I have been working on my counseling and patient interaction skills lately.  Last month I attended a clinical supervision workshop on generative trance.  It is the life work of Stephen Gilligan, Ph. D., a student of the famous hypnotist, Milton Erickson, MD.  I found this modality to be extremely beneficial for enhancing my humanity and improving my relations with myself and others.  The work that is done between therapist and client in a generative trance session is not easily categorized.  For some clients, the work is psychotherapy.  For others it is personal growth.  And for still others it is spiritual connection.  The quality of the work and the depth of the transformational response is based on the mutual trust, commitment and courage of both the client and therapist.  The object of generative trance is to accept a wound we carry in our unconscious, sponsor the feelings arising from such wound, and move beyond the woundedness to birth something new in us that has not existed before – a new quality to our humaneness.

Generative trance is an interactive process between therapist and client based upon principles of western psychology, Buddhist psychology and Ericksonian hypnotherapy.  This trance work is not the hypnotherapy of the stage performer who implants some suggestion into the passive subconscious of a client.  Nor is it the self-help hypnotherapy commonly found on mass distributed tapes where standard inductions are repeated over and over to a susceptible consumer.  It is not even the typical approach of Ericksonian hypnotherapy where a therapist uses techniques such as confusion and indirection to bypass the patient’s conscious mind and communicate with the patient’s unconscious mind.  Generative trance starts from the Ericksonian concepts that (i) the unconscious mind is inherently intelligent; and (ii) indirect communication with the unconscious mind is beneficial for changing behavior.  However, it varies from typical Ericksonian hypnotherapy in that the therapist is not focusing on technique.  In particular the therapist is not focusing on techniques for bypassing the conscious mind.  The therapist engages in a “not too loose – not to tight” interactive dialogue with the client paying attention to the communications from the unconscious of both client and therapist.

Prior to the trance work, the client decides an issue or two that they would like to process, (e.g., a personality shortcoming; an issue from childhood; hurt feelings from a divorce).  Stage one of the process is to go into trance by dropping awareness into your center.  Meditators generally are familiar with this process – it is the basic tool of mindfulness meditation.  One moves their awareness from their cognitive thinking mind to their body – and specifically to their center, e.g., solar plexus, heart area.  One pays attention to what their body is feeling and sensing.  One stays connected to their somatic self.  Both the therapist and client drop awareness into their respective centers.

Stage two is to begin the interaction between therapist and client.  The client may start by elaborating on a select issue.  As the work proceeds, there may be some resemblance to western psychotherapy, but with an openness and curiosity as to what is being felt, and to what symbols are arising from the unconscious in both therapist and client.  In that sense, the work is done in a trance state, (i.e., paying attention to the internal subjective experience).  Visualization, coaching or other exercises may be enacted as the session moves forward.  It is important for both therapist and client to continually return to their centers during the interactions.  Bringing awareness to the somatic senses and to the feelings that are arising is imperative.  Identifying and acknowledging these feelings is important for opening the self to accept their woundedness.  Here is why.

It is a function of our conscious mind to humanize all experiences - the lighter moments, the darker moments, and everything in between.  When the brain does not fully process an experience, there is a disassociation between mind and body.  As a result we stop using some of our humanity - some of our interpersonal resources.  We may suppress or ignore feelings.  We may react to life situations in ways we cannot understand.  These disassociations are our ‘wounds’.

A disassociative wound changes our behavior.  To avoid the pain of the original experience, we work around the pain – trying not to trigger it.  As a result we experience changes to our humanity, our personality, and our judgment.  Craniosacral therapists call this wound an ‘emotional cyst.’

Of importance is that our subconscious mind is intelligent.  It creates symptoms, in effect pushing the wound to the surface.  The unconscious is urging the conscious mind to process the wound.  But we have disassociated the woundedness.  To the cognitive/conscious mind, it is just a recurring sense of inadequacy, a lack of self-acceptance or self-love, or some other negative sponsorship of the wound.

So, during the client-therapist interaction, feelings may arise that client or therapist may identify as being significant - perhaps out of proportion to the interactive encounter.  Acknowledging, identifying and going into the feelings may bring up old memories, symbols or images.   Client and therapist explore the location and quality of these feelings.  Characteristics of the process include: trusting in the unconscious to provide symbols or other clues as to the nature of the wound; holding a curiosity of the client’s state; and having the courage to trust one’s gut (and perhaps to occasionally fall flat and make mistakes).  As these feelings are explored, the client with the help of the therapist can positively sponsor the feelings, and thereby process the woundedness in the cognitive mind.  As the client emotionally connects to their woundedness, there becomes an association between the cognitive self and somatic self.  With such association comes the opportunity for transformation.

By positively sponsoring the feelings arising from the woundedness, the client’s unconscious no longer needs to push the wound to the conscious mind in the form of a symptom.  For example, the internal voice of self-loathing has a new tone.  In the following weeks, with the voice (or other quality of the unconscious) changed, the client moves into new ways of relating.  The client ‘grows’ adapting a new behavior pattern.   The client has healed some of their woundedness and has evolved their humanity doing so.

Steven Koda, ND
Vital Stream Naturopathy

See op-ed by: Henry A. Giroux, t r u t h o u t | Op-Ed

A Society Consumed by Locusts: Youth in the Age of Moral and Political Plagues

A spiritual perspective helps me to make sense, or at least be more accepting, of the objective world. It helps me to nurture an inner core, which serves as my compass for navigating through life. When I get away from my spiritual practices for too long, it becomes harder to cope with the demands on me. I lay awake at night repeating the same thoughts. My day becomes more mechanistic. I am distracted in the evening, rather than enjoying my family. I need to cultivate spirituality to connect with life and get joy from the simple things in life. And it does not take money, a good job, or a Ph.D. to get that joy. It does require surrender.

So what is spirituality? We use the term spiritual in so many contexts, such as cosmogenesis, anthropomorphic genesis, religion, wisdom, life practices, nonmaterial aspects of a lifeform, morphic fields, and more. I am talking about spirituality as an experience of recognizing, accessing and engaging an inner subjective part of your being so as to achieve a more optimal state of wellbeing.

Cultivating spirituality is a process of looking beyond the material, objective reality and letting go of rational, mechanistic thought. This entails an element of surrender and often engenders a sense of vulnerability. In looking beyond and letting go, we may receive inspiration, see a subjective inner world, or find subjective meaning from an objective outer world event or form. This is not escapism, nor is it fantasy. It is seeing from a more expansive perspective, feeling with naïve innocence, and being connected to clarity and knowingness.

Eastern religions teach physical and mental disciplines for cultivating spirituality. Examples include meditation, asana yoga (physical postures), bhakti yoga (devotional practices), and buddhist dharma (life practices/values/wisdom). These practices help us to connect with our body and slow down recurring thoughts. The judeochristian religions also teach practices for cultivating spirituality, such as prayer, contemplation (including introspection and reflection), brotherhood (community), and sacrifice. These practices help us to connect with our inner core and embrace a reality greater than ourself.

Practice some of these exercises: (1) Pause and take in the world around you, noticing how sights, people and events make you feel. (2) Pay attention to the inspirations that come to you in quiet moments. (3) Look for the cycles and patterns of events and outcomes in your life. (4) Pay attention to whatever task you undertake and to what your inner voice says and feels. (5) Seek out moments and places where you can embrace your vulnerability and surrender to your inner self.

Steven Koda, ND

• Flu-like symptom include fever, body aches, lethargy, lack of appetite, coughing, and occasionally runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
  
• Warning signs in children that signify an urgent need for medical attention include:
  

• Fast breathing or difficulty breathing
  
• Bluish skin color
  
• Cries inconsolably; cries if touched or moved
  
• Lethargic and difficult to awaken
  
• Being so irritable that the child does not want to be held
  
• Flu-like symptoms improve, but then return with fever and worse cough
  
• Fever with a rash
  
• See our page on “Fevers in Children”
  

• Warning signs in adults that signify an urgent need for medical attention include:
  

• Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath
  
• Pain or pressure in the chest or abdomen
  
• Sudden dizziness
  
• Confusion
  
• Severe or persistent vomiting
  

Prevention:

• Avoid actions that impair your immunity:
  

• Avoid sugar. Even small amounts of sugar can significantly impair your immune function for hours, making you more
  susceptible to the flu.
  
• Manage your stressors. Prolonged stress decreases your immune response, making you much more susceptible to
  a flu infection.  Studies show that prolonged stress is at least partially responsible for 90% of all illness and disease.
  Consider meditation or prayer to reduce stress.
  
• Get enough sleep. Insufficient sleep decreases your immune response. Most people need about 8 hours per night for
  optimal health.
  

• Practice good hygiene
  

• Cover your nose and mouth with a tissue when you cough or sneeze. Throw the tissue in the trash after you use it.
  
• Wash your hands often with soap and water. If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand rub.
  
• Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Germs spread this way.
  
• Try to avoid close contact with sick people.
  
• If you are sick with flu-like illness, CDC recommends that you stay home for at least 24 hours after your fever is gone
  except to get medical care or for other necessities.
  
• While sick, limit contact with others as much as possible.
  
• During the winter most heating systems dry out your mucous membranes making you more susceptible to viruses.
  Get fresh air regularly.
  

• Boost your immune system
  

• Exercise. Regular exercise boosts your immune system.  (Note that too little or too much exercise may impair your
  immune system)
  
• Diet. Brightly colored fruits and vegetables are packed with healthy phytonutrients that can strengthen your immune
  system.  Eat 5-9 servings per day of fresh organic fruits and vegetables.
  
• Supplementation for maintaining a healthy immune system. View Paul Bergner’s “vitamins and herbs for flu” and
  “vitamin D for flu.” During flu season increase your intake of these nutrients to the following levels:
  

• Zinc                25 mg /day
  
• Selenium          200 mcg/day
  
• Vit A                10,000 IU/day
  
• Vit C                 500-1000 mg/day
  
• Vit E                100-200 IU/day
  
• Vit D                4,000-10,000 IU/day
  
• EFA’s                1 tablespoon/day (e.g. cod liver oil)
  

At the first signs of flu-like symptoms:

• Supplements to consider:
  

• Consider an herbal supplement with several of these constituents:
  

• Propolis
  
• Sambucus nigra (Elder)
  
• Eupatorium (Boneset)
  
• Yerba santa
  
• Glycyrrhiza glabra (but not if have high blood pressure)
  
• Astragalus
  
• Quebracho
  
• Olive leaf
  
• Euphrasia (Eyebright)
  
• Grindelia
  
• Verbascum (Mullein)
  
• Achillea
  

• Vit C powder 1,000-2,000 mg three times per day to bowel tolerance (for 4 days then taper off).
  
• Vit A 25,000 IU three times per day for 3 days, then decrease to twice per day, then once per day over next 6 days.
  

• We recommend …
  

• Flew Away by Natura
  
• Wellness Herbal Defense Formula by Source Naturals (tablets)
  
• Quick Defense concentrated Rx-A defense factors by Gaia herbs
  
• If you get the flu, stay in bed or at the least significantly reduce activities and stressors for 7 days.  You may feel better
  after a couple days, however the immune response to the flu occurs in waves.  So after feeling better on day 3, the
  immune system continues to respond bringing on cytokine storms on days 4, 5 and 6.
  

• Home treatment
  

• Wet socks treatment
  

• Naturopathy at home - colds and flu
  
• See warning signs above

Steven Koda, ND

The quality of our openness to receive - our earnest feeling - is determined by the depth of emotion we associate with the object of our prayer.  Emotional feeling is vital to manifestation.  Emotion is a vibrating, magnetic energy.  We propel our thoughts into the universe with our emotion.  The more powerful the emotion, the greater the force of attraction, and the more readily we move toward a worldly experience in which we manifest our prayer.  What we attract in response to prayer has nothing to do with what we are doing physically, or someone’s notion of how worthy we are, or how good we are, or what our supposed destiny may be.  It has to do with the emotional quality we attach to our projected thought – our vibration.

The key to manifesting a prayer is to find a way to feel good about the object of the prayer - not to wish for it, long for it, sigh for it, or feel discouraged about it, but just to feel good about it.  We do not have to explain our reasons, make excuses, or exceed some moral threshold.  When we feel good about the object of our prayer, we attract the experiences, people and things into our life at the same vibration as our good feeling.  The more we practice prayer in this manner, the more we may move the reality of our lives into experiences of higher vibrations.

One of the beauties of prayer is that we do not need to figure out how to create the desired outcome.  By focusing on the quality of our prayer, (the clarity of our vision and the emotion we feel about the vision), we attract the outcome into our experience. If we feel bad about the object of our prayer, we are attracting experiences at lower vibrations, such as fear, loss and neglect.  In such case we actually may be praying for the opposite outcome from what we hoped.

These concepts are very important when praying for the wellbeing of another.  Often when we pray for someone, we are sending out a desire begging god for healing.  In brief, we are trying too hard.  If we are sending, then we are neglecting the female aspect.  We are not moving toward manifestation of our desired outcome.  To pray we need to be open to receive.  Sending our will out merely blocks the ability to receive. Even asking for an outcome for the person’s highest good may be done in a way in which we are sending out our will, and thus blocking the receipt of healing.

One way of praying for the wellbeing of another is to contemplate the divine in such other person. Remember moments of joy involving the person.  Or create your own experience of the divine, and include a vision of the person at their best in that experience.  See the person whole, well, and vital - and feel the joy of witnessing their divine self.

How to Pray:  Before praying, contemplate your prayer so that you can be very specific in your request. Identify what you want and distinguish over what you do not want.  Identify affirmative wants and avoid negatives.  Ask for outcomes that are based on love, not fear.  For example, praying not to fail is a negative request.  When praying there is no negative.  You are in fear of failing.  So, what you are creating is fear and failure.  As another example, praying to feel better is a prayer latent with fear.  Praying to be rich is filled with a sense of lack.  When praying about feeling better, first ask yourself, “What is it about feeling well that I desire?”  Maybe the answer is, “I want to be filled with vitality and experience the joys and wonders of life.” You can even get much more specific than that.  “I want to feel the wind against my cheek as I gracefully ski the snow covered slopes and feel the sun on my back.”  Or maybe, “I want to share laughter with my children.”  In forming your prayer, get into that feeling place of what you really want.  Then bask in that vision and feeling.  Then expect it, listen for it, and allow it into your life.

Steve Koda, ND

Vital Stream Naturopathy

Steve Koda, ND
Vital Stream Naturopathy