REWIRING THE SOUL with Gabriella Kortsch, Ph.D.: August 2015

WELCOME TO THIS BLOG

Get Rewiring the Soul in print or e-book for Kindle
CLICK HERE to download the first chapter

"A revelation of insight into the foundations of human suffering & transcendence. It not only lays out essential steps for inner freedom and joy but illuminates the way to true human potential." Paul Rademacher, author: A Spiritual Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe

"The masterwork of a profoundly gifted healer of the soul. Dazzling, challenging, wondrously useful." Peggy Rubin, author: To Be and How To Be, Transforming Your Life Through Sacred Theatre

"Rewiring the Soul is one the best introductions to the spiritual life I've ever read. Not esoteric but real-world and practical. The implications are profound." Peter Shepherd, author: Daring To Be Yourself

Monday, August 31, 2015

Nurturing Greater Thoughts

Do you remember learning how to read at school? While each country will have followed different precepts, in my case a lot of it had to do with 'See Jane run'; 'See Jane's dog run'; and 'See Jane and Tom run'. I was devastated by the utter boredom of the thoughts implied in this learning how to read process.

Fast forward a few years. Obviously I had been reading many more exciting books: adventure, fairy tales, historical novels, but one fine day I stumbled across The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, and as you can imagine, I was awe-struck. The thoughts that swirled through my head thanks to ideas propagated on each page of this amazing book, were infinite, as they occupy me still, albeit on other levels now than then.

But here is the point: the 'see Jane run' type of thought kept readers on a given level. A wardrobe with a hidden door that led to magical kingdoms led readers to a very different level indeed. And in our lives it's quite a bit of the same. How much of your time do you spend mulling over mundane thoughts that keep you at a very basic energetic level?

Routine forms part of all our lives, but just to offer a couple of examples of ways to walk through that proverbial hidden door and enter the magic kingdom: driving in your car, going over, in your mind, what you need to do today. You've actually already got it all down, you made a list, no real need to go over it all again. Or perhaps you're running a conversation you had with someone yesterday through your mind. Or replaying some of what you saw of TV last night. Noting wrong with those things, but perhaps none of it is taking where you could be. So instead, for example, listen to some TED-type seminars that really turn you on and make you enter new worlds because of the material that is being offered - all you have to do is get the podcasts into your system, or download them for MP3 listening in your car. Likewise seminars (literally thousands are readily available on YouTube, including the recently passed Wayne Dyer) from any number of renowned speakers and thinkers that have the capacity to transport you from your mundane thoughts to a world filled - in some fashion - with magic. And of course, this affects your energetic frequency and vibration. How could it not?

You're not in your car? Perhaps you're shaving, putting on your make-up, cooking, puttering, waiting in traffic, waiting in line at a bureaucratic institution that exists merely to let the rest of us mortals know that our time is no longer ours, or perhaps you're waiting at a doctor's office, at the bank, on hold with one of those corporations that - just like the bureaucracies - believes that its mission in life is to make us realize our time is no longer our own. In all of these instances, if you have come prepared with some material of the type I've recommended here, you can not only use your time to remove yourself from the mundane nightmare (Sartre might have termed it a Huis Clos) those situations sometimes subject us to, but literally transport yourself to another plane, another level of being, another energetic state, thanks to the thoughts and ideas those talks and seminars are exposing you to.

It was Benjamin Disraeli who said: Nurture great thoughts, for you will never go higher than your thoughts, and it is so very true that this is a matter that lies in your hands and in your head, and how you choose the level of thoughts on which you keep yourself.

Note: TED seminars as well as seminars by a varied number of speakers can be accessed on my left sidebar under links, especially the links with an asterix. Or go directly to the TED site, or even to YouTube and search for people that inspire you.

***************

Also visit my book website: www.gabriellakortsch.com where you may download excerpts or read quotations from any of my books. My latest book Emotional Unavailability & Neediness: Two Sides of the Same Coin is available globally on Amazon in print & Kindle. You can also obtain it (or any of my other books) via Barnes & Noble.

Books by Dr. Gabriella Kortsch (English). Available globally in paperback or Kindle e-book versions

Bücher von Dr. Gabriella Kortsch (Deutsch) ... JETZT bei Amazon (Taschenbuch oder E-Book) erhaltbar

DEINE SEELE UND DU

Libros por Gabriella Kortsch (español) ... próximamente en Amazon en versión bolsillo y E-Libro para Kindle

Empezando con Rewiring the Soul - en español: Reconectar con el Alma (blog aquí), se podrán encontrar mis libros en español por todo el mundo próximamente en Amazon.

Note: If you are wondering why this blog is now only appearing on alternate days (excluding Sat/Sun), it is because I also post on my other blog on the others days. That other blog is The Tao of Spiritual Partnership, so named for another one of my books. Click here to visit the blog and/or to sign up for the feed.

My blog posts are also featured on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest & you can find me on Instagram

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Live Your Best Life 2015 - 2016 Schedule

Group Meetings to Support Your Growth & Well-Being

*** Here is the 2015 - 2016 Season Schedule ***

We all deserve to live our best life. We all deserve joy, peace, happiness, and inner freedom. So why are each of us not living our best lives and experiencing all these things? Schools teach us how to read and write, they teach us about math, geography and history, but they do not teach us about life and how to live it. Sometimes our parents do, but most often, they do not. This discussion group is designed to change that.

Are you experiencing any of the following in your life?

Relationship breakdown or stress
Financial stress
Major illness (you or a close family member)
Poor communication with your parents or offspring
Worry and desperation due to:

Fear of aging
Unfulfilling life
Depression
Loneliness
Boredom
Desire for change
Lack of progress and success

On Tuesday, September 2nd, 2015 our discussion group will once again begin meeting weekly. It is not focused on any one given problem, but precisely because it focuses on growth and well-being, this group literally addresses any problem. The path that leads to inner and outer peace and well-being is a path that serves you no matter what kind of situation you are facing.

You will not be expected to divulge personal details at any time unless you wish. The group meeting begins at 7:30 and lasts until approximately 9 pm. For the first 30 – 40 minutes I will present the topic of the week, and then there will be a general discussion in order to facilitate the understanding of the methods by which the tools that have been discussed may be incorporated into your life … beginning immediately.

If you wish to participate, you may come to any of the meetings - and although it is recommended that you attend as many as possible, simply because each is designed to further you along that road to inner and outer peace, joy, and well-being - there is, however, no minimum attendance requirement. Everyone is welcome, whether you have previously attended or not.

The group started in January 2010 and other than summer and Christmas/New Year's breaks, has been meeting ever since. Of course there is always an influx of new people, so if you have never come before, don't feel as though you are the only one.

Meetings will be not be announced by email except to the specific persons who have requested to be notified on a weekly basis. Please email me if you wish to be included in this weekly mailing. Information will also be available on my Facebook pages:

There is a per-meeting participation fee of 10 Euros. Please bring exact change. (Please contact me privately if cost is an issue).

Please do your utmost to arrive punctually between 7:15 and 7:30 prior to the beginning of the meeting. Coming later than this time will interrupt the flow of the group. We meet in Guadalmina Alta. If you need directions, please send an email.

NOTE:
If you wish to participate in any given meeting, please RSVP before Monday at 9 pm prior to the Tuesday meeting that you wish to attend at info (at) advancedpersonaltherapy (dot) com If you subsequently need to change your plans, please also let me know in order to give your place to another person as seating is limited.

SCHEDULE of TOPICS

2015

September

Sept 1 The Daily Torture of Your Thoughts - If YOU Aren't in Charge

Sept 8 Recognizing Choice: It Literally Signifies Freedom In Your Life

Sept 15 Health: Creating a New Environment for Your Genes

Sept 22 Happiness: These are the Prerequisites

Sept 29 Your Emotions: The Royal Road to Freedom

October

Oct. 6 Beginning the Process of Becoming Aware

Oct. 13 Anger, Self-Observation & Making Good Choices

Oct. 20 Expanding Your Comfort Zone

Oct. 27 No Meeting

November

Nov. 3 Your Need to Control Others

Nov. 10 Living With Worry & Still Having a Good Life

Nov. 17 Choosing Your Habits

Nov. 24 Poor Boundaries, Your Self-Esteem, Happiness & Self-Love

December

Dec. 1 The Differences Between Healthy Love & Dependent Love

Dec. 8 Consenting To Feeling Bad
After the meeting we will celebrate our annual Christmas dinner

Dec. 15 Major Steps to Loving the Self

Dec. 22 No Meeting

Dec. 29 No Meeting

2016

January

Jan. 5 No Meeting

Jan. 12 The Deep Unhappiness of Emotional Unavailability & Neediness

Jan. 19 Why Spiritual Partnerships are Good for Your Sex Life

Jan. 26 Self-Responsibility & Inner Freedom

February

Feb. 2 Your Addictions – Including Psychological Ones: How Do They Control You?
Feb. 9 Do You Use Your Wounds to Give Yourself an Identity?

Feb. 16 Can You Forgive: Its Vital Importance to Your Health & Growth

Feb. 23 Are You An Emotional Vampire or is Your Life Populated with Several of Them?

March

March 1 Complaining

March 8 Why Failure Can Be a Hidden Blessing

March 15 Practicing Non-Judgment

March 22 Blaming

March 29 Growing More & Faster Than Your Partner: Now What?

April

April 5 Bringing Joy to Your Life

April 12 Starting the Steep Road Toward Compassion

April 19 Choosing Where to Focus

April 26 Coming of Age Emotionally

May

May 3 Your Life as Metaphor: The Lotus Emerging From the Mud

May 10 Co-Creating Your Life

May 17 Suffering is Optional … And So Is Joy

May 24 Looking at Your Relationship Patterns

May 31 The Gift of Compassion Contained Within Backstabbing

June

June 7 Do You Care Too Much?

June 14 Why Meaning In Your Life Will Always Give You Strength

June 21 Is Moodiness Your ‘Default’ Mode?

June 28 Holding Pain in Your Hands

July

July 5 The Gift You Find by Staying on Your Goals at all Times
After the meeting we will celebrate our annual summer break dinner together

July 12 No Meeting

July 19 No Meeting

July 26 No Meeting

*** SUBJECT TO CHANGE***

Further Information

or to request to be included in the group email list that is sent out weekly:

Email: info (at) advancedpersonaltherapy (dot) com

Phone: +34 626 189 765

***************

Books by Dr. Gabriella Kortsch (English). Available globally in paperback or Kindle e-book versions

Bücher von Dr. Gabriella Kortsch (Deutsch) ... JETZT bei Amazon (Taschenbuch oder E-Book) erhaltbar

DEINE SEELE UND DU

Libros por Gabriella Kortsch (español) ... próximamente en Amazon en versión bolsillo y E-Libro para Kindle

Empezando con Rewiring the Soul - en español: Reconectar con el Alma (blog aquí), se podrán encontrar mis libros en español por todo el mundo próximamente en Amazon.

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Remembering Yourself

The dilemmas of several clients in the past few days - intelligent, well-spoken, thoughtful, and caring individuals - reminded me just how easy it is to forget about yourself - or to even be aware of the fact that you should also be remembering yourself.

We are encouraged and taught - especially throughout our early process of socialization - to be kind and considerate, to think of others, and to be generous, such that some people - especially both those who walk down spiritual paths, or those who simply have a greater dose of kindness in the mundane sense of the word - find at some point in their lives that all they are doing is drifting in the wake of their own life. In other words, their life is happening to them, based on what they are doing for others, due to this element of caring. Somehow this element of caring has come to be the prism through which they live their lives. On those occasions in which they may have tried to move in other directions, they are flooded with guilt, for not continuing to do whatever it is they believe they must do for those they care about.

I'm not talking so much about blatant sacrifice, as about being there for others before you are there for yourself. Not remembering yourself, in other words.

I repeated to all of these clients - as I have repeated frequently over the years - the story of what flight attendants say while the plane taxies down the runway: if the barometric pressure should fall during the flight, an oxygen mask will drop down from the compartment above you. If you are traveling with children, please place your own mask in position before you help your children with theirs. We all understand this. If we aren't breathing, our children may die. So we need to take care of ourselves first.

This of course, can be applied to life in general. If you keep forgetting about yourself - if you aren't remembering that your inner well-being is an important part of the equation that makes you a better citizen, a better spouse, a better parent - then you will create a negative ripple effect that will affect all those whose lives come into contact with yours precisely because you are not remembering yourself. You are not taking care of yourself. And so even if you want to be kind and generous and do good things for others, and believe that you are doing the right thing, somewhere inside of you there will be a part that is clamouring for love and caring. Hence the negative ripple effect.

Bottom line: love yourself. And that means: love yourself first. Not selfishly. Not out of egotism. Loving yourself first means taking good care of yourself, so that you are better able to be there for others in a healthy way. You can't do that if you don't remember yourself.

All of my books refer to the importance of self-love, but The Power of Your Heart: Loving the Self, does so with great detail.

***************

Books by Dr. Gabriella Kortsch (English). Available globally in paperback or Kindle e-book versions

Bücher von Dr. Gabriella Kortsch (Deutsch) ... JETZT bei Amazon (Taschenbuch oder E-Book) erhaltbar

DEINE SEELE UND DU

Libros por Gabriella Kortsch (español) ... próximamente en Amazon en versión bolsillo y E-Libro para Kindle

Empezando con Rewiring the Soul - en español: Reconectar con el Alma (blog aquí), se podrán encontrar mis libros en español por todo el mundo próximamente en Amazon.

Friday, August 21, 2015

Practicing Non-Judgment

Imagine someone close to you has hurt you in ways that will be very difficult to mend. Or imagine one of those things we all hope will never happen to us, has happened to you: losing your job, losing your house, being diagnosed with cancer, losing a child in a custody battle, discovering that your child was molested by someone close to you, living through a natural disaster, etc. etc.

At first glance most of us would say that those are terrible things to happen; that surely if something like that happens to someone, it would be a simple matter to justify their anger, their pain, their railing at the injustice of life.

But what if we looked at it another way? What if we could see, perhaps just around the next corner, or even many years into the future, how this particular - seemingly terrible event - had created change in this person, such that they are now living - on some level - a much better life, or that they have come to much greater inner peace thanks to these events, or a much greater acceptance of the self (which is tantamount to inner peace as well). What if these events brought them - over time - to inner joy? It's not ludicrous to think like this if you have been there and seen or felt it happen for yourself.

There is a wonderful Zen tale of which many versions can be found on the web (this one here), that epitomizes the ideas I've just expressed.

Once upon the time there was an old farmer who had worked his crops for many years. One day his horse ran away. Upon hearing the news, his neighbors came to visit. “Such bad luck,” they said sympathetically.

"Maybe," the farmer replied.

The next morning the horse returned, bringing with it three other wild horses. "How wonderful," the neighbours exclaimed.

“Maybe,” replied the old man.

The following day, his son tried to ride one of the untamed horses, was thrown, and broke his leg. The neighbors again came to offer their sympathy on his misfortune.

"Maybe,” answered the farmer.

The day after, military officials came to the village to draft young men into the army. Seeing that the son’s leg was broken, they passed him by. The neighbors congratulated the farmer on how well things had turned out.

“Maybe,” said the farmer.

Practicing non-judgment means that you are able to view with dispassion that which occurs in your life. You don't feel the need to label it as 'bad', or 'painful', or 'cruel', or any other descriptive you care to use. Instead, you are able to "allow" it to be, without it having to conform to whatever you believe about it, or, as Chris Griscom said in her book Ecstasy is a New Frequency: "where there is no resistance, there is no pain". Practicing non-judgment signifies not resisting that which is. Eckhart Tolle says in his first book The Power of Now: "Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it". Finally, Krishnamurti said that the secret to his happiness was not minding what happens.

As you can imagine, I'm not suggesting that practicing non-judgment is easy. Nor am I suggesting that this will work for you the first time you try it. But as you keep these thoughts in mind, and as you continue to apply it to your life - perhaps at first to the little things - you will find that it becomes possible.

Image: Horse. Costa Rica by Jacob van der Veen

***************

Books by Dr. Gabriella Kortsch (English). Available globally in paperback or Kindle e-book versions

Bücher von Dr. Gabriella Kortsch (Deutsch) ... JETZT bei Amazon (Taschenbuch oder E-Book) erhaltbar

DEINE SEELE UND DU

Libros por Gabriella Kortsch (español) ... próximamente en Amazon en versión bolsillo y E-Libro para Kindle

Empezando con Rewiring the Soul - en español: Reconectar con el Alma (blog aquí), se podrán encontrar mis libros en español por todo el mundo próximamente en Amazon.

Friday, August 7, 2015

Squeezing Each Moment For What It's Worth

What are you thinking right now? What are you feeling right now? Quick ... think of the answer to those two questions.

More often than not whatever the thoughts or the feelings you were having, they were actively contributing to lessening the potential enjoyment of your moment - or the potential to be able to see your moment as a growth experience instead of an experience filled with anger, pain or desolation. (Part of the reason this happens, is because most people are not conscious and aware at all times throughout their day - they are not mindful of what is going on, particularly on the inside. This is a question of practice and you can find more information by clicking on the mindfulness label below this post).

I'm not in Hawaii on vacation, you say? I'm at work. My boss just gave me more files to complete so I'll have to stay longer. Or perhaps: My father is ill. Or maybe even: I just failed the bar exam.

Sometimes I think readers will want to crucify me for repeating this so often, but it's a truth that changes nothing in your life until you assimilate it and begin to live by its precepts: what happens on the outside matters much less than what happens in your heart, mind and spirit with regards to those outer circumstances. But you must be aware. You must be conscious. You must be mindful. In other words, it is solely your reaction to external events that predicts how the event will affect you. This is a choice; a decision you make. And once you make that choice, you are in a position to squeeze each moment for what it's worth, because you will come from a very different inner perspective than the one that is unhappy and resists whatever is occurring.

Image: Amalfi Coast, Italy

*********************************

Also visit my book website: www.gabriellakortsch.com where you may download excerpts or read quotations from any of my books. My latest book Emotional Unavailability & Neediness: Two Sides of the Same Coin is out globally on Amazon in print & Kindle. You can also obtain it (or any of my other books) via Barnes & Noble.

Books by Dr. Gabriella Kortsch (English)

Books by Dr. Gabriella Kortsch: German now available globally - see sidebar; Spanish - coming soon.

Das erste meiner Bücher jetzt auf Deutsch weltweit erhaltbar: DEINE SEELE UND DU
Mis libros en español próximamente

Angefangen mit Rewiring the Soul - auf Deutsch: Deine Seele und Du, jetzt weltweit erhaltbar als Taschenbuch oder Kindle E-Book (Blog hier), werden auch meine anderen Bücher in Zukunft auf Deutsch bei Amazon zu finden sein.

Empezando con Rewiring the Soul - en español: Reconectar con el Alma (blog aquí), se podrán encontrar mis libros en español por todo el mundo próximamente en Amazon.

Note: If you are wondering why this blog is now only appearing on alternate days (excluding Sat/Sun), it is because I also post on my other blog on the others days. That other blog is The Tao of Spiritual Partnership, so named for another one of my books. Click here to visit the blog and/or to sign up for the feed.

My blog posts are also featured on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Pinterest & you can find me on Instagram

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Creating Joy as Your Life Unfolds

This is about responsibility ... your responsibility ... in creating joy in the way your life unfolds.

No, I can't do that. My life is not unfolding to plan. My life is not good. I don't like my life. Under such circumstances how do you expect me to create joy in the way my life unfolds?

That is, however, precisely it. Most of our lives don't always unfold according to plan, or in the best way possible. Most of us get hit - sandbagged, you might say - in the most unexpected ways from the most unexpected quarters numerous times in our lives. That's the reason why we have to take charge about creating joy in the way our life unfolds.

If we do that, we begin to see joy appear in the most unexpected ways and in the most unexpected places. Once that happens, we are well on the road to experiencing joy in our lives at will, no matter what the circumstances.

How can we create joy? Begin with gratitude for the simple things in your life such as the beauty of nature. Be grateful for a child's infectious laugh (even if you only hear it from your neighbour's garden). Begin by practicing mindfulness (click on the label below for more about this), which also implies creating joy by being aware as often as possible throughout the course of your day. Part of this awareness is the acceptance of the fact that your joy is your own responsibility.

How can we create joy? How can we become responsible in creating joy in the way in which our life unfolds? By deciding to do so. and as you create this daily habit, new neural pathways are formed in your brain and it becomes - as I have said in other places - background music to the tapestry of your life. It's a choice. So simple. Start now.

*********************************

Also visit my book website: www.gabriellakortsch.com where you may download excerpts or read quotations from any of my books. My latest book Emotional Unavailability & Neediness: Two Sides of the Same Coin is out globally on Amazon in print & Kindle. You can also obtain it (or any of my other books) via Barnes & Noble.

Books by Dr. Gabriella Kortsch (English)

Books by Dr. Gabriella Kortsch: German now available globally - see sidebar; Spanish - coming soon.

Das erste meiner Bücher jetzt auf Deutsch: DEINE SEELE UND DU
Mis libros en español próximamente

Video Courses

Monday, August 31, 2015

Nurturing Greater Thoughts

Thursday, August 27, 2015

Live Your Best Life 2015 - 2016 Schedule

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Remembering Yourself

Friday, August 21, 2015

Practicing Non-Judgment

Friday, August 7, 2015

Squeezing Each Moment For What It's Worth

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Creating Joy as Your Life Unfolds