We are Resilient

The Answers are Inside

[First Name],

I wrote most of this last week before, well, before we faced yet another heart breaking moment in the United States. The urge to rage and blame and sink into despair or desperate action can only be suppressed for so long. We all have it in us. Where and when do we let it fly? That is an important question. No matter how good we are at finding peace, doing good deeds, thinking intelligently, we need to express and release the darker thoughts and emotions as well. They live inside us waiting for the "last straw" that triggers us. We can kid ourselves and ignore all the warning signs but it will be to our detriment. Dis-ease, whether it be physical, mental or emotional will take over. When we ignore all of the warning signs or push them out of our awareness in favor of keeping on keeping on, the insipid truth of our pain will manifest. It may catch us off guard, shock us, leave us praying for our lives and perhaps then, we might have that moment when we realize that we knew we were headed for trouble all along.

This time of the COVID19 pandemic provides us with an opportunity to s l o w d o w n. We have this chance to re-evaluate our priorities, to make changes and yes, to experience our emotions. We have this time to really see what it is we do tamp down our darker emotions. This is our moment to feel. This is our moment to ask for help. This is out moment to change the course. We all have to do it from the place we are in. Do not jump on the nearest bandwagon. Do not hook-up with the people who are yelling loudest or the group who has the 1 right answer. Go inside, rely on your loved ones. Become vulnerable and give someone else in your life a chance to be vulnerable. Listen to each other, hold each other.

From January 5th:

My in-box has been flooded with e-mails that presumably want to lure me into opening them with messages that read: "Last Chance.", "Final offer", "Don't miss out". Ironically they come from the same senders that sent the same warnings just before Christmas, leading me to believe that it is really not my last chance to purchase something on sale, to sign-up for a new class, or to donate to the Democratic party. Unless I die suddenly or some trauma prevents me from functioning, it will not be my last chance for anything... or will it?

Perhaps, it is always our "last chance". When I think about it, many things in my life have come to pass that I will not experience again in the same way that I once did. I didn't know when I heard my mother singing, "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" in the car on our way back to the Nursing home in 2007 after our Christmas Eve Celebration that it would be my "last chance" to hear her sing. I did not know on a random day back in the mid- 80's that it would be the last time I would bathe my young boys- them being on the verge of only wanting to take showers. I did not know, in January of 2020, when I sat in Clayton's in Yarmouth, eating a splendid sandwich and sipping a latte while I wrote in my journal, that I would not be able to do it again this year or maybe even next year.

Almost very person I spoke with this past month mentioned looking forward to 2021, anxious to at least put a new number on the place we find ourselves in, ready to be rid of 2020 and all of the havoc that came with it. We are longing for some "normalcy". I hear people talk about getting back to the way things were. Well, there really is no going back. Change is the natural order of life. Albeit not all change is completely a force of nature (our human existence has a profound effect on nature). We can not recreate, return, turnback or go back except in our memories which rely on our individual imperfect perceptions. Being both a writer and a bodyworker, I am all for revisiting. I like to make sense of things, or when I can't, I like to feel my way through things. That is different than expecting to return to a life that was.

So if we can't go back there, the way most be to move forward. Except that right now, it is hard to plan. Where can we go? It is a question that most of us think of in a very literal way every day. "Is that store open?" "Can we visit with so and so?" "What is it safe to do?" Then there are the When? questions. We aren't really able to come up with answers about when right now. When will we be able to go to concerts, movies, have big parties? When will we feel comfortable around our vulnerable loved ones? When will it be safe to go any where we want to without thinking about masks and quarantines? The future- forward - is hard to think about except in small increments. What can I do today?

Ahh, so that leads us to right now. Right now is what we have. How can we be in our right now? We can be peaceful or nervous. We can be grateful or ticked off. We can be kind or cruel. We can be sad or joyous. We can be creative and thoughtful. We can be passive and restful. We can languish and we can be industrious. What is important is that we notice what we doing and feeling and know that it is worthy of our attention. We are worthy in this now moment. If we pay attention to how we are being, we may find that above all, we are resilient. We can face the next moment. That is all we really need to do. Face this moment and when the next one comes, face it then.

So the ambitious vendors are not wrong after all, every moment is my "last chance."

I want to thank all of you. You who brave coming in and being vulnerable, you who have had to stay away, you who have cancelled appointments out of caution when you or someone you knew was sick. Every single action and decision has led to the collective now moment.

Yours in ease and peace (and sometimes in anger and heartbreak),

Liz Jackson

Changes

How are you? Really? I bet it changes from day to day, minute to minute. I know that I am not paying attention to how I am sometimes. I have been diligently staying informed about Covid19. I have been watching the news and checking Facebook more than ever. I have been reading and doing crossword puzzles, watching movies and Netflix and Amazon series. Honestly, we can do so much without really feeling, can't we? I may be reaching a saturation point with this quiet busyness, this absorbing of information. I need to feel deeply because that is who I really am: someone who cares deeply. It's all in there; waiting for me to express it. That is my job right now; to find expression for what is inside. I dare say that is the job we are all faced with. That is why I do the work I do. When administering healing touch, I am aware of all that our bodies hold onto for us. All the experiences that we haven't had an opportunity to properly feel - especially the painful and scary ones - live in our cells, waiting for us to give them our attention, to give them permission to be acknowledged and thus, transformed.

I have been privileged to work with you (I have chosen this mailing list specifically to include you though I will also publish on my Website) because you model for me the art and act of creating a place to be vulnerable to yourself- to those feelings that sit in your cells waiting for your attention. I know that it might not always feel to you that your massage transforms you; transformation often takes place over time. When you show up week after week, or month after month as it may be for you, you give your body, your heart, permission to feel, really feel. Every cell in your body listens in, pays attention to the love you are giving yourself and thus those cells release anger and shame, fear and hatred, remorse and regret. You might not really know in that moment, that pain is being relieved through love and light. When I start your session by inviting you to breathe deeply, it is because that is the pathway to letting light and love flood your being. You and I have built a relationship of trust. I honor that trust by including trust in the Divine (you can use your word for that- God, Goddess, Universe, Nothingness, Source). We don't work alone, we work with the Energy of all Life. When I am in the daily habit of showing up for you, I am also in the habit of showing up for myself. I make sure to utilize the community of healers that I trust so that I give myself the continuity of healing and releasing what I don't need anymore so that I can be a loving presence.

We are all missing each other right now, and we are missing ourselves too. Even before this Pandemic, I think we have slowly been getting accustomed to living without a deep connection to ourselves and to others. Strangely, during this time of physical distancing, we are being given an opportunity to reconnect. Don't go about it in the old way- the way where we just react and talk, talk, talk, judge, proclaim. Let's do it by taking a deep breath, and tuning in to our breath and our bodies. Give yourself some "table time". Do it on your bed or floor or yoga mat. Put on some gentle music if you like. Breath light and love into your heart. Be scared, angry, bored. Keep breathing, let your tears fall, let the transformation take place. Let it take time. Let it be time when no one else needs you. Be generous and stay there for minutes- maybe even an hour, every day. The more you allow yourself, the better you will be able to just offer your heart and your time to someone else. Being there is the greatest gift you can give someone. Transformation takes time. When we begin to heal, we begin to express differently. I am crying now, getting ready for this new world, are you?

I have such gratitude for those working the front lines right now, thank-you. You may not be able to allow any feelings right now. It may truly be too overwhelming to let your guard down now. Our prayers are with you. I vow to do my work so that I can hold you when this is over.

I want to hear from you. Let me know how you are doing. How is your family? What are you doing with your time? Do you need help? I offer EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) and Energy Healing work (Reiki) remotely. We can set up a time for either or both if you'd like.

Be well, see you as soon as that is safe.

Table Talk July, 2019

"Touching hands are not like pharmaceuticals or scalpels. They are like flashlights in a darkened room. The medicine they administer is self-awareness. And for many of our painful conditions, this is the aid that is most urgently needed." ~ Deane Juhan

I love my work because I get to witness what happens when people get closer to the truth of who they really are. This happens not only because of their willingness to receive the healing touch of my hands, but because they are ready for the self-awareness, ready to notice what comes to light.

Over the past several weeks, I have received health care from a number of people: a Physical Therapist, a Craniosacral practitioner, a Dental Hygienist, a Massage Therapist, an Acupuncturist and a Surgeon. Some of these people used tools that they held in their hands, while some used their hands as the tools. I have such gratitude for the work that each one of these people did. One of my favorite mentors, the late Louise Hay, used this affirmation: “Every hand that touches me is a healing hand.” While there have been times in my life when that did not seem to be the truth at all, I now repeat and intend it everytime I receive healthcare. By being intentional and selective about my health and who I chose to receive that care from, I bless my being and I allow myself to heal what needs to be healed. Sometimes what needs to be healed is an old wound, physical or emotional, that seemingly has nothing to do with the work being done in the present day. Yet, there in the amazingly dense layers of my being, my tissues keep my injuries safe until they are touched upon in some way and I notice them and release them so that I can become lighter.

The mysteries of our bodies and souls are so vast that I wonder if we will ever stop learning, healing, becoming. I received a wise and timely message while working with a client last week, and that was this, “The time has come when we beings can stop being afraid of what our bodies have to say.” I take that as a most hopeful piece of wisdom. Many of us have hidden our bodies and hidden from our bodies for too long. We have even hidden from them while we showing them off or giving them away or being abused or abusing them ourselves (we weren’t able to see it). It is time to make peace with ourselves. It is time to hear every whisper, see every scar and release every tightly held memory. It doesn’t have to happen all at once, but gently and continuously until we are waking up each day happy to be alive and vibrant in our bodies.

If you are ready to become lighter, I would love to work with you. You can set up an appointment for Reiki, Craniosacral work or Massage here: https://schedulicity.com/scheduling/BSH3LQ

If you are interested in learning how to use Reiki as a healing tool in your life, I am offering a Reiki Level I class on Saturday, August 17th from 8:30 - 12:30. You can register here: https://schedulicity.com/scheduling/BSH3LQ/classes. Please register by Monday, August 5th, 2019.

Table Talk June, 2019

Wow! I have so much respect and gratitude for my clients who were on the table this past month. It seems as though everyone has reached a turning point in their readiness to clear out the old and make room for the new. I include myself in this readiness. What have I noticed?

I have noticed that my clients are willing to be aware and vulnerable when they are on the table. Showing up is more than 1/2 the battle no matter what we are trying to accomplish. I have had many a client show up and say, “I don’t really know what I need, just do what you do”. I could take that as a compliment and I could also take it as a responsibility. I don’t do either though because the truth is, I believe that my client does know what they need. We all know what we need but may not be able to articulate it. That is the beauty of being multi-layered beings: our bodies hold all of the information we need. We need different languages in order to unlock the healing powers within. The right keys are multi-faceted; in my practice with you, I use Massage, Reiki, Craniosacral Therapy, and EFT. The other two components needed are that we both show up with our intention being that we allow the wisdom of healing to lead us into the work.

I truly believe that we all have a capacity for healing. I have chosen to spend my time, resources and energy to learn some of the languages of healing. That is my pleasure and I would not be a good practitioner if I didn’t get healing work done too. Getting the work done is not always pleasurable as many of you can attest to. It means that we have to feel pain and discomfort. I have recently been reminded that when I release or revisit old stuff, it’s not like it isn’t here in my body and in my energy field anyway.It’s always there- you know what I am talking about- all those painful, embarrassing experiences, all that grief, all the things that happen that we shove down, try not to feel, pretend that we were done processing. It comes out in our body in so many ways- as high blood pressure and addictions, broken bones and diabetes, anxiety and depression. It comes out in traffic when we overreact to other drivers; at our mother/father/brother/sister when we are trying to break out of an old family pattern and they seem to drag us back in.

Recently with my clients, I see them becoming aware of a bigger picture, of allowing a non-cerebral solution to present itself. These brave souls have revisited loved ones who have past, have breathed into the pain of a torn tendon, grieved a loved one and then reframed their last good-bye. Several people who came in for a message have left the treatment room and reportedly cried all the way home because, “something shifted and I feel so much better”. This work they are doing has long lasting implications. They are able to move better, create more easily and just be present more often.

If we do not make an opportunity to clear out the old information and feelings, all the newer stimuli gets tangled up in the energetic web of stress that we are holding on to and we end up carrying a lot more than we need to. Everyday life becomes stressful because we are not able to see, hear and process from a clean slate, We are exposed to so much information now through social media, news reports and even workmates and friends; it’s easy to get overwhelmed if we don’t have a plan in place for releasing what doesn’t serve us, and indeed, what isn’t even ours. We want to work at cleaning up our own vibrations so that we can think more clearly, move more freely and create more abundantly. I am right there with all of you who have chosen to live from a place of power by doing the powerful clearing inner-work!

I would love to hear from you if you have comments or questions about this blog. You can reach me at 207-415-4829 or email me at elizabeth@bodysoulmaine.com