Crossing the Brain-Body Barrier: Uniting Mind and Body

By Nancy Copenhafer RN LMT

As humans, we spend much of our lives in a routine by acting, thinking and living on autopilot. Author Nancy Copenhafer believes we can change to become more aware, participate more in life, and bridge the gap between our minds and bodies.

Crossing the Brain-Body Barrier offers a pragmatic guidebook for helping people take back their minds and listen to their bodies as they begin to think of themselves as whole. Copenhafer, an energy healer, massage therapist and registered nurse, discusses ways to engage our brain to think in a new direction, bring awareness to our body and connect the two.

Copenhafer presents thought-provoking questions and exercises to help readers reconnect for a total body experience. Crossing the Brain-Body Barrier suggests ideas on how to live fully by learning awareness of mind, body and emotions. It shows you how to take control to blend mind and body together for a living balance

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jan 5, 2018
• ISBN: 9781504394642

Nancy Copenhafer RN LMT

Nancy Copenhafer, RN, LMT, Energy Healer has spent her adult life working as a massage therapist, registered nurse, and energy healer. Through massage and energy work, she understands the relationship between mind, body, and energy. Copenhafer has taught Reiki courses, massage classes, and given lectures to pass along her knowledge. Her experiences as psychiatric nurse taught her about relationships, coping skills, and communication.

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Copyright © 2018 Nancy Copenhafer, RN, LMT, Energy Healer.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5043-9463-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-9465-9 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-9464-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017919663

Balboa Press rev. date: 01/04/2018

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Mind

Body

Spirit

Emotions

Blame and Guilt

The Pain of Change

Awareness

Love

Self-Love

Forgiveness

Authenticity

Conclusion

Exercises

Positive Actions

Author’s Note

Acknowledgements

Thank you to all my clients who allowed me the chance to learn as much as I can about people, bodies, energy and relationships. This experience is the basis for writing the book.

Thank you to Kimberly Brissenden for the first round of editing and, unbeknownst to her, providing me with courage to continue. Thank you to Ophelia Aenelle for making this project real by putting graphics to words.

Thank you to my family and friends for the unending support. I could not be whom I am without the love from all of you.

With these words I hope

to bring awareness to readers

and positive energy into the world

Introduction

I feel our lives are more than just one event after another. I feel we have the ability to learn how to connect our minds and our bodies to become unified. We spend much of our lives in routine mode by acting, thinking and being on autopilot. Can we change this so we are more aware and participate more fully in life? Can we bridge that gap between our minds and our bodies? I definitely think so.

This book is intended to guide the reader towards uniting their mind, body, and spirit by providing thought-provoking questions and exercises. Every person’s journey is unique, so ultimately you will need to find and walk your own path. However, this book challenges you to think differently, to stretch your mind, and open yourself to new possibilities. I give you permission to officially un-limit yourself!

I grew up believing in science, and in what could be seen. Treat a symptom by visiting the doctor. Hide emotions that are too strong, and pretend everything is fine for as long as possible. But my spirit had a different plan. When I became a massage therapist, and pointed my life towards a healing profession, my spirit soared! I delighted in helping to ease pain, and in bringing the comfort only touch can give. During a visit to India, I experienced a monumental energetic shift, and learned how to balance my mind, body, and spirit in new ways. I finally understood that if I was going in a direction that was not harmonious with all three, I got sick, upset, or stressed, or a change in life events would grab my attention. And I realized that when moving towards goals that aligned, life becomes smooth, fluid, and full of enjoyment and satisfaction.

As Westerners, we are generally taught to think with our minds, and to ignore our body, and hide our emotions. I’m here to offer a different option. As humans, we are a beautiful combination of dynamic emotions and logical thinking. We have the ability to work through our emotions in order to grow, but we need to know how to do that. We typically try to disconnect from our bodies to avoid pain and tension. We don’t have time to care for our bodies because we are too busy, too stressed, and too overworked, so we push through illness by taking medication and continuing to work, refusing to allow our bodies to heal. As a massage therapist, I cannot tell you how many times a client had no idea that a part of their body hurt until I touched it. They were all disconnected. Our bodies are extremely intelligent and are worth listening to, but we have been taught that our minds know best. Unfortunately, our minds form habits that may seem like the best way, when in fact it’s just a learned behavior. Or our habits become outdated and we need an upgrade. When we are not in harmony, our bodies tell us through pain,