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BioCore Integration

Are You Over-Ordering Food at Office and Corporate Events?

8/3/2011

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The other day, I attended a corporate event for about 40 people. Afterwards, I witnessed an astounding amount of untouched food being thrown away. In recent years, I’ve become acutely aware of how much food waste occurs at office and other corporate events.  I extrapolated that , on any given day in a city like New York, there are hundreds if not thousands of catered events that likely add up to a shockingly large amount of wasted food. And that is just one city!  


At your office event, I strongly encourage sharing the uneaten food so it doesn’t sit around and go bad. I have sent emails to entire floors of the office with “Food in the Pantry!” as a subject line. Usually that does the trick.  I also like to pass food to maintenance crews or IT departments, as they are seldom appreciated for the extra effort they put in.

Another, more profound level of waste comes from higher-profile corporate parties or catered events. Those events are the ones in which the amount of waste can leave any sane person breathless. On just one occasion, I personally witnessed more than 100 portions of uncooked beef tossed into the garbage, along with bucket-sized, untouched salads. In fact, I left the catering business as a part-time job years ago, in part, because of the profound amount of food waste that I saw. Most catering businesses are not financially impacted by the waste, party because the event is paid for by the corporations they are servicing – said another way, by corporate fat.

Some catering and food service companies are well versed at encouraging over-ordering, because the more food that’s ordered, the more money they make. So, be aware that their estimates of the volume of food to order are usually way more than what’s necessary!

This pattern seems to be cultural – corporate cultural.  The perception is, that by ordering more, we create abundance and by ordering less we create deprivation or lack. Also, in order to feel abundant, we must be able to waste or be left with a large amount of unused portions. All these perceptions are simply untrue.  Ultimately, waste effects everyone negatively.  Abundance is not about having waste-able excesses.  Abundance is about the ability to allow and enjoy the perfect amount .

 

Ways to reduce office food waste:
 - Engage in “Food Forwarding” - arrange for leftovers to be taken home or offered to others not involved in the event.  Also, take responsibility for storing what’s left in the local refrigerator. 
 - Order less food – you can start by reducing the amount you order by a quarter, a third or even a half and see how that goes.
 - Question the portions that are being offered by the caterer or restaurant providing the food.
 - Understand that waste is not a prerequisite for abundance. 
 - Communicate with others about your outrage when you see waste of this kind.
 - On the self-empowerment side, simply intend to order the perfect amount of food for your                 event and allow support from the Universe... ;) 


 - Edited by Carole S. Vaporean

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Soul, Personality & Ego - Which is Responding or Reacting?

7/6/2011

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What part of you is responding or reacting?
Identifying soul, personality and ego & the interplay with emotions


In our internal world, there are three distinct aspects of each of us that interact and influence how we each make choices.  Identified as soul, personality and ego, each plays an essential role in the process of maintaining our individuality, supporting the expression of our gifts and talents, as well as deeper growth, self-realization and direction. 

Emotions effect and influence each of these aspects in more ways than we are lead to understand. In this article, I will define, in broad strokes, the role of all three aspects.
In subsequent article(s), I will address how to create pathways to help you willingly feel and how that affects the three aspects.

When your feelings are active, balanced and available, you experience great personal freedom.


Clarifying Soul, Personality & Ego
The ego is our essential sense of the “I am,” differentiated away from the whole. A drop of water in the ocean is an apt metaphor to describe ego in relation to a person’s entire being. And ego is what gives us our individuated experience apart from the whole. This is its intention.  The ego is focused on self-preservation and is guided by “survival of the fittest” scenarios. We can clearly see why having a survival instinct is necessary. As a general rule, however, the ego is not committed to growth and change for the better, which is the intention of our soul.  When a person allows their ego to take over and dominate the decision process, the person experiences a separate, survival reality.  In that experience a person feels truly separated from Self and humanity.  Attempting to manipulate, the need to be right or the need to be perceived in a particular way as are aggressive ego-based or ego-defense based behaviors. Other passive/escape ego-defense behaviors sink into self deprecation, create dramas or escape reality altogether. We all live with some degree of this in our lives.  The ego is generally committed to avoiding feelings such as fear, pain or shame even - where danger is not present.  This is where it gets complicated with emotions, because when one feeling is blocked (by the ego) the entire energetic flow is also blocked. 

The biggest threat to your ego’s survival is the revelation of oneness. 

The personality is the real-world interface and conscious decider between the elements of soul and ego. We need both soul and ego on this human, three-dimensional experience to maintain individuality as well as experience our individual expression. Personality is connected to the thinking and choosing process. Personality also maintains a sense of identity, preferences, proclivities, and expresses a person’s astrological aspects.  Personality is influenced by both soul and ego and acts as the balancer between the two. It is only through the personality that we choose to feel or experience, choose to move toward, choose to confront (a fear) or face something.  Choosing courageously leads to creating the experience of growth. Being courageous means choosing in the face of the feelings that arise as a result of making the choice. When we do not actively choose, we are subjecting ourselves to unconscious ego-survival choices and a less empowered reality. 

The biggest threat to the soul is constant focus on (ego-based) survival scenarios

 

The soul contains the essence of consciousness, the life force and intimate connection to everything. The soul is the unified field of awareness. The soul is where authenticity resides as it’s not in the ego’s capacity to express authenticity. What I have come to understand about soul is that it’s a verb, an action of purity, integrity and directness.  Soul acts purely without fear, separation (from humanity, or anything else for that matter) or resistance. Your soul, because it is eternal, does not fear nor does worry about survival in the conventional sense. To allow your soul to act in these ways, your personality must choose to face the resistance your ego has to feeling. More specifically, feeling the fears attached to unworthiness, not being enough, or being wrong. Your soul also chooses or attempts to choose the direction of your life as well as the major players which support your soul’s journey. Optimally, when the soul is engaged in your life, it chooses through the expression of gifts, talents and qualities of heart.  

Part of the purpose of your life’s journey is the awakening of soul into existence. This must be chosen by the personality in order to be cultivated. Your soul comes into being by a process of self effacement, self-discovery and evolving self-love.  In facing anything, one comes in direct contact with emotions. Difficulties or resistance to growth happens when the ego attempts to thwart these feelings as the ego can become easily threatened by feelings. When there is a willingness to feel, the personality interfaces more directly with the soul. Through the ability to feel, distinct qualities of heart are developed such as discernment, conscience, connection, willingness, passion for life, celebration, compassion, and forgiveness.



The soul is often the unconscious commander, the ego, the unconscious (attempt to) controller, and the personality, the conscious balancer.

What role do emotions play in this process? - Next time I will continue to explore how the emotions affect all three...

In the meantime, love yourself and all your feelings equally.



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Responding to Truth - Emotions, Blind Spots & Truth

6/10/2011

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How do you respond or react to your own truth? How do you respond or react to someone revealing their truth to you? I have noticed that my responses to hearing truths about myself has changed over time. In the past, I tended to react more than respond. In responding, a conscious choice is made. A reaction is an unconscious one. For me, reactions are fewer and fewer, but I still get surprised at times.


Most of us think of the truth as something to be evaluated as it’s occurring outside of ourselves, as with politics or current affairs. Mostly, those are opinions and evaluations that get filtered through our own (often hidden) personal truths. Sometimes, if we can’t face our own truth, we attempt to force others face theirs. Or, we think that what’s true for us must be true or right for others.  

Here, I want to focus on personal truths. I’m speaking of what is true to you now, in a particular area of your life, but is not involved with being right or wrong. Sharing that truth can elicit some discomfort, feelings of being exposed or even shame. Your truths don’t have to be Earth shattering to create this kind of a reaction. Truths are perspectives that often make us uncomfortable, but can also remain on our minds for a time, as we try to accept them. To some of you reading the last sentence, you may have experienced a subtle internal gripping feeling.  Check in with yourself. Is that true for you? Are you willing to discover and admit even a little of that as a possibility? Or, do you simply have a habitual reaction of pushing or turning away from simple truths? 

Truths aren’t inherently negative, but often our reaction to them has do to with discomfort. And for most of us, discomfort must be avoided. As a result, we tend to automatically react or reject hearing truths. 

So, when we shut off our ability to hear truths, because of their potential for discomfort, we shut off our access to ourselves and to growth. I’m not saying that personal growth has to do with discomfort, but often, we reach for comfort at the expense of who we are. Many times, that truth is about claiming our greatness, power, and our God or Goddess qualities. 

Often times, those truths were blocked away long ago. So long ago, it’s as if they are no longer true. How untrue! The gripping or avoidance of the discomfort is an emotional reaction to something that’s uncomfortable. This is also a protection mechanism. Protecting us from unwanted feelings, but also from our own truth.

In reacting, you are at the mercy of what is unresolved in your life. 

If we choose to ponder the “why” connected to our reactions, usually a blind spot is revealed - things done unconsciously. These blind spots become so practiced that we are no longer aware of the choices that originally created the reactive behavior. All human beings have blind spots; this is true of
everyone, including our spiritual and political leaders. This phenomenon binds us as human beings. For me, this indicates how we are inextricably connected and truly need one other to help reveal these personal blind spots. Accepting your blind spots is not always easy or pleasant as it’s the ego’s task to keep those blind spots in place. Attempting to reveal your blind spots all by yourself is virtually impossible. An empowered person is committed to becoming aware of these blind spots and the unconscious choices that created them.

The reality about revealing truth is that it will almost
always illicit emotions. For many people, the feeling of exposure dominates. It can also bring up fear or shame, the desire to isolate, escape reality, collapse into drama, or the desire to hurt or dominate another person.  These are some powerful indicators that you are having a reaction to something. This reaction cycle needs to be broken in order to grow. In order to do that a person needs to reach out for help. A friend, a trusted family member, a therapist or spiritual guide. Someone other than yourself. You must make peace with your wounded emotion and learn how to flow, express and release this feeling energy. Resistance only serves to break you down. It does not protect you.

Alas, “The truth shall set you free.” 




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Resistance to Meditation and the Relationship Between Emotions and Chakras:

5/11/2011

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As I have touched on in previous posts, the chakras need energy to flow in and out in order for a person to grow emotionally and move fully through developmental stages. That energy flow is derived from emotional flow. So, blockages in the chakras affect emotional flow and blocked emotions effect chakra development.   

Emotional reality is more apparent in early life. Left unresolved, emotional non-reality has more of an effect on later life than you may imagine.

Emotional reality is dominant in early life. If you have or observe children before they’re about six years old, you may notice they are learning and functioning almost strictly by emotions. Whether they are supported or not in that emotional flow determines the (relative) growth of the chakra and the consciousness level each chakra is associated with. By the time a child’s ability to think is activated (around age 6), their emotional flow through chakras one, two and three is pretty much set and has been determined by the degree of emotional support through that development.

How the Thinking Process is Directed by the Emotions:
As each chakra operates in various states of energetic flow, impulses of emotional energy have a specific resonance and frequency that the brain interprets. It then  creates thought (patterns) matching that emotional / energetic resonance.

Thoughts are created to match how you feel.  Try this out for yourself

 – or try to think thoughts that are the opposite of how you feel and observe the difficulty.

Around age six, when the third chakra becomes more activated, emotional blockages begin to manifest more specific behavior patterns. An example of a blocked third chakra (power / identity) is when the child feels a difficulty making choices because they have not been supported in their personal preferences. For example, Mommy says: “Of course you don’t like vanilla, you like chocolate,” when the child clearly prefers vanilla.  The child’s brain will interpret the emotional confusion between its own preference and wanting to please Mommy or Daddy. The thoughts will match the ambivalence they feel: “I don’t know what I like,” or “Making Mommy happy is more important.” This is the beginning of people-pleasing behaviors.

If we attempt to control unwanted feelings with new thought patterns alone,
we end up creating energy-sapping resistance.


Positive Affirmations – An Attempt to Circumvent the Root of the Issue:
Positive affirmations have a less than lasting effect on the person attempting to make lasting changes. This is because the originating emotional impulses are not being addressed. This is not to say that the commitment is not there to make changes. When the emotions remain unresolved – because emotions need to move and change, those feelings send relentless impulses to the brain. In the healthiest scenario, the brain would reply: “Something’s wrong with the way I’m feeling, because it feels negative. I must make a change.” 

Meditation can become difficult as well; when the emotions do not flow freely and create many repetitive thoughts. So much so that thoughts can become habits without the person realizing it.  This then creates a loop that reinforces the unresolved feelings.

A New Solution – Begin to Address the Root of the Issue. 

In order to genuinely heal and transform the emotional body, one must re-fire the emotional flow. This, for most people, is not the direction they focus on. Mostly they focus is on symptoms, which only supports surviving emotional states and does not empower the person to deeper fulfilment and being in-charge of their choices.

Note: This is where the pharmaceuticals solutions are often sought. For the most part, the effects of behavior modifying drugs tend to numb the person to those deeper, unresolved feelings. Let me be clear, however, for those of you who are taking them, I am not suggesting that you stop taking your medications, especially not abruptly. If you have been utilizing these medications, sometimes a neurological dependence develops. In order to effectively move foreword, you would have to be weaned off of them, and only when there is a sufficient flow of feelings occurring naturally.
I’ve helped clients come off behavior modifying drugs numerous times in my private practice. It is attainable, but it takes time, patience and a competent, caring therapist as well as a willing, committed client. Also, if you are taking medications for emotional and behavioral reasons, you should be receiving some kind of regular support – preferably a therapist who focuses on emotions and the resolution of emotional issues.

If you feel empowered, you can begin to access your feelings more readily.

As you do, you will feel a flow of energy that feels more alive.

 Next time, I will explore more deeply some behavior patterns you may have observed in others or in yourself as I begin to address what your emotional needs truly are as well as techniques on how to access emotions safely and effectively.

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Emotional Connection - Essential for Personal & Spiritual Growth.

4/26/2011

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Emotions are flows of energy in your nervous system creating personal experience; that flow is governed and generated mostly by the lower three chakras. When that energy flows with less restriction, you can experience emotions freely and decipher reality with less effort. Also, when the emotions from the lower three chakras interact with an open heart (fourth chakra) you develop conscience, compassion, understanding, discernment and creativity. These states are developed over time as a result of a deeper connection to yourself. Experiencing a specific emotion gives you the ability to understand that feeling in another person.

Moreover, energy that is generated from these flowing emotions is necessary for the creation of higher states of consciousness. So you actually need the energy from emotions to grow spiritually. I hear a lot of rhetoric about transcending the body and lower emotions to then assume a leap to higher spiritual states. This tone tends to shame and make wrong so-called lower emotions and attempts to rid a person of what is there to be claimed as life energy. There is no getting rid of emotions. There is only transformation by allowing your humanity and accepting your feelings, and in so doing, creating a flow of energy that supports grounded spiritual growth.
It’s not about transcending the body. It’s not about saying anger is unacceptable therefore needs to be gotten rid of. Rather, it is about embracing and learning from what emotions are there to teach you and how that reveals the choices you are making.  


You were given your body as a vehicle, as a tool for growth. In a perfect Universe, why would something be created just to be negated?


Chakra Basics – If you have had no previous exposure to the term, chakras (sanskrit: wheel or disk) are bands or centers of concentrated life-force energy located at 7 points from the base of your torso to the top of your head. Your personal growth throughout life is also connected to the development of the Chakra system in a somewhat linear fashion. Firstchakra governs basic survival needs of food, shelter, belongingness and so on. Second Chakra is your connection to emotions, experience, and the relationship to things outside of yourself, including other people. Third chakra supports your sense of who you are as an individual. Fifth chakra is connected to your self-expression. Sixth is your intellect and intuition. Seventh is your connection to higher consciousness and to the Universe or God.
The fourth chakra is the neutral point between your upper three and lower three chakras and governs the interplay between them -- merging divine wisdom, intuition, intellect and expression with energy of manifestation, experience of passion, connection, and who you are becoming as a sacred individual.



Development of feelings in your nervous system.

The programming of your nervous system began in the womb and continued mainly during your childhood. This programming took place through the flow of emotions and the interplay between emotions and chakras in response to stimuli. Each chakra’s development is governed by a dominant emotional experience and need. First chakra emotional needs are safety, security, being wanted, loved and welcomed into life. Second chakra needs are about being supported and nurtured as your awareness of the world around you grows. As you discover your relationship to things outside of yourself, you develop more feelings. Your need here is to feel supported and that you have permission to explore freely without shame. Third chakra emotional needs are about feelings that come with independence – your own preferences, likes, dislikes and the discovery of who you are for yourself and for others. If these feelings aren’t nurtured and are possibly shamed, unmet needs, or blocks in the flow of feelings, develop early on. Buried emotions never die.


In re-discovering where emotional blocks occur for yourself – mainly by identifying which emotions you suppress - you can begin to address unmet needs in order to re-ignite growth in your chakras and discover more fulfilling choices. You will also begin to experience being more freely expressed.  In future topics, I will address specific emotional needs and how to navigate them. In the meantime, remember, you always benefit from being kind to yourself.  To see all subject posts by Edmund K. go here:
http://www.biocoreintegration.com/blog.html

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Weight Loss: Part 1. Weight loss, Feelings, Needs and Boundaries

4/17/2011

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Contemplate these concepts while you pursue your weight loss goals: 


So much has been written about weight loss that I’m a bit hesitant to go down this road – almost like “Don’t talk politics or religion during the holidays…”

But, despite the volumes written on the subject I have found little information that addresses the emotional root of the issues facing those wishing to shed pounds and keep them off.

If you approach the role of emotions in weight loss from a little deeper perspective, not only can you lose the weight, but you transform other aspects of your life which leads to being more empowered overall. You can be more successful in losing and keeping the weight off as a part of a deeper transformation.

Issue 1: Your Feelings Play a Major Role in Your Weight and Size!  

Astounding thought, isn’t it? Often, when feelings are there influencing our choices we don’t even recognize them. And feelings govern more of our choices than you’d think! We’re constantly told, “It’s our thoughts,” but the mind is only an interpreter of emotional and energetic impulses from the subconscious.

I assert, that for most people with chronic weight issues their physical weight has something to do with creating physical boundaries with others. Yes, your increased size is a way to artificially keep others at a distance!  This happens because a person feels uncomfortable claiming clear, spoken boundaries with others. In an attempt to claim their boundaries, most people feel like they might hurt another person’s feelings or offend someone. Usually, these feelings occur with very little awareness of them. This impulse not to hurt someone’s feelings can be very debilitating and keep you from the need to define your own safe space.

The first step in claiming these boundaries is to be able to identify your authentic needs in a given situation. In order to know what your needs are, you must be able to identify your feelings honestly for yourself. In order to be emotionally connected to yourself, it takes willingness and courage, and it takes a decision - a decision to make yourself a priority in your life. But without access to what you are feeling, your needs will seem distant, illusive and can go painfully unmet throughout an entire lifetime! If you are a parent, I can understand the challenge this seems to pose. But by not doing this for yourself, you can inadvertently pass this emotional trait along to your children.

Try it out. Ask yourself, “What do I need right now?” Answer with authentic needs such as: I need rest. I need to be allowed to be by myself. I need someone to listen to me without interrupting or giving advice. To help you find your authentic needs, say your feelings to yourself (out loud is preferable) as I encouraged in my previous post. Once you identify your feelings, ask yourself, “Why am I feeling the way I am?” Then, you can discover your needs more easily. 

Ironically, because many people with chronic weight issues are so focused on the needs of others, it is hard for them to turn their focus on themselves in order to identify a single feeling. Then, they tend to numb out. Food becomes part of the numbing-out process. Eating also becomes the replacement for those unmet needs that have long been ignored.

In the moment, food takes on less healthy roles. The person uses the food to try to feel better, by numbing out or escaping from their own feelings or from feeling the needs of others. They also use food to maintain the physical and energetic boundaries from others.  

For those of you who have a harder time identifying feelings, don’t be discouraged. Many people simply lack practice. So, if you are able to say just one feeling, then that is a win. Believe me; I’ve worked with many people for whom at the beginning of their path, identifying a single feeling was a challenge. Some folks may also tend to beat themselves up for this – sink in on themselves – another reason to reach for food. As a way to nurture yourself through this, remember the great Buddha quote, “Compassion is incomplete if it does not include yourself.” Learning to love yourself is the greater goal here. So, while you are moving towards feeling healthier and less burdened by excess weight, remember the ultimate goal is to like and love yourself more and more…

In these ongoing posts, I will continue to address the role of emotions in personal transformation.

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The Role of Feelings in Giving & Receiving

3/31/2011

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We are naturally giving and receiving beings. What are the emotional blocks that prevent us from that flow and connection? How do we navigate out of "push and pull" agendas of manipulation and control with others?

When we are emotionally open, free and grounded we are more able to be in connection with ourselves in a profound way. When we are open in this way, we can experience connection to others in profound ways as well. What usually comes to mind when I'm engaged in this kind of connection with another person is a band of golden light in the shape of the infinite "8" moving between myself and the other person's heart-center. In this exchange, clarity, truth, safety, support, love and discovery can occur between participants.

This is the goal of all human interaction, our inter-connectedness in action,  when giving and receiving naturally occurs simultaneously for both people. In this space we engage in the discovery of who we are, where we are on our paths, and how we are inter-dependent. It also illustrates how we cannot thrive in "separation."

When we are emotionally closed, fearful, resistant and ungrounded, we are operating from another perspective; that of separated self-preservation. We are guarded, defensive. We don't trust the other or ourselves. In this scenario we are likely to take things others say personally. This leads us to push-pull or sink-escape scenarios. How many times have you been in a conversation that you felt all you wanted to do was escape or leave, but felt trapped? How many times have you left that conversation drained? Or, have you ever been in a conversation that left you feeling dominated, confused and angry? These are some of the symptoms of push-pull or sink-escape interactions. I provide clear techniques on how to better negotiate these kinds of interactions. 

 Q: How does one become emotionally grounded and connected to themselves? - it always starts with you making the commitment first. 

A: You must be able to identify exactly what you are feeling in the present moment. Are you tired? Resistant? Sad? Inspired? Interested? Bold? Bored? Excited? Angry? Vulnerable? Child-like? Sensual? Ashamed?

Can you name what you are feeling? Can you accept all of your feelings - equally - as they occur, without judgment and with generosity?  The more you can do this the more free you will feel. The more you give this to yourself, the more you will trust exactly who you are, where you are. The more you trust yourself emotionally, the more you will be able to trust yourself (and your truth) in the presence of others, and will be willing to accept others' truth without trying to change or fix them. When you encounter another and accept them as you have grown to accept yourself, you will be in a much greater position to feel safe in giving and receiving with them. Until self-ownership occurs, the exchange is not clear and there is little trust. And when trust is lacking, we tend to overcompensate, which leaves us feeling awkward, uncomfortable and disconnected.  

Thus, giving and receiving is about building a stronger connection to what you are feeling, moment-to-moment. When we trust ourselves more deeply, we are less threatened and less likely to need to reject what others are giving. When this receiving is experienced by both people, each can experience the flow of giving and receiving more profoundly.

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    Author - Edmund K.

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