your mind create your body’s experience. So why can’t we use that principle to change depressing times in our life?

The only way we change is when we change what we identify with. So if we exclusively focus on the issues before us, we may miss the issues within us that determine if we change.  

Here are 5 prime reasons we resist change.

• We hold on to our mind  made reality as though it was real.
• We value what we create more than we value life.
• Our consciousness is committed to flow with our thought patterns, so it is difficult to find new ideas.
•  We identify with the creations of our mind, thinking that is who we are. We don’t value “who” listens to our thoughts.
• The quality of life is found beyond what we conceive or perceive, connecting to that inner wisdom uncovers powerful inner resources needed to accomplish your goal.

Learn to connect to the Wisdom of the Body in a Tele-seminar. “Finding Quality of life Using the Wisdom of the Body”. Go to http://lifeskillsinc.com to enroll. If appropriate download my e-book “A Healthy Way to be Sick.”

© Marc Lerner 2007

A Healthy Way to be Sick Without compromise

There is probably no better way to free yourself from your past than to consciously deal with a health challenge. To deal with that challenge it is essential to connect to the Wisdom of the Body, which exists beyond your conditioned mind. This inner wisdom is home of powerful inner resources that create the quality of your life. You can either focus on thoughts about your health challenge or connect to the part of you that can do something to improve your health. Tap this inner wisdom & become a partner with your Dr. using inner & outer resources. Challenges evolve you when you're not a victim & you can better deal with your challenge..

When you face a situation that has no easy solution, you naturally search in the Unknown for solutions or you accept the situation you are in as reality. I have multiple sclerosis and if you search all the medical records you will find no cure for MS, but there are ways to slow the progression down. That doesn’t cure you; it just gives you time to search deeper  within.

If I only look outside for my solution to my problem I would be forced to accept there is nothing that can be done for me. That is not the solution I find deep within me with the Wisdom of my Body. I have been given an opportunity to explore beyond the consciousness of thinking (either mine or the world of modern medicine) and it is in that silence the quality of life is found.

Thinking about my handicaps of MS is not a pleasant thing to do. Entering the silence beyond those thoughts (without the mental noise of thinking) is where I connect to the Wisdom of my Body. That inner wisdom has a profound spiritual connection with a tender touch to an Ultimate reality. You can call that what you want, but at that depth names are not that important. Just as in the most intimate time with your lover, their name is not as important as the touch. I find comfort at that depth without anxious thinking.

I feel that tender consciousness touch is the best way to deal with any health challenge; for in that tenderness you are connected to the depths of your being and your inner wisdom. That consciousness can use external resources the best; that is where you participate with your whole heart and all of your inner resources. Of course the conditioning of your ego can limit your efforts; but when you are conscious, ego’s limitations can be corrected.

Knowing how to consciously correct ego’s past is the role of anyone in a health challenge. Do you feel you accept that challenge?

 

Consciously condition your mind so you deal with health challenges from inner wisdom instead of your past conditioning. Go to http://lifeskillsinc.com and to get a copy of the e-book enroll in a Tele-seminar that develops the life skills needed for that inner journey. Free e-book also to view.

(c) Life Skills Institute 2008

 

How to Benefit From That Which Challenges You

A challenge forces you to go beyond what you are comfortable with, to venture into the unknown. We all have habits that we can easily fall back on, but we can do that without being conscious in the moment.

                I don’t consider that a challenge because you were not forced to grow. Let me give you some points that create challenges for me.

·         A challenge requires you to be conscious in the moment

·         No thought in your mind or habit you have is more important than being alive in that moment.

·         Without protecting your heart you face that challenge wide open to totally be there with love

·         The degree of your heart’s expression is not defined by choice; it comes from a higher consciousness, where your deepest wisdom responds instead of your idea of yourself.

·         Your breath brings your inner power present. The flow of your breath indicates letting go.

·         The ability to let go allows your deepest wisdom to express.

·         That pure expression is how love is expressed, how healing happens and how your own wisdom speaks to you.

                Now face your challenges with this state of mind. The results of your challenge are not as valuable as the “you” that get developed. When this character becomes who you identify with, you will appreciate your challenge deeply. These points can become habits that defines how you will face every challenge you face.

Now ask yourself one question; are the results you get from your challenge as important as the growth experienced? The “you” that experiences your challenge is far more important than winning or losing.  

Learning how to grow from challenges requires life skills training. Go to http://lifeskillsinc.com & enroll in a Tele-seminar that develops that “you”. A Healthy Way to Be Sick develops strength in facing challenges.

© Marc Lerner & Life Skills 2009