I have a four year old boy and while he stopped wearing nappies for the most part ages ago, he was somehow terrified of sitting on the toilet for a number 2. I questioned and probed but couldn't get exactly what the fear was. I joked and cajoled but nothing worked. Things got a bit tense between us until one day he pronounced that he would poo on the loo when he was 4.

I was instantaneously struck by the intention in his voice. I have worked with acts of power before and I saw that he could be assisted in his own act of power. I would have a toilet using child (yay) and he would be getting a profound teaching. It was very easy from that day on to carry on with nappies, we had a deal!

I wanted him to stay focused on the intention without putting any pressure on him in the present moment. I regularly asked him if he was still going to use the toilet on his birthday. He practised sitting on the contraption that we bought for the toilet that helped him feel stable (with his nappy on). We even celebrated and got excited about the future together. I told him how if he prayed to have the courage to do it, he would be supported and that the angels were delighted that he had made this commitment and they would help him. I also told him that because he had chosen his birthday he would get extra special help in facing his fears. We also regularly counted down how much longer till his birthday.


Did you know that how your baby is born can have a significant effect on her emotional and psychological makeup as an adult? Everything she registers and feels during her initial entry into the world will be memorised and can influence the rest of her life. Elena Tonetti, an advocate of conscious birth, refers to this as “limbic imprint”. Leslie Temple-Thurston, a teacher of enlightenment, refers to this as “negative or positive imprinting”. The greater the birth trauma, especially through unnecessary or even necessary intervention, the greater the negative birth imprint.


Babies are extremely sensitive, and those born to intervention and rough handling can find the experience extremely shocking and abusive, even if birth attendees consider the handling normal (Leslie Temple-Thurston). While babies may forget their ordeal in the hours and days that follow, the memory of the experience is held deep within them and doesn’t spontaneously go away (Leslie Temple-Thurston). Unless babies are helped to release the stress of this imprinting (Aletha Solter, The Aware Baby), it (stress and imprinting) stays with them for the rest of their lives whether they are conscious of it or not. This is because during birth the limbic system registers all of the sensations and emotions around the experience of birth, and the memory of it lives in the body for the rest of our lives whether we are conscious of this or not.


Thanks to ANGELA PHILLIPS for collaborating and sending in this piece of work.

 


 

A group of us in Johannesburg met for a processing session this last Saturday and looked at some of the dynamics playing out in South Africa at the moment, and those that are "threats" on the horizon - there seems to be something in the collective consciousness about being tolerant over the World Cup soccer period, after which this will be put aside. We did a list of polarities and then a square on acceptance/intolerance of differences - this seems to be a global issue as well.

Interestingly the motto of SA is Unity in Diversity, which was our Ascended balanced state .


When we feel deprived inside we feel easily threatened when resources appear limited and we naturally want to compete, fight and kill to ensure our future needs are met (possible cause of xenophobia etc). If we don’t run the deprived child programme much we probably won’t know what destitution really feels like, or believe in it for that matter. We are therefore likely not to manifest lack in our lives. We know how to live creatively and abundantly as a result. I suppose we only create destitution in our lives when we believe the programmes of lack, destitution and deprivation, even unconsciously, and make them real. Hence it feels important to look at the deprived child (that righteously feels entitled for compensation) inside ourselves because it appears to be a main player in a lot of unrest in the world currently...

My partner and I have been working a square on this...

Desire to be deprived
To have the experience of lack and destitution, abandonment, neglect; to believe that I am the wrong doer; as a form of self-punishment/self-flagellation/self-recrimination;  to feel entitled and righteous about receiving compensation – by being angry, bold assertive, overly confident, strong, intimidating, loud, attention seeking (imposing my presence on others), in your face, over the top, hectic, greedy, grasping, grabbing, stingy, withholding, selfish, self-centred, conceited, inconsiderate, disrespectful, dishonouring, destructive, angry, doing everything in my power to get my needs or perceived needs met at all costs, feeling entitled to compensation however it may look – buying into all ego wants and desires – being fed by consumerism – if I feel down I can remedy that by spending a day at the mall mentality; an excuse to hoard my stuff and never give anything away,   
To be the poor victim; to moan and complain; to pull at the heart strings of saviours looking for action – thus to be pitied, be loved, cared for, compensated; people will generally feel more sorry for you and like you more if you are deprived rather than satisfied
To lead a strict and austere life for spiritual advancement – to suffer and ennoble myself through suffering; to put myself through renunciation in order to wake up (vows of celibacy, poverty), to clear my attachments and addictions; self-punishment; for purity; As an excuse to act out deepest darkest ego – rage, hate, killer instinct etc whilst fulfilling my needs at all costs; to validate survival of the fittest theory To see how much I can do without, and how little I actually need to survive – becomes a game – like the anorexic who starves herself to see how thin she can get and still survive; getting tired of the game and choosing to deprive myself to death
To be motivated to get things done
To not have to feel shame or undeserving feelings associated with actually owning a lot of stuff
For drama; because I’m addicted to suffering, deprivation is a familiar state
To choose the hard life; because as a child I was told I was spoilt that I can’t bear to be labelled a spoilt adult; to not be criticised or rejected for having my needs met – to be loved and accepted
To struggle with a mediocre salary
To be lazy
Because I am scared of a challenge (it’s easier to rather deprive myself than stretch myself); out of a lack of belief in myself (because no-one believed in me as a child, I believe I am stuck with my limitations); out of insecurity and lack of self-confidence I cannot possibly aspire to reaching my full potential; because I believe that: I’m inadequate, inferior, easily intimidated, I lack skills or am in denial of my skills, am worthless, a failure, good for nothing, hopeless, pathetic, inferior; because of all these negative beliefs about myself I do not believe I can live creatively and abundantly and thus manifest a mediocre life for myself where I live in deprivation
Because I am disconnected from my own sense of inspiration; because I don’t have any good ideas to make a break for myself
It’s safer because people are less threatened by me Out of fear of my own success, brilliance, light

Fear of being deprived
[What I see here is that deprivation can exist on many levels – on the level where food and shelter is denied and survival is seriously threatened or on a more subtle note. For example, I may be denied good company one evening if my friends cancel plans, or I may be denied a learning experience by missing out on a session with a spiritual teacher/Leslie, or if I can’t get hold of something “nice” to eat and land up snacking on something less satisfying – all these experiences have the power to remind me of my inner deprivation...]















Going Green

Posted by: Ruth Underwood in MyBlog

In the last couple of weeks we've seen quie a bit of murky stuff surfacing around race and culture - which on some levels is probably good, as it's been lurking under the surface for many years, and better for it to come out so that we can all look at ourselves and work towards becoimg a less polarised society.

This initiative seemed quite refreshing - esp the part about making it cool to love other cultures and etnic groups, though still the question is how do we bring about a more balanced & homogenised society? - in some ways being anti-racist is still being polarised, or is this OK because being racist is "wrong"? How do we find balance without being polarised in some way or other?


Processing for South Africa

Posted by: Barbara Abdinor in MyBlog

Perhaps if you have read some of my other post you will have resonated with my increasing unease with the socio political situation in South Africa.

http://www.2ndmiracle.co.za/web/blog/where-are-we-heading-.html


A Bank you can Love?

Posted by: Dale Holroyd in MyBlog

I recently read about a great idea, which has been implemented in the UK over the last few years, called Time banking.

 


https://secure.avaaz.org/act/index.php?r=act

Avaaz are campaigning to stop a proposal that would allow ivory trading to start up again in Africa. Please sign the petition if you agree.


Where are we heading?

Posted by: Barbara Abdinor in MyBlog

  I recently read this brilliant article called ‘South Africa and The New World Order' by Leonard Gentle. http://www.sacsis.org.za/site/article/421.1 I think it provides an excellent big picture perspective on what is going on in the corridors of power, in South Africa and the world.

Later on I read another article ‘On Protest Hotspots and Analytical Blind Spots' by Jane Duncan http://www.sacsis.org.za/site/article/439.1. It offers a sharp focus on the building tension in South Africa. I think the reality of what is going on becomes pretty clear when they are read together.

I think Gentle did a fabulous job of summing up much of the middle class sentiment.


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