Dr. David Hamilton: Science, Healing & Self-Love

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Known for his books on the power of thought and the mind when it comes to healing, Dr. David Hamilton recently released his new book “I Heart Me,” focused on the scientific power of self-love, and how we can use the mind and emotions to change how we feel about ourselves — and create wellbeing, success and more.

Elevated Existence Magazine interviewed Dr. Hamilton for its March 2015 issue cover story, and below is a sneak peek at some of the insights found in the article!

The Healing Power of the Mind
The first book Dr. David Hamilton published after leaving his job as a scientist in the pharmaceutical industry, where he was building drugs for cardiovascular disease and cancer, was “It’s the Thought That Counts: Why Mind Over Matter Really Works.” It focused on the mind body connection, and the connection between our consciousness and the world — all backed by scientific research.

“While working as a scientist, I started to notice how many people were recovering on placebos for drugs we were spending a quarter of a billion dollars developing,” he tells Elevated Existence. “I started looking into the mind body connection while I was working full time, and I realized there was so much information out there nobody seemed to know about.”

So he resigned from his job and started to weave together his scientific background with consciousness, spirituality and the mind body connection. His book “How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body” shows how positive thinking and visualization can work remarkably well when it comes to healing physical ailments and disease.

“After I published my first book, people would come up to me at lectures and workshops and tell me how they used the mind body principles to heal themselves,” he notes. “People were visualizing cancer tumors shrinking, for example, and they were all intuitively using the same mind body principles like visualization. I started looking into the neuroscience and psycho immunology so I could build a framework and understanding I could explain to my mom, dad or anyone off the street. There was so much science that validated it.”

In the book, he shares a Harvard study where volunteers played a series of piano notes up and down a scale for two hours, over five consecutive days. The scientists saw significant changes in the area of their brains connected to the finger muscles. By the fifth day, the brain had grown like a muscle and was significantly bigger. They also had a group of people who visualized playing the piano in the same way rather than actually doing it, and they also had their brain mapped to measure the results.

“Amazingly, the same regions of the brain had changed to the same extent as those who were actually playing the notes,” he says. “The brain was not making any distinction between those who were actually playing the keys on the piano and those who just visualized playing the keys. I use this example to help people understand, what you think about, what you imagine, really has an effect. It gives people faith in themselves.”

Visualization for Self-Love
In the book “How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body,” Dr. Hamilton shares a variety of visualizations and techniques to heal the body of physical ailments. In his new book, “I Heart Me,” he explains how visualization can also change our brain when it comes to self-love.

“Instead of visualizing inside the body, like you would do to shrink cancer or make a blood vessel healthier, what you do is visualize moving your body,” he tells Elevated Existence. “Visualize how you are walking, standing, speaking, breathing, from a place of ‘I am enough.’ Watch yourself interacting with people where you had previously acted in a way you felt small. Watch yourself standing tall, speaking with confidence, saying the things you want to say. Because the brain can’t distinguish real from imaginary, you are now rewiring the brain.”

If done on a regular basis, we can actually shape the circuits of the brain and will find ourselves functioning in the world with the kind of body language we are imagining, he says. And it only takes five minutes of visualization a day.

“It’s like a fast forward way of changing how you actually function in the world,” Hamilton says, explaining if we want to speed up the process even more, we can do it for 10 minutes, three times per day. “Five minutes is easier for people, especially with the busy lives we have. But you will start to notice a change, and it won’t even feel like you had to put much effort into it.”

For more from Dr. Hamilton, see the full March 2015 issue of Elevated Existence, which includes an article on author Mira Kelley and past life regression; a Course in Miracles column from Gary Renard and more!

Dina Proctor: Using Mini-Meditation for Transformation

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By Jennifer McCartney

Dina Proctor is a life and business coach with a specialty in mind-body connection. The bestselling author of “Madly Chasing Peace: How I Went From Hell to Happy in Nine Minutes a Day,” joined Tammy Mastroberte, founder of Elevated Existence Magazine, for the “Living an Elevated Existence Mind, Body & Soul Summit Season 2,” to reveal just how vital our mindset is in shaping our bodies, relationships and outer reality and how 3-minute bursts of focused meditation throughout the day can transform our lives.

Dina discovered 3 x 3 meditation (3 minutes of meditation 3 times a day) at a low point in her life when she was struggling with alcohol addiction, and tried meditation but found that sitting still for 20 minutes just wasn’t working. She found her body “maxed out” at around three minutes. Instead of being frustrated by this, she decided to listen to her intuition and instead of sitting for a full 20 minutes, she broke up the time throughout the day in three-minute segments.

“Our intuition always knows the best route for us,” she explained. “If we nourish our bodies three time a day why not nourish our soul three time a day?” And 3 x 3 meditation was born.

These short bursts can also be a good starting point if people are curious about meditation, she noted. “Just putting yourself into a relaxed state for three minutes is taking you out of your stress state. And putting yourself in a relaxed state has a huge effect,” she said. “I don’t doubt that if you’re going from zero to once a day that you’ll have a positive benefit.”

Effectiveness is not tied to the time period, but about taking that break to disconnect. It’s about what gets us into that space of “emotional gratitude,” said Proctor. “Whether it’s 5 x 5 or 3 x 3 or whatever. Even 10, 20, 30 seconds of uninterrupted focused mental energy…is way more effective than sitting there and letting your mind wander.”

The important thing is the function of meditation to interrupt negative thoughts, and to rewire the brain’s stress response. “You’re constantly interrupting your subconscious programming,” she explained. Our recurring negative thoughts about how we’ll never lose weight, or how we’ll never look as good as someone we see on television get disrupted. Eventually a switch will flip in our brain, and we’ll have escaped those negative programs, she said.

Working in Cycles
To bring structure and intention to your 3 x 3 she advises working in seven-day cycles. Chose one intention to take into your meditations that week, and at the end of the week check in to see what has changed. “Within seven days you’re likely to see some kind of difference within yourself,” she explained. It could be that we are sleeping a bit better or feeling less stressed at work, or simply more aware of our thoughts.

You’re rewiring your brain pattern,” she said. What will manifest are feelings of emotional connectivity and feelings of creativity and inspiration. She compared meditation to gardening. “You have to weed the garden and till the soil. You have to create the space so that the flowers can grow,” said Proctor.

One of the challenges may be finding time in the middle of the day to make space for it. But the mid-day meditation in the 3×3 cycle is an important one because this is when mind chatter is at its loudest, said Proctor. That’s why it’s important to interrupt this chatter and do the meditation anyway.

“We think whatever we have going on is so amazingly important that we can’t take time for our higher self,” she said. “It’s believing the universe wants you to succeed. You’ll notice you have few minutes after your last meeting and before your next one.”

She also suggested popping out to the car or running to the bathroom in order to make the time. “It might feel overwhelming but realize that when you start one thing it may…have this trickle down effect. Set your timer. The universe is not going to sabotage you. The universe is setting us up for success,” she noted.

Paul Scheele: Align Your Mind & Body

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By Jennifer McCartney

With the breakthrough technology of neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) and whole brain learning you can improve any aspect of your life – even while you are sleeping. Author, co-founder of Learning Strategies Corp., and founder of Scheele Learning Systems, Paul R. Scheele, Ph.D., joined Tammy Mastroberte, founder of Elevated Existence Magazine, for the “Living an Elevated Existence Mind, Body & Soul Summit Season 2,” to teach us how we can reprogram our brains to reach our highest potential.

Scheele explained we’ve all been preprogrammed—often in a negative way—by society, which dictates how we feel about ourselves, our work and our relationships. Most of us don’t question this programming, and we just accept it unquestioningly.

“We’re often stopped from exploring and developing our true genius as we become adults,” he said. “We get through school, and we are programmed into what’s called ‘the socialized mind.’”

Sheele compared the preprogrammed brain to a computer that’s been infected with a virus. “We were raised to be obedient to the society that raised us, and we have accepted many of our programs unquestioningly,” he said. Maybe we now believe we’re bad at math, or that we can’t lose weight, or that we’ll never find a job. These become our default settings, and our brains don’t even try to solve the problem.

“We try to use the stuff we were given and when it doesn’t work we think, ‘oh I’m broken,’ or we look at society, and we think that society’s broken,” he noted. What we need is to identify the virus in our mind or the pre-programming we have accepted, and get rid of it. We can reprogram the brain using a variety of tools, including NLP so that our brain functions differently—more productively, and more in line with our highest self.

We all need to start by asking: “What are the voices in your head telling you?” said Scheele.

Rather than get stuck in what he called “the socialized mind,” we can become the author of our own mind, which Scheele calls “the self-authoring mind,” and ultimately, we can progress to what developmental psychologists call “the self-transforming mind.”

“That’s what we’re really encouraging here … people not just authoring their minds, but learning to transform their lives,” he explained. “We can make profound changes in our lives almost instantaneously.”

Three Brain Tools
In order to reprogram out brain, we need to understand how it works. The brain runs on three things:

1.Concentration or focus. This is what we focus on during our daily lives. If we’re meditating and focusing on breaking old thought patterns, our brain will respond accordingly. If we’re spending all our time focusing on the same old thought patterns—that’s our brain running on default. We can choose what we focus on.

2. Imagination. Our brain will create what it is that we focus our attention on. We need to step into this full representation of what we imagine. If we can “see” it in our mind’s eye we can transform it into reality.

3. Suggestion. This is what we suggest to ourselves or the suggestions we receive from others. For example, if we are in an abusive marriage where we are told that we’re worthless, not good enough, not worthy of love over and over, then we learn to accept that as the truth. Even if we escape we still have these programs running in your brain—these suggestions need to be deprogrammed. “Anytime anyone says ‘I can’t,’ they’re right. They’re absolutely programming that,” said Scheele.

The brain responds to these three powerful tools, but most of us don’t actually access the full power and potential our brains possess. We cruise along, instead of using the built in “turbochargers” that can get us where we need to go. In order to rise to the next stage of consciousness, “we have to subject our ideas to inquiry,” Scheele said. “You get more of what you reinforce.”

Once we’ve begun to positively program your brain and use it at its full potential, and are able to move into the self-authoring and self-transforming mind, we’ll find ourselves interacting differently in our family systems, work systems, and even in our church or community. We will find ourselves naturally assuming a leadership role. We will feel more self-confidence because we believe in ourselves, because that is how we are programmed.

“The change is coming from within you,” he said. “It’s not an act of willpower. It feels natural.”

Marilyn Bradford: Thriving Beyond Addiction

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What if addiction was not about the alcohol, sex or other people’s problems, but about a choice to go unconscious? Are you willing to make a different choice … a choice for consciousness and you? What if you could have the freedom to be the person you’ve always known or hoped you could be? Whether its food, a substance or overspending, your future does not have to reflect your past.

Marilyn Bradford, therapist, teacher and author of “Right Recovery For You,” offered “Living an Elevated Existence Mind, Body & Soul Summit Season 2,” participants tools and techniques to facilitate them in choosing and reclaiming themselves.

“You don’t have to buy into all these so-called expert points of view about what’s right for you and what’s not right for you,” she said. “A lot of addiction counseling is focused on the idea that the experts know and you don’t—but don’t judge yourself as less than and give yourselves over to them thoroughly.”

Addiction takes many forms, and while most think of drugs and alcohol, addiction can also involve shopping, gambling, cigarettes, sex, over-eating, overworking, or even being addicted to drama, or to playing a victim. However it manifests, Bradford believes addiction is a default we go to in order to forget, to go unconscious for a time.

“It’s a kind of coping skill we use because nobody gave us other coping skills. We use addiction to escape our realities,” she said.

Because of this, she does not look at addiction as a disease but rather as something we fall into—and something we can escape from. We weren’t born into the world with addictive behaviors. We acquire them, and we can get rid of them.

“This isn’t about someone who does a lot of drugs going cold turkey,” she cautioned. “But it is about rethinking how we deal with addiction.”

The Root Cause of Addiction
But first, how do we know if we have addictive behaviors? When should we be worried that a behavior is negatively impacting our lives? “The way you can tell that something is an additive behavior is if when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed it’s what you go towards. It’s a default place where you don’t really have to exist,” she said. “If you feel a compulsion to do a certain thing and you don’t feel okay unless you do that, then it’s probably an additive behavior.”

She asked us to consider, “If I wasn’t about to do ‘blank’ then what would I be aware of?” It’s about discovering what we’re trying to escape from that she says is the first key to recovery. All addiction has a root cause—usually stemming from a sense of being wrong or different, along with a tendency to judge ourselves unmercifully all the time. This root cause is what Bradford calls, the “primary addiction.” The secondary addiction is the one people tend to address, which is the actual addictive behavior and how the primary addiction manifests itself, but we can’t ignore the root cause if we want to fully recovery, she said. The more we ask questions about the root cause of our addiction the more we can work towards resolving it, she encouraged.

As an example, she shared a story of a woman she worked with who drank two bottles of wine a day—but the drinking was her secondary addiction. She finally revealed the drinking helped her deal with the fact that her marriage was falling apart. The woman could “receive” what she was missing from her life and marriage via the alcohol—it filled a need.

The first step is to look at what the behavior is contributing to you. Then look at how you can fill those needs in other ways, Bradford shared. One of the first questions she asks of her clients is, “How would you like to create your life?”

As a tip she also advised we should never take on the identity of an addict because we are putting that intention out there. “If you say I’m a smoker or I’m an alcoholic you become that,” she said. “But, if you say, currently I’m drinking more alcohol than I would like to, but I’m changing this behavior,” then we are separating our identify from the behavior.

“What I discovered…is that anyone whose truly willing can walk away from any addictive or compulsive behavior,” said Bradford. “Recovery is not about stopping a substance…true recovery for me is about stepping into the greatness of you, and looking at where you’ve created limitations, and then clearing those so you can have more and be more.”

FREE Webinar: Are Certain Foods Causing Weight Loss Resistance?

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Join Elevated Existence Magazine contributing editor, Christine M. Okezie, Certified Holistic Health Counselor, for a FREE Webinar, “How Specific Foods May Be Causing Your Weight Loss Resistance,” Thursday, March 26 at 1 p.m. eastern/10 a.m. Pacific.

And don’t worry about making the live call — there will be a recording made available after it!

Okezie writes the “Food As Medicine” column for Elevated Existence Magazine, and in addition to being a Certified Holistic Health Counselor, she is also Natural Foods Chef, graduating from NYC’s Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts; a Certified Eating Psychology Coach; and Certified Transformation Coach.

In this FREE webinar, listeners will learn:

— Why certain foods cause you to hold onto unwanted weight, regardless of how many calories you are consuming

— The most common (but NOT so obvious) culprits and why these particular foods can be problematic

— How to determine if, in face, these foods are affecting your weight loss

— How to get the tools you need to stop the chronic dieting and finally be healthy and happy in your body

Register for free HERE and visit Okezie’s website, www.yourdeliciousbalance.com for more information on her and her services.

Arielle Ford: Attract Your Soulmate

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By Jennifer McCartney

Have you ever wondered what it takes to find the love of your life? Is it your dream to find a life-partner who will love, cherish and adore you? Arielle Ford, author of the bestselling book “The Soulmate Secret” has been called, “The Cupid of Consciousness” and “The Fairy Godmother of Love,” and she shared her secrets to manifesting the love of your life — secrets she used to manifest her own soulmate at age 44, and has taught to countless people worldwide, as part of the “Living an Elevated Existence Mind, Body & Soul Summit Season 2,” including:

How to become a magnet for love
Techniques you can use to take control of your romantic destiny
Key steps to manifesting your soulmate
How to start preparing for your soulmate right now (it will help you attract him or her)

“I believe a soulmate is first and foremost somebody you can completely be yourself with,” Ford shared. “Somebody with who you share unconditional love, and someone who, when you look into their eyes, you feel like you’re home.”

Additionally, over the course of our lifetimes we have many soulmates — best friends, family members, coworkers and romantic partners — and there are a number of key steps we can take to attract a new romantic love soulmate. And we must be willing to put in a little time and effort.

She used the example of a single mother who was recently out of work. The mother would actively take steps to find another job. She would update her resume, go on interviews, and talk to others about finding a job. She wouldn’t be sitting at home saying “if it’s meant to be it will happen.” However, this is what most single women are doing when it comes to finding love. She encouraged people to get online, check out dating sites, ask friends for help, and put out into the universe the intention to find love.

Other barriers to finding love may be our own mental roadblocks or limited beliefs about it. “There are a lot of people locked into their story,” Ford shared, explaining sometimes women over 60 will get discouraged and quote statistics about how there are more women than men left in the dating pool. Or some women will tell themselves only once they lose weight will they find love. But Arielle’s mother-in-law found love online at age 80, and the average wedding dress size sold in the United States is a size 16, she said.

If you’re thinking you have to lose weight to find love, it isn’t true. You have to let go of that belief,” she said.

Step to Manifesting a Soulmate
Ford also shared the steps she used in order to find her own true love at the age of 44. They include:

Forgiveness — She decided to forgive herself for past relationships, and made a list of men who she’d judged as having done her wrong in some way, so she could forgive them as well. “Forgiving is not about forgetting what happened or condoning what happens, but it is about letting go,” she said.

Clarity — We need to be clear about what our heart and soul desires in a partner, which is not about making a shopping list, such as tall, blue eyes, athletic build, etc. It’s an honest assessment of what is important to us. To create her own list, Ford looked back at the men in her life and noted the qualities they had that she knew she wanted, and a list of things she didn’t want. The list can be as long or as short as you need it to be—it can be 10 or a 100 items, she said. Two important things that should be on everyone’s list are: “My soulmate is open, willing and available for a long-term committed, monogamous marriage or relationship.” And if we know we want children, that should be included as well. The second is to add “My soulmate already lives within 50 miles of my town or is willing to move,” unless we are looking to move as well.

She also recommends sitting down with a friend and reviewing the list so we get another perspective. For example, does he really need to be a CEO and concert-level pianist? Or can he be just an okay pianist? We want someone to question us as to whether the items on the list will contribute to our long-term happiness, and be sure we didn’t miss any deal breakers.

Release — Next, it’s time to release the list. This helps us become unattached to the outcome. Once Ford had her list, she wrote out another copy on nice stationary and burned it under the light of a new moon. To celebrate the release, she took herself out for lunch and ordered a glass of champagne—toasting her as yet unknown soulmate.

Vision Board — The final step is to create a vision board of your future. A collage of magazine clippings and images on a piece of poster board—a visual representation of the future you’re intending. We are not trying to manifest Brad Pitt or George Clooney, she explained, but rather a lifestyle. So include anything that evokes the feelings we are looking to manifest in a relationship, from a couple holding hands on a beach to a nice meal we would like to share together. This vision board helps focus our intentions and lets us manifest what our life together will look like.

Once we have all these steps completed, and we’ve created space for your future soulmate, the fun part begins. Now, Arielle said, “it’s a matter of waiting to see what the universe will bring you.”

For more from Ford and the other 25 experts in mind, body and spirit topics, sign up FREE to Season 2 of the Living an Elevated Existence Summit.