Elaine Grundy: looking for Urban Enlightenment

The Reiki Book is published!

After a long year of writing, editing, rewriting, research and design I am SO delighted to announce Reiki, Pure and Simple is at last out and ready for your digestion ;-)

Reiki, Pure and Simple S$18.95

Note: for international orders the higher book price is due to higher postage.  All orders are posted by normal airmail.

For USA purchase please visit www.createspace.com/3503479

or Amazon.com

Country

Singapore $18.95 International $26.95

Description:

Written clearly, thoughtfully and practically, Reiki, Pure and Simple is the ideal book for those looking for a straightforward, all-round introduction to Reiki.   As well as explaining how Reiki works, how to best use it, and what benefits to expect, Elaine also takes you through the remarkable healing journey of many other practitioners and clients, presenting quantitative data and key findings gleaned from an international Reiki survey carried out in 2010.

87% of people noticed more peace after Reiki
80% noticed more happiness
80% experienced less stress
75% were less anxious or worried
73% were less angry

A great believer in the power of Reiki as a self-healing tool, Elaine firmly and convincingly argues her case here, backed by strong supporting evidence.  It is Elaine’s hope that, as holistic and conventional medicine continue to converge, with Reiki gaining greater acceptance in the medical profession, hospitals, emergency rooms, and care homes, we will all benefit from a more complete and effective way of taking care of our health and wellness.

“I don’t lash out so quickly.  When I am stressed or frustrated, I can get myself to calm down quite quickly.  I am not as sick, I have been able to stave away any office-born illness.  I feel more awake.” M.G.

“I have a different view of my life and the world in general. I am clearer about what is important to me. I have few aches and pains for my age (60) compared to friends of the same age.“ Helen

When Helping Backfires...or so you think

I was part of a great conspiracy yesterday!  I got an sms from a friend telling me about these abandoned dogs in Pasir Ris, only 2 weeks to live and they will be put down, 75 dogs, all pure breed and left to their fate, blah blah.  As I have just started a 'gratitude' facebook page called Big Thanks, and this month happens to be 'kindness' month, I thought - WOW what a great opportunity to do something kind and pass it on, maybe I can help?  So I forwarded it to my phonebook and felt all happy and smug.

A while later, another friend told me it was a fake - her friend had called the place on the sms and they had never heard such a thing.  Red faced and tail between legs (excuse the pun), I sms my friends again to say, 'oops, I was wrong.'  Then I sat and reflected on what just happened, funnily enough when I get one of these email things, I either automatically delete it, or I google it to check its validity and its almost always a fake. But for whatever reason, the fact it was an sms, so easy to just forward, it felt good sitting waiting for the bus and doing something pro-active as well, it was just the simplest thing to forward without thinking.  It brought me to notice that kindness should not be blind.  When we are trying to be kind, its important to be awake and to be responsible.  There's no point getting angry at the person who started it (though I did go there - 'why would someone start something like this, what sort of sick mind must they have?' blah blah)  because ultimately I chose to forward it without checking first, and so the mud has to stick onto my face.

The second thing that came out of it was that another friend, in the midst of all this flurry of sms, reminded me of all the fun she was having reconnecting with a whole bunch of people and it lit me up like a lightbulb - wow!  She was so right, I had a great 15 minutes connecting with people, sms beeping all over the place, little conversations going on with many people at once, it was a lot of fun!

The final lesson was really a reminder of the first - RESPONSIBILITY! When I got home my original source sms me to say her friend was volunteering at the shelter, so it was real, I laughed out loud and jumped online and sure enough, both my friends were right.  There have been dogs abandoned, they have been rescued and need a home, but they are not at the address as stated in the sms, which is an unauthorised spam.  Someone else who thought they were being kind had started an sms ring but the info was both misleading and the address incorrect, so it was causing a lot more problems.  My final reminder that kindness without responsibility is often not very helpful at all!

So to get to the original source, take a look at www.dogmilllrehomers.blogspot.com, and maybe you'll be moved to show a little kindness today too!

Botox makes you less angry

This is great, seen on Science Daily researchers have found that when you can't frown, you can't understand negative emotions associated with language as well as when you do frown.

"To test how blocking a frown might affect comprehension of language related to emotions, Havas asked the patients to read written statements, before and then two weeks after the Botox treatment. The statements were angry ("The pushy telemarketer won't let you return to your dinner"); sad ("You open your email in-box on your birthday to find no new emails"); or happy ("The water park is refreshing on the hot summer day.")

Havas gauged the ability to understand these sentences according to how quickly the subject pressed a button to indicate they had finished reading it. "We periodically checked that the readers were understanding the sentences, not just pressing the button," says Havas.

The results showed no change in the time needed to understand the happy sentences. But after Botox treatment, the subjects took more time to read the angry and sad sentences. Although the time difference was small, it was significant, he adds. Moreover, the changes in reading time couldn't be attributed to changes in participants' mood.

"There is a long-standing idea in psychology, called the facial feedback hypothesis," says Havas. "Essentially, it says, when you're smiling, the whole world smiles with you. It's an old song, but it's right. Actually, this study suggests the opposite: When you're not frowning, the world seems less angry and less sad."

Briliant!  Time to go get me some of that :)

Lets Do Our Part!

For Our Future and Future Generations....
16 May 2009 2-8pm
Hortpark Singapore
33 Hyderabad Road (off Alexandra Road)
www.letsdoyourpart.com

A charity seminar on social and environmental consciousness, inspired by the words of President Obama: "This is the moment when we must come together to save this planet. Let us resolve that we will not leave our children a world where the oceans rise and famine spreads and terrible storms devastate our lands."

The tickets are now available at $39/- per participant. It is a small fee for a value packed seminar! If you're not able to make it on 16 May, you may choose to purchase the ticket as a form of donation and perhaps pass the ticket on to your friends/family. For those not in Singapore, you may also choose to participate in this event by Pledging To Go Meat Free on 16 May, please visit our pledge page: http://www.letsdoyourpart.com/pledge.php

100% of the net proceeds from the event will go to The River Kids Project, a charity that prevents child trafficking in Cambodia (www.riverkidsproject.org).

The panel of expert speakers have all volunteered their time and knowledge/wisdom to be part of this event, and they include:
- Betty L Khoo-Kingsley, author of Cancer Cured & Prevented Naturally
- Dr Sarah Mavrinac, award winning social entrepreneur, founder of aidha
- Clarence Tan, Vice-president of the Vegetarian Society
- Faizah Jamal, speaking on "Weaving the Web Of Life"
- Michael O'Brien from Australia, speaking on "Sustainable Investing & The Stock Market"
- Dale Edmonds, founder of RiverKids Project
- Toby Ouvry, speaking on "Caring For The Earth By Caring For Ourselves"
- Shamala Tan, founder of "Let's Do Our Part"
- Fun & Games

To purchase the ticket/s, send an email to info@platinumlightworker.com with your full name, address and number of tickets you wish to purchase. Or you may phone 65-67950805 or send an sms to 65-97364300 Or visit: http://tinyurl.com/cphybh to purchase the ticket online.

Date: 16 May Sat • Time: 2pm-8pm • Venue: HortPark Singapore Multipurpose Hall, 33 Hyderabad Road (off Alexandra Road) • Fee: S$39 per person
This charity seminar is truly an educational and life changing event that will help you to transform your life and your children's lives forever.

Body Mind Spirit Festival 25-26th April

Look after yourself in times of trouble

The most important aspect of getting through the financial crisis is your health!  Looking after your diet, continuing to exercise, and maintaining a positive outlook are critical components of riding out this recession.

A survey of 50 Natural Health experts highlights the importance of taking care of your health in times of crisis.  “Often it is our health that is most neglected when we are under stress or feeling burdened, but this is the number one thing we need to be taking care of.  Without good health we have nothing!” says Elaine Grundy, Reiki Master. Her sentiments echo the majority of the other 50 experts interviewed by Holistic Living who are organizing a large Body Mind Spirit Festival on 25-26^th April at Fort Canning Centre.

Jacelyn Tay, Mediacorp Artiste and Founder of The Health Club says: “Health and wellbeing doesn’t necessarily come at a high cost.  At The Health Club we do a live blood analysis to find out the core reasons for weight gain or poor health and we tailor-make the diet and treatment programmes based on a person’s individual needs.  However, basic wellness can be achieved through a balanced diet, eating your last meal four hours before going to bed, and exercising regularly.” The Health Club will be conducting live blood analysis at a discounted rate (free for the first 50 people) and complimentary consultations by their registered TCM Physicians at the Body Mind Spirit Festival, with Ms Jacelyn Tay giving free public talks on both days at 2pm.

As well as looking after your body, the second critical factor is having a positive attitude.  Says Zaibun Siraj, Training Consultant at Ngee Ann Polytechnic, “maintain a positive attitude as it will make us stronger and we can live through difficult periods.  Take each day as it comes along, live it and enjoy yourself.  Look at your problems positively.  Do not allow them to make you feel anxious and unhappy. Be optimistic.”  Zaibun Siraj will be conducting ‘Laughter Therapy’ sessions on both days of the Festival.

“This is a critical time to be reminding people of the importance of nurturing themselves and looking after their health”, says Nancy Heylen, organizer of the Body Mind Spirit Festival.  “By bringing together such a large group of experts from different fields from TCM, Ayurvedic medicine, Reiki, TaiChi and other healing traditions we want to inspire Singaporeans to take better care of themselves. By adding a “Healing Space for Kids”, African drumming and Martial Arts demonstrations we also want to prove it can be a lot of fun too!”

The Festival offers 2 days of self discovery and exploration into all aspects of wellbeing from meditation, energy healing, life coaching, nutrition, natural health, books, music, aura photography, tarot card reading, jewellery, massage, crystals, beauty, healthy food and products.  

 Admission is FREE, with the opportunity to win Fantastic Prizes worth over $8,000. There is ample car parking near Fort Canning Centre and a free Shuttle Bus Service from Dhoby Ghaut MRT Station opposite Park Mall runs from 11am to 6pm each day.

Opening Times: 10am – 8pm Daily.  For further details, visit www.holisticliving.sg or call Shuli Law 9852 8025.

What Group Healing Space Launched!

I am so happy, excited and grateful to see such a successful launch last week of my new studio, the What Group Healing Space!  Thank you to all my friends, Reiki students, fellow therapists who attended and brought such lovely gifts, goodwill and love with them, I was in shock and awe :)

The studio is where I will be holding all my Reiki classes, coaching and healing sessions, and it is also open for bookings for any other therapists interested in using the space for classes, workshops, meditations and healing groups.  Click for for more details: http://www.whattherapy.com/whatstudio.php

Afew of the familiar faces below!
 
Dayah, our fabulous webmaster on www.whattherapy.com - what would I do without Dayah!?  Clarice, my revered Feng Shui Master and fellow Reiki Master, big hugs!

Rebecca, my wonderful Kundalini Yoga teacher and designer of the fabulous Chakrama range of jewelry.  If you can feel the love, be assured I have plenty of it in the studio, come and have a browse of this fabulous jewelry as it really does help you manifest, grow and empower your chakras - I never go to a teaching class without my throat chakra malla!

Kate,Karen,Thom & Jane!  Thom is a caring, genuine hypnotherapist and really one of a kind, Karen is also a hypnotherapist and a nurturing Reiki healer, don't they all look so beautiful together?!

Ah!  Three of my favourite people! Lynelle runs Innate at Camden Medical Ctr and is phenomenal, love love love!  She also set up and runs the All One Foundation that I support through both my Reiki and What Therapy website by tithing 10% of our revenue to Lynelle's work.  Its really worthwhile to find a charity like this as it gives so much more meaning to your work.  Emma, my dear friend, and not to forget my darling husband and PR Genius, Ian!

Many others came and didn't get a photo snapped (or not one they would have thanked me for!), but love to you all and thank you again for making this evening so special.

More photos on my facebook: click here

Chinese New Year Clear Out!

Chinese New Year is a great time for a good old clear out!  I had lunch with a dear friend months ago and he mentioned to me that the best advice I had ever given him was about clutter, ie. get rid of it!  I am a BIG fan of decluttering because I am a firm believer that your environment reflects your state of mind.  Clearing space works on many levels.  Physically, living in a clear and organised environment actually saves you loads of time and energy because you know where everything is.  But it also energically clears room for new opportunities and new things to enter your life.  A cluttered and full home with 'stuff' bursting out of every drawer and overfilling onto counters and floors leaves NO space for anything new to enter your life.  You will get stuck and suffocated by all your 'old stuff'.  Get rid of it!

If you are totally overwhelmed by the amount of stuff you have, I recommend starting small.  Tackle ONE thing, the underwear drawer in your wardrobe, or the kitchen drawer that everyone has that just has 'things' in it.  Or if you are piling things on your desk then just do that.  I promise the amount of releif you will feel by doing just one thing will ignite your passion to keep going.  It is truly liberating to chuck stuff out.

Once a year I make Chinese New Year my excuse to declutter.  I make sure I go through my wardrobe and throw out or donate any clothes I have not worn that year.  I go through my children's toys and we donate at least one big box of toys they have outgrown, I go through my filing cabinet and recycle or archive.  Its so wonderful to start the New Year with space for all the great and abundant things coming my way!  Of course if you are following the customs, make sure you do all this before the actual new year.  The symbolism is to start the year as you mean to continue, so do all your spring cleaning before the new year begins and then you can relax over the holidays!

Gong Xi Fa Cai!

Do you want to look like this when you're 66?

My mum sent me these photos of herself during her last Yoga retreat, so of course I have to publish them :) 

 

THIS is what you can look like when you are a grandmother if you have been doing Reiki for 15 years, Tai Chi for 8 years and Yoga since you were in your 30’s…doesn’t she look fabulous?!  I also wanted to write about this topic because recently I have been asked by several of my students why they are not feeling more significant effects of Reiki right after the course. Although I have seen some remarkable immediate effects of Reiki such as eradication of pain, improvement in immune systems, lowering of stress and improvement of a variety of illnesses right after the course, these are much rarer than the cumulative effect of years upon years of taking good care of yourself.  With Reiki, as with all things natural, the effects may take many months to manifest.

Firstly the body will take the Reiki energy and deal with important, pressing issues – this might not be immediately noticeable to you in the beginning, but from one year to the next you will begin to see that every year is an improvement over the last.  And even if you have a shocking year in terms of trauma or undesirable life events, you will grow through them as opposed to sink under them.  You may think you are descending, but assuming you continue your Reiki practice, I guarantee you will look back and see yourself as stronger, more capable, and happier than in the past – that is the cumulative effects of Reiki and consistent self-treatment.

In our fast food/ convenience culture we have forgotten the point of the journey.  Our life is not to rush to some undetermined goal or finish line (um, that would be death, ultimately), but to savour the journey and to enjoy it fully present.  This Economic Crisis has brought it home even more powerfully – so many people slogging their guts out in jobs they hate, in lives they can hardly tolerate, just so they can pack away enough money to live ‘their real life’ – and now, for many, it’s all gone up in smoke.  Much better to live each day deliciously and fully and then when if it all comes crashing down, at least you’ve had a damn good run!

To enjoy fully means listening fully too.  Listening to your body, to your emotions and to your intuition.  Looking after yourself, nurturing yourself, and doing what you need to do to fulfil whatever it is you want to fulfil.  Step by step, year after year, small steps add up to massive improvements, as these photos attest toWell, I’m off to do my Reiki, I’ve got big shoes to fill J

 

Are those REAL?

I just came back from a very enriching trip to the UK to see family and friends.  Most rewarding to me was re-introducing the children to farms, animals, vegetables, growing things.  I knew we had lived in Singapore too long when my 6 year old stared out of the window as we drove through the English countryside and asked me "mum, what are those sheep doing there?  Are they REAL?"

Hmm...time to get down and dirty and onto the farm!  Well, within the week the girls were milking cows, feeding goats, picking up chicks, riding horses, and patting the afore-mentioned sheep.  They had a brilliant time!  They learnt how to pick apples, strawberries, rasperries.  They learnt how to pull potatoes, and they saw what a day old piglet looks like.

One of the things I miss when living in Singapore is that connection with the earth, and with the other animals that not only inhabit this world with us, but provide all our sustenance.  When you see this all working, it gives you a greater sense of respect and awe for all that is.  I hope it stirred some of the same respect in my children.

Its difficult eating REAL food here, but I have found a great online organic farm, Green Circle, which does deliveries for a reasonable cost (Thanks Andrea for the info!).  I like supporting them as they are local producers - though many of their non-Singapore grown produce is obviously air-flown in.  The fact that there are pockets of farms and people trying to provide good, fresh, organic food is definitely worth supporting!

Find out more about Green Circle Farm here http://www.greencircle.com.sg/

Happy Chinese New Year!

Happy Year of the Rat! I hope it is wonderfully prosperous and you receive lots of blessings in this fabulous year of 08!

I love this festival and its arrival just after the Calendar New Year, for me it is a chance to review my New Year wishes and update them or refine them in time for the Chinese New Year, a sort of second chance if you like! I also take the chance to visit my dear friend Clarice to get my Chinese chart done - I love doing this as it is not only fun and enlightening, but also helps me sit tight and breath during particularly difficult phases in life. The adage "and this too will pass" is perfect when combined with horoscopes - the knowledge that all of life is a cycle, and so there are seasons of Spring signifying growth, and seasons of Winter signifying contemplation and patience.

This year I am in search of Peace! For those of you who have spent any amount of time with me, you will be laughing out loud right now :) YES!  I am putting the challenge on the table, PEACE and with it the ability to focus on what needs to be done, to not be distracted by the 101 project ideas normally flying around my head, and to focus on the doing, and not so much the planning (or more aptly the dreamy procrastinating!)

I would love to hear what key word challenge you are setting for yourself this year!  Please leave me a comment........