THE 10-MINUTE MIRACLE
edited by David Callinan
BEAT RECESSION DEPRESSION
THE QUICK FIX GUIDE SURVIVAL GUIDE TO LIFE
(first published by HarperCollins Publishers)
Original book written by Gloria Rawson and David Callinan.
This is an updated and revised version edited by David Callinan
All rights reserved
Smashwords edition
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Copyright © David Callinan 2011. The right of David Callinan to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with The Copyright, Designs and Patent Act 1998.
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Books by David Callinan
THRILLERS:
THE IMMORTALITY PLOT
(a Mike Delaney novel)
KNIFE EDGE
BODYSWITCH
AN ANGEL ON MY SHOULDER
YOUNG ADULT FANTASY:
THE KINGDOMS OF TIME AND SPACE
(trilogy)
CHILDREN'S BOOKS (7-10):
THE WEATHER KIDS
(series)
SELF-HELP, HEALTH & HAPPINESS:
THE 10-MINUTE MIRACLE
(published originally by HarperCollins
with co-author Gloria Rawson)
CONTENTS
1. Introduction
2. 10 Minute Miracle - what is it?
3. How to use this book
4. Stress and depression during world recession
5. Affirmations
6. Aromatherapy
7. Color therapy
8. Crystal energy
9. Meditation
10. Visualization
11. Chi Kung
12. Psychological counseling
13. Reflexology
14. Why 10 Minutes? Why a miracle?
15. How the 10 Minute Miracle works
16. A week of miracles
17. Final thoughts and conclusion
INTRODUCTION
The idea of writing a small book called 'The 10-Minute Miracle' occurred during an autumn weekend. A group of us were talking about modern day living and how we dealt with the problems of everyday life, and what we had done when a big crisis hit home - how did we cope? It emerged from our conversation that between us we had some similar views on how to combat stress and a lot more besides. Some of our collective thoughts on the subject were solid tried and tested methods, others a little to the right or left of that, and some perhaps alluringly 'different'.
One thing we did agree on was that whoever we are, whatever our circumstances, we have all lived through moments of stress. Some of us may be able to deal with it better than others, by facing whatever the problem is, square on, with grim determination to pull through. In fact stress in our lives can often be the driving force, enabling us to win through a situation. It's only when stress builds up in our lives and we don't, won't or simply can't alter our way of thinking about it, that causes the damage. The tension starts to build up in our bodies, negative thoughts creep in, we start to feel below par we get a headache, go off our food, and feel out of sorts. This is the spiralling down effects of stress.
Everybody is susceptible to the rigors of life. No one would realistically expect to have a worry free existence. Yet, we can make the whole experience a lot better, by bolstering ourselves against some of the harsher realities that life offers at times. When we work alongside these crises, with positive action on all fronts, we begin to feel and see the difference, not only in our mental and physical state, but also in the environment in which we live, work, love and play.
From the young (children being bullied or trying to excel because of peer pressure), right through to elderly couples or single people struggling to make ends meet on a small income or pension, there must be an awful lot of scope for the 10 Minute Miracle out there. Young people on the dole, busy working mothers, young men/women, climbing up the career ladder, looking over their shoulders to see who's attempting to topple them: office workers, nurses, teachers, dock workers, machine operators, salespersons, doctors, dentists, consultants, middle aged people in an often precarious predicament - all trying to keep their jobs.
The 10-Minute Miracle - what is it?
Few of us can doubt that we live in an age of immense change, contrast and danger in which we can see before our very eyes examples of both the greatest and the very worst aspects of human nature. On the one hand we make wondrous discoveries both in science and in metaphysics. On the other have there ever been so many wars, conflagrations or disputes? Modern society, both Eastern and Western is on the one hand torn apart by environmental concerns, strife and misery and on the other elevated by acts of great beauty and humanity.
And now, the worst recession in recent history has a stranglehold over a large chunk of the world. Although it will eventually pass, it will leave behind a legacy of twentieth century stress and depression that many people - maybe this includes you - will never fully recover from.
So it is little wonder that our collective and individual health has suffered and will go on suffering. Medicine has made great strides and performs miracles of surgical wonder and provides us with drugs and medicines for many ailments and complaints. Some work wonderfully others are little more than panaceas with side effects.
People have been looking for other ways to complement existing treatments and many have turned both to Eastern remedies and techniques to combat the strife and strain of modern twentieth century life. The truth is that a blend of modern Western medicine and Eastern holistic systems, balanced by judgment and common sense, can bring enormous benefits.
Human beings have enormous reserves of healing ability, but few make use of them. These abilities should not be seen as alternative, except in specific cases, but certainly as complementary. If you can heal yourself from many ailments and complaints – and you can (or at least make a considerable improvement) – then we should all be doing much more of it.
The trouble is where do you start? There are so many different philosophies and techniques that the choice is bewildering, particularly for those who are coming into contact with ideas that might appear different, illogical or plain 'wacky', for the first time.
The task seems daunting. How do you get to understand aromatherapy, crystals, meditation, psychological counselling, exercise, yoga, Tai Chi, reflexology, self hypnosis, spiritual healing and other related practices for your own benefit?
You ask yourself; how do I find the time when I have to go to work, take care of the kids, study, look for a job and nurture relationships? There are only so many hours in a day after all. And I'm so tired and stressed at night I can hardly get to sleep.
Or maybe your priority is simply to survive. Maybe your relationships have crumbled. Perhaps you are living on the bread line. Suppose that life has kicked you in the guts and is about to stamp on your face. Surely all this talk about miracles and holistic processes is all very well but it's not going to put my life back together.
No, not completely. But if you are in those kinds of situation then you need a miracle - don't you? This book is not going to solve all those problems but it can show you a personal, holistic 'technology' to keep your spirit intact and keep your belief in yourself strong. With nothing else going right in your life, boy do you need this.
It is for people like you that the 10-Minute Miracle was written. Now, let's be honest with ourselves. Most of the practices mentioned above require considerable study to achieve any degree of real expertise. In some cases they are lifetime activities. Look at the numbers of books and courses on offer. You can't hope to become 'expert' in ten-minutes.
But what you can do is learn to unlock the healing powers within you and combat stress, anxiety, road rage, aches and pains, headaches, insomnia, PMT and a host of other ailments by a regime that only takes ten-minutes each day.
You may find some of the techniques and ideas in this book so 'esoteric' or 'different' that you shy away from them. But you will find others that you feel instinctively comfortable with. Remember to think and decide for yourself. You have the capacity to make a huge difference to your life. The commitment you make is to your own health. You can heal yourself.
This is very much a workbook. It is designed to be your constant companion, a well-thumbed old friend. It is a compilation of techniques and routines that you can carry out yourself. There is enough information in this book to provide you with a host of different healing techniques. Just tell yourself that you are going to make a ten-minute self-healing regime part of your life.
This is not a medical textbook or a dry guide to alternative medicine or an in-depth course on aromatherapy. Those books already exist. This for busy, rushed-off-their-feet everyday people who need to find another route to health; who believe they can help themselves; cure themselves; and make good health and vitality a natural part of the quality of their lives. And it is for people who are suffering.
Let me tell you about John
John had just reached fifty years of age. He had always kept himself fairly fit, without being obsessive about it. He had played football, basketball, swam a fair bit and was not very much overweight. But he had eased off the serious sport in recent years.
He worked in the media and had his share of stress but it didn't bother him. Some stress was necessary to help his creative juices to flow. He was married with three kids and had the usual mortgage and the usual debts. He always knew that he was sailing on the edge of insecurity. He knew he wanted to be secure but he also knew it could be an illusory fancy on the one hand and on the other well, no-one was secure these days, were they?
Then one day he was made redundant. His worst nightmare had happened. He had rehearsed this moment in his mind for years. How would he cope? How would the mortgage get paid? He was a failure. Despite all his previous bravado, the shock penetrated deep in his psyche. On the surface he put on a brave face. Underneath the worms of self-doubt and fear had begun their destructive work.
Although he managed to get himself enough self-employed work to survive, it wasn't enough. He was growing old. He was on the scrap heap.
He began to experience panic attacks. They came out of the blue and left his heart pounding and his lungs heaving. They followed the same pattern. He found he could easily intellectualize what was happening, but it made not the slightest difference. John was experiencing real, raw emotional turmoil for the first time in his life. And he had no idea what to do about it.
He went to see his medical practitioner who muttered about Prozac and suggested he had reached his peak and not to worry about it.
"It's all downhill now, pal," he was told. It was meant as a joke!
Feeling more desperate than he would admit, he began to search elsewhere. A friend of his was a counsellor – a profession John had quietly scoffed at in his media days as a soft option and nothing to do with the 'real world'. The friend taught him some simple techniques to identify his raw emotions and face them. It was a painful process but it had to be done. John had never faced raw emotion before - at least not like this. It was difficult. He had to switch off his logical mind. He had to forget his preconceptions. He realized he knew little or nothing about what really mattered to him. He could not 'think' his way out of this. The emotions of fear and envy were lurking in the depths of his soul. Gradually, he faced them. He admitted his fear. He admitted his envy. He tasted the emotions and experienced the great black void behind them where his insecurity lay in wait.
Simultaneously, he took the advice of another friend and really went out on a limb. John wasn't very religious and he had never been to a spiritualist church before. But he was desperate. He turned up and found that, although he didn't know any of the hymns they sang at the start, they seemed fairly normal.
He spoke to a healer who was amazingly sympathetic. John's problem seemed commonplace. After the laying on of hands during which John just relaxed in a state of compliance, he went home feeling ravenously hungry. Next day he felt better. He had the odd relapse but by now he was catching on. He pinned the emotion to his mental blackboard as soon as it emerged and he faced it. And this time it wasn't as fearful as before.
He found himself thinking positively for the first time in months. He realized then that his negativity was like a real force, not just an abstract concept.
John began to take charge of his life. The panic attacks gradually subsided and he felt positive enough to go out and look for new freelance contracts. And one or two jobs came in, enough to pay for the usual family holiday.
These days John is still insecure but he tends to feel that he should do his best to live in the present moment; the only real moment there is.
John's story is not unique and is by no means as traumatic as others. How many of our ailments and conditions owe their origins to our mental state; our negativity; our fear of the future or our body's energy imbalance?
Ten-minutes a day is all it takes to make a difference!
How the 10-Minute Miracle works
The 10-Minute Miracle is a self-help guide that will show you how to practice simple holistic survival techniques, both in isolation, and as part of a comprehensive routine.
The first section of the book takes you through the techniques themselves - affirmations, meditation, reflexology, chi kung, crystal power and so on. Each of these practices or techniques is worthy of serious study in its own right. Each can be used for healing benefits and for general well being on their own. You could spend twenty to thirty minutes a day in meditation, for example, and this book will show you how. The same applies to all the techniques.