Because many illnesses are emotionally-based, if we do not address emotional safety issues first, the body-mind may simply decide it’s not safe to change.

The following article is adapted from Gilles Marin’s book “Chi Nei Tsang – Healing from Within’. Whilst it is focused on Chi Nei Tsang Abdominal work, the principles apply to all healing.

“The emotional body is irrational. It does not belong to time or space but lives in the present, and the present is eternity. It takes a tremendous amount of energy and an absolutely trustworthy support system to be able to stay with an emotional issue and allow the healing process to take place. The work of the practitioner is to create the opening for the client to reach that place and remain in it until the emotional charge is dissipated. Up until now there has never been enough energy or a strong enough support system to convince the Guardian that it is possible to work out an issue.

During treatment it is the role of the practitioner to provide the support, understanding, and respect clients need to take steps toward healing, and to help them develop the ability to provide these things for themselves. Practitioners can support and assist, and also they can step out of the way and let the process unfold. Their task is to witness what is going on and to hold the space for it to happen.

ONE  Clients have to feel safe physically, mentally and emotionally

Physical safety comes with appropriate support. Mental safety comes with reassurance and clarity of contract between client and practitioner. Emotional safety comes with validation and respect for feelings. These aspects of safety have to be cultivated throughout clients’ whole lives before they will be able to use and trust the new found feelings of support during treatments.

TWO  Clients need to relax deeply on a physical level

Physical relaxation is possible only after safety issues are met. Then a continuous process of release is possible, arising from providing and cultivating the following ‘earth’ attributes:(a) support: physical support, mental reassurance, emotional validation; (b) acceptance of transition from a  familiar place that doesn’t fit people’s needs to a more comfortable place that is not yet familiar enough. It is the most uncomfortable place of transition: feeling between a rock and a hard place; (c) nurturing: to provide people with the necessary resources to afford healing: (d) timing, which allows people to remain present, where healing is happening, no matter how uncomfortable they feel.

THREE  Client’s minds need to quiet

People’s analytical, hyper-vigilant minds will slow down and give peace when the two previous conditions of safety and support are provided. Only then will their minds be able to listen to feelings without being on the defensive, without too much fear of treason from the irrationality of the emotional self. Only then will the Guardian trust enough to let people get completely in touch with their emotions.

FOUR  Clients need support and permission to recognize and validate their feelings

At that vulnerable stage where the analytic mind is in recess, clients need the emotional support and reality check of others before they can allow themselves permission to feel completely. At that stage practitioners shouldn’t take anything for granted and should work even harder at providing the previous condition. Clients are now entering the scary stage of increased awareness, where uncomfortable feelings and sometimes unbearable pains reside. They will often look for any pretext to withdraw from that place, and often just knowing another person recognizes what they are going through helps them stay with the process

FIVE  Clients need to feel the importance and sacredness of the moment

Once people feel safe and relaxed to the point of being able to quiet their minds, get in touch with the depth of their souls, and feel entirely supported in that moment, that very moment is personal history in the making. It becomes the pivotal space time of transition where a page gets turned in the unfolding of their existence. This is the time where people get a glimpse of their destiny, where they get in touch with their spirit guides.

SIX  Clients need to open to the surge of increased energy and to surrender to the power within

When all of the previous conditions have been met, we get permission from within the energy gates to open and liberate a surge of energy which provides transformation. At that point there is no turning back. The page is turned; we are stepping into our new selves, our new existence. We are outgrowing ourselves. From now on nothing will be the same.

For more information on a new era in healthcare see:

www.artofhealth.co.nz    www.mickeltherapy.co.nz    www.taohealth.co.nz

Sometimes when I tell people I can help them recover from chronic illnesses deemed ‘incurable’ by the medical community, they look at me in disbelief.

And when I add that it’s possible without the use of medication or external aids, their eyes start to glaze over.

And sometimes it’s just too much for them altogether and they change the subject or walk away.

These people may be desperate to heal their physical or emotional pain, so why is it so hard to believe it’s possible?

This is my take on it:  Because of our perceptual conditioning.

A few weeks ago I wrote a blog entitled  Why Is It That We Assume ‘Doctor Knows Best’?

In it I talked about how many of us have been unconsciously conditioned to think that a doctor knows more than anyone else – including ourselves and natural health practitioners – about our health. And I described how I see this as a mass consciousness conditioning, which fortunately I am glad to say I feel is starting to shift.

Today I want to talk about how we can blind ourselves to the possibility of healing, without even knowing we are doing so.

“It was such an ‘impossible’ vision in their reality that their highly filtered perceptions couldn’t register what was happening, and they literally failed to ‘see’”

Have you heard of the story of the indigenous people who could not see the tall ships of the European explorers moored out to sea? In the film ‘What the Bleep do we know?’ Candice Pert describes how “When the tall European ships first approached the early Native Americans, it was such an ‘impossible’ vision in their reality that their highly filtered perceptions couldn’t register what was happening, and they literally failed to ‘see’ the ships.”

Apparently also “South Americans could see the boats that the explorers landed in, but not the ships anchored offshore. Their shaman stared out to sea and by imagining what he was looking for, was finally able to make out the ships. He was then able to point them out to others, until at last everyone could see the ships. The shaman could do this because he alone was open to the possibilities of strange things from other worlds”.

The story actually traces back to Captain Cook and his landing in Australia in April 1770. When Cook arrived off Australia, his ship drew no reaction. According to the historian Robert Hughes: “It was the largest artefact ever seen on the East Coast of Australia, an object so huge, complex and unfamiliar as to defy the natives’ understanding.”

“According to our own individual ‘level of consciousness’ we can only handle so much ‘reality’ at once”

In her book ‘Dancing in the Shadows of the Moon’ author and nature expert Machaelle Wright describes how all of reality is available to us at any one time. However, according to our own individual ‘level of consciousness’ we can only handle so much ‘reality’ at once, and so we have a safety mechanism around our perceptions and awareness called a ‘ring-pass-not’. This safety circle prevents us from experiencing levels of reality we are not yet ready to assimilate. And when we are ready, and sometimes even when we’re not, this ‘ring-pass-not’ will expand and allow more of ‘life in’, and all of a sudden we see and understand things we previously did not know even existed.

This happened to me back in my late 20’s. At the time it was called a ‘nervous breakdown’ – several years of processing and assimilating later, I saw how it was a ‘breakthrough in consciousness’ – a breakthrough to a greater level of understanding of the possibilities of life. That was when I started to explore natural therapies and look for solutions beyond the medical paradigm.

So is it possible that we blind ourselves and prevent healing simply because we cannot ‘see’ or believe it is possible? I believe so!

Again and again I listen to people in chronic illness self-help groups going on about their symptoms, and they often seem to focus on the problem rather than a solution. They say they want to get well and yet they go round and round in circles never making much of an improvement. It’s almost like there’s a certain sense of satisfaction from staying stuck. Where would they be without their pain? Yes, I know, that can sound like a harsh comment, but remember, I’ve been there and done that!

There are good reasons actually for this often unconscious need to stay ‘stuck’ –  in my experience, both mine and that of clients, this stems from experiences of disempowerment that have occurred in childhood, bringing with them deep insecurities and feelings of unsafety in the world. It’s the classic state of ‘victim-consciousness’ which keeps us stuck in our pain and misery.

“And the time came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” Anaïs Nin

The people that I find heal are those that at some point decide that the staying in pain is more painful than what it will take them to move beyond it. They wake up one day and say “that’s it, I’ve had enough, I’m willing  for a new perspective”. And as soon as they do so, new opportunities come their way, and that is when they find my website popping up in front of ‘their eyes’.

So, if you’re chronically ill, ask yourself “Am I ready and willing to heal, to change, to transform, to learn the lessons my Soul is asking me to get? Am I willing to see the truth about myself and what has brought me to this place?”

And if.. or when… the answer is yes, then I am sure you will find yourself well on your way to recovery.

AND if you’re ready for a new perception, I recommend you check out this event:

6 Week Global Health Telesummit 2011

A beyond-the-medical approach to chronic illness – a new paradigm in healthcare

• ·       10 world experts
• ·       10 teleseminars
• ·       16 hours of cutting-edge information and advice

Register any time during the series and you will receive back-links to any missed recordings

Weekly on Sundays 9-10.30am 2 October – 6 November 2011 (NZ)

Time Zone Converter

Listen to the free introduction with Kim Knight and Robin Kelly MD 

Call Replay:  http://globalhealthteleseminar-robinkelly-replay.eventbrite.com

Ground-breaking mind-body solutions to chronic illness, 
with a special focus on chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, pain, IBS, depression and more

Kim Knight, Director of the Art of Health,
will be speaking with 9 world experts in revolutionary solutions for chronic illness.

The 6 week series includes:

• 6 weekly 90 minute teleseminars with an expert on chronic illness
• 3 x 90 minute bonus teleseminars with 3 more experts
• Over 16 hours of cutting-edge information and advice
• More than $1000 of bonus offers from our expert presenters
• Access to the recordings online for the duration of the teleseries
• MP3 recordings of the seminars for you to download and keep

Your expert presenters are:

Week 1 – Niki Gratrix, Nutritional Therapist and CFS/ME expert (UK)

Week 2 – David Holden, Naturopath, Iridologist and Biochemist (NZ)

Week 3 – Dr David Mickel, founder of Mickel Therapy (UK)

Week 4 – Kyle Davies, Chartered Psychologist, Metaphysician (UK)

Week 5 – Richard Flook, founder of Meta Medicine (Canada / UK)

Week 6 – Mel Abbott, Lightening Therapist (NZ)

Plus 3 Bonus Sessions:

Kim Knight, CFS, Stress, Emotional Intelligence expert (NZ)

Dr James Wilson ND PhD, author of 21^st Century Syndrome: Adrenal Fatigue (USA)

Dr Katka Novakova, medical doctor, acupuncturist (USA)

Full overview of the 6 week series and each presenters seminar content can be found here:

http://www.artofhealth.co.nz/s-events-telesummit-chronic-fatigue.htm

Download the poster here: http://www.artofhealth.co.nz/pdfs/chronic-fatigue-telesummit-2011.pdf

Register anytime during the series and you will receive any missed back recordings.

Register here now: http://www.artofhealth.co.nz/s-events-telesummit-chronic-fatigue-telesummit-register.htm

For some time now I have been focusing on ‘abundance’ issues, and over the past few months it became quite clear to me that my financial situation is the end-result of a prior cause, because we live in a universe of cause and effect.

And I have been aware of the link between finding it difficult to receive (eg, support, love) and the flow of money. However, it was only last week while learning a new technique to deliver to clients, where of course one guinea pigs oneself first, that another piece of the puzzle slotted into place. And it was a BIG piece!

As part of my Moativational Medicine™ training, we were practicing a technique called ‘reuniting lost parts of ourselves’ and I was working on the theme of resentment towards others.  For years I had thought that if I can just forgive and move on this would clear the resentment. And I also have learnt how essential it is to clear the hurt that lingering behind any resentment in order to fully forgive.

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched – they must be felt with the heart.” –Helen Keller

What I had not counted on was how much I had been disallowing myself from receiving from the INSIDE, and namely from receiving LOVE… from ME. As we proceeded through the technique, I experienced for the first time what I have often heard people refer to as a ‘heart opening’. Quite spontaneously my heart opened (a term which I have heard so many times from many of my colleagues but which has up until now just been an intellectual term rather than a hands-on experience) and it was like a stream of golden light poured from deep within my heart… TO ME!

And it was only then that I realized how I had been holding off giving love to ME! Yes, I look after myself and treat myself well, but suddenly I discovered what I have heard referred to as a hidden wellspring of love, a ‘fountain of love’, inside of my heart, which I had been disallowing myself from receiving through the resentment I was still holding. Holy bejeezers. What a discovery.

And that brought also an experiential understanding of what all masters of wisdom, such as Jesus and the Sages of the East mean really when they say ‘Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven within, and unto this shall all else be added’.

This is what we (I) need to focus on – tapping into this fountain of love within, which really does exist. So now, after several months of searching for the ’cause’ of my financial ‘effect’ I am getting closer to finding a solution. And it’s not about changing something on the OUTSIDE. It’s about focusing on the INSIDE. It’s a change of perspective and direction which doesn’t make sense to the rational mind, but I do believe this is the right direction to follow.

I’ll keep you posted on progress!

Positive Transformation Sessions at the Art of Health:

www.artofhealth.co.nz

When will people get that competition and war only create more competition and war?

Working together improves business

This week I was told by a suburban newspaper interested in publishing a story on the strategies I use with people for chronic illness, they could not because they were ‘rivals’ with another magazine I am currently featured in.

I was stunned. I mean, it’s not like when I’m at the supermarket choosing a magazine that I look at the magazine rack and say to myself “Oh, I can’t buy that magazine because it’s in direct competition with that other one over there”.

According to the ancient art of Feng Shui, when similar businesses group themselves together on a street, they actually get more business rather than less. I’m happy to see that our technology providers seem to be catching onto this, as shown by the neighbourly placement of Vodafone, Telecom and Two Degrees at my local shopping centre.

In the ancient book “The Art of War”, despite the book’s title, the lesson taught is ‘the art of peace’. According to its author, the great Morihei Ueshiba (1883–1969), founder of the Japanese martial art of Aikido, the real way of the warrior is based on compassion, wisdom, fearlessness and love of nature. Aikido offers a nonviolent way to victory in the face of conflict, and Ueshiba believed that Aikido principles could be applied to all the challenges we face in life—in personal and business relationships, as well as in our interactions with society.

And as one of my teachers, a black belt martial artist whose wisdom has come from Aikido, often repeats when talking about dealing with illness “It’s about getting on the same side and making peace, because… who ever won a war?”

It seems to me it’s about stepping beyond fear and knowing that there is enough for all. And this goes for any situation in life. So, as a therapist, any time I catch myself fearing competition with others in my field, I remind myself there is plenty for all. And my goal is always to work more and more in partnership and collaboration with my colleagues, because, let’s face it, it’s so much more fun and enjoyable!

Fear and competition are part of the old world, let’s move into the new.

To finish, I leave you with this awesome video on the power of unity and a brave new world.

For more inspiration see artofhealth.co.nz

” All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”
Arthur Schopenhauer

Over the past year or so I have attended several ‘mainstream’ health events, and what I have experienced, when speaking to medical doctors or healthcare providers who are not generally interested in ‘alternative’ therapies, is their first question tends to be “So what research have you got to back up that up?’

I was asked the same question last year when speaking with a wellness provider at New Zealand’s inaugural HPM event (Health and Productivity Management’ in the workplace) . And when I approached a spa with the idea of offering the healing meditations of the Universal Tao – tried, tested and proven Chinese health exercises which have been passed down for over 6,000 years – the manager immediately said she’d have to run that past the doctor.

Talking with a doctor at a health seminar a few weeks ago I finally saw how there is still an automatic assumption that Doctors know more than (as she termed us) ‘alternative therapists’. And all of a sudden I became acutely aware of how ‘alternative therapists’ are somehow seen as ‘lesser than’ doctors in terms of their understanding of illness.  Wow. And when I asked myself why is this? I really saw it’s  just a matter of conditioning.

Why is it that everyone thinks ‘doctor knows best?’. Because we have been conditioned to think so! We have been unwittingly brain-washed to think that doctor is king. What is interesting is, if I have got my facts right, doctors have only risen to such high status in the last 150 years or so. Prior to that ‘natural therapists’ were the ‘mass consciousness’ health model.

Whilst advances in healthcare are truly amazing, for example in the fields of surgery, as far as chronic (long-term) illness is concerned, doctors are, in general, still swimming in the dark. And why is that? Because as yet they have not been addressing a human being as a holistic entity of mind, emotions and body. They have not understood the role of the mind and emotions in the creation of dis-ease.

So how is it we have given our power away so much?

Television advertising and the pharmaceutical industry have a lot to answer for. People are perpetually being bombarded with advertisements telling them that this, that or the other medicine will ‘get to the cause of their symptoms’. And somehow or other we have been completely conditioned in the West to think that if you are ill, the first stop is the doctor. It’s just conditioning! So, I invite you to break free of this narrow-minded thinking.

So, who really knows best about your body, your health, your illness? Is it the doctor or the natural therapist?

Well, neither, actually. YOU, you are the person who knows the most about you. No-one else can possibly know more about you than you. Although often we do need the helping hand of someone else to help us discover this information, and that is the role of a truly good therapist… or doctor.

So, it’s time to take our power back, and start taking more responsibility (the ability to respond) for our health. It’s time to stop looking outwards for answers. Trust your body, your wisdom, you know what’s best for you!

Kim Knight – The Art of Health

The Art and Science of Wellbeing

Ph + 64 9 833 6553   Mb 021 410 633

Websites: www.artofhealth.co.nz  www.mickeltherapy.co.nz  www.taohealth.co.nz

2011 Finalist NEXT Magazine Woman of the Year Awards: Catagory Health and Science

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In other words, there is an UNSPOKEN ASSUMPTION that this is it – one is sentenced for life and we just have to make the best of it.

NO, NO, NO. It doesn’t have to be like this.

As I have see from clients I work with and my colleagues work with, it doesn’t have to be like this. This is an outmoded and limited view.

If we look at the situation from a different perspective and understand that:

1.  Symptoms are highly intelligent communication from a very intelligent body
2. Symptoms contain clues to the solution
3. The body is a self-healing mechanism
4. Symptoms can be de-coded and the underlying cause revealed

Then, rather than seeing symptoms as a problem, we can see them as part of the solution.

Symptoms need to be understood and interpreted for what they are:  messages of some underlying mental or emotional dis-ease which is manifesting as pain.

I know I keep on harping on about this, but really, if you take a different approach you’re going to get a different result.

So what is the solution?

We have to stop focusing on the condition, on the symptoms. These are just the end-result. It’s not just about “managing symptoms”. We need to look in the other direction, literally turn around 180°  and look at the causal factors. Once we deal with them, the symptoms will disappear.

For more info see www.artofhealth.co.nz

So the question is: Are doctors in the dark ages? Well, no…. and yes.

I have a huge admiration for what modern medical science can do when it comes to, for example, extra-ordinary surgical techniques. Just this week a man left hospital with the world’s first artificial heart. And the stories of what can be done with brain surgery and prosthetic limbs are astounding. And too many other things to mention here, most of which I don’t even know about. However, this is not what this article is about.

My focus for the last twenty years has been on how to recover from illness without medication or supplements, and in particular long-term chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel, arthritis, lupus etc. The common factor in these illnesses according to the medical community is that they have yet to discover the cause. According to a medical presentation I recently attended, scientists are still looking to isolate a gene for fibromyalgia. In other words, they are still trying to pin the cause of the condition on some initial physical fault in the body. I felt like screaming with frustration as I sat in the audience and watched the doctor delivering his presentation, telling people that they are still working on looking for solutions but it may take another 25 years before they find any. Aaagh. The answers are already here! So why is it they are not obvious for everyone to see?

Because it comes down to awareness and our level of consciousness. (And by the way, this is where I have a lot to learn about being patient. It’s very easy for me to see things in a very different light now, but I have to remind myself it did take me 20 years of searching to get here. And I also know that I do not know everything by a long shot). However, I do know this:

UNRESOLVED EMOTIONS STORED AS TOXIC ENERGY IN THE BODY CREATE PHYSICAL PAIN. This I know for sure.

Every week I have people call me with chronic conditions they have been diagnosed with, labelled with fancy medical names like idiopathic hypersomnia, Bahma Forest virus and Raynauds disease. By the time people make their way to me they have already investigated a number of therapies, been to medical specialists and had all sorts of tests or surgeries such as MRI scans, blood tests, colonoscopies and biopsies. And even after all the tests, the doctors still cannot give them an answer for their condition.

So, why is it they cannot find a cause when searching in the physical body?

BECAUSE THE PHYSICAL BODY IS NOT ALWAYS WHERE THE PAIN IS ORIGINATING FROM!

Here’s an example of what I mean:

I remember one of my first clients, a 74 year old lady, who came to me for excruciating abdominal pain. She had been in hospital for three months, had every conceivable test under the sun, was on extreme pain medication which had no effect whatsoever. At the time I was practising Chi Nei Tsang (CNT) abdominal massage, which is why she had come to me, thinking that abdominal massage would help. However, CNT is much more that working at the physical level: it works to process undigested emotions which lie trapped in the digestive tract, in her case the colon. To cut a long story short, during the session she made contact with the emotional pain she had felt when her mother died, emotion which had never been felt or expressed. And as she gave herself permission to process this undigested energy and information, which was being held in the body at a cellular level, the pain disappeared. Instantly. Just like that.

So why is this? Because as a human being we are an amalgamation of mind, body, emotions and spirit. And whatever happens on one level WILL simultaneously affect all other levels. To take this a step deeper, we’re talking about quantum physics, or the newly emerging science (as mentioned by Deepak Chopra last week at his presentation in Auckland) quantum biology.

Quantum physics states that at a quantum (sub-atomic – smaller than an atom) level the body is actually just energy. To get an idea of how small a quantum is, put a cell under a microscope and magnify it a million times. We’re talking real small.

In Qi Gong we call this ‘Qi’ – the most fundamental level of life. And since physics states that matter cannot be destroyed, any energy, including emotional energy, not transformed at the time it arises in the body WILL get stored in the cells until we can deal with it. It’s as simple as that. Emotions (e-emotion – energy in motion – or not as the case may be) will be stored in the body if they are not resolved, dissolved, managed, transformed etc. And over time, this will build up to manifest as physical symptoms.

So here’s another new perspective, which most of the medical community still have not grasped:

SYMPTOMS ARE INTELLIGENT AND NECESSARY COMMUNICATION FROM THE BODY

That is actually a quote from a medical doctor, one of the few doctors who currently understands this philosophy, Dr David Mickel. Dr Mickel is the founder of the revolutionary ‘Mickel Therapy’ techniques for identifying and resolving the causes of chronic illness such as chronic fatigue and fibromyalgia, which happens to be one of the core techniques I use.

Symptoms are your friend, your ally. They are here to help. They are a guidepost to tell you something is amiss and needs addressing in your life…. at a psycho-emotional level. The question is, are you going to take note, or are you going to continue to ignore and suppress the early warning (or emergency) distress signals (pain and symptoms) with medication? The choice is yours!

So, it’s time to wake up and see things from a new perspective. Symptoms have a purpose – they are here to tell you that your whole being is in a state of ‘dis-ease’ and that something needs to be done. Action is required. And more often than not it may be one of two things:

1. Dealing with unresolved, unexpressed, unfelt emotional hurts from the past which are stored in the body as pain, sadness, anger, frustration, resentment etc
2. Creating new habits of looking after yourself better by leading a more balanced lifestyle – ie, not driving yourself like a machine, and instead treating yourself like your own best friend.

And here’s the final thought for today:

YOUR BODY IS A SELF-HEALING MECHANISM AND HEALTH IS YOUR NATURAL STATE.
ILLNESS IS THEREFORE THE ABSENCE OF YOUR NATURAL STATE OF GOOD HEALTH.

So what does that mean? It means that we are designed to be healthy, this is our natural state, and anything else means we have gone off track. Unfortunately in our society sickness is no longer seen as strange or uncommon, it’s become the norm.

My hope is that one day (soon) we will have a much better understanding of ourselves and how we operate, and what we need to do to avoid illness and pain. Because I truly believe it is possible.

Obviously the medical model will have to change because in order to do this we are going to HAVE to pay attention to the whole person that is ill, rather than focusing on the condition and symptoms. The symptoms are just the end result. Which is why one of my teachers always says “We have to treat the person, not the symptoms”. And a 15 minute appointment with your doctor just doesn’t cut the mustard if you want to solve the riddle of a long-term illness!

So, next time your body sends you a symptom, whether it’s a headache, rash, belly ache or whatever, stop and ask yourself “What could my symptoms be trying to tell me? What message do they have for me. What am I really feeling? What emotion is my body sending me that I have missed”? This is the place to start. You may well need help from someone else to find the answers, but at least starting with the right question is more likely to lead to a real solution.

Be well!

Kim Knight

www.artofhealth.co.nz

Having a so-called ‘nervous breakdown’ can carry a lot of negative stigma: losing your marbles is usually seen as detrimental (damaging to the mental) rather than positive event. But what if it were actually a good thing?  A greater understanding of what a mental breakdown often is could change your perspective, and therefore the entire experience.

The signs and symptoms of a nervous breakdown include not feeling able to cope, overwhelm and the feeling of ‘losing one’s mind’. And actually, this might be truer than you think.

As we grow up, without realizing it, we are conditioned with many beliefs, mental patterns and paradigms about the world. It is through these concepts that we operate and view life. As we evolve and grow as human beings, these paradigms and beliefs are going to be challenged, become outdated and will no longer serve us. And so naturally, just like civilizations come and go, the mental concepts are going to have to break down to make way for new ones. I liken this to having to demolish a multi-story building and clear away the rubble in order to make space for a new building. Once the old building is pulled down and cleared away, then the new foundations can be laid and a new building built on top.

The thing is, often, as our mental concepts are being broken down, we do not understand what is happening with our rational mind because it no longer has concepts to hang on to, as the old is being swept away to make way for the new. This can feel very disorientating and scary. It’s like we’ve left point A on one shore, and we’re on our way to point B over the other side of the river, and we’re in the boat going across, but we don’t actually know we’re taking the journey. And it’s often not until we get to the other side and have settled into our new house that we start to piece together what has actually just happened.

So the first step is to recognize what is happening and be ok with it, although it can feel very uncomfortable at the time. If we know we are literally ‘losing our mind’ while a new and better one is being built in its place, even though it feels uncomfortable we can at least relax a little and accept the situation better. This is the time we need to be extra gentle and caring with ourselves. And let go of any expectation of how long this procedure is going to take – it could be a few days, a few weeks or a few months. Just accept that right now it feels like there is nothing for the mind to grab onto as you find yourself falling into the abyss. It’s ok – let go. You will be caught. The fear comes from the mind or ego fighting its demise.

As you come through the other side, you will discover new realms in your mind, new perspectives, new ways of thinking, which will serve you much better. It’s a bit like a computer upgrade. This is why I like to think of  a nervous breakdown as a ‘breakthrough’ – a breakthrough to a new you.

As the saying goes, ‘this too shall pass’, so sit back and as much as possible enjoy the ride.

Rumi – The Guesthouse

This being human is a guest house.

Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.

He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.

Because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

For more inspiration from the Art of Health, click here to see our inspiration pages

A couple of days ago I experienced an energetic healing session, and often what can follow is a clearing of energy,  often called a ‘healing response’. When this healing response kicks in, it usually manifests as symptoms or emotions of the original trauma or situation which is being addressed. This is because the energetic imprint of that situation is literally being cleared out of the cells at a quantum level. So whilst it can feel unpleasant, and often we can think “Oh God, I thought I had dealt with that, and here it is again”, it’s actually a good sign that energy is on the move.

On this particular occasion, I was experiencing and ‘doing’ depression. And whilst I know from experience that depression is a de-pressing of emotions, when we are actually full-on in that experience, it can be very hard to identify exactly what those emotions are. Emotions can be very sneaky, especially when we are dealing with very old emotions which were stored in the body before the age of 7, at which time we were purely emotional beings with no rational understanding of circumstances and events.

So, on the first day of ‘doing’ my depression, I found myself in a very deep, black hole. (And by the way, here’s a newsflash for anyone who thinks therapists don’t experience symptoms anymore just because they are a therapist: we do – the difference is we probably know how to deal with our ‘stuff’ a little easier and quicker than perhaps others who have not had the benefit of personal experience and professional training in this arena). So, on the first day I started off my usual acknowledging and validation of the depression, doing the ‘this feeling is welcome exercise (to try this out yourself go to the free exercises page here), and whilst that was good, nothing was shifting. I identified I was feeling sad and frustrated, but about what I couldn’t tell. So I allowed myself to acknowledge and feel the feelings, but nothing really shifted.

Then, the next day, I did a positive transformation session with a friend, and had a breakthrough. During the session it became clear that what was emerging to be cleared were the emotions which I had felt and also taken on board from my mother with her frustration over my brother’s mental illness when we were young. She had had virtually no support in bringing up a mentally handicapped son, and I had soaked up her unresolved pain like a sponge (as children unconsciously do).  And for the first time I connected with the sadness, pain and frustration of how I had felt, even though there was no intellectual memory of it at the time. As the old adage goes, ‘emotions buried alive never die’ and they will lie dormant at a cellular level until the infinite wisdom of the body intelligence decides it’s time to release them. Obviously my time had come for this particular block of energy to be released.

By the end of the session the depression had completely lifted and I felt light and free. What a load off, literally. And again, I had proven to myself, that despite the fact that often it can be very hard to track what is going on at an emotional level beneath depression, there always seems to be something if we are willing to keep going until we find it.

So, if you are feeling depressed, don’t give up. And here is how you can start to deal with it:

When you find yourself ‘doing’ de-pression:

1. Remind yourself that depression is most often a de-pressing of emotions
2. Say to yourself ‘this depression is welcome’ and invite it in for a cup of tea.
3. Ask yourself ‘what feeling(s) am I feeling and de-pressing?’
4. Once identified, say to yourself ‘this feeling (eg, sadness, anger) is welcome’ and invite it in for a cup of tea.
5. Use any other tools you may have at your disposal to identify and clear the emotions
6. Most importantly, be kind, patient and loving with yourself

And never give up hope! We can move beyond depression.

“It’s all a matter of understanding the real nature of illness” says Kim. “Illness is not a mistake and mental or physical symptoms are most often the end result of many years of unidentified and unexpressed emotional pain. By identifying and addressing the underlying cause, the symptoms disappear, because they are merely a messenger sent to get our attention”.

She is able to say this having recovered herself, without medication or supplements, from several house-bound years of chronic fatigue, adrenal exhaustion, clinical depression, back problems and more.

Trained in Mickel Therapy, a ground-breaking technique created by UK medical doctor, Dr David Mickel, Kim is able to assist clients to finally recognize and understand the cause of their symptoms. She then teaches them how to coach themselves back to health using a number of exercises which, as she puts it, “train one in ‘life-affirming rather than life-depleting behaviours’”. These include things such as learning how to identify feelings and communicate them safely, how to ‘clear the decks’ of unfinished business, how to put oneself first and how to live a balanced lifestyle.

One of the main tenets of Mickel Therapy is that emotions are ‘energy in motion’ and blocked emotional energy trapped in the cells re-wire them into illness. In Dr Mickel’s words “Emotions have been commonly misunderstood and misinterpreted for many years, starting with the incorrect assumption that they are created by thought.  Primary or core e-motions arise spontaneously without any thought, as waves of energy that flow directly into our physical cells and immediately alter their physiological function”.   Anyone familiar with quantum physics will understand that all matter, at a quantum (sub-atomic) level, is just energy, and this includes our mental, emotional and physical bodies which are all interlinked.

“A simple way of putting it would be a state of dis-ease will create disease”.

As the client learns to identify, manage and resolve their emotional life, currently emerging as the trend of ‘emotional intelligence training’, the body restores itself to its natural state of good health. Whilst a handful of people have recovered within 2 weeks, the average number of sessions needed is 6-8, by which time they have either returned to full health or made significant improvement. With continuing practice of the exercises their return to good health is not far away.

Based in Auckland and Queenstown, Kim works by phone with clients worldwide, including New York, Fiji and Australia. Distance is no object to the effectiveness of this treatment, and her clients range from ages 16 to 74.

For more information see Kim’s websites below or contact her on +64 9 833 6553 / +64 (0)21 410 633.  See below for a sample of client testimonials…

From wheel chair to jogging

The following client was experiencing fatigue, brain fog, headaches and muscle weakness before treatment. This is what she reported back after working with the Mickel Therapy techniques for 8 weeks:

Activities I could not do before treatment: Most activities.  I was almost housebound.  I was not working, and I spent most of the day on the couch watching TV or doing computer work.  When I went out and knew I would have to walk more than 0.5 miles, I would use a wheelchair.  I was not socializing outside my immediate family.

Activities I can do now: Almost all of my normal activities.  After 8 weeks, I am back at work full-time, I am playing with my son and going out on the weekends (just like I used to!).  I don’t feel like there is any limit to the distance that I can walk, and I have even started jogging again.  I am now going out with friends again.  I went to a party last night for 4 hours and felt great!  I am confident that in a few more weeks, I will be completely back to my regular routine.  I know that I could not have come so far so quickly without Mickel Therapy.   Julia, age 34 yrs, New York (USA)

I have my life back – I feel amazing!

The following comments are from a client who completed a 6 week program of treatment:

“Mickel Therapy has helped me understand my symptoms and given me the tools to listen to what my body really wants and to act on it. My problems (chronic fatigue) I came with have now gone. I can now live a normal life and do everything I want to do. I feel amazing! The tools I have learnt are lifelong tools and I’m committed to making them a part of my everyday life.

What I liked most about Mickel Therapy was how it all made such sense; that it wasn’t rocket science and that it really proved that how badly our society has become in ignoring what their body needs. Most of all I feel truly blessed that I stumbled across it as it has given the tools to live a healthy life”.   Karen, 28yrs, Auckland

Well in 8 weeks

The following client was experiencing the following symptoms before treatment:

• Depleted adrenals, insufficient hormones, malnutrition and thyroid problems, as clinically diagnosed by her doctor
• Itchy ears, constant fatigue, anxiety attacks, hair falling out in handfuls, Poor concentration, poor memory
• Nausea, headaches, skin acne, cold sores, styes, broken sleep, nails brittle and weak and huge mood swings

After 8 weeks all above symptoms showed significant improvement, some cleared completely, and this is what she had to say:

“I am a Natural Health Practitioner and suffered from Glandular Fever in my teens and then again at 20 yrs old. Since then, I have suffered from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome whenever my body felt like I was doing too much.

After my studies I knew my emotions had a lot to do with my condition constantly arising. During my last pregnancy and for the 1st year of my baby’s life I went into the worst stage.

My Natural therapies and Counselling were helping me to not end up completely bed ridden but I was not getting better. To sum it up I was at Stage A – knew my condition, knew what was causing it but still couldn’t get to Stage C – perfect health! Mickel Therapy was my Stage B – they know my condition, they know what is causing it and they give you a step by step way to re-LIVE your life in perfect health.

It is now 8 weeks on and I am living without my illness on a daily basis and THANKS to Mickel Therapy I now have the tools to keep it that way. I believe in this Therapy so much that I am looking into becoming a practitioner”.  Susan B

To find out more go to www.artofhealth.co.nz