anndrakesoulwork.com Blog

Working

with Chronic and Life Threatening Illness: Part lV

The solar plexus, the third chakra, is our power center. Our will, or lack of it flows from this source. When we give our power away to another person or to a belief that keeps us in the one down position, there is an energy leak and we feel tired, listless and uninspired. Conversely when we push our will on others and demand to be in control, the third chakra becomes out of balance and suddenly we crash from over use of this energy stream. Physically these leaks and imbalances cause stomach and esophageal problems such as ulcer, acid reflux and eating disorders. Adolescents who have their life force sucked out of them by over demanding parents and friends and feel they have little control over their lives often stop eating both as a way to assert control and to lessen the energy available to be seized. The disempowered elderly often stop eating as well, the will to keep going gone.

Most of us our cognizant when we have had our energy drained and even speak of “being sucked dry”. There are ancient techniques that can stop the energetic flow from the will center to another, but first one needs to understand the extent to which the life force is dissipating, the reasons for this energy loss as well as believe that it is possible to regain control in one’s life. Unless a physician is sensitive to these issues, he can prescribe medication and discuss stress reduction programs, all of which can be quite helpful, but they do not address the underlying issues. If we are able to establish an integrative approach to health and well-being that involves western medicine, psychotherapy and ancient healing techniques that work with the energy flow within and surrounding the body, we could eliminate many of our chronic health problems.

Working

with Chronic and Life Threatening Illness: Part lll

The second chakra also holds the violence and trauma of sexual assault. Often the body speaks before a memory of a trauma rises to consciousness. One of my clients had been the victim of continual sexual assault by her father from the time she was a little girl. One day she came to see me doubled over in pain. She reported that the night before she had bled profusely even though she was two weeks away from having her period and was still bleeding. As the session unfolded, memories of being taken by her father to a doctor began to emerge. She was around 10. Her period had started the year before. It is common for children who have been raped to start their periods early. Slowly, sobbing, she began to describe what had happened to her. As I listened to her story, it became clear to me that she had been taken to have an abortion. Her body had re-enacted the abortion to bring the experience into consciousness. As is often the case of those who have experienced severe trauma, a body memory surfaces, then, gradually the psyche reveals that which has been protectively hidden from the conscious mind.

Often the energy of the perpetrator is stuck in the womb causing fibroids, irregular periods and, at times, infertility or in the case of male victims difficulty with sexual functioning. Harsh and punitive admonishments regarding sexual behavior can also be absorbed energetically into the body causing similar problems. Often there are not medical explanations for the extreme pain and distress that the patient is feeling. Thus she is left believing that “it is all in her head”. One client had endured several sexual assaults and experienced intense pain in her ovaries. After many tests, she was reported to be “fine” and was left feeling re-traumatized by the tests and not heard. If western medical providers are sensitive to the ways that trauma manifests in the body, they can guide the patient to the help that she/he needs rather than dismissing and minimizing the symptoms and perpetuating the self-blame that stalks many trauma survivors.

Working

with Chronic and Life Threatening Illness: Part ll

As I move up the chakra system from the root to the second, we delve into the emotional and sexual center and to the multitude of issues that are associated with the large and small intestines, the hips and the sexual organs. Five years ago I attended a conference where I was stunned to learn from a noted gastrointestinologist that there is no known biological basis for 75% of those who suffer from severe intestinal distress such as irritable bowel, colitis, and Crohn’s disease. For those who suffer from one of these disorders, the pain, distress and limitations on one’s life are real and sometimes crippling. People with these disorders endure a myriad of tests only to find that there is no known etiology and sadly little that helps to subdue let alone heal the symptoms.

I find that this area of the body is one of the most vulnerable to loss of energy and the taking on of other energies. It is also the center where we process and digest our feelings. Almost all of us can relate to having had intestinal distress when we are upset, excited or out of our normal routine. For minor incidences of distress, there are meditation, breathing exercises and dietary changes that can bring one back into balance. For more serious conditions, it is important to determine the source of the emotional distress, to see if there are leaks in the energy field and if energies from others are either stuck in or around the second chakra area that is causing serious discomfort.

Developmentally the second chakra is connected to the second and third year of life. Thus it is important to pursue a greater understanding of a client’s early childhood and if any difficulties from this period may be similar to challenges in one’s current life. If a small child was expected to “feed” and take care of a parent emotionally and energetically, that child not only endures considerable soul loss in the process of “feeding the parent,” but also absorbs the distressed energy of the parent and carries this toxic energy as a duty and a responsibility.

Working with Chronic and Life Threatening Illness: Part 1

Whenever someone comes to see me with a serious illness, I remember what my teacher said, “ all illness, whether emotional or physical, comes from two things: the loss of part of your soul or energy field and the intrusion of other energies to fill the void that has been left behind.” Often there is a traumatic link that weakens the body and allows the illness to arise. If a person has a serious illness in the bone or blood, it is often connected to something fearful and embodies a lack of safety and trust. In the chakra system the bone and blood are part of the root chakra, which is located at the base of the perineum. One person with whom I worked had a severe disorder of the blood and bone. Her mother had been emotionally ill in her early life and my client had been both neglected and abused. While my client worked with the most skilled doctors in the field, faithfully following the medical protocol, she and I worked to heal the early trauma through energy and emotional work.

Through advise from my guides, coupled with a psychological history which is interwoven with teachings from the chakra and other energy systems, a picture emerges regarding the core trauma that needs to be healed so that the body can return to balance. The energy work focuses on either healing and transforming the traumatic energy that is stuck in the field or in removing the toxic energy through a shamanic extraction. When the energy is removed via an extraction it is healed and transformed and sent back to whence it came. Then the part that left as a result of the trauma is called back. A healing is done for this part and then it is blown back into the body and energy field of the person. Although this may seem strange, it is an ancient practice that has been used for centuries. For the physical body to easily heal, the energy body needs to be as whole and clear as possible. When the toxic energy is removed, the body can relax and begin to allow the natural antibodies to take over. The challenge can be to allow the mind to relax so that it will not keep or call back the toxic energy.