JOURNEY with LEOTHA

                                          © February 7, 2008

Over the last several years it occurred to me, while speaking with female friends and associates, how energy exchange between individuals can affect many aspects of our daily lives.

More than twenty years ago, I worked the day-shift in a county jail as a Sheriff Deputy, assigned to the medical module where inmates with mental health issues were housed. About one year later I came back from a two week vacation and was immediately confronted by the Family Nurse Practitioner and the Supervising Registered Nurse at the jail. They asked me if I would let them know when I scheduled another vacation. Well, I was very confused! I said, “Sure I will, but why do you want to know?”  The Family Nurse Practitioner said, “Because we want to schedule our vacation during the time you are off”. Still not getting it, I said, “What do I have to do with when you decide to take vacation?”

Well, they explained to me how the stress level is much lower when I am on-duty. The inmates with mental health issues are much calmer when I am there.  I heard compliments from medical, mental health and my supervisors about the difference I made in making their jobs easier, but, I really didn’t know what they were talking about. But, then again, I always worked alone; therefore, I never got to see how other Deputies communicated with inmates, I heard various stories and knew some of my peers whom I did not like being in their presence.

Several years later, as a Drug and Violence Prevention Specialist, I was perplexed by a female parent’s statement to several other parents during a school event. During a casual conversation, this parent said, “I don’t know what it is, but no matter how down I feel, all I need is ten minutes in Officer Douglas’ presence and I am feeling energized”.

As I recall, this parent just walked away, with the rest of us, especially me, wondering, “What did she mean by that?”  

It would be many years later that I learned how one’s presence (energy) may create a sense of peace, anxiety, confusion, anger, fear, guilt, etc. in another person.

During the late 1990’s I began to study “energy” and how it is transferred between individuals. One of my first ventures was to “clear” all my well meaning family’s (mom, dad, grand parents, etc.) energy from my body.

Several years ago I was in a group meeting when my body suddenly began to feel agitated as one of the participants (I will call her Shirley) began making suggestions to me about a question I had.  The more Shirley spoke the more agitated I got, even when she was addressing someone else. 

Now, I had known Shirley for about a year and knew her to be very compassionate, though provoking and a wonderful listener. I began to make myself wrong for feeling like I did not want to be in the same room with Shirley.

After the meeting I began to process my did-ease when I hear Shirley speak. I called a friend and discussed it, but no conclusion was made.

The next day while meditating on my dilemma with Shirley, it dawned on me, “Shirley’s energy was the same as my mother’s!” I asked myself, “What was I to learn from this revelation?”

The first thing they popped into my mind was, “Since I had forgiven my mom for whatever I had done to hurt or offend her and asked her to forgive me “soul to soul” (my mom was in advance stage of Alzheimer’s disease at the time). I had forgiven myself for feeling anger, guilt, sadness, frustration, shame, etc. for judging my mother.”

So, I thought, “What else am I missing regarding the energy of my mother coming up for me when I am in the presence of Shirley?”

I knew the importance of why we attract people into our lives, to mirror the things we don’t like about ourselves. Since we are programmed with our family’s well meaning beliefs and community norms at an early age, I wondered what pattern(s) I was still repeating.

I was well aware of the terms: “What I fear, I will attract. What I run from, I run into. If I continue to do what I have always done, I will continue to get what I have always gotten”.

Suddenly, a “light bulb went on” in my mind! I realized I was still in judgment of my mother!

I had learned how energy within my body reacts when I am in a place of love/neutrality and non-judgment (“Personal Power”), versus being in a place of fear (control, judgment, resentment, anger, guilt – “No Personal Power”).

I now realized the gift Shirley provided me by mirroring my mother’s energy! I was in gratitude for Shirley’s energy vibration reminding me that I was still living in the perception that all I had to do was practice moving others energy out of my body/space and I would be done with it. This experience with Shirley was just another reminder for me to always notice what “place” I am being in when anxiety energy began stirring inside me. Once I breathe into my heart and acknowledge, without judgment, the feeling that comes up and then send love energy to that place, the dis-ease subsides.

Though Shirley soon after moved from the area, I have not met anyone who has caused me to feel my mother’s energy come up within me since.

What I have noticed is the number of conversations I have had with females about how hard it is to stay in their “Personal Power” when they are in the presence of a domineering family member, ex-mate, friends that are addicted to drama, someone in authority, etc. These females mostly speak about feeling hopeless during their conversation or energetically drained after a conversation, whether in person or by phone.

I feel one major lesson these situations provide anyone is the opportunity to “Reclaim Your Power” by:

·        Resetting boundaries

·        Re-learning to stand in your “Personal Power” by stating what is so for you and how you feel about it

·        Requesting your needs be met….YES, putting yourself first! When you were a child you demanded your needs be met, until someone verbally, physically or energetically stopped you

·        Trusting your intuition

·        Taking time to be alone to give your energetic body and especially your heart, time to heal

Understand this shift in perception will cause your body to go into anxiety, but remember, we get to choose. We can choose to continue to do what we are accustom to, even though, deep down we know we deserve better. Or, we can choose to do whatever it takes to shift out of our feeling of powerlessness and energy-draining way of life.

Obviously, if one does choose to change what’s going on in their personal life, they need time. The ego mind will run many stories about why you should not change. Since our energetic body learns to accept as “normal” the issues that are playing out at this time, we must allow ourselves to be vulnerable by asking for assistance. Once we decide to change what’s going on in our life, the Natural Laws of the Universe began to support us.

As the saying goes, “We must shut the door behind us in order to allow the next door to open for us”. Another way of saying that is, “Once you decide to change/shift what’s going on with your life, people will show up to assist you. Yes, some people will disappear from your life, but you will attract others into your life to mirror more opportunities for you to expand even further.

I choose to look at relationships as “energetic contracts”. “Energetic contracts” provide personal growth opportunities through experiences (loving or painful) to learn from and grow. Once you feel the relationship no longer serves you or the other person, express your gratitude to the individual and move on. It’s your right to decide when the “energetic contract” is complete.

None of this happens overnight……remember, for years you have been absorbing the energy of well meaning family members and not-so-well meaning, spouse/mate(s), friends, associates, bosses, etc. With assistance/coaching, one can “Reclaim Their Personal Power”.

GROUNDING and CENTERING PRACTICE

© 2006

Prior to meditation it is important to clear your body of any negative energy and thoughts.

There are a number of ways to do this, such as:

• Performing some light stretching exercises, Yoga stretches, etc
• Performing a breathing exercise to allow your lungs and stomach to be filled with fresh oxygen
• Toning / throat singing for 5-15 minutes to raise the vibration level in the body
• Set an intention for what you wish to gain clarity or insights on a particular vision
• Bring your attention to your heart as you continue to breath deeply
• Ground your spine and feet into the center of Mother Earth (You may imagine, sense or visualize you having a root, cord or string connected from your spine and feet into the center of the Earth.)
• As you breathe deeply while focusing on your heart, imagine you are breathing healing energy in the form of light. This healing energy flows up from the center of Mother Earth through your feet and spine. Imagine this healing energy flows up into your heart. You may be able to see this energy in a particular color
• Ground from the top of your head out into the deepest part of the heaven, sky, sun, moon and/or stars
• As you continue to breathe deeply, imagine healing energy in the form of light flowing down from the sky through your grounding root, cord or string that sit just above your head. Imagine this healing energy flowing down through your head, throat and shoulders where it merges inside your heart, with the healing energy that is flowing up from Mother Earth
• Notice the subtle tingling sensation in the lower part of your body flowing up into your heart. Notice the subtle tingling sensation in the upper part of your body flowing down into your heart
• As you visualize or imagine being centered between the earth and the sky, call back all unintended and/or intended negative thoughts, words and energy you have ever sent out to anyone or any. Call these negative thoughts and/or words back from today, yesterday, last year, this lifetime and (if you believe) past lifetimes
• As these negatives thoughts and/or words come back to you (you do not have to remember what they were), color them LOVE, as you imagine them dissolving outside of your aura field
• Embrace your “Inner Child” and send it LOVE, beginning at the time of your conception, through pregnancy, through labor, through birth, through 1 year old, through 2 years old and continuing through each year up to your current age
• When you notice your mind wandering, refocus on your heart as you continue to breath normally

Note: This exercise takes regular practice and patience to notice its benefits.

Staying Grounded and Centered

© 1-16-06

Being present in the moment, grounded and centered is continually mirrored to me during my work with clients in private sessions or in “circle”.

With many of us having experienced during childhood physical, sexual and verbal abuse, rage/anger, we learned to leave our body to escape the pain. Over time this way of escaping the pain of abuse became the “normal way of being” when we sense or feel a stressful situation coming. To put it another way, to escape pending fear, trauma/pain would be to try and block whatever was happening out of our minds, or the mind would act as a protection mechanism by shutting down.

As we age, we move into more stressful situations with family, career, relationships, etc. Unless one learns techniques that allow them to “stay present in the moment” while confronting a stressful situation head-on, they will continue to feel overwhelmed by those who may accuse them of not being able to handle stress well. At some point this person will feel insecure, inadequate and angry at self, have lower self-esteem and quite frankly wonder what is wrong with them. We may wonder why we end up in relationships that have the same theme…drama, drama and more drama. This feeling of hopelessness may lead to risky behavior, self-medication or worst in an attempt to feel less pain.  This behavior causes even more separation from being in-body.

I have worked with clients who found it to be very scary to feel what it’s like to be fully in their body. When some clients feel the energy of the Earth flowing up through their feet and spine, they have no reference for this energy; therefore they feel it is not normal. With patience and time, the client began to adjust to what is really the normal place to be when confronted with stress or everyday life.

One of the first things I notice when someone calls me is whether they are grounded and centered (in their body). When someone is stressed and anxious, I ask them to do 4 simple things;

·        Stop talking and take a couple deep breaths.

·        Close your eyes and bring your attention to your heart as you continue to breathe normally.

·        Imagine you are connected to the center core of the earth by an anchor or cord attached from the base of your spine. Better yet, imagine you are your favorite tree or flower, with roots extending into the center of the earth and outward. You are so tall that your branches extend high into the sky to receive the nourishment of the Heaven.

·        Continue to breathe normally as you focus your attention on the heart. Imagine your heart is the meeting point for the feminine energy coming up from Mother Earth and the masculine cosmic energy flowing down from Heaven.

Unless the person has a severe emotional issue or is on medication, she/he usually notices right away that they were literally out of their body.

Being grounded and centered allows you to be in balance, or at-one with the Universe. This way when something stressful comes up for you, you will automatically deal with it in a calmer manner.

Being centered and grounded requires practice, practice, practice. Just like prayer and meditation is suggested as a daily ritual, centering and grounding should be done prior to either. After some time you may not notice how much you have shifted, but others will certainly noticed your “new way of being”. 

I DISCOVERED I AM EMPATHIC….NOW WHAT DO I DO?

© June 2008

 The common theme during the four Shamanic Journeys I facilitated during KarmaFest 2008 www.KarmaFest.com was women’s awareness of being empathic and asking how they can avoid becoming depleted of their energy and how to best recharge.

Its one thing to know you find yourself feeling drained after being around certain people or teaching a class of 30-35 children. It’s a blessing to finally possibly discover why this happens to you.

I have wondered how many people, mostly women, go through life as an empath and never become aware that the pain and anxiety they feel is not theirs. I sense many feel obligated to be a compassionate listener for friends, associates, family, etc., who are so willing to share their problems and sometimes their innermost secrets laced with pain, deep-seated guilt and shame.

The unconscious empath is often all to willing to be there for this person who unconsciously feels, “I can now let go of my stuff. Since I will not be judged or made to feel bad about who and/or what I am”.

During this interaction, the open and ever so willing empath is unaware that this person who is freely sharing what’s going on for them, may also be refilling their energy body that has been drained by fear based pain, shame, guilt, anger, resentment, lack of self worth, etc. Once the person’s energy body is full, they may joyfully end the conversation, usually thanking the empathic listener for being there for them and then leaves. The empath usually finds herself/himself in a state of, “What just happened?! I was feeling fine before he/she showed up and started sharing. Why am I now feeling so tired and drained? What is this pain I am feeling? I was not feeling pain before they showed up?

At some point in life the empath becomes conscious that certain people dump on them. The frustration and resentment the empath feels may be overridden by the empath’s inner desire to make others feels better and keeping the peace. The empath is unaware that something may have happened during childhood that caused her/he to begin a pattern of opening up their “energy body” to easily take on others pain and/or anxiety. The empath’s home environment may have been very chaotic with sexual, physical and emotional abuse, fueled by alcohol/drug abuse. In such a chaotic environment, the empath usually adapts by doing whatever she/he can to keep the peace.

As a child, we may close our eyes, take a deep breathe and wish it all would stop and go away. When we take a deep breathe, we bring the chaos inside our body. Over time the child unconsciously takes on the responsibility of keeping the peace within her/his environment. We may feel guilty and tell ourselves; maybe things would be better if we were not around.

This unconscious behavior may feel normal as we get older and our life evolves. We are usually attracted to what feel normal and comfortable, no mater how painful or chaotic it may appear to others. If one feels pain long enough, then pain becomes normal.

We may gravitate to what feels comfortable in regards to relationships and those whom we seek out as friends. Many of us receive intervention through counseling/therapist or through functional relationships, but some of us fall through the cracks.

When I was a young adult, I would feel agitated hearing people tell joke that put down others. The jokes that I felt the most pain in my body were those that were racist, sexist and/or homophobic in nature and about fat people. I did not consciously know that the person telling the joke had somehow heard these jokes for so long and began to tell them because he/she had come to see them as harmless. At some point I determined that most told these jokes to appear funny and draw attention away from their own insecurities.

At some point I told someone how these jokes made me feel and I was I told, “You have a right to let the jokester know how you feel about it, or you can leave when the jokester shows up”.

In all honesty, I did not know it was within my right to tell someone else that I felt offended. As I write this, I wonder why it took so long for me to get that. In my next breathe, I am aware that fear stopped me from saying something. With my next breathe, the question come to mind; “Was I also feeling the pain of the jokester as well as feeling offended?”

During my late twenties I noticed people found me easy to talk to. I felt obligated to listen to what someone had to say and respond in a compassionate way.

Over time, I would avoid being around some people when they were alone, because they would tell me about their problems. I would feel fine when I started talking to them, but would feel tired and drained once they left.

Hence, whatever the environment, we usually develop a way to adapt, in order to function as best we can.

By listening to friends, associates and clients, I have discovered some of them realized during teen, college or early adulthood that they could not work in certain jobs that required them to be around many people. They usually moved into a profession which required them to work alone, or work from home, so they could avoid taking into their energy body, the pain and anxiety of others.

Yet the empath still found it distressing to go a social gathering, workshop or public function and return home feeling so drained they sometimes felt ill for several days, thinking the problem was them. I constantly heard the empath say, “People think I am weird, but I have to stay away from certain events or I will feel zapped after I return home”.

Once someone discovers they are empathic, they realized how many people they know are also empathic to varying degrees. Most people seek professional help and get results, but some are still trying to figure it out on their own or have resigned themselves to adapting as usual. Some will feel called to seek various modalities to assist in preventing their energy from being drained.

I feel the re-learning process is about trusting what feels right for you, not what I may think or what someone else think is best for you. Even for those who may feel their search for answers feel fruitless, “I suggest you continue being open to finding what you seek. If you can’t find the solution, go inward (meditation) and ask that the solution come to you”.

If you feel called, do some research about what constitutes being an empath. A book I found to be informative is “Emotional Genius”, by Karla McLaren. Karla McLaren shares her journey from a misunderstood child to successful psychologist, author, workshop facilitator and trainer.

As long as we live within the space of LOVE/Neutrality (Life is happening for me, not to me. What can I learn from this experience?….personal power), versus FEAR (Feeling like a victim, being in judgment, resentment, guilt, shame, control, manipulation…no personal power) we will always see adversity as an opportunity, rather than, “there must be something wrong with me, or why does these things always happen to me.

Since birth, many experiences have caused us to forget we were born to manifest our highest desires. Know that the Universal Laws of Nature are always at our beck and call….patiently waiting for us to re-connect to Source as we remember to get out of our own way. Another way of saying the same thing is, “let go and let God/Goddess”.

Since everyone is unique, in that the experiences along our journey leads us to what we are to “be” in this lifetime, we must be kind and gentle to ourselves. Take time to reflect on our accomplishments or consider going one step further by celebrating through rituals, song, dance, whether alone or with family and/or friends.

A powerful learning experience for me was allowing others to celebrate my accomplishments. I was a workaholic all my life and didn’t see the need to look at who I really was for Humanity. I am in gratitude for a parent, Linda Tyler, who works in early childhood development, for helping me see how important it was for me to let people serve me. Linda would say, “Maybe allowing someone to honor another is a way for them to honor themselves”. I found this to be a testament to the phase, “Life happens for me, not to me”.

Some suggestions about consciously lessening the effect of taking on the energy of others, is to set your environment so it can assist in absorbing the energy of others and bring calmness into your home, work or social setting.  Bring into your work environment things that carry the energy of the five elements (water, earth, metal, fire and air). Once you take inventory, you probably already have most of the five elements within your environment.

If you are a school teacher, have plants (some with seasonal colorful blossoms) in your classroom. A fish tank with colorful fish and supporting items can supplement as an additional learning tool. If it is possible to place a small relaxation fountain in your classroom, it will shift the flow of the energy within the room. Refer to a Feng Shui Consultant or interior designer about the best place to place your water tank or fountain. You may consciously set this space as your alter, without having it appear as such to the regular lay person.

It is important to take several minutes in the morning to visualize your intentions for the day, whether just after waking up, during daily meditation/prayer, just prior to getting out of your car upon arrival to your work/play destination or when you arrive at your office, class room, etc. Taking this sacred time is another way to consciously re-connect with the Universal Laws of Nature or Source, to let it know you wish to be assisted in all you do for the day. Consciously ground yourself and the area you will be within.

You may choose to ground your office, classroom and you may choose to ground the entire building and the area around the building you work in. Regarding your home, consciously ground the house, the property it sits on and the neighborhood around you. Since you are conscious energy and all things is energy, why not practice being in harmony with your environment. Simply set an intention that wherever you are your energy will vibrate in harmony with other energies. Began to believe and say “I am not alone in harmonizing the energy within my environment”.

You may not notice an energy shift right away, but others will notice. You may find peers finding excuses to come to your office/classroom to chat. If your students, clients, peers are unconsciously unloading their stress anxiety, etc., most of their energy will be absorbed by your intentionally set environment, rather than you being the main recipient of their “energy dumping”. Your specifically designed nurturing environment allows those who enter an opportunity to use it as an “energy filling station” instead of you.

At the end of your work/play day your environment will be grateful if you spend several minutes silently expressing your gratitude for completing another day for those you choose to be of service to.

Some may choose to design a place of serenity at home. A relaxation/prayer/meditation space at home (inside/outside or both) should be designed to bring you into balance soon after you enter. If you build a meditation garden in your back yard, check with a Feng Shui Consultant to determine where best to place it.

To enhance your experience, you may choose to make sure there is an area within your relaxation/meditation/prayer area where there is loose dirt so you can comfortably place your bare feet into. Better yet, build a small sand box so you can sink your feet into the warm or cool sand. (Take care to design the dirt area or sand box to keep four legged critters out.)

For females, be aware of your need to constantly call in the recharging Divine Feminine Energy of Mother Earth. Therefore, it’s ok to lie down on the ground and consciously call into your body (through your feet and base of your spine) this ever loving and nurturing source of energy.

After spending however long you need to recharge, your husband, wife or partner will find you to be much easier to “be with” for the rest of the day.

Don’t be surprise if, unconsciously, some find the change of energy within your space to be annoying or agitating. Remember, over time, people have trained you how to be with them and you have trained people how to be with you. Your conscious energy shift may not sit well with some. Human nature may come into play as some will find reasons to make you wrong in an attempt to get you to go back to what they had found normal or comfortable.

At some point you may feel called to let some in on your new secret by educating them on how they can avoid dumping on others and how they can clear and recharge. I feel one of our life purposes is to also assist others in re-membering what they have forgotten about the importance of connecting to Source or the Universal Laws of Nature.

 Corporate Shamans Offer Healing Touch Guides:

These newcomers to the workplace focus on the human element.

BY JAINE CARTER AND JAMES D. CARTER

SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE

Riverside Press Enterprise on September 2, 2002

Enron and other scandals have led a growing number of companies to healing the soul that is the core of the company. This has given rise to a new breed of business consultants Richard Whiteley refers to as corporate shamans.

Unlike traditional consultants, who look at business as a machine, figure out what’s broken and apply their skills to fix it, says Whiteley, “corporate shamans focus on the human element, essentially the living, breathing and throbbing heart of any company.”

Corporate shamans use spirituality to help companies recognize and heal the malaise and low morale that are often the cause of reduced productivity, high turnover and debilitating tension in the work place.

In his book “The Corporate Shaman,” Whiteley points out those corporations need a kind of Harry Potter approach to business. Such a process can be divined by looking back, not forward, and applying the ancient healing tradition of shamanism to your company or your life.

In parable form, Whiteley tells an engaging story, reveling how leaders, managers and those who follow them can use shamanism to find a sense of meaning and purpose in themselves and in their organizations. He suggests such fundamental questions as:

• To what extent do you use your intuition in making important decisions?
• Do you consider the impact your decisions will have on the people?
• Are you able to be vulnerable in work situations as opposed to always having the “right” answer?
• Are you willing to step outside your normal way of doing things and try an alternative approach?

Whiteley maintains that, the cumbersome and time consuming process of constructing decision trees has given way to a resurgence of what used to be called “gut feel,” actually nothing more than intuition.

When faced with a dilemma, ancient shamans would under take a meditative process, often involving a “power animal” assigned to help guide us through life.

Is our “guide” really from some other world or is it just a gimmick to short circuit one’s rational mind and help access that great resource of natural intuition? Who knows for certain?

“I believe it is from outside of myself,” says Whiteley. “But whether it is or isn’t doesn’t really make a difference if the end result is positive arid useful.”

More info about Richard Whiteley can be found at http://www.whiteleygroup.com and http://www.corpshaman.com/