Keep Focused on Where You Want To Go
Being February, cross country skiing is a favourite activity. When I help people find their intuitive knowing through workshops, I often have asked people to go for a walk to find answers in nature. It comes in various ways to people.
Personally I find that often nature and the outdoors speak to me through metaphors. Recently when skiing, I was finding myself on some trails that posed a bit of a challenge to me. If I worried about landing off the trail and into a creek or trees, my body took me there and I would fall in advance to protect myself . I watched myself and noticed how what I was doing resembled our travels on life’s path.
Before long I realized that as long as I could be disciplined enough to keep my eyes focused on the trail ahead where I wanted to be, my body could brilliantly take me there.
Next time I faced a challenging hill, I made a point of looking at the trail where I wanted to go. Oh I was so strongly tempted to let my eyes go to the object I feared and whenever I succumbed, my body took me to the very thing I feared.
As long as I kept focused on the path I wanted to choose, I was able to competently follow my eyes. I now use this metaphor when facing some challenges in life. I acknowledge the things I fear but find that by focusing my attention on where I want to go, I get there.
If you have some examples of metaphors from nature and the outdoors, perhaps you will share them with me and I will post them on this site for others to read.
I look forward to hearing from you.
Marie Knapp
Healing and thought energy
I was sitting down in my living room this morning having decided to spend just a few minutes skimming through Bruce Lipton’s Biology of Belief again. The reading only lasted a couple of minutes because something in there triggered a thought. It took me back to a conversation I had recently had with someone who was reading about the supplements prescribed by her naturopath. The book described how the body works and what it is “supposed to do”. She was amazed and commented “how does the body know to do these things and how to do it”? Perfect question. How does the body know? Well, the body is brilliant. It just knows.
Science and the mind have been life savers and have helped many people live a close to normal life that could not have otherwise done so. When the body is in crisis, the work the mind has done to try and unravel the mysteries of the body is helpful in trying to get it back on track. Using research to uncover what the well body does, can lead to ways to interfere with the disease or trauma to get the body working again.
Healing is different. Healing is about allowing the body, in fact the whole self, to do the work it does know how to do well. Healing is about allowing our body, mind, emotions and spirit to be its best in the circumstances in which we find ourselves even when in crisis.
Healing through a grieving process, for example, allows us to grieve well. Healing through a tough diagnosis allows us to be fully human with love for ourselves and others.
Healing with energy is a way to help create the right energetic environment in which healing can best take place. Our thoughts are energy too. Through our thoughts, we can allow ourselves to submit to the wisdom of the body rather than fight it. Healing is about being with the flow and being good to ourselves in the process, acknowledging the difficulties, feeling the emotional pains in our body and asking for guidance from that source greater than ourselves.
Thanks for listening. Now I will get back to Bruce lipton’s book and see what other things are triggered.
Wishing you health, joy, healing and love
Marie Knapp
Margaret Parkin RN,BN
Calgary
Phone: 403-256-1984
Email: reader2511@shaw.ca
Healing Modalities: Healing Touch
Intentionality article by Marie Knapp
Intentions Make a Difference in Your Life and in Your Prac…
Meet me at TTNO conference this weekend
I will be at the Therapeutic Touch Network of Ontario Conference this weekend and presenting about Intentionality on Saturday morning (11:15 to 12:30). If you are there and interested in talking to me about CHNA, I would love to meet you after my session just outside the room. Or if this is not feasible, please stop me when you see me. I would love to meet you.
Marie Knapp marieknapp@rogers.com
Past President
PS If you haven’t registered, you can still register by phone by calling the TTNO office at 416-231-6824. (VISA or MasterCard). If you get the answering machine, please leave a message and they’ll call back. (People may also register at the door – but arrive early.)
If you need more details you may go to www.therapeutictouchontario.org and look under Events.
The Long, Healthy Life Conference: Ontario
Nancy Crawford, CHNA Ontario Rep, recommends the following conference:
The Holistic Health Research Foundation of Canada is proud to present
In association with the Ontario Society of Physicians for Complementary Medicine and
the International Society for Orthomolecular Medicine
THE LONG, HEALTHY LIFE
Exploring Natural Strategies for Increased Longevity and Chronic Disease Prevention
An educational event for the public and health professionals
Saturday, October 24 and Sunday, October 25, 2009
Ontario Science Centre, Toronto
Tickets available for one or both days: $65 – $199;
discounts for students/seniors.
Early Bird discount by September 18th.
Full event and ticket ordering details: www.HolisticHealthResearch.ca or 416-778-4443
Proceeds from the event will support further educational and research initiatives of the Holistic Health Research Foundation of Canada.
July 2009 News from CHNA
Dear Members and Friends of CHNA,
While the weather in many parts of the country leaves us unsure of the season, we do hope you are enjoying summer, such as it is.
At the moment, this email is being sent out to those who sign up on the web site as well as individually to our members. In the fall, we will do all our mailing through the web site only. We ask all our members to please submit your name and email address on the web site so that you will be regularly informed of CHNA activities. We would love your help in recruiting more people to our site so please forward this email to your nurse colleagues who are interested in holistic energy nursing.
There are several things we would like to draw to your attention. In order to help your reading and sorting of information, I am using bolded headings to title each different topic.
New President
I would like to introduce you to our new president Susan Morris. Susan has been the Membership Chair and member of the Specialization Committee so you can be sure she is well informed of the activities of CHNA and very ready willing and able to run with it. As past president, I am delighted to know we have someone like Susan taking on the role. It has been a pleasure working with her in the past and I am sure will continue to be so as we both take on new roles.
Web Site Coordinator
Yes, this is my new role. I accepted this role for one year. If you are interested in working with me on my committee, you will learn how we wish to use the site, help gather information to put on the site and eventually learn to use word press and input information on the blog and other posts on the site. Please let me know if this interests you and we can talk about it. marieknapp@rogers.com
Items on the blog
If you scroll down the home page of the web site chna.ca you will see a section called blog. As we enter each new topic, it is itemized on that dark green rectangle. There are important pieces of information there. I hope you will check the site often and see our updates. There is important information and interesting messages on the blog now so have a look. www.chna.ca/category/blog
Add to the blog
Now that you have read them, you may wish to contribute too. Members are invited to write brief reviews of books, articles, web sites, conferences and workshops. This is an excellent way for people to keep abreast of what is going on. Please send to marieknapp@rogers.com
Member recruitment
Be sure to read the blog related to member recruitment. If you get 3 new RN members signed up you could save $30 on your 2010 renewal. This is a great opportunity to share the web site with your fellow nurses who are interested in energy nursing.
Membership Renewal
Speaking of membership, you will be receiving your Newsletter at the end of August and with it will go a reminder to renew. We are excited with developments at CHNA and hope you will be part of all that is happening, sharing your knowledge and expertise and helping us grow.
The Canadian Nurses Association (CNA) is seeking input on the CNA and CNA/CASN position statements listed below.
CNA asked if we would send this message to our members for your input..
The deadline to complete the survey is August 21, 2009 at 4 p.m EST.
“Your perspectives and advice will ensure CNA’s position statements reflect current themes and priorities regarding important issues. We ask that you provide feedback to the statements that are of interest and relevant to your practice? Your contribution to the revision of these position statements is very much appreciated.
Each survey will take approximately 20 minutes to complete. Please click on the link under each title listed below to access each survey. »
- Promoting Culturally Competent Care
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=u_2f7RhIpoKrYF0jY1jtn_2fEA_3d_3d
- Evidence-Based Decision-Making and Nursing Practice
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=40w0O7sRjybx11f41fZC0w_3d_3d
- Flexible Delivery of Nursing Education Programs
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=vondezgeq_2fBAfgz7f_2fYTjw_3d_3d
- Educational Preparation for Entry to Practice
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=2pZ8It5SfkJEQJ3wMh9RPA_3d_3d
- Promoting Continuing Competence for Registered Nurses
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=1okorOSuQGB3wz3ApMbnaw_3d_3d
- Doctoral Preparation in Nursing
http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=PKklLoUXyxnLcVXNlmgQQg_3d_3d
Elizabeth Morin
Administrative Assistant, Nursing Policy
The Canadian Nurses Association/L’Association des infirmières et des infirmiers du Canada
Events:
This is a page on the site you won’t want to miss. The Specialization courses are listed there as well as other very interesting conferences. Go to www.chna.ca/events and check these out.
We would love to have some feedback about the web site and about these emails. Send me a message and tell me what you like about it and some suggestions for improvements or additions. marieknapp@rogers.com .
I look forward to hearing from you,
Marie Knapp RN EdD
Web Site Chair
CHNA Poster needs members’ pictures
Wendy has sent the following request to members:
I have recently joined the CHNA and am super excited to get involved. At the last Alberta meeting I volunteered to recreate a new improved CHNA poster for advertising CHNA. I need some help.
I am asking CHNA members to share some pictures with me. I am looking for some pictures of our members, and maybe their treatment rooms, or some of their treatments in progress (with permission from the client) would be very helpful. They can forward pictures to me at wendy@malejko.com Thanks!
Wendy Malejko
Enlist a new RN member for 2009-10 — receive a $10 coupon for your 2010-11 membership
You will want to take advantage of this opportunity. CHNA wants to attract more members and demonstrate the interest of Canadian nurses in Holistic Energy-based nursing. You get to benefit.
Do you know one, two, three nurses who are interested in energy-based nursing? Why not lead them to this site and encourage them to join! When they sign up, they will be asked to name the person who influenced their joining. When they name you, you will be sent a $10 coupon that you can send in with your 2010-11 membership renewal form. You could reduce your membership fee that year by as much as $30 if you find 3 new members.
The three new members you enlist have the same opportunity if they enlist more members. Everyone stands to gain from this! More people learn what CHNA offers. Canada’s leaders in health and nursing see the growing interest of nurses in this area of practice. You can make a difference!
A member asks: What Complementary Therapies are considered “legal”?
I received an email asking the following: ” are therapeutic touch and reiki the only holistic modalities that RNs can specialize in legally for alternative therapies!” There are many aspects to the response to this question. I am sure others are also interested soI am answering it on our blog. I am going to treat each aspect separately so I am numbering them for easier reading.
- There is a fundamental philosophical difference between the terms “complementary” and “alternative”. Many people get these confused. CHNA only focuses on complementary therapies. Remember that alternative does mean “instead of”. As nurses, we only advocate and use Complementary Therapies that would be considered to augment any treatments or therapies already prescribed by the Physician or Nurse Practitioner.
- Complementry Therapies are tools or techniques that can be used in the holistic care of an individual. I suggest rereading the Standards of Practice of holistic nursing to get a better understanding of how the energy modalities would be incorporated into the holistic care of a client. The modalities used are only a part of the healing process.
- What is considered “legal” is what is included within the nursing scope of practice for Registered Nurses as set out by the College of Nurses of each province or territory. Unfortunately, each jurisdiction regards Complementary Therapies in different ways. To find out what is allowed within the scope of practice for nurses where you live, I suggest that you contact the College of Nurses where you reside and practice.
- Currently the following are used within the Specialization Program. CHNA asks ony for a beginning level and respects the practice requirements set by each therapy organization. Within the program we use: Therapeutic Touch, Meditation, Progressive Relaxation, Reiki, Healing Touch, Sound & Music, Colour & Light. It is expected that the holistic nurse will use whatever energy modality is best for the particular situation and makes the decision in collaboration with the client.
Thank you for this question. I know that when one person asks a question, likely at least 10 others have the question but did not ask. I appreciate the opportunity to respond in this way.
Marie Knapp
CHNA outgoing president
May 2009 News from CHNA
Hello members and friends of CHNA,
Welcome to those who have recently signed up for the email updates.
First of all I would like to invite you all to review the web site as there have been some recent new posts. Especially important is the June AGM and the submission of articles for the next newsletter. Go to chna.ca
I would also like to talk with you briefly about how CHNA differs from some other organizations.
Some of you are members of a professional organization related to the particular modality that you practice. For example you may be pursuing Therapeutic Touch or Healing Touch or Reiki. You likely attended some of the course training and may be on your way to becoming expert in that modality. At CHNA we fully support this and encourage this kind of development.
You see CHNA is not about any specific complementary therapy but rather it is about how you incorporate any of them into a nursing practice. For example, when you study the CHNA Specialization program, you learn to develop your work with energy as it fits within a nursing framework. You will work with the client and together decide which of the modalities best suits the situation. In other words, a person does not come to you for Therapeutic Touch or Healing Touch or Reiki or meditation. Rather they come to you for a healing session and together you decide which type of work will be best. It could also be working with colour, or sound/music, or guided imagery or EFT or a variety of other techniques that you have learned in a variety of ways.
CHNA is about how to incorporate energy work into nursing.
If you have not already done so, please go to the Standards of Practice for Holistic Nurses on the web site. Read them over. I think you will be impressed.
Many Ontario Registered Nurses interested in Holistic Nursing are members of the Complementary Therapies Nurse Interest Group (CTNIG) of RNAO. This is an excellent organization. I am also a member of CTNIG and have found it valuable in learning more about different modalities that I had not previously encountered. It serves that purpose well. As you can see, CTNIG and CHNA have different purposes. It makes sense for Ontario RNs to be members of both CTNIG and CHNA.
Why be a CHNA member?
Well there are numerous reasons in terms of your own personal development of holistic nursing. And there is another very important reason. You see, it is through a growing membership that we are able to show the Canadian Nurses Association and the leaders in the provinces and territories that , yes, in fact there is a growing acceptance and interest in holistic nursing (energy nursing) in Canada. This is how we have a stronger voice and gain more acceptance in a wider variety of locations and practice areas.
With that in mind, we hope that members will pay attention to the renewal notices you receive in August. Those who are interested in energy nursing and who are not members, please consider joining us now.
Thank you for connecting with us. If members would like to send information for publishing on the blog, please submit to me at marieknapp@rogers.com, for editing and possible publication.
Marie Knapp
CHNA President.
Your Body Speaks Your Mind: Book Review
Your Body Speaks Your Mind- Decoding the Emotional, Psychological, and Spiritual Messages that Underlie Illness. Deb Shapiro (2006) Boulder CO, Sounds True Inc.
What do our symptoms and physical problems tell us about ourselves? In this book you will learn how the body speaks to us. Deb Shapiro helps us learn the language that the body speaks. She provides a thorough discussion about some common physical symptoms and illnesses and suggests general and specific underlying psyco-emotional and spiritual issues. She explains how knowing the body’s language can help increase our potential for healing. ” By learning the body’s language of symptoms you will soon discover that there is an extraordinarily intimate two-way communication going on that affects both your physical state and your mental and emotional health.” Deb Shapiro.
In this book, Deb Shapiro helps us initiate this communication, decode and understand the information the body is constantly sending out. The book is well organized and easy to read with straight forward explanations about the etiology of the illness and brief reviews of the anatomy and physiology of the physical body systems involved. A CD with guided visualization practices is also included. I highly recommend this book particularly if you work with clients who suffer from chronic illnesses.
Michele Bourgeois R.N. M.Ed. BHSP
CHNA Secretary
Submit articles for newsletter by June 30th
Members: The deadline for submission of your articles to Wendy is June 30th. The theme for this issue will be Reaching Out: connecting holistic nurses across Canada.
Please send your articles to Wendy Snefjella at wsnefjella@yahoo.ca
We ask that all articles be original work sent in Word format. Wendy is generally pleased with the articles she receives and we all want to thank those members who sent in articles for the last issue.
Just a reminder that all works will be edited. Some may be returned with suggestions for reworking.
Wendy looks forward to hearing from you.
AGM Teleconference June 9, 2009
All members are welcome to join this teleconference. For details on how and when to connect, please contact our Secretary Michele Bourgeois at michelebo@shaw.ca.
Marie Knapp, President
March 09 News from CHNA
Dear CHNA colleagues,
You are receiving this message because you submitted your email address on our web site. This is a new feature we are offering and this is the first email being sent out. Welcome and thank you for subscribing.
If you are not yet a member, welcome!
We are pleased to have you on our list and hope that you find the emails informative and interesting. We would also be happy to have you join CHNA and become more involved in supporting Holistic Nursing and taking advantage of the learning opportunities we offer. You may wish to browse through the web site at www.chna.ca
If you are a member
We apologize for any duplication in messages. Because this is a brand new feature, members will receive emails from us occasionally for the remainder of this membership year. When you renew, in the coming year, we will invite all members to sign in to receive updates about every two months. We hope both members and non-members enjoy this new feature. We welcome your feedback. Please send any comments or suggestions to marieknapp@rogers.com .
The Blog
We expect our blog site to grow with a variety of content. There are two interesting book reviews on the web site blog now. If you haven’t already read the book reviews, I recommend it. Also there is general information there regarding things happening at CHNA. There are a variety of ways you can become involved in CHNA in either big ways or small ways. Have a look and see what interests you.
Do you have some information you would like to share on our blog? Perhaps you have attended a conference you found very inspiring, or heard a speaker, or read a book, or watched a DVD. Members are invited to send their contribution to the blog through me at marieknapp@rogers.com. Your submission will be reviewed and may be edited and posted. We look forward to hearing from you.
Specialization in Holistic Nursing
The Specialization Committee has been working exceptionally hard this year on our project related to getting official certification for our Specialization Program from CNA. This would mean that Holistic Nursing would become a recognized specialty and Holistic Nurses who complete the program and write the exam could become Holistic Nurse Specialists. We anticipate a lengthy process in achieving this end, however the possibility of its achievement is very encouraging to those of us who practice or want to practice holistic nursing. Recently the committee surveyed holistic nurses and we expect to see the results posted in a future edition of the Canadian Nurse. Go to our web site at www.chna.ca to learn more about the Specialization Program.
Future Emails
As this email feature matures, we will be able to create a regular format for these emails. Please be patient with us as we develop. Your comments are much appreciated.
Please feel free to forward this message to other holistic nurses who may be interested in receiving news from CHNA.
Marie Knapp
CHNA President
The Whole You — by Tanis Day (book review)
The book reviews exressed in this site are solely those of the writer of the review and do not necessarily reflect the views of CHNA. You, the reader, are responsible for determining its value for you and your practice.
The Whole You — Healing and Transformation Through Energy Awareness by Tanis Day PhD
A step-by-step guide to exploring your subtle energy fields. iUniverse, Inc. New York. 2008
I met Tanis Day 2 years ago when I began taking classes in the Mentoring Program with her. Her energy work and experience is extensive and her knowledge is deep. I looked forward to the publishing of this, her first book so that I could have access to its messages over time and as I am ready to understand it.
I have finished reading the book and it more than met my expectations. Her language is easily readible, her examples and explanations are very helpful, and her work with the higher energies is particularly meaningful to me.
I am not sure that this book is meant for the beginner. For someone who has already learned about energy healing and practiced healing even if only on yourself, you will likely find this book helps pull many things together. I found it is an excelent guide to the higher self.
You may wish to browse Tanis’ website at www.tanisday.com. I look forward to hearing your reponse to her book when you read it.
by Marie Knapp RN EdD
Get Involved With CHNA: some opportunities
There are several ways that members can be part of the Canadian Holistic Nurses Association:
1. We have some opportunities for Executive and Board positions available. This is an exciting time to be a Board member with CHNA as we are currently working on our proposal to be officially recognized as a Specialty with CNA. We are also working on becoming more visible through our newsletters and web site. If you are interested at all in holistic energy nursing, this may be just right time for you to get involved.
a. Chair of the Specialization Committee (must have completed Level 2 of the program) Interested? Please contact Debbie Freeman at dlfreem@shaw.ca
b. Chair of Membership. Want to learn more about the role? Please contact Susan Morris at sbmorrisis@shaw.ca
2. We are looking for ways to increase involvement of holistic nurses in the provinces and territories. Some are without reps. If this is something that interests you, please contact Marie Knapp at marieknapp@rogers.com . If you are a member who wants to connect with more like minded people, this is an opportunity to get some clusters forming and learn more from each other.
3. We have someone managing the Newsletter and the Web site and would like to form committees for them. If you are interested please contact Marie Knapp at marieknapp@rogers.com .
a. Newsletter Committee: If you are interested in helping with things like review and editing, or mail outs, or gathering content, or other types of work necessary to publish and distribute the newsletter twice a year, we would love to have you join us. Communication will be mostly by phone and email.
b. Web Site Committee: If you are interested in learning more about using word press to edit and add to the web site, or monitoring parts of the web site, or helping with editing of articles, I would love to have you join us. Communication will mostly be by phone and email.
4. Are you interested in developing a cluster of holistic like-minded nurses in your area? Contact Marie Knapp at marieknapp@rogers.com and see how CHNA can help you.
We look forward to hearing from you.
