Woman Helps Expel Demons Holding Us Back

The cushioned therapy table in Alexandra Delis-Abrams’ Hayden Lake office is soft as a mother’s lap, and sunlight filling the room is nearly as warm.

It’s an unlikely setting for an exorcist, but Alexandra takes an unlikely approach. The demons she pursues are beliefs that hold us back - “You’re not good enough,” “You can’t do that.”

“Nothing happens by accident,” she says. “So why not create your own reality?”

Motivational speakers have pushed the power of positive thinking for decades. Alexandra just digs a little deeper.

She roots out and dispels beliefs that work on our happiness like stop signs.

Our bodies expose those beliefs, she says - even those we don’t know about. Once we consciously acknowledge them, we can work to change them.

Here’s how it works: Raise either arm to form a right angle to your body. Hold it firmly enough to resist a push. Now say, “My name is,” and finish the sentence with your name while a friend tries to push your arm down.

If you used your real name, your arm should resist.

Now, try the same trick, but lie. Your arm should give with a push. Alexandra says the brain sends a message of nonsupport to the muscle.

She says it’s not hocus-pocus. Her wall is covered in degrees, including one in transpersonal psychology from unaccredited Columbia Pacific University in San Rafael, Calif. She has written books and conducted workshops for the city of Coeur d’Alene, local hospitals and private companies.

“Dr. Delis-Abrams was recently a speaker at the Health of Heart series,” says Marilyn Thordarson, a spokeswoman for Spokane’s Sacred Heart Medical Center. “She’s thought-provoking, uplifting and motivating.”

Alexandra uses music and talks softly to help people identify, then change the ideas that hold them back. She unearthed her own barriers years ago, returned to college, strengthened her marriage and has stayed happily with her husband for 33 years.

“We spend money to improve our yards, redecorate our kitchens, improve our looks,” she says. “But how much time do we spend examining ourselves, taking off our masks?”

Alexandra will teach a self-development class to the public Oct. 31 to Nov. 2 at the American Institute of Clinical Massage in Coeur d’Alene. The fee is $275.

“Why not live fully, doing whatever it is we should be doing?” she asks. “I’m incredibly empowered to know I create my own reality.”

For registration details, call 762-3177.

All dressed up

Put on a costume Oct. 25 and head to The Coeur d’Alene Resort at 8 p.m. for the Art-Aid Masquerade.

The party raises money for St. Vincent de Paul’s Art on the Edge, which allows school-age kids to dabble in art, with supervision, at no cost.

Interested children go to the Coeur d’Alene Cultural Center Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, where volunteers work with them on creative projects.

The pumpkins they’re carving now will be auctioned at the Art-Aid Masquerade. There also will be dancing to Last Call, a costume contest, prizes, hors d’oeuvres and a no-host bar.

Tickets are $5 per person. Call 664-0395 for details.

Down payment

Cheers to Soroptimist International of Coeur d’Alene for the $15,000 check it gave to the Women’s Center Tuesday.

The money will help buy or build a desperately needed shelter for battered women if other donors get behind the cause, too.

Which North Idaho woman should we all know more about and why? Sing her praises to Cynthia Taggart, “Close to Home,” 608 Northwest Blvd., Suite 200, Coeur d’Alene 83814; or send a fax to 765-7149, call 765-7128 or send e-mail to cynthiat@spokesman.com.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo