Sound Healing and Sabbaticals
Hello, my friends.
This year (thus far), my tenth year of doing sound and vibrational healing as “Harmonic Healer”, has been spent on sabbatical. In this, the first post to my new blog, I thought I would address the concept of “why a sabbatical”?
Some of the ideas discussed here will be elaborated upon in future posts – I don’t want to write a book for the first post! So why a sabbatical? Why now? How long? As strange as it may sound, after ten years of studying and learning, performing one-on-one healing sessions, and teaching classes, I was ready for a little change of pace! Little did I know where my spiritual path would lead me for this part of my life.
Last year (2007), I first discovered Gary Renard (“The Disappearance of the Universe”), which lead me directly to “A Course in Miracles” (hereafter referred to as the “Course”). I found this Course compelling, interesting, fascinating, challenging, difficult – I couldn’t put it down. It was so difficult for me in the beginning few months I referred to it as “A Curse in Miracles”. Yet it became as important as any other part of my spiritual path thus far in my life. I decided that I needed to study it without any other interference or distraction. And although I have had many incredible experiences in my sound healing work, the concepts were different enough that I decided that I did not want to do two things at the same time which might interfere with one another. Ergo, a sabbatical, to concentrate on the Course.
So, for how long? I do not know yet. As a concise answer, I await guidance and inspiration as what to do next – and when. I feel that studying the Course is as important FOR ME as anything I have done. And please understand, the Course does NOT say “do this” or “stop doing that” – the choice to continue studying and not do my traditional sound healing work is purely my own.
I feel it is the proper thing for me to be doing at this time. In this blog, I plan to share some of my thinking, experiences, and anything that might grab me and rattle my cage a little. I hope that you will join in these discussions, make comments, and ask questions. My desire is that we will all use the exchanges here to continue to grow and challenge ourselves.
Thank you for reading and participating.
Blessings, Michael…
Tags: Course, Sabbatical, Sound Healing
April 19th, 2008 at 6:35 pm
Hi Michael and all bloggers,
I look forward to hearing more about your experience with The Course. I am only on Lesson 13 today, though I began the course 20 days ago. So far, what I have been practicing with the course is familiar to me, similar to the Buddhist concepts I’ve been working with – though the language is different. I like the day-to-day practices the course offers with each idea building on the previous. I’ll see where it leads me.
It was after Lesson 9, “I see nothing as it is now,” that I took some time off. I felt such sadness as I practiced this lesson that I needed recupe time.
I went to a study group in Pleasanton but decided not to join as they select passages at random for reading and discussion. It seemed most of them have been practicing for a while. If anyone knows of a group in my area, I’d be interested to hear about it.
Peace and well-being,
BJ
April 21st, 2008 at 6:14 pm
Ha ha, it took me three to four months to do the first 30 or so lessons (ergo my “Curse in Miracles” title), so you are doing better than me! In my understanding, it is OK to substitute your own language when you might feel more comfortable with words with which you are more familiar. In Course language, the form is not so important, but the content is.
I too will hit an occasional lesson which brings on sadness. I feel that if I am experiencing such sadness, there must be a big lesson in there for me to learn.
Gary Renard’s teachers suggest that study groups are more social exercises than learning ones – but all group interactions can be used as forgiveness lessons!
Peace!
April 27th, 2008 at 4:22 pm
Yes, I substitute language that seems more true to my own experience and sense of things. I’ve recently quit reading the front of the book and find just reading the daily lesson works better for me. Buddhist perceptions and practices have give me a foundation for the course without which it would make little sense.
I had trouble with yesterday’s lesson which was: ‘I am determined to see.’ Today I changed the language to: “I want to see and accept the gift of sight given me.” Framing it in that way worked. I realized that saying “I am determined to see” made it seem like a matter of will, something I could/should will to happen. Reframing it felt more true to me.
It’s all very interesting. Every day and every lesson brings its own unique experience. Yikes and wow and oh my goodness!