Tag: states of consciousness

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Clarity Breathwork: Thoughts about Thoughts

Have you heard this statement from a meditation teacher, or read it in a spiritual book?

“You are not your thoughts; you are the observer of your thoughts.” 

—  Amit Ray

A few weeks ago, during a Clarity Breathwork Session, a client had a very tangible experience of being separate from his thoughts. He became aware of that part of him that was observing the thoughts. He was in awe.

Often, during a Breathwork session, the experience of your thoughts as separate from you can arise. It happens quite a bit in my personal breath sessions, and I too, am still in awe every time it happens.

I LOVE Breathwork.

Yet, sometimes when oxygen energizes the brain during a breathe, there are more thoughts than ever! That initially does not seem to be meditative. I suggest to my Breathwork clients before their first breathe not to attempt to stop the thinking. Instead, just observe the thoughts coming and going. It is as if the thoughts were sticks and you are on the bank of a river watching them float by.

While researching quotes for this post, I found this cute video about thoughts. WordPress has assured me this video will go out to  subscribers when I publish it on my blog. Fingers crossed.

If there is not a video attached to this email, here is the link:

An excellent quote about thoughts from one of my favorite writers, Eckhart Tolle:

“Be the silent watcher of your thoughts and behavior. You are beneath the thinker. You are the stillness beneath the mental noise. You are the love and joy beneath the pain.”

Jeri Lawson has a full-time healing practice in Oakland, California. She is available for Healing Touch, Reiki, and Clarity Breathwork  Monday through Friday. 510-601-9632   jerilawson@mac.com

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Clarity Breathwork: What’s In The Way Is The Way

What’s in the way is the way.

I find myself frequently repeating this statement, especially in Breathwork sessions.  Becoming conscious of what is blocking you physically, emotionally, or mentally is how you discover what you need to heal. The resistance contains the healing.

It’s natural to want to avoid pain and unpleasant emotions like shame, grief, and fear. Yet, to breath into whatever is arising – whether that is a pain in your lower back or a complex emotion – is how you come back into balance and peace.

Of course, not all healing requires a deep dive into resistance and a dramatic release. So many incredibly effective breath sessions are basically a  gentle relaxation of the nervous system. Some sessions are even a tangible experience of spirit.

As an energetic practitioner, I see this as my job: To hold a safe, grounded space for you to connect and process your greatest fears and emotions, if that comes up to be integrated or released.  To hold a space for you to find your own answers.

Jeri Lawson has a full-time healing practice in Oakland, California. She is available for Healing Touch, Reiki, and Clarity Breathwork  Monday through Friday. 510-601-9632   jerilawson@mac.com

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Exploring Healing States: Steven Kotler

Steven Kotler is an author, flow researcher, and gravity lover.

I discovered his work after reading A Small Furry Prayer: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life.  If you like reading about animal rescue and dogs (I raise my hand), I highly recommend this book.

I then read his book, The Rise Of Superman, Decoding The Science of Ultimate Human Performance, and started following his Instagram feed. He has also designed a Neuroscience Flow Training for High Performance Professionals.

Over the years,  Kotler’s ideas, research, and writings on flow and optimal states of consciousness have given me fresh perspectives on what happens when I give and receive energy work. Receiving a healing session brings me into a flow state. Holding a healing space for another person also maximizes flow.

Healing is a state of flow.

Enjoy,

Jeri Lawson has a full-time healing practice in Oakland, California. She is available for Healing Touch, Reiki, and Clarity Breathwork  Monday through Friday. 510-601-9632   jerilawson@mac.com

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A Brief History Of Breathwork

The practice of circular breathing to experience higher states of consciousness was practiced in the ancient cultures of India, China, and Tibet.

In the self-awareness era of the late 1960s and early 1970s, two main styles of Breathwork re-emerged in Western Culture: Rebirthing and Holotropic Breathwork.

Rebirthing was discovered and developed by Leonard Orr. He was sitting in a sauna experimenting with ‘conscious connected breathing’ when he experienced his own birth. Leonard credited Shri Mahavatar Babaji for inspiring him at his Ashram in the Himalayas.

One of Leonard’s first clients was Sondra Ray,  who went on to teach Rebirthing worldwide. Sandra is often referred to as the ‘Mother of Rebirthing.’ 

Leonard wrote on his website about Rebirthing sessions:

“People experienced the peace that surpasses all understanding,” 

Stanislav Grof founded Holotropic Breathwork. Dr. Grof had worked with many people therapeutically using LSD before it became classified as an illegal drug. In these psychedelic sessions, Grof noted the breathing pattern, especially at the end of the session,  prolonged the influence of the drug. Stan and his wife Christina began to research breath and breathing patterns and found that achieving non-ordinary states of mind with the breath was deeply and profoundly healing.

I have also heard that Grof was influenced early on by a Breathwork session with Frederick Lehman.

“In 1974, at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California, my late wife Christina and I developed a new breathing method of self-exploration and psychotherapy. Because it was based on the healing effect of the holotropic state of consciousness, we called it holotropic Breathwork. The most frequent question that our workshop participants ask me how we discovered holotropic Breathwork. It is difficult to respond with one sentence; I would respond similarly as Albert Hofmann answered the same question about his discovery of LSD-25: “A serendipity and lucky chance.”

 – From the Grof® Legacy Training Website

There are many styles and schools of Breathwork now, so it is easy to find a practitioner and practice that resonates with you.

Clarity Breathwork was the first Breathwork training I received. Even after experiencing many other schools and breathwork practitioners,  I still feel it is the most powerful format to facilitate for my clients. That said, the woman I breathe with regularly is a Transformational Breathworker and studied with Dr. Judith Kravitz. 

Breathwork is my number one life-centering practice.  There is nothing more exciting and satisfying than sharing this healing with others.

Jeri Lawson has a full-time healing practice in Oakland, California. She is available for Healing Touch, Reiki, and Clarity Breathwork  Monday through Friday.    510-601-9632   jerilawson@mac.com

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A Quote From Jean Watson, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, FAAN, LL (AAN)

“When two people enter into a caring moment, [such as in Healing Touch], a new field of consciousness or possibilities is created. Both can share consciousness or tap into another field, the universal energy, the universal spirit of infinite Love, which in turn has healing possibilities.”

In this coming together, “The caring-healing moment transforms from a two-field to a one-field consciousness. Both are co-participants in the process.” 

Jean Watson, PhD, RN, AHN-BC, FAAN, LL (AAN) in 1999

I am rereading the latest versions of the Healing Touch Program Notebooks:  The books have been revised many times since I first took the classes. I am getting so much out of them after so many years of practice.

There are many quotes from Jean Watson, a nurse who has been bringing the sacred into nursing.   I love, love, love the way she describes the healing space in this quote. I experience this consciousness every day.

Jeri Lawson has a full-time healing practice in Oakland, California. She is available for Healing Touch, Reiki, and Clarity Breathwork  Monday through Friday. 

510-601-9632   jerilawson@mac.com

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Healing: Living, Dying and Near-Death

Last year one of my clients made her transition from this world. I received this text from one of her many friends the night before I was scheduled to see her:

“I’m sorry to text you in the middle of the night, but I wanted to let you know _______ passed away tonight. Thank you for working with her. The results of your healings were one of the few things we all saw that gave her peace and relief in the last month.”

At the start of most of our sessions, my client would be in quite a bit of pain (about a seven on a scale of one to ten). After the healing, she would be completely ‘pain-free’ (her words), sitting upright and breathing much easier.

She also said she felt much more peaceful and she looked so much brighter after the sessions. She talked about what was on her mind, her current process of healing, her wonderful friends, and her dealings with the medical culture. I didn’t say much, but I held a grounded space for her to express what needed to be said.

I was not with her in the last week, but when I saw her in the months before, she talked a lot about how she did not want to die.  Not because she was afraid of death, but because she loved life so much. She spoke of her garden, art that inspired her, and places she wanted to visit.  It was such a gift to get to know her.  Her love of life was inspiring.

It took me a while to process my own thoughts about death, healing, and this great mystery of life after this incredible woman made her transition. I have been writing and rewriting this post for a long time.

She left a space in my consciousness that I needed to explore. I ended up watching a lot of near-death YouTube videos that basically told the same story over and over. This one was my favorite:

I am so grateful. Every session in my healing practice is such a gift.

Jeri Lawson has a full-time healing practice in Oakland, California. She is available for Healing Touch, Reiki, and Clarity Breathwork  Monday through Friday. 

510-601-9632   jerilawson@mac.com

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Healing: The More I Receive, The More I Can Give

I had to develop my self-care receiver skills to become an effective and grounded energetic practitioner.

I am continually surprised at how much learning to receive teaches me about giving.

Having sessions with other healers is one of the most beautiful ways I keep my heart open and stay in energetic alignment. Self-Reiki and doing Breathwork on my own are profoundly supportive (even life-saving), yet having another human hold space for me is a whole other level of receiving and releasing.

Receiving was only an innate potential that took me a long time to cultivate into a skill. Opening to receive connects me with higher states of consciousness, where I find greater creativity, healing, and guidance.

Investing time, money, and energy into my personal Breathwork and Healing Touch sessions is the best investment I make for myself and my clients.

Jeri Lawson has a full-time healing practice in Oakland, California. She is available for Healing Touch, Reiki, and Clarity Breathwork  Monday through Friday. 

510-601-9632   jerilawson@mac.com

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Healing Sessions For Scanxiety

“I’ve been going through some intense scanxiety – cold fear of a looming scan…” 

One of my clients had a very important scan coming up, and she wrote a deeply moving email describing her experience of scanxiety.

What an amazing word.  The perfect description of what I have always thought of as one of the most difficult phases of healing from cancer: waiting for the next scan.

“I recognize some of the fear as the residue of past traumas – every scan I’ve had before this has revealed our worst fears… Some fear is rooted in love of self and life – a reminder of how much I want to protect my life, how much I want to live.”

Healing Touch and Reiki treatments have helped my clients stay sane and a little more grounded until the results come back. My clients are my heroes, and I am honored to be a part of their healing journey.

I am extremely happy to report that this client’s scan came back with very, very good news.

Jeri Lawson has a full-time healing practice in Oakland, California. She is available for Healing Touch, Reiki, and Clarity Breathwork  Monday through Friday. 

510-601-9632   jerilawson@mac.com

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Client Testimonial For Clarity Breathwork After Traumatic Accident

“Jeri Lawson is a gifted healer. I might even describe her as magic. However, Jeri is very much the real deal, and I’m very lucky to have her in my life. I have been seeing Jeri since 2013 for Reiki which has made a profoundly positive impact on my life and well-being.

She recently suggested I try Clarity Breathwork after being in an incredibly traumatic pedestrian accident to help alleviate trauma and lingering physical pains. I feel safe and supported in her presence. She holds space for me while I transport to an altered state of consciousness. This is a safe space where I physically and emotionally feel the presence of spirits from beyond the veil there to heal and support me. There can be moments during Breathwork that feel intense, but Jeri is there for you in just the right way.

Although she explained the benefits I might experience from Breathwork, I did not expect the results to be so swift and mind-blowing. The pain in my lower back is gone. My outlook on life’s challenges is lighter, and I feel grounded. Our sessions are highly spiritual and emotional. I leave each session feeling more connected to myself and everything around me.

I’ve incorporated Clarity Breathwork into my life’s toolkit, and I look forward to our next session!”

  • – Jihyun Kim

Thank you for this testimonial, Jihyun. I am so happy to post it and share how healing Clarity Breathwork can be after a car, bike, or other accident. Over the years, I have witnessed many people heal physically and emotionally, often finding a closer connection to spirit after a such and overwhelming and tramatic event.

∞

Jeri Lawson has a full-time healing practice in Oakland, California. She is available for Healing Touch, Reiki, and Clarity Breathwork  Monday through Friday. 

510-601-9632   jerilawson@mac.com

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Veda Austin and The Secret Intelligence of Water

 

Petri Dish With Water and Pyramid Before Freezing (from Veda’s website)

Image In Frozen Water From Same Petri Dish After Freezing (from Veda’s website)

The work of Veda Austin is phenomenal. She takes photographs that prove water has consciousness. Maybe water is consciousness.

These photographs are stunning, like the images of Masaru Emoto.

I have always known that water, silk, and cotton could hold healing energy. Years ago, I met a woman who made 100% cotton Teddy Bears you could fill with loving, healing energy. Then you could give that stuffed animal to a child who was not feeling well – and it appeared to really comfort the child. It was such a sweet way to support another person energetically. I must have given away ten of those bears.

Now that I have been introduced to Veda’s research with water, I feel there are so many more ways to share energy with others. I also feel like I have a deeper awareness of what may be occurring in many of my healing sessions.

Here is a great interview of Veda telling her story and describing her research and how she began communicating with water. If you don’t have much time, start the video 15 minutes in and listen. 

I ordered some Petri dishes and can’t wait to take some photos.

Check out her website for more videos. Enjoy!

Jeri Lawson has a full-time healing practice in Oakland, California. She is available for Healing Touch, Reiki, and Clarity Breathwork  Monday through Friday. 510-601-9632   jerilawson@mac.com