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”.         

 Published article on Shamanism

 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/