Transformational Crisis and Reiki

A patient of mine inspired me to write on depression and anxiety which I usually call a Transformational Crisis.  I have written something about depression in the past, but this time I want to share a part of my lecture on “The Soul In Trauma.”

According to the statistics of Health Line, 1 out 10 Americans are affected by depression. On a wider scale, there are 121M people around the world that suffer from the condition. The age varies from 45 to 65 years old. However there is a rising number among teenagers nowadays.  Depression is often treated with structured psychotherapy and anti-depressant medication.

As a Reiki practitioner, I see depression beyond the symptoms of the physical body. I see it as a symptom of a soul in crisis.  The soul in crisis wants a change. Crisis is always a way to transcend. Everything in the break of a change experiences crisis. I like the definition of depression by Maureen Roberts, PhD, a soul-centered psychiatric therapist which says 

“depression is not primarily another word for unhappiness; nor is it mental illness. It is, rather, in many instances a response to a loss of soul.”

She even continued to saying that

"there is a soullessness of the biological model which continues to treat depression as a biological illness that can be band-aided with damaging drugs." 

Depression, as the modern man termed it, is not a biological or physical condition, rather it is a soul state.  Emotions are not in the physical body but in the emotional body or astral body which is a part of the multi-dimensional facets of a human body. Yes, there is a physical manifestation but it does not mean that the cause and the solution is there. The solution is a SOUL-UTION!

DEPRESSION IS A TRANSFORMATIONAL CRISIS

I always joke with my clients and patients about depression. I tell them not to worry about being so down, as there is nowhere to go when you have reached the ground but to go up. If only the depressed ones can be assisted to understand the message of their depression, then their lives will really be moving towards transformation.

What can trigger this Transformational Crisis?

 There are many things that can trigger transformational crisis.  Causes are always a call to look into a higher meaning of life.  The causes are:

            1.  Life experiences such as death, disease, accident, childbirth, miscarriage or abortion, loss of work

            2.  Stress or extreme physical exertion or prolonged lack of sleep

            3.  Spiritual emergencies from different spiritual practices.

The latter can happen when an individual had a profound spiritual experiences beyond his/her intellectual and social acceptance. The person is placed in a deep soul search whether to accept or deny the experience. There are some instances in which a spiritual emergency can be a megalomaniac crisis, where an individual may have thought that he/she is a messianic figure who is ready to serve the world in a self-serving way, just like what had happened to some of the cult-churches where the leader led the people into mass suicides and physical and sexual abuses under the name of God.

            What can be the possible outcome of Transformational Crisis?

The process of transformation can be short or longer depending on the awareness of the person undergoing the transformation. A harmonious inner awakening is characterized by a sense of inner joy and illumination that brings a person to find the meaning and purpose of life. The inner awakening brings inner peace and security to the unknown. Amidst a problem, the person is hopeful and gains clarity over the solution of a problem. There is a change in perspective. There is an overwhelming feeling of love for self and others.

However, depending on the external support and level of inner resources, an individual can also be led to unstable condition.

            What are the conditions that determine the outcome?

The possible outcome is determined by the connectedness of the individual to the Higher Spirit. We may call it spirituality, or consciousness.

The influx of the awareness comes from the inner knowing that there is Higher Guidance for all things on earth. This entails that the soul-ution for the depression is a spiritual process.

I encourage parents to raise children with a form of spiritual practice whether it is with a church or family rituals. The spiritual practice helps an individual to cling into a Divine Guidance during deep crisis. Then, the spiritual transformation will be easier to take its process.

What are the possible outcomes of the Transformational Crisis?

            

           1.  The individual’s life is transformed. This happens when the inner resources or the energy of Self is strong enough for a person to achieve a higher understanding of what is happening on his/her own life and soul. There is a higher personality integration. The spiritual energy is strong and is easily understood by the individual.

            2.  The individual’s life is not yet transformed but is moving forward as long as the energy of the Soul/Self is felt. Here, the person is less active and a passive on-looker of what may happen in his/her life. The person in this state needs a lot of help from the environment. The person is in a state of discernment whether to make the changes or not. The pull of the social acceptance is sometimes so strong yet there is an influx of spiritual awareness.

            3.  Obstacles and life issues hamper the transformation.  This can happen when the individual has been at a loss in the contact of his/her soul for a long period of time, due to trauma and hard experiences of life starting from childhood. This is an individual who may have been in a mental institution for a long period of time.

MORE CRISIS DURING THE TRANSFORMATION CRISIS

During the transformation, the crisis can intensify and can manifest as an intense emotion, visions, unusual thought processes, and other physical symptoms such as nervousness, tremors, or feelings of suffocation. Sometimes, a powerful emotional experience can also happen during the transformation – such as loss of relationship, death, or a series of failures or losses which can really shake the inner resource of the individual. This can be seen as a series of ‘bad luck’ events.

It is during these intense emotional experiences that an individual can:

            1.  be disturbed by a change in his inner life

            2.  begin to inquire about the origin and purpose of life

            3.  have a moral crisis if there is an emerging belief that contradicts his/her past beliefs and experiences.

             

There are times when an individual cannot really assimilate the intense flow of energy and higher awareness. This can happen when the intellect of an individual in not fully developed, the emotions and imaginations are uncontrollable, and the onrush of the spiritual energy is overwhelming.

When the mind is unable to stand the illumination or has a tendency to self-centeredness or conceit – the experience tends to be wrongly interpreted.

COMING OF THE TRANSMUTATION STAGE

Just like the praying of Jesus in Gethsemane, after acceptance of the SOUL transformation, a transfiguration can happen.

The individual may be able to pass the self-integration stage and to open oneself to transformation.  This is the stage of Transmutation. A new personality has emerged.

In this stage, there is an active removal of obstacles. An individual can develop higher functions. There is a deeper understanding of the spiritual self.

BREAKDOWN TO BREAKTHROUGH

The world is in a fast evolutionary process. Children are being born with different kinds of intellect and higher functions. This is our time to understand human beings and our reality in a multi-faceted ways.

Let us help save the world and our brothers and sisters in crisis. The next time you see a medically diagnosed individual with anxiety, depression, autism, ADHD and others, give them a wider understanding of life. Refer them to a shaman, a spiritual healer, a reiki healer and/or a holistic practitioner. Medication is only needed when there is a serious physical threat that and in cases where an individual needs to be restrained.

            What is our role as Reiki Practitioners?

Our most important task is to give the people in crises a positive context for their experiences and sufficient information about the process that they are undergoing through.  It is essential that they move away from the concept of disease and recognize the healing nature of their crisis.

The following are our specific tasks:

1.     Enlighten the individual as to what is really going on within him, and help him to find the right attitude to take.

2.    Teach the individual on how to use skillfully the will to control and direct the drives emerging from the unconscious, without repressing them through fear or condemnation. Affirmations and prayers help to strengthen the will. 

3.    Teach the individual of how to manage and transform sexual and aggressive energies. Affirmations, prayers, and guided breathing meditation help. I do not recommend meditating alone and even doing complex meditation, as these might trigger more vision that one may not be able handle.

4.    Help the individual to recognizing different thoughts and emotions that are coming  - the Divine communications and one’s own thought and emotional processes. Divine speaks with love and security. Lower ego comes with fear and self-imposed power.

5.    Help the individual to express the overwhelming love within through service.

6.    When ready, guide the individual to understand his/her own life and personality to gain clarity on which path to take.

7.  Regular Reiki sessions are needed to create balance.  In my experience, it takes 3 months for the full integration and healing to happen. Each healing varies on each individual.

There is so much beauty in life, and life is communicating to us to rock our comfort for a change.

Madness is not always madness .

Psychosis is not always a breakdown

But it can also be a breakthrough.

Love and Lights,

Aisa

References:

Spiritual Emergencies by Cristina Groff

Maureen Roberts - writings

My Healing Experiences 

photo credits - google photos

SELF HEALING FOR ANY SIGNS OF DEPRESSION

SELF HEALING FOR ANY SIGNS OF DEPRESSION

( I wrote this material after I received a question from a fellow reiki healer on how to deal with oneself regarding signs of depression. This is a follow up from my previous writing on depression.  Thanks for the query for giving me inspiration to write.)

Health Line reports that an estimate number of  121 M people around the world currently suffer from some forms of depression.  This could be alarming. But what is more alarming is how  the society usually sees depression. Let us quote here the words from Maureen Roberts, Phd, a Soul Therapist in Australia:

               
               “sufferers of depression are often forced to endure, 
                 in addition to their pain and energy 
                 loss, the stigma of being told that they're "ill", 
                 hence that their depression is a  problem to be 
                 eliminated,or that it has no potential value, 
                 meaning, or purpose.”

                          Maureen Roberts, Ph.D.

                                      Depression: Soul's Quest for Depth, 
                                      Meaning & Wholeness

Let us move away from the stigma and take the following steps:

1.     1.  Don’t panic. Don’t be afraid to be sad. It is alright to be afraid. Accept the emotions.

Painful experience in life is inevitable. We all experience  down moments 

where we become sad or  fearful. But some people are trained to deny sadness or fear because they are un-natural emotions. Some people are even frightened that they feel sad or fearful after experience loss or any tragedy in life.

Sadness, anger, or fear is a part of whole experience in life. Accepting the feeling that goes with a painful event is the key to healing. I know it is hard because these are all uncomfortable feeling. But this is also the process.  I have seen many clients whose face brightened up when I told them “ It’s ok to feel sad,” “ it’s ok to feel frustrated or angry, ” “ as long as you don’t harm yourself.” The truth is these low emotions are not illness but natural emotions in the process of life.

When my second daughter died, I have to tell myself over and over again that it is ok to feel sad. It is ok to grieve for two years or more as long as I still do what I need to do in life.  This acceptance of my emotions kept me going until I saw myself fully accepting the death and then later seeing things in a different light.

You may use the mantra “I feel this emotion, but I am not my emotion. I am a soul”. Or “I have this thought, but I am not my thoughts.  I am a soul.” We can translate these as, “I feel this anger (or nay emotion) but I am not my anger. I am a soul.” “I am fearful, but I am not the fear, I am a soul.”

1    2.   Take charge.

When we accept our emotions, we empower ourselves to take charge of our lives. Our thoughts start to move forward. We start to ask ourselves why we have those emotions and thoughts. And when we found the answers, we go into the process of acceptance and then later to the question of what can we do.

Those who couldn’t accept the low emotions, try to deny the emotions by engaging into harmful or addicted behavior. The real acceptance comes with the search how to make oneself better and whole again.

3.  Enhance your energies.

Emotion and thoughts are not physical matter. They are energy fields, a part of our subtle body as a human body called emotional and astral body. Hence, healing or treatments on the physical body alone can help but is not enough enough. Everything that we do on our physical body affects our physical body and energy fields, so take time to enhance more of our energy fields by doing the following:

     

a)   If you are a reiki practitioner or you do other energy healing, start healing yourself.

b)  Enhance your living space. Re arrange your home to welcome new flow of energy. Brighten up your place with colors, sounds or even scents.

c)  Take time to be in silence for 10-15 mins a day. Connect to yourself. Watch your breathing or watch your thought and emotions. Just watch without putting impressions. This will lead you into a calmer state and awakened with an expanded feeling.

d)  Wear bright colored clothing. Do not wallow on dark shade. Dark shade colors absorb emotions, but bright or light colors expand and move them.

e)   Eat food that energizes the body like natural or organic fruits and vegetables. Avoid eating  food with dead energy such as processed ones. And drink lots of water to wash out toxins.

f)    Bathe with the sun.  Sun is the center of our physical energies in this physical world.  Get the healthy far infra-red from 6am-8am.

g)   Exercise. Keep your body moving.  This can activate the energy centers in our physical body and release the happy hormone called endorphins.

h)   Avoid places with varied low energies like discos, bars, and the likes. Be with positive and happy people.

i)   Get enough sleep. Even if sometimes, it’s hard to sleep, just lie down and don’t be frustrated when you can’t. Just submit to the idea of closing eyes to sleep. Submission will allow your body to relax then later will put you into sleep.

j)   Get inspirations from reading, listening to music, playing and things that can make you happy without harming yourself. Avoid loud low energy music like rock, and the likes.

 4.      Accept the NEW YOU. Accept the change that is at hand

Nothing on earth is permanent. Everything changes, every minute, or every hour.  To try to be the same person like you were before, especially after a painful experience is an illusion.

The road to wholeness means accepting the good and the bad experiences of our lives. I always joke to people about life, saying one  when  has reached  the lowest stage, surely the next move is to go up. 

Being whole again means reinventing ourselves again after a loss. Asking ourselves about the meaning and challenge of the experience can bring us to the new image of ourselves. An experience can challenge us to be more courageous, more outspoken, loving to  ourselves  and others.  The challenges can give bring us to our new physical realities – new  aura, new look, new friends, and new environment. Hence, OUR NEW SELF IS BORN.

1    5.  Ask for help when needed.  

Find a confidant who will never judge you but just listen and  who will extend help when needed. It is an act of humility to ask help.  Sometimes the lesson for the experience is for us to learn how to receive and accept things that we can’t change.

2    6.   Most of all, connect to the Divine Creator.  The Divine Creator is taking you towards AWAKENING.

In my lecture on Soul Awakening and Spiritual Emergencies, I pointed out that soul awakening usually comes  from an experience that will lead the person to question about life and its essence. This questioning about life is usually accompanied with physical symptoms that we can relate as the physical signs of depression.

Soul Awakening means going back to our true nature and remembering that we are human being with a Soul. This also means realizing that everything in the universe is governed by Infinite laws beyond the physical universe. Above all, that we are one with the Divine God.

Psychiatrist Christina Groff, MD described a stage when a person can’t rightly assimilate the flow of light or the spiritual energy that comes with the spiritual awakening because of the following reasons:

     1)  the intellect is not well coordinated and developed;
     2)  when the emotions and imaginations are uncontrollable;
     3)  and the inrush of the spiritual energy is overwhelming.

Every major change  in our life is accompanied by an overwhelming experience. When we feel  alone and emotions are devastating, we are called ,to accept the structures of the unknown. We allow God to help us. After all, we are not really alone, God is with us. The lesson is about faith and trust.  When we accept the unknown, the magic begins. The unexpected and the  impossible can happen. 

We can do this by:

     a)   Working on our emotions and removing what blocks us. 

            Go to number 1.

     b)   Developing our higher functions, which mean developing 

           our spiritual senses, understanding the spiritual essence of 

           things. If you need help, seek the help of a 

           spiritual teacher or counselor.

     c)   Working on our Higher Essence which means 

           remembering that we are not only physical beings 

           but a soul on our physical body. Hence, 

           the spirit is more important.

One of our higher functions of a human being is that we can control our emotions and lift them into a higher understanding. This is our difference  from animals. The reason why depression seems to be prevalent now is because the humanity is being called to develop our Higher functions on dealing with emotions. This  is a part of our human process to know how to control, direct and transform  our emotions and to develop our Higher Mind above all things that we face.

There is more to life, more to unfold. Fear nothing.


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Photo Credits: google photos
References:  http://www.psychiatrywithsoul.com/pws/pdf/Depression.pdf
                  http://www.intuition.org/txt/cgrof2.htm

On Reiki Healing and Depression

On Reiki Healing and Depression

Robin Williams’ death prompted me to share about reiki, energy diagnosis and depression. Robin has indeed made depression a household topic now. 

People who come to me for reiki healing for their depression are usually medically diagnosed, while some are just self-labelled for this condition by the clients themselves. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, here are some of the major signs and symptoms:

1.       Persistent sad, anxious, or "empty" feelings

2.       Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism

3.       Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness

4.       Irritability, restlessness

5.       Loss of interest in activities or hobbies once pleasurable, including sex

6.       Fatigue and decreased energy

7.       Difficulty concentrating, remembering details, and making decisions

8.       Insomnia, early-morning wakefulness, or excessive sleeping

9.       Overeating, or appetite loss

10.   Thoughts of suicide, suicide attempts

11.   Aches or pains, headaches, cramps, or digestive problems that do not ease even with treatment

In my experience on reiki healing for depression, the energy diagnosis varies.  I would classify them as Alert Case and ALARM Case.  Note that on reiki, the diagnosis is based on the condition of the energy centers popularly known as chakra(s).  These energy centers or chakras are like wheels of energies where the human energy fields flow to nourish our human physical body along with the subtle body.  The subtle body is the non-physical layer of the human body that relates to the emotions, mental and spiritual state of being.

I show here the energy centers as related to the mental and emotional state in reference to the case of depression:

ENERGY CENTERS	DESCRIPTIVE LOCATION ON THE PHYSICAL BODY	MENTAL AND EMOTIONAL PATTERNS/ CONSCIOUSNESS
1.      Base	At the end of the tail bone or coccyx region	Ability to stand for self, feeling at home, will to live
2.      Sacral	At the lower part of the stomach, about 2 inches below the navel.	Ability to manifest material or physical creativity, feeling of guilt
3.     Solar Plexus	At the upper part of the stomach about 2 inches above the navel.	Will power, Trust, fear , self- esteem/ confidence, care for Oneself/ Others,  anger
4.      Heart	At the heart center	Love and Hatred, Resentment and Bitterness, Grief
5.      Throat	Center of throat	Ability to communicate and make choices in life
6.      Forehead	Center of the forehead	Foresight, Intellectual Abilities, Feeling of Adequacy, Openness to Other’s Ideas, Ability to learn from experience,
7.     Crown	At the top of the head	Ability to trust life, ability to see larger patterns,  faith and inspiration,  spirituality and devotion

The emanation of aura or energy from the chakras can be detected thru a quantum machine or psychically seen or felt by a gifted healer or any reiki practitioner. Seeing the conditions of the energy centers helps in understanding the condition of the depressed person beyond the physical symptoms and focusing the healing into the subtle body.

DEFINING THE ALARM CASE

Majority of the people who come to me are on the ALARM CASE. What to me is the ALARM CASE?

In the ALARM Case, a person has a strong base, a depleted sex energy center, a depleted or congested solar plexus, a depleted and congested heart, a depleted forehead and imbalanced or strong crown energy centers.

This kind of person, even though appearing sad and depressed, still has a willingness to live, as seen in the strong base energy center. Sad and depressive moods are usually a camouflaged feeling of anger, fear and frustration that steamed out from painful experiences in life. These can be seen in the congestion or depletion of the solar plexus and heart energy centers.  These emotions block the ability to see the larger patterns of life, thus preventing the flow of spiritual inspiration, a condition that can be seen on the depleted forehead and imbalanced crown energy centers.

DEFINING ALERT CASE                

The vital energy signs that I am looking for in an ALERT CASE consist of a depleted base , closed heart and  depleted forehead and crown energy centers.  In this case, a person with this state of energy has lost the willingness to live as seen in the depleted base energy center.  With a closed heart energy center, a person is so deeply hurt that he/she doesn’t  want to relate to anyone.  This means the person is closing his/her heart to the world. A closed heart can often lead to the depletion of the forehead energy center.  A depleted forehead energy center means the person does not see any hope in the future nor does he or she want to receive any inspiration about the future. Lastly, the depleted crown means, that there is no spiritual energy flowing into the person and that the person is blocking any spiritual awakening that could happen during the state of depression. This is the overall energy state  that could lead a person to commit suicide. However, sometimes a spiritual intervention can happen where a “normal” (as compared to suicidal which is not normal) death through sudden illness, stroke or even an accident may release the person into such a physical state.

REIKI HEALING ON DEPRESSION

I use reiki to help people who suffer from depression. This is not new, since reiki  has been accepted in the world through various types of research and the sharing of experiences by people who have experienced reiki treatments. The most noted ones are the Touch Stone Project conducted by the Center for Reiki Research (CRR) and Reiki Research-Australia.  Significant reduction of symptoms of depression, perceived stress, hopelessness, and physiological stress are among the effects.

Depression is more than a physical illness.  Using reiki for treatments focuses on treating beyond the physical body which is the subtle body where the thoughts and emotions reside. It is done by laying of hands on each of the energy centers of the body to balance and heal blocked energy centers.

In my experience, classifying the clients into Alarm and Alert Cases helps me to determine the level of depression. Both cases will involve a series of reiki emotional and transformational healing sessions.  In the Alarm Case when emotional pain has been released, the client will recover quickly.  Releasing and understanding the pain can unblock the forehead energy center that will enable the person to see hope in the future and to trust in the Divine intervention. While the Alert Case needs a deep spiritual and transformational healing.

No Alert Case of depression can be healed without spiritual healing. Because it’s only by reconnecting to the Divine Essence or God that one can understand the meaning of what one perceived as a hopeless situation in life. Through spiritual healing, a transformation happens, transforming despair into hope, pain into trust, hurt into forgiveness, and aloneness into oneness.  The challenge for me comes when a client does not believe in God. Yet, God has a way. The peace that comes during the treatments in a series of sessions usually brings the magic of trust and later into an understanding that there is a Divine Being up there somewhere and beyond. It is also my deep prayer that reiki treatments will lead people into the understanding that there is a God who gives us life. This realization is the ultimate healing for depression.

Thru balancing and healing the energy centers that need healing, a person’s pain can be released, a heart can again love, a vision can be seen and Divine inspiration can flow.

There is always hope. The message that I get in healing people with depression is that this is just a state of being, not a condition. If taken as spiritual or soul dis-ease, what is considered a breakdown can be a BREAKTHROUGH.

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Credits:
Photos from Google Photos
Illustrations of Chakras from Healing With the Lights of Brenda Brenan