For many years,
I was a high school drama teacher. I
still think of myself as one, even though it has been quite awhile since I have
had a classroom. After a few years of teaching and watching countless
performances and scenes developed by students, it became clear to me that
students were telling their personal stories and struggles in the comfort of a
“character”. Often, these “stories” repeated themselves scene after scene,
almost always unconsciously.
Why does this
happen?
Later when I
started working with “anti bullying’ workshops and positive communication
practices, I saw how students’ behavior did not change from cognitive
information. A child may “know” that it
is not okay to hit someone and do it anyways.
As soon as we provide students the opportunities to practice and
experience themselves doing the “right” thing, then behaviours begin to change.
Despite our better judgement, our bodies tell
the story they know and have a feeling of “home”.
Why does this
happen?
The idea that our
memories are stored in the cells of our body is still not universally accepted
although the idea is gaining in popularity. Dr. Candace Pert found opiate
receptors which are responsible for generating a blissful state, in the limbic
system in the brain. She also found the receptor cells throughout the whole
body. As a result of further study, it was discovered that Every cell in our body contains thousands of receptor molecules,
designed to attach to specific peptides. These peptides carry chemical
information to the cell which eventually culminates into the expression of an emotion.
Dr. Pert made
the connection that emotions are experienced throughout our whole body, not
just our brains. Her work also suggests
that at the cellular level where emotions are instigated, unexpressed emotions
are stored. (For a more in depth read you could pick up her book, “The Molecules of Emotion”).
Unexpressed
emotions are not random experiences.
They are always attached to an event, a story, and an experience. These
stories get “stuck” literally in the cells of our bodies, or even in our energy
fields. Once we become conscious of the
story and release its hold on our body, we can move forward.
…everything
that happens to us is stored in our bodies and the energy fields surrounding
them. Ultimately, health and healing happens only when a body/mind/soul wants,
needs, and is ready to face the truth. Even after a lifetime of suppression, a
body/mind/soul that is willing to release painful secrets can heal itself, a
family, even a nation. What ultimately saves us is what we were certain would
kill us—the truth.
Whenever I work
with a client around cell memory, I am always amazed at how quick the
transformation can happen. Once the client
is aware of the old story and the hold it has had on their present experience,
the release of the cell memory closely follows. Perhaps the correction shows up at the time
the client is ready to release the story.
Energy medicine
is one of the best ways I know to release cell memory but I do think that
expressive arts and movement in general are excellent ways of managing
emotional over and under energy.
If you have any
questions about this entry, I would love to hear from you. Stay tuned for upcoming blog entries that
will talk about emotions as information systems and money as a form of energy.
Here is a great blog post by Dr. Marilyn Schlitz that summarizes some of Candace Pert's work: http://marilynschlitz.com/candace-pert-phd-reflecting-on-a-revolutionary/