Have any of you felt that visceral fear that arises from a phobia? Where your underarms prickle, your heart rate accelerates and you act irrationally?

Then read on – this will be an eye-opener…

I was at a talk given by Michael Bradford last evening in Camden’s “Inspiral Cafe”, where he spoke on the importance of intuition and healing energy blockages, and also about finding your own true path. During the talk, which was mainly a fascinating question and answer session, he worked with several audience members and cleared their energy fields, some in just a matter of moments. It was incredibly touching to watch the reactions that people had. One girl ended up sobbing in his arms as she let go of some long-held beliefs that were holding her back in life; another man, who didn’t even approach the stage, had a stunned look on his face as he felt the energy shift within him after a brief conversation with Michael.

One thing that Michael said several times when talking about finding our life’s purpose, was to only do things that are right for you – ask yourself, “Is this in my highest and best interest?“. Answer that questionly honestly and you will be on the right path.

I then asked Michael about the relationship between energy blockages and phobias…. and unexpectedly found myself up on stage too, being worked on in what was for me an incredibly nerve-wracking moment. My phobia was about spiders; it’s something I’ve been working very hard at overcoming in recent months, with limited success. As I stood on the stage, I was shaky and perspiring, wondering what would happen up there. Spiders provoke a strong and irrational reaction in my body. If I unexpectedly see photos of spiders in a magazine, for example, I have in the past dropped the magazine, leapt up from the sofa and then wondered what the heck was wrong with me as other stared at the madwoman!

Michael checked my energy field and said that the real issue hiding “behind” the phobia was me not dealing with a perceived lack of power in my life. I didn’t really understand it at first… until he did muscle testing to check for energy blockages. Muscle testing is defined as follows:
“Based on the concept of internal energy fundamental to traditional Chinese medicine, muscle testing is a noninvasive way of evaluating the body’s imbalances and assessing its needs. It involves testing the body’s responses when applying slight pressure to a large muscle, to provide information on energy blockages, the functioning of the organs, nutritional deficiencies, and food sensitivities, among other things.” (http://www.goodhealthinfo.net/herbalists/muscle_testing.htm)

Michael told me to repeat certain statements that were patently true (e.g. My Name is Tracey) , while he tried (with a lot of strength) to lower my outstretched right arm. My arm barely budged, and that wasn’t really even due to much effort on my part.

Then when he told me to say “My real fear is about spiders”, and he did the muscle test, my arm fell like it had no strength at all! I was floored! I’m a strong person, and I could not hold my arm up! This showed that the statement was NOT true for me. To cut a long story short, through a series of probing questions, more muscle testing and getting me to forgive myself for an event in my past, Michael was able to get me to say, with conviction, that I am a powerful woman in control of my life … and I passed the muscle test with flying colours!

Sign up to Michael’s newsletter at his website (http://theintuitiveadvantage.com/) and keep an eye out for details of any talks he gives in your area – it’s well worth exploring an amazing side of our lives that we are so often unaware of.

Peace

Tracey

P.S. I’ve not encountered a spider … yet … so I can’t tell you what would happen after my healing. BUT – I have a picture of a Red Kneed bird-eating spider (!) on my noticeboard next to my computer, and for the first time I can touch the picture without having a prickly-sweat reaction under my arms… how cool is that!!!

P.P.S . I decided to search on Google images for a picture of a bird-eating spider for this post – and I have to say, my heart took a bit of strain looking at the pictures; it was pounding. But I didn’t scream, jump up or rush away. So … if you are brave, have a look at this page of pictures that I looked at: http://images.google.co.uk/images?gbv=2&hl=en&q=bird+eating+spider – it is NOT for the faint-hearted, be warned!

I could NEVER have done this before!!!

UPDATE: MAY 31ST
I was in the garden this afternoon, pulling out a few weeds & just pottering around – and came across 2 spiders in the one flower bed. So I took off my gardening gloves & (gently!) picked up one of them & let it walk on my hand – these are the same spiders that used to have me jumping up when I first encountered them in my garden 8 years ago! They aren’t QUITE in the same class as the spiders in the link above… but nevertheless, it was quite something for me to do that! Thanks again Michael!!

Applied Energy Flow is a natural healing process that works with the physical, mental and energy systems of the body in a natural and non-invasive way. This method includes the use of Reiki and Emotional Realignment Therapy and work with the person’s aura, chakras and natural energies to effect psychological and, for less serious ailments, physical healing. Applied Energy Flow works with a person’s natural energy to increase the sense of wellbeing and control over ones life. Specific emotional, physical and energetic problems can be addressed.

My complete article can be read at EzineArticles.

Reiki stems from Japan, and is a method of “hands on” natural energy healing that balances the mind, body and spirit. It is pronounced “ray-key”. It is a simple technique, created in the 20th century but is based on ancient Eastern principals of “ki” or “chi”. The word “Rei-ki” is made up of 2 parts: “Rei” (meaning universal) and “ki” (meaning energy or life force).

There are various levels of knowledge and ability within the practice of Reiki. A qualified Reiki Master is able to practice energy healing, and also initiates students to become practitioners by giving ‘attunements’. The power of an attunement stays with a person for life; it can’t diminish or weaken with time. However, as with all things, practice enhances your abilities.

While Reiki is sacred in spirit and intent, it is definitely not a faith. Nor is it a cult or even a belief system; it is simply a way of life and it can harmoniously co-exist with any other religious or spiritual practice regardless of race, religion, caste and creed. It is also not reliant on faith; it will work whether you believe in it or not.

When I receive Reiki, my practitioner also makes use of other energy healing techniques. The additional techniques I made use of are Applied Energy Flow (AEF) and Emotional Realignment Therapy (ERT). I will write more on these in later posts & articles.

(My original article appears in EzineArticles.)