Healing Tools
Family Matters - Healing Your Family, Healing Yourself
(Based on Hellinger Systemic Constellation Work)
Whose life are you living? Learn how unconscious yet powerfully influential trans-generational family bonds have the power to entangle you in a fate that belongs not to you, but to an ancestor two, three or even more generations back. Such entanglements can affect your personal and professional life, resulting in psychological and physical illness and disharmony.
When this previously unseen influence is revealed and acknowledged through the use of the Systemic Constellations, order may be reestablished and love can flow freely once again. Constellations are an effective way of revealing unconscious entanglements with the fates of family ancestors. Events such as the premature death of a parent or sibling, the exclusion of a family member, a murder of or by a family member, or victimization of others by a family member can all lead to entanglements, which disturb one's life and relationships. Severe consequences may result, such as feelings of isolation, depression, mental and physical illness, accidents, and even suicidal thoughts or attempts.
In a workshop setting, clients come with a particular issue they want to address. The issues are often long-standing problems that plague a person's life, regardless of repeated attempts at change. These conditions arise from the "blind" love of a child towards a family member, and are resolved with solutions that allow "enlightened" love to flow.
In setting up a constellation, a client chooses workshop attendees to represent members of his or her family, then places them in relationship to each other, without comment, based on how it "felt" to be in the family. The representatives become a living model of the original family system.
In this work, even small gestures can provide useful information. Words are kept to a minimum and thus become quite powerful. When the family members are represented by workshop attendees who do not know them or the events that took place, a phenomenon occurs. The representatives begin to notice feelings and thoughts which reflect those of the actual family members.
The best explanation for this phenomenon can be found in the work of renowned author and biologist, Dr. Rupert Sheldrake. This field of energy, called the morphic field, connects people, places and even animals, and has memory and influence. Dr. Sheldrake has documented the existence of this field in a number of books, the most recent of which is entitled "Dogs Who Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home".
Hellinger, having observed the presence of this "knowing field", learned how to use it to modify previously hidden dynamics, so that the natural order supporting love can be reestablished and love may flow again. Recent developments have also brought constellations into the realm of the business world in the form of "organizational constellations". Constellation work is becoming the most rapidly expanding form of therapy in Germany, and is found in more than 25 countries worldwide.
There are two lasting bequests we can give our children:
Orders of Love (principles that are required to allow healthy relationships to flourish):
Family Matters takes place in an atmosphere that is safe,
[ return to top ] NLP
What is NLP? NLP is short for Neuro-Linquistic Programming.
The 'Neuro' acknowledges the fact that we process information about the world neurologically, using the brain and the nervous system, through our five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste and smell. 'Linguistic' refers to the verbal language that we use to communicate with each other, as well as our internal thoughts and our external 'body language'. 'Programming relates to the 'programs' or patterns of behaviour we all demonstrate; in other words, the way we organise our thoughts and our behavior in order to produce results.
The Birth of NLP NLP evolved in the early seventies out of the work of two people: John Grinder, then an Assistant Professor of Linguistics at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Richard Bandler, a student of psychology at the University. They studied three top psychotherapists in great depth: Fritz Perls, the father of Gestalt Therapy; Virginia Satir, one of America's top family therapists; and Milton Erickson, a world-famous hypnotherapist. John and Richard identified a great many of the underlying patterns of behavior and communication that made these great therapists so effective in assisting people in changing their lives for the better. They used what they found to create a set of models of human skills and capabilities that, for better or worse, they called "Neuro-Linguistic Programming".
Here are some of the ways that you can benefit from NLP training in your personal life.
Outcomes One of the most important questions we all face is ‘what do you want’ out of life. We tend to focus on all the things that we don’t want - the problems. One of the keys to success is to have clear outcomes in all areas of your life. NLP offers a set of tools for setting clear, achievable goals.
Relationships Our ability to communicate effectively with others and to understand how they are thinking can greatly enhance the quality of our life. By studying and modeling excellent communicators, NLP is able to show you how to create and maintain rapport, how to be more congruent in your communications and how to understand the intention behind others’ behavior.
Control How You Feel It is all too easy to feel the ‘victim’ of events outside of our control. It’s Monday morning so we ‘feel bad.’ But what if you were able to take more control of your thought process, feelings and emotions so that you are in the driving seat. Neuro Linguistic Programming opens the door to the programs that run your brain. By understanding how your mind works, you will be able to take more control of your thoughts, emotions and behaviors.
The Past It can be hard to move happily into the future if we are still dogged by our past. NLP provides ways of releasing unwanted emotions from past events. The NLP ‘phobia cure’ is renowned both for dealing with phobias and traumatic events from the past.
Beliefs Our beliefs are the gateways to our behavior. Because our beliefs are often ‘unconscious’ we are not always aware of the important role they play. NLP shows you how to identify your beliefs, and if appropriate, change them. This represents some of the most powerful tools for personal change available.
Change We all have aspects of our life that we want to change. You will be in a better position to change unwanted feelings and behaviors when you understand more of how you, as a human being work. NLP offers you this and much more.
Benefits of NLP You can learn how to:
[ return to top ] Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
What is EFT? The Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) is one of the power therapies now being used frequently to assist with anxiety, depression and other comorbidities, which accompany ADHD and learning difficulties. It is a method of emotional and neurological control based on acupressure and involves tapping on acupressure/acupuncture points. Since acupuncture meridians extend to the brain, tapping on these points allows brain function to be modified by releasing negative emotions and even ameliorating some neurological conditions. It is also thought that EFT alters the energy field of the body so that perturbations in the energy field causing negative emotions are restored to balance. Based on the work of Roger Callahan, Gary Craig and others it is now being used in combination with a myriad of drug-free interventions aimed at managing stress.
Is it Safe? EFT appears to be a safe way of releasing negative emotions under most circumstances and children can easily be taught the technique. However, it is not advised to attempt the release of very traumatic incidents (sexual or physical abuse) without the supervision of a qualified mental health professional. When used for "everyday" negative emotions such as (irritability, anger, frustration), phobias and emotionally charged situations it seems to be quite safe. Over the years, many people have learned how to use EFT and continue to use it without serious problems.
Who can benefit from EFT? EFT can be helpful for many of the negative emotions related to the following conditions in children and adults:
Since EFT does not require extensive verbal skills, emotional expressiveness or experience of psychotherapeutic processes it is ideally suited for use with children. Since EFT works physiologically it can be useful for neurological as well as emotional conditions. EFT is very safe – it either works or it doesn’t- and it does not make conditions worse. The technique allows children to manage their own emotions and with adequate training and practice, this can give a child more freedom, autonomy and self-control.
Is EFT Effective? EFT will not work on every single issue, but it appears to be effective 90% of the time. Using EFT for all aspects of a particular negative emotion (feelings and negative thought patterns associated with a situation) increases its effectiveness. Sometimes the results are almost magical!
Does it last? EFT seems to produce permanent effects for many conditions. If a condition returns, repeated EFT sessions will usually release the condition and treating all "aspects" of the problem stabilizes the results.
However, some individuals are "psychologically reversed" about particular issues. This means that they being unconsciously resistant to resolving an issue. If a person is psychologically reversed this hinders the effectiveness of EFT and a correction procedure- "de-reversing" will need to be done. Reversals can re-occur and multiple "de-reversings" may be needed before EFT can be beneficial to them. These individuals may need to do the EFT procedure for "de-reversing" themselves many times a day for a length of time (days to weeks) before the condition stabilizes. For this reason it is wise to do EFT sessions in conjunction with a qualified mental health professional.
EFT is not intended to be a replacement for psychotherapy or other mental health services and those suffering from chronic psychological or neurological conditions are strongly urged to consult appropriately qualified professionals. It can however, be used with supervision, in conjunction with other treatment protocols.
[ return to top ] PREP Description – Couple’s Communication
In our changing world, the definition of marriage is not as clear-cut as it used to be. But, what is clear is how difficult it is for couples to remain happily married. PREP® (Preventative Relationship Enhancement Program) believes that passion, love, and marriage can last a lifetime. Presumably, this is a common belief since people are still eagerly reciting those familiar wedding vows, “For as Long as I shall Live”, and Till Death Do Us Part”. Why then do couples lose the love and passion seem unable to regain the joy they once found in each other? PREP believes that many marriages fail because the couple lacks the tools necessary to deal with important issues that come with any close relationship. While the dynamics of a successful marriage are complex and changing, PREP educates couples to focus on factors they can control, and gives couples the tools to safely and effectively manage life’s surprises. PREP couples are given the tools necessary to recognize danger signs, communicate safely and effectively, protect fun, friendship, sexuality and sensuality as well as harness the power of commitment.
We know that not all marriages should be saved. We know that PREP will not be able to save some marriages. But if you are looking for a Marriage Enhancement/Divorce Prevention program that teaches techniques that have demonstrated their effectiveness through years of research to increase marital satisfaction, that has been thoroughly studied and tested more than any other in the world, then PREP is the program for you.
The PREP team has authored a multitude of books that can enhance your marriage.
Fighting for your Marriage by Drs. Howard Markman, Scott Stanley, and Susan Blumberg Since it was first published in 1994, Fighting for Your Marriage has been the best-selling book in its field; showing couples how to use the proven principles of PREP to improve their relationships. Now the classic guide to achieving better communication in marriage has been extensively revised to respond to new pressures and changes affecting today’s families, revised 2001.
A Lasting Promise by Drs. Scott Stanley, Daniel Trathen, Savanna McCain and Milt Bryan. Finally, the Christian PREP book you’ve been waiting for. Based on the best-selling book, Fighting for Your Marriage, Dr. Scott Stanley and colleagues bring to you A Lasting Promise to help couples create a marriage of lasting love. The powerful and practical principles are based solidly on Scripture with a unique blending of university research. The result is a thoroughly Christian version of the widely respected PREP approach. Table of Contents:
[ return to top ] The Seven Spiritual Laws
The focus of our program is on the individual, and it will introduce you to the following objectives: Law #1 – You Already Have the Potential (The Law of Potentiality)
Law #2 – Give what You Seek (The Law of Giving) Develop and/or strengthen relationships. Bring out the best in people. Provide information and support to others. Law #3 – Apply Cause and Effect (The Law of Karma) Apply spontaneous right action. Apply the process of conscious choice making when facing difficult decisions. Eliminate fear and increase spontaneity. Law #4 – Do Less, Accomplish More (The Law of Least Effort) Develop responsibility and accountability through the practice of stewardship. Increase tolerance of people and situations. Redefine "acceptance" and "defenselessness." Law #5 – Clarify Your Intentions (The Law of Intention and Desire) Make good decisions based on a mixture of analysis, wisdom, experience, and sound judgment. Set objectives and goals based upon universal and fundamental laws of success. Strengthen life-centered, present moment awareness and apply one-pointed intentions. Law #6 – Embrace Uncertainty (The Law of Detachment) Deal with the fear of the unknown. Comfortably handle risk and uncertainty when making decisions. Effectively cope with change and transition. Decide and act without having the whole picture. Law #7 – Align Yourself and Others (The Law of "Dharma" or Life Purpose) Identify your unique talents. Find out what you want from life and actively seek it out. Maintain a conscious balance between personal life and work so one doesn't dominate the other.
This program is designed to introduce you to principles supported by science and spiritual traditions that lead to achieving congruence and success in your personal and work life, it helps you align your personal, professional and spiritual dimensions to create a life that is meaningful enjoyable purposeful and abundant. Based on Deepak Chopra, M.D. New York Times bestseller The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success, this program incorporates Dr. Chopra s ideas with sound business principles to provide effective tools for personal and interpersonal skill development. These laws are universal and apply to all of nature. If we apply them to how we live our lives (at home and work) we will be in synch with our essential nature - our full potential; and as a result, we will have relationships and work experiences that are satisfying and uplifting.
Living the Seven Spiritual Laws is mind/body medicine. Our minds do affect our bodies. Numerous medical studies have determined these benefits of meditating: fewer visits to doctors, lowered blood pressure, decreased physical complaints, less impulsivity, greater emotional stability, and decreases in addictive behaviors, anxiety, neurotic tendencies, and insomnia, in addition, meditation usually results in better relationships with family, friends and co-workers, improved job satisfaction, employee effectiveness, and decreases in fatigue, absenteeism and sick days.
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Ecstatic Body PosturesEcstatic Body Postures, a shamanic technique for traveling in the Alternate Reality. Based on more than 20 years of research by anthropologist Dr. Felicitas Goodman, and carried on by Barbara Hand Clow, Ecstatic Trance is powerful. The results of Dr.Goodman’s research are amazing. She asserts that certain body gestures and movements, when properly worked with, actually trigger us into accessing altered states of consciousness. Through Goodman's research she found that these specific body postures reappear in art and artifacts of world cultures, even those widely separated by time and distance. Dr. Goodman discovered that people who assume these postures while in trance report strikingly similar meditative experiences.
Ecstatic Body Postures enables any person to travel into the Alternate Reality, which is structured into the Lower, Middle, and Upper worlds. Discover how the postures facilitate healing, how they can be used for divination, and how we can use them to celebrate life with the spirits.
Catherine had the pleasure to be trained in Ecstatic Body Posture by Barbara Hand Clow, and it has shifted Catherine's life. She is very excited to introduce a profound and powerful means of connecting to our higher self. We invite you to come and explore these amazing tools of healing.
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Sacred Ritual: Conscious IntentionRitual is like a vast deep ocean, full of potential and mystery. The unveiling of the soul. "We enter into ritual in order to respond to the call of the soul" Malidoma Some.
Our entire life could be a profound sacred ritual if lived with awareness and respect for ourselves, for all beings and all of creation. Sacred Ritual, when done with conscious intention, truly is an external manifestation of an internal transformation.
What is Ritual?
It is a symbolic enactment with a spiritual focus that is performed by an individual or a group of people. Ritual is a process whereby we may connect with consciousness -with spirit, through the heart, using the psychic tools of invocation, symbol, symbolic action and clear intention.
Through ritual we bypass the analytical mind and connect directly with consciousness via the heart. This is where communication takes place with symbol and sincerity of heart. Symbol is the nourishing food of the psyche and ritual is nourishment of the spirit. Ritual is not an intellectual activity, it is trust in the creator, the lanuage of the soul.
Ritual is an opportunity to step out of the mundane and renew ourselves, remembering that all life is interconnected and sacred - the Oneness of all life. It’s the attune-ment between one's inner self and the external world in order to achieve spiritual, emotional and psychological balance, and harmony. The ultimate purpose of ritual is personal empowerment, remembering who we truly are and connecting with our own divine nature, firmly grounding ourselves in this divinity. From this stability we are more able to accept whatever life -karma, or dharma, - offers toward our spiritual evolution, while maintaining balance and harmony -equipoise. Types of Ritual
Rituals, when done with conscious intention, can provide a positive and safe environment for the transformation of personal consciousness. Ritual helps us deal more constructively with sudden or traumatic events. It offers the opportunity to relieve tension from which words alone can no longer release us. It is a tool for developing courage, acceptance, contentment and self-respect. And it can help us to realize our inner strength and creative ability. Ritual is aimed at increasing awareness, and awareness of the existence of the reality beyond the mundane world is one of the keys to transformation. Ritual can shake a person free from the rigidity of ego that wants to limit our experience and expansion. Ritual then becomes a process of purification, of body, mind and psyche, clearing away the debris of old negative patterns and impressions.
Importance of Ritual There is a new awareness emerging in the world and many people are turning to the rituals of the ancestors for help. Ritual is being used to unite families and communities to help them function with a healthy, balanced harmonious attitude to life and to bring a sense of spirituality into their lives in a meaningful expression of the sacred. They are looking to establish regular Sacred Place and Sacred Time. Here they can honour and support each other and allow spiritual expression to unfold, which will energize, rejuvenate and reconnect them with Nature and the Divine, bringing peace and joy to their hearts. What Does a Ritual Involve?
It can involve anyone:
How Can You Prepare?
What We Bring You
Cost: Base price $205 for up to 2 hours
Disclaimer: Since ritual works with the invisible elements it is important to realize your life is likely to shift. It could be immediately, or it could be many months later.
Ritual is interconnected with many interesting topics and beautiful arts. It encompasses the wonderful worlds of: mantra; poetry; prayer; sound; music; mandala; colour; religion; indigenous cultures; metaphysics; ancient cultures; the natural environment; flowers and plants; philosophy; mythology; psychology; and symbology. In fact, the whole of life can be gathered up by this subject.
The invocation is an invitation to the relevant divine aspect - the deity or devas - asking them to attend and participate. A simple symbolic act is the lighting of a candle, with the symbol being the flame itself - a symbol of inner illumination. A simple acknowledgment of one's gratitude for the abundance that is received. Ritual and Nature
With the aid of ritual we learn to respect and nurture the natural environment, and with awareness, sensitivity and patience, we can also learn to communicate with nature. Here is a quote from Sun Bear, a Native American: "During the time of Earth changes, a large part of stretching our consciousness will be learning to listen to Spirit again. It will be learning to listen to the Earth. She is talking all the time, but humans have become deaf to her voice. In times past, all people knew they had a responsibility to the Earth and all other beings upon her. They recognized the circle of life. They were aware of the gifts nature gave them. And they knew that by praying, doing ritual, they could give back some of their energy to the plants, animals and waters. When we do ritual we are giving back to the earth and creation, we are saying thanks. This helps keep the life-energy circulating upon the planet in a good way; it helps keep the balance."
Ritual is an opportunity to step out of the mundane and renew ourselves, remembering that all life is interconnected and sacred - the Oneness of all life. It’s the attune-ment between one's inner self and the external world in order to achieve spiritual, emotional and psychological balance, and harmony. The ultimate purpose of ritual is personal empowerment, remembering who we truly are and connecting with our own divine nature, firmly grounding ourselves in this divinity. From this stability we are more able to accept whatever life -karma, or dharma, - offers toward our spiritual evolution, while maintaining balance and harmony -equipoise. HeartMath
Wouldn’t it be great if you could maintain readiness and top performance without losing your balance and effectiveness at work? New research on physiology and human performance is being used as the foundation for teaching people how to achieve and sustain high performance. Results include increases in creativity, clarity, resilience, contentment, productivity, and energy; and decreases in blood pressure level and symptoms of stress.
Just imagine what life would be like with less stress! Perhaps you would be calmer. Maybe you'd not worry as much or feel as anxious. You might have more time for the things you enjoy doing, with the people you care the most about. Or, for some of you, you'd finally get a good night’s sleep. If these are not good enough reasons to start doing something about the stress in your life, here's another one: Every time you experience a stressful event, 1400 biochemicals are released throughout your body and one in particular, cortisol, can accelerate aging. While cortisol is necessary for a variety of things, including the production of cholesterol, which together with cortisol fuels the body, it's also known as the stress hormone. And when you experience chronic stress, you can have too much of it. One bad day at the office won’t hurt. But every stress-related burst of cortisol in response to the traffic, the deadlines or that guy in your department who drives you crazy accumulates in your system. And eventually, over time, the ratio of cortisol to DHEA, the vitality or anti aging hormone, gets out of whack. Here's a partial list of what can happen with chronically high cortisol and low DHEA levels: • Brain cell death (Kerr et al., 1991; Sapolsky, 1992) • Impaired memory and learning (Kerr et al., 1991; Sapolsky, 1992) • Decreased bone density; increased osteoporosis (Manolagas, 1979) • Reduced muscle mass (Beme, 1993) • Reduced skin growth and regeneration (Beme, 1993) • Impaired immune function (Hiemke, 1994) • Increased blood sugar (DeFeo, 1989) • Increased fat accumulation around waist / hips (Marin, 1992) So next time you feel angry, frustrated or irritated, remember all that is at stake. And then give your DHEA levels a boost: Take a deep breath and recall a positive or fun time in your life and attempt to reexperience it. Doing so is quicker, cheaper and longer lasting than a couple of hours at the spa! HeartMath is recognized as one of the world’s foremost authorities on the physiology of emotion, stress and optimal performance. For 17 years HeartMath has made significant contributions to both the scientific and practical understanding of the physiology of stress, heart-brain interactions and performance. This research has led to a deeper awareness of how emotions impact every aspect of our lives, affecting everything from the quality of our health and well-being to our relationships and the decisions we make each day. The HeartMath System offers highly effective, practical solutions for reducing stress, anxiety, depression and sleeplessness, and increasing performance. Not surprisingly, a decrease in stress and anxiety is directly linked to a substantial increase in performance. Because it is based on the sound principles of human physiology and emotion, this approach repeatedly has been proven to work for people of all ages, backgrounds and skill levels. HeartMath’s programs have become the gold standard in stress intervention and performance-enhancing solutions for individuals, as well as in corporate and healthcare settings. HeartMath’s clients include Duke Medicine, Stanford Business School, Stanford Hospital, Mayo Health System, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Sutter Health, Scripps Center for Integrative Medicine, BP, Cisco Systems, Redken, Kaiser Permanente, Boeing and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. [ return to top ]
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