Pre-Natal Psychology

Posted on February 20, 2012 by Dianne Porchia

For hopeful parents who are having difficulties conceiving and having a baby, there can be much emotional disappointment, hurt, fear, worry and anxiety present in both the conscious and subconscious mind of both parties that may be compounding physical blocks and barriers you are experiencing.

I have worked with expectant mothers who carry their fears, worries and anxieties throughout their entire pregnancy, unconsciously creating a diet of stress for their unborn child.

Pre-natal and peri-natal psychology teaches us that maternal stress; i.e. the body-mind-emotion wellness of the mother, may affect the health, development, learning ability and social behavior of the child through hormonal mechanisms, particularly the HPA Axis. (See Blog on The Baby Chase).

Although a fetal infant may not be able to recall his or her experiences, he or she is still a living being in those moments and experiences neurological, physiological and possibly psychological responses to stimulus in the environment. A study showed when a fetal infant was monitored and the mother was inside a closed room, the infant responded to alarming noises the mother heard in an adjoining room.

For couples under a lot of stress in their daily lives or for couples who have experienced difficulties in getting pregnant and set backs with in-vitro fertilization procedures, it is sometimes hard to keep in mind the joyful outcome at the end of nine months.

In addition to the holistic stress reduction training I offer through WISH For A Stork classes and retreats, I work with a number of qualified health professionals to support a woman’s needs for fertility, successful in-vitro implant, during pregnancy, delivery and in recovery after birth to help nurture mom during nursing years and support her and baby’s holistic health.

For more information on WISH for A Stork Retreats

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Dr. Ann West Interview For Glastonbury Radio

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Dianne Porchia

Recently I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Dr. Ann West on her show Truth From the Source on Glastonbury Radio, wherein I had the opportunity to explain in greater detail exactly what holistic approach means when working with individuals.

Listen to this interview now.

Somatic Dialogue and Neuro-linguistic Programming are two of the many effective stress reduction techniques I use. Somatic Dialogue allows me to identify exactly where in their body my client is holding onto fears, self judgment, blame and limiting beliefs that feed their inner saboteur. These negative beliefs and emotions can manifest in the body as tightness, tension, upset and dis-ease which can impair one’s performance and success both physically and mentally.

In working with law students preparing for the California State Bar exam, I found that it was not that they didn’t know the information, but that their worry, anxiety and panic about passing this big exam triggered an automatic response in their nervous system, called the fight or flight response.

Using neuro-linguistic programming I teach my client how to change old limiting beliefs into new thought patterns that support their goals in health, career, relationship and family.

Psycho-neuro-immunology (PNI) is the study of the interaction between psychological processes and the nervous and immune systems of the human body. The immune system and the brain talk to each other through signaling pathways. Two major pathways are involved in this cross-talk: the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis) and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). The HPA axis is the body’s primary stress management system, responding to physical and mental challenge by controlling the body’s stress hormone levels called cortisol in an attempt to maintain their homeostasis.

With respect to couples having difficulty getting pregnant, many women and men hold onto unconscious fears, worries and limiting beliefs which feed inner saboteurs around getting pregnant. If the couple has already experienced a failed pregnancy, in-vitro implant or infant death, these worries and fears can create an on-going inner stress environment that compounds emotional stress and can weaken the reproductive system contributing to infertility.

Learn more about my holistic approach, psycho-neuro-immunology and how to tame the inner saboteur through somatic dialogue and neuro-linguistic programming by listening to my interview with Dr. Ann West.

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The Baby Chase

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Dianne Porchia

If your new year intention is to get pregnant and you’re having some challenges with female or male infertility, read on.

I just read The Baby Chase about Holly Finn’s ordeal with numerous unsuccessful attempts at in-vitro fertilization and which she attributes to her chronic endometriosis. Holly is not unlike many young career women working in demanding high stress jobs that suffer from chronic illness and disease and find difficulty in conceiving.

WISH™ For A Stork holistic stress reduction is an integrated mind-body-soul approach that supports fertility, natural pregnancy and success with in-vitro fertilization implant.

Dianne Porchia, MA masterfully and compassionately facilitates holistic wellness retreats for women and couples that help to heal past emotional hurt and fear thereby helping to change the body’s response to emotional stress and illness through addressing psycho-neuro-immunology factors – the mind-body connection.

Psycho-neuro-immunology (PNI) is the study of the interaction between psychological processes and the nervous and immune systems of the human body. It incorporates psychology, neuroscience, immunology, physiology, pharmacology, molecular biology, psychiatry, behavioral medicine, infectious diseases, endocrinology, and rheumatology. PNI may also be referred to as psycho-endo-neuro-immunology because of the important role the endocrine system plays in releasing hormones in the body.

My interest lies in the interactions between the mental process and how emotional stress affects the nervous system and immune system with respect to health and wellness.

The immune system and the brain talk to each other through signaling pathways. Two major pathways are involved in this cross-talk: the Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA axis) and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). The brain and the immune system are the two major adaptive systems of the body.

The body’s primary stress management system is the Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) axis. This HPA axis responds to physical and mental challenge by controlling the body’s stress hormone levels called cortisol in an attempt to maintain their homeostasis.

In the case of chronic stress, cortisols remain at elevated levels in the body and compromise or weaken the immune system.

At a minimum, WISH For A Stork will teach you the art of Self-nurturing and how to better handle stressful situations in your life and how to use neuro-linguistic programming, (NLP), to change old destructive thought patterns and into new self-loving beliefs to support overall health and wellness.

In addition, the effective stress reduction techniques you learn at a WISH For A Stork or WISH For Life In Balance Wellness Retreat can make a positive impact in helping to relieve chronic stress related disorders and illness such as hypertension, head and stomach aches, irritable bowel, phobias, panic attacks and social anxiety, coping with death, divorce and loss, feeling of hurt, frustration, anger and depression, ADD, restless mind and nervous energy.

And at the very best WISH For A Stork can support female and male fertility, successful IVF implant and a graceful pregnancy creating the perfect inner and outer environment for welcoming the miracle of new life into your relationship.

For more information on Retreats and services to to www.porchiaswish.com

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Annual Wotai Ceremony Held in Baja, Mexico

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Dianne Porchia

Baja sunset

The Twelfth Annual Wotai Ceremony for our GBA family of friends took place in Baja, Mexico this year, which marked the first time our gathering took place at a beach.

As always, our multi-day New Year’s gathering was full of other activities, including a group field trip to the neighboring village of Puerto Nuevo, best known for its delicious small lobsters served in its numerous restaurants and a smattering small stands selling typical Mexican handicrafts.

The Wotai Ceremony is a ritual I devised for our group of friends to bring more purpose and meaning to our annual New Year’s gathering other than for the usual get-together-and-party routine we had been doing years before.

I first came into the “group” back in the late ’90′s through one of its first members, Bert and since that time our number has grown to perhaps seventy people, now spread out from the San Francisco Bay area, Los Angeles and Joshua Tree, with GBA outposts in San Diego and Tucson and roving emissaries traveling to far off and exotic places around the world such as Sierra Leon, Iran and South America for work, education and pleasure.

Saging friends in the sacred circle

From our group / tribe’s beginnings we recognized we all shared a special bond of friendship, adventure in nature and depth of heart-felt sharing. We’ve seen each other through many of life’s major events and challenges such as marriage, divorce, birth, illness and death.

In the year 2000, I was in the middle of my master’s degree program in Spiritual Psychology at the University of Santa Monica and our host of that year’s gathering, asked if I would create some sort of ceremony to celebrate the New Year.

Wotai Altar

I took this request as a great honor and responsibility to create something of meaning and new immediately that I would be including symbols that held significance for me from Native American culture, European mythology and Eastern philosophy; i.e. the acknowledging the wisdom and teachings of the Four Directions, Mother Earth and Father Sky, having Wotai carry our intentions and ancestral knowledge of the Stone People, Water for cleansing, Fire for purification and transformation, drumming, Tibetan bell, sage, tobacco and using Nature as teacher and messenger.

Not everyone in our tribe is spiritually minded. We do have a small contingency of dear friends who think all this ritual and ceremony is a bunch of woo-woo, tree hugging nonsense and they refuse to participate. I find their contrary perspective a great blessing and balance for the others of us who may float off into the ethers without their cynical and grounding reminder that we are here now.

Wotai Stones

I have also witnessed those who I thought would be the most contrary, embrace this ceremony in earnest, sharing deeply and releasing the burden of years of mental and emotional weight through the Wotai.

Porchia conducting Wotai Ceremony in Topanga, California

The Wotai Ceremony provides a sacred space and time each year to honor each person’s journey, acknowledge their challenges, support their personal transformation and hold their intentions and goals in the Light for the coming year. It is also a ceremony filled with much laughter, joy and even silliness, for laughter and child’s play is a great liberator.

Over the past twelve years, the Wotai Ceremony has become the focal point of our tribe’s New Year gathering, with many new friends participating annually.

I look forward to the day when I may bring the Wotai Ceremony to an even greater audience and inspire many other people to join hands in friendship, community and mutual honoring, creating their own Wotai Ceremonies across the world.

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Blessings For The New Year

Posted on December 30, 2011 by Dianne Porchia

The wonder of nature.

Let Nature be your inspiration for this year’s New Year Intentions.

People talk about making New Year resolutions, but what exactly does that mean? The dictionary has several definitions for resolve and resolution including the following:

1. The process of resolving: he process of resolving something such as a problem or dispute “the resolution of a difficulty”
2. decision:a firm decision to do something
3. determination: firmness of mind or purpose
4. solution: an answer to a problem
5. expression of collective opinion: a formal expression of the consensus at a meeting, arrived at after discussion and usually as the result of a vote
6. quality of detail in image: the quality of detail offered by a TV or computer screen or a photographic image
7. physics chemistry separation into constituent parts: the process or act of separating something such as a chemical compound or a source of light into its constituent parts
8. medicine subsiding of symptoms: the disappearance or coming to an end of a medical symptom or condition
9. music harmonic progression: the musical progression from a dissonant to a consonant chord or note
10. music final note: the musical note or chord to which the harmony moves when progressing from dissonance to consonance
11. theater literature part of narrative when conflict is resolved: the point in a literary work when the conflict is resolved
12. physics Same as resolving power
13. poetry syllable replacement: the substitution of a long syllable for two short ones in the rhythm of a line of poetry

I much prefer to set New Year Intentions. We have two more days left in 2011. Time to take pause and evaluate the past year’s events, happenings, accomplishments, pitfalls, challenges and opportunities.

What new words will you speak?

What would you like to pollinate in 2012?

What would you like to see germinate and blossom into manifestation?

What different choices are you committed to taking in the New Year?

What new words will you speak?

As I prepare for my annual Wotai Ceremony, this year in Baja, I will be asking myself these questions, looking to Nature as inspiration and guide and using this mark in time as an opportunity to set intentions to support my goals in 2012.

The beauty of pollination

I leave you with this beautiful piece of Nature’s inspiration.

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Winter Solstice And Preparing For the New Year

Posted on December 22, 2011 by Dianne Porchia

December 21, marks the Winter Solstice and is a really important day in Taoist and Shamanic traditions because it marks a critical transition. This is the day where the YIN energy on our planet (Northern hemisphere) is at its highest (longest night) and YANG energy at its lowest (shortest day). [It is the exact opposite for the Southern hemisphere] Essentially, it is the endpoint in the “funnel” or “hour glass” of time as it moves through a 4 dimensional tauroidal field.

According to these traditions Winter is a time for hibernation, reflection and the doing on small things that require little output of energy. It is a time to be introspective, to review the past year, examine what worked well for you and what did not produce the results you wanted. It is a time to conserve all of your energy “Qi” so you can recover from the past year’s activities and prepare for the coming new year and Spring which accompanies new growth, new goals and possibly new directions in your life.

However, most of the time, the month of December is far from restful for most people with holiday shopping, parties, over eating, over drinking, driving in more traffic, being out in the elements of rain, snow and cold when you should be warm and restful indoors.

Even though I am one of those people who enjoy participating and hosting many holiday gatherings and festivities such as my Annual Pilgrims & Indians Thanksgiving Dinner, Annual Christmas Cookie Costuming & Bake Night and Annual Holiday Party, I also take the time each December to go inward and reflect on the past year.

My year in review culminates in an annual Wotai Ceremony, now in it’s eleventh year, in which a group of personal friends come together for our annual multi-day New Year’s event gathering. Amongst the fun festivities, elaborate themed and costumed dinner party, each person also takes some time on their own for personal reflection. The day of our Wotai Ceremony the group comes together with their intentions and our ceremony begins. It is a meaningful ritual and a very powerful one for supporting personal change, intentions and transformation. I will write more on this in January.

In this busy holiday season, I encourage you to give your self the introspective time for end of year reflection and create your own ceremony or ritual to support the positive changes you would like to effect for your Self in 2012.

Blessings & Light To All!

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We Are Designed To Thrive On Earth

Posted on November 18, 2011 by Dianne Porchia

Nature's sunflower embeded with the "thrive" code Phi

In the last ten years I’ve really blossomed in my own journey to holistic health, healing and living consciously.

Today, especially after last night’s second screening of documentary Thrive, I feel such excitement for the shift in consciousness that appears to be getting wider and wider attention and momentum.

As I continue to grow, I ask my Self the ever present question, “How does holistic health and wellness, healing, loving and living consciously all fit together in the big picture?” This question is the basis of my professional work with individuals and small groups in retreat.

Answers to this question continue to come from a variety of “messengers” along my journey, especially clear and poignant answers after the death of my beloved Ben way back in 2002.

The Torus energy pattern shows up in nature and the cosmos in every scale.

Writing this message of connection with you all now, is giving me the opportunity to better clarify for myself my personal mission in helping, guiding and facilitating others…and of course, as is the plan in Divine exchange of energy, I am forever a student at the same time as I am a teacher for others along our respective paths.

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Girls Just Wanna Have Fun

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Dianne Porchia

I always loved Cindy Lauper’s song, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun and this past weekend we did just that during a fabulous spa inspired Girlfriends Weekend at my Topanga Retreat home.

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, Cindy Lauper

Our kick-off was a girl’s night out to the intimate Hayworth Theatre to see a fabulous musical sing-along, “Just Imagine” about the music and personal life of John Lennon. Highly recommended.

Women’s Wisdom Circle coupled with pedicures and girl talk in my new outdoor Red Meditation Tea Lounge, spa inspired dinner menu prepared by us all and enjoyed al fresco on the terrace with mountain views. Goddess dancing inspired by yogi-beat music, slumbering off to the sounds of nature, chirping crickets, croaking frogs, hooting owls, an occasional peacock call in the fresh mountain air while gently rocking in my amazing Floating Bed which hangs from a large oak tree on the hillside.

Girls "Floating" at our Topanga Retreat after our hike to Eagle Rock.

Sunday morning we all enjoyed a “floating” coffee clutch, healthy breakfast, invigorating hike to Eagle Rock and an ocean view, lunch, afternoon yoga, sacred card readings, more relation and girl talk.

November 7 - 9, 2011, Life In Balance Wellness Retreat at Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort & Spa

If any of this sounds good to you, then you’ll love my upcoming Life In Balance Wellness Retreats that combines nourishment and rejuvenation for body, mind, heart and soul. Scheduled this winter and all next year at delightful destination resorts with spa facilities, chef’s special dining, wine tasting, yoga, nature hikes, Vipassana meditation, wisdom circles and so much more!

I do hope you will join me for one of these upcoming events and create your own take home action plan for creating your life in balance.

Hope to hear from you soon! xxDianne

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In Death I Bloom

Posted on November 11, 2011 by Dianne Porchia

Kali, Hindu Goddess of Vengence and Transformation

In the Hindu tradition, Kali is the Goddess of Vengeance and Transformation, an image of whom I wear around my neck, a gift from a girlfriend. When I first received this gift, I felt that Kali was a rather dark and destructive deity for her to identify me with. Nonetheless, since the day Kali was gifted to me over one year ago, she adorned the fifth chakra at my throat.

It wasn’t until an artist friend of mine, Wayne Martin Belger, came to visit that I more fully understood why the symbol of Kali bore personal significance for me.

The reason for Wayne’s visit was the 25th Anniversary of the art gallery La Luz de Jesus in Hollywood, at which Wayne was a featured artist in a large group show.

Yama, the Tibetan God of Death, by artist Wayne Martin Belger

Yama, the Tibetan God of Death, is the title of Wayne’s art installation featuring a 300 year old human skull from Tibet, blessed by a Tibetan Lama for its current journey and transformation by Wayne into a functional piece of art, a stereoscopic pin hole camera, that will document the plight of the Tibetan monks and examine modern iconic figures.

While enjoying our morning coffee together, Wayne explained that Yama, like Kali, are powerful destroyers and like the Phoenix Bird that rises from the ashes, both deities open the path for transformation and new creation. So convicted is Wayne in his belief of the power of transformation through death and rebirth, that he had a tattoo printed around his collar bone, wording in Aramaic that reads, “In Death I Bloom.”

“Why does Kali stick out her tongue?” I asked him.

According to mythology, Kali was seeking vengeance for her child Krishna’s death, therefore, she mercilessly destroyed and killed everything and everyone in her path, until the day Lord Shiva laid down on the ground before her. When Kali stepped upon Shiva’s chest, she immediately felt complete love emanating from the soles of her feet and in terror of the belief that she had just killed her true love, Kali stuck out her tongue in horror and she never destroyed or killed from that moment on.

At that moment I realized why I have been drawn to wear Kali around my neck and, how for me, she symbolizes the process of holistic healing and transformation that has become my own vocation and passion in the healing arts.

Porchia's W.I.S.H. Whole Integrated Self Health, Path To Healing, Loving & Living Consciously

When I facilitate holistic healing and transformation with my clients and students, together we explore the dark realm of one’s inner saboteur that has created walls, barriers and limiting beliefs that separate you from the love, connection and success you want to achieve. Through the healing work of understanding, acceptance, forgiveness and love we transform that negative inner voice into a powerful new inner ally and partner for achieving one’s goals.

The mythology of Kali and Yama symbolize this great power of personal transformation through the darkness into the Light for new beginnings.

Bernardus Lodge & Spa, Carmel Valley. Luxury Epicurian & Wellness Retreat

Setting Intentions For the New Year!
Life In Balance Wellness Retreat, January 20 – 23, 2012, at Bernardus Lodge can be your opportunity to embrace the energy of Kali and Yama, inspire new beginnings, depart with a holistic take-home action plan and receive one follow-up phone consultation with Dianne Porchia, MA to keep you on tract for the New Year.
Contact Porchia for more information.
Registration Deadline: December 20, 2011.

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Neuro Science Technology For Entertainment & Real Life

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Dianne Porchia

In August I attended the Seventh Annual Topanga Film Festival which showcased neuro science technology in exploring the biology of creativity with mental and emotional reactions in cinema.

Imagine controlling your mind and your experience of reality like Arnold Schwarzenegger did in the movie Total Recall.

It is amazing the direction of film is taking and in a very short time, possibly this year, you will be experiencing in the movie theatre exactly what sci-fi movies like Total Recall and Matrix have been depicting.

My favorite part of the Topanga Film Festival was actually the technology installation piece at the Topanga Art Gallery, sponsored by I:CO. I entered a dark, soundproof large box made entirely out of recycled materials; i.e. clothing, shoes, crates; inside of which was set up a computerized bio feedback program, monitor and viewing chair.

Bio-feedback which monitors changes in heart rate use sensors on the finger tips, whereas nuero-feedback uses sensors on the head to capture changes in brain wave activity.

I sat comfortably in the chair while the British inventor of this technology strapped a light weight brain wave sensor band around my head. Once the program received full 5-bar power connection, which took only a few seconds, the monitor began to track two dials, one reading focus and the other meditation.

At first I felt like I was back in school sitting for a big test and felt the familiar twinge of childhood anxiety in my body and heart rate. The dials, both read low, but as soon as I started talking with

Based on the emotional response of the viewer the outcome of the movie will change. Headset with 98% medical accuracy in monitoring focus and meditation levels of your brain wave activity, which occur separately in your brain and are monitored individually relaxation, train your brain to be in the “zone” of attention and relaxation.

Create an cinema experience wherein if you sat on the left side of the theatre you could play the zombie and the right side of the theatre you could be the human, as well as identify defectors on your team. The collective consciousness of the audience will them determine the outcome of the movie.

bNeuro-feedback technology trains your brain and nervous system to get in the "zone" for optimum performance.

This is the same neuro-feedback technology that I recently purchased for use in stress reduction with my clients and students. So now, combined with my teaching skills in effective stress reduction techniques of diaphragmatic breathing, visualization and neuro-linguistic programming, I can even more effectively train people with a visual monitor on how to get into the optimum “zone” for higher brain performance. Wow!!!

As soon as I receive delivery of my new neuro-science equipment, I’ll be offering special brain monitoring and training sessions for my clients, so stay tuned!

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