12 Steps to be more aware

Breathwork guides us to be conscious or more aware of what is really going on in different life areas. Reflect. Where can we bring “consciousness” into our lives before, during and after breathwork? This is about paying closer attention to the signs and signals and underlying meaning of our health and body language, mental thoughts, emotions and spiritual views in our lives.  Ponder 10 steps to allow more awareness into our lives;

1. Reflect on life patterns.  Do we see trends, assume genetic disposition or inclinations in the state of our physical health and fitness, finances, similar partners or relationships, repeated environments or spirituality?This is about feeling the way into life areas and growing aware of the beliefs, values and practices that are shaping our conditions.

2. Experience breathwork. Various breathwork modalities make use of scientific research available to us about effects of levels oxygenation on our organism. These modalities use special breathing techniques, which support increasing or decreasing levels of oxygen in our body to achieve a desired result. When guided by a skilled facilitator with proper training, intention and context, breathwork has a potential to release the effects of unresolved traumas, thus supporting healing of our physical organism and psyche. Breathwork can prevent an onset of debilitating and potentially life-threatening trauma-related diseases. Check out Interview with Dan Brule.

3. Connect goal-setting with motivation. What can we do to align behaviour and visions? What is our unconscious programming? What are our dreams versus our reality?  Where do we wish to commit? Consider ways to stay motivated when new to breathwork by Ashley Neese.

4. Grow conscious during regular activity – while engaging in communication, exercising, eating, having sex, sports, gardening, being in nature, driving, walking. What prompts us to think or act as we do? What are we noticing? Does a sense of separation bwteen ourselves and the external world grow or shrink?

5. Connect restlessness & inauthenticity. When something feels right, we do not hold back or complain. If self-doubt arises, or we question our decisions and choices, then it likely doesn't jive with who we are. Being in integrity means taking responsibility for how we think and feel and finding courage to make life changes when we are not in harmony with our true nature.

6. Get clear on what it feels like to be conscious. Notice when we are “present” or “tuning out,” when our senses are engaged, and when we are numb.  Addictions and other unconscious behaviours are examples of tuning out due to fear, hurt or pain. To know what consciousness is/feels like, we are taught to experience what it is not. Learning The science and purpose of different breathwork techniques can ease fears as we ease into practise.

7. Know growing conscious unleashes power. This inner power enables us to make positive change or cosnciously respond and influence outcomes. We grow aware we hold power to experience a deeper level of fulfillment and joy, the power to be natural or unnatural, as well as to consciously co-create and choose.

8. Let go of conditioned habits and impulses.  Growing conscious of self-defeating habits means being aware they do not serve our highest potential and happiness. There is so much to pay attention to in life, it is easy to go on “autopilot,” to go unconscious. We are taught to multi-task as well as suppress or deny pain.

9. Choose 3 unconscious activities.  Over the next week, purposefully bring “consciousness” to these mind-less activities. This is about being present and feeling what this is. By practicing “being present to the NOW” during these activities, we expand consciousness.

10. Explore resistance. Choose a subject.   Explore it with curiosity, brainstorm words or images nd notice emotions. Allow the bod-mindy to reveal possible reasons.  Do a breathwork meditation to explore deeper reasons for the resistance. If you have a history or insight into specific trauma and would prefer a private session, consult me or another practitioner for a for trauma release.

11. List what we appreciate. Write down 25 things you appreciate. Expand consciousness about what is inspiring and a blessing in our lives. We can do this daily, weekly or as often as we choose. This includes noting inspirations like Max Storm whose Ted Talk teaches us to Breathe to Heal and Giten Tonkov whose 2019 book Feel to Heal, reveals how and why he founded the Biodynamic Breathwork Trauma Release (BBTR) Institute.  

12. Journal repeating thoughts and beliefs. Jot down repetitive thoughts, those that trigger suffering as well as uplifting or inspiring ones. Do this without judgement. Awakening to our mental condition is growing aware of patterns.  What to do with/about our observations is up to us. Engaging in a therepautic breath experience with a teacher like Christian Minson helps us override the mental suppression of emotions. We can transform destructive energy into joy and love. Watch: breathwork: our original medicine. "Realisation is like flipping a light switch.  The darkness vanishes as if it had never been. We can choose to bring it back in."

Interview with Ian Morris

As part of meditation, people are often surprised to discover the power and effectiveness of sound healing.  During my spiritual journey, tuning into specific frequencies has triggered major shifts. 

In this light, I am pleased to share an interview with Ian Morris,sound alchemist, founder and in-house creator of all music offered through Listening to Smile. Imagine that during the last four years, he has created a new album every month.   May the powerful inspiration keep flowing!

Pleasure to share this ancient wisdom.

Please offer a glimpse of your story...

I have over 20 years’ experience as a musician and have studied and worked in the performing arts field all of my life. I was raised around music and some say I was born with a natural gift of creativity. What lead me down this path of sound healing and frequency was my own personal struggles and journey through chronic illness and the anxiety and depression that came from being so sick. I explored sound and frequency using pure tones and then began creating music with these tones and other sacred frequencies to help facilitate my own healing. The results I experienced were astonishing beyond anything I could ever imagine. My family and friends noticed the miraculous change in my health and this led them to inquire more about what I was doing different. They wanted to experience this too.....and thus, Listening to Smile was born.

Its incredible to recognize that facing challenges is often the key to building the inner strength necessary to accept and express our innate gifts. How did this creative work take shape for you?

I began working with small groups in my community and studied how frequency affects many different ailments, illness, and dis-ease of both mind and body. I even built a sound/frequency table so that the body could be completely immersed in the vibration of the tones and frequencies.

No wonder people are finding specific sound frequencies complement other types of emotional release work. Breathwork, aromatherapy and sounds, all help us to let go of what we outgrow and align energetically with what matters. What sort of feedback do you receive?

I took feedback and input from doctors, psychologists, and holistic practitioners to streamline and solidify my services. My goal was to create a customizable experience. As the programs began to develop the clients were shocked and elated by the results. This work grew into the live sound healing events called “Sonic Meditations.” As more and more people wanted to experience his frequency music the program expanded into an international community.

"Sonic Meditations"...I love the vibration of this! How has this affected lives of people you know and yourself?

I have seen first-hand how frequency music changes lives, not only in the hundreds of people from all over the world that I have worked with, but also in my very own life with dyslexia and illness.  Listening to Smile frequency music is transformational. The possibilities are endless for how Listening to Smile music can transform your life and heal your body, mind, and spirit.

Share some key milestones...

Some key milestones or pivotal moments were when I realized that in the first 6 months in to doing Listening to Smile full time, how powerful to work with the frequencies everyday.  Sometimes I would work with them 8-10 hours a day.  This provided me with huge release work and healing.  It is one of the reasons why I am so passionate about this work today.  I know it works and that the results last.  Another milestone was two years ago when Listening to Smile went international, into Australia, Ireland, and Canada.  Earlier this year we expanded even more into Belgium, Scotland, and Mexico.  This is significant for us because we can see how our work is beneficial to different cultures and demographics on a larger scale.  

Sound itself, without interference is endless flow. Listening to Smile echoes and awakening the infinite nature of true self. Now, which of your 5 familiar senses is most dominant? 

I would say my hearing is definitely most dominate. 

Whan did you grow aware of this?

From a very early age, my mother and father bathed me in music.  Everything from Miles Davis, John Coltrane, to Bob Dylan and the Beatles.  I grew up with a appreciation to music.  Later in life when I took up instruments, I already had a foundation from being exposed to so much amazing music early in life.  The crossover was very easy to becoming a musician.  I believe musicians listen to music differently. 

Its true that music touches us emotionally in ways words alone do not. How would you say musicians hear music differently?

It relates to the sensitivity of the ear.  We hear more acutely, what many people do not pick up on. The next step for me was becoming a sound engineer. I was involved in the mixing and mastering of my music.  I learned to separate the instruments in the recordings and to look for any imperfections and look for any creative ways to portray a certain feeling or message.   After 20+ years of doing this, I think my hearing has just become more sensitive than the average listener.   

What is your intention in doing this? What kinds of benefits do you see or envision?

Our intention with Listening to Smile is to bring education and awareness of frequency as a modality of healing to people all around the world.  We facilitate this through our healing music and affiliate programs.  Our affiliates interact with thousands of people each month through meditations and sound healing.   Using our frequency minded music, we have seen recovery from several illness and conditions some example are pancreatic cancer, autism, severe anxiety, and depression.  I myself was dealing with an autoimmune issue along with chronic illness and found powerful results with breath work, sound healing, and meditation.  In 2012, I was 312 lbs and in a year I lost over 110 lbs by utilizing breath work, sound healing, and meditation.  This again is why I can be so passionate about what I do.  Through my own experiences I know this works.  

How do you imagine this complements breath work and neural therapy that focus on emotional trauma release?

Frequency is the great disrupter.  It has this amazing ability to block out fear and anxiety by simply blocking our past stories by creating a space where we are sitting in the eye of the storm in the mind.  When sound healing is applied with intention setting and declarative statements, there are amazing breakthroughs with release work and healing that can lead to reprogramming the mind.  This in turn can give positive tools to effectively deal with pain and trauma in a completely different way.  

Has listening to Smile music ever triggered  past life recall or other spiritual experiences?

Yes!  There have been moments during sessions where I have seen myself in ancient settings (Egypt and Atlantis) working with sound tables and devices.  Doing what I do now is almost second nature and feels very familiar to me and always has. 

Please share examples of where music has positively affected the health and well- being. (link to sample would be helpful)

  390.6Hz - It was given to me during one of my meditations.  It so strongly came through to me that I had to work with it immediately.  I started using tone generators with headphones and then transitioned it into my own songs.  The benefits were immediately noticeable, where it completely cleared out the cobwebs of my mind and my body had a huge release.  It set up an emotional vibration that it would be impossible for fear, anxiety. or worry to be present.  Here is a link to one of our most purchased and licensed tracks in our catalog,  "Belief Code 21."  This frequency is beneficial for stress relief and relaxation.  

How do you see Humanity (past, present, future)?

I have always considered myself a time traveler.  I definitely have a strong connection to different periods and times.  I pull from these different periods and times for my influence in the work that I do now.  I am mindfully-connected to the past, present, and future simultaneously.  

What a wonderful reminder that on some level, time travel occurs between the ears and the imagination. Listening to silence and then, mindful music enables us to tune into this. Why do you feel more people are not aware ofthe benefits of sound healing?

To be honest, I think it's because people think it's too easy.  They believe it can't possibly be that simple to just use headphones and listen to frequency. We have been raised in a society where the answer have always come from a pill or prescription.  What we are seeing take place right now is the crumbling of this empire.  I believe people are kind of in a discombobulated state.  I think that we just have to do our best with helping people to be curious and trust themselves and their intuition.  

Oh yes! Many people in the West are certainly conditioned to make complicated what is simple.

Are you familiar with the documentary film, Heal? If so, what are your impressions? 

I am indeed familiar with the documentary film, Heal.  It is absolutely amazing!  Joe Dispenza and Medical Medium are in that film and they are some of my favorite speakers.  

Agree whole-heartedly. It is a timely piece of work that invites the public to recognize the value of alternative approaches to healing abd how they can complement other forms of healing and self-healing.

Have you heard of the sound healer? (If not, highly recommend  this film).

Yes, however I have not seen it.  I will definitely check it out upon your recommendation. 

What insight or advice would you like to offer?

Through my own personal experience and the work that I have been doing with Listening to Smile over the last 5 years, I believe stress is the first place that we have to target for true healing.  I absolutely believe that sound healing has something to offer every person on this planet.  From the time of our conception until the time of our birth we become acclimated with this reality with sound and vibration in our mothers womb.  This is one of the most natural and powerful ways that we can co-create the healing in ourselves with Spirit. 

Share anything else you would like to add.

Every month Listening to Smile produces frequency minded music in the themes of the 
astrological energy.  Our goal is to further align our themes and CD frequencies to the direction and greatest needs of the collective consciousness by working in tandem with monthly astrological events and universal energies.  In turn, our monthly Sonic Meditations for 2019 will be created with frequency selections with the potential to best assist in integrating the current cosmic conditions and maximizing the divine flow for growth and evolution set forth by the markers of our greater cosmos.  

Please let us know where people can contact you, share event details, links, etc.

Website: https://listeningtosmile.com

How to Get Music: https://listeningtosmile.com/get-music/

Interviews/Podcasts with Ian: https://listeningtosmile.com/interviews-and-podcasts/  

Email: ian@listeningtosmile.com

Phone: 802-489-6183

Thanks again Ian, for sharing a glimpse into your sound healing journey and inviting the wider public to savour a taste of this directly.  After all, the truth can only be felt. Each of us exists to find this out for ourselves.