It has been found that a healthy human body vibrates at a frequency of 62-78 MHz, and the immune system becomes compromised when frequency drops to 58 MHz and below. Are you experiencing physical or mental/emotional fatigue, tension, pain, or illness? Time to tune your mind to a different radio station–higher up on the dial. There are many ways to raise your frequency, including:

• Get out in nature. The outdoors is alive with good vibrations.
• Sit near or in fresh running water or take a shower.
• Move mindfully with yoga, qigong, or tai chi.
• Listen to music that speaks to you. Sing! Dance!
• Breathe slowly and deeply.
• Gaze at the vast night sky; the soft light of the moon and stars.
• Receive a Reiki energy healing treatment.
• Eat fresh foods filled with energy and life.
• Listen to vibrational bowl sounds.
• Enjoy time with high vibration people.
• Think happy thoughts. Go beyond thinking. See and feel them.
• Sit in gratitude. Feel it in your bones.
• Smile – through your face and your eyes.
• Focus on what you want as if you already have it.
• Imagine you are pure, radiant light. Darkness cannot live in the brilliance of light.

As we recalibrate ourselves, we recalibrate each other and our planet. Wishing you good vibrations.

The coming year promises excitement, enthusiasm, and unpredictability. As you fly with Dragon’s passion toward new horizons, be sure not to throw all of Rabbit’s caution to the wind, or you may invite drama and chaos into your life. The good news is that this is a Water Dragon year, and the water element will calm Dragon’s fiery nature. Water produces Wood, signifying great potential for growth and inspiration, particularly in the Wood season of spring when Dragon truly comes alive.

If you were born in 1928, 1940, 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988, or 2000, you were born in a year of the Dragon and will enjoy strutting your stuff in colorful ways this year. You are likely to be innovative, enterprising, flexible, self-assured, brave, and passionate (and perhaps a bit conceited and quick-tempered!). If you were born in 1952, the last year of the Water Dragon, this is your year to rule!

As 2011 comes to a close and you contemplate your New Year’s resolutions, know that Dragon energy is working with you, empowering you to fly at great heights and swim effortlessly toward your goals. And don’t forget to cultivate your pearl. Look within and know that eternal bliss can only be found there. You are powerful beyond words.

Let’s revel together and dance into this auspicious Dragon year!

Lately, I’ve become aware that I feel uncomfortable in these transitional periods. I like having a goal and working toward it. It gives me a sense of purpose and accomplishment. But I’ve also become aware that continually doing more and reaching for more draws our attention to the future, leaving us less and less connected with the present.

So I’m learning to surf through times of transition, seizing the opportunity to maintain awareness of the present. I watch myself marinate in that rich soup of not knowing where I’m going next. Sometimes, you just have to sit with the questions.

We all go through many transitions in life, experiencing loss and gain and change in so many ways. Perhaps you’re there now. Our natural reaction is to fear the unknown and feel lost in confusion. Rather than pushing the river, trying to find answers, you may find that time really does heal all. Give yourself the gift of time. Linger in the spaces in between–watching, noticing, percolating. Every moment is a moment of transition, as we die to the past and awaken to the future.

Breathe now. Feel where you are. And simply notice.

When practicing qigong, tai chi, yoga, Reiki, or any energy art, I feel…
1. I am gathering energy and storing it.
2. I am channeling energy and being recycled by it.

When I breathe,…
1. I fill up with air and absorb it.
2. I fill up with air and simultaneously let it go.

When my body feels sick or uncomfortable…
1. I feel my energy (qi) is low.
2. I feel my energy (qi) is blocked.

When I am feeling tired or exhausted…
1. I feel I have run out of qi.
2. I feel my qi is stagnant.

If you chose even one “1.” answer, you may be living with the belief system that you are a container. If you chose more “2.” answers, you probably align more with the notion that you are a conduit.

If we see ourselves as a container, we are limiting our capacity. In fear of not having enough, we will forever strive to feel full (of food, money, employment, relationships, etc.). We feel terrific when we feel full and feel lacking when we are empty, riding a roller coaster through life.

If we see ourselves as a conduit, we live in abundance. Embracing the cyclical nature of the universe, we allow everything to flow through us without grasping. We realize that an exhale can be as fulfilling as an inhale. We can let go of a relationship, a job, or a material item, knowing that we are creating space for something new and inspiring to flow in.

A conduit does not need to grasp for money, situations, people, or things. A conduit knows that the universe is a boundless sea of energy. A conduit simply holds a clear space for the abundant possibilities to flow through.

Autumn is the season of letting go, clearing, and restructuring. I invite you to walk through the next few weeks with both freedom to release and freedom to receive, knowing that there will always be enough.

Embracing the continual winds of change.

To a Daoist, autumn represents the Metal phase of the year. After the Fire of summer exploded with activity and heat, culminating in the abundance of harvest, we settle back down with the cooling, contracting quality of Metal. We can only grow and produce so long before we need to pause and re-organize. It is the perfect time to cleanse and let go, creating clarity and space for new inspiration. The mantra for autumn is “Let Go.”

This season, I am letting go of practical things–weeding out unnecessary possessions that have piled up in my closets. And I am also letting go of deeper things. Like an old shirt that no longer fits, I am tossing the word “should” from my vocabulary. When we do something because we think we should, it feels effortful–like we’d really rather be doing something else. Long ago, I learned to say “no” to events and invitations that infringed on my “me” time. I know how to draw boundaries in my schedule. But I realize that I never learned to say “no” to that inner voice that tells me I should be working on my latest project, or I should be washing the dishes, or I should be crossing off more items from my To Do List today.

So I’ve decided to replace the word “should” with the word “choose.” With clarity, I will look at my list of tasks and choose what to do next. I may choose to work on a project, because I feel inspired in the moment. Or I may choose to wash the dishes because I enjoy a clean kitchen. Or I may choose to put the list aside, sit in my backyard, and be with my trees awhile until I choose to do something else. It is a small shift in awareness–doing something because you choose it and not because you should–but it makes a world of difference. I am seeing the world in brilliant, clear 3-D and feeling much more in tune with the flow of energy around me, rather than kowtowing to the drill sergeant in my head.

This autumn, I encourage you to cleanse and clear your life, both in practical ways and in deeper ways. Not because I’m saying you should, of course! But because you choose to release the weight of the past and the anxiety of the future and feel ready to co-create your life with the universe as it’s happening now.

Let go. Let go. Let go.

Through the confusion, I somehow accidentally took over a yoga class that I had been attending as a student. I didn’t have a lick of training, but they needed a replacement teacher, and so began my new career. I shudder to think how I giggled my way through that first class, both excited and terrified. Within a week, however, I was given three classes per week. With reminders of death and illness all around me, I was quite aware that life is short and precious. So within three months of teaching, I quit my corporate job and began teaching full-time. At the time, I didn’t really know what I was doing nor why. But I now see that my calling found me. And out of the onslaught of pain, this lovely jewel–a new career in the healing arts–was my saving grace. Perhaps I would never have re-invented myself if not for the challenges that knocked me back, one after the other.

I tell you this story because I am reminded that we must experience pain and suffering in order to learn, grow, and rise from the ashes. I tell you this story to remind you that, when times are the darkest, you never know what bright opportunity is waiting just around the corner. And I tell you this story to let you know that I am deeply indebted to each of you for having shared some part of this journey with me. I have learned so much more from all of you than you have ever learned from me. I humbly thank you.

Having been through a week-long training last year with many of the same people in this group, it was quite interesting to see how we all grew and evolved over the past year, largely in part because of our training and practice. And what is most remarkable to me is that this evolution seemed to dissolve barriers of ego and judgment of ourselves and of each other. This time around, we formed a near-Utopian society, supporting and upholding each other and nourishing ourselves. How does this happen? Because we are held in a space of loving acceptance and empowering freedom. We are solidly taught the forms and concepts inherent to the system, yet we are given full permission to find our own way – adding to or subtracting from anything we learn to make it fit.

So my suggestion this month is to celebrate diversity and quiet judgment. Notice when your inner critic jumps to a conclusion about someone’s behavior. Can you be aware of the behavior but still love the person? Can you empower them to find their own way? Do you feel accepted and empowered? Can you find that from within?

It is my wish that you find your solid roots and powerful wings.

When we take a breath in, we not only absorb oxygen, but we also absorb Qi–life-giving energy. With just a breath, we nourish the body, calm and clear the mind, and refresh our spirit. The words respiration, inspiration, and spirit all share the same Latin root spirare, meaning “to breathe.” Inspiration literally means “to breathe in.”

Just because you’re reading this, you’ve probably paused for a couple of deep inhales by now. See if you can take this with you into the rest of your day and remember to breathe in deeply to re-charge and re-inspire.

Wishing you a joy-filled summer.

When we pause to feel gratitude, we benefit ourselves. Our hearts soften, our minds quiet, and we nourish ourselves with radiant vitality. We also benefit the universe. By simply recognizing the beauty of a tree or a meal or a person, we imbue them with love and energy, because wherever the mind goes, energy goes. Gratitude is a synergy of healing, life-giving Qi.

You might dedicate at least one day (or even a full week!) to recognizing and feeling gratitude for everything that comes through your awareness–even the ease of a good parking space or just having driven home safely once again. See if holding a space of gratitude in your heart makes a difference in everything you do.

Of course, I am supremely grateful to do what I love, to experience such rich healing practices, and to share the journey with loving, joyful people like you.

I love to sit still in the backyard, gazing up at the trees and the birds and the butterflies. I feel a communion with nature, and it nourishes me. Here, I embrace stillness. Then, as happens so often in those states of bliss, I am hit with an inspiration for some new project or idea, and I’m off and running again!

I think the key to finding stillness is to be aware of the grounded center of your being, whether you’re sitting in your backyard, pushing a shopping cart, or racing to your next appointment. The trick is to be still within, even while your body, your mind, and your life are moving.

Perhaps this is why I love qigong. It is stillness in motion. There is enough movement to keep mind and body occupied and enough softness to really let go, to sense from within, and to find that still center. What a rich harmony. My qigong practice has taught me on the most profound level how to be the calm in the midst of the storm.

Where and how do you find stillness in life? Can you find it, just for a few breaths, every day?

May we each be a beacon of stillness as we move through the world.