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Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 13:07:44 GMT

The Authenticity Project begins on May 7th. There is one opening.

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Kate Holt, RN, CCEP

Core Energetics Practitioner and Teacher

Authenticity Project, Director

www.kateholt.info

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Tuscon Tragedy; How can I help?

Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:24:00 GMT

The recent tragic event in Tuscon and the various media spins in the aftermath leave me longing to hear someone speak about it with humility. I am often disturbed by the media's approach to such horrific events. The arrogance of pundits and politicians is striking, as their need to blame is thinly disguised, as a study in prevention. Some don't even try to disguise it. They just blatantly blame. The latest scapegoats are harsh rhetoric and lack of gun control. Other times the scapegoat has been an insufficient mental health system. I'm not a proponent of harsh rhetoric, the NRA, or an imperfect system but the "blaming" rhetoric is like an addictive substance. Watching them blame each other is addictive, too. It's a mental process that numbs the pain and once we start we are soon looking for our next blame fix. We viewers are the addicts and they are our dealers. It all feels like a way to defend against feeling our helplessness. We have been helpless to control people with severe mental illness, from insane acts of violence. I suppose we couldn't have Anderson Cooper or Glen Beck dropping to their knees on national television to feel the agony of that helplessness, saying, "God. help us, we don't have a clue how to stop this kind of thing from happening again!" But I think it would be refreshing!

Perhaps, no one would vote for a politician who admitted, "I don't have the answer." But I would sure listen to one who started with that kind of honesty!

We don't have to wait for CNN or Fox to leads us freedom from our addiction. We could turn off the TV and let ourselves be really affected by what happened. We might feel some withdraw symptoms. We could get quiet and surrender our false sense of being able to control everything. We could reach in or out to a power greater than ourselves and ask for Light to shine in the dark places. We could begin to look at the violence in ourselves. How do we "kill" our own feelings? How do we separate ourselves from ourselves. How do we "kill" our love for others? How do we separate from the people in our lives? How are we insane? How do we lash out? How do we deny reality? How do we engage in blame? How are we like the shooter?

Can we answer these questions and love and accept and forgive ourselves? Can we acknowledge our insanity and still remember our goodness?

I don't have the answer, but I know the way we've been doing it isn't working. Humility begins as we acknowledge and feel our helplessness, as we realize we are not so different from the one who has completely lost touch with reality. Each one of us working to heal our own issues is the only tangible place we can start.

How Long Will This Take?

Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 18:26:00 GMT

We human beings are tricky. We can work really hard to become more conscious of our unwanted patterns. Then, just when we think we have some stuff worked out, new stuff (or deeper layers of old stuff) surfaces! Ugh! The truth is we never get it done. We are evolving emotionally and spiritually. And isn't that good news? How boring would life be, if we completely knew ourselves at say, 42 and then nothing new arises about ourselves, ever again. We'd be plugging along saying, "Same s&#t, different day." If you feel that way now, no matter what your age, your Life Force is BLOCKED!!! Sometimes, Life deals us an evolutionary boost, often packaged or recognized as crisis. Sometimes, we feel the pain of being blocked and proactively seek the boost for ourselves. I prefer the latter.

New clients, who are coming to work on lifelong patterns, frequently ask, "How many sessions will it take?" It's a valid question! These sessions are an investment of time, money, and effort. I ask in return, "How many, to do what, exactly?" Are we talking about, how many to start feeling the effects of opening blocks to your beautiful Life Force? Could be one! Are we talking about how many to sustain opening? That depends on you. How many until you feel completely satisfied with your life? To that I say, that sounds like complacency. It's important to get clear on the question. Perhaps a better question is, "How long until I get a sense of whether this work is moving me in a good direction?" To that I would say, give it three or four sessions. It takes varying amounts of time to feel safe enough to really allow the gentle confrontation that you need. It takes time to become conscious of the subtleties of blocking and opening. If you could have mastered this yourself, quickly, you would have. The truth is many of my clients work with me over a period of years, not because that's how long it takes to "work". Rather, because after years, it's still working! It's still supportive of the evolution they want. Some clients stop for a while and come back for a workshop to get that evolutionary boost. I DO know this, that your rate of evolution correlates pretty well with your level of commitment to really face yourself. You need support to see what you cannot see for yourself. While you may feel the pain of resistance, at times, evolution means expansion and expansion means pleasure. It's so worth it!

From the practitioner side, I discover new aspects of myself, as I work to support each unique client in the ways that they need. I get super-vision for the things I cannot see for myself. I feel so gratified by the expansion I feel, when I stand next to someone to get an energetic understanding of the issue that is causing them to struggle and then to find the way in...to shine light on some small aspect that opens space for them to shift. I cannot think of work that could be more pleasurable for me.

End of theYear Life Assessment

Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 21:24:00 GMT

The end of the year is a perfect time to assess your life through a personal inventory. Find a quiet block of time and space. Set an intention to look at yourself with courage, honesty, and gentleness. You may want write about it in a journal. Here are some questions to support that process:
1) How did I fare with last year's intentions/resolutions? Am I where I want to be with those? Do I need to tweak them into clearer intentions for the New Year?
2) How am I doing in my relationships? In general? And with specific people in my life? With Spirit?
3) What accomplishments or growth areas do I want to acknowledge and honor?
4) What areas am I struggling with? Am I asking for support?
5) How am I doing with self-acceptance?
6) How am I doing with self-care? Health? Nutrition? Activity? Balance? Rest? Meditation?
7) How I am doing with my environment? Do I need to get rid of clutter? Is everything in good working order? Are there repairs needed? Is my environment clean and fresh?
8) How am I doing with finances? am I comfortable with how I am handling money? Spending? Saving?
9) Are there any other areas I want to assess?

When you feel complete with your assessment, set it aside. Take some deep breaths with the intention to release thought patterns that no longer serve. You may want to sleep on it before moving on to the next part.

After assessing where you are, consider how you want to approach the new ye"ar. Do you want to set resolutions, goals, intentions? What do you feel inside as you consider these? If the word resolutions" sends you into wallowing over past failures, that might not be right for you. If the word "intention" seems too arbitrary, you may need to set specific measurable "goals" with deadlines. If that seems too rigid or overwhelming, you may need to use "intention" for an attitude toward yourself you want to adopt. You might want to use a combination of these. What's important is to use what serves you best! Take time to find what works for you.

As you look ahead into the new year, think about what excites you. If money were no object and you couldn't fail, what would you be pursuing? If guilt and obligation were not factors, what avenue would you want to walk down? Wrtie out a fantasy life scenario just to get creative juices flowing. Let yourself enjoy pretending for a little while. Set that aside. You may want to sleep on it again before moving into a more concrete plan.

When you've allowed sufficient time to pass to build some excitement and pleasure about new possibilities, it's time to get serious about what you really want for yourself in the next twelve months. Write it down. You can make it a list. You can write it out as if you are answering the self-assessment questions above from the perspective of how you want to be answering next December. Make it a story. How ever you choose to do it, share your plan with other people whom you know would offer support. Ask some to check in with you and help hold you accountable.

I hope you have fun with the process and I wish you success and fulfillment in 2011!

What happens in a Core Energetics Process Group?

Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 18:15:00 GMT

A Core Energetics Process Group is a place for people who are commited to working on themselves, to do just that. Working on yourself means you are dedicated to understanding your role in creating your life as you know it. It means having an intention to become more conscious. The group provides a feedback loop for how you present yourself, and how your energy affects others in your relationships. It gives you support and love to heal and walk on your journey in good company. It's a place to try on new ways of being. It's a place to check-in and connect. At the end of one of my groups, we do a one-word check-out. The word I most often hear is some version of "gratitude."

Meditation for Wimps

Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 19:45:00 GMT

Have you ever wanted to start a meditation practice? Maybe you've had one in the past and want to get back to it, but just haven't found the time. Maybe you have an image of how a meditation practice has to look and it doesn't fit in your busy lifestyle. Picturing a straight-spined yogi on a cushion, in a sanctuary, surrounded by incense and candles? That's one way it can look. But you can have a meditation practice that is more you (unless, of course that is you.)
Meditation is good for your energetic system, your intuition, and your overall health and wellbeing. Studies show a regular meditation practice lowers blood pressure and cortisol levels! Here are some suggestions to get started:
1)Set an alarm for FIVE minutes. Anyone can find five minutes. If you start small, you'll eliminate the "I don't have time" excuse. Find a nice alarm tone, like a chime. This way if you want to press the snooze to continues five more minutes, you can do so, without disturbing your peaceful state. The chime or tone can be a signal to bring your attention to your breath.
2)Find a quiet space where you won't have distractions. You may want to light a candle or some incense or crack a window to allow fresh air into the space.
3)Before you 'sit', stand and shake out your whole body until you feel complete. You might even want to vocalize your resistance, "I don't feel like meditating!!!" A few gentle stretches can help loosen your muscles.
4)Sit quietly and breathe. Allow your mind to do what it does. As thoughts come in, notice them and then notice your breath.
5)When your alarm tones, congratulate yourself for your practice. You may decide to grow the amount of time you spend in meditation, or not. Give yourself permission to do it your way!
You will notice that even a five minute practice has benefits. As you move through your day, or find yourself feeling stressed, you can take one full easy breath and recreate the level of quiet within yourself that you achieved during your practice.

November is the Month for Remembrance

Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:04:00 GMT

Growing up in the Catholic tradition, I was always concerned about the practice of praying for the “faithful departed.” Didn’t those who were faithless, need our prayers even more? It struck me as a subtle scare tactic for the living, implying, you’d better get to church or we won’t pray for you when you’re dead. Perhaps it is a leftover from a time, not so long ago when suicide deaths and deaths of convicted murderers were assumed to be faithless and were not allowed to be buried in a Catholic cemetery with the traditional Catholic rites. Whether you knew of this, or practices like it, directly or not, you may have internalized its effects. Ask yourself, am I forgivable? Do you bump into a place where you’re not so sure about that one thing? No matter how your loved one died, no matter what you have done in your life, we are all worthy of love now and at the hour of our death and after we pass. The judgment and fear-mongering aside, praying for souls who have departed and honoring ancestors is a practice inspired by love. In Celtic tradition, Samhain marks the beginning of the pagan year and is considered a time when the veil of separation between life and death becomes thin. Accordingly, it is set aside as a time to honor ancestors and remember the dead. All Saints Day and All Souls Day, evolved out of this, as Christianity ‘spread’ throughout the West. In the tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, the practice of the Essential Phowa is offered for the dying and deceased. According to the Pathwork Guide, in any moment, we are all moving away from or toward the ‘center’ and physical death is the ultimate move toward the center.

"When a loved one dies, the process of grieving is a completion that allows us to honor that person's life and claim the wisdom we have gained through the relationship. As we receive the gift of understanding, it transcends time and space, simultaneously gifting the soul of the one who passed over. Grieving is more than learning to live without a dear one. In many cases, we are required to forgive them and ourselves as we bring the story of the time we spent together to meaningful completion. One of the most important things a dying person can know is that their life has had meaning. This knowledge helps put their soul at peace... Regardless of what realm a soul is in, when we grieve as a completion, our love and wisdom reach through space and time as a help and a blessing. It is never too late to help those who have died."

from Pocketful of Miracles by Joan Borysenko

The work of grieving is a challenging completion. We first need to believe the loss is real. We need to feel, express and heal the multitude of feelings associated with the ended relationship. Some relationships are more complicated than others. Some deaths are more complicated than others, such as elective or spontaneous abortions, accidents, or violent deaths. We need to let go and we need to find meaning as we move forward. The work of grieving has no prescribed time limit. We do it, when we do it. In fact, some people shelve it for a time when they can get the support they need to do this work. If you have shelved some of your grief work or if you are actively grieving a loss, right now, I’d like to invite you to attend the Mourning Out Loud workshop on November 21. There is also an eight-week, Wednesday evening grief process group to help you get through the holidays. You don’t have to do it alone.

I offer this meditation for those who have died, especially for those souls who need it most. It is inspired by the faith traditions mentioned above. If you use this and find it helpful for your grieving process, I invite you to post a comment about it here, on my blog.

A Meditation for the Dying and Deceased

Stretch your body in all the ways that feel good to you, then find a comfortable position that supports relaxed awareness. Close your eyes and feel your breath. Allow your breath to gently expand as you become aware of moving your consciousness toward your center, whatever that means for you. Become aware of the surfaces supporting you. Soften your belly, your jaw, your throat. Take as much time as you need to quiet your mind and become centered.

See your loved one in your mind’s eye. (If you are doing this for someone who is actively dying, you can do it in their presence.) Trust the image that comes to you. Visualize within this image, a Divine spark. Imagine the Light of this essence, expanding in all directions to envelope the whole person. Imagine a Light-filled Angel standing right next to him (her.) See the Angel’s love pouring over your loved one. Ask the Angel to lift this soul to the highest realms of Light. See this Angel gently lift your loved one with loving arms. Invoke with all your heart the loving presence of the Divine Beloved. (Use whatever image you and your loved one may have shared.) Visualize the Angel lifting your loved one to merge with the Divine Beloved. Ask for this Light to bless this soul and cleanse it of any illusions or negativity that may be weighing down upon it. Wish your loved one well upon the journey. See all three images merge and dissolve into Pure Light. Dedicate your practice on behalf of your loved one and for all souls in need and for your own healing. Find a way to transition gently to your next activity.

Climate Change; Spirtual Practices Heal the Earth

Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:08:00 GMT

I like to think I contribute to the solution rather than the problem by doing little things, like driving a fuel efficient vehicle or diligently recycling. But when I saw the call to action to blog about climate change today, I thought that my spiritual practices are probably an even more powerful way to impact the earth. The earth, a living organism is in need of healing and purification. That's what Core Energetics work is all about. So as I work in my practice and in my own process, I "ground" to connect with the earth's energy. Moving forward, I intend to be mindful of the bi-directional nature of that connection and trust that there is no separation. As we heal, the earth heals and as the earth heals, we heal. For this knowing, I am grateful.

Quit Smoking and Evolve

Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 13:47:00 GMT

    Stopping Smoking was a huge turning point in my evolution as a human being. I had been a hard-core smoker. I really liked smoking and found it hard to believe that I would ever be able to stop. I shamefully smoked through four pregnancies. What I really wanted was to be FREE of the desire to smoke because I had little faith in my own willpower to resist the potent urges that come with nicotene addiction. My body was giving me many signs that smoking was not right for me. My chest felt tight in the morning upon awakening and this was ususally resolved with moving around and coughing. Very attractive! I got about three colds per year and with each one, bronchitis would last for several weeks. Laughing made me cough. Coughing made me feel short of breath. I was miserable. My self-esteem was pretty poor. And still, I thought I'd never be able to do it.

    When all of my own attempts failed, I decided to try hypnosis on a whim. I saw an ad in the newspaper for group hypnosis that was happening that very evening. I went to a hotel in King of Prussia. There were about 75 smokers in attendance. I had used hypnosis for stress management in the past, so I knew I was hypnotizable. ( Most people are!) I was surprised though, how easily I was able to go into hypnosis, sitting in a straight chair in a crowded room. The experience was very pleasurable. I left at the end of the session with a Smoking Cessation audio-tape in my hand. I lit up a cigarette in the parking lot to prove it didn't work. (I was very stubborn.) But then I realized I hadn't even given it a fair chance. I threw my cigarettes away, drove home and didn't smoke for two weeks. It was easy! However, I knew I wasn't finished yet. I went back to smoking for several more months.

    Just after turning 32, (I had been smoking since 14) I realized I was more than half, as old as, my father was when he died. He had been a smoker and died from heart disease at age 63. I knew that I wanted to live and be healthy enough to continue raising my children. It was one of those moments of consciousness, an awakening of really wanting LIFE. I dug out my audio-tape and set a date and started listening. That was October 1990. I have been free of the smoking habit ever since, really free as in, no desire to smoke. Cravings came in that first year but they were so fleeting, there was almost no effort to resist.

    In 1995, I took an opportunity to train in the use of therapeutic hypnosis. I was so impressed with how powerful hypnosis had been for me that I wanted to learn to use it with other people. One of the first "suggestions" given by my teacher, Pat Trowbridge, during that training was to "keep an open mind." I soaked it up and opened my mind to so many more possibilities. Despite hypnosis working in the subconscious mind, there is always an element of conscious choice. I opened my mind by choice, another moment of consciousness. This opening forged me on a path of spiritual seeking. It led me to my first experiences with energy work, which ultimately led me to my life-work of Core Energetics, (so far.) I am grateful for remembering my profound desire for LIFE and for the journey since that remembrance.

    Perhaps you or someone you know will be inspired to make smoking cessation your turning point. I am offering a Holistic Smoking Cessation program that will include hypnosis, tools and a support system, starting November 7. Participants may use the Great American Smoke Out as their quit date.

Hard Pill vs. Soft Pillow

Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:53:00 GMT

"What is up with my friends? Half of them take ambien to go to sleep. The other half open a bottle of wine after work, every day." This is a very curious concern coming from a thirty-year old client of mine. It saddens me to hear it. I think of the old adage about a clear conscience being a soft pillow. But could it be that so many have a nagging conscience that won't let them sleep? I don't believe so. It occurs to me that many of us keep ourselves so busy (numb) through the course of a day that there is no time for quiet reflection or just plain 'feeling." Caught in a whirlwind of being busy in the head, they may have difficulty shutting it off when it's time for sleep. This combined with the constant barrage of advertising telling us which pill will save us from what ailment, it's no wonder, really. My client who wants to be fully alive, wants to feel her feelings and allow them to be an integral part of her decision-making, feels isolated for not wanting to numb out. I recommended she consider a Core process group, where she can be with other people who work to be vitally alive and fully feeling.

But what about you? Are you one who'd like to be able to sleep without wine or a pill?

Here are some things you can do to help you unwind naturally:

Schedule downtime the same way you schedule everything else. If you don't schedule it, it's left to chance. Even 15 minutes of "nothing to do" time can give you a chance to process feelings about the events and interactions in your day. Downtime is not a nap, or television, or phone calls. It is a time of being quietly alert and aware, a chance to hear your inner voice. Having a designated place for your downtime will support the state of quiet awareness. Make sure books are closed, computer screen is out of sight and earshot, phone ringer is off. Use a timer or set an alarm, if it helps you to avoid constantly checking the clock. Feel into your body. Get comfortable. Breathe. Listen to the sound of your breath. Listen to the pulsations within. Keep a notepad nearby. If something keeps popping into your mind to distract you, jot it down. Then you can be assured you can attend to it when your time is up, leaving you free to feel yourself without the chatter. If you need something else to soothe the busyness of your mind, try using a comforting word as a mantra. For example, turn in your mind over and over one of your favorite words. Not sure, what your favorite words are? Maybe one will come to you during your downtime!

The Soft Underbelly

Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 17:18:00 GMT

Underbelly is term used to describe the side which is not normally seen. Figuratively it means a vulnerable or weak part, similar to the term, Achilles' heel. What is the soft underbelly of where you are at this moment? If you stop and breathe, what is the feeling you might not want anyone else to know about? Can you, at least let yourself know? What is your deepest longing? Can you hold yourself with compassion, here? So much of our day to day is blind to our own soft underbelly. Knowing our vulnerabilities is where our true strength lies. The work of Core Energetics is often about being able to stand in our naked (figuratively) vulnerability, as a means to deepening our connection to self, Spirit, and others. There in the underbelly lies our deepest truth, our connection to the Core. Blessings to you.

Seven Ways to Recharge and Refresh

Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:20:00 GMT

These are simple and you can pretty much do them anywhere. Enjoy!
1.) Sit in a chair with your back straight, feet flat on the floor, hands in your lap. Become aware of how the chair and the floor are supporting you. Hold the awareness for a minute or two.
2.) Breathe in to the count of eight, breathe out to the count of eight. Try to make the flow of breath a steady stream in and out.
Try this for about three minutes, at first. You may decide to go longer, later. If eight feels too difficult, start with a count of five and work your way up.
3.) Gently, put your pinky fingers in your ears and listen to the sound of your own breath for about 10 breaths. Be sure to rest your elbows on your desk or somewhere, while you do this.
4.) Kick off your shoes and use the toes of one foot to rub the sole of the other foot and then switch. Feel the difference when you put your shoes back on.
5.) Use two hands to tap your whole body Start with one foot and work your way up the leg, then tap the other side. Get to every part you can reach.
5.) Drink 12 ounces of water, all at once.
6.) Sitting or standing, gently drop your chin to your chest, then slowly gently sweep your chin across your chest all the way to the right and then all the way to the left. Go back and forth, steadily and continuously, as if you are drawing a smile on your chest with your chin.
7.) Arch your back and then curl your back, several times, using a slow, steady continuous movement, notice how your breath flows with the movement.

Ten Ways to Be Kind and Gentle with Your Self or Managing the Funk

Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 01:17:00 GMT

Dedicated to Katie C. and Mike R.
1) Listen to what you are telling yourself. Replace all "shoulds" with "coulds". This includes past tense as well. (ie. "should have" becomes "could have")
2) Make a list of things you wish someone had said to you when you were a kid.
3) Look at yourself in the mirror and say the things in #2 to yourself.
4) While you are looking in the mirror, before you walk away, focus on your favorite feature for a moment...if you don't have one yet, choose one.
5) Before you leave the mirror, try saying to yourself, "I love you even though_________." (you fill in whatever it is that might be in your way of loving yourself today.
6) Listen to your favorite song..singing along is even better.
7) Make a list of your best qualities. (at least five)
8) Make a list of the people you know would be kind to you, if you told them about the nature of your funk.
9) Reach out to one of the people in #8.
10) Pat yourself on the back for doing any one of the above.

Taking time to breathe, feel, allow...ahhh

Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 18:07:00 GMT

That was my Facebook status today. I stayed in my pajamas all day, too! Doing so gave me a chance to let feelings flow and to honor my real need to slow down. It also inspired the topic for my next workshop, "Be Still and Know." See events calendar. I realize that may sound like I was working rather than breathing. But the truth is when ideas and plans arise from my still inner voice, as opposed to my head, it doesn't feel like work at all. The weekend of October 3 and 4 was slated for a grief workshop "Mourning Out Loud" in NYC. But many factors have led me to provide a workshop closer to home. Serendipitously, I discovered "Yoga for Living," a beautiful yoga studio right nearby that is ideal for a Core Energetics workshop. I stopped in to see the place last week to check it out. The energy there was so clear and calm, I decided to stay for Rhonda Clarke's Svaroopa class. I practice Svaroopa on my own pretty regularly, but quickly realized how much more effective the practice is when done in a class led by a gentle, skilled teacher. Thank you, Rhonda! I'll be back. So here is the workshop description. You're invited! BE STILL AND KNOW: a Core Energetics workshop October 3 &4 Saturday, 11 a.m. -6 p.m, Sunday, 1:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. Remember what it’s like to just BE? Many of us do not. You want to settle in and listen to your inner voice, but there is so much life to keep up with. Even when you find time to relax, negative thoughts, worry, and angst interfere. Are you tired of hearing yourself talk about how busy everyone is or how overwhelming life is these days? Too much technology? Too much information? Too many bills? Too much to do? Come and get reconnected with your inner voice. Get some negativity out of your system through work with your body and your energy. Feel the feelings you haven’t had time to feel. Reacquaint yourself with your playful, joyous self. Open to receive. Juice up your creativity. Connect deeply with yourself and others in this powerful workshop. Spend an autumn weekend rekindling your most important relationship… your relationship with yourself. (Sleeping in on Sunday is strongly suggested, or if you have a Spiritual practice that supports your connection, do that.) Investment in your most valuable asset, you: $125 by 9/23. $150 after 9/23. Kate Holt is a Core Energetics Practitioner in Marlton, NJ. In addition to individual and couples sessions, Kate offers process groups and workshops on many topics. Kate is on the Faculty of the Institute of Core Energetics, New York and trains practitioners, locally. Call 856/261-4900 to register. www.kateholt.info kateholt@verizon.net

The Sustainable Relationship

Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Fri, 08 May 2009 14:06:00 GMT

The following newlsetter excerpt comes my my teachers, Brian and Marcia Gleason, who developed the Exceptional Marriage model for couples. I have been blessed to be able to participate in their training for practitioners. You can sign up to receive their wonderful newsletter by visiting their beautiful webiste Exceptional Marriage.

We have discussed in earlier articles, the structure of the modern relationship creates such a strain that, for many couples, it is nearly impossible to sustain. We have come to believe that for most couples (ourselves included) there is an undercurrent of approval-seeking in how we orchestrate our daily lives. "Look at how good I am!" is often the unconscious motivation behind our drive toward accomplishment. The result is a relationship that is imbalanced and careening toward collapse. We talked previously about what constitutes a sustainable relationship. In our last entry we discussed the importance of emotional literacy and honesty. Today we would like to focus on a second component, namely a connection to the natural world.
Relationship ecology, or the creation of a healthy environment that allows our partnership to flourish, can be summed up in a word - balance. When we are operating from the yearning for approval, or when we are motivated by fear, we live our lives with an ungrounded frenzy. There's an old axiom that reminds us "If you chase two rabbits you catch neither." I am guessing we all know how this feels. When we are busy chasing down the elusive targets of acknowledgement and safety, we fall out of rhythm with the natural order. When we learn to re-connect to the pulsation of nature we realize there is a time for everything. Core Energetics tells us that all life goes through continual cycles of "charge" and "discharge." That is, we build tension and intensity and we soften into relaxation and release. But when the focus shifts away from living in harmony with this basic impulse we become either anxious, insomniac, and irritable, or we slump down into depression, exhaustion and apathy.
We need to re-discover our intimate connection to nature's rhythms in order to create a balance between the poles of over-charge and under-charge. There is a profound difference between the feeling good that comes from our ego, which says "I guess I'm OK - look at all I have done", and that which comes from an inner sense of balance and connection. Relationships that sink into a competitive struggle to out-do each other leave both partners tired, depleted and resentful. Such couples can never quite feel safe in being just who they are. Their lives come to resemble a log rolling contest where each person runs faster to get the other to fall first.
To feel our bodies and enter the flow of life force, we need to bring our relationships into the natural world. For the two us us this has recently meant a return to gardening and a new foray into raising chickens. For you it could be riding bikes, walking the shoreline, climbing trees, making love in a meadow, fishing, or watching the sun rise or set. Or, it could be a thousand other possibilities. To make contact with the natural world helps us to feel ourselves and to experience each other. Though we often forget, we live in bodies - we are our bodies - and our partners have bodies too. We are not just ego-machines dutifully doing what we think we should. We are alive, and we are part of the grand and beautiful world that resides just outside our minds. A sustainable relationship is dependent on the realization of our intimate connection to nature. Breathing, feeling, and allowing our five senses to encounter the fullness of nature are vital to authentic relationship. Too often we go entire days only relating through our words. A wholesome, alive relationship uses a language that speaks through our skin, not just our vocal chords. Balancing our "doing" side with our "being" side is vital to the creation of an alive, sensual connection. Marriages become much more sustainable with a vital connection to the earth, our bodies, our "beingness" and one another.
Exercise to try:
Go for a walk or hike and agree not to speak. Enagage your senses of sight, hearing, smell, and touch. Make contact through your bodies by holding hands, hugging, etc.

Inclusion and Diversity

Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Sun, 03 May 2009 17:54:00 GMT

Inclusion and Diversity (from May Newsletter)

Inclusion and diversity are powerful words that I have been coming across lately, both in my Core Energetics community and my Essential Experience (EE) community. For me, these words carry a lovely vibration. "Inclusion" feels warm and inviting. As I say it, I can feel the vibration in my heart and diaphragm and it feels grounding. "Diversity" is brimming with excitement and charge, very alive. But why do we even need these words? We need them because we have been consciously or unconsciously creating "exclusion" and have somehow kept things pretty "homegeneous". While the words, inclusion and diversity, are positive and expansive, I must admit there is some fear just under the surface. I think this fear is what needs exploration. Fear is negative and it needs to be clearly defined in order to be brought to light. Very often fear is born out of misconceptions. Sometimes fear is about expansion and letting go of previously accepted boundaries. Every time I expand my previously defined boundaries, I experience fear. It becomes problematic if I allow the fear to take me to contraction. For example, if I fear the expenses and maintenance of moving into a larger space, I can allow the fear to be there, pray for courage, and rise to meet the new expectations, anyway. Or I can allow the fear to rule me and chose to stay in the tight space. The pain in this is not so much about the tight space but about the unwillingness to risk. There is pain when we hold ourselves back. We may be conscious of it and find ways to justify it. More often, we will keep ourselves numb to it; protect ourselves from even knowing about it. Whatever we do to numb ourselves is simultaneously deadening our life force energy.

The work of Core Energetics is in part about examining our hidden (unconscious) negativity, releasing that energy and transforming it, on a very personal level. We look at the ways we block love and intimacy. We look at the ways we disempower or sabotage ourselves. In the looking, we often discover our woundedness and bring light and healing. We find our personal power and our will to love and be loved is strengthened. The process is enlivening and it takes courage.

The following quote comes from the Q&A section following the Pathwork Guide Lecture #25. The question asked about the spiritual significance of different races:

You may wonder why certain races do not suffer from being different from others. Then you might ask, "What can they learn from that?" Indeed, they, too, have something to learn. Perhaps they need to learn the responsibility that arises from being spared sufferings that other peoples may have. Besides, this angle is not the only one to be considered. A spirit can be born into a race or nation because spiritually, emotionally, character-wise and psychologically it belongs to this group and therefore has the best opportunity to unfold there. Differences will exist as long as disunity exists on earth and humanity has not learned to overcome it. As any difficulty or apparent disadvantage can be a cure, which it must be if the person is on the right path, advantage can be a cure, too. Through differences of race, religion, nationality, or various other categories, humanity can become stronger and advance faster in spiritual development precisely because frictions exist. Without friction, development can never proceed. It is only a question of how the difficulty is met, always; how is it met individually and collectively.

I am making a commitment to use the Core Energetics process to examine my fear around this issue of inclusion. I want to continue to expand toward unification within myself and with those in the world. At this time, I don’t feel I have a lot of answers but I am willing to be with the questions. What am I afraid of? What I am protecting? What don’t I want to see in myself? What don't I want to see in the other?

Medicating for Inconvenient Emotions

Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 23:20:00 GMT

The following is reprinted with permission.

Medicating for Inconvenient Emotions
Pamela L Chubbuck PhD © September 2008

There's An Elephant in Our Living Room
There's an "Elephant in the Living Room" of our country and he's taking Zoloft! Poor Jumbo is depressed because he was moved to a different circus and had to leave his lover behind. His boss wanted him back on the job pronto since after all - you know - the show must go on! Jumbo wasn't given a chance work out his own feelings and now he is chronically depressed. His body hurts and he is miserable.

Medicating inconvenient emotions is in epidemic proportions: something that we do in this country out of our own fear. Adults and children are being medicated because most people don't know how to help them deal with strong emotions. Parents, friends, family members and frankly most professionals don't know what else to do. And if someone, family member or professional, has not dealt with their own emotions they can be deathly afraid of someone else's. Most often they are unconscious about their fear.

Money Makes the World go Around
Taking advantage of this fear for profit, are government agencies, drug companies, pharmacies, and physicians. We used to worry about illegal drugs and drug pushers lurking around school to sell drugs to kids and street corners to sell illicit drugs to adults. Now we must be concerned about drug company drug pushers and complicit physicians prescribing medications when they should not be. Even parents, not knowing how to deal with normal emotions push drugs on their kids to make them behave, be quiet, don't bother me. But all this is another story to explore later. (See references at end of article). Meanwhile, everyone is afraid.

What Are We afraid Of?
We are afraid to let go of our ego and allow our body to express its natural life. We are afraid of deep emotions because when we were kids and were deeply injured, we moved up into our heads, our egos, to feel safe. Now we don't know how to release the ego and allow the streams of our life force, our pleasurable energies, to take over. We are afraid if we let them flow we will be deeply hurt again. Or worse, we'll be annihilated. So we "bottle them up", try to stop the flow at all costs.

The Soul Needs Time Feel
Professionals generally don't understand the positive results of allowing the feeling and bodily energy to flow. Here in this westernized country, we medicate people for feeling deeply. Don't get me wrong, psychotropic meds are clearly needed in some cases. I'm not talking about withholding medication from people with schizophrenia, psychosis, or true bi-polar disorders; I'm talking about medicating anger, sadness, and anxiety that come from normal events of life. Normal events of life include losing a partner of many years, losing a parent, having a series of disappointments, feeling anger at things that cannot be controlled. Life happens: Parents get Alzheimer's, a child becomes ill. We could sit in these experiences. We could use them for our growth.

Wisdom Keepers Know
Wisdom keepers, master therapists and many holistic physicians know that these difficult things of life must be felt and experienced to heal. Medicating someone under normal life circumstances creates a numbing of normal emotions and ultimately prolongs the painful process. Asclepius, the early Greek God of medicine, was the founder of what we now call "alternative medicine", except it was considered traditional medicine then. What Ancient Greeks and Indigenous Healers understood was that any illness comes from disconnecting somehow from ones' Soul or Spirit. Healing therefore must be attained by reconnecting to ones' soul/spirit/core and embodying it.

To heal, we must become more conscious not less. Many medications render us less able to be conscious, therefore less able to heal. Indigenous healers knew, ancient Greeks knew, my great grandmother knew, that bringing Spirit into the physical body was accomplished by dancing, drawing, writing, wailing, kicking, dreaming, crying, laughing, acting out your story - as in theatre, sweating and story telling.

Not Their Fault
In defense of those fearful professionals, they are/were not taught in their MD, MA or PhD programs what to do with strong emotions - so unless they sought their own therapy or had further training they are stumped. I worked at Georgetown University Hospital in the 70s and talked with a physician who literally ran out of the hospital because he could not deal with his own feelings after delivering a still born child. I have worked with therapists who are terrified of their clients' feelings so much that they unconsciously do not allow the client to deal with emotions that mirror their own unresolved conflict. This is of course Counter Transference, and it happens all the time...

So, when Cognitive Behavioral strategies fail and they often do fail when strong emotions are involved, medical professionals are likely called in and medication is prescribed. In this day of informational technology, many people walk into their Drs offices and demand Prozac, Zoloft or Wellbutrin,(etc.) having diagnosed themselves by reading a newspaper, magazine article or seeing an ad on TV. Because god knows, they are afraid to feel. And more shocking is that they usually receive the medication without real diagnosis to determine what is deeply wrong or given guidance by professionals as to how to truly heal. Because most professionals they seek out have not learned to feel deeply and are educated by drug companies who make billions on their psychotropic drugs.

We Must Feel, We Must Move Our Bodies
Core Energetics teaches us that we as energetic beings have emotions that are energy - and we must allow that energy to m o v e. When we get scared we hold our energy, it gets stuck, we feel bad, become depressed, anxious, and if we hold the "stuff" long enough, we become physically ill, taught Wilhelm Reich MD, Alexander Lowen MD, and John Pierrakos MD.

Most people who go to therapy experience what we call "talk therapy" and when that doesn't work for them, meaning they still feel bad, angry, guilty, scared, are on medication that numbs them and they are not happy about it, etc - some show up in my office.

For more articles by Pam, visit http://www.core-energetics-south.com/

The Core Energetics Process

Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 04:00:00 GMT

Paraphrased from Core Energetics by John Pierrakos, M.D.:

Core Energetics centers on the person's innate health and aims to restore the functioning of the whole, so that the injured parts may also thrive. The holistic orientation has radical implications for the process of healing, the suffering person, and the practitioner. Core Energetics builds on releasing the right energy of the core rather than correcting specific distortions or aliments. The sufferer marshals that energy and in actuality evolves the path of the work. The practitioner casts a searchlight into the sufferer's core to illuminate that innermost truth, which the path will reach. The process of clearing the way for the higher self...is an education in inner reality, helping the person perceive from and act through the core. The course of learning leads the sufferer to open and invigorate the center of life, to stand aligned wth it, and to take his or her existential perspective from it... An educator knows that every person possesses unique gifts and will utilize a learning program in unique ways to further a unique life plan. The educator offers neither the gifts, nor the plan. These are the student's. The same is true in Core Energetics. The sufferer's own vital forces are what heals, not the practitioner's actions or antidotes. These are important but only supportive. The client is conducting the search for his or her own truth, his or her unique path.

Whenever, I read any of John's writing, I feel his love coming through the page. I love that John called his clients, "sufferers". It is indicative of the compassion he felt toward those with whom he worked. John believed that as a practitioner you can only touch the core of your client when reaching from your own core. As a Core Energetics Practitioner, doing my own work is a critical element in my ability to reach from my own core. I am eternally grateful to John for the beautiful work he created.

An Oldie but Goodie!

Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:43:00 GMT

I came across this article I wrote six years ago when I was a fourth year student of the Core Energetics Practitioner Training Program. It reminds me of how much this work has continually changed my life for the better. Enjoy!

I knew two things when I started working with a Core Energetics therapist.
I was very unhappy and I had many physical syndromes. “Syndrome”: a euphemism for “we don’t know what the hell’s wrong with you or how you got it.” I had lots of labels with three initials, TMJ, PMS, CFS, chronic LBP (low back pain) and PIA (pain in ass.) In addition, I had migraine headaches, and all kinds of diagnoses that end in “itis”: plantar fascitis, bursitis, maybe even, arthritis. Every morning I woke up in pain and every night I went to bed feeling hopeless. I joke about it now, but I was having real symptoms and real pain. Was it psychosomatic? Yes! Was it real? You betcha!
At the time, I was searching for answers. I didn’t want to go the “anti-inflammatory” drug route. I tried chiropractic, vitamin supplements, energy work, all of which helped to one degree or another, at least for a time. But I was still suffering and I knew on a very deep level that it was related to emotional pain. I wanted relief!
I first discovered Core Energetics, while reading Barbara Brennan’s Hands of Light. I saw a drawing of a client working on a roller, (a piece of equipment used in CE therapy.) The drawing showed a gray energy being released as the client worked. As soon as I saw it, I knew it was what I needed. I found a Core therapist in Philadelphia, Karyne Wilner, who is the Director of Education at the Institute of Core Energetics East, as well as an International Director. I started working with her regularly. Within six months, most of my symptoms were relieved. I was beginning to become conscious of defenses I had created both physically and behaviorally to protect myself from deeper pain. Of course, I still get occasional aches and pains, but they usually are a signal that I need to become more conscious of my inner dynamics. Now, I have many tools and support with which to do that. Sometimes they are simply a signal to rest, and take loving care of myself.
Two years into therapy, I started training as a Core therapist myself, at the Institute of Core Energetics East in New York. It was a natural progression in my healing career as a nurse and hypnosis counselor. I had the pleasure of working with and studying under founder, John Pierrakos, M.D., before his death in February 2001. I am now in the fourth and final year of my training, and working with clients and groups, with supervision. I have found my passion! It is using Core in my life to bring me closer and closer to my authentic self, experiencing pleasure and fulfillment, and helping others do the same. The more I learn about the Core process, the more I want to share it with others.
Core Energetic addresses the individual on five levels: body, emotions, mind, will, and spirit. Though we begin with the body, the levels overlap at various stages of therapy. Based on some of the work of Wilhelm Reich, Core presupposes that feelings flow on energy, carried through the body on the breath. That energy, which is meant to flow in the healthy person, is sometimes blocked, split, or leaky in an effort to prevent the feelings. This process of blocking energy and the flow of feelings starts very early in life, when the child perceives needs not being met. It may be created to stop the flow of painful or “parentally unacceptable” feelings, but in turn, it blocks the flow of the creative life force within the individual. The child finds many ways to block this flow: breathing shallowly, or holding the breath, chronic muscular contractions, along with psychological defense mechanisms, all of which become unconscious. Much of the body-therapy consists of breathing and physical exercises designed to release these blocks, or charge and contain energy. Supportive counseling helps to process and integrate what the body reveals, bringing greater consciousness.
There are spiritual presuppositions as well, based on the Pathwork, a body of material, channeled through Eva Pierrakos, by an entity known as “the Guide.” The child comes into the world as pure light, the Core, the Higher Self. The child brings needs into the world, as well. When these needs are not met, there is an organismic reaction of terror and rage. This is the development of the Lower Self. The child learns quickly that this Lower Self reaction is unacceptable and must negate this part of himself, in order to survive and keep parental love. A third layer, the Mask, develops to hide both the Lower Self and the need. The Mask consists of the defenses the child uses to protect himself. The Mask blocks the flow of the child’s true essence, both Lower Self and Higher Self. It goes unconscious, leaving the individual cut off from his true essence and identifying
himself with the Mask.
The work of Core Energetics is to confront and penetrate the Mask, energize and release the Lower Self in ways that are harmless. The goal here is to free up the flow of energy into and out of the Core, which is the connection to God and all that is. The vast amount of energy that is released enhances the ability to experience pleasure, creativity, connection, and fulfillment.
It’s important to honor the creation of the elaborate defense system that helped you survive. This work requires a willingness to look courageously and gently at parts of yourself, you may not want to see. It also encourages and empowers you to claim your higher-self qualities and align with your higher purpose. The benefits are great, as you work through your body, bringing greater energy, consciousness, and choice to the life you are creating. Core Energetics is about accessing your deepest truth, moment by moment.

What a Core Energetics session is like.

Kate Holt - Core Energetics — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:34:00 GMT

Cindy Michel, a colleague of mine in California, gives a great description of what a session is like.
Check it out.
http://www.cindymichel.com/what_is_a_session_like/what_a_session_like.html