Thanks so much to Mallory and John and Nancy, and everyone else at Jade Integrated Health in Portland and Brunswick, Maine. The time at Jade has been a wonderful opportunity to put my OM training into practice. Skills benefit from time to contemplate and reflect, like seeds laying fallow under ground in winter. I am counting on that and taking time off to slow the pace of life down and relax into a simpler lifestyle.  
My last day at Jade is this coming Friday, October 4th. Then we are meeting with Sangha and friends in Ohio before heading west. KC and I will be campground hosts at Mountain Spirits in Mimbres,  New Mexico this winter.

We all tell ourselves stories, and we believe them because an outside authority that might be science, society or religion inform and support those stories. Their power over us comes from our belief in them. Notice how an exciting opportunity brings you relief from stress just by anticipating it? Why not feel that relief whenever you need it? Would it be so bad to imagine something that might not be real now or ever? How many times has what you once accepted as fact turned out to be wrong? Do you Question Authority? What happens when you challenge your beliefs? Could you, right now, select something you believe and imagine it were not so, that in fact the opposite were true?

We were taught to stop the power of our imagination when it created conflict between ourselves and others. Our feelings are a guide to our inner state. The feelings of enthusiasm or exhileration, benevolence and appreciation reflect a physical state of harmony with the capacity to heal and generate well being. Why not tell yourself a story that brings about that feeling and then work to maintain that feeling at all times? Wouldn't you choose to feel good if you could? You can.

Our beliefs can be a super power or the source of disease. To benefit from the power of belief  base the story on Generosity, Compassion and Wisdom. Bring to mind a simple wholesome image, memory, moment, being which brings a smile to your heart, a feeling of well being, a light and warmth in your chest, and use that/those story/stories to support and maintain that feeling with gentle persistence until it becomes habit, a skill you can draw on and rely on in challenging times. This is not something that can happen overnight, it takes  it takes repetition and practice to see where this skill takes you - it is greater than you can foresee right now.