Psychic Flus and Sandpaintings

Hi Everyone,

I had the opportunity this week to help a friend with the psychic flu.  She came down with cold symptoms at the same time my son did, however, her symptoms continued to spiral into a very bad flu.  She ended up missing several days of work and was fearful that she wouldn't be able to pay her rent that month because of it.

I suspected that she was suffering from a psychic flu, not just a physical flu.  She had been under tremendous stress with a family member being diagnosed with terminal cancer, which triggered other crazy-making family dynamics.  I suspected that her body was using a relatively innocuous virus as a way of processing some of the stuck emotional energy out of her system.  I suggested we test my theory by having her create a sandpainting out on her balcony and "blowing" all of the yucky stuff into the painting.

Immediately, within a few seconds, her headache went away.  A few hours later her congestion was gone.  The next day her chest cold cleared up.  This was after four days of her symptoms becoming steadily worse.  By the time I saw her on the 6th day she looked and felt completely restored.

So, as we move into another school year and more exposure to cold bugs, don't forget to use your mythic and energetic plane tools such as sandpaintings, fire ceremony, and salt baths.  Keep up a daily practice to keep your field clear, and use that sandpainting if a big issue comes up so you can process it at the Mythic plane with help from the Mother Earth instead of having to suffer through it physically with a bad flu.

I'm Returning to Client Work

Hello Everyone!I hope summer fun is making its way towards you.  I've had a very interesting six months reshaping my practice and diving into my personal work.  I've just completed my second trip around the medicine wheel, and it's so nice to feel clear and feel ready to move forward once again.  As you know, I stopped taking clients last year.  I'm once again ready to take just a few clients through word of mouth referrals.  If you have worked with me in the past, and would like a session, I'm ready to hear from you.I'm also cruising along with my book on Relationships for the Empath.  This book combines shamanic personal work, Archetypes, and personal and client stories into a guide for Empaths so we can understand where we tend to trip up in our relationships.  I'm very excited about how this book is coming together.  Right now the plan is to publish as soon as possible on Amazon, with a CD set to go along with it for those Empaths that love listening more than reading.During this time off I've rediscovered how much I enjoy the work.  Part of my new practice is mentoring beginning shaman practitioners in client work, and spending more time documenting what I learn as I go.  I'm really looking forward to diving in once again.  In honoring the shift I've experienced, the website will soon have a different look, as well as this blog.  I hope you will enjoy it.much love,Elaine

The Power of Story and Projection

Hi Everyone, Fall has finally arrived here in Portland bringing with it an end to 80 degree days and sunshine.  I so love this change in season!  In the past several weeks I've noticed two topics come up with my clients repeatedly--identification with a Story, and Projection of the conclusions of that Story out onto others.  So, I thought I would discuss this more in the Empath Telecall; the next one is this Friday at noon pacific time.  These two topics of so important because we create our lives through our Stories and our Beliefs, and we have so much external reinforcement of our Stories and Beliefs that they begin to feel like facts rather than something that we have control over and can personally change.From the shaman's perspective, once we get to know our Story, we can change it and use a different, more empowering story, which manifests our lives in a better way for us.  Some of these disempowering stories become so embedded in our system that we need help digging out those stories and their beliefs.  But once we understand our stories and our patterned way of thinking about ourselves, we gain more control of our lives.  Empaths in general have a typical group of stories that we like to tell ourselves.  We tend to have great imaginations and live in fantasy and romatic story, we tend to need rescuing (which leads to problems with personal responsibility), or we tend to waste time rescuing others (the flip side of the Drama Triangle), we tend to be perfectionists which leads us to be painfully self-conscious, and we tend to have tragic stories that lead us to concentrate on the past sorrowfully instead of move forward into our creativity.  As we become healthy, we can change these stories around and gain strength and wisdom from them instead.Most of us have experienced traumas or unhappy experiences in our past that stuck with us for so long, that they repeat themselves in our current life.  We tend to interpret our current experience through these past experiences, and draw similar conclusions.  In psychology, this is called projection.  From the shaman perspective, however, projection is also a energetic and vibrational experience as well, meaning that we will in the literal plane draw to us the players that we need to play out the roles in our particular story and make it very easy to project.  If we have a pattern that plays out repeatedly, the shaman can help dismantle it, and teach the client how to recognize the pattern and the typical projection that comes with it.  This is hard hard personal work because when each of us project unconsciously, it seems like the world is the way it is, rather than it originating from us--it is a blind spot for us, although it might be quite obvious what the blindspot is for others looking in!  But from the shaman perspective, each of us is the source of our reality, and each of us is responsible for everything that we create. This is both frightening and empowering, because it means that by changing our internal world, we can change our literal external world for the better.  All we need to do is start with ourselves and our own innerworld.  This is good news for the Empath who loves looking at the innerworld, but it is also a challenge.  Some of our most powerful patterns come from our family system.  We take on our role in the family and the belief system, and if we do not become conscious, that belief system can so run our lives that we do not have much choice in how our lives unfold.  However, breaking out of a family belief system can be incredibly painful and confusing, depending on how unhealthy the belief system was for us, and how ingrained our family members will still be in holding it together.  The pull from these types of patterns can literally feel like they have a life force all their own.If you'd like to learn more, or share your personal experiences with these topics, please feel free to join me on Friday, or write to me here on my blog.  Here's to doing the personal work in order to live a happy and free life!much love,Elaine

The Empath and Archetype

Hi Everyone,I hope you all are enjoying this beautiful summer!  In Portland we're starting another thankfully short heatwave after a few weeks of cool days in the 70's.  I had an interesting synchronistic experience last week that I wanted to share with you.  As most of you know, when synchronicity is in action, Spirit is in action--we've stepped out of linear time and into circular time.  It's a cool and magical experience.  I had this plus the veil between waking time and dream time lift briefly to give me a glimpse into my own healing process.  What magic, but whoa!As all of you know I've been working on a series of essays to collect into a book for the past two years based on the healing journey of most Empaths.  What I've concluded from working with clients and from my own personal healing work is that Archetypal forces shape our lives more than we might think.  Our lives feel very personal to us (especially if we have the Archetype of Empath) but in the larger picture, we are living out similar archetypal patterns.  So, my book and my Empath Telecall have been centered around these archetypal forces so we can understand what is happening to us and step out of archetypal forces, or at least use the best parts of the archetype for our benefit.For the past three calls I have been pulling lessons out of my own personal story to illustrate the collective force of the Family, and how that force can be so strong we may not break free of it to lead the lives that we might choose for ourselves.  I had been afraid that I might step too strongly into my own personal story when it came to describing the archetype of the Fan, because in my past people with the Fan archetype have irritated and disappointed me greatly.  (The Fan is the archetype that is most concerned about the group and maintaining the group or family, even at the expense of the individuals involved.)The night before I held my telecall I had a dream in which tornados were taking out the buildings of my college campus.  I had looked behind me, and two tornados were tearing a building apart.  As I turned my head to the right, three more tornados were taking out another building.  Now I was terrified and afraid that I was going to be caught in the twisters and killed.  I started to run.  But, when I looked ahead of me, two more tornados were destroying yet another building.  In that moment I understood that I was not going to survive this, and my fear went away.  It was OK to let myself die.I woke up feeling well rested, oddly enough, given the dream!  Usually I do not know until the last minute who will be on these telecalls.  As it turned out in this call all the participants had Fan mothers (including me.)  The lecture that I had prepared was pertinent personally to each of them, and it made such a difference as to how they were viewing their relationships with their Fan mothers.  In fact, the call helped me understand my own mother, and the Fans in my husband's family better as well.  Spirit brought the right participants, and my worries about becoming too personal were unfounded; after all, I was talking about the collective's archetypal patterns.The next day my husband and I were at the park with our toddler son.  We were talking about the insights I had come to from giving my telecall, and how we could let the anger and guilt we still had at leaving his family system die.  While we were happy that we had escaped the powerful group think so we could have the lives that we really wanted, there were still parts of us that cycled between guilt and anger at having done so.  Of course, the remaining guilt and the anger are residues of the strength of influence the family group think had over us.As we talked about this, on my right, just out of my arms reach, a dust devil stirred up.  It swirled into a mini twister about a dozen feet tall, threw up bark chips in my hair, my husband's hair, then moved past me to my son and threw chips into his hair, then it chased a toddler across the park before dissipating.  We started laughing at this, given my dream of two days before.  We were getting cleaned out to the very roots, and not only had I seen it in dream time, I had seen it in waking time, too.  Progress in our healing made, with comfirmation from Spirit!I love working with Spirit!  Healing work is usually a mixture of hard work and joy at the freedom coming our way when we really step in to the path of power.  But for me, those meetings of Spirit making the huge signs are the most rewarding.  I hope this story helps you step in and claim those places where you are still giving your personal power away instead of using it for your own creativity and joy.much love,Elaine 

New Essays Available

Hello Everyone!I hope you all are enjoying your summer.  I am happy to say that I am feeling much much better, so much so that I've been able to return to writing, and to working one-on-one with clients on a limited basis.  Right now I'm able to take new clients for Intuitive Readings, but I'm limiting energywork sessions to those people who have worked with me on my Empath Telecall.  If you've been waiting for a reading, please let me know.I've published six new essays to the website for purchase.  The new essays are around our Soul's Calling, and the challenges of following a Spiritual path and being a co-creator with Spirit.  You can see these essays by visiting my website at this link: http://www.elainelajoie.com/EmpathyandRelationshipsBook.htm These essays are toward the bottom of the page, and labelled added July 23rd.  Many thanks to my clients for inspiring these essays and for letting me be a facillitator in their healing process!Also, I've posted a new essay at  around the challenges of giving up denial, especially when we may be still surrounded by other living in Illusion.  Sometimes we can wonder why we started on the path at all when life can feel excrutiating.  Denial is like an emotional immune system, keeping us happy when all is really not well.  For those of us on a Spiritual path, we consciously turn off that emotional immune system.http://www.elainelajoie.com/GivingUpDenial.htmI hope these are helpful.  For the rest of the summer I'll be focussing on finishing up those essays on Family Reinforcement, the Emotionally Dissociated Hero, the Fan, and the Empath.  Once those are complete, I will announce it here.  In the meantime, I hope you'll enjoy the website and the Empath Telecalls.much love,Elaine 

Shamanic Work and Family System Reinforcement

Hello Everyone,I just recently returned from working with Marv and Shanon Harwood of Kimmapii Energies up in Alberta, Canada.  This was a great opportunity for me to revisit the South work of Shedding what no longer Serves, plus I had the chance to see Marv again.  While I am recovering from my experiences of the Spring, I highly recommend Marv if you need energywork done.  He certainly did some amazing work on me while I was there!  His website is http://www.kimmapii.com/Also, I just finished recording the Eighth Empath Telecall.  In this call we talked about how our Family System keeps us stuck in old patterns and behaviors that might not be in our best interest, and how painful it can be when we stop colluding with our family of origin.  The next call we'll talk more about how shamanic work can undo family belief systems that began generations ago that still keep us bound in the present.  In both calls I use my personal experiences and experiences with clients.  If you are interested in listening, go to http://www.clearreflectioncoaching.com/EmpathTeleclassPurchase.htm

My practice is full, but I hope to take more clients soon.

Hi Everyone,As some of you already know, I've had to limit my practice because  I was ill for all of April and most of May.   Last year these health problems were directly related to working with heavy duty client energy.  But this year I discovered that these new health problems were more related to stepping into what the shaman calls destiny, which usually involves deathwork as we step into change.  So, until I figure out this next step in my personal work, I am accepting only those clients who have worked with me in the past or whom I've worked with on my Empath Teleconference Call.  I hope towards the end of the year to work with more of you, especially those of you who have requested intuitive readings.In the meantime, please use my site as a resource, and visit my links page to look for other coaches and shaman.  I highly recommend Greta Holmes, Hilda Porro, Marv Harwood, Irina Dittert, and Steven Encinas plus the others listed on my site are also very very good.   These are the people who work on me, so I know how gifted and connected to Spirit they are.There are now 7 audio conference calls and 11 essays for purchase on the website.  If you found my website because you were dealing with someone who is an Emotionally Dissociated Hero, and you found the free essay helpful, you'll find many of these essays and audios helpful, too.  Just go to workshops, click on the Empath Teleconference Call, and there will be a listing of what is now available.  I am also working on getting transcripts of the calls, since many people prefer reading those rather than listening.  I had hoped to have all the essays posted, but I have not had the chance to concentrate on writing.  I plan on having everything up by the end of the summer, and to have hardcopies available for purchase on amazon soon after that.In the meantime, I am travelling to Canada to study the Medicine Wheel with Marv Harwood in June.  This will be my second time through the wheel, and I am both looking forward to it, and also wondering how it will be this time around.  The medicine wheel is a process of transformation, so it is fitting to spend the year working through the wheel as I come to terms with what I am becoming as far as that destiny goes.  ;-)Many of you have sent me questions which I'll soon be able to answer here on the blog.  Have a wonderful summer, and I will appear here again very soon!much love,Elaine

Happy New Year!

Hello Everyone!I'm wishing you a very prosperous and joyful 2009!!  I am just returning to work after a three month long sabbatical, during which I have had time to think about changes to my practice.  The most major change is that I am no longer taking on-going clients.  For the past two years, most clients have worked with me for a year and longer.  What this meant is that I did not get to see very many people.  So, in an effort to reach more people, I am going to offer teleclasses this year on Empathy and the Healing process, an in-person class on Dreaming your Life into Being (in Portland), and a very small mentoring program for beginning healers who want to broaden their base of knowledge with shamanic work, intuitive work, and coaching skills.  If any of these sound good to you, don't hesitate to shoot me an email.I'm looking forward to meeting with you all soon!Elaine

Soul Retrieval, Fluid Extractions, and Empathy

I recently received over email the question, "Could parts of a soul switch bodies?  I gave my strength to this girl I care about so she would be OK, and over time I haven't been the same person since.  Sometimes I have had psychic readings done and they have read what she went through and had done as if it had happened to me.  Would sould retrieval help me?" Without tracking this person, it's hard to say exactly what has happened.  However, if I were to take my best guess, I'd say that this person is probably very Empathic and took on much of this girl's energy.  That is why psychic readers read him as if he were her---her energy has literally overtaken his system.  While Soul Retrieval is probably a good idea (or at least a journey to the underworld to see what the contract is between these two people) what is most likely called for is a Fluid Extraction, in which the foreign energy is removed.  Then, depending on whether the relationship is still ongoing, a cord cutting and bands of protection are also good ideas, plus some basic training in keeping energetic boundaries intact. Many times we can take on the energy of our loved ones---they can appear as thought forms that can begin running our system and gain strength if we give it enough of our attention.   This can be highly confusing.  Rarely, a loved one may die and have trouble crossing over.  That loved one can become attached instead, and the person the loved one is attached to can suddenly develop physical symptoms, thoughts, and behaviors of the deceased.  A Fluid Extraction is also very helpful here, too, along with death rites to help the loved one cross over properly.let me know if you have further questions!Elaine

May 2008 Newsletter

Hello Everyone!I've created a new newsletter on my website for May.  Included are topics around self-care and the challenge of healing work.http://www.clearreflectioncoaching.com/May2008Newsletter.htm  Enjoy!!Elaine

Destiny Retrieval

Hi Everyone,I just returned from another Soul Retrieval Training given by the Four Winds.  This training concentrated on Destiny Retrieval.  Sounds intriguing, doesn't it!!  Destiny Retrieval includes the art of journeying to the upperworld and retrieving healed states, gifts, and the essences of what we would like to create in our future. I have many inquiries from potential clients who want to have a Destiny Retrieval.  However, the key to a successful Destiny Retrieval is to work on all the old stuff that needs to be put to rest (die) in order to bring in something new (rebirth)  That means lots of soul retrieval work, extractions, and illuminations to clear the old imprints so the person's energyfield is ready to receive the new information.In my work with my clients, every once in a while, usually after several months of working together, I am not allowed into the underworld (where soul retrieval work is usually done) but told to go to the upperworld instead.  Those times are very exciting for me because it's a sure indication that my client has done his or her work that they are ready! and the Great Spirit agrees.Destiny Retrieval IS wonderful, but it is powerful work.  If we don't step into that powerful destiny retrieved for us, our lives can turn bad.  I've actually seen this happen to people who don't have a formal shamanic destiny retrieval, but who instead commit to a big change in their lives (to go to school, to bring in the right mate, etc.) and then they don't take the steps necessary to bring it into being.  So, it is important to recognize that we already do create our destinies with each dream we dream and each choice we make.The shamanic work adds more power to what we already do in a clear way. If you have questions or comments, let me know!Elaine

The Healing Process and Soul Retrieval

Hi Everyone,            It is such an honor working with my clients.  Each of them has committed to their own healing, which takes courage to go into the suppressed and repressed parts of ourselves.   As my mentor, Greta, points out, no healing can occur when emotions or thoughts are repressed.  When we consciously embark on our healing path these emotions and thoughts bubble up to the surface, which can be an incredibly painful experience.  Allowing the pain to come up and to pass is difficult precisely because we have been repressing these emotions for a reason.  Allowing this process takes courage, and it leads to lasting acceptance and forgiveness of ourselves and others.  However, it can feel like we are moving backwards instead of forward when the pain arises.            Much of the work I do with my current clients is around holding space for them as they go through the healing process.  Soul Retrieval work brings to consciousness lost parts of ourselves that left because they couldn't handle the conditions at the time.  That lost consciousness is returned, but sometimes it is difficult to see and to accept ourselves as we reintegrate these parts.  Recently I had a client who had done years of personal work on herself and her need to achieve.  Her drive toward achieving had made her ill, but she had used her illness to dive into her personal healing of her soul.            She was struggling with acceptance of herself, with letting go the impossible standard she still felt she must live up to.  The failure to meet these standards led to self hatred.  During a soul retrieval, her soul part was willing to come back if my client could let go of her self-hatred and accept the parts that she felt were not up to standard.  Until then, it couldn't help but leave again in order to keep itself protected.  The fact that the soul part wasn't ready to come back was a blow for my client; here was someone else who didn't think she was good enough even after all the work she had done.  If my client could see instead that she was on the right track, that there was no one external in her way any longer, only her own self concept, then she could begin to shift that on a deeper level.            But, healing is a messy process.  It sometimes gets worse before it gets better.  And then at other times miraculous healings take place so deeply that the client doesn't remember what had been bothering them in the first place.  I have had clients tell me that they didn't feel a particular soul retrieval was very profound, but from my perspective and their friends' perspectives, we noticed a huge shift in behavior.  This is one reason I tell clients that there are no guarantees with Soul Retrieval work---it is just too mysterious to be able to predict how a session will go.

Anger and Generational Imprints

One of the more common generational imprints I've seen within my practice are those in which Rage is passed down generation to generation.  Most of us understand that anger in itself is not a "negative" emotion, although most of us are uncomfortable expressing that emotion.  We've all had anger directed at us that when expressed has been done in such a way that causes damage all around.            Anger can be a force for good.  Most reform happens because someone and then a critical mass of people have become angry enough to stand up for themselves and enact change.  In fact, I tell my empathic clients not to be afraid of their anger for it is usually a signal that they have let their boundaries and limits be overrun by someone else.  Then we break down the incident so the empath can learn where her limits are so she does not have to become angry in similar situations.            In this way, Anger can be seen as a survival mechanism.  It can be very protective and helpful.  However, when we are enraged, that is usually because we have old bottled up anger that is ready to explode and wipe out everyone around us.  If this anger is generational, then not only do we have our own old anger, we have our ancestors' anger, too.  This sort of rage can be very hard to control, and we may need help understanding it, or we may need to understand why it became a part of the family contracts so we can rewrite those contracts in a way that serves us better.            There is usually some hidden benefit to becoming that angry.  The benefit may be that it keeps us from being totally overwhelmed by life circumstances.  It may be that it prevents us from dealing with grief or sadness that underlies the original anger.  In my own life, I have a very strong anger streak that runs through my father's side of the family.  We even call it the Moran family anger.  My great uncle, with humor and chagrin, told stories of how his aunts met in wagons at intersections out in Minnesota, and yelled, screamed, and insulted each other on the weekends.  My great aunt, this great uncle's wife, told stories of him throwing food around the kitchen when he wasn't satisfied with his dinner, and she also told stories of my grandmother angrily cutting off family members for tiny slights.  This was hard to picture, visiting their calm and tidy house with my great uncle's beautiful garden during the holidays, but I had seen my own father, normally quiet and introverted, fly into similar rages.            Needless to say, I was terrified of my own anger and that I, too, had inherited this curse.  I saw it play out with my father and my mother, and I did not want to have those outbursts myself.  But I did anway.  It took great practice to label my anger as my own responsiblity.  Each time I tried to say that that person "made" me angry, I had to very firmly take responsibility for my anger back to myself.  I had to ask myself, where did I allow my limit to be crossed?  Did I know my limits?  Was I inviting someone to fail so I could take a stab at them later?  Did they know what my expecations were, or was I expecting them to read my mind?            I also journeyed to take a look at what the benefit for my family was in holding all this anger.  There was a strong sense of justice that came along with it---that ancestors had been wronged in the past.  The anger gave them the strength to survive.  I had Irish ancestors that weren't well treated, and then later I had French Canadian and Native American ancestors that had continued that pattern.  But, the gift was clear---anger led to a sense of strength and endurance, and it also led to a sense of justice and fairness when it was not twisted into victimhood and blame.            So, in understanding the benefits of the generational imprint, I was able to honor the gifts my angry ancestors had given me, and discard all the rest.  It is still a practice to honor my anger, and express it without insult and on time when it does arise, so it doesn't blow into rages.            If you are suffering from unresolved rage, it might be generational.  It probably is if as a child you had an angry parent.  Soul Retrieval and Extraction Work will probably help a great deal.  Becoming conscious of the benefit of the anger will also help.  But ultimately, taking responsiblity for the anger, owning it completely, reminding ourselves that we are the ones responsible for our anger and our expressions of it puts the power directly in our hands.             As we practice taking responsibility for our anger, at first we will discover to our horror how much damage we have done to the people around us.  We have probably been holding our loved ones hostage if we have been blaming them for our anger.  They might have stopped speaking to us their real needs, thinking that all they will invite is an angry outburst.  They probably have their own resentments brewing since they do not feel safe enough to express them to us.  Or, they might have left entirely just to get away from the constant sense of danger.  They could also be so beaten down and victimized by our anger that they have given up entirely and tip toe around us, and then we may be angry at them for being so weak and cowardly.            The practice is, whenever we become angry, to step back and ask ourselves, where did this come from?  It is perfectly OK to say to the person with us, "I am so angry right now, I don't know what to do!"  Refrain from blaming (i.e. You are making me angry!)  If we need to leave because we know we are about to fly out of control, we can tell that to our companion, and go for a breath of air or leave the room.  Then, we can look at what limit has been reached.  What happened to trigger the anger?  Is there a need that can be met?  Is this old anger, or is it really something new?            With practice, we can move into conscious competence of this powerful emotion.  We no longer have to be frightened of the anger that lies within us, but can use it for self-discovery and personal power.

New Upcoming Workshop---children and parents

Hi All, I'm putting together a new workshop for parents of young children.  As a new mother myself, I am learning as I go!  This workshop will cover subjects such as how to create sacred spaces and containers for your children, how to keep your child heart connected so his intuitive and spiritual gifts stay intact, how to help the sensitive child (and the sensitive parent), how to help your children problem solve by tuning into your empathic gifts, and a few basics on energywork to help children and parents.  If you have topics you'd like to see discussed, please let me know!  I plan to have this workshop up and running by fall at the latest.  Stay tuned! Elaine

Soul Retrieval Stories

Hi All,Some of you have requested more information on what it's like to have a Soul Retrieval with me, and what Soul Retrieval can help. I've just set up a new page on my website that contains links to client stories of soul retrieval and other energywork.Just go to:http://www.clearreflectioncoaching.com/SoulRetrievalStories.htmEnjoy!!

Creating Good Boundaries with My Partner and with Others

In a previous comment around taking on other people's energy, Jenna asked how I turn off taking on my husband's energy. Believe me, this is still a work in progress!!The first step is to become aware that I am taking on his energy in the first place. Many times, I get so wrapped up in processing his stuff, that I don't realize it is his and not mine. If I can get my head above water, I'll ask myself, is this my drama? The biggest clue for me that I'm processing my husband's stuff is that I can't resolve it on my own.For me, usually I can resolve my own conflicts, inner and outer, very quickly, because I don't mind conflict. But, when I'm processing another's stuff, it doesn't work out gracefully and causes problems like suddenly jumping into things that aren't really my business. So, if the "stuff" sticks around, I've learned to ask, "Is this really mine?" Especially if I start thinking all sorts of weird thoughts towards people that I wouldn't usually have a problem with.Very recently I discovered that I was carrying around my husband's anger that he was holding toward certain people in his familiy. For him, he's been taught/programmed that feeling anger, especially toward them, is not acceptable. For me, I come from a family that is not afraid of conflict, and in fact probably over-expresses their anger sometimes. ;-) However, because I'm not afraid of anger, and I have a healer's energy system, I'll gladly take on unconsciously whatever anger my husband doesn't want to deal with.When I figured out interaction out, I used a shamanic technique to send the anger/emotions back to my husband. I set the intention to collect all the energy that belonged to him that was not mine, and then I blew it back into his second chakra. My poor husband immediately felt anger. By my refusing to process it for him, he's starting the uncomfortable task of being in conflict and resolving his conflicts in a healthy way. He's also now learning to be comfortable with having the emotion in the first place, and learning what belief system and what woundings have come along with his anger. It's a huge task.Also, for the example where I had the symptoms of food poisoning the day after he did, I knew I was susceptible to taking on his stuff, and I set the intention to not take it on. Unfortunately I still did! But, another thing that we can do, if we feel that we are taking stuff on physically, is to put it into the symbollic or the mythic plane instead of our physical bodies. Many times I'll tune into a client, and tune into all their physical symptoms. One thing I can do instead is draw a tarot card and see symbollically what is going on with them if I know that they are experiencing heavy symptoms so my own body will not have to go through the same thing.Mostly, though, it is the intention to not process for the other, and to stay aware when I'm doing so. It takes practice!!Elaine

Energetic Healing, Energetic Contracts

A client asked:Hi!I have never posted a message on a discussion board before...but being that I just went through an energetic healing session with Elaine (who really rocks!) I am making good on the "welcome home party for my long lost soul part" phase.ANYHOO!My question is about Energetic Contracts - as in what are they? How are they formed? Does a person/soul impose it on themselves, or is some other person/soul involved??? How is it that they bind other family members (soul family members?) and/or the same soul over different lifetimes? Why are they so difficult to break??? Are there ones that are good too, not just ones that really suck a lot of energetic butt?Looks like my question kinda multiplied like bunnies there...Must be SPRINGTIME!;O) Wendy