Terra Nova - personal & planetary healing

Learning Through Energy-Reading

You can use energy-reading to learn about anything. You can tune in and ask questions to get an understanding of structure, dynamics present, or what elements are combining to get the result you see in material reality.

In order to get new information that isn't a reiteration of what you already know, or a projection of what you think is there, you need to be in a pure receiving mode. A non-trying mode, a mode without straining or expectations of what you will see. From there you are open to revelations.

So how do you get to that receiving mode? By letting go of mental dialogue and the need to do anything. By relaxing and letting your regular mental awareness know that you don't need it right now -- the trying, the reaching out, the grappling with or controlling of outside reality isn't necessary at the moment. You are taking a break from that – it's okay to just 'be'.

There are homework exercises in the Energy-Reading Course that help you get to this receiving place (note: the one-on-one sessions play a big part too). Several of them involve trying to sense your body from the inside which turns on a different channel of awareness than your verbal everyday state. If you keep doing it, eventually you will be able to be aware of feelings and sensations without the interpretation from your everyday mind being there. These exercises are not the only way of course, there are many other types of meditation that can also help you to stop “thinking”.

When I get into this 'non-thinking' state, my body relaxes as if it is asleep. It feels refreshing. I also feel like the top of my head has a bit of an openness or a buzz to it. When I am energy-reading, it feels like the flow of energy in my body goes downwards from the top of my head, down around and out my feet, leading back upwards toward my head. This feels opposite to the flow it takes when I am in my normal awareness - then my attention seems to go upwards and outwards (toward the world) - the spin is in the other direction.

I have tuned into many many things and people over the last 10 years.  Here are a few examples that come to mind that were particularly interesting or educational:

• I once tried to understand what was going on emotionally and internally for George W. Bush (this was several years ago now). I also never watch the news but if anyone brings up political figures in conversations, I just tune in to them while we're talking, so I can have something to say.
• Examined several famous people and their energy around money and wealth
• Reading people's relationships has always been fascinating for me (probably because I have a lot to learn)
• Tuned in to how the world looks and feels from the perspective of a small child; have also tuned in on people who have what we might label severe physical disabilities
• Looked at a number of people who have been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD or autism
• Energy-read people with various illnesses and realized that the energy story behind what's going on can be so unique to the individual despite having a medical label or diagnosis in common with others
• Have done energy-reading in tandem with another reader (kind of 'co-reading'), and being able to access things like details of a past life of mine
• Periodically energy-read my parents, family patterns and relatives I don't know to see ancestral patterns
• Read historical figures and 'what really happened' for my friend Mark, who's into Jewish history
• Love energetically connecting to dolphins (Wow, does that ever feel good!);  have read lots of pets too which is also rather informative
• Have on different occasions energy-read groups of people and collective thought-forms
• I even use it to check how food cooking on the stove or in the oven is doing, without actually getting up to physically look

So you can see how wide the range can be. It's a source of endless and lifelong learning. It's like the internet in your own head.  I've used it to learn about fields of work or study that I personally have no experience of and I have been blown away by the information I can get. 

One thing that makes it totally invaluable is that you can gather knowledge about the inside experience and identity of another being.  So instead of just clinically testing herbs for their properties (the outside journey), you could energetically talk to them to find out their optimum uses (the inner journey). In fact, this is how shamanistic societies gather knowledge about their world. 

This ability is a product of self-knowledge and a realization of the deep relationship between all things. We begin to allow the universality of feelings in the body to lead us beyond the individualistic perceptions of the mind.

This knowledge is always there...available, supporting us and enveloping us in the web of life, whether we know it or not, whether we acknowledge it or not, whether we use it or not. But we are alive because of it, and we come into our Real Selves by feeling how this web holds us. Learning to energy-read can re-educate and re-align a human identity that feels cut off from nature and Source into one that experientially understands itself to be part of a grand collective. You really 'get' how it is that all knowledge is within.

Wanna try?  ;)

Parenting From The Heart: Using Intuition and Instinct

This is a piece on 'intuitive parenting' I wrote recently for www.wildparenting.com, a Toronto-based blog dedicated to "inspiring and supporting parents who practice a holistic, community-based, freedom-filled lifestyle with their kids."

Intuitive parenting is a new term, one of many that indicates our desire to relate to our children with more heart. Many of us want to move away from traditional authoritarian models of the past and towards a new parenting paradigm that promotes wholeness for both parent and child. Attachment parenting, natural parenting, and consensual living are a few other new terms that come to mind, along with activities that emphasize the connection between parent and child: extended breastfeeding, baby-wearing, gentle discipline, co-sleeping and elimination communication.

Intuitive parenting can be seen as an expansion and continuation of attachment parenting behaviors that are the focus of the child's early years. Attachment parenting allows you the room to honor your child's feelings and your own, as guides to what needs to happen so your child can be healthy and happy. Intuitive parenting takes that a step further and not only says, "Yes, you are allowed to follow your feelings; they aren't wrong", but says "Yes, please, follow those feelings! Listen to them more than any information you get from outside yourself; they give you invaluable information and show you the way to go!".

As an intuitive, I've had to learn to resolve our society's fraught relationship with emotion. My ability to feel has been clarified, enhanced and extended in such a way that I can use it as a powerful tool to investigate almost any phenomenon. I have gotten in touch with myself at a deep enough level that it has allowed me to feel into the collective consciousness and therefore find out about things 'outside' myself, from the inside.

We all come hardwired to do this, to come into connection with ourselves and then find that we are more connected to others. The journey of being a parent takes us there anyway, but if we intentionally cultivate this process, what a resource we have to make the journey easier and more enjoyable! Learning to 'get' your baby's cues for feeding or using your instincts when practicing elimination communication are both examples of things that require emotional connection and intuition but also improve your connection and ability to be intuitive.

I use my intuition constantly with my daughter, from tuning in about which homeopathic remedy to give her, to getting a sense of what she might need developmentally at each stage of her growth. I tune in on what type of food her body might need or how to approach her with something that needs to happen but she might resist. All caregivers do this sort of thing to some degree but may not be totally conscious of it. Linking this ability to your conscious mind means you can use it more powerfully, more effectively, and more creatively.

For me, listening to my subtle feelings and being true to them is an important part of staying safe, finding optimal ways of completing tasks, and creating a fulfilling life. I want to be able to model that for my daughter. Her strong connection to her own intuition will guide her properly when she's out in the world. It will help her to find the right people to be with and have nourishing bonds with them. It will help her find the activities that are right for her, at the right times, and guide her toward career satisfaction, among other things.

Most of all, using my emotional openness and intuitive listening communicates to her that I really care who she is and what her inner experience is like. This lets her know she is valued and loved.

So how might one go about becoming more of an intuitive parent? Clearing out the places where we haven't let ourselves feel, is key to allowing the subtler hints that we usually associate with intuition. Often we block feeling when we don't think we'll be able to do anything to affect change, or if we think feeling will make us dis-empowered or vulnerable. Sometimes we are afraid of what our feelings will tell us to do. ("If I let myself feel how much I hate my job, I'd have to leave it tomorrow, but I can't because we need the income.")

I've discovered that not only do I feel better when I let my feelings run their course, but then I can see the whole picture, not just the intellectual aspects or “logical” answers. The decisions I come to are often surprising, and not ones I could have anticipated before allowing the emotional process to complete itself. My emotions don't compel me to do anything; I can make decisions from a place of integration between heart and mind.

Once we are in the habit of allowing ourselves to be aware of our feelings in the moment we are feeling them, that's when we are open to ideas that come out of the ether or become able to pick up what's happening with others just by being in their presence. Essentially, we attend to our own internal environment in such a way that we then have room to be truly present with the world and with the people we love.

Here is a list of a few things that can help cultivate intuition:

* Give yourself overt permission to feel and value your emotions and follow your intuition

* Cultivate relationships with others who allow and respect feelings and who use intuition themselves

* Practice just being with your feelings without trying to change them; sit with them until they disperse or change

* Use practices like journaling or art therapy exercises to explore what your feelings are telling you

* Let your children know that feelings are valuable information, even if (or especially if) they are intense

* Show your children that emotions can be expressed in a variety of ways, and that we can consider the impact of their expression on others while still protecting our right to have them

* Ask your “insides” questions about issues concerning yourself and your children

* Use open-ended questions to help determine if your intuitions about your child's inner life are correct; feed back to her what you hear to find out if you've understood

* Take what resonates from expert advice and ignore the rest; use your gut to tell you when and in what context to use what you've found helpful

* Practice using your intuition with small things and graduate to bigger things as your trust level increases

"Wholeness" - Free Toning Download

I wrote last year about how I felt guided to do more toning to shift energy rather than just using breathwork and intention. I can barely believe it's been only a year.  It feels like I've been using toning forever! It's become a major feature of my work, and it's such a flexible and beautiful tool.

I've found that people really like it -- they find it relaxing and it puts them into an altered state, they find it aesthetically pleasing and we've also found that when someone listens back to a recording of their session, the healing intentions are imbedded in the toning in such a way that they continue to get benefit on repeated listenings. People have told me that it's like having another session, and some have listened to recordings of a particular session 10 or 15 times, especially if it's one we do when they are going through an emotional crisis.

My sessions are now usually a blend of intuitive work and toning, with one extreme being an hour of toning and the other being an hour of information but most sessions having some of both.

When I taught the first energy-reading course in the autumn, I found I could tone and shift energy for groups. I used toning to help us get present and connected in a heart-centred way when we did conference calls and group practices. That was fascinating as I discovered I could switch between focussing on the group and focussing on an individual - and the participants, knew when I was doing it! "Oh part of that was for Jane".

I've been experimenting with doing some recorded tonings on specific topics, set with the intention that anyone who listens will receive healing from them (as opposed to my session work that is tailored to an individual at a specific time). This is my first recording and I'm calling it 'Wholeness' because it's focussed on the question "What needs to shift for me to become more whole?" I'm offering it as a free download and welcome feedback.

Right click the link and choose 'save target as' to download it and play it back on your computer (it won't stream). You can burn it to cd or put it on your mp3 player.

Wholeness

Energy-reading Waldorf, Montessori and Reggio Emilia

Waldorf, Montessori and Reggio Emilia are three alternative education approaches that a lot of progressive parents are drawn to, whether they are homeschooling or putting their children into schools.  My daughter will soon be 3, so I've been exploring different ideas around education and wanted to have a deeper understanding of these philosophies and methods.

last week after enquiring about a waldorf kindergarten that only takes 4 yr olds, i was on the bus and decided to energy-read what steiner was trying to do with his outlines for children (i haven't actually read what he's written)...to summarize it quickly i got that he was communicating something about the relationship with the child coming in as spirit and adapting to the material world. so for that star/earth mix to work the best (healthy integration), his suggestions involved a systematic grounding that didn't break the spirit awareness (which i think often happened) but helped it adapt to earth-based reality so it could survive. i could see from this that he used his own cultural myths and ideas around spirit - if he were more aware of other cultures' ways of conceptualizing this, the waldorf schools might have different traditions.

later i decided to energy-read it some more and compare it to montessori and reggio. then i read more about waldorf on the internet and found some interesting correlations. so for instance i felt there was a strong theosophical thread in steiner's philosophy and yesterday i looked up theosophy on wikipedia and it turns out his foundation was in theosophy but then he branched off with his own version.

so here is more of the energy-reading:

my sense is that the thrust of the waldorf approach is quite humanistic, wanting to create well-rounded people and 'world citizens'. i feel it is trying to correct something having to do with an imbalance between what i'll call feminine and masculine (matter/spirit) energy in a patriarchal environment. i feel that it was very much speaking to the tensions of it's time and place (1925 germany) and also stamped with the biases of that location. so for instance, even though steiner tries to privilege certain aspects of the feminine (and so waldorf seems compatible with earthy-positive/ap parenting) it also has certain racist ideas (ie some races are more spiritually evolved than others) which bespeak the negative projection of the feminine/matter that germany was grappling with. i think he was doing the best he could from within his own world view.

the feeling i got from montessori was that it was primarily about creating intellectual scaffolding through concrete experiences to stimulate maximum growth of the child. the image i got was of zig zags that hit a wall on each side and caused them to zig in the opposite way (so like a zigzag ladder). it's very practical and realistic, it's a sensory and grounded approach (although not necessarily *grounding* for the child) and promotes self-responsibility, self-correction and learning on one's own. i feel it comes from a world view that the world isn't a particularly nurturing or supportive place and that montessori method helps the child survive and thrive no matter what. through developing good mental habits and conceptual protocols, you preserve yourself in a tough world and can succeed in any environment. i also feel that it takes the natural learning motivation from within the child and grafts in into a system that promotes competency as defined in a fairly mainstream way. so i'm not surprised that montessori shows the best results in terms of testable outcomes - it does well at the job of schooling as it is traditionally understood. i get the feeling that it values a type of creativity that is of a problem solving/applied creative skill sort. not like the imagination type favoured by waldorf.

with reggio, my overall impression was of exploring life (learning) as a creative process. it's the most recently born approach and feels quite post-modern to me. it's also not as set as the other two and i feel that schools that say they use reggio methods could look vastly different. the child follows a unique path, a kind of spiralling out of discovery. i got a very unfolding feeling. i feel like it promotes self-reflexiveness and dialogue between the child and the environment and people around her. i wrote down the words 'internalizing and forming the world through inner feedback loops/processes.' reggio seemed rather abstract to me, yet the one i liked the best. part of my preference for it is that the other two seemed to come from a specific idea/projection of what the world is and the educational method is a response and a solution to the observed problems in that world. whereas reggio does not posit an idea/projection of the world - it kind of seems to believe that the child creates it's world conceptually through this back and forth creative dialectic that is always expanding and building on itself. so the child's identity is constantly grows and is remade as is it's picture of the world. much more law of attraction-ish!

i've been realizing through research and through energy reading that neither waldorf nor montessori are actually pro-attachment parenting. they almost seek to make the child independent of it's family/cultural context (ie. montessori energetically implies you can become competent/accomplished despite what your parents <or anyone> are like or what they do/don't do, and discourages dependence on the teacher - child is supposed to use themselves and peers to move forward). so this also helps me understand how waldorf can say no tv/computers for kids who's environment is totally media rich, and seek to protect children from worldly non-waldorf influences. reggio is the only one that explicitly values interpersonal relationships and interaction as growth experiences and encourages dialogue even if it is conflictual. waldorf is more about receiving/attuning to inner spiritual harmony that then is supposed to manifest in outer harmonious social experiences.

my perception is a loving action

This is a little poem I wrote in response to a session I did today:

'my perception is a loving action'

i see only
inner good
inner beauty
inner value
inner truth
inner light

i draw them forth
with the power of my
sight

i embrace the completeness
of all that is
pulling from it
all i need
and all that
resonates
with my
essence

this is deep peace -
where my perception
is a loving action
springing from
the eternal

where my vision
resonates with who
i truly am
and reassures me
i can trust
in the riches
and the
fertile matrix
of this existence

Body Wisdom

An important element of creating consciously is learning to feel your body from the inside and becoming sensitive to the messages it's giving you about your thoughts and experiences.  Surprisingly, a lot of people cannot do this because they've needed to block out sensations and emotions in order to survive or cope.  This skill forms the basic foundation of the intuitive work I do;  since we are all receivers and emitters of energy, I literally tune into other people by looking inside my body for the information.

Benefits that come from being able to feel your body and its messages include:

• knowing how you really feel about things
• being able to sense whether a given path is right for you
• understanding people better
• being able to clear emotional blocks
• being present and open to what is happening in the 'now'

Depending on your individual set-up, being more aware of your body sensations could lead to outcomes like:

• feeling freer in your personal expression
• looking better
• improved relationships
• intuitive or artistic development
• healing from illness
• becoming 'plugged-in' to your sense of purpose

A simple and common way of starting out is by scanning your body for tension and letting your attention rest there.  Notice if it changes and how it changes.  You may find the tension originates from another region of your body or you might connect with emotion that comes up.  You may get images or memories;  the tension might just leave.  Just doing this everyday can have profound effects.  By putting your attention on that body part, you are directing energy to it, allowing it to unwind and speak to you.

You are already accessing intuition through your body.  Here is an exercise that can show you this:  try thinking about different people and noticing what your body feels in response to the thought of them.  You are picking up information about their energy system and how your energy system reacts to theirs.  Of course, you are connecting to them through your own filters, (which is fine, since these help orient and protect you in a certain way) but as your filters 'lighten', you become able to receive people (and know them) as they really are.  Once you have cleared enough of your own 'stuff' (ego structures that show up on a body level)  you will find your ability to get 'objective' information improves.  Lightening your filters (which is in essence, living a more spirit-based life) is also a constant and infinite process.

Body awareness can be used to make decisions or choices.  Pretend you have already chosen option A.  How does that feel to your body?  Now pretend you've chosen option B.   What does your body say about that?  Your 'gut reaction' can factor in variables that you cannot keep track of consciously.  The body is in touch with all possible timelines that spin out from the present moment.  Since you are looking for a future that feels good, it works to go with one that makes your body feel good when you think about it - more alive, free, secure or whatever quality you prefer.  If we take this body-listening to a subtler level, focusing in with greater detail on the quality of responses, the body can tell us exactly what doesn’t work about a particular option.  Then we can use this to create or imagine variations until we hit on one that does make the body say 'Aha! That’s the one I want'. 

Try asking your body about every decision you need to make, from 'what should I eat?' to 'should I get into a relationship with this person?'  It doesn't have to be the only information you take into account, but asking the body's opinion will give you a well-rounded perspective.  If you're getting uncomfortable or bad vibes about something, ask your body what it would prefer, what would be better or what needs to happen for it to feel okay.       

Emotions and the body have been undervalued in our society for so long.  This has not only caused certain social imbalances, but also cut us off from an important source of knowledge.  Part of the path of being an integrated and empowered person is learning to value the body's wisdom.

In time, being in touch with one's body extends to naturally include being more in touch with other beings around us - empathy and connectedness become a way of life.  Becoming allies with the ‘body’ of the earth will solve many of the problems we have created on the planet.  Just like our bodies, she’s got a lot to say - she’s just waiting for us to ask.  ;-)

Working with Affirmations

Working with Affirmations

These ideas about working with affirmations are a fusion of all the different resources I've encountered (including books by Louise Hay, Shakti Gawain etc.) plus my own experiential learnings.  The way affirmations are applied in rebirthing has been of particular interest and influence.  (I recommend exploring the ideas of Leonard Orr and Sondra Ray.)

Techniques

This is how I use affirmations myself.  I come up with a desired outcome and put it into a positively structured sentence. 

example:  I am always well-rested.

Then I write out the phrase, noting the thoughts and especially the emotions and bodily reactions that come up in response to it. 

example:
I am always well-rested.  (anxiety, thought: 'but my child gets up every 3 hours!')

Whatever the emotion, I try to go into it or rest in it until it passes or transforms into something else.  In this case, let's say the anxiety just fades away.

Then I write it out again, noting my response - usually it is something different but related or similar to the first.  Maybe same feeling, slightly different thought - I do the same accepting and feeling the emotion until it is gone.  I repeat this process until I see my thoughts becoming more neutral or at least less negative.  If I get stuck, I will create an affirmation that addresses the block directly and then repeat the response/acceptance process again.

example:
My daughter is sleeping in longer and longer chunks.  ('well, her sleep patterns are better than they were;  I do see them improving as she gets older')

I find I usually need to do this affirmation exercise for 3 days in a row before I see evidence of change in my life (ie. things will magically rearrange themselves to make the statement true).  Each time, I try to write out the affirmation until I see my responses getting increasingly positive and believing of the affirmative phrase.  Once I see that happening at the beginning of the exercise (ie the first time I write out the affirmation) I know I have cleared that issue. 

Then I might just post it someplace where I will see it occasionally.

Another way I use affirmations is to write out several affirmations that all generally express the same idea and reinforce each other.  I adjust them as I go along, to fit my mood and goals.  I try to make every phrase a bit different, or a bit more detailed.

example:
I choose to live an abundant life.
I experience abundance in every area.
I am linked to the unlimited abundance of the universe.
I am constantly increasing my conscious awareness of abundance.

When I am in need of general self-encouragement and uplift, I read a 10 page collection of affirmations I like, that I have put together from ones I've created or found.  They cover all different aspects of life and are kind of organized by topic.  I find just running through them when I am having trouble staying optimistic gives me a boost and leaves me thinking, yeah, that is the framework I want to come from.

Affirmations that I find especially helpful include ones that begin:
I am allowing...
I am giving myself permission...
I am choosing...
I am releasing my resistance to...
I am running the energy of...
I am holding the vibration of...

So an example might be 'I am holding the vibration of health.'

You can also modify the affirmation by putting things like 'in a quick and easy manner', 'in the best way possible' or 'in a way that serves the highest good of all concerned' in the phrase somehow.  I don't usually do this, unless it's a more lengthy or detailed outline for manifesting something.

Affirmations Bring Up What Is Holding You Back

Affirmations are useful for making you conscious of what is holding you back so you can change it.  They don't work so well if you just repeat them while ignoring the underlying dynamics of your mind.  Then it's just a paste-over.

I find allowing the feelings to come up and resolve is what can make a shift happen really quickly.  I've had this happen this year around money/success issues - I did the process once, in my head, and I really let myself go into the uncomfortable emotions that came up.  Two days later I started a crazy month of doing more sessions than I could comfortably handle.

Often it's pain standing in the way of us receiving, and we resist feeling it.  Then we don't get to have all the good that's on the other side of it.

I just want to address the issue of the 'negative' emotion coming up and the idea that you need to stay away from negative emotions in order to attract things that are in synch with positive emotions.  The negative emotion (representing conflicting beliefs) shows itself in reaction to the positive phrase - it has always been there effecting your creation of reality.  Emotions are only information about how your beliefs (conscious and unconscious) fit together.  Where there is tension, there is contradiction.

Emotions Are Information

Learning to let your emotions just give you the information without you reacting to them, or acting before all the information is relayed, is an important skill and one you can develop through meditation.  Practices that encourage you to witness your thoughts and emotions, that show you how to just rest within a feeling without resisting it or trying to change it, are huge pieces of any healing journey.   When you have a practice like this, you realize no emotion is never-ending or permanent.

Not clearing those emotions - not letting them express themselves fully - means that you continue to be affected by them, whether you realize it or not.  And they influence the vibration you send out, since emotions are magnetic. 

So I'm not suggesting that you dwell in what comes up, or that you devote a lot of analysis to it - but just feel it and let it go.  If you need a bridging thought to get past immovable thoughts or sub-blocks of emotion, create another positive affirmation.

One last thing I'm going to mention is that you can get around mental and emotional blocks by giving the affirmations to yourelf (or have them given to you) as hypnotic suggestion.  This is another way of getting into a state outside of your normal thought patterns and ego so you don't invoke the resistance of past beliefs or emotions - an in-the-moment awareness similar to some types of meditation. I have used this a few times with friends.  The trick is to pitch the affirmation at just the right level of consciousness, when the person is in just the right state. 

It's An Art

There is an art to working with affirmations - choosing and structuring the statements so they resonate well to where you want to go and are appropriate to use where you are, listening to your body so you know where in the process you are and how close you are to results showing up in your reality.  When it's done well, it's like a key turning smoothly in a lock.  A simple, powerful and effective tool to use whenever you seek to make positive change.

"I now hold loving positive images of myself."

"I choose wholeness and peace."

"I allow the universe to support me in all I do."