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

On a practical level, each process is done one-on-one. Any quiet space will do, but I have a room especially set up, which has a good “feeling” or “energy”. It involves relaxing the person with a little guided imagery, and talking. It is not hypnosis, but a deep relaxed state is often achieved. It is a single process, not a series of sessions, although people will come back for further processes, as they experience the profound freeing effect it has. Each process last around 2½ hours; more or less. Children are much quicker.

I can confirm that it is very good at unravelling those past experiences that define who we are later in life. I have been able to take people down to their earliest of days - even to birth. There is an awareness there that seems to be very accurate. It does have the power to retrieve, release and resolve early painful memories, which have no - or a limited - cognitive bridge.

Release of these memories, and the energy associated with them, allows the possibility of healing, of the body returning to normal function.

A Journey process involves many steps, including recovery and resolution of body memory, as explained. It is also carefully designed to help you feel relaxed, safe and protected, as you experience the process. It is your subconscious that is “running the show”, not your personality, or the therapist. You are in control.

Then there is a journey through emotions, down through those negative feelings generally associated with the personality, into those qualities of love, compassion, grace, joy, wholeness, oneness – that is the soul. This is our true “power base” – and when we realise ourselves as that, then life has a glow, a sense of peace and purpose and meaning, a sense of well-being, that brings huge personal power. It is not like opening a “Pandora's box” of hurt; instead you are given the issue or issues that hold the key to your freedom at that time, which you have the resources to deal with.

This is also the spiritual dimension of Journey work – that one not only learns about one's body, one's physical presence, but one gets connected (or reconnected) with one's spirit, one's soul, and that is the key. All too often, in this mechanistic and materialistic world, we get dislocated from our spirit. We get to learn that our personal power is based on material things outside ourselves, and this is the big lie the world perpetuates. It is what is within that is true power. To be loved and admired for who you truly are, and not for your material possessions.

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!

"The ultimate goal is love and acceptance of self, which leads to the ability to love and accept others. This is a prescription in the highest sense. Without an intact self, there can be no true healing of another".

William Benda, "Healing and Consciousness"

There is only one way to empowerment - going inside.

Inside you are the keys to your existence.

Everything you wanted to know about yourself - they are at your fingertips, ready for you to choose them.

"The conscious expression of mind is thought, while the conscious expression of emotion is speech. In other words, our subconscious mind finds its expression in the way we think and the subconscious emotions come into play in the way we speak. Those who are serious about their personal development and fulfilment in relationships will aspire to train and practice in two tasks:

a) To change the subconscious default of their mind and emotions, and

b) Allow thoughts and feelings to become their true expression"

Rabbi Laibl Wolf, Kabbalist, ("Practical Kabbalah": www.laiblwolf.com)

"Journey is about accessing the boundless presence of God, that is stillness, that is everything. It simply IS, and there; our deepest prayers bear fruit, and answers can arise therefrom. Our function is to facilitate an opening for others to access this part within themselves. And at the same time, to have the courage to know our own nothingness, to allow people to find their own answers and to believe that everything is possible." Gaby Burt, Journey Organization

References:

1. The psychosomatic network: foundations of mind-body medicine. Pert CB, Dreher HE, Ruff MR. Department of Physiology and Biophysics, Georgetown University Medical Centre in Washington, DC, USA.
2. Pert et al: "Consciousness and Healing" - Chapter on the Psychosomatic Network.
3. http://www.city.londonmet.ac.uk/ psychology/staff/elander/health /PNIMainPage.html , and www.hometown.aol.com /AAAPNI/