Monday, January 30, 2017

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

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

REIKI SELF-RETREAT


I always start the year with a retreat. It is my way of renewing my inner connection to the Divine Source and to remain centered spiritually. 

Reiki Self-Retreat is my tool of reviewing my past year and setting my goals for the New Year. It is also my avenue to do my own inner space clearing and divination.

Here are some ways on how one can do the Reiki Self-Retreat.

1.  Set your sacred time and space. 

You can leave your house or go somewhere else   for your personal retreat. When I was in the Philippines, I used to go to Baguio for my personal retreat. Now that I am here in Tortola, I hold it in our wellness centre. I tell my family that I am going to be in silence for a day, so no one can bother me.  Once my husband and I went to a retreat house and occupied two separate rooms for our own personal retreats. We really had a good experience of sharing our sharing our sacred moment yet having our own individual sacred space.

The key is set the date and your space.

2. Know what you want and create the flow of your personal retreat.

Know what you want to achieve in your personal retreat. You might want to do some inner clearing through self-healing or meditation. Or you might want to do a reflection, pray, or do a goal setting. Or you might want to combine all of the above. 

My personal retreat is a combination of all. I usually do my inner clearing in the morning and the reflection, then the divination and goal setting in the afternoon all through night. It is important that you write your own program as your guide.

3.  Prepare your materials.

Once you have created the flow of your retreat, you may now know what you need. You may prepare to bring your pens, papers, drawing materials, bible or other spiritual texts, incense, flowers, crystals and any other things that can enhance your personal connection to the Divine.

I love to bring my favorite crystal, rosary, God or Goddess statue, and my Divination tools (runes, angel tools, cards, etc.)

4.  Other tips

Prepare to eat light during the retreat. If you can fast, do it so. Or you can also be in a vegetarian meal.  Eating light food with good energy helps the physical body to adjust to a long hours of meditation and prayers.  This is also a way of detoxification. I sometimes do mono-fruit diet or just water.

Here is the sample of one of my personal retreat:

Morning:

9:00 – 9:30 – Clearing the Space / Setting the space
9:30 – 10:00 - Opening the Body - Yoga Exercises or Qigong
10:00 -10:30 - Chanting Sacred Sounds
10:30 -12:00 - Reiki Self-Healing/Kotodama/Hat-su-rei-ho/ Light Body Meditation
               
12:00 - 1:30 - Break
1:30   - 2:00 - Gassho Meditation 
2:00 -   3:00 - Backward Review of my past Year
                       Reflection/ Gratitude Exercises/ Prayer
3:00 -    3:30 - Rest
3:30 -   4:00   - Visioning for the Year
                         Prayer of Guidance
4:00 - 5:00   -   Self-Divination/ Receiving Messages from the Divine/ Closing Prayer

Self-Retreat is my Food for my Soul. I can’t do without this seasonal retreat.

I hope this helps for the new retreatants.

Love and Lights!