A Gratitude Lesson

Judith A. Swack • January 9, 2024

Preventing the “My Vacation Is Over” Blues:

The day before I was to fly home from vacation, I went to see a very funny comedy show. While waiting for the show to start I found my thoughts drifting to tomorrow and having to fly home, and the next day when I’d have to start work again. “This is the last day of my vacation,” I thought. Suddenly I felt anxious and depressed. In reality, there was nothing I needed to do today to prepare for tomorrow or the next day. So, in order to be present and enjoy this day I did the boundary tap* to prevent tomorrow from leaking into today.


As I did that, I realized I always have a tendency to be thinking ahead to the future and then feeling like I missed today. The novel though occurred to me to look back over my vacation and remember with pleasure the highlights of each day. I soon felt happy and cheerful and was able to enjoy the play. On the flight back to Boston I repeated the review of each day of my vacation, feeling more and more refreshed and satisfied. When the captain announced the approach to landing, I actually felt happy and ready to be home and go back to work! In fact, our colleague and spiritual director, Rabbi Terry Greenstein, called this a gratitude exercise, and recommends that we do this at the end of every day focusing on the positives of the day! I’ve been using the Rabbi’s daily gratitude exercise before bedtime and to my surprise, I have been having more pleasant dreams.


So use this gratitude exercise to hold on to the joy of your summer (feel free to review the highlights as many times as you want) and have just as enjoyable a fall.


Gratitude Exercise

Optional: Do a boundary tap to prevent worry about tomorrow from leaking into today.

At the end of each day (and/or week, etc.) look back and review the positive experiences. See what you were seeing, hear what you were hearing, smell what you were smelling, and especially feel the pleasure you were feeling.


* The boundary tap is performed by tapping on the sternum with the fingertips of one hand alternating with a feathering motion from the sternum up the base of the throat, up the neck, out the chin. The tapping seals the boundary, and the feathering motion ejects any negative energy that the client does not want to keep. Boundaries are typically sealed in 2-3 minutes.

Hands cupped towards the sun in a cloudy, golden sky, evoking feelings of hope.

Bless Everyone

By Judith A. Swack, Ph.D. • December 2, 2025
Copyright 2013, revised 2025 Judith A. Swack, Ph.D. At the recent ACEP conference (May 2013) I ran into Jane, a woman who had attended my presentation at the Energy Psychology conference the previous October. There I had demonstrated an energy transmission technique that I called “The Look” in which someone remembers a traumatic emotion, locates that feeling in his/her body, and I look at it. About 10 seconds later, the feeling dissolves. At the end of that session, I transmitted that ability to anyone who wished to receive it.
Woman with curly hair in a red sweater hugging herself, eyes closed, against a blue background.

Successful Treatment of Physical Problems Starts with Acceptance

By Judith A. Swack, Ph.D. • September 29, 2025
Copyright 2014 revised 2025 Judith A. Swack, Ph.D. Three years ago, John’s blood sugar levels started to rise. Although John’s father and several other relatives had diabetes, John refused to believe he might really have a problem. Although his doctor had encouraged him to modify his diet and lose weight, John continued to eat whatever he wanted, not exercise, and stay fat. Now at age 52, his fasting blood sugar was 150 (normal is 70-99). When I asked him if he knew that he had diabetes, he told me that there was controversy over whether or not fasting blood glucose was a legitimate test for diabetes, and the medical establishment was now considering the A1C measurement as more accurate. So John got an A1C test, which also showed he was diabetic.

Open Does Not Mean Vulnerable

By Judith A. Swack, Ph.D. • August 26, 2025
Copyright 2025 Judith A. Swack, Ph.D. Jane was dating two men at once and having trouble deciding who to choose. She listed all of John’s wonderful qualities and all of Steven’s wonderful qualities and remarked, “If I could just put the two of them together I’d have the perfect man.” When asked why she didn’t just date one man who had everything, she said she was keeping one man as a backup because she didn’t feel safe with either one of them. Puzzled, I asked, “Why would you date, let alone marry, anyone you didn’t feel safe with? Clearly, you’ll never marry either of these men.” Jane simply looked astonished. Love is a beautiful thing. We all need to love and be loved. Sadly, many of us have been hurt by the people we love and who are supposed to love us. When that happens, we no longer feel safe, and we shut down the ability to give and receive love. The tragedy is that we can no longer feel loved or experience ourselves as loving beings. We no longer experience the nourishing flow of warm golden buttery energy that uplifts the heart/soul, connects us all, and soothes all pain. And everyone else we could be loving is robbed. According to the dictionary, the word “vulnerable” means open to attack. When someone says, “I’m afraid to be vulnerable” he/she should be afraid to be vulnerable, but he/she should not be afraid to be emotionally open, emotionally present, or emotionally close. Opening to give and receive love should not make one vulnerable. So what to do about it? With HBLU we acknowledge the fear and heal the traumas, dysfunctional family system and cultural brainwashing patterns that caused it. This allows people to reach out with their hearts and share one of the greatest gifts in life. If you or anyone you know would like to open your heart to love, get happily married, or improve your marriage or other relationships, HBLU methodology can help you. If you would like to learn more or schedule an appointment, please call 781-444-6940 , email info@hblu.org , or go to www.hblu.org . Blessings, Judith