News From Maggie Phillips, Ph.D.
November 2012

In This Issue
* Teleseminars & E-Courses
* Live Training Events
* News You Can Use -The Gift of Thanks

     

 Maggie Phillips

Maggie Phillips, Ph.D.
2768 Darnby Dr.  
Oakland, CA  94611 USA
510-655-3843

reversingchronicpain.com 

 

  

 

  


December 3rd, 2012 
Maggie and Peter Levine-month webinar on Finding Freedom from Pain.
 
 
December 5th and 9th, 2012 San Francisco
The 5th with Maggie on Opening to the Heart of Healing and the 9th with Maggie and Peter Levine on Finding Freedom from Pain: Solving the Complex Puzzle of Trauma and Pain.


December 17 2012 
Bob Scaer and Maggie for a discussion of his new book (just released by Norton) 8 Keys to Brain-Body Balance   

 

 

  

   

 

 

   

    

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

  

 

 

 

   

 

 

   

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

 

 

Greetings! 

 

I'm very thankful this time of year that Thanksgiving, my favorite holiday, transforms November from its otherwise bleak state. I am writing this on my return flight from 5 weeks of teaching in Europe and South Africa. I'm thankful most of all to come home to the people I love, to the self I am at home, and to joyous reunion with some of my favorite places and past times. I'm also grateful for the gifts of the many places, adventures, and people who were an important inspiration during my time away.

 

Read on to find out about our December teleseminar with Dr. Robert Scaer on "Eight Keys to Brain-Body Balance" and scroll down to read this month's News You Can Use article: The Gift of Thanks."

 

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving season, however and whenever you celebrate. I continue to be grateful for your support and participation in my online community.

 

 

Maggie 

 

 

 
Teleseminars and E-courses

 

EXTENDED REGISTRATION!
Register by Dec. 1, 12 Midnight (Pacific)

SPECIAL 8-MONTH WEBINAR SERIES
Peter Levine and Maggie Phillips

 

My 8-month webinar training series with Peter Levine on Freedom From Pain got off to a great start last week and we have received lots of positive feedback and enthusiasm. Peter and I are delighted to share what we have learned over the years about treating pain effectively. The next meeting is on Monday, December 3, from 11am-12:30pm Pacific time (starting at 20:00 pm in Europe and South Africa and 19:00 pm in the UK).  

 

We'll be focusing during this session on how people in pain become locked into "the pain trap" through emotional and physical pain interactions; the complex roles of trauma in pain conditions; how to teach successful self-regulation skills.

  

Some of you have written to tell us that you found out too late about this program to register by the deadline to join the first live event. We have decided to extend the registration deadline to Dec. 1, 12am Pacific so that for the same prices, you will receive the download for the first webinar session, including the power points that accompany our presentation, and then can choose to attend live or through replay or download (or both) for the duration of the monthly series, which ends June 19th, 2013. 
 

If you want to register, please visit here to read about the topics we'll cover, the dates of the remaining sessions, and the fees. Also, we want to encourage you to submit your most challenging cases for consultation (email them to me, including a brief summary and your specific questions-about one page in length) and also to share the topics and questions that are important to you about healing pain click here

  

 

 

  

 

On Monday, December 17 from 11am-12:30pm Pacific time please join Bob Scaer and me for a discussion of his new book (just released by Norton) 8 Keys to Brain-Body Balance

 

One of the most important aspects of this book and of our seminar is our focus on the understanding of how our brains and bodies actually work together to regulate physical and emotional symptoms that we experience throughout our lifespan. The field of trauma has converged recently on the importance of self-regulation in healing the disregulation of traumatic experiences, and this seminar will provide deeper understanding of the process of self-regulation and strategies to achieve regulatory balance.

 

Here are some of our specific topics:

  • The latest information drawn from neurology, neuroscience, and traumatology to explain how the brain and body interface to create physical and emotional symptoms of stress and trauma
  • Ways to understand why and how "feelings" represent physical sensations that express brain-body conflicts
  • Strategies for strengthening sensory motor skills
  • How to teach methods for listening to our "gut" feelings, attuning more fully to the present moment, and restoring personal boundaries to relieve symptoms and navigate a path to recovery

For more information and registration, click here. To learn more about Bob and his work, go here. Not only will you find out about Bob, but you can also download some free articles there.

 

Please don't forget that it is not necessary to attend live if your schedule is uncertain or in conflict because you will receive access instructions for listening to the replay or creating a download immediately after the live event.

 

 

    

 

Live In-Person Training Events

 

In addition to the webinar and teleseminar events, I will be finishing the year by presenting at the Brief Therapy Conference in San Francisco from December 5-12 (to learn more click here). I will first present Opening to the Heart of Healing on Wednesday, December 5, from 3:15 - 4:45 pm and on Sunday, December 9th from 8:30am-11:30am Pacific time, a Master Class with Peter Levine on Finding Freedom from Pain: Solving the Complex Puzzle of Trauma and Pain.

 

 

      

News You Can Use
 

The Gift of Thanks  

 

 
Each year, Thanksgiving gives us an opportunity to offer and receive the gift of thanks. The Thanksgiving meal in the U.S. provides an opportunity to create a sacred pause to celebrate the abundance of the life we've been given. Planning and cooking the ritual meal is an important aspect as is gathering together the people who compose our family, both biological and extended. Traditional dishes add their own special meaning as we consult recipes that have been handed down through our own families through several generations or "borrowed" from other families to whom we celebrate close connection.

 

Even if you don't celebrate Thanksgiving formally, you may enjoy this sampler of various kinds of rituals that are designed to generate reflection, appreciation, and acknowledgement of the circle of giving and receiving.

  

**The Giving and Taking Meditation

 

Sit quietly for a few moments. Take a few breaths, imagining that you can breathe through and out through all the pores of your body.

 

Think of a few people who love you and place them in a circle around you. Locate them as close to or as far away from you as you like. Visualize them patiently sitting, just for you, with love and care in their hearts. You can also visualize your favorite pets or see yourself in a natural setting, surrounded by beauty.

 

If it feels comfortable, place your hand on your heart. Continue consciously breathing. As you inhale, breathe in the love of those who surround you. As you exhale, return the love to them. Get a sense of inhaling warmth and kindness and exhaling gratitude and love.

 

Breathe in and out as long as you wish, feeling the energy of loving-kindness radiating toward you and from you as you breathe.

Gently open your eyes.

 

**This meditation is adopted from mindful meditations offered by C. Germer (2009). The Mindful Path to Self-Compassion. New York: The Guilford Press.

 

For those of you who practice self-hypnosis, Steve Gilligan suggests that focusing on gratitude is one of the best ways to integrate changes made in trance states to real life. One idea is to pause before bringing yourself out of hypnosis and take a few moments to sense any gratitude you might wish to express to yourself...to the people and presences that give you support and love so that you can be all you can be. You can imagine each person or resource, touch your center, and simply say out loud or say "thank you," "thank you," thank you"...

 

This strategy is derived from Gilligan's new book, Generative Trance, which will be released by Crown House Publishing early in 2013.

 

 

   

 

 
Brother David Steindl-Rast, Benedictine monk and well-known speaker on gratefulness as spiritual practice, teaches that there is a direct link between joy and gratefulness. Rather than waiting to feel joy before we give thanks, Brother David points out that we need to cultivate daily gratitude since the more grateful we feel, the more likely it is that we will find joy in our lives. Enrich your celebration of Thanksgiving this year by giving thanks and receiving and feeling joy from that simple practice.

 

For more information, visit  www.gratefulness.org

 

Below, Sister Mary Jose Hobday shares Native American traditions of thanksgiving. She notes that the traditions of the Seneca Iroquois tribe, which are extensive, lasting four days. 

  

The Thanksgiving ritual has 16 special chants of thanks. They are for people, the earth, plants, water, trees, animals, birds, the "sisters," (special powers that help people take care of themselves and look after each other), the wind, thunderers (powers that bring rain), the sun, the moon, the stars, the Four Beings (powers that bring enlightenment and strength), Handsome Lake (a member of the tribe who was particularly effective in spreading Christian values), and, finally, the Creator.

 

In this ritual, the chanting of the story of thanksgiving night begin like this: "Now the people have gathered to give thanks. In the early times, the Sky Dwellers (beings in Native American origin stories who came to earth and helped populate it) told us we must move about the earth with love. They said the first thing we must do when we meet one another is be thankful for each other. Above all, we must relate to the earth as our mother, who supports all, even our very feet."

  

Although we may not practice for four days, we can easily focus on "moving about the earth with love." May you find a new way to express love to all you meet, and be richly rewarded with the joy of giving and receiving.

 

 

 

My best Thanksgiving wishes,

 

Maggie  

 

   

 

  

 

 


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