Can a change in thinking conjure big, beautiful changes in life? Reiki Healer and Empowerment Teacher, Carrie Beleno of the Beleno Center in Bethlehem says yes. Her coaching is designed to take an uncertain and, in some cases, anxiety-ridden future and put it squarely in your purposeful hands. Whether known by the term “manifestation,” “the law of attraction” or “conscious creating,” Beleno’s philosophy has grown in popularity over the last decade, appealing to anyone who wants to feel in control of life.
What is Manifestation?
“Everything we say, do and feel results in a manifestation of some sort,” says Beleno. That’s obvious when it comes to rear-ending an ice cream truck because you were Instagramming your kids being cute in the back seat, but what about feelings? Beleno teaches that health, happiness and even wealth are manifested through peaceful, joyful emotions, while anger and fear call pain and difficulty into your life. “The key is to realize that you have a choice to consciously create or inadvertently create,” she says. With her help, clients become “conscious creators,” aware of what they’re feeling and empowered to manifest what they want in life by managing their emotions and expectations.
How We Go Wrong
One of the most devastating feelings in life is powerlessness, and if you pay attention, it’s remarkable how often people choose powerlessness for themselves. Beleno describes a “bad movie” we play over and over for ourselves that creates a rut in behavior and expectation.
Sabotaging belief patterns like, “I can’t be happy until XYZ happens,” or, “I can’t leave my job because there’s not another one out there for me,” put off our pursuit of happiness sometimes indefinitely.
“Typically, the stories involve guilt, regret and remorse,” Beleno says. These emotions feed into subconscious patterns and what Beleno calls the “I’m not worthy” syndrome. Feelings like these are all too seductive and can drown out what your gut tells you, and what your heart wants. Life becomes something that happens to you, and often disappoints.
Listen to Your Gut
To begin to change a stubbornly unsatisfying life, Beleno coaches clients in cognitive retraining techniques and fosters a new attitude towards intuition. “Not following what our hearts want is the number one reason happiness is sabotaged,” she says. “Our guts and hearts know exactly what is best for us, but we tend to allow social norms to rule us instead.”
For example, when your boss asks you to work overtime and your instinct says NO but your mouth, putting others’ expectations or opinions first, says “Sure, no problem,” you’re the one who will suffer physically and emotionally in the long run. You knew it, on some level, and yet you chose it. It’s denying what your heart wants, over and over in life, according to Beleno’s teaching, that leads to illness and injury.
Taking the mind-body connection a bit further, Beleno teaches that our bodies are constant barometers of our emotional balance. “If you experience dis-ease,” she says, “then, quite simply, you are emotionally imbalanced, holding onto emotions that are fear-based.” Listen to your intuition when you are not feeling emotionally “quite right,” and you can stave off the manifestation of that cold or flu or broken bone.
Get What You Want
To go from a victim mentality to empowerment, Beleno helps clients reflect on their emotions without judgment and begin to view things through a joyful, confident perspective. Identify and release emotions that are not serving you and recognize the freedom you’ve had all along. “Embracing the fact that there are endless possibilities awaiting each of us, because we can, and should, be conscious creators of our realities, lends itself to limitless choices,” she says.
When you’re giving your heart and gut the attention they deserve, you can allow yourself to identify and pursue what you want from life and use an empowered perspective to tell stories of success and happiness. First date flopped? Your gut is holding out for The One. Fired from a job you didn’t love? That was the out you needed to go after something better. Instead of feeling like a victim, you’re propelling yourself toward your heart’s calling.
Ultimately, Beleno’s philosophy of empowerment promises that you already have access to your best life. “Understand that you aren’t ‘broken’ and you don’t need to keep ‘working on yourself,’” she says. “The only thing you need to do consistently is follow your heart and find what makes you happy.”
The Expert:
Carrie Beleno
Reiki Healer and Empowerment Teacher, Beleno Spiritual Healing Center
1019 W. Broad St., Bethlehem | 610.419.4979 | belenocenter.com
