Reflections Newsletter
"People are not broken and in need of fixing... most people are just fine. They may simply need a tune-up."
Dr. Alexander R. Lees
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In This Issue:
Everyone has written some good "stuff" this month, so please grab a beverage and settle in for a good read. Alex writes about a case history and using EFT. He hasn't written a case history for a long time so we thought it might be interesting to do so again. This case history is also a reminder to us all that change is possible at any age, even if one has experienced trauma in their life. It really is never too late to deal with "stuff." There's some useful info on how to use the tapping, plus Alex writes with his usual flair and wacky sense of humour. Tom is continuing his articles on pain and what to do about it from an energy medicine point of view. This time he focuses on a "hole in your aura." I found it very interesting. Susan continues describing the Five elements with the focus on the Earth Element. There's valuable information provided on how we can help ourselves especially at this time of the year. For example, did you know that Spleen energy is responsible for our ability to process or metabolize not only our food, but also our emotions? I reminisce about an "aura party" I went to many years ago. Tom's mention of auras brought back the memory. Many thanks Tom, it was fun for me to go down memory lane!
Enjoy!
Berit Lees, Editor
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A Case History Using EFT... and a few other things
By Dr. Alexander R. Lees
The client had refused to fill out the Intake form and was equally adamant about offering her name. Berit created a file under the name Mrs. X, which I changed to Yana to share her story with you. We join her during her third appointment, which demonstrates the value of learning and applying both pace and lead, and calibration. Two very useful additions to the application of EFT. Both have been written about in previous issues of Reflections. Calibration was covered in the July 2010 issue.
The Client
I watched Yana enter my office and, like clockwork, her eyes darted about the room, and came to rest briefly on the ceiling high bookcase. From there, her next move would be to turn towards me, sitting in my chair, and lock eyes. After this, if she remained consistent, she would look at the floor, then the couch, and sit at the end farthest from my chair. Sure enough, Yana followed the same routine, and settled herself on the couch.
Pacing
"You know," I began, "I'm thinking of getting rid of that bookcase." Her eyes quickly found mine as she asked why.
"I don't know... there's just something about it. I can't put it into words exactly, but I think it just might have to go."
"So you have figured it out, have you? She asked in a manner that suggested a trace of hostility. Instead of answering, I looked again at the bookcase, and scanned it up and down, rather like one would do to a person that had offended in some way.
"What do you think?" I finally asked her. "It wouldn't make any difference," she replied, "the memories would still be there." I had spent the first two sessions with Yana quietly wondering why a 71 year old female, living alone, would pay a counsellor money simply to talk about the weather, what was wrong with society and the world in general, and refuse to give her name or anything about her history. Especially, what she would like some help with. I decided to continue to pace and calibrate her and followed up with, "You know, you present an interesting challenge," I said as I watched her for a reaction.
"You are attracted to challenges" she asked as she stole another look at the bookcase, "are you?" Because of the way she said them, the last two words seemed to almost convey a dismissal.
"Well, most people work hard for their money, as I'm sure you did, but I get the feeling that part of you has a reason for being here, and it's as if there is another part that resents it. If I said I think that you harbour an inner conflict, and it's similar to what I've described, what would you say to that?"
Mind Reading
"People in a position of authority always think they know everything," she said, "and think they can just take over. What else do you think you know about me?" "I know there is something about my bookcase you don't like, and I'm wondering if this is true for all bookcases, or just mine?" I replied
Yana stared at some spot on the floor between us, and after a few moments of silence, she sighed and said, "You know I have seen many counsellors before coming here, and finally just gave up. Then Gwen, who had seen you a few times, raved on about how intuitive you were. She said you read minds. Is that true?"
I checked my few remaining grey cells, and finally said, "In my experience, there are three groups of people that can read minds." I waited her out, and she said, "Who?" "Mothers, wives and girlfriends," I replied lamely. The sudden explosion of laughter told me we just might be making some headway.
The History
"My father was a professor at the local university," she began. "And the Nazis had invaded Holland. Our house was quite large for the area and father had a study. Two walls were covered with bookshelves. When they took over our house, they burned all those books. Then they placed their own books on the bookshelves. In those books were names, names of Jews. The neighbours convinced them we had left. We were actually under the house, hiding. We were there for 11 days. Our neighbours would bring us food and water, and remove the buckets we used as a latrine. In the night of the 11th day, a man appeared and whispered, 'Come, come now.' We escaped by hiding in the back of his truck. You see, my family is Jewish."
So, now I knew the significance of bookshelves. Names were written in the books. After a few moments, I realized why she hadn't given me her name. We would record it.
After a few moments of contemplation, I decided to lead her just a little bit more. To do so, I began with, "You won't believe this," as I shifted my position in the chair, "but I took some training in a remarkable technique. It was about removing unpleasant feelings around things like bookcases. Can I show you how it works?"
After receiving a tentative nod, I walked over to her, and as I did so, asked her to see the bookcase in her mind, and as she did so, to recall the feeling associated with it.
Calibration
As soon as I saw the same physiology that I'd noticed when she looked at my bookcase, I did a short cut round of tapping, then waited.
"Well?" I finally asked. Yana replied with, "Well, yours isn't so bad (an indication that the generalization was dissipating) but the one that was there, in the house, still bothers me."
We then did another round, this time with the focus on The bookcase in your mind, the one with the names in the books. Two rounds later, and after some small talk, I re-introduced the bookcase in her mind. Noticing the change in physiology, as compared to those indicators observed about the bookcase before the tapping, I felt confident in saying, "Isn't the mind a wonderful thing? Yours changed because of those awful experiences. Now, your mind is changing again, I believe... is it not?"
"How can that happen?" she asked in wonder. "All you did, was tap some spots on my body."
We spent a few moments behind the scenes as it were, and I explained that it is useful to think of some problems as content, and the emotion as the fuel that drives it. "Suppose a runaway bulldozer was heading for a friend's house," I said, "and all of a sudden it runs out of fuel. What would happen then?"
"Why, it would stop, of course," Yana replied. "Exactly! And, in a like and similar way, the tapping removes the fuel, so the problem, which seemed so threatening before, simply stops," I finished.
Aspects
"But I'm still flashing on that space under the house," replied Yana, "and I still hear my father saying, 'Don't make any noise, no matter what happens. Your name will be recorded in the book.'"
Finer Distinctions
We did a few shortcut rounds on both of these, using the reminder phrases starting with, the feeling of being in the space under the house. Yana interrupted to say, "It was shear terror!" We then switched the wording accordingly, and when we tested it, Yana responded with how much less the feeling was.
We then tapped for the feeling of getting your name in the book. Half way through Yana said, "It's also fear. I felt I was responsible for everyone in the family, and might do something to get their names in the book."
A Core Issue
Once again we adjusted the wording. For the first round, we used, This feeling of being responsible for the whole family and followed this with another round using the phrase, Fear of having your name recorded.
We did three more rounds with minor word adjustments, and as I observed her, I said, "You are beginning to look a bit tired. Would you like to stop?" The sigh of relief and facial muscle relaxation suggested we had perhaps hit overload, and it was time to stop. After some small talk Yana said, "Gwen told me you use humour a lot when are helping people. We only laughed once today."
Using Humour
"Well it depends," I replied. "It's true that humour is a very useful tool, but some people get offended when it's used. They perhaps think therapy and changework should be serious, but since you brought it up," I said as I shifted positions in the chair, "Did you hear about the two blonds that walked into a building?" After a few seconds pause, I added, "You'd think one of them would have noticed it."
Yana half laughed and half cried. Eventually she said, "It's so good to laugh again. My name is _____ _____and you can put it in your book, or on the file, or wherever you put it." After accompanying Yana into the reception area, I introduced her to Berit.
Follow-Up
A few sessions later, Yana reported the nightmares and flashbacks were gone, and she felt somehow lighter and most of all, more trusting. We then dealt with the loss of her brother (he'd fallen from the truck and was buried in a field near the road) and the passing of her parents.
"I think you are very intuitive," Yana said as she was leaving. "You should use it more."
I thanked her for the feedback, but quietly held on to the belief that I'm not very intuitive at all. However, adding such concepts as pacing a client (joining them in their model, their understanding of the way things are) and using calibration goes a long way in optimizing the use of an excellent therapeutic tool - EFT.
*************************************************************************************************UNDERSTANDING WOMEN... A MAN'S PERSPECTIVE
I know I'm not going to understand women.
I'll never understand how you can take boiling hot wax,
pour it onto your upper thigh, rip the hair out by the root,
and still be afraid of a spider.
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Workshop News
Fall Workshop Schedule is shown above to the right of Alex's photo :-) and also posted (with all the details, costs, etc.) on our website.Re A future Calibration WorkshopThank you to those that contacted us saying "Yes, I want to learn how to calibrate!"We'll try to fit in a workshop sometime this Fall.
For more information and/or
if you would like your name added to the list:
Please give us a call at 604.542.6277 or email us and say, "Yes, I want to learn how to calibrate!" ************************************************************************************************
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 Contributing Columnist Susan Stone is a licensed acupuncturist, certified in Eden Energy Medicine and Eden Energy Medicine for Women. In addition she is a Registered Bach Flower practitioner, an Acutonics practitioner, with a BS degree in Nutrition and Dietetics, and has been in private practice since 1977. Susan's other interests include a passion for dressage, mountain climbing, and life. Contact Susan at her clinic in the Boston, MA area. www.stonehealthcenter.com
How do I Nourish Myself?
By Susan Stone
The Glorious Bountiful Energy of Earth -- The rhythm of life is bringing us into our time of harvest -- Indian Summer or Late Summer. The crops are ready for picking, the fruit trees are laden with ripe fruit. The reality of the Earth rhythm is mirrored within ourselves. We harvest what we have created and nurtured into reality that which may yield great fulfillment, happiness and contentment. Those who have no harvest may feel needy, desperate, disconnected and uncentered - like a motherless child.
The mid-life phase of life is associated with the Earth energy. It is the time of our life where we are yielding the benefits of years of work and raising our families. It is also the time of life when we may want to start nurturing the next generation, or giving birth and mothering a different project. The Earth is our "Mother". Balanced Earth energy within us is reflected by the ability to nurture ourselves as well as others.
The corresponding color of Earth is yellow or brown. The voice is singing, the direction is the center. The taste that is associated with Earth is sweet. The pancreas is also associated with Spleen energy and we know that the pancreas helps with sugar metabolism. The sweet taste often brings with it memories of being nurtured. Cravings for sweets can indicate an imbalance of the Earth energy. The smell or odor that an out of balance Earth element will emit is an overly sickly sweet smell.
Your Mouth
The mouth is associated with the Earth element because it is the orifice through which we nourish ourselves. The health of the mouth - the lips, the gums, the tongue coating, and the tissue lining the mouth are all a reflection of the health of our Earth energy. The coating that appears on our tongue is an indicator of our Stomach-Qi. Stomach-Qi is a reflection of our ability to digest properly. Tongue diagnosis is a part of the system of medical diagnosis in Oriental Medicine. The lips, which circle the mouth, should be even in fullness. If a person's lips have become dry, cracked, and thin or discolored, this may indicate an imbalance in a person's digestion. Sores on the sides of the mouth may indicate excess acidity in the stomach.
In Oriental Medicine the Earth element is represented by the energy of Spleen (yin) and Stomach (yang). The energy of the Stomach is responsible for the breakdown of food in our stomach, this is called "the rotting and ripening" of food. The Spleen's responsibility is to transport the nutrients to all the cells in our body.
Your Stomach
The Stomach is the most important of the Yang Organs. Together with Spleen it is known as the "Root of Post-Heaven Qi" because it is the origin of all Qi and Blood produced after birth. "The 5 Yin organs all derive Qi from the Stomach, and thus the Stomach is the root of the 5 Yin organs."
If there is Stomach-Qi there is life, if there is no Stomach-Qi there is death. If Stomach-Qi is strong the 5 Yin organs are healthy, if Stomach-Qi is weak they will decline. Stomach-Qi is the nourishment of life itself, if the Stomach is strong life will be healthy, if the Stomach is weak life will be unhealthy. Do you have good digestion?
Stomach-Qi needs to descend to the Small Intestine; it is helped by the Qi of the Liver for this function. Stomach-Qi that doesn't descend will show as acid reflux, burping, nausea, vomiting or hiccups.
The Stomach also has a relationship with the Kidneys. The Stomach is the "origin of fluids", the Kidney is responsible for the transformation of fluids. If the Kidney isn't able to transform the fluids then those fluids will flow upwards to the Stomach and digestion will suffer.
Your Spleen
The Spleen harbors the force of life of the flesh according to the Nei Jing, an ancient Oriental text. The flesh (connective tissue) is distinct from the skin. Diseases of the flesh may be fibrositis or fibromyalgia, again indicating a possible Earth imbalance. A question to ask yourself if you have these problems is "how do I nourish myself?".
The Spleen is the metabolizer. The Spleen energy is responsible for our ability to process or metabolize not only our food, but our emotions. It links us to our ability to change and to be able to see all of life as something that happens for us and not to us. The Spleen energy "houses thought" which influences our capacity for thinking, studying, concentration, focusing and memorizing. Over-thinking, worrying, studying and sitting for too long can weaken our Spleen energy. The Spleen energy controls the muscles and the four limbs. If a person's Spleen-Qi is weak then they won't have the ability to nourish their body's muscles and thus will have low energy. Fatigue is one of the symptoms of Spleen-Qi deficiency. The Spleen dislikes dampness. If cold damp weather makes you feel tired then you may be in need of strengthening your Spleen energy.
A few tips to strengthen your Earth energy:
- Thumping the Spleen Neurolymphatic: The Spleen Neurolymphatic is located 1 rib below the breasts. By thumping here you will help stimulate and balance your Spleen energy.
- Stomach Neurolymphatic massage: Massage the crescent right below your right breast.
- The Spleen /Triple Warmer Hug: Take your right hand and hold your ribs on your left side right above where your left elbow lands on your side. Take your left hand and hold your upper arm right above your right elbow. Hug and nurture yourself.
- Emotional Concerns: Hold the Earth neurovascular points: Right below the eyes on the cheekbones. Hold these points with the main neurovascular points above the eyes on the forehead. If you place your palms with the heel of your hands on your cheekbones and your fingers resting on our forehead you'll easily hold both points at the same time. Close your eyes while you process your emotional worries.
- Tapping the Earth points on your cheekbones will help you with over-connecting to others' problems.
Special Tip: It feels great and anyone can do it:
Walk outside with bare feet
and soak up the balancing energies from the Earth!
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 Contributing Columnist Tom
Dorzab is a retired biologist from Kansas and now lives with his wife
in Spain. Tom followed his passion and is now an energy medicine
practitioner specializing in Eden Energy Medicine. Contact Tom here
A Hole in Your Aura?By Tom DorzabDuring my various energy medicine classes, I am often presented with eye-opening examples of very simple techniques that result in profound healing effects. The best times for me are when I can experience the effects myself. Since we're on the subject of pain relief, I would like to share one of those experiences with you. Of the many profound experiences I've had in energy medicine classes, this one ranks right up there in both the simple and effective categories. We were studying the Aura. The Aura is the energy field that surrounds the body. The Aura has also been the brunt of many jokes, mostly by people who think anyone who could possibly believe in the existence of such a field has to be a raving lunatic. I have to admit that I was once one of the joke tellers myself. Many of those making fun of the Aura think of themselves as scientific types. The reality is though, that the presence of an energy field surrounding the body has been scientifically proven again and again. Testing the AuraIn the classes I attend, we typically all go to a lecture to learn the facts and figures and then separate into smaller groups to practice what was preached. It was during one of the small group sessions that I first learned of the powerful effect that the Aura can have on healing. First it was my turn to practice. The practice consisted of energy testing (See the April 2008 issue of this newsletter for a more in-depth discussion of energy/muscle testing) various places over my partner's body with my open palm. I held my palm about three inches away from my partner's body and tested. A strong test indicated the Aura was intact. A weak test showed the presence of a hole or tear in the Aura.As I was "scanning" my partner's Auric field with my palm and testing each spot, I came upon a spot where the energy test was weak. When a test indicates such a hole is found, the usual correction is to make clockwise circles about three inches over the area for a few minutes. So I got busy with the circles. After a few minutes I stopped and retested and the test was then strong. While I thought the effect was somewhat interesting, it wasn't really that interesting.It got much more interesting when my partner exclaimed, "That's amazing! I've had a pain in that spot for months and nothing I did would get rid of it. Now it's gone!" OK, now they had my attention.Then it was my turn. My partner started the scan. Apparently I had walked through the field of an Auric shotgun blast because I had weak spots all over the place! My partner went to work and, while I felt some interesting sensations from time to time, nothing really grabbed me. It was one of those times when one's not really sure whether the sensations are real or imagined. I was teetering on the imagined side.Finally my partner tested his way down to my legs. In the Auric field on the lower, inside of my left leg, a tear was found from my knee, all the way down to my ankle. I thought that was an interesting discovery since I had injured that knee while playing football in high school about 35 years before. I had also experienced pain in that knee off and on since that time. For about the previous five years I had endured intense pain in that same knee. I had been able to reduce the pain dramatically using energy medicine techniques on myself, but it still reared it's ugly head from time to time. Believe me, I had really worked hard on this problem, but I was unable to get complete relief. I still had pretty intense pain occasionally. In fact, it had been bothering me quite a bit during the class.Pain - the Great MotivatorMy partner went to work with the clockwise circles. Since the tear was so long he was not able to do justice to the problem in the time we had, but I could still fell a very noticeable difference. Fortunately, the tear was in a location that was readily accessible to me so I began working on it whenever I thought about it. Pain, being the great motivator that it is, made me especially diligent about the work when the knee pain was most intense. The effect was miraculous! The nearly life-long pain habit was eventually stopped in its tracks! That was just one more instance of the onion, peeling, healing that has been my life since I discovered energy medicine.While it's true that my health is still far from perfect, it's a far cry better than it was before my introduction to energy medicine. I have no doubt that you will be able to say the same if you just get involved. If you have pain, especially chronic pain, even if you don't know how to do it or aren't comfortable with energy testing, there are many possibilities open to you. Aura corrections are just one. Aura holes are very commonly found with chronic pain, so why not give it a go? Just try the clockwise circles with your palm over the painful area for a few minutes and see what happens. All you really need to remember is to keep your hand within about three inches of your body. Anybody can do it. You are much more powerful than you think. It's time to start pealing the onion if you haven't yet begun. But be careful, you could become an energy medicine fanatic like me. ************************************************************************************************** Truths for Mature Humans - I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.
- Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
- I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.
- There is great need for a sarcasm font.
- Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
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Berit's Corner
I really enjoyed the articles by Tom and Susan this month! Susan's article had lots of good info (especially at this time of year) and I took note of a number of things for myself. One in particular was that the Spleen doesn't like dampness. I live in a rain forest and most of us that have lived here for a long time joke that we have webbed feet. Now, after reading Susan's article I know what to do to compensate for all the damp, rain and drizzle here on the west coast of Canada. And, if "thumping" my spleen doesn't help as much as I'd like, then I can always move to a sunnier and warmer climate. Mmmmm, that actually sounds like a good idea. :-)
Photographing Our Auras
Tom's article about "auras" and pain brought back a pleasant memory (about auras, not pain). Many years ago my dear friend Tamara invited me to come down to Seattle and one night we attended an "aura party." There were 20 women gathered, all of us eager to discover what colour aura we possessed. We each had our aura photographed using Kirlian photography (read more about it here). Once our auras had been photographed we learned the attributes of each colour and what it meant or represented.
According to my photograph the colour of my aura is white. This apparently is good and indicates a high level of spiritualism. This surprised me! I've never considered myself all that spiritual. I think Mother Theresa was spiritual, also Ghandi, and many others. But, not me.
On Being Spiritual
Thinking about it further, I suppose I do possess a component of spiritualism if I relate the word to how Virginia Satir (world renowned family therapist) describes it. Satir believed "humans are spiritual beings in a physical body." She saw all people as basically good, as unique manifestations of the same universal "Life Force," with the potential to grow. Satir promoted four key goals:
- To raise individual self esteem,
- encourage responsibility,
- support "choice-making" and,
- especially develop "congruency."
I especially like the last point because it means being "straight" with people, or saying what you mean and doing what you say.
The Aura Party
But I digress, so let's get back to the party. We were all having a great time - talking, eating, drinking wine, and discovering all sorts of fun and interesting info about our auras. It was a good group of women. The majority of the women were delighted to hear the results (and descriptions) of the colour of their aura. Many positive and endearing qualities were mentioned. And, then there were a couple of descriptions that didn't sound as good.
Although the information was interesting and sometimes fascinating, I'd say many of us were wondering how true or accurate all this info really was. Back then I wondered how my aura indicated that I was "spiritual," when I didn't really feel all that spiritual in my daily life. I've since aged and become a little wiser and realize that I am somewhat spiritual based on the criteria Satir used.
Then the woman giving the presentation came to the colour RED.
As she began describing the attributes of a red aura, two women became agitated. One got very red in the face and starting arguing with the presenter. In the blink of an eye the woman started yelling, then grabbed her purse and ran out of the house!
I'm a Believer
This was at the precise moment the presenter was explaining that the colour red represented anger. Suddenly seeing and experiencing the living proof of what was being discussed, most of us became believers. Once the angry woman left, the room was noticeably more pleasant. For those of us that grew up in the 60s and 70s we would say the "vibes" greatly improved. :-)
House For Sale :-)
Back to the present - me and my aura are jumping feet first into Fall. It's my favourite time of year. Our house is now for sale. If you know of a family that would like to live in a solid family home with a gorgeous back yard (that's huge) please ask them to give me a call. I mention this only because I do believe that if I put the thought "out there", something could happen. :-) Once the house sells we need to decide where to live. Knowing my aura is white doesn't help much with this issue. Maybe I'll visit a Tarot card reader and I'll be guided in the right direction. It would be fun and who knows, it may help me to decide where to go so I won't feel damp, soggy and water logged at least half of the year.
May all your auras glow with the colours of Fall... but hopefully not too much red!
Till next month,
Take care.
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Volume 17, No. 09
September 2010
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Upcoming Workshops
EFT
- Fundamentals
Sept. 25, 2010 Register
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Oct. 23 & 24, 2010
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- Advanced
Nov. 20 & 21, 2010
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And, maybe a workshop about
Calibration. :-)
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