Online Workshop
NEW NORMAL: From Desire to Reality
915-562-7660 - 616 N. Virginia St. - El Paso, TX 79902
Handout:
Visualization Techniques to Affirm Your Desired Outcomes: A Step-by-Step Guide
(Fosbury Flop high jump style
perfected by American Dick Fosbury, gold medal 1968 Summer Olympics.)
Conclusion: Refusing to adjust to changes in our lives causes unnecessary suffering for ourselves and others. Accepting
change and using our power to create a new “normal” helps everyone.
Opening Discussion: What are some of the things that disrupt our sense of normalcy? When everything’s normal, we feel like we
have some control over our lives – when and where we go, what we do, who we’re with, how we spend our time and money. Major
challenges like serious illness or injury, changes in employment, living conditions or relationships, for example, interrupt normal.
Suddenly, we’re at the mercy of new priorities and schedules, from doctors’ appointments, tests and medications to money
problems, loneliness, fatigue, pain, insurance issues, etc.
It’s natural to mourn the loss of our old normal. We miss our familiar routines and patterns and our sense of control and
competence. But there comes a time with all loss when we must choose to live as victims or to create a new normal – a fresh reality.
Creating reality requires three basic steps. Let’s pretend you’re sitting there listening to me talk when some part of your body
whispers “cold water”. That’s step one: An unconscious desire for springs up from within. Desire is defined as “a strong feeling of
wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen.”
As you become conscious of your thirst, you begin imagining yourself getting up, finding water, and taking that first satisfying sip.
That’s step two: A conscious thought identifies the desire and imagines it being fulfilled.
Eventually, you do get up, find the water and enjoy the reality you’ve just created. That’s step three: A deliberate act that fulfills
your desire. Step three can be as simple as getting a drink of water or as complex as the series of actions needed to plan a
vacation, get an education, overcome illness or injury, or otherwise create a new normal. Our creative power is formidable.
If we choose to live as victims, we might take step one, then just complain about how awful it is to be thirsty, wait helplessly for
someone to bring us water, feel angry and resentful toward anyone we can possibly blame for our suffering, and refuse to
cooperate in fulfilling our own desire.
Lesson 5
Handout:
Think Twice: How the Gut’s “Second Brain” Influences Mood and Well-Being
(If it seems odd to ask your body
for guidance, this handout about the Enteric Nervous System, which is where “gut feelings” originate, explains
some of the science behind human intelligence and how gut and brain communicate.)
Meditation and Writing Prompt:
Sit up, feet flat on the floor, spine straight, head lifted. Breathe deeply, relax, focus
inward. Once you’re relaxed and centered, look inward and scan your physical body to locate a desire, a feeling of
wanting something as part of your new normal. For now, ignore simple physical needs, like thirst or hunger, and listen
for what else your body might be whispering. Let one deep personal longing for change rise to the surface of your
consciousness. When you’re ready, begin writing and describe the process you just experienced. How did it feel?
Where in your body did you find the desire? State your desire clearly.
Read Aloud:
I encourage everyone to share, but will respect your privacy. Also, although I will occasionally make
suggestions on dealing with personal situations, members of the group should be cautious about offering unsolicited
advice.
Break / Stretch
Resume Discussion: Friedrich Nietzsche (NEE-Chuh) (1844–1900) was a German philosopher, cultural critic, composer, poet,
philologist, Latin and Greek scholar with profound influence on Western philosophy and modern intellectual history. His quotes
include: “That which does not kill us makes us stronger.” “He who has a why to live can bear almost any how.” “He who fights with
monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster.” And, “Thoughts are the shadows of our feelings – always darker,
emptier and simpler.”
By looking inward, locating and identifying our feelings – our desires, the light inside of us that casts those shadow thoughts – then
writing and reading aloud about those feelings, you took the first two and part of the third steps toward changing your reality and
designing your new normal.
Meditation and Writing Prompt:
Sit up, feet flat on the floor, spine straight, head lifted. Breathe deeply, relax, focus
inward. Take a moment to locate and focus on your desire again. Feel it in your body. Now, imagine your desire is
fulfilled. Feel that in your body. Now write in as much detail as possible what you did to realize your desire. For
example, “I called (blank) and made an appointment.” Then “I stopped doing (blank).” Or “I did (blank) until (blank) got
better.” Or “I accepted that I can’t change (blank) so I did (blank).” Or “I’m at peace with (blank) and am grateful for this
amazing life.”
Read Aloud
Conclusion:
We can wish for the power to change our lives, or we can practice actually doing it. The steps are simple
and effective.
Because of the proximity of the
prostate gland in relation to the
bladder and urethra, prostate
cancer may be accompanied by a
variety of urinary symptoms.
Depending on the size and location,
a tumor may press on and constrict
the urethra, inhibiting the flow of
urine. Some prostate cancer signs
related to urination include:
> Burning or pain during urination
> Difficulty urinating, or trouble
starting and stopping while
urinating
> More frequent urges to urinate
at night
> Loss of bladder control
Decreased flow or velocity of
urine stream
> Blood in urine (hematuria)
Other Signs of Prostate Cancer
Prostate Cancer Symptoms
Prostate cancer may spread
(metastasize) to nearby tissues or
bones. If the cancer spreads to the
spine, it may press on the spinal
nerves. Other prostate cancer
symptoms include:
> Blood in semen
> Difficulty getting an erection
(erectile dysfunction)
> Painful ejaculation
> Swelling in legs or pelvic area
> Numbness or pain in the hips,
legs or feet
> Bone pain that doesn't go away,
or leads to fractures
Prostate cancer screening can help
identify cancer early on, when
treatment is most effective. And a
normal PSA test, combined with a
digital rectal exam, can help
reassure you that it's unlikely you
have prostate cancer.
Professional organizations vary in
their recommendations about who
should — and who shouldn't — get
a PSA screening test. While some
have definitive guidelines, others
leave the decision up to men and
their doctors. Organizations that do
recommend PSA screening
generally encourage the test
in men between the ages of 50 and
70, and in men with an increased
risk of prostate cancer.
Ultimately, whether you have a PSA
test is something you should decide
after discussing it with your doctor,
considering your risk factors and
weighing your personal preferences.
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