Topic: Attitude Is Everything
By Francie Baltazar-Schwartz

Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"

Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, 'Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.

"Yes, it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut way all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."

I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him. Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center.

After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?"

I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place. "The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.

Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, 'He's a dead man.'

"I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. 'Yes,' I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breathe and yelled, 'Bullets!' Over their laughter, I told them. 'I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is everything.

Treasures From Our Past
Topic: Inner Child Meditation

Deep within each of us lives the child we once were. For most of us, our inner child lies hidden beneath the layers that we’ve put on in order to become adults. In our rush to put on grown-up clothing and live adult lives, we may have forgotten the wisdom and innocence that we possessed when we were children. In meditation, we can connect with our inner child and reclaim what we have forgotten.

You can start by finding a photo of yourself as a child that you can look at for a few moments. School photos often work well to help you connect with this part of you. Sit in a relaxed position, close your eyes, and start taking deep breaths. Set the intention that you are going to connect with your inner child. Wait for an image of yourself as a child to appear in your mind’s eye. See your grown-up self hugging your inner child. Listen to what your inner child has to say. Perhaps your inner child wants to give you the answer to a question that you’ve been mulling over. After all, you never needed to look outside yourself when you were a child to know how you felt or what was true for you. You always knew the answers. There also may be an ache from a childhood wound that you can now heal by talking to your inner child and offering them the wisdom and perspective that comes with maturity. Or maybe you’ve merely forgotten how to see the world with childlike wonder and hope! , and your inner child would like you to remember how. Tell your inner child that you love them and will keep them safe. Embrace your inner child and tell them that you are always there for them. Allow your inner child to always be there for you.

Connecting to your inner child  with meditation is a very useful tool, but you can also connect with your inner child even when you aren’t in meditation. Treat yourself to a play date, ice cream, or a walk in the park. Let yourself laugh and play more. Give yourself permission to be as wise as your inner child so you can stop focusing on what isn’t important and start living as if every moment is precious. Your life will be filled with more laughter and fun.

Mayan 13 Year Count Down Beginning Dec. 1999 to Dec.12
Topic: Mayan 13 Year Count Down

 
by Aluna Joy Yaxk'in

December 21, 1999 marked the beginning of the last 13-year cycle of the Mayan Long Count Calendar which ends on December 21, 2012. I was in Palenque with a small group of spiritual adventures during this time. We traveled to this site because Palenque is a solar marker for Winter Solstice. At sunset the Sun shines through a 3-story tower, activating the Hall of Records anchored in a chamber underneath this small plaza. It was at this time that spirit guided me to write this article outlining the energy and creative potential possible for Earth and Humanity in the these last 13 years of a 104,000-year cycle.

It was clear this is a cycle of time (13 years) when will change life as we know it. At the end of this 13-year period our lives will be significantly different. Each cycle of time, no matter how big or small, builds energy like a capacitor. This is why the last days or years in these cycles are the most powerful and transforming. Each cycle, no matter how big or small, also carries an evolutionary intention that was set by the collective whole at the onset of the cycle. Many things we are experiencing now were set into motion 104,000 years ago, 52,000 years ago, 26,000 years ago… When a cycle shifts, so do the intentions. Big cycles of time affect larger natural laws, and huge intentions that mold our world. Little cycles of time affect smaller and natural laws and subtle intentions.

When big cycles shift to a new higher cycle, we can expect big changes in every area of our life and big changes in our experiences of reality. But we are not at the mercy of an angry creator or Mother Earth’s whims. We are part of the Great Creator and our bodies are part of Mother Earth. We have just as much to do with what manifests in our reality as the stars above, the planets, the creative force of the universe, and the creator Gods of all the religions of the world. We are part of all that is. We are as responsible for the things we celebrate as the things we grieve over. During the next 13 years we are being asked to own this fact, to brave unknown territory and to create new paths of light in the jungle of uncountable possibilities ahead. We are being asked to become the New Pioneers.

Mayan calendars do not dictate the way we live, rather they issue and define creative energy that we use with our free will to create anything we desire. We can use it to pray, heal the past, to send love to our all our relations and even to dream a new world into manifestation. We are moving past the time to follow, or to give power to something or someone outside ourselves, into a time to empower our divine creative process. The energy of the next 13 years is for us to USE as an unlimited supply of cosmic fuel from which to create. To understand the energies and focuses of the next 13 years will help one manifest with greater clarity and passion. We always know when we are moving out of alignment of our passion. We get bored, depressed, sleepy, uninspired, etc. When we flow with the universe, our passion for life awakens and life becomes rich and rewarding again. But aligning with our destiny can be a journey in itself.

It is the last 13 years of a 104,000-year cycle. It is truly time to stand up and take responsibility and begin to dream a new world into reality. It is time to let go of those things that are not serving humanity, Earth, the heavens, our family and ourselves. This takes great courage, as there is not going to be anyone ahead of us showing us the way any more. We are the leaders now.

The 13-year cycle listed below are based on 2 Mayan Calendar counts. I like to honor these 2 counts, as they are the most widely used in the world today. Even though there are arguments to which calendar is right, I feel that each has some deep and interesting insights to offer us and are both valid when we stay open and have respect for all perspectives.

The Mayan Astrology Count is based on my book "Mayan Astrology" and can be ordered by contacting me at the address at the end of this article. This count is a frozen count calendar using March 21 as Mayan New Year and is based in many sources of modern interpretations of the Mayan calendars. My fiends in Guatemala also call this count the Yucatec count as much of the information used is from the Yucatan area of the Maya lands

The Kiche Count information comes from many Traditional Mayan sources I personally collected over the last 3 years in Guatemala. Information was given orally as well as in printed form. The Kiche Count is also called the true count or long count and is still being actively used in many areas of Guatemala by Aj Kij (meaning Mayan Daykeeper / priests). The Mayan Calendar End date of December 21, 2012 comes from this count. December 21, 2012 is 4 AJPU and is considered by many Mayan researchers the last day of this 104,000-year cycle.

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Center of the SUN - Aluna Joy Yaxk'in,  PO Box 1988 Sedona AZ 86339   Award winning website http://www.1spirit.com/alunajoy  Ph:520-282-MAYA   Fax 520-282-INCA E-mail: alunajoy@1spirit.com

Hopi Elders Say Earth Changes Are Upon Us
Topic: Earth Changes
Source: Simon Hunt

    During the past week there have been a few events that deserve our attention, thought, and examination.

    In an unprecedented and totally unexpected way, Hopi Elders for the first time in history have openly shared their sacred, and heretofore secret prophecies with the world. Robert Ghost Wolf, noted Native American Prophet and author arranged for two Hopi Elders to appear for three hours on the nationally aired Art Bell show (out of Pahrump, NV) and freely discuss their sacred, and heretofore secret prophecies. It has been said by many who have had limited access to the prophecies in the past, that the Hopi prophecies of the coming earth changes are among the most ancient and accurate available. The Elders have come forth at this time because they believe that we have passed the point of no return and major changes are imminent, beginning within the next few months. It is their hope to “soften” the effects by appealing to all to return to a simpler, more spiritual way of life.

    Last month at Spiritual Endeavors (and returning again this coming month) noted author, environmentalist, and channeler, Rev. Fred Sterling carried much the same message. Rev. Sterling emphasized that "The Great Shift" has already begun. It is happening now. In other related recent events, Gordon Michael Scallion, Robert Ghost Wolf, and other modern day prophets began predicting major Earth Changes, especially noticeable in the state of California among other places, beginning this summer. And now the Hopi Elders have gone on national radio with the same message.

    So, the Earth is changing? The Great Shift is upon us? What is one to do? I offer the following in reply.

    First of all, if you are in denial - get over it. Open up your eyes. Take a look around. How's the weather in your neck of the woods? Perhaps it's a little different than it's ever been for your locality? Try to find out what's really going on. You wont find out by watching Hard Copy, or even the Evening News. You'll have to get away from the latest political scandal of who is sleeping with whom and dig just a little deeper to find the things of real importance.

    Did you know that tornadoes have been spotted, for the first time in history, that are spinning the wrong way?

    Did you know that there are places in Mexico where the ground temperature is heating up in excess of 200 degrees?

    Did you know that during a seven day period in early June there were 772 earthquakes recorded on the California - Nevada border near Mammoth Lake? (Gordon Michele Scallion and others are predicting a volcanic eruption there this summer.)

    Did you know that on May 31st, the jet stream (an extremely fast wind current that flows through the upper atmosphere) touched ground for the first time in recorded history?

    Did you know that all over North America, migratory birds have stopped returning to their nesting grounds? And that salmon are no longer returning to their spawning grounds? And indigenous tribes throughout the world have stopped having children?

    Okay, so much for denial. Once you accept that change is happening, LET GO OF FEAR. Realize that it is a time of change and not necessarily a time of fear. Fear clouds good judgement and put heavy blocks between the inner intuition, which will be so important during this time, and your conscious mind. The earth changing will not kill you; it changes all the time! But fear, denial, and not being open to your Inner Self and your intuition may.

    Once accepted, and FEAR IS NOT AN ISSUE, investigate. Learn all you can about what is happening. The Internet can be an invaluable tool here. For the price of a VCR you can now interact with the world on intimate terms from your living room or office. Through the Internet, you’ll be able to discover what you’ll never hear on the six o’clock news. You will no longer be at the mercy of news programs governed and determined by entertainment ratings.

    If your means can’t afford Internet access, they can surely afford the radio. But you'll have to twist that dial off the music stations. Talk radio is a good place to begin. Art Bell's Coast To Coast A.M. originates locally and is broadcast nationally. Guests as well as callers will keep you informed of things that you'll never hear on the television. Another locally produced radio program, Patte Purcell's Next Dimension is currently going into national syndication with a similar venue. Turning off the tube and turning on the transistor can open many new paths to information.

    And if your means are truly meager, a bus trip to the library will be within your reach. Aside from Internet access, videos, and taped radio programs, libraries have plenty of recent magazines and books.

    A word of caution may be helpful when you begin your investigating. When one steps out from under the umbrella of mainstream media and begins to learn what is really happening in the world, there is often the tendency towards anger. “Why hasn’t anyone told me this before?” “Why isn’t this on the News?” “There’s a conspiracy going on to keep us in the dark!”   My advise here is to let it pass. Finding out who’s responsible and the inner workings of the government or large conglomerate corporations is a tangent that will not only waist time, but probably lead you into deeper anger and fear and further away from love and truth.

    Instead, take the path advised by the Hopi Elders and offered to the world on June 15 over national radio. Rediscover your spirituality. “If you change now, and change your life around, it will help in the alleviation of much of the terrible outcome from the cataclysms. There is a lot in store for all of us. And the intensity of this will be a lot less if we can all settle down and behave, and not be in the actions that we are right now.” The Hopi Elder went on to explain that it makes no difference whether your spirituality falls in line with an organized philosophy or religion, or if it is something that you have come up with and practice on your own. “Practice your spirituality, whatever it may be, like you have never practiced it before.” And realize that your consciousness affects the outcome. Your consciousness effects everything. Realize that your thoughts, words and actions of today contribute to what the world will be like tomorrow.

    There you have it. Four easy steps to surviving the earth changes and all the prophecies. Keep your eyes open. Let go of fear. Learn all you can. Live your spirituality. It all sounds pretty simple. It almost sounds like it could even be fun. And that’s a very important point to keep in mind. Fun.

    True spirituality is fun. Very big fun. Joy is probably a better word; bliss perhaps even better. If your spiritual path is not leading you on a path of joy, I would suggest that it’s perhaps time to start shopping around. I have come to the understanding (and it has taken a lot of sorrow to get here) that experiencing joy is the most spiritual thing that one can do in the course of their day. Joy is infectious. It changes and charges the very air that you walk through. It lightens the hearts of those around you. And in these troubled times I can think of no better healing energy to saturate the Earth with. Joy! Why not take a few moments during each day just to pause and think of something that makes you very happy? Try it. You’ll like it. It might even become a habit.

    Well, I guess there’s only one more point that need to be addressed here. It’s usually the position adopted by most skeptics and those in denial as a justification for their position. “What if the Hopi Elders are wrong?”“ What if Gordon Michael Scallion, Robert Ghost Wolf, Edgar Cayce, and all those other modern day prophets are wrong? What if the weather changes back to the way it has been in the past? What if the birds, and the fish and babies come back? What if there are no big earth changes? What if absolutely nothing happens at all?

    To this I can only reply, “Wouldn't that be nice?” We'd all be able to breathe a collective sigh of relief and joy, take a look around at the Heaven we've created here on Earth, and take great satisfaction in the fact that we didn't have to go through Hell to get there.

 

The Greater Cause
Topic: Some Good Reasons for Doi

Some Good Reasons for Doing Good

With all that takes place in our lives, it can sometimes be easy to overlook the fact that we’re part of something greater than ourselves—a collective consciousness, the Universe, a greater cause. Because of our tendency to forget this, we might make decisions in our lives that don’t reflect that responsibility that comes with this belonging. All too often, we focus just on the short-term, tangible gain to ourselves without worrying about its consequences. Other times, we may discard the greater cause because it seems like “hard work.” The challenge is to expand our minds so that we transcend the distinction between self and others, so we are aware of how our choices and actions can impact a greater cause.

Contributing to the greater cause doesn’t have to be all about self-sacrifice. For example, if you plant a tree in a community space, its shelter will cool and protect you as well as your neighbors. Or, your reward might be in the form of the beauty that you now see in that space or the sincere smiles of appreciation from neighbors. When you serve the greater cause you also serve your greater good. There is nothing that you cannot do for your highest good that will not benefit the good of all. For example, saying no to a relationship that isn’t right for you not only benefits you but serves the greater good of the other person that you are honoring with your honesty. Saying yes to your dream job not only fulfills you but also serves the people that will benefit from your enthusiasm and productivity.

When you know you are serving a greater cause, there is little room for fear and doubt. You know that what you do will benefit others, so there is no way the universe is not going to support your efforts - even if sometimes it may not look that way. Serving the greater cause allows you to live from the space of your greatness. When you know that what you do can serve a greater cause, you are aware of your power and ability to influence and create change in this world.

A Review of Energy Healing Techniques
Topic: Energy Healing Techniques

The information is presented as it appears in each source. As the compiler of this information, I am not making any definitive claims about the effectiveness of any technique, or making any recommendations for medical treatment. The definition at the beginning of each section may be quoted from the source, as cited, or may be my own summary.

I have routinely referred to the person who is actively using the healing technique as the “practitioner” and the person who will receive healing as the “client.” Certain techniques use different terms, but I standardized these all to the above terms.

Because the majority of my sources are “instruction manuals” on various techniques, the descriptions of how to do a healing session are generally presented in the second person. This is not meant to imply that you can learn how to perform the healing technique merely by reading this short summary. If you are interested in learning to be a practitioner of a technique, I encourage you to obtain the primary source for each technique, attend workshops, or pursue other sources of information.

In the source listings, I have differentiated between “manuals” and “descriptions” of healing. Manuals contain detailed instructions designed to help the reader learn how to practice the technique (although, again, most writers state that additional training or in-person workshops are the recommended ways to learn healing.) Descriptions include information about how the healing is done, but the author’s goal is to describe the healing technique, not to teach it.

 

Energy Healing

Background: Where does this technique come from?

Definition: A modern spiritual healing technique in which the practitioner places his hands on or near paired polarity points, allowing the energy to flow between them. Goal is to release long-held energetic wounds, and help ‘nudge’ the patient’s system to begin a process of healing and growth.

Source: Energy Healing: A Pathway to Inner Growth by Jim Gilkeson. New York: Marlowe & Company, 2000. Manual.

Origin of Method / History: Not specifically addressed. Perhaps developed by author with a strong basis in polarity therapy, Rosalyn Bruyere’s chakra theory and other sources.

Theory: What is energy? What is energy healing?

What energy is being worked with? Human energy field. Field has these qualities: surrounds and permeates the physical body, can be experienced with our physical senses; some aspects can be measured with scientific instruments; changes in the field precipitate changes in mind, body, emotions, and spirituality; we can consciously influence field with attention, thoughts, feelings, and action. (Gilkeson, 19) Field is in “constant flux and change… a semi-permeable membrane, where our external or environmental influences meet with our internal life… Etheric conducts energy and consciousness.” (Gilkeson, 98)

Energy centers/pathways: 7 chakras. Meridians.

What is illness? Energy cysts: “Many events, from sudden impact and pain, loud sound, threat of danger…  trigger the ‘fight or flight’ arousal of the sympathetic nervous system.” “Traumatized body parts or emotions become desensitized or numb…” whether this lasts “for an hour or an instant, we still sustain a wound and the energetic component of that wound is held in the etheric.” (Gilkeson, 101)

What is the mechanism for healing? “Awareness and attention nudge a process into action that leads to opening, balance, communication with the whole person and healing.”  (Gilkeson, 140)

Role of practitioner: Create for client “a means of shifting out of the… traumatized state, clearing a space for consciousness and healing energy to enter areas that were injured, either physically or emotionally.” (Gilkeson, 77)

Role of person receiving healing: The natural tendency of repressed materials is “to try to move towards release… the instant the minimum requirements are in place – balance, safety, relaxation, openness – the process of transformation and healing starts.” (Gilkeson, 174)

Who can heal? Training? Book includes a number of exercises for learning to sense energy, and to begin doing healing work. Exercises are presented as laboratories for experiential learning.

Practice: How does a healing session work for this technique?

Beginning a session: Before starting, practitioner takes a moment to disconnect from client’s energy and orient himself by taking a “snapshot” of his own energy system, noting any areas of pain or discomfort, noting what is happening emotionally, and what attitudes and intentions he’s holding. Doing this helps ensure that the practitioner can recognize what impressions are internal and which are coming from the patient. (Gilkeson, 69)

Then he attunes to a higher consciousness or intelligence… may pray for a blessing or guidance.

Assessment: “In energy-based healing work, very often ‘sensing’ and ‘treatment’ are indistinguishable… awareness and attention, of themselves, nudge a process into action that leads to opening, balance, communication with the whole person, and healing.” (Gilkeson, 140)

Process: Healing involves placing hands on prescribed pairs of polarity points (e.g. medulla and forehead, or left foot chakra and left knee, etc.) and wait a few minutes to feel the natural exchange of energy, then move hands to the next pair of points.

Can be done with physical contact or just off body.

Uses: When is this Technique useful?

What do practitioners say it is useful for: Not addressed directly.

Contraindications: On one particular treatment, which activates energy processes, he notes that it should not be used on cancer patients with rapidly metastasizing tumors or on persons with severe schizophrenia, because part of their system has split off and is operating independently. It is appropriate to do techniques with these clients that calm and harmonize their energy.

Spiritual Component: States that healing the energy field is “inherently spiritual in nature” and “we need to think of energywork as essentially a spiritual practice.” (Gilkeson, 10) “Current interest in bodywork has fortunately, or unfortunately, been centered around its therapeutic aspects… for example, physical therapy and stress reduction. There is nothing wrong with using them for such purposes, but we should never overlook the fact that energywork comes from spiritual tradition… energywork, by its nature, brings us face to face with the spiritual, and by limiting its use to therapy, we overlook the vast wisdom that is offers.” (Gilkeson, 3)

“When energy healing is employed with multi-dimensional goals it is really in its own element. Such goals might range from self-exploration and a search for understanding of what might be behind our illness, to a quest for insight, growth, and wisdom about the totality of our lives. Likewise, energy healing can set in motion a change in consciousness that can transport us from a strictly self-centered, personal focus to a perspective of compassion and a felt sense of interconnection with all of humanity, the natural world, and the cosmos. The sacred healing arts and sciences have always dealt with what links the body with the soul, and the soul with God.” (Gilkeson, 13)

 

Healing Touch

Background: Where does this technique come from?

Definition: Modern technique. “Healing touch is a nonintrusive, complementary energy-based program developed through the nursing profession to clear, align, and balance the human energy system through touch. Through this realignment, the client’s energy system is restored to higher levels of functioning and healing of the physical body is promoted and accelerated.” (Batie, 56)

Source: Awakening the Healer Within: An Introduction to Energy-Based Techniques. Howard F. Batie, D.M. St. Paul: Llewellyn Publications, 2000. Description. [See note below]

Origin of Method / History: Janet Mentgen, RN, BSN, noticed in her nursing practice the “beneficial effects many clients exhibited after having their energy field ‘manipulated’ in various intuitively guided fashions. She began correlating certain hand movements within the patient’s energy field and the results that energy manipulation produced… these positive effects were discernable and repeatable… she [developed] a more formal, structured program of instruction for others.” (Batie, 57-58) Healing Touch is now taught in universities and many major hospitals.

Theory: What is energy? What is energy healing?

What energy is worked with? Batie has an extensive discussion of his theory of energy and energy medicine, but it isn’t clear how much of this is in line with Healing Touch theory and how much comes from other sources. (Healing Touch is only one of multiple techniques covered in this book.)

Practice: How does a healing session work for this technique?

Treatment techniques: Healing Touch teaches 30 or so core techniques, including therapeutic touch, “ultrasound”, magnetic unruffled, hopi technique, pain drain, pain ridge, lymphatic drain, and spiritual surgery.

Ultrasound. A basic HT technique. Good for pain management, stopping bleeding, accelerating wound healing, accelerating healing of broken bones. Practitioner places “the tips of the thumb, forefinger, and middle finger of one hand together and imagining or visualizing the unseen energy spike, which projects out the end of each digit for 6-8 inches, being focused into a single, strong beam of energy. Now, without bending the wrist, move your whole forearm back and forth in a random motion so that your fingertips are about an inch or two above the injured area… the energy beam from your moving hand is penetrating deeply within the etheric body… this focused energy beam breaks up disturbed or blocked vibrational patterns caused by the energy. If this technique is begun immediately after traumatic injury and continued for several minutes, the trauma to the energy pattern of the physical body will not be reflected up into the energy pattern of the etheric body.” (Batie, 61-2)

Spiritual Surgery: An advanced intervention whose goal is to repattern the etheric body to a vibrational state of greater health. The healer “simply opens himself as an instrument of healing from the higher dimensions… the energies are recognized as the energies of specific higher-dimensional beings and spiritual surgeons who are working through the healer for the greatest good of the client.” (Batie, 70) In Batie’s example, he laid his hands on the client’s abdomen, then felt his etheric hands slip inside her abdomen. During the 15 minutes of healing, he “saw” and “heard” a “medical operation being performed inside her abdomen with several instruments including scalpels, hemostats, and needle and thread.” (Batie, 72)

Studies done: Multiple studies are cited in Benor.

[Please note: This article was written in 2001, and the information is based on Batie. In 2007 and 2008, 2 healing touch practitioners wrote to me that they felt the information presented here does not fully represent the technique, and they recommend that those who wish to learn more about Healing Touch go to www.healingtouch.net]

 

 

Ju|’hoansi Community Healing Dance

Background: Where does this technique come from?

Definition: Ancient technique. Following hours of community dancing and singing, healers enter an altered state, where the energy boils up within them, and they heal by laying-on hands. “Healing has three main aspects, ‘seeing properly’, pulling out the sickness, and arguing with the gods.” (Katz, 23)

Source: Healing Makes our Hearts Happy: Spirituality and Cultural Transformation among the Kalahari Ju|’hoansi by Richard Katz, Megan Biesele, and Verna St. Denis. Rochester, VT: Inner Traditions, 1997. Description of healing.

Origin of Method / History: The healing technique of the Ju|’hoansi, a group of Bushmen of the western Kalahari desert of southern Africa; one of the last surviving hunter/gather societies. The healing dance is believed to be a very ancient tradition, which appears to be depicted in rock paintings believed to be several thousand years old. (Katz, 52-54)

Notes on pronunciation: “The dental click (“|”) sounds like ‘tsk, tsk’, the English expression of irritation. It is made by putting the tongue just behind the front teeth.” You can substitute a ‘t’ sound. “The alveolo-palatal click (“!”) is a sharp pop made by drawing the tongue down quickly from the roof of the mouth.” You can substitute a ‘g’ sound. (Katz, xxii)

Theory: What is energy? What is energy healing?

What energy is being worked with? “N|om, a spiritual substance or energy residing in the bellies of the men and women who have been taught to activate it.” (Katz, xiii) “N|om is ‘invisible’, though it can be seen and picked up by experienced healers during a state of enhanced awareness. Otherwise, n|om is known only by its action and effects.” (Katz, 18) “Traditionally, n|om is not in limited supply. Individuals need not compete for its healing power. The activation of n|om in one person stimulates the activation in others. The total healing effect of n|om at a dance far exceeds the individual contributions toward activating that n|om.” (Katz, 137)

Energy centers/pathways: “It resides in the dance fire, in the healing songs, and most of all, in the healers, concentrated in the pit of their stomachs and the base of their spines.” (Katz, 18) “N|om is said to ‘boil’ when [healers] dance  strenuously, or sing the healing songs strongly; it leaves their stomachs and travels up their spines and out to their fingers, where it may be used to heal by the laying on of hands.” (Katz, xii) “As n|om reaches the base of the healer’s skull, they enter a state of transcendence called !aia.” (Katz, 19)

 What is illness? “Sickness is a process in which the spirits try to carry a person off into their realm. In !aia, the healer expresses the wishes of the living to keep the sick person with them. The healer is the community’s emissary. If a healer’s n|om is strong and the Great God wishes the spirit will retreat and the sick one will live.” (Katz, 1)

What is the mechanism for healing? When n|om boils, it brings on !aia, an enhanced state of consciousness which enables them to heal.

Who can heal: “Healers’ vocation is open to all, and most of the young men and many of the women seek to become healers. About half the men and a third of the women succeed… “ (Katz, 25) The Ju|’hoansi say that a healer’s most vital quality is an open heart. “To have an open heart is to have… courage to face the raging pain of boiling n|om, trust in the community’s support for the healing journey, dedication to serving the people, and passion to sustain the healer’s journey.” (Katz, 142)

Training of healers: “The training is difficult. Not everyone can stand the excruciating pain on the boiling n|om, which is said to be ‘hot and painful, just like fire.’” (Katz, 25) “When healers are overwhelmed with the searing pain of boiling n|om, their bodies often writhe in a rigid, convulsing agony.” (Katz, 6) Healers describe the experience of !aia as a death from which they return to heal. “When Ju|’hoansi healers face the fact of death and willingly die, they can overcome their fear of n|om and break through to !aia.” (Katz, 111)

“To heal depends upon developing a desire to ‘drink n|om’, not on learning specific techniques. The healer's education stresses… the importance of dancing so one’s ‘heart is open to the boiling n|om’… and singing so that one’s ‘voice reaches up to the heavens.’” (Katz, 60)

Practice: How does a healing session work for this technique?

The Dance: “The central event in the healing tradition is an all-night dance. It occurs on average four or five times in a month. The women sit around the fire, singing and rhythmically clapping as night falls… the men, sometimes joined by the women, dance around the singers. As the dance intensifies, n|om is activated in those who are the healers and they experience !aia.” (Katz, 1) Both the dancers and the female singers can reach !aia, and both contribute to raising n|om. The songs call the spirits to the dance, so that healers may bargain with them for the health of the people.

Assessment: During !aia, healers can see inside of others’ bodies, which allows them to locate and diagnose the illness, and begin healing.

Treatment: The healer who is in !aia goes to each person at the dance, whether showing symptoms of illness or not… Healers plead and argue with the gods to save the person from illness. They lay their hands on each person, and as they ‘pull out the sickness’ (≠hoe) they usually utter their cries of healing, earth-shattering screams and howls that show the pain and difficulty of the healing work.” (Katz, 21)

Healers may work “standing up, kneeling down, lying down, back and forth, wherever their boiling n|om leads them.”(Katz, 172) Healers “place their fluttering hands on either side of the person’s chest or wherever the sickness is located. They touch the person lightly, or more often vibrate their hands close to the skin’s surface. At times healers wrap their bodies around the person being healed, rubbing their sweat – believed to carry healing properties – on the person. The sickness is drawn into the healers, who then expel the sickness from their own bodies, shaking it from their hands out into space, their bodies shuddering with pain.” (Katz, 24)

Uses: When is this Technique useful?

What do practitioners say it is useful for: This is the primary technique for treating all illness within the traditional culture. In addition to the healing of specific illnesses, all who participate in the dance experience “a sense of joy, renewed social commitment, and spiritual connectedness.” (Katz, xiii)

Spiritual / Emotional Component: “Ju|’hoansi healing involves health and growth on physical, psychological, social, and spiritual levels; it affects the individual, the group, the surrounding environment, and the cosmos. Healing is an integrating and enhancing force, touching far more levels and forces than simply curing an individual’s ‘illness.’” (Katz, 1)

 

 

REKI

Source:Wikipedia  

In a typical whole-body Reiki treatment, the practitioner asks the recipient to lie down, usually on a massage table, and relax. Loose, comfortable clothing is usually worn during the treatment. The practitioner might take a few moments to enter a calm or meditative state of mind and mentally prepare for the treatment, that is usually carried out without any unnecessary talking.

The treatment proceeds with the practitioner placing his hands on the recipient in various positions. However, practitioners may use a non-touching technique, where the hands are held a few centimetres away from the recipient's body, for some or all of the positions. The hands are usually kept still for 3 to 5 minutes before moving to the next position. Overall, the hand positions usually give a general coverage of the head, the front and back of the torso, the knees and feet. Between 12 and 20 positions are used, with the whole treatment lasting 45 to 90 minutes.

Some practitioners use a fixed set of hand positions. Others use their intuition to guide them as to where treatment is needed, sometimes starting the treatment with a "scan" of the recipient to find such areas. The intuitive approach might also lead to individual positions being treated for much shorter or longer periods of time.

It is reported that the recipient often feels warmth or tingling in the area being treated, even when a non-touching approach is being used. A state of deep relaxation, combined with a general feeling of well-being, is usually the most noticeable immediate effect of the treatment, although emotional releases can also occur. As the Reiki treatment is said to be stimulating natural healing processes, instantaneous "cures" of specific health problems are not usually observed. A series of three or more treatments, typically at intervals of 1 to 7 days, is usually recommended if a chronic condition is being addressed. Regular treatments, on an on-going basis, can be used with the aim of maintaining well-being. The interval between such treatments is typically in the range of 1 to 4 weeks, except in the case of self-treatment when a daily practice is common

 Following are more Healing Modalties that you may want to research.

 

Ø      Hands of Light

Ø      Hands-on Healing

Ø      Healing in the Way of God

Ø      Hucha Mikhuy

Ø      Jin Shin Jyutsu

Ø      Joy’s Way

Ø      Ju|’hoansi Community Healing Dance

Ø      Kahuna Healing

Ø      Native American Medicine

Ø      Pranic Healing

Ø      Qi Gong

Ø      Quantum Touch

Ø      SHEN

Ø      Therapeutic Touch

 

 

 

Legend of Narcissus
Now Playing: Love Story Echo and Narcissus
Topic: Legend of Narcissus

LEGEND - The Story of Echo who loved Narcissus

In Greek mythology Echo was a wood nymph who loved a youth by the name of Narcissus. He was a beautiful creature loved by many but Narcissus loved no one. He enjoyed attention, praise and envy. In Narcissus' eyes nobody matched him and as such he considered none were worthy of him.

Echo's passion for Narcissus was equaled only by her passion for talking as she always had to have the last word. One day she enabled the escape of the goddess Juno's adulterous husband by engaging Juno in conversation. On finding out Echo's treachery Juno cursed Echo by removing her voice with the exception that she could only speak that which was spoken to her.

Echo often waited in the woods to see Narcissus hoping for a chance to be noticed. One day as she lingered in the bushes he heard her footsteps and called out “Who's here?” Echo replied “Here!” Narcissus called again "Come", Echo replied "Come!". Narcissus called once more “Why do you shun me?... Let us join one another.” Echo was overjoyed that Narcissus had asked her to join him.

She longed to tell him who she was and of all the love she had for him in her heart but she could not speak. She ran towards him and threw herself upon him.
Narcissus became angry “Hands off! I would rather die than you should have me!” and threw Echo to the ground.

Echo left the woods a ruin, her heart broken. Ashamed she ran away to live in the mountains yearning for a love that would never be returned. The grief killed her. Her body became one with the mountain stone. All that remained was her voice which replied in kind when others spoke.

Narcissus continued to attract many nymphs all of whom he briefly entertained before scorning and refusing them. The gods grew tired of his behaviour and cursed Narcissus. They wanted him to know what it felt like to love and never be loved. They made it so there was only one whom he would love, someone who was not real and could never love him back.

One day whilst out enjoying the sunshine Narcissus came upon a pool of water. As he gazed into it he caught a glimpse of what he thought was a beautiful water spirit. He did not recognise his own reflection and was immediately enamoured.

Narcissus bent down his head to kiss the vision. As he did so the reflection mimicked his actions. Taking this as a sign of reciprocation Narcissus reached into the pool to draw the water spirit to him.

The water displaced and the vision was gone. He panicked, where had his love gone? When the water became calm the water spirit returned. “Why, beautiful being, do you shun me? Surely my face is not one to repel you.

The nymphs love me, and you yourself look not indifferent upon me. When I stretch forth my arms you do the same; and you smile upon me and answer my beckonings with the like.” Again he reached out and again his love disappeared. Frightened to touch the water Narcissus lay still by the pool gazing in to the eyes of his vision.

He cried in frustration. As he did so Echo also cried. He did not move, he did not eat or drink, he only suffered. As he pined he became gaunt loosing his beauty. The nymphs that loved him pleaded with him to come away from the pool. As they did so Echo also pleaded with him.

He was transfixed; he wanted to stay there forever. Narcissus like Echo died with grief. His body disappeared and where his body once lay a flower grew in it's place. The nymphs mourned his death and as they mourned Echo also mourned.

* * * * * * * *

Legend of Narcissus

The best-known version of his legend is as follows. Narcissus, an extremely handsome young man, rejected the love of every girl, who fell in love with him, and they asked gods for vengeance. Once Narcissus bent over a stream to take a drink and saw his own face. He fell in love and indifferent to the world he stayed watching and talking with his own reflection until he died. On the spot where he died grew a flower which was given his name.


Caravaggio paints Narcissus from Greek mythology . . one of the great "cautionary" myths of antiquity. For not loving the nymph Echo back, he is damned! "May he who loves no one only love himself". He sees his own reflection in a pool of water, falls in love with himself AND into the pool and drowns.

The story of Echo and Narcissus is used as a warning to those who love someone that can not love them back and is often used as a basis for understanding the implications of a condition known as Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD). It is also used in reference to Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).

Malignant Self Love
Now Playing: Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD)., Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD).
Topic: The Soul Of A Narcissist

Malignant Self Love 

 THE SOUL OF A NARCISSIST

 

We all love ourselves. That seems to be such an instinctively true statement that we do not bother to examine it more thoroughly. In our daily affairs – in love, in business, in other areas of life – we act on this premise. Yet, upon closer inspection, it looks shakier.

Some people explicitly state that they do not love themselves at all (they are ego-dystonic). Others confine their lack of self-love to certain of their traits, to their personal history, or to some of their behaviour patterns. Yet others feel content with who they are and with what they are doing (ego-syntonic).

But one group of people seems distinct in its mental constitution – narcissists.

According to the legend of Narcissus, this Greek boy fell in love with his own reflection in a pond. In a way, this amply sums up the nature of his namesakes: narcissists. The mythological Narcissus rejected the advances of the nymph Echo and was punished by Nemesis. Consigned to pine away as he fell in love with his own reflection – exactly as Echo had pined away for him. How apt. Narcissists are punished by echoes and reflections of their problematic personalities up to this very day.

Narcissists are said to be in love with themselves.

But this is a fallacy. Narcissus is not in love with himself. He is in love with his reflection.

There is a major difference between one's True Self and reflected-self.

Loving your True Self is healthy, adaptive, and functional.

Loving a reflection has two major drawbacks:

1. One depends on the existence and availability of the reflection to produce the emotion of self-love.

1. The absence of a "compass", an "objective and realistic yardstick", by which to judge the authenticity of the reflection. In other words, it is impossible to tell whether the reflection is true to reality – and, if so, to what extent.

The popular misconception is that narcissists love themselves. In reality, they direct their love to other people's impressions of them. He who loves only impressions is incapable of loving people, himself included.

But the narcissist does possess the in-bred desire to love and to be loved. If he cannot love himself – he must love his reflection. But to love his reflection – it must be loveable. Thus, driven by the insatiable urge to love (which we all possess), the narcissist is preoccupied with projecting a loveable image, albeit compatible with his self-image (the way he "sees" himself).

The narcissist maintains this projected image and invests resources and energy in it, sometimes depleting him to the point of rendering him vulnerable to external threats.

But the most important characteristic of the narcissist's projected image is its lovability.

The family is the mainspring of support of every kind. It mobilises psychological resources and alleviates emotional burdens. It allows for the sharing of tasks, provides material supplies coupled with cognitive training. It is the prime socialisation agent and encourages the absorption of information, most of it useful and adaptive.

This division of labour between parents and children is vital both to personal growth and to proper adaptation. The child must feel, as he does in a functional family, that he can share his experiences without being defensive and that the feedback that he is getting is open and unbiased. The only "bias" acceptable (often because it is consonant with feedback from the outside) is the family's set of beliefs, values and goals that are finally internalised by the child by way of imitation and unconscious identification.

So, the family is the first and the most important source of identity and emotional support. It is a greenhouse, where the child feels loved, cared for, accepted, and secure – the prerequisites for the development of personal resources. On the material level, the family should provide the basic necessities (and, preferably, beyond), physical care and protection, and refuge and shelter during crises.

The role of the mother (the Primary Object) has been often discussed. The father's part is mostly neglected, even in professional literature. However, recent research demonstrates his importance to the orderly and healthy development of the child.

The father participates in the day-to-day care, is an intellectual catalyst, who encourages the child to develop his interests and to satisfy his curiosity through the manipulation of various instruments and games. He is a source of authority and discipline, a boundary setter, enforcing and encouraging positive behaviours and eliminating negative ones.

The father also provides emotional support and economic security, thus stabilising the family unit. Finally, he is the prime source of masculine orientation and identification to the male child – and gives warmth and love as a male to his daughter, without exceeding the socially permissible limits.

We can safely say that the narcissist's family is as severely disordered as he is. Pathological narcissism is largely a reflection of this dysfunction. Such an environment breeds self-deception. The narcissist's internal dialogue is "I do have a relationship with my parents. It is my fault – the fault of my emotions, sensations, aggressions and passions – that this relationship is not working. It is, therefore, my responsibility to make amends. I will construct a narrative in which I am both loved and punished. In this script, I will allocate roles to myself and to my parents. This way, everything will be fine and we will all be happy."

Thus starts the cycle of over-valuation (idealisation) and devaluation. The dual roles of sadist and punished masochist (Superego and Ego), parent and child, permeate all the narcissist's interactions with other people.

The narcissist experiences a reversal of roles as his relationships progress. At the beginning of a relationship he is the child in need of attention, approval and admiration. He becomes dependent. Then, at the first sign of disapproval (real or imaginary), he is transformed into an avowed sadist, punishing and inflicting pain.

It is commonly agreed that a loss (real or perceived) at a critical junction in the psychological development of the child forces him to refer to himself for nurturing and for gratification. The child ceases to trust others and his ability to develop object love, or to idealise is hampered. He is constantly haunted by the feeling that only he can satisfy his emotional needs.

He exploits people, sometimes unintentionally, but always ruthlessly and mercilessly. He uses them to obtain confirmation of the accuracy of his grandiose self-portrait.

The narcissist is usually above treatment. He knows best. He feels superior to his  therapist in particular and to the science of psychology in general. He seeks treatment only following a major life crisis, which directly threatens his projected and perceived image. Even then he only wishes to restore the previous balance.

Therapy sessions with the narcissist resemble a battlefield. He is aloof and distanced, demonstrates his superiority in a myriad ways, resents what he perceives to be an intrusion on his innermost sanctum. He is offended by any hint regarding defects or dysfunctions in his personality or in his behaviour. A narcissist is a narcissist is a narcissist – even when he asks for help with his world and worldview shattered.

 

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Topic: Mysticism

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Topic: Death