Psychotherapist's Journal | Thoughts and Tools to Inspire Wellness in Mind and Body by Karen Gorrin

Mind-Body Wellness Workshops at the Sammamish Club

Join me at the Sammamish Club this fall to learn about the relationship between thoughts, emotions, and physical health. We'll discuss recent modern science discoveries that you can utilize to optimize your own health and well-being.

Choose your session:
Wednesday, October 15 at 7:00 PM
Saturday, November 15 at 1:00 PM
Wednesday, December 3 at 9:30 AM

Where:

The NEW Mind-Body-Energy Studio
The Sammamish Club
2115 NW Poplar Way 
Issaquah, WA 98027

Fee:
$40. The cost of this workshop may be applied towards Thrive, the 8-week wellness program designed to create harmony in mind and body coming to the Sammamish Club in January 2008-created and facilitated by Karen Gorrin.

Facilitated by Karen Gorrin 

For more information or to register, contact Karen Haigler, Aquatics and Programs Director. To learn about the Sammamish Club, click here.

Welcome to Karen's new office!

Welcome to my new office! The new office is located in the same building-I have just moved to a new location. I love it and I hope you will, too. It's warm and cozy with great light, views of the trees and walking trails, and a new painting, too.

Attunement with Nature

Just about the time the clouds shifted, and the beautiful blue sky that was hidden all morning emerged, three black crows landed on the tree next to me and started singing. Their concert continued for more than twenty minutes, lulling me into peaceful contentment.

If you squint you'll see the trio of crows sitting close together on the lower left branch in the photo. Without a zoom feature on my phone it looks like the birds are far away, but I could feel and see them as close neighbors.

Relaxing into the cadence of the music I wondered about the influence these sounds were having on my brain. I had just spent two days at the Wise Heart, Mindful Brain conference with Dan Siegel and Jack Kornfield learning about interpersonal neurobiology. Research now shows how mindful awareness stimulates very similar areas of the brain as listening to jazz music. Both have the ability to place us into a state of gentle self-attunement. Noticing my experience while listening to these birds, I felt an inner bliss and joy. It was a kind of recognition that expanded my sense of me to include my interconnection to the natural environment around me. I felt "in-tune" with the birds, the environment, and myself. When was the last time you celebrated the emerging light with your feathered friends?

I started to wonder if these were in fact crows or ravens? I didn't know the difference. A visit to wikipedia gave some background, but I found myself much more interested in the symbolic meaning of both birds in folklore and occult circles. In Buddhism, for example, the crow is associated with protection. The Dharmapala, the protector of the Dharma, is represented by the crow in one of his physical forms. The crow has also heralded the birth of several Dalai Lama. I will reflect on these qualities of my trio of visitors today. Whatever their purpose in sharing space with me, I warmly welcome the tradition of protection they bring. What are the symbols of protection in your life?

The Invitation - A Native American Prayer

What a gift I stumbled upon today. I was organizing some papers when I re-discovered this beautiful Native American prayer, The Invitation, adapted by Elder Oriah Mountain Dreamer. I had included the prayer in an interfaith chapel service I led at Swedish Medical Center several years ago while I trained and worked there as a pastoral counselor.

May you accept the invitation of this prayer, drink in the challenge of the words, listen closely as you deepen your relationship with yourself, hearing the truth of who you are, noticing what's working, and noticing where you might choose differently.

As a suggestion, you could follow your reading of this prayer with time for quiet reflection or journaling. You might also offer this invitation to someone special in your life. What a fabulous conversation you could have!

The Invitation

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living, how old you are, or how much money you have, whom you know, or how you came to be here.

I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.

Now Accepting Premera Blue Cross and LifeWise

Effective today, I am now an in-network preferred provider for Premera Blue Cross and LifeWise Healthplan of Washington.

Great news! I now bill directly to Premera and LifeWise insurance carriers, offering my psychotherapy clients an added convenience. In some cases, such as for Microsoft employees and their families with 100% in-network coverage, this also means no out-of-pocket expenses for most psychotherapy services. (Of course, please always contact your insurance carrier directly to verify your benefits and coverage amounts.)

For clients with other insurance plans, I will continue to provide detailed statements that can be used to request reimbursement for psychotherapy services. I will also continue to accept all major credit cards as an added convenience to clients with co-payments and others who choose self-pay or are without mental health coverage. Please contact me directly with your questions about these changes.

Wisdom from Brothers and Sisters

It's interesting where we can find the great insights. The other night I watched the season finale of the television show Brothers and Sisters. In a speech given by the Calista Flockhardt character Kitty, while officiating at her brothers wedding, she said, "It seems that when we give up on what was, that's when things we thought improbable, or impossible even, happen right before our eyes."

Go Kitty! When we let go of our attachment to things being a certain way, we give things space to be what they need to be. This applies to everything from people to life circumstances. When we grasp our life, our life becomes unable to unfold. In our attempt to hold on, we can actually loose. Yet when we let go, we often find ourselves gifted with our hearts desire.

Why do we grasp? I believe we sometimes forget what our inner wisdom knows to be true: The only thing that really exists is the present moment. That is all that exists. Now. Here. This moment. When we forget this, we can sometimes be lured into grasping onto an experience or idea from the past. But it only takes a second to come back. Do it now. Be still ... and open your heart and mind. You may be surprised what happens next.