Gross, subtle, causal Energy Body Work

Freedom Now! The next step in Energy Psychology
...beyond EFT and EMDR
A method you can learn which removes disturbances instantly
 

Energy Body Work & Taoism
 

See also:            Energy Body Work

                          Subtle Anatomy

 

Using the (Energy) Body to release emotional blockages

Modern ‘Water’ Taoism
 

Over the last 33 years, from the time I began to study 5-element Acupuncture in the early 70s, through many learning experiences, formal and otherwise, I have built up an understanding of the clear connections between our mental and emotional life (or turmoil!) and our physical-energetic life. This is a large subject, but it became clear that mental/emotional problems were ‘reflected’ in the body in various way, and to deal with one side of this equation was to affect the other. This could be a hit-and-miss affair, in which, for example, certain emotional problems seemed to get better after a good bodywork session, while at other times, there was no such improvement.
 
More study
Over the decades, the evidence grew and experience mounted, as I studied more widely in various energy disciplines of the present and past such as acupuncture, entered into various spiritual and meditational trainings, studied Aikido and Ki Energetics (a kind of Japanese Chi Kung), and various kinds of Energy Psychology.
 
Taoism
Amongst other traditions, I also looked at what was available in terms of Taoist practices, and it seemed that Mantak Chia, a Taoist from Thailand, was the only available source, apart from some academic investigations (which are next to useless when speaking of what is above all an experiential art of practical advice, by definition largely beyond the scope of the mind). Chia’s books, and there were many, were long, labyrinthine, and seemed to be aimed at someone who was probably oriental with plenty of spare time and money and perseverance - there were suggestions to start a practice which would routinely require 5000 repetitions of this exercise or that and last for hours per day. That is not suitable for the average westerner, who needs to incorporate practices in his daily life and tasks. It was not for me either, and I later came to understand that Chia was an exponent of the ‘fire’ tradition of Taoist practice (see below), which took the view that the way to go forward was by force through all obstacles. Not only that, but in the oriental way, much emphasis was placed on submitting yourself to constant repetition until suddenly, one day, something interesting had developed as if by magic. I believe that the western way is to practice, certainly, but with a certain mental clarity and focus to bring in the advantages provided by the trained mind.
 
Energy Body Work and Energy Psychology
Meanwhile, my own practice in Australia had led me to a very eclectic mixture of methods designed to let go of blockages in the chi body (the physical-energetic or etheric body) and in the emotional body, and it became very clear that my approach was working well, and working better as time went on. Energy Psychology in its various forms was constantly evolving, and becoming more useful. From Callahan’s Thought Field Therapy (I studied with one of his first graduates in 1995) to Gary Craig’s Emotional Freedom Technique, along with Tapas Acupressure Technique and others, I derived my own effective methods, but more importantly, my understanding of other energy disciplines and in particular, 5-element acupuncture, helped me contextualise what was happening energetically for the client.
 
Generally, those who use Energy Psychology (EP) tend to have a background in Western Psychology, and have little background in, or understanding of energies or the Energy Model. In fact, many use these processes in a hit-and-miss recipe format.
 
‘Seeing’ and feeling
This understanding led me further. I began to ‘see’ and feel blockages in the client (and in myself). Sitting with the client, I could ‘mirror’ what was happening for them energetically, in the sense that I could feel some of what they were feeling, because at that level we are all much more connected, and thus I could help them further. Combining the Energy Psychology with Eugene Gendlin’s Focusing Technique with the clairvoyant work I had done with Clairvision and in studying Aikido, I was coming into a simpler model of human energies in relation to letting go of blockages. I, and increasingly the client, could perceive parts of the body as ‘frozen’, unfeeling, rigid, contracted, etc. These quite delimited parts were invariably linked to specific emotional states or issues, and to simply ‘open’ to them, to ‘lean’ on them, ‘listen’ to them or whatever was most appropriate (usually a kind of mixture of all of this), caused a ‘melting’ of the blockage. There was relief and more fluidity as a result, and quite often a clearing of the issue. Sometimes more work would be required but the client would increasingly have the skills to do it herself between sessions, as I always make sure I transfer these skills to clients.
 
What is more surprising is that this process of ‘mirroring’ clients even worked well for clients calling me on the phone from another country! Without an understanding of chi or etheric energies, this would make no sense at all.
 
Resonating fields
Another aspect of Energy Body Work (Energy BodyW) was that of human ‘fields’ of force (one could speak of the bio-field, or aura, or Rupert Sheldrake’s morphogenetic fields as well). It became clear that part of the effectiveness of a session was due to the process of practitioner and client ‘tuning in ‘ to first themselves, and then to each other. It was a kind of resonating effect and increasingly it was a very strong ‘locking’ in, especially with a client whom I’d been seeing for a while. This set up a mutual field, which was both our fields linked plus something that was greater than the sum of the parts, a deeper access to oneself and to the other. There was no doubt that this field was working on us both, facilitating energy movements and change and healing in both, and in particular making it a quicker and easier process to ‘unfreeze’ the rigidities and contractions in the energy body. The resonance effect too was important – there was no doubt that to some extent, each person was able to ‘tune in’ to aspects or frequencies in the other which were somewhat lacking in him/herself, and simply allow a ‘download’ or transmission to occur. This is also linked to the phenomenon of ‘modelling’ in NLP, in which people are encouraged to focus on positive qualities in others, and ‘allow’ them to be transmitted.
 
Gendlin’s Focusing Breakthrough
It is interesting to note here the fascinating observation that prompted Eugene Gendlin to develop the Focusing Technique, which is really the precursor of Energy Psychology in the west. He observed many therapeutic sessions during his research in the early 60s, and found that he could predict whether a particular client would be successful from their ability to feel deeply what was happening internally to them, in the body (and thus in the Energy Body, as I would add). It was immaterial what type of therapy was used! Thus he developed Focusing to facilitate this ability to ‘tune in’ to the body and get information from it by ‘speaking’ to it.
 
Taoism revisited
Not so long ago I picked up a book on Taoism called ‘Relaxing Into Your Being’ by B.K. Frantzis, who was trained by Master Liu from Beijing in the Water Tradition of Taoism. This book was a revelation because Frantzis made a few things very clear:
1. There is a ‘fire’ tradition (see notes on Mantak Chia above) and a ‘water’ tradition in Taoism. The essence of the water tradition is to make changes by ‘softness’ or by ‘dissolving’ issues… the very opposite of the aggressive fire method.
2. Reading through the techniques on ‘dissolving’ issues it became clear to me that the processes I had developed were nothing new – I had more or less rediscovered the ‘water’ techniques of Taoism (up to a point)!This made me very happy, however, and encouraged me to redouble my efforts with myself and my clients.
3. I realised why I had not been enthused by the fire methods of Chia, as they appeal to an aggressive, less reflective kind of person. This is not a criticism, but just some clarity on different temperaments. Moreover, ‘fire’ methods are for those of a younger age, while more mature practitioners usually end up using the water methods.
 
 
What is involved in an Energy BodyW session?
The English language is not very well equipped to speak of energy matters (unlike Sanskrit for example), so bear with me as I use terms metaphorically or figuratively to explain myself.
 
It is clear from what has been written above that this type of work is engaging rather more than the mental or emotional realm. In fact as an entry point, it engages the level of physical feeling, or awareness in the body.
But the body is a gateway to the ‘energy body’ or ‘chi body’, and so this engagement leads directly into the deeper awareness of the bio-field or etheric body (there are many terms for this – the level of prana in the Hindu religion, or the Chi body in Taoism). This Chi Body is the 2nd of 8 ‘energy bodies’ which all humans have, and this hierarchy of energy bodies is such that work on any body strongly affects all those ‘beneath’ it, and partly affects those above it. Working on the Chi Body will connect you to the higher bodies, namely the emotional and mental bodies, and so on.
 
Occupying the body
So the first step is to become practised and effective in tuning in to your physical-energetic bodies. Now some people, particularly women, have a greater facility to do this than others (i.e., men). They regularly do so, whatever they call the process (‘tuning in to intuition’, listening to their inner selves, etc.) and have a head start. I often find that I need to show people how to do this, and I have a number of exercises which I lead clients through to teach this process. These exercises have been developed from meditation, martial arts, yoga, ki energetics, etc. I then expect the client to go away and practise. For some, the change is fast and powerful. Many people have no idea that they are not ‘occupying’ their bodies, so the simple process of bringing this to their attention can be a revelation, and can often remove or reduce a number of the issues that worry them. The healing has started. This process opens up a whole landscape of potential healing.
 
It is at this point that deeper exercises and practices start to yield results. These practices are a further exploration of the sense of ‘occupying’ the body, discovering the powers that result from this, and applying the techniques of Energy Psychology to particular issues. What becomes clear is that being more in the body makes all of these practices so much more powerful.
 
Contraction v Expansion
We begin to notice the various contractions that have occurred in the body/bodies, and begin to release them by ‘dissolving’ them – as the Taoists say, turning ice to water and then vapour. Just as in foot/hand reflexology, removing these contractions in the body leads to a removal of emotional and mental issues, because we are dealing with one inter-related matrix of ‘bodies’.
The opposite of contraction is expansion, so the process of dissolving those parts of one’s internal energy by looking for a ‘felt sense’ of frozenness, contraction, hardness, strength, numbness, etc., is the major technique in letting go of the issues that beset us all. Dissolving these ‘felt senses’ along with a practice of regularly feeling ‘expansive’ is a very quick way to dealing with our troubles. This is a deep subject that I fully explore with clients.
 
Reflexology itself is an excellent application of this same process of ‘dissolving’ issues, and it is this quality of relflexology that makes it so effective in many conditions, not just physical.  See more on reflexology on this www.energy-body-work.com website.
 
Other Features of Energy Body Work
Intelligence
The human system is an extremely intelligent system – consider the amazing wisdom involved in healing a wound, or having a baby – if we had to organise this mentally, we wouldn’t know where to start!  The body or bodies are always working for wholeness and healing and growth. By this I mean that whatever your ‘symptoms’ are, you can be sure that they are an intelligent signal to you and/or a healing response from your system to whatever ails you at the time. To understand this is a big step in healing, and means that you will be less likely to try to squash the symptoms with some synthetic process or medicine. It is far better to ‘open’ to whatever your symptoms are, if possible, because doing so will speed the process of healing that the body is attempting to produce.
            
             Consulting the Energy Body
As a result of this intelligence of the human system or ‘bodies’, it is possible to actively ‘consult’ with your own system. Thus you can ask your ‘energy body’ for help or for information in a number of ways. Thus kinesiology is a way of consulting your energy body for a deeper opinion (deeper than your mental level). Dowsing is another way of using the power of the energy body. Auto-suggestion before going to sleep is a way of  engaging the power of the energy body. Intuition is wisdom that emerges from the energy bodies. And as you deepen your connection with yourself through this kind of work, more avenues and depth open up.
            
             Space and time
The Energy body is much less constrained by space and time than the physical body. Thus, when you are connecting to these levels of yourself, for example, the ‘chi body’,  then in reality you are connecting to the whole ‘matrix’ of chi at that level, meaning that you are potentially able to access information from any part of that matrix. This means that you can get information about something or somebody quite removed from you in space – this is the reality behind kinesiology, dowsing, radionics, etc.
 
             Creativity and inspiration
Creativity is also more accessible in these levels of yourself, and you will find yourself having deeper, more significant thoughts and inspirations if you continue to connect to these levels. Meditation which includes these processes will be much deeper and more transformative than otherwise.
 
There is more, but this should give an introductory idea of what is possible with an understanding of the ‘subtle anatomy’ of the human being. We are much more than we think we are, and there is a great deal of power available to us, if only we can be open to it.
I hope you become increasingly open to your own power and healing, speeding you on the path that all human beings are on – a return, in consciousness, to the Source.
 
 
References
 
‘Focusing’
Eugene Gendlin
 
The books of Mantak Chia
 
 
 
 
 
Tim Strachan’s background includes a degree in Mathematics and Science, para-medical training, and much training and experience in alternative therapies and Energy Psychology. He has a natural therapy practice, and trains people to become proficient in dealing with their issues on the physical/mental/emotional levels and beyond.
 
Contact him at strachan@megadisc.com.au, and see his websites at www.energy-body-work.com , www.megadisc.com.au , and www.energystore.biz