Showing posts with label Thoughts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thoughts. Show all posts

Thursday, May 9, 2019

Can Diagnosis Do More Harm Than Good?

Theoretically, the concept of diagnosis is a good one. It involves gathering a patient’s case history, their symptoms, lab results, and other diagnostic tests. In this way the patient’s illness is corroborated and named. The practitioner will then use this label to determine the treatment approach. The treatment could involve drugs, surgery, therapy, diet. Or, in the alternative therapies, acupuncture needles, herbs, homeopathic remedies, etc.

The flaw in this system is the limitation of the database you are drawing upon. In the case of traditional medicine, the database will involve physiological and structural evaluations that are very materialistically inclined. Even though reference is sometimes made to emotions and environmental stresses, these references are vague at best. Acupuncturists will also include the meridians in their evaluations and psychologists will include case history and environmental and emotional stress factors. The big problem lies in the fact the new physics is omitted from all of these preceding treatment models.

Diagnostic approaches preclude what the new physics has clearly demonstrated; that the bodymind is far more complex than the Cartesian model asserts. For a start, the energy dynamics of the bodymind are entangled with patterns of energy associated with the environment. People who are close to the patient or anyone who has an influence on the patient’s life, will bring about quantum entanglements. These entanglements will definitely influence the health of the person. A celebrity’s fan base, for example, constitutes a huge entanglement. Family, friends and even strangers who have powerful impact via the media can also present a quantum entanglement for the patient. Animals, plants, and electronic devices can also fall into the category of quantum entanglement. On top of this, the patient will also have stored emotional memories, attitudes and belief systems that are still affecting brain function, however well the patient thinks they have dealt with them. In short, when a patient’s health problems are narrowed down to a simplistic label, such as a stomach ulcer or breast cancer, a great injustice is being done to the patient. The limitations of your diagnostic database have omitted key elements that are crucial in addressing their ailment in a truly holistic way. Instead, a host of unique factors, contributing to and underpinning their symptom, are being ignored. When a patient’s health problems are diluted down and given a generic label, the subsequent treatment model will be equally generic.

This does not mean that the diagnostic model for arriving at a treatment protocol is always deficient. In many cases the treatment prescribed can actually be one that is in excess of what the bodymind complex actually requires. While healthcare modalities persist in using diagnosis as their medium, generic symptoms will remain the benchmark for treatment protocols. What this means is that patients will continue to be treated as if they are generic human beings. In essence, the diagnostic model ignores the uniqueness of each individual and the uniqueness and complexity of their individual health issues.

Healthcare modalities that fail to factor the new physics into their treatment models, continue to pigeon-hole their patients into categories of disease. This is why so many people label themselves “a cancer patient”, “a diabetic” etc. Patients are, essentially, being taught to identify as their symptoms. These labels describe only one element of a complex energy dynamic and entanglement happening within their bodymind. As was mentioned before, rigid attitudes and belief systems are quantum entanglements. When a patient adopts the identity of a symptom, they identify with a superficial aspect of their bodymind’s overall health. This new identity, “I am a cancer patient” or even, “I am a cancer survivor”, is highly detrimental. When a patient identifies with a symptom this attitude can constitute, in and of itself, a health problem.

When the bodymind’s own innate wisdom is left out of the treatment equation, more often than not, symptoms recur or transmute. To successfully address the total range of influences complicit in any disease, an understanding of the laws of quantum physics is essential. Healthcare modalities that do not use this database of information and laws are not practicing holistic medicine. They are performing first aid.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

The Complexity of Disease

Here is a clip from a BodyTalk Fundamentals Study Group that is now available on PaRama Campus. Our history in diagnosis and disease has shaped the way we interpret imbalance or failing body parts. This short clip provides a different perspective on the complex interrelationships in the bodymind.


Thursday, August 28, 2014

Interesting Read. Tensegrity is Movin' on Up!

Rep Prog Phys. 2014 Apr;77(4):046603.

Tensegrity, cellular biophysics, and the mechanics of living systems.

Abstract

The recent convergence between physics and biology has led many physicists to enter the fields of cell and developmental biology. One of the most exciting areas of interest has been the emerging field of mechanobiology that centers on how cells control their mechanical properties, and how physical forces regulate cellular biochemical responses, a process that is known as mechanotransduction. In this article, we review the central role that tensegrity (tensional integrity) architecture, which depends on tensile prestress for its mechanical stability, plays in biology. We describe how tensional prestress is a critical governor of cell mechanics and function, and how use of tensegrity by cells contributes to mechanotransduction. Theoretical tensegrity models are also described that predict both quantitative and qualitative behaviors of living cells, and these theoretical descriptions are placed in context of other physical models of the cell. In addition, we describe how tensegrity is used at multiple size scales in the hierarchy of life—from individual molecules to whole living organisms—to both stabilize three-dimensional form and to channel forces from the macroscale to the nanoscale, thereby facilitating mechanochemical conversion at the molecular level. Click here to view source of the article.

Thursday, January 16, 2014

Maybe We Should Say Thanks?

The human body is a super organism, a complex ecosystem of human cells living in a symbiotic relationship with 100 trillion microbes, collectively called the human microbiome. This microbiome is packed full of friendly microbes called mutualists. Which, actually provide us with some pretty important things.


Without bacteria present, the immune system remains half asleep.
  
Key Roles from our Microbial Friends:

Digestion: They provide enzymes that allow us to get 10-30% more energy (calories) from our diet, improve our absorption of vital dietary nutrients, tune the acidity of our stomachs to the optimum and can also determine our tendency towards obesity. 

Vitamin production: Microbes provide essential vitamins that we don’t have the capacity to make ourselves.

Brain function: Research has indicated that the nature of the gut microbiome influences communication in the brain and mood.

Kidney function: Microbes can impact our tendency to form kidney stones.

Healthy skin function: Microbes on the skin work with the immune system to maintain healthy skin and keep out pathogenic microbe strains.

The BodyEcology Course course offered by the IBA provides more fascinating information on this hot topic.
Click here for more info.


Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Matrixes

The matrixes, as we refer to them in BodyTalk, describe distortions of both inborn, inherited personality traits, and the inborn masculine and feminine traits inherent in the psyche or beingness.
The primary matrixes relate most specifically to the anima/animus or feminine/masculine psychic energies. This is because, as distortions, they relate to gender.
At birth, the two psychic energies are drawn upon and expressed to varying degrees. How much you draw on them as a child, and for how long, is dependant upon the health of the body at birth and how nurturing or otherwise your childhood environment is.
Initially, the primary matrixes will form. These matrixes or personality modifications have everything to do with the way in which you are taught verbally, and by example, about your own gender, and your gender opposite.
The stronger the primary matrixes or distortions of the feminine/masculine energies are, the harder it will be to sustain any form of objectivity on self. Another way of saying this is that the stronger the primary personality modifications or matrixes are, the harder it will be to feel comfortable with yourself. This is because these matrixes will keep you out of touch with “what comes naturally” to you in terms of the natural inborn feminine/masculine traits and the inherited personality traits. 
The lower self-esteem is, the harder you will try to cope with, or mask, what it is you dislike about yourself. This dislike of self will, first and foremost, relate to gender. It will have to do with the way you have learned to think about yourself in terms of “being” a man or a woman, and it will relate to the way you act out for others.
The anima/animus energies express themselves in intellectual expression and resulting behavior. For example, if anima/intuitive processes are not sufficiently infused with animus rationale, then self-expression, or the personality, will be labeled irrational. This is because the anima provides a “felt sense” of the world, and if this “felt sense” cannot be expressed or explained in “rational” terms it is usually labeled irrational.
This label will give rise to a whole host of other labels such as “useless,” “stupid,” “weak,” etc. Because these descriptions are given to the body and gender you are identified as, your first defense is to modify your expression of that gender.
For example, if anima/feminine psychic energy predominates in the female body, the woman might try to adopt a more masculine way of expressing herself if these traits are labeled negatively.
Anima expression can also be criticized in a way that is deprecating to the woman yet be seen as beneficial in her relationship to men. How this works is that feminine traits are labeled irrational, but the woman is taught to believe that this gives her a mystique vis-a­vis the male. What this mystique is, is that seeming “irrationality” complements male logic, and makes the man feel more powerful and superior.
The more the woman falls under the spell of this delusion, the stronger the primary female matrix will probably become. How this matrix will more than likely manifest will be in terms of a female role-play of subservience or simpering, and poor self-expression. 
If this primary matrix becomes very strong, the feminine/anima traits that are being parodied in female roles will become increasingly hard to ignore and disown. The way the feminine psychic energies will then express themselves is by projecting themselves onto others. The stronger the matrix, the more volatile the anima energies will become, and this volatility will be mirrored in others, and in the body of the person who is disowning them. This can result in health problems, abusive relationships, and a sense of the world being hostile.
By this point it must also be noted that the animus/masculine energies inherent in her psyche will have also been modified into a male matrix. This is because the woman will have been given to understand that as an “irrational” being she is incapable of animus rationale or logic. The male matrix is probably going to be fairly weak in comparison to the female one, however, if the woman’s focus is primarily directed towards her parody of female gender roles or the female matrix.
Alternatively, the male matrix might be quite strong if the woman feels she needs to sustain some form of control over her life. The female matrix will have everything to do with the idea of controlling (as all matrixes do), because it is the result of conformism, and the need to please, and thus to feel in control of her emotions. However, the woman will probably rarely experience being in control, especially if she is doing a really good of acting out roles that are in direct conflict with her inborn personality traits. For this reason, the strength of the male matrix will probably grow in direct proportion to the inability of the woman to experience control via the female matrix.
The more uncomfortable and distressing this dynamic becomes, the more likely it is that the woman will start developing secondary matrixes. These secondary matrixes will be colored by the primary matrixes in that they will also relate to issues of control. The secondary matrixes, however, do not specifically have to do with gender roles but have more to do with the idea of embellishing on the personality in any way possible. In one way, the secondary matrixes are embellishments on the primary matrixes. This means that they are actually an extension of them. 
In another way, often times, rather than embellishing on the primary matrixes, the secondary matrixes are adopted in order to temper the primary ones. For example, if a woman begins to feel conflict as the result of her primary female matrix, she might try to draw on the anima energies that are more natural to her. Finding herself incapable of this because the female matrix is too strongly suppressing it, she will probably opt for trying to draw on the animus psychic power. 

However, the feminine/anima energy predominated in self-expression in childhood, and was related to her gender, and compared to her gender opposite. This resulted in her focusing on modifying the inborn anima traits and parodying them in female role-play. Because this role-play was subservient to the male, it meant that she simultaneously disowned the power of the animus. 
Another way of putting this is: Her primary, habitual mode of self-expression and her strongest matrix will probably be the female one. Because its distortions or modifications have come about in relation to the male, she is unlikely to feel herself capable of drawing on anything that relates to male rationale. This means that she will be incapable of drawing on inborn animus traits and, at best, will have to settle for parodying male roles in accordance with what she has learned to believe about men. 
In BodyTalk, if innate indicates that the female matrix is a priority, it means that the woman’s state of balance at the time of the session is conducive to the onset of the process of becoming conscious of that primary gender modification. In isolating the matrix from the male primary matrix and other secondary matrixes, the primary female matrix is highlighted. 
In BodyTalk, practitioners often think in terms of severing the ties with the primary matrix and related matrixes, and of dispelling the primary matrix. However, the primary matrix is nothing more than a learned modification and a distortion of an inborn aspect of the two psychic energies. As a learned distortion, it has no separate existence to the psychic energy it pertains to.
For example, learned female roles are nothing but a parody of inborn feminine traits inherent in the psyche. Although these roles or parodies seem to transform the psychic energies, actually the seeming change that occurs does not change the nature of the anima in any fundamental way. This is because the matrixes are still aspects of the psyche.
When the anima energy is disowned, it is projected into the body and, eventually, manifests in the seeming limitations of disease. It is also projected outward and manifests in behavior in self and others that is seemingly repressive. All that is happening is that the anima’s suppression is being reflected in the mirror of the world. But this has not changed the anima energies in any fundamental way at all. 
Why the anima energies have changed in no fundamental way is because they relate to the intuitive processes and one’s “felt sense” of the world. The un-owned anima is projected into the body and outward onto others and inward in terms of behavior modifications. But this doesn’t change the anima in any fundamental way. All that happens is that the anima’s power of providing a deep “felt sense” is simply being amplified and reflected in the “outer” world in a way that is more tangible.
Why this is, is because the anima needs to be drawn upon if the human being is to become conscious. Because “coming into consciousness” is natural, and is what innate’s healing abilities are all about, the anima persists in trying to be acknowledged. The longer it takes for the person to acknowledge and draw on this psychic power, the more tangible and detrimental these un-owned energies become. This is because they need to get the attention of the person if they are to “wake up” to themselves. 
When the anima stirs up sufficient trouble that it becomes impossible not to try and change one’s life experience, this is when a person often tries to draw on the animus energy. Unfortunately, this masculine energy will have been related to male roles, and these roles will have triggered the need to embellish in some way on female roles. This will have brought about suppression of the anima, and simultaneously closed the way for the person to draw on the animus. The animus will have been equated to something that is either impossible or dangerous to connect to, because it has been seen to be in direct conflict, or dominant, to the anima. Consequently, in order to “come into consciousness,” first of all the woman will have to draw on the power of the anima energies before this fear can be put into context in relation to the animus. 
For example, young boys in western societies are usually equated with the animus traits. This is because, in general, men are considered to have superior abilities when it comes to rational thought and the ability to compartmentalize things in such a way that their emotions don’t get in the way of their interactions in the world.
Because this type of thinking predominates in the west, young boys are often taught that emotions are “bad” and should not be overtly expressed. They are also often taught that they need to be the caretakers of women who are, by nature, irrational and less capable of interacting in a grounded, “rational” way in the world. 
These attitudes describe the superimposition of male roles upon the animus traits. That is, the masculine/animus energy is equated with male dominance and superiority of intellect. Consequently, many young boys who have a parent, or parents, who subscribe to this type of thinking, are going to learn by example from the parents that they need to act and express themselves in a rational, dogmatic, domineering or “macho” way. This is because the parent, or parents, will probably be acting out male and female roles that are in accordance with this type of misinterpretation of the animus.
Because the parents or primary caregivers of the boy serve as his mirror, and thus his primary identity, the boy is, more than likely, going to begin mimicking what he sees in the “mirror” his parents are providing him.
If the boy’s nature has a predominance of anima energies, he will probably experience tremendous conflict within himself if this happens. This will probably translate into conflict with the parents—his mirror. Subsequently, this conflict will either result in the boy assuming the male role he is being taught, and thus conforming; or the boy may rebel and start parodying the female roles that are his parent’s misinterpretation of the anima traits the boy is expressing. That is, he will probably assume a stronger female than male matrix.
If he starts to parody female roles (develops a female matrix), the conflict with his parents will no doubt escalate. Experiencing inner conflict at not wanting to disappoint the parents, the boy will also have this conflict mirrored back at him in his parent’s attitudes towards him. Because the boy is going against his inborn anima “felt sense” of what comes naturally to him, this will give rise to tremendous confusion—the absence of logical rationale. As a result he will feel incapable of drawing on the inborn animus/male psychic powers and will start to assume a male matrix as a substitute.
When anima energy is disowned and starts being parodied and projected outward, its expression is usually exaggerated. This means that the young boy might find his parody of the anima (female matrix) results in him thinking he has homosexual tendencies—has stronger female tendencies than male. 
Conversely, if he tries to conform, and begins parodying the masculine/animus energies in “acceptable” male roles (matrix), he will probably act out in a way that is aggressive or domineering towards women. This is because he is trying to suppress the feminine energies that at first predominated in his nature. This dynamic will serve to strengthen the conflict he faces in suppressing the two inborn psychic energies. It will also set up a personality conflict, or split, between the two matrixes that have formed in order to parody the anima/animus.
Do please note that I am only giving one clear cut example here, as a possible scenario, for how the matrixes are used to “hide” the psychic energies. There are numerous variations on this theme.
Because the matrixes—be they primary or secondary—are learned and assumed distortions of the innate psychic powers, it means that they are not other than them. I know I have talked of these psychic powers being “suppressed” and “dis-owned” but I am not inferring that they have been overridden by something other than themselves.
The word matrix denotes a cast or a shape that is formed out of an existing substance. Relatively speaking, the anima/animus energies can be considered entities in that they infuse the psyche or beingness, and seem to divide it into masculine and feminine. This “division” is inherent at birth, and the anima/animus energies have no bearing on inherited familial traits. At birth, therefore, the anima/animus energies are uncolored by personal traits, but serve to complement them.
Because these psychic energies or powers have no bearing on the personal, their expression is not limited or restricted to any culture, society, or environment. What this means is that, to get in touch with, or consciously draw on these energies, is to begin to “transcend” the personal.
Because personalized roles are limiting, and limited to societies and cultures, if “coming into consciousness” is the goal, the anima/animus energies must be owned. That is, you have to become conscious of them and draw healthily on these two powerful “entities.”
In a clinical setting, it will not always be appropriate, or helpful, to talk in these terms to a client. However, as a BodyTalk practitioner, if you have an understanding of the anima/animus energies, it can only benefit you when innate indicates that a matrix is the priority. The way in which you can explain the BodyTalk dynamics at this point to a client is by talking to them about “getting in touch with what comes naturally to you.”
Basically, when a matrix is indicated as a priority it means that innate is ready to have a personality modification isolated and thereby highlighted. When a matrix in the body is addressed and you “tap out” the client, the “tapping out” is part of the synchronistic dynamic of innate. 
What this means is that, because innate is ready to address a matrix, and requires “secondary” input, you the practitioner fall in with this synchronicity of events. To understand this is to realize that the session is both out of your hands and out of the hands of the client.
If, as a practitioner, you consider the concept of addressing the matrixes to mean that you are effecting change in the client, this agenda will be part of that synchronicity. This does not mean that your agenda is inappropriate to the process, because it could not unfold in any other way than it is—with you as part of the synchronicity of events. 
If you understand that the client’s “coming into consciousness” can be facilitated by the addressing of the matrixes, this understanding can also give rise to strong agendas on your part. However, if you understand that the matrixes are merely a distortion of the innate energies of the psyche, and that this means that the psyche has undergone no fundamental change as a result of the matrixes, your focus is less likely to be concerned with bringing about change.
Instead, you might recognize that the addressing of the matrixes will merely serve to highlight personality distortions (which is what the matrixes are). When this happens, the client usually finds that he or she has increasing difficulty in acting those distortions out. This is because these roles will start to feel limiting and limited and, consequently, there is every possibility that behavioral habits will begin to change. 
Because behavior is something that is always changing, no real change can be said to occur. A relative change between one form of behavior and another will be apparent. However, no fundamental change will have taken place. 
The psyche, or beingness, is. nothing more than a mass of undifferentiated consciousness that has assumed the appearance of duality or differentiation because it has been given the name “me.” This “me” is considered to be capable of being more or less conscious. But because the psyche is by nature undifferentiated consciousness, this idea is faulty. That the psyche, labeled “me,” is nothing more than an undifferentiated mass of consciousness, means that the “me,” or self, is nothing but a thought or a bundle of names. 
These names or thoughts are not other than undifferentiated consciousness. Paradoxically, they give this consciousness the appearance of duality. The perception of the undifferentiated, impersonal mass of consciousness is thus divided up into dualistic concepts which are labeled personal and attributed with gender traits. This changes the impersonal undifferentiated consciousness in no fundamental way.
Because the word mind describes the thinking processes, with a little thought, it isn’t too difficult to understand that the mind cannot have caused itself. That is, thinking cannot have given rise to itself because nothing can act upon itself. Neither can the mind have subjective knowledge of itself, because to do so it would have to be apart from itself, and other than itself.
You seem to know about yourself by means of the mind. To know about something describes subjective knowledge. The term subjective knowledge describes separateness between a knower, and a known. The confusing thing is that you believe you are both the cause of knowledge, and the mind, which gives rise to subjective knowledge. This means that you believe that you are both a cause and an effect.
When something is deemed the cause of something else, this dynamic describes cause and effect. The word cause denotes “attributing responsibility to.” The word blame has the exact same meaning. Although praise is an expression of approval, the act of praising is actually no different to, or is just a variation on, blaming. This is because both concepts denote the attributing of responsibility to something.
You might argue that praise and blame are different because praise describes a virtuous responsibility whereas blame describes the opposite. In response to such an argument, let us look at the dynamic of love.
When you say you love someone, what you mean is that they make you feel a certain way. In essence, to tell someone you love them is, therefore, to say that they have power over your emotions. This is clearly a heavy trip to lay on someone, but despite this, most people believe that love is something to be sought after, and that it is a desirable thing to offer others. This gives you one definition of the ego or false self—masochist!
Let’s say that you are deeply “in love” with someone. You tell them frequently how they make you feel, and while you are doing this, you think they will be overjoyed that your words will help them to feel special. As it is, the people we love usually do feel special when we voice loving words to them—such as “you make me feel so good!” 
Few people, be they the recipient of such words, or the bearer of them, think that the term “you make me feel” has anything to do with blame, or victim consciousness. However, this is exactly what these words denote, because you are attributing another with being responsible for, and the cause of, your emotions. This makes them “to blame” and, because you are identified as your emotions and the beloved is deemed responsible for them, that makes you a victim.

I know this looks like a cynical view of love, but unfortunately, if you are sincere about “becoming conscious,” you have to understand humanness as deeply as possible. Because the concept of love is pivotal to most people’s “existence,” it is one of the aspects of humanness that you are eventually going to have to look at deeply. As you are reading this, this appears to be the time!
Now let’s look at the opposite of love, which is named hate. When the so-called beloved starts acting in ways that displease you, love starts to undergo change, or so it seems. At first you might blame yourself, or you might begin by blaming them, and then blame yourself. Either way, as soon as something about the beloved displeases you, you are apt to experience overt blame. Overt, of course, is the key word here because, until this point, “you make me feel” hasn’t been categorized as blame. 
When overt blaming gets underway, suddenly the love experience seems to be permeated by hate. Sometimes, of course, it seems as if love and hate interchange if you are trying desperately to remedy the situation. But because these two contradictory experiences can’t co-exist, this brings about even more confusion. 
What is helpful to understand is that both so-called love and hate have one thing in common: they are both underlain and permeated by need. And the need is for the “other” to make you feel a certain way. Clearly, when hate is experienced, neediness is pretty easy to recognize. It isn’t that most people are oblivious to neediness when love is the experience, but usually neediness isn’t the description you give it. And after all, most people believe that telling someone “you make me feel” and “don’t ever leave me” is something the other person will delight in hearing. This is because you like to think, or hope, the other person feels exactly the same way.
In short, whether you are covertly blaming the “other” in terms of love, or overtly blaming them in terms of hate, the dynamic is essentially the same. You experience being the victim, and this experience—be it love-ly or otherwise—perpetuates neediness. It also perpetuates the idea that cause and effect are real.
You say “I AM in love” and identify as the experience of love. What this means is that, when you tell the other that they are responsible for this experience, you are essentially saying that they are the cause of your identity. In other words, you are blaming them for your experience of yourself. Because you like this experience, and like yourself when you are having it—and because you are identified as the experience—it becomes imperative that the other person sustain the experience for you. 
What this means is that the other person has to continue acting in ways that please you if you are to maintain the identity you have adopted. This dynamic is called love, which is considered a wonderful, desirable experience. Actually, as you can probably tell, it is far from desirable, because the “love” you are offering to the other, and asking them to give you, is full of conditions.

“I will love you as long as you act a certain way” is basically what love is all about. You might argue that in some cases people manage to carry on loving in the face of incredible abuse, and regardless of what the other person is doing. However, perhaps you will now take into account the idea that the love experience is so coveted precisely because it gives you a special identity. Love is considered virtuous and special, so as long as you are loving, you have the possibility of adopting these concepts and adding them to your identity. This means that the so-called “unconditional love” people offer others in the face of abuse or other unpleasant actions is never free of conditions.
The condition that always goes hand in hand with love is that, if you love someone, it should make you feel special, useful, and better than you feel when you are not loving.  Clearly, such a demand has to be underlain by fear of the alternative experience. Because love is always conditional and underlain by fear, it is impossible that love is not permeated by blame and neediness. It is also impossible for love not to give you the identity of victim, and equally impossible that the so-called beloved is not deemed “to blame.”
Of course, this line of reasoning is one that very few people will come upon, and it is probably not one you are enjoying pondering. But my point here is to give you a deeper understanding of ego or the false self. The nature of ego is fear, and the concepts of coping, control, and neediness, are outcroppings of this emotion. This means that the ego is nothing more than this bundle of undesirable concepts.
Because the nature of ego is dualistic, it relates to the idea of separateness, which is undesirable. Because everyone experiences the undesirability of separateness, everyone has a vested interest in masking or coping with this experience. One of the best ways of doing this is to give the ego a positive identity. You can do this by consciously using the power of positive thinking. Another alternative is that you can spend your time looking for, and trying to maintain, the love experience, which pastime is really no different to the power of positive thinking. Either way, you are trying to convince yourself that who you are is worthy, virtuous, and special. This is a description of coping or masking, and coping is one more description of the fundamental nature of ego.
The concept of coping relates to the idea of cause and effect. You cope with your emotions because you believe they “make you feel” a certain way, and that you cause these feelings. At the same time you are identified with the thoughts and emotions that you experience. This means that you believe yourself to be both a cause and an affect.
That you believe that emotions “make you feel,” means you believe you are the victim of your emotions. The word victim denotes someone who undergoes harsh or unjust treatment. In this sense, if you are experiencing emotions you like, you might say it is anathema to call yourself a victim of emotions. However, because desirable emotions are always underlain by the need to sustain them, they are also underlain by fear. This means that, however nice the emotion you are feeling might be, it is rooted in fear.

To some degree or another, fear is always experienced by someone who is in victim mode. Because all emotions are rooted in fear, regardless of how much you like an emotion, as long as you believe emotions “make you feel” (i.e. you are identified with them), you are in victim mode. Whether emotions are overt, subtle, or imperceptible, emotions are always being experienced. Because the ego or false self is the sum of all experiences, this means that the ego is synonymous with victim.
Consciously or unconsciously, the victim mode or identity is never free of blame. Either the victim blames another for “making” them a victim, or the victim blames him or herself for acting in a way that is unacceptable. When self-blame is present, you are basically crediting yourself with being both the cause and the effect of an experience. Another way of saying this is that you consider yourself to be both blameworthy (the cause of an experience), and a victim (the result or effect of an experience).
Clearly you cannot be both a cause and an effect. Neither can you be both someone who is a victim, and someone who is to blame. In other words, you cannot possibly be any concept you are identified as. Because victim and blame consciousness describe the nature of ego, it means that the ego is non-existent. This is why another word for ego is the “false” self: because it is NOT YOU.
If you understand this so far and it rings in some way “true” to you, then you will intellectually recognize that the psyche or this beingness – called “self” – is NOT YOU. You will also realize that who you Really are has to be beyond concepts. When we talk of the anima/animus energies and the matrixes, what we are talking about are various facets of the false self. The overtly false facets of this “self” are the learned roles that you act out habitually. These, in BodyTalk, we talk of as being the personality matrixes, which are learned ways of behaving, as opposed to inborn traits.
What is less overt in the psyche, once the matrixes are formed, are the psychic energies. That is, they manifest overtly, in the “mirror” of the world. Until you recognize the dynamics of mirroring, the reflection of these psychic energies is blamed/disowned by being projected onto others, or onto the body. Because these psychic energies are inborn and are not colored by personal traits at birth, they can, relatively speaking, be considered somewhat impersonal. This is because their expression is not unique to anyone.
The only time the anima/animus energies are considered very personal is when they start being drawn on to a slight degree only. This is because they will continue to be somewhat colored by the existing matrixes. The anima/animus energies are the most natural aspect of the psyche or beingness because they are not unique to anyone and because they are innate or inborn. For this reason, if you want to know “what comes naturally,” or if you want to “come into consciousness,” you need to investigate the humanness as deeply as possible.
To do this you need to “become conscious” of the distortions of anima/animus that are called personality matrixes (learned and adopted roles that parody the natural, inborn psychic energies). When, in whatever way, these distortions are highlighted, their unnaturalness and limitations become obvious. This makes it very difficult to continue acting out in habitual ways.
When sufficient of the matrixes have been highlighted, and learned, habitual roles subside, it is possible to start, consciously, drawing on the energies that permeate the psyche—instead of unconsciously parodying them. This brings about a clarity in the thinking processes, because the anima/intuitive power is then able to infuse the animus trait of rational, practical thought and bring about deep insights into learned information. Similarly, the animus trait of rational thought gives the anima added dimension in that one’s “felt sense” of things begins to make rational sense. In other words, relatively speaking, the mind is steadier.
This mental clarity—provided by the interfacing of anima/animus energies—illuminates the mind. The mind, which was once full of thoughts that name “self” real and thoughts “truths,” begins to fill with questions that shed doubt on the thinking processes and their seeming “truths.” 
As a result of this mental clarity, and the ability to cut through the darkness of ignorance by means of questions, the mind continues to clarify. Eventually, if this process of questioning continues to unfold, all thoughts are realized to be not only untruths, but non­existent. Because thoughts are what divide the perception into duality, duality is also realized to be non-existent.
This realization then highlights the dynamics of anima/animus, as well as the colorings that have arisen from inborn, inherited personality traits. The realization that duality is non-existent then does the work of highlighting these dualistic concepts to such a degree that the mind is experienced as being impotent in the face of these conflicting aspects within the thinking processes.
Once the mind’s insanity and impotence are sufficiently highlighted, no thought can be considered a “truth.” Finding no (animus) rationale in any thought whatsoever, and finding the (anima) intuition incapable of touching the Truth, the psychic energies and inherited personality traits that dictate expression of the thinking processes subside. When this happens, the mind empties of all thoughts, and the perception ceases being named. Because the perception is no longer being named, its dualistic nature ceases to be apparent.
When this “happens,” perception of the false self, or “me,” ceases being apparent AS SUCH. Duality ceases being apparent AS SUCH. This changes the Perception in no fundamental way at all because It has always been an undifferentiated, non-dual mass of consciousness, and You are That.
Although the term “non-dual, undifferentiated mass of consciousness” is used here to describe Self, do remember that no thought, and no name, is capable of naming or explaining the Truth. In order for this Truth to reveal ItSelf, you need to investigate the humanness that masquerades as “truth” and appears to hide Reality from you. To do this, you have to become conscious of the limitations of the personality matrixes.
By means of BodyTalk, and the practice of consulting the innate wisdom inherent in the psyche, you have the potential of undertaking this investigation in a way that is very different to other “pathways.” As a BodyTalk practitioner, you also have the potential of serving as an intermediary between the client’s innate, and your own. This means that your role as a practitioner is potentially that of also helping others to “come into consciousness.”

However, this idea is unhelpful and detrimental to the process of “coming into consciousness.” This is because the role of “helper,” like any role, is nothing but learned habits of behavior which relate to the matrixes. To remain cognizant of this will assuage the problem of becoming goal-oriented in practice. Added to this it is very helpful to remember that “the client” is nothing more than a mirror in which your own psyche is reflected.

By Esther and John Veltheim

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Book Review


The One in the Mirror
See what you truly are!
By Ramesh Balsekar

This book was written by Ramesh Balsekar, who was a beloved teacher of Esther and myself. He wrote many books – all brilliant, but this was a very different book because it is short and is made up of various reflections that Ramesh jotted down whenever they came to mind.

Each reflection was very short – anywhere from two lines to a page. Each reflection is profound in its wisdom. They encapsulate the deeper philosophy behind much of the work I teach in The BodyTalk System.

I will be putting several of the reflections on my quote page in the blog so you can enjoy the incredible wisdom of this truly great teacher. I will post one along with this book review.

John

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Fetal Life



          Recorded by Felix Schembri in Wiggensbach/Germany in the IBA office in Europe

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

How the Umbilical Cord is Cut Can Affect the Rest of Your Life


The article below is from the Globe and Mail national Canadian newspaper. I was excited to see it because it is finally addressing the subject of when to cut the umbilical cord of a newborn baby. Many people don't consider this a significant question, but my long history in working with improving childbirth and the health of babies has made this a very strong issue with me.

The fact of the matter is that the timing of the cutting-of-the-cord, as well as the location of the cut, is very important with regards to the health of the baby from that moment on, for the rest of their life. The article below focuses on the timing of the cutting and is self-explanatory. It also has the usual opposing views from various aspects of the medical profession.

I want to address something else involved with this decision. It's not good enough to say you should wait at least five minutes or longer to cut the cord. That should be obvious. The newborn baby is strongly reliant on his or her placenta for sustenance and oxygen. It takes a little while before its lungs and other functions can take over that job. That can vary from baby to baby but the fact is, if you cut the cord too soon, or to late, there are many ramifications both physically (nutrition, blood, oxygen, etc.) and psychologically (separation issues, abandonment issues, fear of survival, etc.)

Further, if you cut the cord too close to the body it affects the energy system to cause a slower and more sluggish nervous system and metabolism for life. Cutting too far away will cause an over stimulated energy system which mainly affects the nervous system and gives it a lifelong tendency to be hyper-reactive.

Nature tells us when, and where to cut the cord. If you leave the baby for a while, then after several minutes one small section of the cord will start to contract and shrivel. Soon, it will contract sufficiently to shut down all flow from the placenta to the baby. This is nature doing this function at the right time for that particular baby. That is when, and where the animal will chew through the cord. It is also when, and where, we humans can safely cut the cord. The time and place will vary with each baby according to individual needs.

Taking notice of what nature shows us will go a long way to improving the health of the baby and the subsequent ramifications in adult life.
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Taken from the Globe and Mail, Canada April 24, 2013

When exactly should the cord be cut during birth?
Most expecting parents anticipate having to decide who – whether it’s a birthing partner or health-care professional – will cut the umbilical cord when their babies are born. But few consider the question of when to cut it.
The decision of how long to wait before clamping and severing the umbilical cord can have serious consequences for a newborn’s health, according to Dr. David Hutchon, the past president of the North of England Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society. And in many cases, he says, physicians and midwives are doing it too soon, depriving babies of blood.
Doctors traditionally clamp the cord immediately, in the belief it can reduce the risk of neonatal jaundice and protect infants from drugs administered to the mother.
But Hutchon joins a growing chorus of experts who are promoting delayed clamping. Some health organizations, such as the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation, recommend that clamping be delayed for at least one minute for healthy babies, and the World Health Organization also recognizes there is growing evidence to support delayed clamping. Meanwhile, a small fringe advocates not cutting the cord at all, allowing newborns to remain attached to the placenta for days, until the cord detaches on its own.
As media organizations such as the New York Post and the Daily Mail have recently reported, these so-called “lotus births” have become a trend in the United States. Parents who opt for lotus births typically keep the intact placenta wrapped in cloth until the cord breaks.
Hutchon, who does not have a strong view on lotus births, says the decision of when to clamp and sever the cord should depend not on a specified amount of time, but on when the baby has established his or her own breathing and no longer relies on the placenta. This can be determined when the umbilical cord is no longer turgid with blood and has ceased pulsating, which generally occurs three to five minutes after birth.
“If at birth, the cord is clamped quickly, a lot of blood can be trapped in the placenta,” Hutchon says, noting that babies can lose significant blood volume, which could eventually lead to anemia, iron deficiency, and potentially, in rare cases, cerebral palsy.
A Swedish study published in 2011 found that four months after delivery, iron levels were 45 per cent higher in infants whose umbilical cords were clamped at least three minutes after they were born, compared with babies whose cords were clamped within 10 seconds.
Delayed cord-clamping is especially important when newborns are unable to breathe on their own and require resuscitation, since continued blood circulation through the placenta will ensure they get at least some oxygenated blood, as well as adequate blood volume and extra stem cells, which may be help repair any tissue damage, Hutchon says.
Nevertheless, clamping less than a minute after birth remains common practice, says Hutchon, explaining that it may be a holdover from the 1950s, when doctors sought to protect infants from drugs given to mothers to prevent postpartum hemorrhage.
But the need to immediately administer such drugs to the mother is “complete nonsense,” Hutchon says. He says the drugs can be administered after the umbilical cord has quit pulsing and has been clamped and severed.
Carl Backes, a neonatal physician with the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, adds that early clamping may also relate to anecdotal evidence that delayed clamping could increase the risk of jaundice in babies. He says, however, there is an “abundance of evidence” to support delayed clamping.
At the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC), chief executive Dr. Jennifer Blake says there are considerations for both early clamping and delayed clamping. She suggests parents should discuss with their obstetricians, doctors or midwives about the relative pros and cons and what is most appropriate option for them.
The SOGC’s guidelines notes that for babies born at full term, the potential risk of neonatal jaundice “must be weighed against the physiological benefit of greater hemoglobin and iron levels up to six months of age conferred by delayed clamping.” Blake adds that parents who want to bank their babies’ cord blood need to have their cords clamped early. Cord blood-banking stores the stem cell-rich blood taken from the umbilical cord for the possible future treatment of a variety of ailments, such as blood disorders and metabolic disorders.
While lotus births may be gaining more attention, Vancouver home birth attendant and midwifery educator Gloria Lemay has yet to see evidence that it is a growing trend in Canada. In the past 33 years, Lemay says she has only attended about 20 lotus births out of more than 1,000. “It takes very patient people to do it,” she says, saying that while lotus births are safe, handling the baby and its attached placenta can be cumbersome.
“It’s a small number of people who are interested in it, but they’re devoted to it,” says Lemay, who typically waits two hours after a home birth – allowing time to prepare food for the mother and letting the parents relax – before she inquires whether they want to cut the cord. “There’s no rush.”
Dr. Eileen Hutton, director of the midwifery education program at McMaster University, says she is not aware of any particular health benefits to leaving the umbilical cord intact longer than three to five minutes. At the same time, she says she is not aware of any health concerns about lotus births. “I don’t think the practice is well studied, and thus we could only speculate on any risks,” she said.
The London-based Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists issued a statement in 2008 that noted a lack of research regarding safety.
“No research exists on lotus births and there is currently no medical evidence that it is of benefit to the baby,” it said, warning that infants should be monitored carefully for possible signs of infection that may be spread from the placenta.