Being InSpirit

Being InSpirit!

Winter 2019
Newsletter

Mission: To gently share energy, knowledge, skills, and felt sensing to assist clients to heal in a safe, protected space free of judgment and expectations.

Dr. Michele L. Ferraro, 708-523-0000
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Psy.D., M.A., M.B.A., R.M.T., FOT, EMDR Practitioner, Meditation Teacher
400 Ravinia Place, Suite A, Orland Park, Illinois 60462

Visit us at www.BeingInSpirit.com and
www.BeingInSpirit.BioMat.com

Mind Body Spirit Medicine

Is it truly possible to heal?
What does that look like?
Do humans have control of mind, body, spirit?

I was taught that each individual was born with a divine spark. However, a human operating manual did not accompany our birth; therefore, it is necessary for us to determine how to access it.

What does it mean to heal? I would say it is the process of becoming healthy again. From the Annuals of Family Medicine:

If we use the above definition of healing, we can posit that we move

from distressing events to a place of wholeness. But how does that happen. Most of the time, in the United States, we expect to go to our physicians and get a pill or two and then feel better. However, sometimes western medicine does not work with our body to heal us, and it is up to us to do the healing by ourselves or with the assistance of a healer.

For example, 70% of the time antidepressants don’t relieve depression. Instead of suffering with an overabundance of meds that don’t work, it becomes time to explore alternative methods. This is not an easy process for people who don’t want to work, but accessing your divine spark and getting into the self healing mode may be the way to feel better.

First, seven to nine hours of sleep per night, for adults, is imperative for the human body and brain to operate optimally--according to the National Sleep Foundation. We need the memory consolidation and cellular regeneration that comes with adequate sleep. If we don’t get enough sleep we may experience grumpiness to psychosis and everything in between.

Second, meditation. Just 20 minutes, three times a week will reduce depression, and anxiety, strengthen the cardio vascular system, improve the immune system, lower blood pressure, improve memory, create an overall sense of well being, reverse early stage dementia, improve focus and concentration. Actually new data from research studies make meditation the best non medicine medicine ever!!

Third, exercise is another amazing medicine! 30 minutes five times a week increases longevity, improves sleep and mood, keeps your body in good functional operating condition, increases energy and skin tone. Just walk, or run, or dance, or bike, or swim. Yoga, zumba, tai chi, or a gym membership are just a few of the possibilities.

Coming in at number four are nutrition and hydration. We take this for granted, but we shouldn’t. What we eat affects how we feel and think. Eat clean. And proper hydration keeps our brain functioning optimally, blood flowing, and body working well.

Fifth, human beings need human beings. In other words, friends, family, and love keep us alive. Humans are inherently social beings. We need other humans to be healthy and happy. Participate in life with people you love.

Sixth, be purpose driven. We need something to do to feel productive.

And finally: BE HAPPY, HAVE FUN!!

As we follow these guidelines to living, we are healing. When we add Focusing, guided imagery, energy work, and visualization, we change the way we think, live, and interact. We become more aligned and whole. We are happy to assist you.

Being InSpirit!

Winter 2018
Newsletter

Mission: To gently share energy, knowledge, skills, and felt sensing to assist clients to heal in a safe, protected space free of judgment and expectations.

Dr. Michele L. Ferraro, 708-523-0000
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Psy.D., M.A., M.B.A., R.M.T., FOT, EMDR Practitioner, Meditation Teacher
400 Ravinia Place, Suite A, Orland Park, Illinois 60462

Visit us at www.BeingInSpirit.com

The Huntington Post reports only 8% of New Year’s resolutions are still in force by February. This statistic supports my notion that we need to prioritize our resolutions to avoid frustration and depression. When we implement the Pause to create harmony and avoid conflict, we are prioritizing what is important to us. We may be more successful in our resolve if we prioritize. Most of us are busy with day-to-day living. Adding another task can be daunting and difficult to maintain. What is important in your life? The answer to this question may depend on where you fall in the lifespan. One way to determine priorities is to take a few moments of quiet time, focus on your life as it is, then how you want it to be. What path do you take to get to your ideal self? I can help you create a plan to move in the right direction, implement it, and find the resolve to stick with it.

Signs of depression

• Falling or staying asleep, or sleeping too much
• Poor appetite or overeating
• Frequently feeling sad, anxious, guilty, worthless, or hopeless
• Loss of interest or motivation in activities once enjoyed; trouble concentrating on activities
• Moving or talking slower
• More fidgety or restles
• Thoughts or mentions of suicide.

The first thing to do is visit your primary care provider to rule out a medical issue. If you are given an all clear, the next step may be psychotherapy and /or medication. For more information visit the National Institute of Mental Health at nimh.nih.gov

Creating resilient children
We make mistakes thinking our children are little people who can just keep chugging along. Children need supportive, consistent, and protective childcare. This may mean paying attention to your child’s sensitivities to loud noises, crowds, lack of sleep, food, and discomfort. Parental warmth, responsiveness, and sensitivity foster the development of self-regulation, reports Monitor on Psychology. Help your child become resilient and able to problem solve by fostering other loving relationships with caring adults and peers. We do know that stress and hardship (abuse, neglect, exposure to violence) can alter the developing brain increasing the risk for cognitive and developmental delay. If you or someone you know could benefit from supportive parenting skills give us a call.

Dementia
One of my professors in grad school stated if one lives long enough, dementia is a given. I wondered what that meant. My grandmother at 86 was sharper than the professor. Of course back then, the only way to know for sure if one suffered with Alzheimer’s Disease was after an autopsy. These days, imaging to identify amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles of tao (a protein) make diagnosis easier. Psychological and neuropsychological assessments can aid in diagnosis and treatment interventions. Another amazing stride in dementia research found an almost 3% decrease from 2000 to 2012 in the number of identified individuals over 65 with dementia. What are we doing right?

• Better control of major diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.
• Psychological and cognitive interventions.
• Increased exercise, better diet, meditation, and water consumption.
• Reduced smoking and alcohol consumption.

If you or someone you love is experiencing cognitive changes such as memory loss, impaired reasoning, and personality changes check it out. There may be interventions that can reverse or slow down the progress.

My book picks:
Fiction
ORIGIN by Dan Brown
And
Nonfiction
Real Happiness the power of meditation by Sharon Salzberg

Being Inspirit Apothecary
Check us out for supplements, healing oils, herbal treatments.

Many blessings to you and yours in 2018.

Being InSpirit!

Autumn 2017
Newsletter

Mission: To gently share energy, knowledge, skills, and felt sensing to assist clients to heal in a safe, protected space free of judgment and expectations.

Dr. Michele L. Ferraro, 708-523-0000
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Psy.D., M.A., M.B.A., R.M.T., FOT, EMDR Practitioner, Meditation Teacher
400 Ravinia Place, Suite A, Orland Park, Illinois 60462

Visit us at www.BeingInSpirit.com

Hello Autumn

I love Autumn! The weather starts to cool off and pesky flying creatures begin to retreat. I dream of the autumn breeze bringing wisps of burning leaves and promises of long crunchy walks in the forest with Iggy and Luca. It is also a time to pull the best of the year together and reevaluate those 2017 goals and dreams, knowing three plus months remain to work it. As you are refashioning the list, it is a perfect time to find a sweater and take a walk, a class, learn a new language, meditate, and enjoy the fun Chicago offers. There is a plethora of pumpkin and cinnamon infused treats and beverages to sample. Hopefully, there will be ample opportunity to bring friends and family together to find pleasure in the season. Blessings!

Our menu of services is expanding

We are excited to announce Being InSpirit Healing is expanding by affiliating with some truly talented individuals. We will offer you the opportunity to experience Acupuncture, Cranial Sacral, Massage, and Reiki in our safe office space, free of judgment and expectations. These services are by appointment only and insurance is not accepted.

Penny Will, L.Ac., Dipl.Ac., R.H. (AHG)
Penny obtained a BA in Psychology from Governors State University. She’s been practicing traditional Chinese Medicine since graduating from the Chicago College of the Healing Arts in 2002. She is licensed by the state of Illinois and is nationally board certified in Acupuncture by MCCAOM. She is a professional member of the American Herbalist Guild and practices both Western and Chinese herbal medicine, maintaining her own natural pharmacy of botanical formulas. She includes nutritional and dietary counseling, essential oils, tuning forks, and stress management techniques into her practice. She especially enjoys encouraging clients to use the healthiest, most nutrient-dense foods and herbs available. Her goal is to restore balance to body mind spirit, in order to achieve and maintain optimal health.

Amanda Clark Reed. Amanda’s greatest desire and sincerest hope is to offer healing and inspiration to all who wish to grow and reclaim their truth and power in all aspects of their lives. She has been practicing Shamanic Craniosacral Therapy since 2000 and has devoted the entirety of her adult life to personal growth in order to hold the highest vibration and purest space for her clients. She is a graduate of the Wellness and Massage Training Institute and Sacred Journey Institute, at which she had the privilege of being an advanced massage and Craniosacral instructor. She also is a trained SoulCollage® Facilitator, intuitive artist and mother of two.

Ania Massat, L.M.T, C.S.T, M.R.T
NLP Trainer, Life Coach and Therapist.
Ania is a Life & Wellness Coach and an expert in balancing Body & Mind. She studied intensely for the last 10 years and had been actively evolving as therapist, bodyworker, speaker and mentor. By connecting to deeper levels of the physical, emotional & spiritual being, she brings holistic awareness into life. This creates understanding of patterns, habits, limiting beliefs within life. This process helps to remove any obstacles, gain more control over the life experience, take responsibility for it, create new clear goals, connect and communicate with others on deeper levels and staying motivated and authentic. Ania will also do home visits. Check out some of our favorite modalities:

Reiki

Reiki is made up of two Japanese words—Rei, which means universal spirit, and Ki, which means life force energy. Reiki practitioners believe that disturbances in the body’s energy systems can cause illness and that by improving the flow and balance of energy, disease can be treated and health maintained.

In Reiki, the practitioner delivers therapy through his or her hands with the goal of raising the amount of ki in and around the recipient.

During the session, the fully clothed recipient either sits or lies down. The practitioner’s hands are placed either on or a few inches above the recipient’s body. There are between 12 and 15 different Reiki hand positions. Each position is held until the practitioner feels the flow of energy has slowed or stopped, usually between two to five minutes.

Recipients sometimes describe a deep sense of relaxation after a session. They also report sensations of warmth, tingling, and sleepiness, and feelings of refreshment.

Reiki is used to treat stress, chronic pain, recovery from anesthesia, nausea from chemotherapy, as well as to enhance well-being. According to the Mayo Clinic, one study suggests that reiki may have some effect on blood pressure and heart and respiration rates.

Focusing

Focusing is supported by a long series of operational research studies conducted first at the University of Chicago and now internationally. Focusing is a mode of inward bodily attention that most people don’t know about yet. It is more than being in touch with your feelings and different from body work.

Focusing occurs exactly at the intersect of body-mind. It consists of specific steps for getting a body sense of how you are in a particular life situation. The body sense is unclear and vague at first, but if you pay attention it will open up into words or images and you experience a >felt shift in your body.

In the process of Focusing, one experiences a physical change in the way that the issue is being lived in the body. We learn to live in a deeper place than just thoughts or feelings. New solutions emerge.

EMDR

We use EMDR for trauma, depression, grief, anxiety, performance enhancement, and relaxation.

The EMDR Institute, Inc. reports the following:

EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) is a psychotherapy that enables people to heal from the symptoms and emotional distress that are the result of disturbing life experiences.  Repeated studies show that by using EMDR therapy people can experience the benefits of psychotherapy that once took years to make a difference. It is widely assumed that severe emotional pain requires a long time to heal.  EMDR therapy shows that the mind can in fact heal from psychological trauma much as the body recovers from physical trauma.  When you cut your hand, your body works to close the wound.  If a foreign object or repeated injury irritates the wound, it festers and causes pain.  Once the block is removed, healing resumes.  EMDR therapy demonstrates that a similar sequence of events occurs with mental processes.  The brain’s information processing system naturally moves toward mental health.  If the system is blocked or imbalanced by the impact of a disturbing event, the emotional wound festers and can cause intense suffering.  Once the block is removed, healing resumes.  Using the detailed protocols and procedures learned in EMDR therapy training sessions, clinicians help clients activate their natural healing processes.

There has been so much research on EMDR therapy that it is now recognized as an effective form of treatment for trauma and other disturbing experiences by organizations such as the American Psychiatric Association, the World Health Organization and the Department of Defense. 

Meditation

Why meditate? It has been proven to make you feel better! It will Reduce Stress; Lower Blood Pressure; Strengthen the Cardiovascular System; Improve Immune System Function; Reduce Depression, Anger, & Anxiety; Improve Concentration & Focus. Yes all of that and more according to current research on mindfulness meditation. All it takes is 20 minutes three times a week Give us a call if you need more information or if you would like to sign up for a class. 708-523-0000

Identifying and Responding to Bullying
By Dr. Ina Harizanova

As children and teens are embarking on a new school year, they will likely revisit old friendships, meet new people, and build new connections. A positive school environment provides for nurturing relationships between students and academic success.

While navigating the social aspect of life in school, students may encounter negative behaviors by their peers. Understanding the nuances of communicating with others enables one to respond appropriately. It is important to differentiate between being rude, mean, and bullying:

• Rude – a spontaneous action or statement that hurts someone. This is often rooted in poor manners, thoughtlessness, or inconsideration, but it is not meant to hurt someone.
• Mean – saying or doing something with the purpose to hurt someone once. This includes criticizing one's appearance, performance, or intelligence. It is based on anger and/or an attempt to make the student feel better about him/her self by putting someone else down.
• Bullying - repeated unwanted aggressive behavior with observed or perceived power imbalance as defined by the Center for Disease Control and Department of Education. There are two modes of bullying: direct – done face-to-face and indirect – done behind one's back. There are four types of bullying including physical, verbal, relational, and damage to property. Bullying can happen anywhere and, in recent years, can also involve technology.

According to research, between 25 and 30% of students report being bullied at school, while 70% state that they have seen bullying in their school. The most cases happen in middle school with high school coming close behind. Students who are perceived as different from the other students frequently become victims to verbal and social bullying, the two most prevalent types. The aggressors can be the popular students but also the outcasts. It is not uncommon for the victim of bullying at school to engage in cyberbullying. Bullying is a group process, where the individuals in the group support each other in bullying others. What is interesting is that adults often fail to see bullying for what it is or are unable to respond appropriately. No wonder only 20-30% of the bullied students reach out for help or even notify an adult when being bullied. However, when bystanders intervene, the bullying stops within 10 seconds almost 60% of the time (Espelage et al., 2014).

Without reaching out, the bullied students may gradually become sad, isolated, anxious, and depressed. They complain of health problems and may start skipping school. As a result, their academic performance and social life at school suffers. For some, depression as a result of bullying can become a life-long battle.
Some of the bullies may bring their aggressive and risky behaviors into adulthood. They may become the volatile romantic partners, who abuse alcohol and other drugs. Often getting into fights or damaging property, some may end up in jail.

There are no quick or easy solutions to bullying, as it often is rooted in the school environment. As such, the focus is on prevention. It is about building a positive school environment and engaging everyone involved including students, teachers, school administrators, and staff, as well as, parents. Because intervening makes such a big difference, education on the various modes and types of bullying and appropriate responses is essential. To help with prevention, adults can encourage open and honest communication with young people with no judging and labeling, educate students about bullying and support the pursuit of their interests. As adults are also role models for young people, self-awareness is important as well as modeling respect, listening, and understanding needed in any relationship.

A victim may feel scared or embarrassed to come forward and speak directly about being bullied to his/her parents. The truth is, as previously stated, that bullying can have negative life-long effects. Therefore, as a parent of a child in a middle or high school, who may be a victim, pay particular attention to:

• your child becoming quiet, reserved, and starts spending prolonged periods of time alone.
• changes in eating and sleeping habits
• diminished or lost interest in previously enjoyed activities including increased school absenteeism
• sadness, anxiety, and depression
• in some cases physical bruises

Support for victimized children is available including:

home

• talk with your child about bullying (for example, discuss 13 Reasons Why).
• check social media for signs of cyberbullying.
• reach out to your child's teacher, coach, music instructor, and other leaders of after school activities in which your child participates.
• model appropriate responses when dealing with aggressive behaviors.
• encourage and support your child's interests and get involved in their favorite activities in an appropriate role.

school

• students can reach out to teachers, guidance counselors, nurse, school psychologist, or supportive staff.
• Intervene!

community

• engage in anti-bullying initiatives such as Drive Out Bullying in Orland Park this October.

And as always, we are available to assist.

References:

Espelage, D., Polanin, J., & Low, S. (2014). Teacher and staff perceptions of achool environment as predictors of student aggression, victimization, and willingness to intervene in bullying situations. School Psychology Quarterly, 29(3), 287-305.
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. The relationship between bullying and suicide:
what we know and what it means for schools. Retrieved from the World Wide Web:
https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/pdf/bullying-suicide-translation-final- a.pdf Stopbullying.gov
van der Zande, I. (2013). How to Speak about Putdowns. Retrieved from the World Wide:
https://www.kidpower.org/library/article/speaking-up-about putdowns/
Whitson, S. (2012). It is rude, is it mean or is it bullying? Psychology Today. Retrieved from the World Wide Web:https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/passive-aggressive- diaries/201211/is-it-rude is-it-mean-or-is-it-bullying.

Being InSpirit!

Summer 2017
Newsletter

Mission: To gently share energy, knowledge, skills, and felt sensing to assist clients to heal in a safe, protected space free of judgment and expectations.

Dr. Michele L. Ferraro, 708-523-0000
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Psy.D., M.A., M.B.A., R.M.T., FOT, EMDR Practitioner, Meditation Teacher
400 Ravinia Place, Suite A, Orland Park, Illinois 60462

Visit us at www.BeingInSpirit.com

Songs of Summer

Seals and Croft, 1972 hit, Summer Breeze:
Summer breeze, makes me feel fine, blowing through the jasmine in my mind

I don’t know what blowing through the jasmine in my mind means, but I love the tune and melody. I looked it up in Songfacts and this is what I learned:

Seals & Crofts use it to bring about feelings of contentment and harmony in this song, which is a feel-good classic about enjoying some simple pleasures in life with the ones you love. Jim Seals explained in 1972: "We operate on a different level, we try to create images, impressions and trains of thought in the minds of our listeners."

Contentment and harmony, simple pleasures in life with the ones you love…yes to achieve this brings life down to its simplest form. But how do you get there when your life is filled with stress and time constraints?

Number one: get enough sleep. That is 7-9 hours per night. Unless you are a shift worker, aim for circadian rhythm.

Number two: Move! Walk, garden, clean out the garage, go to the gym, swim….

Number three: Meditate at least 20 minutes, three times a week. Build those new neural pathways!!

Number four: Be healthy—eat
clean, nutritious food and stay well hydrated.

Number five: Love, participate, and support your (given or created) family and friends, and receive those gifts in return.

Number six: Be purpose driven. We all need something to do to feel productive.

Number seven: Be happy, have fun!

How to avoid confrontation

As human beings, we live in relationship with others. It is vital that we enjoy a sense of belongingness. However, sometimes, despite our best efforts, we disagree or even vehemently oppose the view of our loved ones, friends, colleagues, etc. Occasionally, we even encounter someone who is an expert in triggering our bad behavior. Yes, that means 0-10 in a split second. Unfortunately, this can happen when you are an expert in anger management and aware of the pitfalls of losing your temper. Now what?

The Pause

You can also learn this simple way to promote contentment and harmony in your life. This is how it works: You are triggered; you want to explode! Instead, PAUSE, take a few measured breaths, bring your attention inside your body, and ask yourself, “What is really important now.” Base your response on an answer that gets everyone a win.

Call for an appointment to enhance your life!

708-523-0000

Being InSpirit!

Late Spring 2017
Newsletter

Mission: To gently share energy, knowledge, skills, and felt sensing to assist clients to heal in a safe, protected space free of judgment and expectations.

Dr. Michele L. Ferraro, 708-523-0000
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Psy.D., M.A., M.B.A., R.M.T., FOT, EMDR Practitioner, Meditation Teacher
400 Ravinia Place, Suite A, Orland Park, Illinois 60462

Visit us at www.BeingInSpirit.com

Sleep Sleep Sleep

My husband asked me why I read endless articles on sleep, when I already know why we need it. Yes, it is true! And for over a decade, I have reported in the Being InSpirit Newsletter at least twice per year the importance of sleep. If at first you don’t succeed TRY, TRY AGAIN.

So, here we go! Find a way to get the optimum 7-9 hours of sleep per night! This time I will cite Medscape from April 25, 2017: Even Mildly Insufficient Sleep Associated With Increased Risk for Depression, Anxiety Symptoms. The data collected for this study was presented to the American Academy of Neurology 2017 Annual Meeting by Dr. Kelly L. Sullivan, Assistant Professor at Georgia Southern University, Statesboro. It is impressive data verifying even a small incremental loss of sleep can affect mood and create other challenging mental health issues.

Dr. Sullivan claims, “getting just one hour less than the optimum sleep duration was associated with 60% to 80% increased odds of each of these symptoms.” The research team however found “each hour of increased sleep over the optimal number was associated with increased odds for each adverse mood outcome.” That means dear ones, that sleep is the true elixir of life. The magic hours are 7-9 hours per night. Too little or too much create a perfect petri dish for depression and anxiety to develop.

Important physiological and psychological work occurs while you are sleeping. For example: memory consolidation and body restoration where proteins rebuild and hormones are released. Get enough!

Creating new neural pathways

Mindfulness Meditation keeps one in the present, Focusing creates the connection to whole being (mind body spirit) sensing, and EMDR instills the felt sense with confidence to move forward. This crossing of therapies provides a basis for a practice that clients create for themselves, begin to feel the benefits of, and then want to incorporate into their daily living. The practice includes clearing a space, imaging, felt sensing, releasing the hold of disturbing events by expanding meaning, building confidence, and developing resources to move forward toward self-actualization. Ultimately, by using this combination of practices, a new, unique to the individual, practice emerges that is fluid and life altering.

My initial Focusing experience was prescient and flowed symbiotically with already established daily meditation and Reiki practices. I incorporated Focusing as another practice for mind body spirit wholeness. I especially enjoyed the rich and gentle features of Focusing beginning with nonjudgmental listening. In a clinical setting it is sensed as an act of kindness, which establishes a safety zone. An interaction occurs that creates change. It is immediate, palpable, and documentable.

Call for an appointment to enhance your life!!
708-523-0000

Being InSpirit!

Winter 2016
Newsletter

Dr. Michele L. Ferraro, 708-523-0000
Licensed Clinical Psychologist
Psy.D., M.A., M.B.A., R.M.T., FOT, EMDR Practitioner, Meditation Teacher
400 Ravinia Place, Suite A, Orland Park, Illinois 60462
Dr. Ina Harizanova, Post Doctoral Fellow

Mission: To gently share energy, knowledge, skills, and felt sensing to assist clients to heal in a safe, protected space free of judgment and expectations.

Visit us at www.BeingInSpirit.com

We moved our office to 400 Ravinia Place, Suite A
Orland Park, IL 60462
Telephone remains the same—708-523-0000

We are very excited about out move, because it allows more space to share meditation, focusing, and other classes, workshops, and seminars.