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Development of the Healer
Stories...
Consciousness
is the ability to release the old and embrace the new with
the awareness that all things end at the appropriate time
and that all things begin at the appropriate time. This truth
is difficult to learn to live with because human beings seek
stability - the absence of change. Therefore becoming conscious
means living fully in the present moment, knowing that no
situation or person will be exactly the same tomorrow.
Carolyn Myss, Anatomy
of the Spirit
"The universe is governed by laws,
yet those laws are governed in turn by the Divine. If you
can understand that system, you will grasp the essence of
healing. Pursue your own mysteries. Never run away from what
you do not understand about yourself; that part of you does
not evaporate just because you don't want to look at it…Use
the grace of Understanding to see yourself clearly so that
you can serve others with that same grace."
Carolyn Myss - Defy Gravity page 130
UPDATE
- 12 Reasons To Have A Practice Group - from conversations
with Karen Stewart, HTI-PA - January 22, 2010
After
attending the Practice Group on January 17th and speaking
with others in the community about their plans, Karen is pleased
to report on the way things are evolving. The group is enthusiastic
about the shared responsibility of offering an ongoing practice.
The opportunity to be part of a joyful, creative community
while deepening their healing experiences has led to the planning
of monthly meetings until June.
During
the practice, participants gave and received a treatment while
reviewing techniques. At the end, a group chakra connection
was improvised and offered a new experience for many.
Karen
spoke with various people in the larger HT community and,
based on their feedback, the original "12 Reasons"
have been slightly modified to reflect the playful, nurturing
environment that can be offered within a practice group or
community at large.
1.
A review of techniques in a light-hearted environment
2. As part of ongoing self-care
3. To learn something new with an emphasis on HT techniques,
principles and values
4. To deepen your practice with joy
5. To encourage one another
6. To share experiences
7. To be of service to the community of HTer's
8. To be of service to the people we are treating
9. To mentor others and provide spiritual companionship
10. To be reflective, in a gentle, supportive way
11. To move from "doing" to 'being' a vessel of
love
12. To belong to an engaged, playful healing community
We
hope that you will consider this model and find others in
your vicinity to practice and build community with!
Think
about what first brought you to Healing Touch and why it is
important to you.
(return
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12
Reasons To Have A Practice Group - from conversations with
Karen Stewart, HTI-PA - January 11, 2010
Local
practice groups can offer many blessings and develop in ways
that are unique to each community. Karen Stewart, HTPA in
Surrey, BC began coordinating classes in the Vancouver area
last summer and when participants asked about how they could
continue to practice between classes she suggested a practice
group be started.
Knowing
that many individuals already have full lives and are not
eager to take on more responsibility, Karen reflected on what
she could contribute. Having been involved with HT in Ontario
for a number of years and volunteering a significant amount
of time, Karen asked herself what would motivate her to become
involved and how she could be of service. She quickly found
she would be eager to participate in a practice group if she
focused on things that were of value to her and came up with
12 of them. (see list above)
If
they could develop a tradition of shared, rotating leadership,
no one person would be over extended and no one person could
'take over' the group. Participation could be viewed as part
of their healing practice and service to the community. With
these intentions as the foundation of a practice group, Karen
has now been a part of organizing a HTI Practice Group in
Vancouver. They next meet on Sunday, January 17, 2010 and
will talk about setting up regular monthly gatherings. If
anyone would like more information, please contact Karen directly
at kasinbc@yahoo.ca
(return to list)
Autumn
- What are the rhythms and qualities of your energy field?
A burst of spectacular
foliage has fallen and initiated for many a time of cleaning
things up and preparing for the cold temperatures ahead. Daylight
hours are reducing in this area and there is a natural tendency
towards slowing down and going inwards. Time for introspection
is something we must create for ourselves if we are to honour
this natural rhythm within the fast-paced world we live.
Healing
Touch encourages self-care for both practitioners and clients,
as it is an essential aspect of healing. Being respectful
of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual states allows
for different relationships both with others and ourselves.
We begin to experience life as it unfolds when we are paying
attention to its unfolding.
Have
you connected with the rhythms and qualities of your energy
field lately? If not, you might want to set aside time for
some self-care or try the following.
Sit
in a comfortable position and take a few deep breaths to connect
with your body.
Slowly bring your awareness to the different components of
your being (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual) and
notice how they each feel energetically?
Be open to all the senses and experience the energetic quality
of each component.
What draws your attention?
Are
the various components in alignment with each other?
Do you experience them as connected in some way or do they
feel separate?
Try doing a Chakra Connection or other technique and then
investigate the qualities of the various components again.
Have they changed?
 There
are no right or wrong experiences with this. It's about bringing
awareness to your experiences. (What is the experience before
the mind evaluates the experience?)
Now try connecting with the rhythms of life where you live.
Put your attention on the environment around you. Are you
in harmony with it?
As
you breathe with awareness you will begin to feel or notice
some resonance. Things may come forward which are not comfortable.
They will show you how the mind takes you away from that which
is at your core, your essence.
Now
focus on the breath and connect with that place of balance
within. Resonate with the life force/light within. Become
more and more familiar with it, using the breath to connect
with the life force/light that radiates and connects with
everything around you.
(If
you happen to be in a fast paced city or chaotic environment
then you might want to pay attention to that which you are
experiencing as chaotic. Connect from that place within which
is connected to all and experience the chaos from there. Notice
what you experience in the body.)
Take
a few deep breaths, be aware of the physical body, your connection
with the earth, maintaining an awareness of the life force
within that is connected to all.
As
you pay more attention to your energy you will begin to notice
what takes you away from balance and what brings you back.
Experiment and find ways to gently bring your awareness back.
I'd
love to hear feedback from anyone who tries this!
Angela.
(return to list)
Nature
as Teacher, life as an expression...
 In April 2009 I was in NL for the HTAC Conference and
was thrilled to have had time with fellow HT'ers as well as
to tour around a little. To experience magnificent coastlines,
icebergs, and exceptionally friendly people was a gift which
offered a sense of wonder, awe, connection & spaciousness...
Nature
has been my most profound lifetime teacher. There is always
something for me to get curious about when I take time outdoors
(or indoors for that matter). Experiencing the myriad of textures,
colours, patterns, sounds, and sensations enhances the opening
of the heart. As my curiousity awakens, preconceived ideas
begin to fall away and suddenly doorways open to new possibilities.
It's something like working with a client during a Healing
Touch session. The more present and centred I am, the easier
it is to follow the energy that is created by our coming together.
The mind moves out of the way and doorways open.
Next time you are outdoors take a few minutes (or longer)
to actually stop and look at something that is commonplace
to you. Become aware of creation expressing through the shape,
colour, texture, smell, sound, etc. Notice how your body feels.
Does your heart respond? How does this interaction affect
your energy field?
Of course this can apply to interactions with people as well.
When you are listening try to see/hear them as creation expressing.
What is it that they are bringing forward into physical form?
What is driving them? This is not analysis so pay attention
to your body instead of your mind. Experience what might be
beneath the outward expression and connect with that. Again,
notice how your body feels. Does your heart respond? How does
this interaction affect your energy field? Consider how your
response might influence those around you.
 As
Vicki Slater demonstrated in her keynote address at the HTAC
conference, we are influenced on an energetic level by what
is going on around us. By remembering our connection with
source or the divine we can have a different experience. (return to list)
Angela
Mattos, CHTP
Lighthouse
at Cape Bonavista, NL
(return
to list)
Developing as a Healer
If
you have completed Level 3 of the HT International Healing
Touch Certificate Program and would like to get to know more
about yourself as a healer, I highly recommend taking Level
4. The experiences you have both at the class and in the following
year might surprize you as you complete the assignments from
Level 4.
Level
4 is quite different from Level 3 in that you will be strengthening
your skills working with one client. You will also receive
treatments from another student. (To see the actual curriculum
see CURRICULUM link above.)
Doing
the Level 4 assignments can be of great value whether or not
you are planning to complete Level 5. They will give you insights
and hopefully take you to new places. The emphasis is on developing
as a healer.
Returning
for Level 5 and successfully completing the Level 4 homework
brings a sense of completion and the title of Healing Touch
Practitioner (HTP). Level 5 is another level of refinement
and a time for celebration.
Angela
Mattos, CHTP
(return
to list)
A
Journey with Healing Touch
I was first drawn to
Healing Touch in 1990 when a friend was looking for a healing
program that offered certification and credibility. Being
a layperson, the fact that HT was a nursing continuing education
program didn't have much value to me until I realized that
Janet Mentgen asked to take back the certification of HT from
AHNA when they were heading in the direction of closing it
off to only nurses. This was 1996 and HT International was
created so that HT certification could be transferred there.
I was grateful that Janet was able to stay true to her vision
of offering it to anyone who was willing to learn as I had
been certified as a Healing Touch Practitioner (CHTP) in 1995
and was hoping to maintain my certification.
Having
come from the medical model and incorporating techniques that
are standardized lends a certain credibility to the program.
While many see it as a way of becoming "a healer"
the "development of the healer" is a major aspect
as one moves through the program. As Maggie Freel, RN, MEd,
CHTP/I, HN-BC says "you have been given the tools now
it's up to you to grow into them."
Can
we recognize that we already are the spiritual and energetic
principles that we are taught? Healing Touch is an educational
program that is also a path of transformation.
As
practitioners, we can learn about ourselves through our clients.
They reflect back our beliefs and behaviours in regards to
boundaries, responsibilities, attachment, holism, respect,
integrity, compassion and the list goes on.
While
there are many paths that can be walked, immersing oneself
in one for extended periods can open doorways to a new awareness
that does not happen when we jump around from one thing to
another. After going through Level 1-5 of HT and then certification
I was able to look back and see the unfolding that was occurring
within me. I am very appreciative that Janet Mentgen was my
instructor from Level 1 to Level 5 and that I had numerous
opportunities to spend time with her outside of the classroom
between 1990 and 2005. There continue to be times when I hear
her voice and remember things she offered ...
HT
is a collection of the work of Brugh Joy, Alice Bailey, Barbara
Brennan, Janet Mentgen and others. Janet used to say "if
you can, go to the source." To experience the source
of this work consider reading (or re-reading) Joy's Way, Esoteric Healing, Hands
of Light, and the HT Guidebook for Health Care Professionals. While some things may have changed
since these books were first written, they give insight into
the paths walked by the authors and the principles they were
following. White Shadow is also an interesting read which
gives a perspective of one healer's journey while sharing
stories of Janet Mentgen.
When the road gets bumpy, remember,
there are many others who have gone this way before you. Slow
down, breathe, be with yourself in a gentle way and look to
those that have gone before you for assistance. Share in celebration
with others.
May
we walk with lightheartedness, courage and compassion on our
journeys!
Angela Mattos, CHTP
(return to list)
"Dive
in and experience the essence of life"
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