INSIGHTS
The Healing Paths of theRadical Spiritualist
ROBERT EGBY
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Copyright 2010 Robert Egby
Smashwords Edition
Cover design by: Kimberly Martin
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles, reviews and books with suitable credits.
First published:in print by Three Mile Point Publishing April 2010
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Acknowledgments
The author would like to express his deepest appreciation and thanks to the following for their invaluable assistance in the creation of this book.
On Planet Earth: Betty Lou Kishler for proofreading, advice and simply being there. You are loved.
Spirit World: Paul, Chang, Barbara, Isabel, Patrick and Iro, a beautiful team known to me as the Love and Light Brigade. “The Quest” and this book “Insights” would not have happened without you.
And to Tom Passey, dowser extraordinaire, who shared with me his incredible insights into Cosmic Energy.
To Ken Kishler for his cover photograph.
And to all the pilgrims, students and sages who stopped by on their Paths to share wisdom.
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION: A GIFT OF THE SPIRIT
1. A HEALING SOMEWHERE IN TIME
2. RELAXATION, THE KEY TO GOOD HEALTH
3. CREATING A SANCTUARY OF THE MIND
6. IN THE PATHS OF THE MASTERS
8. PAST LIVES: A FORCE FOR HEALING
9. DOWSING: THE SWINGING HEALER
10. JAIME AND THE DEADLY BEDROOM
11. PRANA, MORE THAN JUST ENERGY
12. JERICHO AND THE POWER OF SOUND
14. GUIDES, ANGELS AND HELPERS
15. THE RELUCTANT SPIRITUALIST
16. THE ULTIMATE HEALING: SPIRIT RESCUE
17. LIVING WITH YOUR RIGHT COLOR
18. IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE SHABD
19. SHARING THE LIGHT BEYOND THE VEIL
BOOKS AND CONNECTIONS FOR STUDY
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INTRODUCTION: HEALING, A GIFT OF THE SPIRIT
Since writing “The Quest of the Radical Spiritualist” I have been asked by a lot of people, what is the difference between a Spiritualist and a Radical Spiritualist?
The Spiritualist believes there is no such thing as death. To be honest, there is a death. It is a death of the human body. It ceases to function. But the spirit, the soul lives on and moves on. Normally, it clears the physical world and makes a transition into the Spirit World where it continues to develop spiritually in a World that is far more complex, far more beautiful than the Earth Plain. I say “normally” because, as we shall see, some get “stuck in transition,” and a rescue becomes a healing.
Spiritualists on Earth believe and practice communication with Spirits of loved ones and friends that have gone on. Even Pope Benedict said that he communicates with the former Pope now in Spirit. Spiritualists also practice spirit-directed hands-on healings in their churches and spiritual centers.
In addition they maintain a set of principles much like those proclaimed by the mainline churches, except they believe Jesus is not the Son of God, a product of an illogical virgin birth or any of the other man-made claims designed and attributed to Jesus by the Universal Church. Jesus was a great teacher, a healer and a medium. He too communicated with spirits. He too was a radical.
The problem is not the beliefs but the fact a substantial number of American and British Spiritualists plus many Spiritualist Churches are inactive socially. Some have Lyceums for the development of young people, but many others, have slipped into the dust of history. Spiritualists claim Spiritualism is a science and a philosophy, but they do little or nothing to substantiate these aspects.
Science and Philosophy need recorded data. Proving that you can communicate with loved ones every Sunday, or perform some hands-on healing where few, if any records are kept, leaves a lot to be desired. The fascination and attraction of Sunday messages becomes like the rerun of an old Cecil B. DeMille movie: it was great in its day, but now does not impress many people, particularly newcomers to the ranks..
The Radical Spiritualist has the same basic beliefs as the Spiritualist, but he and she is an activist, an explorer, a person who seeks facts and strives for scientific information. He or she learns from the masters, both worldly and in Spirit, and goes on to develop themselves. They are alert for opportunities. They use the mediumistic ability of communication to ask questions of teachers and sources in the Spirit World. They gather around them dedicated radical spiritualists whose vision is to learn, then spread the word to a hungry world.
A hungry world? Absolutely! Researchers say people are leaving the mainline churches in search of God. They ardently seek a higher, more mature view of spirituality than that offered by the spiritually bankrupt dictums written by Constantine’s gang of bishops for mass-control seventeen centuries ago.
But spiritual maturity is difficult to conceive in an every-day environment where people are becoming sick through a bombardment of fears prompted by news of wars, terrorism, detection screens, swine flu, collapse of the financial system, a loss of hard earned savings, threats of socialism, corrupt politicians and mainline church abuse of children..
Many a person’s confidence in the American health system is steadily being undermined by television commercials for pharmaceutical products that are supposed to heal but are accompanied by a flock of alarming contraindications. These are side effects that may maim and even kill you. They prompt even more stress, anxiety and psychological problems. Combine all this with family relations under pressure, and it is little wonder that people are stressed, anxious and popping pills like candies – pills that may have adverse effects..
It’s time for Spiritualists and spiritually-minded folk to get involved in healing. But while gallant and traditional, it is not enough for Spiritualists to offer hands-on healing at church services on Sundays. Most such healing services go unannounced anyway because the emphasis is always on mediumship and messages from loved ones and friends who have crossed over.
After a few attendances, newcomers realize the Spiritualist Church is just another church, somber, sober and boringly routine. Did God, Infinite Intelligence, the Creator, the Universal Mind who created a really neat and beautiful Universe want human beings to look so damned miserable when attending church?
Laughter has long been known as a great healing modality. Spiritualist Churches and groups could start their services and meetings by including ten minute laughter sessions. This is a sure-fire way to skyrocket energy. Why did kings, queens and knights of old have jesters? To make the flock laugh and take them out of the bleak side of life.
People are in desperate need of good, holistic healing and with it, the confidence that builds spiritual maturity. The good news is Spiritualists can offer both. There are many healing opportunities to be explored by the Radical Spiritualist bent on healing.
This book is designed to get you started on the Royal Highway or as the Spanish say El Camino Real. All healing takes place in an altered state of consciousness, in other words, one must be relaxed and focused. Don’t let the idea of trance put you off. Day-dreaming is an altered state of consciousness, and so it is when you are engrossed in a movie, a theater play or opera, or reading a good book. An effective healer must be focused and in an altered state.
A would-be healer with a negative ego or False Self problem needs to dump it, or as philosopher Paul Brunton says in one of his famous Notebooks, the ego must be crucified. We talk about dissolving the ego in this book, but if the ego is a major problem, one needs to study my earlier book Cracking the Glass Darkly and really break free.
Our adventures through the Healing Paths pass through a number of oases for the Radical Spiritualist, such as conscious relaxation or meditation, the value of self-talk, the power of imagery, dowsing and working with pendulums, the value of finding healing through past lives (even if you do not believe in reincarnation), working with sacred sounds and sound healing, color healing, therapeutic touch, the value of spirit guides, giving comfort to the dying and a much neglected aspect spirit rescue.
For some pilgrims along the Healing Paths it may be advantageous to become “certified” but for the most part, the healing modalities offered in the book are designed for spiritually minded pilgrims who wish to extend their knowledge and “gifts of the spirit” to help heal themselves and those around them whether they are in church or privately in a home or office setting.
So what is a radical spiritualist? It is the fully conscious person who just does not only believe in spirit communications and the Afterlife, but lives with the knowledge and benefits of a higher life. The radical spiritualist may belong to a church or an organized spiritual group, or she and he may walk alone on the Healing Paths spreading love, light and knowledge. The radical spiritualist seizes every opportunity to broaden his or her understanding of God, the Universal Mind, and through developing spiritualist philosophy with scientific research and studies, work to help and heal the Human Family.
We are spiritual beings with enormous, mind-boggling potentials. As you walk and learn on the Healing Paths, the power of the human spirit will come as a powerful revelation. You may well hear or continue to hear God and spirit voices, but you will readily realize and appreciate the cosmic truth in healing. You have the power. And, always remember, Jesus the Sage of Gallilee started his ministry with a healing.
Love, Light and Blessings.
Robert Egby, Chaumont Bay, Lake Ontario, Chaumont, New York. April 2010
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CHAPTER ONE: A HEALING SOMEWHERE IN TIME
“If we attempted all things of which we are capable, we would literally astound ourselves.” - Thomas Edison, vi a Toastmasters Meeting agenda.
We were reclining in the shade sipping the Spirit World's version of mint juleps, which an Earthly bartender would have made with bourbon and sugar over crushed ice and flavoring or garnishing with mint. Paul vowed they were non-alcoholic. The group noted my quizzical expression.
“Nothing is what it seems,” Barbara noted dryly. “Particularly in the Spirit World.”
“And that goes for the Universe itself,” put in Isabel with a grin. Even on Earth she had possessed a devious sense of humor. “It’s little wonder that the seven or so billion humans wander about in a mixed up daze.”
“Let’s not get into abstractions,” said Paul firmly. “Robert asked us into his Sanctuary to assist with his book on healing.
“Isn’t that the realm of Chang, his spiritual healing guide?” asked Barbara.
A brilliant green energy ball materialized in the seat across the wicker table. Chang, still clinging to nineteenth century fashions wears a simple purple-gray Changpao, a long gown and a neat jacket. “You called?” his old wizened face grinned.
“For readers – and Robert – where would the healing road start? Paul eyed everyone across the top of the glass.
“In the Spiritualist Church,” suggested Barbara. “We had some excellent hands-on healers in our church.”
“What about Harry Edwards,” suggested Isabel. “Harry created the famous Spiritual Healing Sanctuary at Shere in Surrey and it attracted thousands from all over the world. Everyone wanted to be healed. He did some great work.”
“Harry’s been over here for some time,” added Paul. He conducts energy sessions for new arrivals who still cling to their Earthly ailments.”
“The ancient Greeks and the Egyptians had what they called their sleep temples,” he continued. “In the fifth and fourth centuries BCE, there were over 400 such Greek institutions. The afflicted person was placed in a deep trance, similar to sleep, and the god Æsculapius would perform seemingly miraculous cures.
“Priests inducted the patients into a deep trance through chanting and toning, much the same as you perform Sound Healing. The patients would be kept in a trance state for three days, in which time they were given healing suggestions, much like you do in hypnosis these days. The temples attracted many spirits and were great places for both mental and physical healing.“ Paul sniffed, then added: “Of course, the whole lot was wiped out by Flavius Theodosius in AD 391, aided and abetted by the early Christian fanatics.”
Chang studied a white clay pipe he enjoyed smoking. “The Chinese people have always been closer to the earth than people now. They knew the harm Geopathic Zones or Black Streams could cause to unwitting victims some 4,000 years ago and families avoided building their homes on such places. They also called them Dragon Lines.” The old Chinese doctor who last lived on Earth in 1893, dug into his satchel and pulled out a piece of white bone. He showed it to the group. I asked him what it was and he gave it to me to hold.
The wizened face grinned easily. “It is an oracle bone. Made from the shoulder bones of an ox. Turtle bones also served. As you see it is covered with Chinese writing, and note there is a crack in it. A person who required the answer to a question, or needed healing with herbs, would ask a priest or a shaman. The priest would heat the bone, and how it burned and split, would then divine the answer from the bone’s condition. In recent years, many such artifacts have been found in certain parts of China.”
His hand reached out for the old bone. “But Robert, tell the people about the Dragon Lines – geopathic stress – because they are injuring and even killing people in many countries.”
Barbara looked first at Isabel, then back to Paul: “You mentioned recently that in your research you had discovered that toning, spirit communications and imagery date back to the time of the Cro-Magnons, the people who lived in Europe as the Ice Age receded.”
Paul nodded reluctantly and sighed. “Barbara, you sure like to stir things up.” He stopped, paused and stared at me through grey eyes that twinkled, almost mischievously. “Robert, want to go into another dimension?”
“Like astral projection?”
“Nah! That’s Psychic 101 stuff. This is a technique some of the boffins developed. You’ll like it.”
There was really no time to protest and counter with: “Can we do it another time?” It just happened. In a blink. Here was I meditating with my consciousness in my Sanctuary of the Mind, generally a peaceful garden, and surrounded by my spirit guides, when suddenly I was somewhere else and it was black. Dead black. A strong hand held my neck.
“Stand up. You’ll feel solid ground under your feet.” It was Paul. “Start walking, I will guide you.”
“Where the heck are we?”
“In a cave, somewhere in Europe,” he said. “If you believe in time – we are now 15,000 years back, looking for the Cro-Magnons.
“Can you see where we are going?”
“Sure. Can’t you?”
“No.”
“You’d better do some more work on your psychic vision.” His hand zipped across my brow chakra.
Suddenly the cave broadened out and oil lamps and torches created an almost eerie, misty glow across the expanse of the cavern. A dozen human figures attired in animal furs and pelts fashioned into clothes, moved slowly across the scene, oblivious of our presence. Simple scaffolding reached up to the ceiling, and three figures were perched on top.
“What are they doing?” I asked.
“Painting, drawing,” said Paul easily. “They are painting bisons. If you look through the smoke and haze you’ll see more.” The air seemed to clear and I spotted pictures of horses, an hyena, several lions and two more bison.”
“Why are the men painting animals?”
“What makes you think they are men?” Barbara joined in from behind Paul. “The artists are women.
“Encylopedias and such always refer to cave painters as men,” I put in defensively.
“Sure!” snapped Barbara, “Remnants of a male oriented society. But note this, most of the relics found in the caves belong to women but a male-oriented archeology attributed them to males.”
Paul chipped in quickly. “In your practice, you teach and encourage imagery to achieve an objective. Such as, if you want a car you image yourself driving the car you desire. Well, here, the Cro-Magnon, as you call them, the women are imaging successes for the men, the hunters who are out there chasing the creatures that provide furs and pelts, meat for the families and animal fats and oils for cooking and lamps. Animal bones are used for carvings and ornaments.”
As he was speaking the artists descended and everyone stood in a circle. On a fur mat spread on the dusty floor a heavily set man, gasping for breath, lay huddled, writhing in agony among warm animal blankets. The women in the circle started with a very low chant which then sounded like a long pronounced “who” It sounded more like a sigh, a soft breath that produced a long, humming hooooo.
“It’s a mantra,” said Chang. “Hu is a mantra of deep power. It was one of the first words of power that were sounded in the evolution of humankind. It is still used in many mystery schools, and indeed by mystics and others.”
“The injured hunter was gored by a mammoth. He’s lost much blood and is waiting to die,” added Paul.
“Presumably this is sound healing,” I suggested, but the moment I said it, I realized I was out of my depth.
“Not exactly,” he said diplomatically. “They are calling for a messenger to help them. They have discovered that if they stand in certain places in the caves, and make specific sounds, a spirit-messenger will emerge and help them.
“We are watching one of the early séances,” said Isabel with her usual excitement.
Somewhere in the far reaches of the cave, a small ball of light, a glittering silvery orb, started to float out of the darkness. It hovered for several seconds near the newly painted bison on the ceiling, as if reviewing it, then suddenly dropped into the center of the circle.
In the space of one second, it became transformed into a tall woman, elegant in glittering robes. She smiled as she watched the faces of the women in the circle.
“Who is she and what is she saying. I cannot hear,” I said to Paul.
“Eelilith,” he said. “Her name is Eeilith, and in this age she is what you would call a spirit guide or a shaman for the community. She is a messenger, an ascended teacher and healer, some might call her a goddess. In our time she is what you would call ascended. She lives and works with the god-force. Her strong points are communication and healing.”
“I sense she is talking, but I cannot hear.”
“You would call it telepathy. It’s mind talk, much like you use in mediumship, and we use it in Spirit. The Cro-Magnons found it easier to converse in telepathy before they learned to express words and sentences orally. Spoken words are cumbersome and often misleading. In telepathy you talk in imagery, whether it represents images, suggestions or words. There are many levels and channels in telepathy. Most Earth people lack an understanding of telepathy. It’s the standard communication medium in our world.
As he spoke, Eelilith’s form reduced and became a beautiful orb. It quickly circled the group of women, flew low over the heads, did a tight spiral over the injured man and suddenly disappeared through his mouth into his head.
“Our hunter is being healed,” said Paul softly. “It happens a lot on Earth without sick people realizing it. A spirit enters the body of a sick person, heals them, and next morning the person has made a sudden recovery.”
There was a book, I told the group, called “The Scole Experiment” by Grant Solomon that told of the activities of mediums in the mid-1990s at the village of Scole in Norfolk, England. A spirit was seen to enter the body of one of the researchers and conduct a healing.
“Same sort of thing,” said Paul with a smile. “There’s nothing under new the sun.”
Eelilith suddenly reappeared as an orb out of the hunter’s stomach. She flew round the circle again, hovered for a few seconds in front of Paul, then enveloped my head with an incredible light. A soft but commanding voice announced: “You will remember everything of this healing, and you will mention the women. They need recognition, Robert.”
In a second the goddess was gone. My head felt as if a thousand photographers’ flash bulbs had gone off. Paul steadied me. “You may like to know the hunter is standing up now and is completely healed.”
“That’s a miracle” said Isabel. “She performed a miracle.”
Paul smiled. “Not true. You just have to work on your understanding of energy.” He paused, then added: “Eelilith is a messenger. She carried and applied God’s healing. It is good to remember, dear ones, that all healing comes from God.”
Another flash and I was back in my Sanctuary of the Mind, Paul and the others had gone. I brought myself to full waking consciousness in my home. Thirsty, I walked to the kitchen for a drink, and as I passed the bathroom mirror, I stopped and looked at my face. It was incredibly tanned as if I had been in the hot sun all day.
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CHAPTER TWO: RELAXATION, THE KEY TO GOOD HEALTH
Cicero, the great Roman orator once said: “A happy life begins with the tranquility of the mind.”
“Trance! You won’t get me into no damned trance. Nobody is going to control my mind,” snorted the smoker one day. “I’m in charge of my head and that’s that.”
“Sir, if you are in charge of your mind, you can quit smoking all by yourself, quite easily,” said the therapist firmly. “Good-bye!”
Just about everyone on the planet goes into trance states several times a minute. It is called daydreaming and it happens when a person has a break and finds there is nothing to do. Perhaps they are waiting for a bus, or sitting on a train and staring through a window, or maybe sitting in an office waiting for a call. Daydreaming occurs without our being conscious of it, and normally concludes when we realize the condition, and snap out of the state. It is a natural human state.
Daydreaming is an elementary form of meditation or self-hypnosis. It happens when the energy frequency of the brain quietly slips down from a Beta state to an Alpha state, It’s normally a visionary experience featuring pleasant thoughts of something past or something in the future. Daydreaming is never in the Here and Now. It usually takes the daydreamer away from his or her immediate environment into something positive.
People watching a person daydreaming often make fun of them or make deriding comments such as “He’s off on a different planet again” But daydreaming is also very useful for creative people such as designers and architects, composers and authors, movie-makers, research scientists and others. Daydreaming can be a vey positive meditative state. Nevertheless, it is recognized as a trance state, and it does open the gate to a whole new world of healthy living and healing. Why? Because it relaxes.
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UNDERSTANDING BRAIN WAVES AND ENERGY
Some years ago, I explained brain waves and energy to an eighty-three year old lady named Tillie who could not understand why she kept on nodding off and “having some nice dreams with my sweetheart” and then coming back to full consciousness. “Charlie’s been dead twenty years, so what is going on in my upper storey?” So here’s what I explained.
In a nutshell there are four classification levels of brain waves and they are called Beta, Alpha, Theta and Delta. Let’s look at each one, because it helps to understand meditation and healing and life in general.
Beta waves: These are fast paced and flow at the rate of between 14 and 30 cycles per second (CPS). Most people in their daily lives have an average beta level of 20. This level rises and falls depending on activities, emotions such as excitement, anxiety and stress. Impatience, enthusiasm, anger, ecstasy, fear and jealousy can and do play havoc with Beta waves.
People in careers and activities governed by time and space normally have elevated brain wave activity. If this activity is sustained for excessive periods over months and years, the person suffers burnout or catastrophic sickness. Prolonged high brain wave activity reduces the body’s immune system and resistance to disease.
Metaphysical activity such as meditation, self-hypnosis, spirit communication rarely if ever take place in the Beta state. Self-healing or natural healing is slow to take effect in Beta which is why health professionals will tell a sick patient to “go home and rest.” Doing nothing takes one out of Beta and slips you into Alpha.
Alpha waves: This is the category where brain waves vibrate between 8 and 13 cycles. Daydreams, meditation, self-hypnosis and conscious relaxation all take place at various levels in Alpha. Mediums and healers work in this state because Alpha is great for conscious healing – and prayer and contacting spirits.
This is the region of the creators – writers, artists, composers, photographers and others. Alpha allows concentration and selective focusing. Many progressive students study in this state. Memory retention and memory access are enhanced here.
Have you ever wondered why young children learn so quickly? The fact is most children live in the Alpha state until they are seven or eight years old. This is the reason why some parents fail to communicate well with young children because the elder is in active Beta and the child is the relaxed Alpha. Want to communicate with your child? Relax in Alpha and start communicating on the child’s level. Children in Alpha find it easy to see spirits and psychic phenomena.
If you are into metaphysics and wish to communicate with loved ones or friends and spirit guides on the Other Side, you had better be in trance in the Alpha state, because in Beta will not work.
Have you ever wondered after driving home, how you got there so quickly, or while reading a book or watching an engrossing movie, time just disappeared, but you felt good afterwards. Chances are you were in alpha.
The alpha state is ideal for reducing stress and anxiety and accelerating healing. More on this later.
Theta waves: These waves vibrate at between 4 to 7 CPS and this state is ideal for deep meditation and self-hypnosis. Also most of our dreams occur in Theta. Everyone passes through this state of consciousness on the way to sleep and returns through Theta when waking up in the morning. Dreams, good and bad take place in Theta. Conscious Theta meditation is an excellent basis for reducing blood pressure (hypertension), pulse rate and visualizing improved circulation. It is also ideal for creative people searching for ideas in the Cosmos, astral travel and out of body experiences, and for psychic researchers. (I was in theta when we traveled back in time to the Cro-Magnons in the previous chapter.)
One of the downsides of meditating in Theta is the inclination to “trip out” or go to sleep and miss your objective especially performing imagery. If this is the case, practice meditation sitting upright in a chair and work to stay in Alpha.
Delta waves: Brain wave activity drops to between 2 and 7 CPS and is the region of deep sleep. This is where total rest, rejuvenation and recuperation occur. Dreams are rare, and researchers say we normally sleep in Theta, but we drop down into Delta several times during the course of a good night’s sleep. Prolonged stay in Delta rarely occurs, except for people recovering from serious mental or physical injury. Again, lack of Delta sleep can result in serious disorders. Also astral travel does occur in this state, which is why many people fail to consciously recall what their souls did during the night.
As we tread the Healing Road let us discuss relaxation.
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WHAT IS RELAXATION?
Contrary to what most people think, relaxation does not mean feeling sleepy. It does not mean stationary as opposed to moving. It is not about doing nothing, or being lazy, or putting less effort into something. You can be wide awake and perfectly relaxed. You can be moving quickly and expending energy and still be relaxed. You could even be engaged in intense physical combat and be supremely relaxed. All in Alpha.
Relaxation is the basis of meditation, self-hypnosis and conscious relaxation. You might wish to know that all hypnosis, the clinical stuff administered by a doctor or a certified hypnotherapist, is always self-hypnosis. You cannot be hypnotized against your will. You must wish or consciously allow it to happen.
Now, having said that, you should also realize that when you watch a movie, read a good book, take in a good show at the theater, you are normally in a light Alpha trance state.
This is why the Madison Avenue advertising gurus plant their messages on popular television shows. The trade is fully conscious that millions of people are totally unaware they are viewing television in a highly receptive altered state of consciousness and that is a powerful mode for teaching.
While on the subject, you might like to know that the subconscious mind never sleeps. You might be fast asleep on the sofa while the television is still working and your subconscious mind is faithfully listening to all those commercials. The subconscious learns through repetition. So now you know why commercials are frustratingly repeated. It’s all to influence your mind.
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STRESS, THE SILENT KILLER
If you spend much of your day in the Beta state, chances are you are suffering some level of stress. Life in many of the so-called advanced countries has substantially increased its pace in the last fifty years, and with technology spearheading the way, life is not expected to get slower any time soon. In other words, the need to handle stress is becoming more and more acute as the days pass.
Many jobs require workers to hide their true feelings, so they never get a chance to sound off, not unless they wish to find another mode of employment. People with high stress can be found in such work as teaching, medicine, social services, fire fighting and rescue, law enforcement and customer service. Others are found in information technology, any of the fields of finance, engineering, sales and marketing, and in legal secretarial work.
Various studies clearly show that high stress jobs frequently result in overeating, smoking, excessive drinking of coffee (caffeine) and / or alcohol, increased blood pressure, yielding to sickness and depression, or break-up of relationships or worse – suicide.
On April 28th 2008, Newsweek reported that every year, between 300 and 400 doctors take their own lives. That’s roughly one a day. No other profession has a higher suicide rate.
Our lifestyle, it seems, is creating more havoc in our lives than any terrorist planning an attack on this country.
But stress in the Beta state is not restricted to working adults, sometimes teens feel so depressed they consider ending their lives, reports Mental Health America. Each year, almost 5,000 young people, ages 15 to 24, kill themselves. The rate of suicide for this age group has nearly tripled since 1960, making it the third leading cause of death in adolescents and the second leading cause of death among college age youth. Independent experts say apparent insecurity, rapid life changes, confusing cultures and ideologies, and persistent alarm and despondency in the news media create chronic stress in young minds.
In all of this, the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical industry plies its lucrative wares after being promoted by commercials that always say “check with your doctor” which is a great way of saying, if the doctor gives it to you, it must be good. Yes, there is a place for pharmaceutical products in our lives, but it has become a growing obsession, an elixir, a remedy for stress and all that ails you.
Growing numbers of doctors are prescribing relaxation, meditation and imagery training when patients are suffering from chronic stress and sickness. However these should be taught at an early age, ready for the pressures of life that lie ahead. Looking at the stress that plagues society today, one wonders how inept our leaders were, not to have openly and actively promoted it for the younger people. They could have saved billions of dollars in health care and a lot of lives.
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THE PHYSICAL BENEFITS OF RELAXATION
There are many health benefits to be gained from spending fifteen or twenty minutes each day, or even five days a week, in some form of relaxation.
First of all, relaxation in any altered state of consciousness will effectively slow down your heart rate. Now, if there’s any muscle in your entire body that needs some TLC – tender loving care – it’s your heart muscle. The average pulse rate in an adult male is about 72 BPM, while the average for an adult woman is 76 to 80. Stress and anxiety fuel the heart rate to go higher. When you relax on a regular basis, you will find that in many cases the pulse rate can drop to 60 to 65. Think about it. When you relax you are giving your heart muscle longer to rest in-between pumping blood. That’s a neat investment. In dollars it costs nothing, and it takes just a few minutes of your time. What a deal!
Relaxation or trance meditation can, in many cases, lower your blood pressure, and cause your breathing rate to slow down because your body needs less oxygen. The Mayo Clinic points out that relaxation can also increase blood flow to major muscles, reduce muscle tension and chronic pain, improve concentration, reduce anger and frustration, and boost your confidence to handle problems.
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SEND YOUR BODY A MESSAGE
There is a pronounced feeling among many people that relaxation is just being lazy, getting out of things. They feel they will not have enough energy to work, and will, perhaps, be laid off. Well, just the reverse is true. When you perform conscious relaxation, meditation, self-hypnosis or Yoga, the body, mind and spirit have time to recuperate.
These activities in altered states of consciousness are not sleeping. It is a time when you are sending a message to your body such as: “ I am totally relaxed. I am recuperating and being restored to optimal health. I say this in an aura of love and blessings.” Say it several times with conviction and you will find that when you arise, you have more energy than before. In addition, you will feel more alert, and are able to focus and exercise creative in any activity.
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RELAXATION MADE EASY
A very simple way of relaxing is concentrating on your breathing and you can do this anywhere when you need a few moments to let go. It comes from Buddhism. When you concentrate on your breathing for a while, your body becomes relaxed and your mind becomes peaceful.
* Sit in a comfortable position with your back straight.
* Place your hands in your lap with the left hand on the bottom.
* Keep your eyelids half-closed.
* Concentrate on the tip of your nose. Notice your breathing coming and going.
* After a few minutes, take one slow deep breath and as you breathe out say out loud: “Wide awake!” and be wide awake.
Now, you can go on and experience a more comprehensive technique for letting go.
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MUSCLES: SIMPLE BUT EFFECTIVE
This technique is an oldie but goodie. Fine a place where you will not be disturbed. Sit in a chair with your back fairly erect, head looking forward. Hands unclasped on your lap, fingers loose. Close your eyes and mentally focus on your body. Do not try to change anything.
In this technique you mentally observe your body doing its job, breathing in oxygen and breathing out carbon dioxide. Resist any judging or casting an opinion on how well or how bad you are doing.
Do this for two or three minutes, and you will notice as you finish, your breathing, your heart rate will have slowed down, and you will feel completely relaxed, restored and ready to get on with the business of living.
But think about this. What have you done? Basically nothing, you simply observed your body. And incredibly, it started to slow down.
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MUSCLE TENSING EXERCISE
The technique of progressive muscle tensing for relaxation dates back to the 1930s and a physician named Edmund Jacobsen who founded Progressive Muscle Relaxation and Biofeedback. Progressive muscle relaxation can be learned by just about anyone and requires only ten to 20 minutes a day to practice. (If you have muscle problems check the last paragraph in this section)
This technique will have you tensing and relaxing the muscle groups one at a time in a specific order, generally beginning with the lower extremities and ending with the face, abdomen, and chest. It’s best if you find yourself a place to lie down, either on a bed or sofa, or even a recliner.
Always wear loose comfortable clothing in any relaxation exercise, and never, ever hurry.
Now, while slowly breathing in, contract one muscle group. You might select your thighs or lower leg muscles, or even your feet. Tense the muscles for five to ten seconds, then exhale and suddenly release the tension in that muscle group. Give yourself perhaps twenty seconds to relax, and then move on to the next set of muscles.
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OBSERVE ANY CHANGES
As you release the tension, observe the changes you feel in the muscles and in your body generally as the muscle group is relaxed. If you want, mentally image any tension flowing down and away from your body as you relax in-between muscle tensing. Gradually and systematically work your way up your body contracting and relaxing different muscle groups.
Incidentally, this exercise is great for many insomniacs. Simply rest in bed and perform progressive muscle relaxation. Soon, you will find that you slip off into a deep healthy sleep.
As you practice this exercise on a daily basis, you will find symptoms of stress and anxiety fading out of your life, and your world will start to feel better. Also, when doing this exercise, observe if the body is telling you anything you need to know, but have not consciously suspected.
Another point, if you suffer from any muscle afflictions or rheumatic illness, check with your doctor first. As a hypnotherapist, I normally suggest people with rheumatoid arthritis refrain from this exercise and go more with the image relaxation techniques which are coming up.
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EXERCISE: BREATHING AND IMAGERY
Find yourself a quiet place where you will not be disturbed. Close any telephones and inform any people in the house that you are relaxing. It helps if the room has reduced light, like drapes drawn in daylight, or a soft light at night. Perhaps you might like a candle. Incense can be a good aid to relaxation too. Sandalwood is easy going. Perform this exercise either sitting up in a chair, or resting in a recliner or on a bed. You might enjoy lying on the floor on a carpet with your head on a pillow. It’s your choice, simply be comfortable.
Close your eyes, and just imagine you have nothing to do, nowhere to go, nothing to think about just to relax. Now, gently focus on your breathing. When you are ready, image or think that the next breath you breathe in is full of relaxation and it is invading your body through your lungs.
Now as you breathe out, imagine, just imagine all that relaxation is going down to your feet. Imagine your feet are relaxing.
Wait a couple of breaths, and then with the next breath, send the relaxation all the way down to your shins and calf muscles, and imagine those muscles are relaxing. Do this for all parts of your body, the thighs, the abdomen, your hips, waist, back, chest, hands, arms, shoulders, neck, head and face.
For the last breath, imagine that you are flooding all of your body with relaxation. One word of advice: Never, ever hurry relaxation, meditation, self-hypnosis, yoga or whatever. Always remember, whatever you imagine actually happens.
Perform this simple exercise and you will undoubtedly feel the healing process starting, and if you persist, the healing will intensify. Your stress and anxiety levels will drop, you will feel more in charge of yourself, the world will start to look a better place, you will sleep better, and have the opportunity of rebuilding relationships.
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GOING DEEPER AND DEEPER
No two states of relaxation are alike, and there will be a time when you wish to go deeper. Here’s a technique taught by one of my first hypnosis teachers, the knowledgeable Dr. A.M. Krasner who toured the country doing training seminars. His book The Wizard Within is an excellent training manual.
To go deeper into trance, just imagine or visualize a large blackboard in front of you. You have a piece of chalk in your hand and you begin to write the alphabet, one letter at a time, beginning with the large letter A. When you have written your A, erase it and then write a large letter B. See yourself as you erase the B, then proceed to write the next letter C. Keep on writing and erasing, writing and erasing and mentally saying to yourself: “Every time I erase a letter I go deeper and deeper into relaxation.” If your conscious mind “trips out” and forgets what you are doing, just pick up the alphabet wherever you think you left off. Keep on writing and erasing and going deeper. When you have reached a depth that feels right, stay at that depth for the rest of your session.
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COMING BACK TO FULL CONSCIOUSNESS
When you have been in an altered state for twenty minutes or so and wish to return to normal consciousness, perform the following technique.
Take in a slow deep breath, and as you breathe out slowly, say slowly and deliberately, “Wide awake! I am now wide-awake.” Or you can do the following by saying to yourself: “At the count of five I will be wide awake – one – two – three – four – five. Wide awake!”
All this of course raises the question: “What to do in those periods of relaxation or meditation?” The answer comes next.
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CHAPTER THREE: CREATING A SANCTUARY OF THE MIND
One of the most powerful and effective strategies to assist and encourage personal healing is to create a Sanctuary of the Mind. Performed in an altered state of consciousness, whether it is meditation, self-hypnosis or simple conscious relaxation, a Sanctuary of the Mind will enhance creative healing in many aspects. Your mind is close to the peak of creativity and healing when you are in any relaxed state. When you get the hang of it, relaxing or imagining in the Sanctuary of the Mind becomes quite easy, very effective and wonderfully appealing.
Before creating the Sanctuary make sure you are comfortable. Simply think of yourself letting go of any stress, any tensions that have no place in your life.
A Sanctuary of the Mind belongs to you. It is totally private, and no one – I repeat, no one – is allowed in your Sanctuary, unless they are invited by you, and then, they must enter by their own “visitor” gateway. When their visit is complete, they will either leave of their own accord, or at your request. You are always in charge in your Sanctuary.
The Sanctuary location is totally up to you. You can make it as big or as small as you wish. If it starts being small, do not be concerned, you always have the option to expand it.
Your Sanctuary can be anywhere your heart desires. Allow it to be your creation. You will be surprised at how creative your mind can be once you get started.
Some students have created sanctuaries on private tropical islands in the Pacific, a plateau high in the alps, a clearing deep in the forest, an island in the middle of a beautiful lake, and even a private old-world castle overlooking a majestic landscape of waterfalls and rivers coursing down valleys and gorges to the sea. Or it might be a secluded sandy beach overlooking a perfectly blue sea. Sanctuaries are always places of peace and beauty.
When you first create a Sanctuary of the Mind, do not be concerned that it appears so simple. Some of the most elementary sanctuaries have brought their owners extremely positive results.
As you visit your Sanctuary on a regular basis, you will find changes happening without warning. Things, such as trees, streams and bridges may move, or the flowers that were not doing well yesterday, are splendiferous today displaying a multitude of colors. Remember, a Sanctuary of the Mind is a living part of you and changes in occur quite often. It is simple evolution. Remember, you have evolved from the person you were yesterday and tomorrow you will be different from the person you are today. Simply observe any changes in the Sanctuary without judging.
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SETTING UP A SPECIAL PLACE
One more point. It’s advisable to have a Special Place in your Sanctuary. A Special Place is a base camp, a grounding point, a home, a launch pad for performing an exercise, or going on a mental excursion or having a spiritual rendezvous. The Place can be a bench, a recliner, a hammock stretched between two trees, a mat on the earth, or even a soft grassy or sandy bank. It is the place where you start and finish your meditation or hypnosis session. This is the place where you say to yourself: “I have nothing to do, nowhere to go, nothing to think about, just relax.”
Always remember, just by being in your Sanctuary is a stress-reducer. If you do nothing else but relax there for 15 minutes and observe the scenery, it will start to produce benefits.
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ENTRIES AND EXITS
It is always a good idea to have two entry points in your Sanctuary. One is for you and the other is for your visitors, such as Spirit Guides, Spirit Healers, Angels, Messngers and Loved ones from the Higher Levels. We will deal with this aspect later.
Your own entry point can be a simple garden gate which you open and close, or it might be something exotic like a door deploying fingerprint or iris reading security systems. Personally, I prefer the simple garden gate although at one time I used to have an old wooden fence with a style for climbing over. I prefer a simple, rustic Sanctuary with matching entrance points.
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AN ARCHWAY WITH A LOVE VIBRATION
If you are a beginner and not quite sure of yourself, the second entry point is a necessary requirement. For starters I suggest an archway. It can be an ancient arch made of stones or marble, or a modern archway built of concrete, granite or if you feel rich, have an arch made of polished titanium. It’s your choice. A necessary adjunct is to have a beam of pure white cosmic energy completely surrounding the arch, and the beam of light is always on a love vibration. Everyone who enters your Sanctuary has to pass through this beam of cosmic energy.
Occasionally, an uninvited personality may well appear. For instance, a young woman complained to me that every time she arrived in her Sanctuary, her mother – still very much alive and walking the Earth – would appear. In therapy, she cut her psychic ties with her very possessive and dominant mother. These things happen. As my old friend and colleague Tom Passey used advise students to say: “If any negative energy comes towards me it is immediately transmuted and converted into positive, loving energy.” The point of this is to reinforce your self-confidence when spirits are invited to come to visit.
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CUTTING A PSYCHIC TIE
How do you cut a psychic tie? See yourself in your Sanctuary with the person with whom you wish to sever your psychic tie. Have them standing about thirty yards away. See a string or cord stretching between your brow chakra, that’s the third eye in your forehead, just above the bridge of the nose, and their third eye. You are also armed with a pair of scissors in your hand.
This is where you need to be assertive and in charge. You have made up your mind to sever your psychic tie. There is no explanation, no reasons. Just do it.
State the following, or something similar: “There is no need for us to be psychically connected and I am Now cutting the tie that binds us. You go your way and I am going my way. Go with love and light.” At this point raise the scissors and cut the string or cord. The other person will promptly disappear from your Sanctuary.
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THE POWER TO MAKE IT REAL
The essential thing about a Sanctuary of the Mind is to make it real. If you have trouble mentally imaging a garden, go to one of the great horticultural gardens and sit there for a while, absorbing all you see and feel. A good, well developed and maintained park offers a similar opportunity. The same applies if your Sanctuary is on a remote and secluded sandy beach, or a meadow, a castle, a mountain, visit a similar location, if you can, and quietly observe everything around you. If you’re on a sandy beach, sit there and allow the sand to run through your fingers. Feel that sand in your mind.
A young woman attending one of my workshops, said: “I can’t image a tree.” I looked out the window. A large oak was across the lawn. “Go to that tree, put your hands on the trunk and really get the feel of the bark.” Twenty minutes later, she returned. “That’s fascinating. Now I can see the tree in my mind.”
Talking of trees, they are great for building energy, healing and restoring weakened immune systems.
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EXERCISE: THE HEALING TREE
When you are established in your Sanctuary of the Mind, create a special tree, something in your mind that resembles healing, strength and vitality. You might wish to select an oak tree. It is a common symbol of strength and endurance and has been chosen as the national tree of a number of countries throughout the world. Oaks are also the state trees of Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Prince Edward Island, New Jersey and Georgia. In history, the druids held their worship ceremonies under oak trees. The mighty oak does have a special power. But you can select any strong tree, just make sure it is a symbol of strength and power.
In your Sanctuary feel yourself standing close to the tree. Imagine raising your hands and placing them on the trunk. Allow your fingers to explore its bark. This is a wonderful imagery exercise. When you feel comfortable, gaze up through the branches of this great oak and observe the hundreds, perhaps thousands of leaves silhouetted against the blue sky.
Sense or believe that the Cosmos, the Universe is full of powerful, loving, cosmic healing energy and it is yours for the asking. Remember the words of the teacher: “Ask and you shall receive.” Well, it’s time to ask. Know that those thousands of leaves silhouetted against the sky are collectors or receptors of powerful cosmic healing energy and they are working for you.
Next, imagine that vital force, that wonderful loving, healing energy is flowing from the leaves through the upper branches, cascading down through the big branches down into the main trunk of the tree. As the energy reaches the level of your hands, it swirls like a powerful stream through your fingers and palms and arms into your body. Allow it to flood your entire being. Sense it, feel it. Imagine it flowing firmly and powerfully to your head, shoulders, arms, legs and torso. Parts of your body may well tingle, even become warm. Keep the energy running and know that any negative cell, any negative part of you is being transmuted and converted into a positive, healthy, vibrant part of your body. Allow the energy to flow like a stream, a river through your body before it flows into the ground.
This is one of the most powerful healing and revitalization exercises that anyone can perform. Maintain the flow for several minutes, or until your higher self concludes you have had enough for today. If you are sick, perform this exercise several times a day until you feel better.
When you have completed the exercise, return to your Special Place in your Sanctuary and relax for several minutes before coming back to full waking consciousness. One final point: Always thank the Creator, the Universe, the Cosmos or whoever you pray to for the healing.
Before we move on, you do not have to be sick to benefit from relaxing in a Sanctuary of the Mind. In fact, systematic relaxation performed on a regular basis, say twenty minutes a day for five days a week, can work wonders for wellness, reducing chronic stress, tension and normally strengthening the body’s immune system.
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OTHER THINGS TO DO IN YOUR SANCTUARY
If you are sick or recuperating from a sickness or an operation, you will probably need to create a Healing Center in your Sanctuary. Some people image Grecian, Roman or even pagan temples while others enjoy small amphitheaters with a marble or granite healing table in the center.
One type, popular among rustic-minded folk is having a small, intimate old-world cottage surrounded by herbs and flowers. Another is a spa where the flowing waters reduce chronic pain and instigate healing. We will be writing about the curative powers of water in healing, later on the Healing Path.
It is important to know that the key to effective healing is imagery. I have said it many times at workshops and you have experienced it by the exercises in this book: “Whatever you imagine in your body actually happens. If you imagine you are well, you will be well, if you imagine you are sick you will be sick and if you imagine you are relaxed, you will be relaxed.” The challenge now is to imagine you are beating a disease and are getting well.
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THE CANCEROUS TUMOR
Some years ago, I had a client named Tim (not his real name) suffering from lung cancer. The condition cropped up unexpectedly quite a few years after he had stopped smoking. His doctor told of a cancerous tumor in one lung and favored surgery and a date was being set.
Visiting my center, and in conscious relaxation, Tim created a Sanctuary of the Mind on a rocky coastline near a volcano which was spewing red hot lava into the ocean. Tim watched as powerful waves quelled the heat of the lava. “ I can do that!” he declared.
In his mind, Tim placed the red hot cancerous tumor on a rocky ledge. Each day he spent two twenty-minute sessions imaging the powerful waves dowsing the fire of his cancer and making it smaller and smaller. A month later x-rays showed the tumor greatly diminished, and two weeks later the tumor was nowhere to be found.
Tim’s great quality was his passion and desire to be free of cancer and a dogged determination to see it happen. There is an inclination for some people, newly diagnosed with cancer to give up and slip into depression. Remember, your body is the temple of your soul, never give up. You have the power to fight invasions in your body. Imagination! Use it!One word of caution in imagery, never make the cancer or disease bigger than it is, in fact never make any affliction you are working to eliminate, bigger than it is. A larger than life sickness can have an adverse impact on any healing.
For instance, some disease sufferers image St. Michael on his trusty steed, armed with a lance, fighting the fire-breathing dragon representing cancer. Some imagers in their enthusiasm may be inclined to have big, terrible dragons the size of Godzilla. Wrong! Resist this and have the dragon a reasonable size and logically destructible.