Read an Excerpt
CHAPTER 1
WHAT IS ENERGY?
The word energy invokes a few different ideas. From the physical energy of the body, and how that may be lagging, to the energy crisis and what to do about it, this common word is a bit of a mystery, even in scientific circles. Physics textbooks define energy as "the capacity to do work." So, the definition itself is what it does, not what it actually is. From the perspective of the physicist, energy is either conserved or converted into mass, otherwise known as form.
But I'm not a scientist. I'm a healer. I view energy as the composition of life. When I learned how to listen to, and work with, my own energy, I became the master of my life. That's what I want for you. To get you started, I'm sharing simple, practical, and effective practices to enable you to become your own healer.
And you may be interested to know that there are numerous scientific studies on energy healing modalities like EFT. They demonstrate what healers throughout time have always known: this stuff works.
MY SIMPLE OVERVIEW OF WHAT ENERGY IS
Energy is the very essence of life itself. Absolutely everything is made up of energy. The very atoms that compose all life are made of invisible energy. Whether you are sitting on a chair, a patch of grass, a concrete slab, or a sandy beach as you read this, you are sitting on energy. Every person, including you, is a unique ordering of energy. It takes form in what appears solid, like your bones, skin, and teeth. It's also the building blocks of seemingly intangible qualities like your sense of humor, fear of dogs, and love of the color purple. It is the soil, rocks, water, and fire that make up the earth. It's the invisible atmosphere surrounding every planet and star. And it's the planets and stars themselves. It's the internal force that causes the flowers to bloom each spring, right on time. It's the external force that brings the tides in and sends them back out. It's the ocean water and all it comprises: hydrogen, oxygen, salt, minutiae of seaweed, sediment, and fish scales. Energy is what happens when sperm meets egg and a new human is formed, one cell division at a time. Yes, it does indeed have the capacity to do the work. And in fact, it's the only force that can.
You may have noticed I said, "It takes form in what appears solid." That's an important piece to ponder. Although the foundation of your home may feel quite solid — after all, it's holding up an entire building — the truth is, nothing is actually solid. Matter is moving particles, and the form they take can be denser, like a house or a bone, or looser, like a thought or a feeling. But all particles are in a state of movement.
Particles are made up of subatomic particles. It was believed that particles could never be split, but science has now shown they can indeed be split; they just no longer hold the information for that substance. If you have a particle of copper and a particle of lead, those particles are the smallest pieces of those elements. If you split both of these particles into subatomic particles, they will no longer resemble copper or lead. Those subatomic particles will look identical to each other. They're like anonymous substances that are able to take form as anything and everything. This is what I think of when I think of energy.
Again, this is a very simplified overview of energy. I won't be looking for my Nobel Prize in physics. Not this year, anyway!
I have a point in sharing this. If you're working with energy, then know you are working with this anonymous substance that makes up all of life. All of it! Everything that is you and everything that is outside of you. Everything that is everything. You may have heard popular statements like "We are all connected" or "We are all one." That's what those statements mean to me. Of course, we are all connected, because we are all made up of the same stuff! That stuff is energy.
When you work with the very substance of life, endless possibilities to heal are now available to you.
EXPERIENCING ENERGY HEALING
But the truth is, as fascinating as theory is, it's not my focus. Energy healing can be read about, researched, theorized, plotted, hypothesized, and studied. But you will only understand its power once you actually feel it, work with it, and experience it for yourself.
I'm an Energy Coach. If you're wondering what that is, well, you'd be asking the same question my family has for the last ten years! I work with clients who want to change something in their lives that's holding them back. Maybe they haven't felt like themselves since a parent died many years before. Or they feel constantly overwhelmed by even the small aspects of daily living. Or the stress of work or family has become unmanageable. Or, even though they are intelligent, good people, they feel badly about themselves. They know this is having a negative impact on their lives but don't know why they feel this way or how to change it. Often, they've tried to make positive life changes but can't seem to make much progress. By the time they've arrived in my practice, they've tried just about everything else and haven't found much relief. I begin an energetic investigation. No magic wands necessary. I speak with them about how they feel, finding blocked areas causing or containing their symptoms (grief, overwhelm, low self-esteem, a memory, or belief), and direct the flow of energy to liberate those feelings or patterns. All without touching them in any way. I don't possess any special powers. I wasn't born with second sight. There's actually nothing esoteric or "woo woo" about this work. The results may seem magical indeed. But it's not magic; it's energy in motion!
I'm here to leave out the "woo woo" and make energy healing practical, easy to understand, and doable. I have a strong left brain at work in my noggin, so anything too cryptic and mysterious is lost on me completely. There's no need for mystery anyway. Energy healing is natural. Modern life may have become detached from it, but it's simple enough to integrate it back in again. That's what we will be doing together.
Some Basic Energy Principles to Keep in Mind
* Your energy enters a room before you do. Your energy is silently communicating with the energy of the people you interact with, and you may be mostly unaware of this. Normally your attention will become conscious of it when it's intense. Have you ever just somehow known a person was angry with you, even when all outside appearances seemed normal? She smiles and shakes your hand, but you just know there's a problem? Or walked into a room where, unbeknownst to you, an argument had taken place and it just felt "off" or uncomfortable? You were reading the energy in those situations.
* Energy is designed to flow. It just needs space to do it. Think of a cluttered room. When I enter a disorderly room, my energy feels heavy and weighted down. It makes sense because energy is not moving as freely in that space as it could. Remove the clutter and flow is reestablished. This is why people report miraculous shifts after doing a thorough shedding of unneeded items. They might get a raise or meet a new partner or lose weight. The energy in their space is flowing and so is the energy in the other areas of their lives. When you think of energy, equate flow with feeling good.
From an energetic perspective, all problems are caused by congestion and all healing or relief comes from flow. If you put in a dam to stop a fast-moving river, as the water becomes still, mold will begin to form. In fact, mold can only form in water in which there is no movement. A repeated emotional outburst, a tumor in the body, and a lacking financial pattern are investigated the same way. Where has energy gotten stuck? How did it get stagnant? And how can it start flowing again?
CHAPTER 2
WHAT IS ENERGY HEALING?
My focus is on healing. Or call it relief, change, transformation, progress, growth. Whether it's my life or the lives of my clients, my focus is on what can be done to correct a problematic condition. For the most part, I'm not overly concerned with how this stuff works, just that it does indeed work. I'm not waiting for anyone to come along and prove what I already know to be true. I do remain grateful for my colleagues who are out in the world of academia, conducting studies that are showing compelling results. And even though I'm not a scientist, I do approach healing somewhat like one. My life and the lives of my loved ones, colleagues, clients, and students are my laboratory. When studying how a healing energy practice works in "a lab," I document the problem and then detail what was used and how it was applied, what was uncovered or learned, and, finally, the results. Which practices were most effective? Can the same results be achieved with less time and/or effort? Which practices didn't seem to work or didn't work well enough? What could have been done instead or in addition to? How did the client resonate with the modality or practice? As for results, I test, test, and test again. I'm not satisfied with modest results. I want outstanding ones.
What I offer in this book are principles and practices I've worked with over and over again. They've been proven to be safe, highly effective, easy to learn, and appropriate for beginners.
Energy healing comprises multiple practices that have been done in every culture, all over the globe, for thousands of years. I'm sure many of these practices never received a title or had books written about them. They were just a part of everyday life in those cultures during those times. Children were raised doing them. People did them in public. Practices were passed down within families, generation after generation. Everybody did them, so nothing was considered weird or strange. Various forms of energy healing were just normal. After all, in the days before antibiotics, X-rays, and therapy, people were limited. Being able to heal oneself and one another was a biological necessity. Only healthy people could advance civilization forward.
Modern society has gifted us with the most incredible advances in the areas of medicine and technology. It can be easy to get distracted and disconnected from nature itself and from our own true nature. But we don't have to live in an either/or world. We can work with our own innate energy, bringing balance to our bodies and minds, and take full advantage of modern advances when useful. What an amazing time we live in!
CHAPTER 3
ENERGY HEALING MODALITIES
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of different energy healing modalities. I've included some brief information on a few of the better known and more widely practiced ones here. This can give you a sense of the broad ingenuity that has created multiple methods for providing comfort and relief. If interested in professional sessions with a healer or practitioner, this can also help you decide which modality may be best for your specific needs.
Note: I've included a Resources section in the back with places to find more information.
Each modality has some general guidelines for easy comparison. For each modality I write about here, I include:
* Effective For: Most energy healing modalities are thought to help a wide range of physical, mental, and emotional conditions. From allergies to anxiety, stage fright to sciatica, insomnia to immunity concerns, there is likely someone, somewhere, who believes that an energy healing technique improved that condition. In fact, I'm sure there are many someones who feel that way. When a modality is widely known to be effective for a particular condition, I have included it here.
* Important Note: Energy healers do not "treat" conditions, as medical professionals do. We approach both physical and emotional symptoms the same way, as energetic imbalances. We search for areas of congestion (or blockages) and use various methods to release these blockages, allowing energy to flow more freely. It is believed a body that has free-flowing energy can heal itself. This free-flowing energy can provide great relief, improving painful conditions of all kinds.
* Session Types: There are various ways to work with energy healers, so I've included a description of different types here.
IN PERSON: You meet with the healer in his/her office, your home, or another agreed-upon location.
REMOTE: Can be done online, using video conferencing with Skype or Zoom, where healer and client can see each other. Or you can communicate the old-fashioned way (by phone).
SURROGATE: The healer tunes in to your energy field and creates shifts without you being present, whether in-person or remotely. Often this comes with a follow-up phone call or email with the healer's findings.
* Body Position: If you're working with a healer in person, it can be helpful to know if you will be lying down on a massage table or sitting upright in a chair, and whether you stay fully clothed or need to undress for treatment.
* Physical Touch: Does the healer make direct contact with the physical body? You may be interested to learn that most modalities do not. Some place their hands around the body and others don't come into close physical contact at all.
Note: To legally touch a client, a healer must ask the client for consent (permission) and have a massage license or be a medical professional or clergy member, like a minister. Or the modality itself includes a license for touch, as it is with acupuncture. Laws about this vary by state. Check your state's laws. When hiring a healing professional, I strongly encourage you to ask if physical touch is used. If so, clearly express where and how you want to be touched and not touched. Ask what license they have that allows them to legally touch clients.
Energy, chi, ki, qi, and prana are all terms that mean the same thing. They refer to the life force and vitality in all beings.
MODALITIES
Acupuncture/AcupressureEffective For: A wide variety of physical and emotional health challenges; found to be very effective for pain relief.
Session Type: In-person only. Some insurance companies cover cost for acupuncture treatments, usually for treatment of pain.
Body Position: Lying down, without socks. Partial disrobement, like pant legs rolled up or shirt pulled up to expose back or stomach, is often needed.
Physical Touch: Yes. Acupuncturists place thin needles in the body. Acupressure is done with direct touch on the body.
Practiced in the East for thousands of years, acupuncture is part of a comprehensive health system called Traditional Chinese Medicine. For thousands of years, the Chinese have known of pathways or channels of energy called meridians. Acupuncture works by inserting tiny needles into these pathways to bring balance to the energy system. Acupressure does the same, but without needles. Hands are placed in specific areas along the meridian pathways to release energy blocks and establish balance.
Brennan Healing Science/Brennan Integration Work
Effective For: A wide variety of physical, mental-emotional health, and spiritual challenges
Session Type: In-person, remote
Body Position: Lying down or sitting, fully clothed
Physical Touch: For hands-on healings, hands are placed lightly on the body or in the energetic field around the body.
After years of researching and studying numerous healing modalities, Barbara Brennan developed Brennan Healing Science (BHS), a holistic healing modality based on the Human Energy-Consciousness System and its relationship to health and disease. Barbara saw a human being as existing in four dimensions. The main dimension is the dimension where we can feel our divinity and oneness with all beings. The physical body arises out of the energy field. An imbalance or blockage in this field will eventually cause a disease in the physical body. Therefore, healing blockages in the energy field will bring about healing in the physical body.
Cranial Sacral Therapy and Massage
Effective For: A wide variety of physical and emotional health challenges
Session Type: In-person
Body Position: Lying on a massage table, clothed
Physical Touch: Yes
Practitioners use soft touch on parts of the head, neck, and ears to create balance in the cranial sacral system and central nervous system. Believed to alleviate tensions in the brain and spinal column, thereby creating greater flow, it was created by osteopathic physician John E. Upledger after extensive testing and research. Not advisable for people with an aneurysm or cerebral hemorrhage as this method increases blood flow in the brain.
(Continues…)
Excerpted from "Energy Healing"
by .
Copyright © 2019 Kris Ferraro.
Excerpted by permission of St. Martin's Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
