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Healing and the Western Mind V

When one has a traumatic experience, we absorb not only the energy of the trauma but also the energy of the one who has hurt us. In Hannah’s case, the little girl absorbed the energy of her mother, who in a fit of rage and frustration, had strangled her into unconsciousness. The energy of frustration and rage was also part of Hannah’s field and were emotions and feelings for which she carried great shame. Because the attack occurred at a young age, this energy felt as if it were part of her. Hannah reported being surprised that from out of nowhere, she would feel intense anger. When we traced the triggers for these feelings, it seemed that they would arise when she was in a situation in which she felt out of control. Hannah grew to understand that her mother had likely attacked her when Hannah was being a normal kid who at that moment was rambunctious and disobedient. But rather than be upset with her mother for loosing control, she felt as if the anger and frustration that she sometimes feels was the reason that she was attacked instead of the result of being attacked.

In order to release the energy that we have absorbed or taken in from others, we must no longer identify with this energy. All of us carry what I call ancestral imprints. These imprints carry, for good or for ill, the energies of our families. It is important to identify what aspects of our energy are truly us and what energies we have absorbed or taken in from others. Hannah’s core essence is that of a calm peaceful person; thus the intrusion of intense feelings of rage and frustration were always puzzling to her. As Hannah came to realize this, it was possible for her to release the energy of anger and frustration that had slipped into her field as her mother strangled her. It is likely that her mother had absorbed this energy from her family as well. Often these patterns go back many generations. It is possible when healing the energy for one person to heal all of those who came before and all of those who will come after.

Healing and the Western Mind IV

Hannah is a bright and talented woman that suffers with chronic sore throats and anxiety when speaking. Her voice often cracks when she speaks in front of groups of people or when she tries to assert herself. When I first did energy work for Hannah, I found the energy of large hands around her throat, choking and strangling her as a small child. As I removed the layers of energy and did a healing for her 5^th chakra, I found a small child, curled up with her hands over her head trying to protect herself. She was reluctant to come out as she was afraid that she would be hurt or punished. Finally some of her guides and mine coaxed her out.

When we began to talk with this buried part, she revealed that it was her job to make sure that Hannah did not speak too much to protect her from punishment. We explained that Hannah was grown now and that no one would hurt her for talking, but this protective child part was frozen in time, believing that it was not safe to speak. The grown part of Hannah was strong and self assured, but felt held back by the fear that her voice would crack or she would start coughing whenever she went to say something important. In this healing we worked not only to remove and heal the energy of the hands that harmed little Hannah, but also did a healing for the part that believed it was necessary to keep Hannah safe by not allowing her to speak. Hannah had not remembered being strangled as this part had dissociated from the traumatic event. We found this part and did a healing for her as well. As Hannah processed what had happened to her and greeted the healed parts back into her heart and being, her voice became stronger. There was less coughing and voice cracking. Hannah felt freer to speak what was truly in her heart and mind. The trauma of being strangled had remained deeply embedded in Hannah’s psyche and energy field and caused both health problems as well as restriction in her full expression. This ancient healing technique worked on the soul level to bring healing to a life long problem.

A major reason that the mind and energy body collude to keep painful childhood experiences stuck in the body is that as children we are not emotionally or developmentally equipped to handle traumatic, shameful and painful experiences. Thus a part of the young child dissociates from the conscious mind and stays frozen at the trauma, which is actually an adaptive response. Often a protective part or defense mechanism forms to keep the memory of the experience buried as at the time of the trauma as the child is not equipped to process the experience. When we reach adulthood and have a formed ego structure as well as accessibility to a variety of external supports, we are capable of handling the old trauma. However, the protective part, the child part and the body do not understand that they are safe as they are still at the scene of the trauma and to these parts the experience is alive and happening.

In the earlier years of my career as a psychotherapist when I primarily practiced talk therapy with trauma survivors, I found it challenging to convince the traumatized parts of my clients that they were safe and that the trauma was over. But once I integrated shamanic work into my practice, the healing process was greatly facilitated. If we view the traumatized parts as energy frequencies that are stored within our energy field then it is possible to understand how these parts can be healed energetically. By working in partnership with spirit guides, it is possible to find the traumatized parts or energy vibrations and their protectors, do a healing for them and then bring these healed parts back into the core system of the person. It is also possible to do this for a child at the time of the trauma, and this is common practice in cultures that still use shamanism as part of their healing system. In following blogs, I will share vivid examples of how this works so as to make it easier to philosophically embrace the ancient practice of soul retrieval and come to see how it can speed and greaten the healing process in western cultures.

Healing and the Western Mind II

Life would be easy if we could just tell ourselves to ignore the many thoughts and beliefs that race through our minds. For example, if you grew up believing that you were not that bright – despite evidence to the contrary – because you were teased by older siblings for “being stupid”, it seems that it should be easy to correct this misperception. Of course you did not know as much as your older siblings when you were a kid and we all know that kids will tease each other so there is no need to hold onto this belief. Yet, childhood beliefs linger and can profoundly impact how we think of ourselves. A key reason that this happens is that the energy of the shame, hurt and sense of inadequacy that we felt while being teased is still in our field and is held in place by the belief like a spike holding a tent in place. Before I do extraction work to release these painful feelings, I ask the client to concentrate on releasing the thought form that holds the energy in place.

There is an interplay that flows back and forth between the energy of the painful experience that is held in the field by the belief and the energy that holds onto the belief like sticky glue. Even when a person understands all of the issues and reasons as to why one feels and believes a certain way, it is often challenging to let go of the feelings and beliefs because of the energetic underpinnings. As a society that prides itself on being rational, holding onto irrational beliefs and feelings is frowned upon and is viewed by some in the health care system as pathological. Thus many hide these feelings, which in turn go underground and often emerge as physical ailments. After many invasive tests, often these ailments have no known etiology and the patient is left feeling that they are just making it up and the pain that is felt is not real. By understanding the energetic aspect of our being, we can let go of many of the things that are making us ill without carrying the shame and judgment that furthers the problem.

Healing and the Western Mind

As westerners we are trained to think in a rational, linear and dualistic manner. If something cannot be proven scientifically, it does not exist. Many view the existence of other realms of reality and interconnecting energy bodies as primitive thinking that exists in societies that are not as evolved as our own. Currently we experience a giant disconnect within our culture. Intellectually we adhere to rational scientific thought, yet our most popular television shows and movies deal with magic, the supernatural and other realms of reality. The popularity of Harry Potter and Avatar speaks to our longing for and identification with realms that are larger than the materially defined reality in which our minds and souls are supposed to be contained.

When we have a health crisis, many of us rush to our doctors for tests to unearth what is wrong while also consulting with alternative practitioners. We are left to bridge the information that we receive from these two worlds and often have to choose which path to follow in order to heal. As western medicine becomes more specialized, we are left to wonder the long term effects of one type of procedure or medication for one problem on the other parts of our body. As we are sent from one specialist to the next and are subjected to many tests, procedures and medications, it seems almost impossible for any given doctor to hold the whole gestalt of our overall health. Our health care system has both a financial crisis and one in which our linear approach to healing erects blinders that prevent us from seeing the various levels that comprise our health and well being. In the following blogs, I will explore this issue as well as the ways in which our beliefs impact our bodies ability to heal and be healthy. It is possible to meld the technological advances of allopathic medicine with the wisdom of healing practices from ages past if we allow our minds and hearts to hold both the rational and the intuitive aspect of our being.

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with Chronic and Life Threatening Illness: Part IX

The seventh chakra, also known as the crown chakra is the avenue through which our soul enters the body and through which we exit the physical plane. It is through this chakra that we may draw in divine healing energy and with our mind send this energy to any area of the body that is in need of healing. As a culture, we have become dependent on our doctors and nurses to heal us and often do not realize that there is an unlimited amount of healing energy available to all of us to enhance our healers’ work. Slowly an awareness of our ability to participate in our own healing is growing. Many behavioral medicine departments teach patients such techniques as creative visualization. For example, a cancer patient is taught to visualize healthy cells in place of cancerous ones. However, by focusing divine healing energy to the cancerous cells, one can speed the process of healing and transformation.

There are many ancient healing practices that can aid in bringing the body in balance and well being. Practices such as yoga, Tai Chi and Chi Gong facilitate the flow of energy throughout the body so that negative energy does not get stuck in the body. These ancient practices work with the core energy channel in the center of the body through which divine healing energy can flow in through the crown chakra and expand throughout the body and energy field. Many of our chronic health problems stay frozen within the body as a result of energy from trauma or absorbed negative emotional states of others that are stuck within the energy field of the body. Many of these chronic conditions are difficult to both understand and treat within the allopathic paradigm and are a huge drain on the current health care system. The body is amazing in its ability to carry the energy of painful experience and hold what the conscious mind cannot. When we turn to ancient wisdom to facilitate the breakthroughs of modern western medicine, amazing things can happen.

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with Chronic and Life Threatening Illness: Part VIII

The sixth chakra is known as the third eye; it is located on the bridge between the eyes. It is the window into our intuitive self and inner wisdom as well as other realms of reality and, in Jungian terms, the collective unconscious. The sixth chakra is underdeveloped in most western cultures and is the source of great knowledge in others. When I first began village life as a Peace Corps volunteer, I was amazed at what the people around me could see, sense and know. By western standards they were considered “primitive”, yet their ability to see on many levels was highly developed. Many in western cultures experience blockage in the sixth chakra, which can manifest as headaches. There is a tension that arises when we resist or push down that which we know intuitively. Often when someone comes to see me with a headache, I will take a crystal or use my finger in a clockwise direction to open the third eye. Within in moments the headache is usually gone. Conversely, when the sixth chakra is too open and the person has not been trained as to how to work with the rush of information that is available, they can appear ungrounded or psychotic, and even, in some instances, become psychotic. When I am with someone in this state, I often move my finger in a counter clockwise direction to close the flow of energy down a bit.

Sleep difficulties are often associated with the sixth chakra. When we try to block intuitive information that is attempting to emerge, it is challenging to fall asleep as once we are asleep this information may flow into the dream state. Unconsciously we keep ourselves awake or wake ourselves up once we are asleep, so as not to learn what we need to know but are afraid of. Conversely when the third eye is wide open it is difficult to sleep. When I travel to foreign and exotic places, I often have difficulty sleeping as my senses are overloaded with new sights, smells, and energies. It is as if the third eye is wide open to download all of this new information so it may be processed at a later time.

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with Chronic and Life Threatening Illness: Part VII

The fifth chakra is in the throat area which governs our ability to express ourselves, to speak what is truly in our hearts. Often there is a disconnect or block between the flow of energy from the heart chakra to the throat chakra. Leaks in the will center also can adversely effect one’s ability to assert oneself so it important to consider the interplay among the various chakras. There are many messages in our culture as to what is acceptable behavior and what our role should be depending on our class, gender and race. Often as children, we are taught that what we have to say is unimportant or we are unworthy of being heard. This belief and the energy connected to it may be carried with us deep into adulthood. Sometimes we overcompensate for wounding in this area and over express ourselves – dominating the room and taking up lots of space with irrelevant chatter.

Chronic physical conditions that are associated with the throat chakra are TMJ, stuttering, and chronic hearing and sinus infections. One can almost see a veil or vise over this area tightening as one struggles to bring to voice that which has been suppressed. As the desire to speak from the heart grows, the part of oneself that emerged in childhood to protect oneself from condemnation and ridicule, takes over blocking true expression, and at times, causing physical distress. When I have worked with someone who has TMJ, it is important to understand and release the beliefs that hold the energy of suppression in place or the pain may intensify. Thus in this situation it is best to employ both a cognitive and energetic approach. Sometimes fear of expression gets stuck in the throat area and a more acute representation of this fear emerges as a bad cold or sore throat keeping one from attending an important meeting or family event where what is expected of one is in conflict with what one truly feels. It is not uncommon for the block of what one truly want to express to be so entrenched that it is not even in one’s conscious awareness.

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with Chronic and Life Threatening Illness: Part VI

A successful business man in his early forties, married with three children was diagnosed with metastasized stage four lung cancer. In addition to doing a traditional cancer protocol, he did chi gong, meditation and shamanic work. When Bill came to see me, we first talked about key aspects of his life before doing the healing work. Bill’s dad had been a very successful businessman, but he was also angry, driven man and expected Bill to be as successful as he was. Bill had tried to chart his own path, but felt burdened by his father’s anger and expectations.

When I began to do energy work, I found this dark energy wrapped around Bill’s neck, permeating his heart and lung area. The energy was quite entrenched. As I worked to remove it, I could see that it was his father rageful energy. All of a sudden, Bill cried out that there were these two distorted eyes staring down at him. As he breathed into the image, he realized that his father was staring down at him. I asked if he was ready to let go of his father’s energy and he said yes. As I pulled it away, I handed the dark energy to my guides for healing so that they could give the healed energy back to his father. Simultaneously, Bill felt an enormous release and then was filled with warm healing light and energy. When I did a healing for the part of Bill that had carried his father’s energy, I saw that this part was filled with nothing but cancer mets. My guides put this part in a healing vessel; I watched as this part took on the form of Bill’s adolescent self while the dark mets turned to healthy cells.

Bill’s doctors have been impressed and amazed at his body’s ability to respond to treatment and to heal. It is impossible to know all the factors that have gone into this, but it is my belief that when we remove the toxic energy that provides fertile ground for the cancer to grow that the body has a better chance of responding to the various treatments as the energy that feeds the cancer is gone.

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with Chronic and Life Threatening Illness: Part V

The fourth chakra is the heart center or in allopathic medicine terminology, the cardiothoracic center. Most of us can relate to the joy that we feel when our heart chakra is wide open – when we first fall in love or meet our newborn baby for the first time. We can also relate to the incredible pain that we experience in the center of our chest when a relationship ends or a dear one dies. Most of us have known or heard of someone who literally died of a broken heart. When grief and sadness become stuck in our bodies, it can stagnate in the lungs causing all sorts of physical problems including bronchitis, pneumonia, asthma and even lung cancer.

The interplay between the energetic, emotional and physical aspects of health and well-being are uniquely illustrated in the heart/lung area. It is well documented that what we eat and drink, whether we smoke or exercise regularly can have an enormous impact on the health of our heart and lungs. All of us our susceptible to all the nefarious things that float around in the air often landing in lungs that make some of us sick. But why is that some of us our vulnerable to constant upper respiratory ailments or chronic heart disease while others struggle with illness in other parts of the body? Yes, our genetic make-up plays a role in where we are vulnerable physically, but as I wrote in an earlier blog, our energy system often activates or de-activates the specific aspects of our DNA.

When I do energy work on a person who has had a great deal of loss and heart break throughout her life, I often find large blocks of trapped energy over the heart chakra. Sometimes it appears like a dark scary creature, other times like a large rock, piece of wood, or manhole cover. It is energy that is stuck and needs to be healed and removed. Often I find a part of soul buried beneath this heavy energy that has been trapped, sometimes for years frozen at the age of the loss, that is waiting to be retrieved and healed.