Intentional Soul SF

ONE PERSON AT A TIME....ITS UP TO YOU

Mon, 20 May 2013 05:36:10 -0400

Marc Carson a 32 year old man was shot dead by thugs whilst walking with a male companion during the early morning hours on Saturday morning in New York’s Greenwich West Village. The murder has led to investigators looking at possible links to a series of disturbing gay hate crimes in the area.
This is beyond tragic,sad and will continue so long as it’s tolerated,sometimes encouraged taking place in daily communications everywhere by most everyone
I’M NOT YELLING …OK THIS IS TO DRAW ATTENTION TO MY WORDS …

PLEASE DON’T ALLOW YOURSELF OR OTHERS TO MAKE COMMENTS THAT TARGET A SPECIFIC PERSON,GROUP,RACE,GENDER OR SEXUAL PREFERENCE. ANY COMMENT THAT DIMINISHES ANOTHER MAKING THEM APPEAR LESS THAN OR FLAWED,OR NOT GOOD ENOUGH

NEGATIVE, HATEFUL,SHAME BASED OR RACIST COMMENTS EVEN AS JOKE AT SOMEONE ELSE’S EXPENSE IS NOT FUNNY PERIOD. NO MATTER WHO SPEAKS …
MOTHER,PREACHER,TEACHER,BUS DRIVER OR COUNTER PERSON AT THE DAIRY QUEEN.

IF YOU ALLOW THIS WITHOUT SPEAKING UP,WALKING AWAY OR DOING SOMETHING THAN YOU CONTRIBUTE TO DEATHS LIKE THIS CONTINUING..

POLITY SAY I’M SORRY BUT I DON’T TOLERATE COMMENTS LIKE THAT…
CAN WE DISCUSS SOMETHING ELSE OR I’ll HAVE TO EXCUSE MYSELF.

It’s not easy at first and it doesn’t matter if they take you seriously or not..
Or say your too sensitive to lighten up I get that all the time no matter. Because when I go to sleep at night I can say without question that I made a contribution towards equality and humanity and some change actually occurring. No I’m not preaching and I have my faults,fuck-ups and foie gras just like everyone else.

By speaking up or doing something other than being silent you create a shift in consciousness.

The cognitive parts of the brain is like a recording device it will remember that when this comment was made someone spoke up and walked away..

I recently removed someone from my friends list who is African American for making the statement that White Bitch when describing an ex friend publicly on their wall …

I didn’t make a big deal I simply removed the person from my friends list. It’s not for me to judge but it is for me not to engage or participate by being witness to such communications. Without taking some form of action..

IT WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE..So be willing to be uncomfortable the life you save could just be your own..

Shakti Fest

Sun, 19 May 2013 22:47:33 -0400

Shakti Fest:

Enjoy this music from the recent Shakti Fest…

MY HEART SPEAKS= ANYBODY LISTENING?

Fri, 17 May 2013 20:13:00 -0400

A local agency cancelled a suicide prevention workshop due to lack of attendance in the first evening it was scheduled..

My comment is this…
This is a challenging subject it’s the pink elephant in society’s closet that no one want’s to discuss.
It’s the problem that speaks volumes it the silence to every ear in our community.
Where are the ears to do the listening and take action ..

Your heart wants to know.

Please note this is not with an intent to place anyone at fault in anyway.
It’s time for a new conversation to take place for change to occur first place is at home where the heart lives..

One person at a time we are each the leaders,teachers,healers visionaries the world has been waiting for in the ways we live our lives each day..

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TODAY TO MAKE YOU FEEL PROUD.. ??

I learned of this event tonight and have a personal request that if it speaks to you heart please attend.

And include this little exercise if you feel called. My heart says thanks in advance for being willing to take the time to save lives in our community.

Love-Blessings-Heartsmiles, Mark Estrada

WRITE DOWN THREE THINGS THAT COME TO MIND BEFORE THE EVENT.
MAKE A PERSONAL COMMITMENT TO REALLY ENGAGE W OTHERS ABOUT AT LEAST ONE OF THE THREE THINGS YOU WROTE DOWN..
NOTICE HOW YOU FELT WALKING IN AND IF ANYTHING HAS CHANGED AT THE NIGHTS END AND YOU WIND DOWN FROM THE DAY.

Join us for a discussion that’s critical for us all.

When The Rainbow Isn’t Enough…

Wednesday May 29, 2013 from 7:30 to 9:30 PM
at 385-A 8th Street, San Francisco(next door to Mr. S Leathers).

This town hall meeting is about why so many gay men in our communities are still killing themselves and what we can do about it. Be part of figuring out how we can build resilience within our community from the ground up?

Panelist include: Race Bannon, Michael Brandon, Blue Buddha, Veronika Fimbres and Jorge Vieto Jr. The meeting is moderated by Timothy Vollmer.

The event is open to everyone and all perspectives
are welcome.

Common Gemstones Used with Reiki and Their Symbolization

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:15:11 -0400

Common Gemstones Used with Reiki and Their Symbolization

Audio

Sun, 12 May 2013 15:02:13 -0400

Audio

Mon, 06 May 2013 04:43:27 -0400

SOUL TONES SF ~ SPECIAL OFFER

Sat, 20 Apr 2013 02:52:00 -0400

SOUL TONES SF ~

SHIVA SESSIONS

Come experience your personal soul kirtan session.

With Mark Peterson Estrada MA

Soul Singer -Sound Healer -Reiki Master/Teacher.

Allow the sacred sounds and chants to vibrate and dance your soul awake leaving you more fully alive whole -healed and healthy.

So why Shiva ?

Shiva slices through stale attachments and cuts through negativity. Making room for you to source and align yourself with your soul energy.

Allowing more useful experiences to come into your life that assist you in experiencing more quality in your life.

So you can continue manifesting the expansion of your Soul Know at deeper levels of consciousness your purpose at every level.

Opening your heart and quieting your mind. Inviting you into the present embracing the gifts available living in the NOW.

With every mindful step you take and with each present breath may you know more self love from the inside out.

With every fiber of your being may you know the beauty and magnificence that is you.

A truth as sure as the lungs need air to breathe and with every heartbeat assuring the body life.

You were born for such a sacred time as this come experience the true essence of your soul.

With a little help from Soul Tones SF. Sounds for your Soul.

Into offer only through 4-26-2013

45 minute sessions… Mission district location.

Cost as you’re able $30 -$60.00

CONTACT MARK AT MARK4SELFWELLNESS@GMAIL.COM OR 415 967-1391

BE WELL AND NAMASTE’ MARK

RELATIONSHIPS THAT MOVE INTO YOUR HEART ....

Thu, 18 Apr 2013 03:44:00 -0400

A Snapshot of my Mom and I…

Pete n Re-Pete …

Radical Relationship that never die they simple change address’s

moving into your heart.

Knowing that you are forever changed in ways that allow the hand you will never hold to continue to reach out and touch others in the ways you live your life each day.

Having experienced them in yours in such amazing ways again and again those soul moments,crossed paths that last a lifetime with just a touch, a glance. One hand…One life…One person …One heart at a time.

My Heart Speaks to one of those radical relationships and Soul Moments in life.

My Mother’s Birthday was April 2nd she would have been 84 years old.

She left quietly in January of 1977 as I looked on holding one hand with my high school friend Linda Davie holding the other.

A life cut short at age 53 yet she has never left my side.

I have had many shifts in my feelings about her life and choices over the years.

Today I have much Love Respect and Gratitude for her willingness to give her children the things she thought were important at the time.

I so honor her courage to face her death with a sense of humor,grace and faith.

I was the best son I could be at the time being a teenager,questioning gay boy who loved to cook,in the throws of an eating disorder. I would put on shows in my room when the reality of life got a little to up close n personal.

I would sing I’m sure to the neighbors as if non stop around the house. As it still does to this day music is the single thing that brings me the most joy and is such a gift for which I am so very grateful.

As it’s so much not a way of escaping the world any longer. On her birthday this year I performed in a jazz showcase an evening for both of us.

As a door was opened to a life and opportunities I’ve been waiting for my whole life.. So at 54 the age she never lived to celebrate I’m taking a leap of faith into what I believe is my soul print in this life.

Soul Tones SF…..A music ministry open to all faiths with a little R-B, Jazz n Inspirational tunes on the side..

We were quite a combination of complexities made up well somewhere out there. Beyond any Leave it to Beaver or Donna Reed show I’ve ever seen … I’ll say that much for sure..

I want to tell you a story that changed my relationship with her forever.;

A SNAPSHOT OF MY MOM….

She was a strong willed fiery little lady barely standing 5ft tall. Her unending strength and courage,saucy quick wit and ability to make just about anyone feel at ease around her made for a big presence in a very small frame.

Her dark hair almost always pulled up in a bun or french braid with one of those hair pieces that looks like a horses tail woven in and OMG hairpins and Aqua net super hold„ Always bright red nails with either a cigarette dangling from her lips or a can of coca-cola at her side.

Mom…Mother Ruthie or Pete as the Teamsters in Alameda called her when she drove a catering truck selling foods at the shipyards. I was nicknamed Re-Pete when I worked with her in the summertime.

What most didn’t know was that for as strong as she appeared on the outside to most everyone she could be just as fragile and often felt hurt or misunderstood in the ways others would regard her ways of being in relationship with them..

Something I would know much more about than I would ever want to admit much less embrace and begin to change.. Yes that strong willed take charge temperament would often fail her.

If her actions towards others were regarded as something other than her intention. Or she often would go to great effort’s for another wanting to be seen through different eyes . Yet often her efforts would be unnoticed or fall short and unacknowledged.

And she grew older it became more challenging to manage the complexities of her own emotions,fears and disappointments in life.

Her own self reliant and independent ways over the years now brought a tightness to her smile. And her heart would slip further and further out of sight.

A harshness began to surround her words forming sentences and unleashing a tone in her voice that could cut you just as easily as a knife. And often did taking years sometimes generations to heal creating mistrust and difficulty with intimacy in the lives and relationships of her children.

Had she become bitter and unkind? Challenged by her choices, fears and insecurities, now caught in a web of her own self created role’s in life?

In constant conversations with her past framed I believe anyway as I would allow years later that same voice to become a truth far too long. Those words spoken in such judgmental,critical and fear based ways message’s and beliefs.

I believed she lived in a paradoxical box of her own design and one she would never find the doorway out of into the light and love of self. As the years passed suddenly there were no tomorrows left for Mom.. She never found that doorway it took me many a year to find and walk through on my own..

She had a phrase she would use I hated and promised myself I would never use on another person for as long as I LIVED.

“Just remember you’re going to need me long before I will ever need you”

Those words at times would cause me to want to be as invisible as I could to escape a level of unkindness I thought I would never understand. Or so I thought!

Not long ago I was engaged in a huge family misunderstanding. That caused my niece to say something I was totally unprepared for. Spoken to deflect from her own complexities of which I was unaware. Sadly a choice that would forever change my life and close a door to relationships I had never quite felt a part of my whole life long. Giving voice to an old way of being that was all Mom.

A chain of events occurred around a family celebration that left me feeling invisible for the last time.. Something unleashed a lifelong frustration and anger that was really about feeling deeply hurt..I was shaken more than I would come to realize.

As I recall thinking and feeling that old sick empty feeling that I felt as a child that no words can describe except that I was once again unlovable and completely alone.

I couldn’t stop myself from hitting send on an email to family members that included what I knew were words that belonged to Mom .. And would forever change our relationships . I had waiting to long and it was Moms voice that spoke for me that day as I ended the email with …..

Just remember you’re gonna need me long before I will ever need you”

You could have knocked me over with a feather..

In that moment I got it. My Mothers words were not meant to harm me. They were a way for her to protect herself from the old experience avoiding if even for a minute that old feeling of disappointment,mistrust and lack of love in her life.

A sadness she never wanted anyone to see. For her truth was she needed others more than she probably needed anything else in life . She just wasn’t able to trust enough to allow herself much love anymore.

My relationship with my Mother was forever changed in that moment. And I have no problem admitting today I need others in my life..

I’m aware the roles she created to protect her from emotional harm,wounds and deep scars from living a life doing the very best she could but never feeling acknowledged in ways she so desperately needed.

Her sentences, tone and her word selection created a separation from her and others. Causing and an emotional wound like no others. And I now had become caught in my own judgments and labels so critical of her only to turn that belief system inside on myself.

This was complex form of self protection, her harshness was never meant to harm anyone especially her children whom I will speak for myself are still un-layer the complexities we developed growing up.

Facing,living or in relationships with many of the same self created roles and dances with the shadow self. I know from my own experience wanting something different only to find myself unable to trust quite enough to stop the familiar tone,level of harshness and tight lipped smile when feeling hurt,disappointed or an old wound reopened.

And yes today at times I’m intense,reactive and when hurt form words that have a harshness followed by a tight lipped smile. But I will also tell you why and its my greatest challenge and your patience with me is well worth the effort..

I’m not proud of what occurred and I so know the truth in the power of the spoken word. I can never take back those words nor that email it’s done.. I can allow it to providing me with a way to UN-layer the past in ways that open my heart a little bit more to contain more love compassion and empathy for myself and others as we walk connect and share in the Journey of the Soul.. Each of us a sacred gift to ourselves each other and the planet..

Just Frida being Frida. I suppose this explains those colorful...

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 20:02:19 -0400

Just Frida being Frida. I suppose this explains those colorful stencils we noticed earlier.

[via Mission Mission]

Audio

Thu, 11 Apr 2013 01:55:34 -0400

MY HEART SPEAKS

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 23:59:22 -0400

Dance as the heart speaks from the dance floor called his life

by Mark Peterson Estrada It’s a choice that speaks to the heart of every person in it’s own unique way.

I too have joined in the dance knowing with great clarity and truth what I will no longer accept in my relationships with others.

Should it be it in their words ~behaviors~actions I will only embrace what is loving,kind and mutually supportive.. Period

No more making something work under the illusion it will get better when I know in my heart it won’t.

I only choose to dance in relationship with the beauty that lies in each present step,breath and heartbeat that is now.

Be it the two step,tango or waltz the melodies must come from hearts that are mutually loving,compassionate and kind.

Fully aware there is nothing familiar as I step upon this dance floor that has become my life.

I have no idea this is new and I’ve not danced this way before no experience in knowing even where to place my feet if I should follow or take the lead.

You see the sacred rhythms,melodies,even a baseline I have never heard before..

Yet I know deep in my soul if I listen very closely in the silence of my breath. My heart speaks to me in a soft and gentle voice that I’ve become to trust.

Saying I’ve been waiting for this very time to speak these words to you it’s high time it’s taken almost a lifetime but now it’s your time to join in the dance.

I AM...Self Wellness

Sun, 07 Apr 2013 03:10:00 -0400

I am your Child … A workshop based on real life transforming relationships in every fiber of your being.

Self Wellness means being willing to Change…

Experience healing -wholeness- an integration and a letting go. Radical relationships with are parents giving the child permission to have the stronger voice.

Giving you a voice to speak your truth,to embrace the choice to have a different relationship with a parent,a childhood or just close the door on conversations of old that you can never change.

Shift the relationship you now have to the past giving you the freedom of choice to release and let go in ways that will heal, empower,and transform your relationships living in the here and now.

The relationship between Mother and child good ,bad, blessing or challenge is significant and effects are relationship to life in a variety of ways.

May bring us more complexities in life today giving to strong of a voice from the woman who assisted your journey into this life. A Mother we all have a relationship with even if she is no longer a part of your daily life.

Or perhaps still speaks to you in ways that take you places that are no longer empowering.. For you or for her if she is still living or passed on.

No matter it’s important to give yourself permission to have a conversation that set’s you both free from old stories, events ,regrets, misunderstandings from the past.

Or you risk playing them out again in your relationship to the self , your own children and the cycle repeats for another generation.

Some grew up with wonderful childhood memories and have loving relationships with there Mothers they cherish I invite you to honor those as well.

How you choose to hold your relationship with your past the conversations you have with your Mother when no one else is around.The ones spoken from your heart and mind shifting that familiar dialogue, Mom’s words that are no longer helpful . Or your holding on to old conversations and beliefs about your Mother that hasn’t worked for years.

You can still give yourself a voice…

Have the conversation about those events, memories, life experiences that make up the relationship with your Mother.

True you can never change what is in the past but you can change your relationship with how you regard it today.

How much power you allow the past to have in the present knowing it no longer need define you in any way.

In fact the past and are relationships provides us information and choice and can be your greatest source of healing, radical acceptance of the self. The past forever gone allowing you to embrace a relationship to the gifts you bring, with greater sense of acceptance self love, knowing your making choices in the present living the highest quality life not defined by anyone or anything than you ever thought possible.

To Live each day in the present knowing that your relationships, choices,behaviors even the words you speak come from a place of love,forgiveness and divine light.

Supporting you to live ,dance and play in ways that provide speak to your soul embracing your birthright to live an extraordinary life.

That means being willing to accept yourself in loving ways no longer in conversations,relationships or events with others that are unwilling to do the same.

Helping others to do so whenever possible..

Please contact me for details you will receive a 5 min video of your healing conversation with your Parent of choice empowering the child in all of us.

Session will be 90 minutes and cost is at a sliding fee. $45-$85 as your able.

With a $25.00 non refundable deposit to hold your space. A 15 min phone intake is required.

mark@mindfulliigsf .com or 415 967-3104

The chance to speak, heal and make choices that support us to live a most extraordinary life.

Here’s my story bout my little Mom and Me

We had a very curious relationship Mom and I her confidant~care provider~surrogate spouse I became at a very early age.

I never felt like her child nor anyone’s child for that matter.

So many years spent feeling like the outsider looking in no matter what I tried.

I never felt included or a part of always even in a room full of familiar faces it was still in my minds eye a party of one.

Unable to explain to myself why I always felt so different,was so sensitive to everyone and everything. \

I experienced my emotions so deeply,wanted attention from others so much it was painful,yet feared relationships so intensely,

I wouldn’t let anyone in nor had I ever wanted to be loved more desperately I just never learned how.

I had no idea then that I would later live more of my mothers life , speak her words as often when hurt, afraid, feeling less than.

I promised myself I would never use those words ,her words they had caused each of her children to live with a wound in some way. Impacting the way we lived are lives and are relationships as adults and with each other for most if not all of are lives until recently for me.

Yet I would speak out to my siblings decades later in anger and self protection an email destroying relationships using Mom’s words.

Allowing her life,her voice , her conversations to get the better of me. Speaking for me harsh words that would forever change my life for once spoken or written those words can never be taken back.

I have a deeper understanding of her life holding her in great love and respect. now some 53 years later.

I live my life in ways that have allowed me to heal and transform my life no longer resenting her choices or the way she lived.

I am your child and I now live my life so much differently than yours not that it was wrong it’s simply your life not mine.

No longer useful are the ways I learned from you to respond to my experiences, relationships and communications in life.

Know that your choices the way’s you lived provided me with information that has now forever changed my life.

I am your child and I live in Love ~Compassion ~Wholeness for both of us a celebration of healing each day in every present moment ~present breath

I was about 6-7 years old when this was taken on Mom’s birthday one year

I am your Child … A workshop based on real life transforming relationships in every fiber of your being.

Self Wellness means being willing to Change…

To Live each day in the present knowing that your relationships, choices,behaviors even the words you speak come from a place of love,forgiveness and divine light.

Supporting you to live ,dance and play in ways that provide speak to your soul embracing your birthright to live an extraordinary life.

That means being willing to accept yourself in loving ways no longer in conversations,relationships or events with others that are unwilling to do the same.

Helping others to do so whenever possible here’s a bit of my story embracing the complexities moving through the shadows and embracing the self.

Let me be clear this workshop is about your personal truth wholeness and healing that honors the past allowing you to move forward.

It is so not about a blame your parents for everything that went wrong or has occurred in your life.

Please contact me for details you will receive a 5 min video of your healing conversation with your Parent of choice empowering the child in all of us.
Workshop will be 90 minutes and cost is at a sliding fee. $45-85 as your able.

With a $25.00 non refundable deposit to hold your space. A 15 min phone intake is required.

Contact me

mark@mindfulliigsf .com or 415 967-3104

The chance to speak, heal and make choices that support us to live a most extraordinary life.

Audio

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 23:35:39 -0400

Mindful Monday's Holistic Clinic Day

Fri, 29 Mar 2013 22:10:00 -0400

Affordable Alternative Healing Clinic

Mindful Mondays = Experience deeper levels of self wellness focused on creating change in the ways your mind responds to life.

Self wellness begins with the relationship you have with every aspect of your life past~present~future.

Sessions that assist you in experiencing a path living in wholeness, healing and transformation in the very next breath.

Explore new holistic treatment methods at a fraction of the usual costs.

1 45 minute session cost $$ donation as you’re able

Occurring every Monday till June 1st 2013.

Noon -8pm Only 6 spots available each week

All sessions must be scheduled in advance before or no later than

Sunday March 31st at 6pm as space is limited.

Alternative Healing Sessions Available

with Reiki Practitioners,Healers,Holistic Health Providers in your community.

Improving the quality of each moment in the very next heartbeat,breath,footstep on your path.

Words from a few clients…

Aletha M Oakland CA

I love Mark’s energy and passion for service in the community!His heart is big and overflowing :)

I have had numerous reiki sessions with him and always feel so calm and centered as a result ~ The energy is so pure in alignment with his intention and I am always so rejuvenated after our sessions as well.

And he’s a beautiful singer songwriter too, usually singing the reiki chants during the sessions, which is a wonderful integration of using sound along with the energy work that feels so good. All of his services are highly recommended!!!

_____________________________________________

Former Client Niki D Walnut Creek Ca

Working with Mark was a lifesaver especially since he additionally helped me with the loss of my father as well—effective grief counseling.

Reiki healing and chakra cleansing has profoundly affected me in the most positive way.

At times I have requested distant Reiki healing which has helped rid painful symptoms and small chronic conditions.

My friends have commented that I look better, feel better, and I am more positive. Furthermore, his guided meditations and consultations on meditation helped relieve my stress,nervousness, and anxieties.

Lastly, he also does sound healing and has a wonderful voice that is in key and also heals.

My main objective was to be able to move forward after the passing of my father and it was a pleasant surprise that Mark addressed all aspects of my life healing me on the deepest level for profound positive changes to take place permanently. I highly recommend Mark’s work….

_____________________________________________

Review of Mark Peterson-Estrada’s Therapeutic Work ~ Gary O SF,CA

I have had several psychological therapists in my lifetime, but the one with whom I have done the most effective in-depth work is Mark Peterson-Estrada.

I think what Mark has done to make this work possible is to instill a mindfulness that helps me separate myself from my story. Over time he has helped me begin to retrain my mind from the patterns of reactive thought that have been the cause of much suffering in my life. He has been teaching me how to do this with skill, love and compassion.

The skill I am learning is to look at the evidence about whether I have been abandoned or rejected by the people I love, especially the one with whom I have laid the foundation for an adult (i.e., authentic and nurturing) intimate relationship.

Mark uses a phrase which has become a mantra for me: “Live in the knowing.” I am learning to check the stories I create by asking, “What do I know is really so?” I am learning to trust the evidence that I am trustworthy and lovable and not to assume things that I honestly don’t know—often because I haven’t asked another.

The love I am learning to practice is for myself. I am learning to sit with myself and to say, “I am here,” in a way that authentically nurtures the child within.

Consequently, I am less needy in my relationships with others, and so I am also learning to practice more compassion, first toward myself, then toward others.

An immediate benefit from this is I don’t feel so alone

I am grateful for the strong yet loving guidance I have received from Mark. But the “proof of the pudding” is that I am learning how to model strong yet loving guidance for myself.

_________________________________________________________

Intentional Living SF ~ Client Services

Select any one prior to contacting us so we can scheduling your session easily.

1.Usui Reiki Session

Seeking relief from an often too busy world well Reiki means life force healing energy and knows exactly what the body needs to experience healing.

Feel the soft non-intrusive touch of this hands on treatment moving along the various energy chakras of your body.

Often times clients feel an immediate sense of calmness, connected to a source greater than themselves and practitioner leaving them relaxed.

Energized renewed a steady flow of energy flowing through their system a great weekly form of self care, especially helpful for those in health care, human resources, and retail industries.

2. Chakra Alignment Balance and Cleanse.

Healing methods used

Tibetan Singing Bowls,Sacred Sounds

Reiki Healing - Spontaneous Chants

Experience these healing vibrations, energies and souds moving through your body washing away negativity, stress, anxiety, increasing your natural energy flow, enhancing your immune system until reducing stress.

Finishing with a relaxing stress relief meditation cleansing restoring balancing your energy.

First 3 chakra centers fully opened as time permits increasing your energy flow leaving you revitalized with greater clarity and insight for your life.

NOTE This usually requires 2 sessions for full benefit..

3.Crystal Meditation Wellness Session

Using candles, meditation, vibrational healing sound, and gemstones to balance body-mind-spirit.

Rose quartz and green tourmaline crystals focusing on the seven key chakra points working on the heart to heal Emotions,throat to heal communications~Solar Plexus to heal relationships to self the past and others.

Be guided through raising your vibration level and closing with a self wellness meditation pod cast to assist you in returning to this state of bliss at any given moment.

4. I AM …Healing..Self Wellness Meditation Session

(personal recorded session podcast included)

want to experience more self wellness in your life. It all begins from the outside in beginning and ending your day in meditation can transform your life.

Experience~enhance~expand the quality of your life,health and well being.

Design your own daily self wellness meditation offering opportunities to reduce stress,lower blood pressure,enhance immune system,relieve symptoms of depression.

Please respond here or call 415 857-1709

email mark4selfwellness@gmail.com

Here’s the link to my holistic sessions page

http://presentsf.tumblr.com/Services

Audio

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 04:39:38 -0400

SELF CARE= COMPASSIONATE CONFLICT

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 03:25:30 -0400

I thought this article had some easy to remember tips to managing those moments in life when the lemons are not so sweet…

So turn them lemons into light as personally I’m tired of making lemonade… Maintain enhance expand on the quality in your life one relationship at a time..

3 Tools To Handle Conflict and Stress In A Healthy Way

February 12, 2013 | by Sarah Ogden

Credit: Living With Power

We’ve all been there. We get shocking news and before we have time to take a breath, we react. We scream, we yell, we say something that we don’t mean.

There isn’t a person on this planet who can say that they have never acted on pure emotion when it may have been more appropriate to act reasonably and rationally.

Now, this isn’t to say that emotional responses are bad. In fact, I believe that our emotions are our most powerful source of knowledge and truth.

However, it doesn’t always work in our favor to respond to a situation based purely on our emotions.

We have to think reasonably about the space we’re in and whose feelings are also involved in the situation.

It’s usually most productive to take a deep breath and to calm down before reacting.

But that takes a certain skill set that most of us haven’t yet mastered.

Here are a few helpful acronyms to remember and to practice as we find the best ways to handle our emotions.

1. Open The Front Door:

I am Observing, Thinking, Feeling, Desiring

This one is great to use in conflicts. I have used this tool in arguments with my friends, family, and co-workers. It can be as personal or as distanced as you need it to be, depending on the situation.

Before using this one, we have to understand the difference between thoughts and feelings.

Thoughts, also known as cognitions, are ideas that we have about particular situations or stimuli. “I think that’s unfair” or “I think I screwed up” are two examples of thoughts.

Emotions are different, and can be summed up into a few categories: sad, glad, mad, scared, and ashamed.

A lot of folks get the two confused, but the distinction is important for this tool.

Here’s how Open The Front Door works:

Observing: First, say what you physically, literally see. “I can see that you’re mad” doesn’t work in this situation because that’s only a speculation based on what you see, and it’s not necessarily what the other person is trying to express. Instead try, “I can see that you’re tapping your fingers and holding your breath.” This tells the person that you are present in the moment and that you are tuned in to what is going on.

Thinking: Next, say what you think about what you see. “I think that means that you’re mad, and I think that you have every right to feel that way” is great.

Feeling: After that comes how you feel. “I feel hurt that you’ve closed your mind to what I’m trying to say.”

Desiring: Finally, state your desire or what you want to change. “I want to be able to speak without interruption.”

All together, it goes like this: “I can see that you’re tapping your fingers and holding your breath. I think that means that you’re mad, and I think that you have every right to feel that way. I feel hurt that you’ve closed your mind to what I’m trying to say, and I want to be able to speak without interruption.”

I don’t know about you, but I often want to handle conflicts by calling the other person a rude name and storming off.

That has not gotten me anywhere – ever.

Open The Front Door is a much healthier alternative.

You can (and probably will) use this tool multiple times in the course of a single conversation.

Ideally, each person should speak using this tool. Using “I” statements and taking ownership of our own thoughts, feelings, and desires is especially important in handling conflicts responsibly and thoughtfully.

2. IMPROVE the moment:

Imagery, Meaning, Prayer, Relaxation, One thing at a time, Vacation, Encouragement

IMPROVE is a fantastic tool for de-escalating situations that feel like they may turn into (or already are) crisis level.

When someone hits you with terrible news and you feel like you’re going to snap, take a moment, and use this acronym to ground yourself before responding.

The beauty of this tool in particular is that it happens over time. Some elements are meant to be done in the moment, and some are for you to come back to after the dust has settled.

It might seem weird to the other person if you close your eyes for 30 seconds, but if it helps you to maintain your cool, it’s worth it.

Imagery: Go to your happy place. Seriously. Imagine an ocean or a field of wildflowers. Take a deep breath and breathe in the smell of the sea or the crispness in the air.

Meaning: Make meaning of what is happening. This one may take time. Try to remember that everything is an opportunity for growth and personal improvement. I know it’s easy to forget, especially in the heat of the moment, but try to remember to come back to it if you can’t process it in the moment.

Prayer: Obviously, this means something different for everyone. Prayer may mean something very traditional to one person, or it may mean asking the energy of the earth to guide someone else through a difficult time. Whatever prayer means to you, find a way to use it as a tool in difficult situations.

Relaxation: This is so important! Remind yourself to relax after the dust has settled.

One thing at a time: Reiterate to yourself and to everyone else that you can only do one thing at a time. You can’t take on 50 new projects at work, you can’t juggle all of your friend’s drama with your own, you can’t play on 6 different sports teams. In order to be truly present and authentic, you have to focus on one thing at a time. Give yourself permission to do that, even though our fast paced world tells you otherwise.

Vacation: Plan a vacation. Imagine your upcoming vacation. Take a vacation. Do all or any combination of the three. Remember, a vacation can mean a 3-week Caribbean cruise or it can mean a day in a neighborhood park. What’s important is that you turn your phone off, close your agenda book, and be present in whatever way you choose to vacation.

Encouragement: This one is easy. Encourage yourself to stay calm and to handle the situation the best way you can. You can do it and you know you can.

3. PLEASE care for your body to care for your emotions:

Physical health, Loving energy, Exercise, Avoid drugs, Sleep, Eat

You know what it’s like when your body feels too run down to function? When you can hardly get out of bed in the morning, let alone juggle all of the responsibilities that everyone depends on you for?

We all do. Before we can show up to our lives emotionally, we have to show up physically. That’s what this tool addresses.

Caring for our bodies is an incredibly important piece of emotional regulation that we often overlook.

It ties into what we already know about self care: our minds, hearts, and souls can’t be well if our bodies aren’t.

We are complex machines and each part of us needs to run well in order for us to be healthy.

Physical health: Stay on top of doctor’s appointments, take your vitamins, and treat your body with the kindness it deserves.

Loving energy: This one sounds silly. What makes you feel energized and excited? What makes your heart sing? Find a way to work this into your routine, and stick with it. Your body will thank you.

Exercise: It’s good for your mind and body. It releases endorphins, helps to facilitate sleep, and is often fun!

Avoid drugs: I know you’ve heard this from your seventh grade gym teacher, but it’s real. Drugs aren’t great for your body, and they are definitely not great for your mind. We need to practice moderation (and safety!) at the very least, but abstinence is best.Who has ever woken up from a night of heavy drinking and felt great? Who has ever smoked weed to prepare for an exam? No one. And there’s a reason for that.

Sleep: Seven to nine hours, every night, no excuses. Your mind and your body both need this. Find a way to make it work. It just has to.

Eat: Your body needs nourishment to function. Fill your body with the nutrition that it needs to do all of the amazing things that it does for you.

Remembering to do any or all of these tools can be difficult, especially because they’re new. You can create a reminder for yourself like a small note with the acronyms on your bathroom mirror or refrigerator.

When you’re upset, you can use the time to find the note to take a few breaths and ground yourself too.

These are just some ways to handle difficult moments. Do you find them helpful? In what other ways do you deal with conflict and stress? Please share below!

Sarah Ogden is a Staff Writer for Everyday Feminism. She is a graduate student in Social Work at the University of Pennsylvania, where she is focusing on clinical work with survivors of trauma, works at a domestic violence agency as a therapist intern, and volunteers as an abortion and pregnancy loss doula. Previously, she’s worked for a suicide and rape crisis hotline and as an emergency room advocate for survivors of sexual assault. Follow her on Twitter @xsogden.

ARE YOU MAN OR WOMAN ENOUGH FOR THIS....

Fri, 08 Mar 2013 18:44:15 -0500

Posted by April Taylor via Facebook

Really simple and powerful. His quest was brave. I appreciate his discovery. I share so we all may learn.

Thanks to Tommy for being willing to embody and integrate male and female getting closer to the great I AM.Here are his results as a Man walking in the world for 3 days in Women’s clothes…

Last week, as part of a cultural discovery project for one of my classes, I spent three days wearing ‘girls’ clothes while going about my day. I wanted to explore the general reaction and preconceptions that people in my city have to clothing, especially in regards to gender. To me, the idea that a piece of fabric or accessory can be so intertwined with who are in our conscious is perplexing. I didn’t want to show off, or offend anyone by my act of curiosity. Rather, I wanted to act as a meticulous observer of the times, to see if the community around me was really as open-minded as I wanted to believe that it was. After all, if such things really only had a place in the realm of high-fashion and in Scottish tradition, then something bigger must be at work.

On the first day, I wore a long-sleeve pink top cropped at the collarbone. I received many compliments, a few glares and even a free Venti gingerbread latte. On the second, I rocked a pink blouse with a high-waisted belt. Again, the same amount of well-wishes, questions and passing eye-rolls. These things were to be expected, as it isn’t necessarily the norm to see someone like me wearing things like these. I felt collected and confident in these modest outfits, seemingly convinced that the world around me could care less about the clothes someone wore. Most affirming was the response to my nails, which were almost always met with a cheerful grin, a high-five and a few words of encouragement.

What happened on the third day changed my perspective on humanity forever. I dressed myself as I normally would; band t-shirt, cardigan, plain Vans, etc. However, instead of black jeans, I complimented the outfit with a plain black skirt and matching set of tights. For me, this was a huge step in self-image. Years ago, I was barely confident enough to leave the house for school. These days, the opposite couldn’t be more true. As I set off about my day, the absolute worst in people came out in a full-force flurry of expletives and discomfort. I was ridiculed in whispers. I was mocked in glances. I was obnoxiously and filthily cat-called by a construction crew who, from behind, couldn’t tell that I was a man. Stopping by a bathroom before a lecture, a frat-bro went out of his way to shove me into the adjacent wall after eyeing me up and down on his way out. Expletives and names that might induce me to vomit were I to repeat them, were casually thrown in my direction with almost zero passing thought. By day’s end, I feared a full-on breakdown, unable to stand up for myself or what I believed in to maintain the integrity of the observer’s perspective. In a way, I had no right to feel that way, mostly because of the realization that this is the way that many have to live their lives. I fought back tears as every stare and ill-formed word engrained themselves in my sub-conscious.

Though I may not know you, I think that it’s important that we all come to understand why these things happen. In my book, cat-calling, shaming and harassment are among the worst actions we can engage in. As a heterosexual male, I will never truly know the fear that women may experience while walking home from work, going see a friend for lunch, or being sized-up in public based on their clothing. I will never truly know the gut-rot that a transgender individual may feel while being eyed up and down at the store or in class, strangers seeming to think as if the clothing they see before them begs a legal invitation of ridicule. I will never truly know the plights of these people, but as an ally and a human being invested in true equality, it is now my obligation to stand up for them as if I did.

What scares me the most is not the glances, mixed emotions, or 10-page paper that will inevitably come as a by-product of this project. No, what scares me is that this is the world we live in. We exist in a place where individuals living their truths can be subjected, directly or otherwise, to fear simply for living those truths. We live in an age where feeling ‘normal’ in your own clothing can create unfathomable contention with strangers, despite them having zero investment in their lives. We live in a world where the material, the fabric, the pieces that adorn you are somehow allowed to say more about who you are than the convictions in your heart and the sincerity in your deeds.

I don’t know about you, but I refuse that world. I refuse to let these things overcome the passion and genuine honesty that I’ve been so fortunate to bear witness to in my time. I refuse to let backwards, unprogressive mindsets stifle the glow and drive of those who are undeservingly robbed of it. Don’t say it can’t happen to you. If it happened to me, under the most average of circumstances on the streets in a progressive-leaning city, it could happen to anyone, and that is something I truly do not understand.

After all, it’s just a skirt.

What is it about a piece of inanimate, plain fabric that scares you so much?

-Tommy

Open Healing Studio Sat March 9th 3-6pm

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:13:39 -0500

INTENTIONAL LIVING SF WALKING IN SELF WELLNESS
OPEN STUDIO ……

w Mark Peterson-Estrada MA Holistic Practitioner Reiki Master
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Experience 5- 10 min of Self Wellness

Holistic health sessions offered at no cost to you this day

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SOUND HEALING VIBRATION SESSIONS
SELF WELLNESS AND HOLISTIC HEALTH
CAN TRANSFORM YOUR LIFE

Meet other practitioners in your community
ask questions,receive healing session demonstrations
soul tones sound healing,light snacks n beverages too
CONTACT Mark at 415 857-1709 or mark@mindfullivingsf.com

Intentional Soul SF

ONE PERSON AT A TIME....ITS UP TO YOU

Shakti Fest

MY HEART SPEAKS= ANYBODY LISTENING?

Common Gemstones Used with Reiki and Their Symbolization

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SOUL TONES SF ~ SPECIAL OFFER

RELATIONSHIPS THAT MOVE INTO YOUR HEART ....

Just Frida being Frida. I suppose this explains those colorful...

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MY HEART SPEAKS

I AM...Self Wellness

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Mindful Monday's Holistic Clinic Day

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SELF CARE= COMPASSIONATE CONFLICT

I thought this article had some easy to remember tips to managing those moments in life when the lemons are not so sweet…

So turn them lemons into light as personally I’m tired of making lemonade… Maintain enhance expand on the quality in your life one relationship at a time..

3 Tools To Handle Conflict and Stress In A Healthy Way

1. Open The Front Door:

2. IMPROVE the moment:

3. PLEASE care for your body to care for your emotions:

ARE YOU MAN OR WOMAN ENOUGH FOR THIS....

Posted by April Taylor via Facebook

Really simple and powerful. His quest was brave. I appreciate his discovery. I share so we all may learn.

Thanks to Tommy for being willing to embody and integrate male and female getting closer to the great I AM.Here are his results as a Man walking in the world for 3 days in Women’s clothes…

Open Healing Studio Sat March 9th 3-6pm

Please have a listen and share your thoughts if you like.

Audio