Archive for July, 2008

Recently, I was featured in The Coloradoan, a Northern Colorado newspaper. The weekly column, penned by Jan Waterman, offers thoughts and perspectives designed to explore our spiritual selves. Her questions helped me to rearticulate what I am trying to accomplish in my practice - and what I hope all of you can discover - joyful, vibrant, ecstatic living.

I’ve reprinted the interview below, and I’d encourage you to check out some of Jan’s other pieces. I particularly liked “Picture exercise”, not only because it happened in my workshop, but because it poetically captures how reliving joyful moments from the body can bring that same joy into the present moment. I also like “Look beyond the problem to find the solution”, discussing the idea that no problem can be solved at the level of the problem and featuring a great quote by Einstein “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.”

Positive emotions lead to transformation

Ephraim Mallery calls himself a transformation artist.

Indeed, he is a truly unique and effective practitioner of the healing arts. Mallery’s more than a massage therapist and not just a counselor. I asked him to talk about his work.

What exactly do you do?

“I combine emotional and spiritual transformation with bodywork. My idea is to rewrite your body canvas. To help you find joy or peace or excitement starting with your body and moving from there.’’

How do you do that?

“I listen and pay attention to what is needed. I completely surrender to the flow of the process. I open up totally. I offer love and compassion without judgment.’’

How are you different from a counselor?

“Touch is one of my most important elements. I see my work as a true mind, body, emotion and spirit experience. Words are mostly a communication form for the mind. They make it difficult to convey the experience of the body. I help people realize that the intention behind touch is the most important aspect of touch. To touch people with love or safety or joy or any of those positive emo-tions can truly help them transform.’’

Tell me more about that.

“Whatever affects one aspect of you also affects everything else — if you’re sad your body and mind will reflect that. You won’t think as clearly. Your muscles will ache. Your posture will change. If your body hurts, your emotions will follow. If your spirit is lifted, you feel more energized in all aspects of your life. Feeling and experiencing something through your senses and through your imagination is the most potent way to change. All the metaphysical evidence points to the idea that you are what you focus on. So why not focus on joy? On what makes you feel alive? And anything that stands in the way of that joy needs to be let go.’’

Can you describe a typical session?

“Every session is different. And everyone is different. I try to let go all my ideas about the person and just meet them with my hands, reflecting their hopes and joys and intentions back to them and creating a safe space to feel those things and let all the rest go. I go with the flow of creativity, using all of my experience and knowledge and tools and inspiration and humility to help people find their joy, without judgment. I offer love and let it do the work. And then I get out of the way. I feel like I am watching it all happen, and I am amazed and grateful to see what hap-pens.’’

So you help people find joy?

“Joy is a practice. Life still throws all the curve balls and tragedies, all the reasons to keep living angry, sad, stressed, guilty. The practice is to keep the focus on the joy, keep feeling it, keep returning to it, keep feeling grateful for it, and keep giving it to everyone you meet. That is where the transformation begins. I believe that is the magic. Because the person I am working with finds and feels the magic within themselves. 

As always, feel free to post your comments below or email me.

Have a beautiful day.