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"Catch a passion for helping others and a richer life will come back to you!"
-William H. Danforth
'Many of lif'e failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.'
'Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration'
-Thomas Edison
Inventor
The miraculous Human Growth Hormone (HGH)
Do you have aching joints?
Do you want to feel young again?
'Where consciousness goes, energy flows'
So where do you direct your consciousness? To positive, happy, creative things or to negative, sad, destructive ones? You will make either one your reality depending on where you direct your consciousness.
In her book, Go For It!!! Dr. Irene C. Kassorla P.B., writes about a patient she had during her internship, named Charlie Blake. Charlie was known throughout Britain as one of the sickest men in the country because he had severe schizophrenia. For thirty years he sat in a rocking chair, rocking back and forth while staring at the ground and muttering guttural sounds out of his throat. Irene decided to do her doctorate thesis on positive versus negative strokes. The results were so astounding that her peers accused her of using drugs. But all she did was send positive vibes.
Beginning with the first day she began working with him she took a rocking chair in and started rocking with him in "sync," and then she would turn her shoulders toward him, give him loving eye contact, lean toward him and start to compliment him. She'd say things like, "Charlie, I like the way you blink your eyes." "Charlie, I like the tone in your voice, it's very nice."
She took her shoulders and turned away from him if he ever started into a psychotic behavior or low guttural sounds. As she turned away she would count to 10 and then she would turn back around and start praising him again. In twenty-nine days, she had Charlie Blake walking, talking and answering the majority of her questions correctly.
If she can get those kind of results with someone who's been basically dead for thirty years, imagine the results we could have with some of the people at work, and the people we love at home, if we just sent positive vibes now and again.
From Lysistrata to Barbie
(archive article - Sunday, June 21, 2009)
ZOE CHRISTODOULIDES meets a woman who says it is time for other women to focus on more serious issues
Are women striving to become the perfect plastic role models? It’s a
serious question really. Just look at the way, across the globe, women
are dashing off to the cosmetic surgeon to get their buttocks firmed
and breasts enlarged. A bit of a nip here, a little tuck there; surgery
has become rather like the 21st century version of retail therapy.
Facial lines are also a reason for serious concern. “Don’t frown and
god forbid you dare squint,” warn beauty magazines - it’ll add a few
unwanted years to your face. And no, a little moisturising cream is no
longer the answer. You should really take a trip to the doctor for a
quick Botox jab to get the desired results. Funny to think that
feminists of the 70s were trying to rid the world of images of the
‘perfect female’ as they let their underarm hair grow and gained a
reputation for burning their bras.
Well-known local clinical psychologist and Transformational Life Coach,
Annie Pattichi, has taken the question of female roles today seriously.
She insists that women are somehow focusing on all the wrong issues
with the contemporary femme fatale keen on achieving the ultimate
Barbie look. Far more serious issues troubled women long ago.
Let’s journey back to ancient Greece with the start of a recent speech
Annie gave to a group of women: “During the time of the Peloponnesian
War, women were suppressed and closed in the house with no political
rights, no fortune, no right to say what was on their minds. And yet,
look at the way the fictional Lysistrata managed to get women together
and put an end to the war.” The point is that this character, invented
in Aristophanes’ infamous play, had true goals and a hell of a lot of
guts. Taking on the role of leader in the dramatic pages written way
back in 411 BC, women had plenty to look up to.
Fast forward a few thousand years and there’s the so called ‘Barbie
syndrome’ we’re faced with today as the doll celebrates her 50th
anniversary. Yes, there’s an official term for it and it’s had
sociologists and psychologists up in arms about the unrealistic ideals
the perfectly proportioned doll projects.
Sure, she’s had multiple careers over the years (let’s not forget the
doctor and police officer outfits) but that hasn’t stopped people
scrutinising her. Where does she live? In a perfect pink paradise. Who
is she dating? The epitome of perfect arm candy - the infamous Ken
(although she does temporarily get fed up, ditching him for an equally
suave Aussie surfer dude named Blaine a few years back).
“Most of the young girls here in Cyprus that come to see me have no
dreams and aspirations beyond getting married and having kids,” says
Pattichi. “I’m certainly not saying that’s wrong, but what happened to
all the higher dreams and aspirations?” Step in the image of the
typical Maria. She has a government job that she doesn’t particularly
love just to finish by 2.30pm and have the afternoon off. She then
likes to go to the hairdresser, get her nails done and buy nice
clothes. She also rather fancies a flashy convertible and a trip to
Athens for some foreign retail therapy. Maria, of course, is just a
fictional character made up for the purpose of this article but could
very well stand for over half the young women on the island today.
“They’re just not working to develop themselves or expand their
knowledge in any way. And that’s upsetting because superficial things
take control of everything.”
But come on, surely not all women look up to the notorious Barbie
image? “Of course not! There are women who have really come a long way
and really strive to better themselves,” replies Pattichi. “But a lot
of the time people just don’t have the right upbringing to be
encouraged to follow their talents. I’ve had women that come to me
without any goals and with the right encouragement they very gradually
start to change their priorities and eventually find what really
expresses them on the inside.”
Pattichi herself came from a very traditional family and went through
her own personal struggle to get to where she is today. Breaking free
from the norms, she only began changing her perceptions in her late
20s, going on to study psychology at university at 37.
Now 51, she stresses that it’s a shame for women in these more
progressive ages not to follow on the work of past generations. In the
first part of the 20th century, women in the western world were
struggling for the right to vote. These days they’re faced with a world
of opportunity in comparison and yet take little action. “Instead, they
are happy to fit into the image of the ‘perfect woman’ from a purely
masculine point of view. Let’s not forget that Barbie is based on a
man’s ideal, not a woman’s,” argues Pattichi.
Fair enough, one might now sit back quite comfortably arguing that we
are better off than the women who lived before us, so why not just take
a chill pill and reap the benefits. But there are still real issues
that need dealing with. Women constantly have to struggle to find a
balance between home and work, sexual harassment is a serious ongoing
social problem, and they are still paid less than the opposite gender.
Then there’s violence in the family with the majority of cases
involving men beating their wives.
“In Cyprus we still hold onto the idea that it’s the woman’s job to
look after the children. She has to juggle her day between work and
childcare whereas the man can be out working all hours before going
home to put his feet up,” says Pattichi. “Inequalities in the workplace
are also a serious problem here. So many women are sexually harassed
without knowing how to deal with it or take action. Even when they go
to court they’ll most likely lose the case. We need to insist that it
is looked upon by the government far more seriously than it is and
specific laws safeguarding women need to be passed.”
If the fresh faced Barbie lookalike that seems to have wonderfully
defied her body clock is today’s role model, we’ve got a long way to
go. Sure enough, women have always taken care of their looks throughout
recorded history. The point is not doing so to an extent that excludes
everything else. “Take the example of Cleopatra,” says Pattichi. “We
all know she took care of her image but she is also remembered as one
of the most famous female rulers in history.” A far cry from the slim
blonde perfection invented by 1950s American society, it’s all about
taking a step away from purely superficial values and getting to the
core of what real womanhood is all about.
Annie Pattichi
99-468260
dersana@spidernet.com.cy
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009
"The two things I did learn were that you are as powerful and strong as you allow yourself to be, and that the most difficult part of any endeavor is taking the first step, making the first decision.
-" Robyn Davidson
"Instead of looking for a miracle in your life, look to see if you are the miracle in someone else's life."
- Nola Rohde Vollmer
Let us more and more insist on raising funds of love, of kindness, of understanding and peace.
~Mother Teresa
"I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width and depth of it as well."
~~Diane Ackerman
To awaken within the dream is our purpose now. When we are awake within the dream, the ego-created earth-drama comes to an end and a more benign and wondrous dream arises. This is the new earth.
Eckhart Tolle 
Though one should conquer a thousand times a thousand men in battle, he who conquers his own self, is the greatest of all conquerors.
-Buddha
"Don't say you don't have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein."
H. Jackson Brown
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 "Affluence, unboundedness and abundance are our natural states; we need only to recapture what we already know."
— Deepak Chopra
Indian Medical Doctor and Writer |
Day by day, in every way, it gets better and better
- Emile Coue
Have you ever wondered where you came from and where you will go? Answers can be found through a Life Between Lives Spiritual Integration session
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