Bioenergy Techniques
Subtle Energy Experiments by Atlantic University Students
I.
Experiencing the Energy
By
Lisa L. Frish*
In my continued exploration of subtle energy, I decided to research and experiment with a few different products in this field. I have arrived at two interrelated focuses. The first focus is on healing with subtle energy and the second is on sustained subtle energy wellness. For most people, healing is the first step because illness takes so much energy and attention. A good example is a pounding toothache. It is hard to concentrate on getting to the gym when the pain has overwhelmed your senses. Healing will take precedence over health. Walter Weston in his books, Emotional Release Therapy and Healing Others were amazingly simple yet potent resources on healing and subtle energy (which I will outline shortly). Dolores Krieger's The Therapeutic Touch: How To Use Your Hands to Help or to Heal introduced exercises that will enhance awareness of healing energy through the hands. Bernard Willemson's books were my introduction to the healing arts.
Unfortunately, many people will not continue in health awareness once the pain or illness scare is gone. Unless the underlying cause is addressed, the illness will return. A simple example is stress-related stomach ulcers. If the stress is not address and the ulcer only is treated, then healing is temporary and ulcers will return. The same is true with subtle energy. Inner and outer toxins will work against any healing efforts. Richard Gerber's Vibrational Medicine books were excellent introductory resources. Gerber explains in great detail the basics of subtle energy, wellness, and healing options. In digesting his material, I arrived at a seven step focus for complete wellness. Before we cover wellness, I would like to document my experience in understanding subtle energy through hands-on healing.
Delores Krieger's book was helpful in moving me from research and understanding to actual practice. The best way to discover this energy is to experience it within your self. Paying attention to what is going on within (eg. feelings, aches, tensions) will bring awareness to this energy. 'Awareness' is a change agent in the energy flow. If you wish to relax, then direct your focus to a tight muscle; in most instances the muscle will release its tension is a matter of moments. With practice, using a focused awareness as a 'toggle switch' for your energy will help in understanding and recognizing this energy within self.
The healing I was studying was the proverbial "addressing the ulcer without removing the stress". The reason why some hands-on healings do not work, or are only temporary, is because the cause was not addressed. Emotional Release Therapy, by Walter Weston, expanded my awareness into this dilemma. He addressed releasing not only the pain and illness in the physical body, but also any underlying emotional causes. The healing hand then becomes an agent of removing toxic components before healing energy is given to another. I conjectured; if emotional baggage can be released through the assistance of hands-on healing, then why not do a total clearing out of all subtle energy 'baggage'? Would it work with karmic baggage? Inherited baggage? Soul baggage? Childhood baggage? Collective baggage associated with work? Society? I concluded; why not. If a person is releasing what no longer of service on a subtle energy level, then a total cleanse is possible. I developed a 4 step healing technique based on this information. The first step would be drawing out negative subtle energy baggage in my modified Emotional Release Therapy. A person has to willingly give up what no longer serves them. This is an important point. I have encountered people who cling to emotional baggage like a security blanket. I have also met people who are in process of working through their baggage in their own way and prefer to finish the task in their own way. A healer must respect the other person's free will to keep and process their own baggage in their own way.
In a relaxed state, a person is instructed to scan and release what is no longer serving a purpose. Beginning at a physical level we explore pains, illness and trauma all the way to the cellular level. Current emotions of fear, guilt, worry, anger, and negative self talk scanned for validity and disposal of unneeded garbage. Moving into emotional pains and frustrations, I instruct the person to let go of any childhood or current hurt. Expanding beyond the emotional subtle energy releases, I then instruct the person to release any baggage picked up from the family, society, or from previous life times. Once empty of all toxic energy the person is instructed to allow a white light full of love and peace to fill in the voids.
The next step I developed would be to direct the energy to the area needing specific healing. I imagine a magnet in my hand which is drawing toxic energy now turned around and giving healing energy. I have practice enough that I can feel the energy flowing through my hands. Because I am a newbie, this is as far as I have actually practiced. I have envisioned a step 3 as removing any stubborn baggage through techniques like journaling, creativity releases (eg. therapeutic painting, drawing, etc), integrated imagery and/or shamanistic journeys, meditation, and affirmations just to name a few. The final step would be healing the toxic environment surrounding the person. Recommending steps to identify and detoxify the home, work environment, or relationships that continue to irritate the subtle energy fields. Here is where the art of feng shui may be of great value.
After healing, subtle energy wellness brings a person into an energy vibration level for optimal health. Richard Gerber's Vibrational Medicine books were the foundation of vibrational wellness. I outlined a seven-step focus that begins at a physical level and expands outward vibrationally.
Focus #1 The Body is a Temple
We have heard of the benefits of eating right and exercising for physical health. In the holistic and energy viewpoint, we are what we eat vibrationally. For example, chicken soup made with love from mom is vibrationally potent compared to the profit-driven, mechanically-made soup in a can. What we put into our mouth and stomach will feed energy to our cells. Gerber suggests considering multivitamins and supplements because of our food supplies have changed drastically. Suppliments would need to be tailored to fit the unique needs of each individual's deficiency.
Movement and exercise in general keeps the energy moving through the body. The best example is an automatic self-winding wristwatch. These watches run indefinitely without recharging, by an ingenious design with a weighted disk. As a person moves throughout a normal day wearing the watch, the mechanism turns and stores energy. If the watch sits for a very long period of time (eg. years); it will lose its stored energy. Our bodies work within the same concept. We have larger and more complex machinery that a wristwatch. More than one energy disks are turning within our bodies and need to move to keep energy moving. These disks have been called Chakras.
Focus #2 Moving Inner Energy Awareness
This step will take moving, and exercise, to a new level of awareness and control over the energy that is moving within. Stretching or relaxing muscles is a good start. Yoga, Tai Chi, and progressive relaxation techniques are prime examples of bringing awareness to the body. Beyond noticing the feel of each movement, try to open awareness to the energy. When a muscle is flexed or relaxed we are purposely sending or releasing energy to the muscle. If the muscle was tense without your conscious effort to flex, then it was 'holding' something. What the muscle is holding is energy that we call tension. Directing focus to this energy will bring you into your first awareness with subtle energy.
Taken further, energy flows all around us. The earth has energy that we can experience. I began with an exercise DVD called "Discovering Chi" by Linda Modaro. I particularly liked this series because it broadened my awareness of this energy to include whole-person flow of energy. Exercises like 'moving the clouds' (where a person would slowly wave the arms in from of the body like a cloud was being pushed around) created the awareness within me that subtle energy was more than a muscle flex and release sensation. Although Modaro's tapes were an excellent choice for me, it is my opinion that any body movement exercises can work initially as long as each person focuses their awareness.
Focus #3 Settle the Mind and Loosen the Breath
Many people go through life with the mind running in 'to-do' circles and breathing shallowly into their chest. Meditating with the purpose of settling the mind is an excellent wellness step. This took practice for me. I was stirring my thoughts in circles for so long that even when I tried to stop, it continued to spin, just like taking a spoon out of water after circling it for a long time. The water will continue to circle even without the spoon until it has a chance to slow down. This is what the meditators call 'monkey mind'. Imagine a room full of hyper monkeys bouncing off the wall. These are your thoughts still bouncing around. If a person gives the monkeys a little time to expend their energy, then they will all settle down at some point. With practice, as the monkey-thoughts settle, I can feel the energy in my head settle like sand tossed in water will settle.
As this energy settles, the next place you feel is the throat and chest. The next insight into subtle energy is a focus on breathing. The breath and the rhythm of the breath has been a repeated focus in many different meditative practices. The breath is much like a blacksmith's bellows providing oxygen to the fire. As we breathe deeply with rhythm, our energy is fed like the fire is fed. Energy then moves lower and settles further until a person feels the energy settle through the body and into the earth. This is the point which we feel grounded. Our body becomes still and our energy has settled into the lowest chakra where it mingles with the energy of the earth. An interesting tool I found to assist in this focus, and one that appealed to the monkeys in my mind, was a computer game called "The Journey to the Wild Divine" by the Wild Divine Project. The biofeedback helped me to bring attention to where my energy level was, consciously controlling my energy levels, and playfully practicing meditation. As the energy is focused and less scattered, when it combines with the grounding earth energy and awakens Kundalini energy. With focus and control, we can learn to direct the energy.
Focus #4 Balance Left and Right Brain Processing
I live in the United States where the left brain logical thought processes are valued above the creative and intuitive right brain side. Prior to the industrial and informational revolution, our society was unbalanced in right brained myths, legends, and superstitions. We have counter-maneuvered too far to the logical left brain which has put us out of balance in the opposite direction. As children, our right brains are very active and our left brains need developing. In my experience, any right brain activity was shunned and left brain logic was pounded into me. I became unbalanced in a very left-brained sort of way. Life lost its spark, meaning, and joy. A good example is having a pet dog. A pure left brain dog owner would have the dog dissected and preserved in pieces in jars upon a shelf with piles of books and documents about how the dog fits together and functions. The pure right brain dog owner would rejoice with the dog when they are together and happy. The left brain will point to the jars and will say "It is a dog" and will not feel the dog's love because all that is seen is pieces. The right brain will see the joy but will not have a logical way to distinguish when something is wrong (eg. like a toothache causing pain). Whatever side you favor in your mental processing is less important than finding the middle balance.
Focus #5 Open the Heart and Standing in your Power
The next two energy chakras work well together and poorly if separately. Power without heart makes a tyrant and heart without power makes a doormat. I believe it is critically important to develop these energy centers in tandem. Loving heart meditations are abundant from HeartMath Institute practices to Miotek Wirtkus's heart focus meditation. I have found that opening my heart energy in a loving way can be practiced continually. It does take practice to remember to do it. I practice when the phone rings. I practice when I go to the bank. I practice when the guy cuts me off in traffic. I practice making supper for my family or folding my grandaughter's laundry. I imagine that I am giving off a little loving energy ball that will be absorbed where it is most needed. You can attach a loving energy ball to a carton of milk for the next person who shops as a random act of kindness.
Once the heart energy is open, I have noticed that there is a magnetic attraction that brings forth the 'energy needy'. These people have not learned how to maintain their own energy and will leach your energy in many ways. From the drama queens to the violent outburst, there are multiple way in which other people will hook into our 'heart-strings' to drain us completely. This is the reason why some people close off their hearts to other people and why we need to develop our own power chakra.
The power chakra is right below the ribcage. We learn to create boundaries and stand in our truth by developing this energy. We skillfully learn to bat away the attempts to tap into our energy. One resource for information in this area is Don't Bite the Hook by Pema Chodron. I have met people who filter their love energy through their power chakra. This is when a person only loves when they are in charge, in control, or feel powerful. Love is lessened when it is conditional and lessens the energy. When we add power to the heart energy, it becomes a stronger energy.
Focus #6 Thoughts are Things
When the heart energy is powerfully, fully-charged and we know how to release it, then it is our thoughts that give this energy direction. Going through the previous steps, we are aware of what is going on in our minds and now we see that energy is directed to "feed" the thought. If we have a negative thought that haunts our minds, we decide to stop feeding energy to that thought and start to feed a better thought. Affirmations are a good way to accomplish this. Affirmation must have the subtle energy charging them to be effective. This may be where the 'Law of Attraction' has made an error in explaining. The law of attraction works when we feed the energy that goes out to the universe. It is not the thought that attracts, the thought directs the energy to what you want to attract. I met a man who planned to use the law of attraction to think about being an author of a best selling book. When I asked him where he was in the process of writing, he told me that I must not understand the law of attraction. Apparently, he felt that a book would materialize in the bookstore with his name on which would make him famous ... without writing a single page. Now I believe that if his heart, mind, and power were all generating enough energy for long enough, that circumstances may magnetically pull a publisher into this man's life. Yet, sadly, using only the thought without the rest is why the law fails for some.
Focus #7 Imagery Exercises- Down the Rabbit Hole
In the previous focus, energy was sent out. In this focus, we are changing our awareness to understanding and experiencing the energy outside of ourselves. The easiest start would be a technique I read in Therapeutic Touch where a person would attempt to feel the energy of the person sitting next to him or her by expanding your own energy awareness boundary. Many people already do this on an unconscious level. As I meet my best friend for lunch, I unconsciously expand my energy when I wonder how she is feeling today. I pick up the thought that something is not right and ask what is wrong. She then goes into a discussion about an argument with her brother.
Now that we have learned our own energy and focus and control, we can direct our attention to other energy. Energy not only in other people, but in plants, animals, rocks, the earth, buildings, gatherings, space, time, and anything you can conceive of. Energy will speak to you in images that you have obtained through your life experiences in symbolic ways. This means that a picture is worth a thousand words and a symbolic picture of the energy is much easier to relate than a logical flowing dissertation that appeals to the left brain. If you asked me about the energy of my brother, (and in a perfect representation I wouldn't have any human errors or biases) it would be a quick and easy representation to say "He is like a mousetrap that is spring loaded and ready to snap anyone who takes the bait". You would understand at a deeper and more comprehensive level than if I would try to explain in detail the psychological undercurrents, the thought processes, and the expected manifestation of actions.
Just like Alice in Wonderland going down the rabbit hole to explore a whole new world, through imagery exercises we can explore energy realms beyond ourselves. One of the imagery exercises that I recommend to the beginner would be a combination of meditation and creative journal writing. Another exercise for beginners that I am quite fond of is dream incubation. Prior to meditation or sleeping, focus on some energy you would like to explore. Then write what comes to mind or what you dreamed about. Do not sensor what doesn't make logical sense. Energy will speak in symbols to give a good picture. Likewise, energy will scan your 'mind-symbol dictionary' for the best representation of the energy. Each person's dictionary is different therefore it is important to get to know your unique understanding. As we expand awareness and understand energy out to the edges of the universe, we begin to see how we are all interconnected.
I am grateful to the Association of Research and Enlightenment for hosting the Bioenergy conference which launched my quest into vibrational energy. The introductory weekend seminar was an inspirational 'tip-of-the-iceberg'. I am also grateful to Atlantic University for allowing me to self-explore this concept in greater detail in a directed studies course. All the previous classes I participated in were pieces of a puzzle. This class is the change in focus that allowed me to see the finished product. For me, this course's directed study in vibrational and subtle energy brought together every class I took and every experience fit within this framework. This is what I expected to learn when I enrolled for my master's degree even before I knew what I expected to learn.
Bibliography
Becker, Robert O. M.D. and Gary Selden The Body Electric Harper New York, NY 1985
Bek, Lilla and Philippa Pullar Healing With Chakra Energy: Restoring the Natural Harmony of the Body Destiny Books Rochester, Vermont 1995
Gerber, Ricard M.D. A Practical Guide to Vibrational Medicine: Energy Healing and Spiritual Transformation Quill/Harper Collins New York, NY 2001
Gerber, Richard M.D. Vibrational Medicine: The #1 Handbook of Subtle-Energy Therapies Bear & Company Rochester, Vermont 2001
Krieger, Dolores Ph.D., R.N. The Therapeutic Touch: How To Use Your Hands to Help or to Heal Fireside Book by Simon & Schuster New York, NY (first edition 1979) 1992
Modaro, Linda "Discovering Chi: The Complete Series DVD" Terra Enertainment /Triple Triangle Company Los Angeles, CA 2006
Weston, Walter Emotional Release Therapy: Letting Go of Life's Painful Emotions Hampton Roads Publishing Company Charlottesville, VA 2006
Weston, Walter Healing Others Hampton Roads Publishing Company Charlottesville, VA
Willemsen, Bernard Beyond A Shadow: The Path of The Spirit Quasar Books Winnipeg, Canada 1997
Willemsen, Bernard Don't Water the Stick: The Path of The Psyche Quasar Books Winnipeg, Canada 1996
*Lisa Frish can be reached at lfrish@lsol.net
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II.
The Candle Exercise
By
Allison Carlson**
I decided to do Mietek's Candle Exercise every other day for 20 days. It was Cayce that said "In the application comes the awareness". At first I thought I would do it every day; but because of the depth at which this exercise touched me I felt that doing it every other day would be healthier spiritually, mentally and physically.
A brief description of the exercise is as follows. Focus on a burning candle about 5 feet in front of you. Make sure you are sitting comfortably and your spine is straight. Look at the flame and keep your eyes half open during the exercise. Once you are settled evoke the feeling of the energy ball between your hands. If you find it difficult to make the energy ball just imagine yourself removing the flame from the candle and placing the warmth of that flame at the root chakra. This may create a warm, tingling feeling or a vibration in the root chakra. Hold the flame there for a short while and then begin to move it up to the spleen chakra, solar plexus, heart, throat and third eye chakras. After you reach the third eye you can move the energy clockwise around your head and then send it to the source of the highest energy. You can do this any way you understand it. NOTE: when you repeat this exercise always start at the root charka.
I began my candle exercise experiment and immediately noticed that my mind would not settle into what I was trying to do. I thought about everything but what I was doing. Should I go to the grocery store before lunch or after lunch? What are the kids going to have for dinner? Where is my purse, did I put the car keys in my purse or are they on the table? Why can't I concentrate? It was a bit frustrating. I finished as best I could and tried it again in two days.
I tried the exercise first thing in the morning before anyone was stirring around my house and before my mind began to make lists of things to accomplish for the day. I evoked the energy ball and placed it on my root charka. Because I am working with the astral level in this exercise I knew I would be experiencing emotional triggers as I passed through each chakra. Mietek said, "If there is an emotional release do not hesitate to scream or cry". This way the chakra is able to cleanse itself. Perhaps knowing that I was going to be touching on some emotional triggers my mind just would not let me go there the first few tries.
The root charka is where the emotional energy of my birth is held. It is also where some people experience difficult events in their lives. I felt the emotional collection of not having family support in this center. This lack of support was very strong in the root charka as I passed the energy through. I had several strong emotional releases while holding the energy ball in this area. All the releases stemmed from memories of my family and the way I was treated throughout my life. I always felt as though I was never good enough. I always felt as though I never really mattered to my parents. It was a very tiring experience as the emotional trigger made me realize that I held a lot of resentment and fear pent up in the root charka ... all focused toward my family. Releasing this anger and fear and leaning toward forgiveness brought me to a place where I could step back and look at how far I have come and how valuable the experiences and awareness of the experiences have been to me. I actually felt in some way the physically release of energy, as if some unneeded part was removed from me.
As I moved to the spleen charka throughout the experiment I noticed each time I had the energy ball in that area I was peaceful, able to bask in the softness of the moment. I was clear in this charka or at least that is how it felt. Sometimes I found the energy to be a little thick to move through but the majority of the time the spleen charka was clear.
When I would reach the solar plexus charka I needed to stay there a while longer. This chakra is where we hold our personal power. I could see that standing in my power really meant not letting anyone in to hurt me. This really opened my eyes because I saw for the first time that I was still in a protective mode from my family and friends and I was not being true to who I really am. This allowed me to become aware of when I was not "letting" others in. It seemed like I could barely cleanse the vibration of anger, jealousy and lack of family support. But once I realized I was holding back from standing in my truth I would then stop myself and consciously reframe my reaction.
The solar plexus chakra was blocked with jealousy, and deep seeded anger. I thought to myself, damn where is this coming from? It was like black thick pollution that I could barely move through the first 8 times I tried. I realized after the experiment was finished that I have been able to do a lot of clearing around my family but I still have more work to do. This chakra is still pretty polluted with negative energy. I will continue to try to clear the vibration of jealousy and anger as this cleansing process is a life long journey to wholeness. Out of all the charkas I worked though the solar plexus charka was the most difficult. I believe it is a difficult chakra to clear because of my perceived childhood wounds and my 20 years as an entrepreneur.
I know exactly what it means when someone says follow your gut. I have learned by not doing so it can be detrimental to not only your business life but your family life as well. The solar plexus is where I would always feel something around my businesses. If I did not "go with my gut" it always turned out less than favorable.
The heart charka was the center where no matter what I was feeling I would cry. Sometimes I think I cried from all the love and compassion I feel from others and for others. My heart center has been opened wide as a result of this candle exercise. I find that I am more patient and kind without being so protected. When I am in this center I feel a love that can heal all wounds; a love that is non judgmental. I would have to say I feel a perfect love as if God himself came done to earth and hugged me as though I was his only child. It is almost ineffable how truly amazing this center felt as I did the exercise.
As I moved the energy ball to the throat charka I noticed the energy would get clogged. I felt the reason for the clog is because I am clogged with writers block. The throat center holds the energy of creativity and expression. I have been writing so many "have to" papers lately (TS590) that I feel my creativity stifled. I have never been one to read and then write about something I cannot talk about to others. I tried to move the energy though the throat charka and could almost physically feel my throat clogged. Releasing the clog is extremely important. Mietek suggest singing to release a clogged throat. I don't sing very well but I was willing to try anything. I will attest to the fact that singing unclogs the throat charka, and in my case singing even cleared my dogs' throat chakra by howling at my singing. It was not easy to do in the beginning but like Meitek says, "the how is in the doing".
Mietek explains when we move the energy from the throat chakra to the third eye and out through the crown chakra we may feel a tingling sensation on or around our face. This may occur because when we move energy outside of the body it has a corresponding change in the internal body. This was good for me to know as it was almost exactly what happened each time I moved the energy from the throat to the third eye to the crown chakra.
As I held the energy in my third eye chakra I saw with my mind's eye many significant events that have occurred in my life. Some of the events were very emotional like the death of my father. It was very important for me to release this feeling of deep sadness. It was one of the ways I have been able to deal with the loss of this great man and move more toward acceptance. Mietek said that if we can't let the emotional trigger go while we are moving the energy through the chakra it may cause us to have a headache after the exercise is complete. I did experience two headaches when I did the work around my father's death. The next time I would do the exercise and I would reach the third eye center I would focus on the release of emotions while visualizing healing energy in the energy ball. This seemed to help me tremendously.
When I would reach the crown chakra I would release it however I understood or felt to do so. Mietek was not about having you do this his way, it was about doing it the way you felt moved to do it. I would circle my head clockwise with the energy ball and release it to God. I would visualize God taking from me what I did not need and then touching my head with his hand full grace. This would end my exercise and leave me with a sense of peace and comfort for the rest of my day. Along with the peace was a tiredness that came with the emotional release but the tiredness was over shadowed by the peace and grace in which I ended the exercise.
The candle exercise helped me to release emotional baggage that I have carried with me for life times. I believe if I continue this exercise and others suggested by Meitek and other bioenergy healers not only will I be able to purify my chakra centers but I will be able to teach others how to do the same, passing on the gift of clarity one chakra at a time.
**Allison Carlson can be reached at allisongcarlson@yahoo.com