What ‘Journey' is all about

Introduction

There are many interpretations of what Journey therapy is – each practitioner has his or her own perspective, and of course there is Brandon Bay's original work and explanation, which can be seen at her web site: www.thejourney.com , or read in her book “The Journey”. The following is my “take” on this, from my perspective as a physician, having to take a person through a process, starting with the presenting physical or emotional problem, and then deepening their awareness to the point where they see the validity of exploring themselves, going deeper into themselves, to open into their inner source of knowledge, to facilitate their own healing and well-being.

In life, everything we experience goes into memory. Dr Maria Montessori from her studies reflected that for the first 2½ years of our lives memory is stored in our subconscious minds; only after this does it progressively go into the conscious mind. Dr Candace Pert (author of “Molecules of Emotion”: www.candacepert.com ) 1, 2 says that our body is our subconscious mind. Each memory thereafter has an emotional element and a cognitive or intellectual component. In later years, recall is through cognition or ‘mind', and with that comes the emotional content. However, there may be times when, for some reason, we “don't want to know”, that the event is too painful to bear, that we want it forgotten. This emotional experience will always be recorded or put down into memory, but there may not be a ‘mind' component. Access to this memory through normal recall channels later on in life will therefore be limited, or not possible at all.

As adults, some memories we carry are stronger than we perceive our ability to deal with them. This is a relative statement, in that it relates to the time we had the experience, and our capacity to deal with whatever it was at that time ; even issues from our past that may have seemed insignificant at the time. But we continue to carry the perception or belief that – in later years – we somehow can't deal with that issue. This stored energy becomes body memory, in that this memory gets stored in our bodies and for which there is no cognitive bridge; memories that can't be accessed by the mind in the normal way.

Evidence supporting this notion comes from various researchers in mind-body phenomena, one of the most interesting being the study of transferred memory in organ transplant recipients. 1 There is also anecdotal evidence and the experience of practitioners themselves – I have had someone describe to me during a Journey process, the exact detail of the base of the brain, with all the blood vessels, where her memory took her – information she could never have known. Other therapists have had very similar experiences.

The importance of this is that it is this buried or subconscious memory, which can interfere with normal body function. Again the evidence for this comes from studies in the field of psychoneuroimmunology, for example 3 , from links that have been demonstrated between emotions and cellular function. Anyone who has undergone a Journey process can attest to the fact that they become ‘aware' of being in a certain part of the body, and I have had this experience as well. I believe there are any number of illnesses or diseases that have their origins here, especially those where medicine says that the cause is “unknown”.

I believe that negative experiences are also an important mechanism through which we bring belief systems into our selves, our psyche, that determine our behaviour, that seem to have “survival value” for us at the time, but which in later life, becomes or is proven to be, unsuccessful. Imagine a household where the culture is “little children should be seen, and not heard”. Imagine a little girl, wanting to sit on her father's lap, laugh and play, only to be told that this is ‘inappropriate'. She will be seen when she is called for Imagine how that little girl felt every time she needed or wanted love. She learns rapidly to suppress her own childish exuberance, to get a modicum of the love and approval that she (and every child) wants so much. There are countless variants on this story. The bottom line is that a negative energy source becomes the new neural program, that our brains and bodies become “hardwired” in this way; it becomes the new ‘default', waiting to be unwired in later life – if we could only become aware of this and do something about it.

We are all physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual and spiritual beings. The body is the final common pathway through which all of these areas communicate with us. It is the quality of pain in the body (and its variants) that grabs our attention, and forces us to look at something. It is the agent for change. Our physical discomforts are our teachers – we just have to be able to learn from them and make the necessary adjustments, to allow that pain to go, it now having succeeded in its mission.

Louise Hay ( www.louisehay.com ), Annette Noontil ( www.annettenoontil.com ), Caroline Myss ( www.myss.com ), and others, have all written about illness and possible sources within the body of that illness. Amongst other things, they defined the art of what I call bridging questions:

• Stomach problems – ‘what have you had a gutful of?”
• Tension headaches – “What or who in your life is being a pain in the neck?”
• Diarrhoea – “who or what is giving you the …..?”
• Colds, rhinitis – “what or who is getting up your nose?”
• Constipation, colon cancer – “What are you holding on to, or not letting go of?”
• Arthritis – “What do you feel you are stuck in, or what or who is preventing you from moving in the direction you wish to go?”

And so on. All these questions are really there to help deepen awareness, of helping you to see that there is a link between your life, and the diseases that you present with.

This agent for change may present as true pain. It may present in relationship difficulties, it may present in illness of one kind or another. It is up to us to recognise this, or for the person from whom you seek help to make that connection, and awaken us to this. Once the connection has been made, then the possibility for healing exists.

By this I mean true healing. ‘Healing' is when you take responsibility for your well-being yourself, and commit to do whatever it takes to eliminate the source of the discomfort, to get back to normal function. A ‘cure' in comparison, is when you give responsibility of your well-being to an outside agent, be it a pill, or whatever. This is in fact, the definition of “Integral Medicine”. It is the goal of helping the person get back to total good health, using any and all modalities necessary. It isn't about using ‘alternative' physical fixes, although these do have their place in the wider scheme of things.

So what is Journey therapy

People are not normally ready to explore these deeper places as described. Our minds usually want to stop us from experiencing pain or hurt, and all kinds of avoidance strategies may arise. There may be experiences that we consider “ best forgotten”.

I don’t believe that this is the healthy way to go.

Buried “negative” energy can disrupt normal healthy body function. I believe the proper way to go is to address these issues, resolve and release them. It takes courage, trust, openness and willingness to do this.

The system uses essentially two processes:

Guided Imagery

Using guided imagery, a person is led into an altered state of awareness that helps focus attention and increase concentration. This enables access to “body wisdom” – our subconscious, including cellular memory. This is what Eckhart Tolle in his book “A New Earth” calls “consciousness itself”. Using this technique, it is possible to uncover old hurts, beliefs, promises or vows made to ourselves, which have persisted into later life, which are unhealthy and don’t serve us. They are well known – “I’m not good enough”, “I’m not loveable”, “I can’t trust anyone”, “I’m not allowed (to express) my feelings” – the list goes on, and the list of physical problems associated with this is long. The technique is also able to uncover the event that gave rise to these beliefs, and to resolve and release that. Forgiveness is involved. New healthy beliefs can be formulated and accepted, and can be an essential part in the general recovery from illness.

Emotional Intelligence

It allows the individual to experience their strongest feelings, in a safe environment, so that they learn that no matter how strong these feelings are, no matter how fearful or inconvenient, they can survive them. More than that, by allowing all these feelings to the surface, the path is then clear to drop into a place where they can discover the deepest essence of themselves. This can show up as anything from peace, calm, stillness, courage, strength, to love, joy, a sense of self, oneness and beyond.

Accessing this place produces several benefits – it teaches the individual to deal with negative feelings in a healthy way; it costs less energy to deal with them in this way, than to bury or ignore them, and they discover that untouchable part of themselves which is very reassuring and supportive. You also learn that personal freedom is attained by welcoming and moving through these feelings, and out the other side, not by avoidance or running away.

It is very grounding to know this essential part of yourself – the part that can’t be hurt, broken, diseased or taken away. This can then be part of your everyday existence, and used to put any experience into its true and healthy perspective in your life.

What Journeywork is useful for:

Health issues - Arthritis, asthma, intimacy & relationship issues, abuse, divorce, fertility issues, adoption, death issues, survivor guilt, depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, eating disorders, addictions, trauma, transplants, allergies, anger, bullying, growing & development and possible shutdowns. Dealing with expectations - through teens especially.

The list goes on – really anything can benefit.

Asking the real questions - What beliefs do you have around this? Do you believe that it will bring something into your life that you didn’t have before? What fantasies or expectations exist around this? Are you desperate to have or fix this? Do you have any needs around this? Is there any sense of “having done something wrong”? Do you feel you have no rights around this issue? That you don’t deserve? If you couldn’t avoid this issue, what would you have to feel? What are you prepared to risk to be free of this?

Building a healthy life - How to vision quest, how to build your life based on who you are, not who you believe you ought to be. Learn your Life’s purpose, what your truth really is, changing vows, beliefs that don’t serve you any longer, learn how to get real – with yourself, with Life, with others, learn how not to play games or wear masks, and to recognise this in others. Learn to let go, and enjoy life as it really is, in the present. Learn the ability to ask appropriate questions, learn the ability to understand the healing nature of emotions – learning emotional intelligence. The ability to learn healthy boundaries, the ability to recognise and speak the real simple truth, learning to be free to live your life as you truly are, to have a healthy relationship with yourself, learning to “get it wrong”, that you don’t have to “get it right”, to learn to BE, and not to HAVE.

Journey work is now in schools around the world, in Judicial systems, in hospitals, and teaches leadership and communication skills.

Journey can teach us how to manifest our true purpose for being in this Life, to remove the societal mask that we prepare so carefully in our formative years, to strip away the veneers of falsity and pretence, and reveal our true essence.
You just have to want this badly enough!

On a personal note, by going through my own processes, I have freed myself from core beliefs and old hurts that have caused a deal of difficulty over the years, things that ran counter to my own well-being. I continue to be involved with the organization, which is now global – in 32 countries. This has been the enormous gift that Brandon, and her Journey work, has brought into the world, and into my life, for which I will always be grateful.