Ben's Blog

Goodbye 2011

benkimball4625 — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 02:23:38 +0000

A lot happened in 2011 that’s caused me to focus much time and energy into many areas of my life. I completed Level 2 in Healing Touch and 2nd degree in Reiki. I was accepted into the MSW program and started the program in September. I also started an internship where I work with people who were recently homeless and have a severe and persistent mental illness. I look to connect the holistic health and social work during my education and when I’m done with both master’s programs. I think I’ll be working in a hospital or some other type of trauma care when all is said and done.

Though I’m busy, I still have time to be mindful. That’s the most important resolution I can have for 2012.

Goodbye 2010

benkimball4625 — Sat, 01 Jan 2011 02:01:08 +0000

2010 was a fantastic year. My family is healthy, happy, and prosperous. I travelled back to Florida and South Dakota, and I made a first trip to Oregon. I love my graduate studies in Holistic Health, and I have learned so much in energy healing (Therapeutic Touch, Level 1 Healing Touch, & 1st degree Reiki). My understanding of holistic wellness and how to apply it is nicely evolving, especially in the realm of nutrition. I also decided to pursue a MAHS-MSW dual degree.

I like to keep resolutions simple and limited in quantity. I did well with my 2010 resolutions, though these resolutions are always good to remember and work on improving.

Here are my 2011 resolutions:

Start a written spiritual journal and write in it 3-4 times per week
Ensure that I perform self-energy work 3-4 times per week
Read 55 books

Have a safe & peaceful 2011 full of holistic wellness!

Reiki Level 1

benkimball4625 — Sat, 13 Nov 2010 18:07:32 +0000

I have been at Reiki Level 1 for a couple of weeks now, and all is going very well. I do see the world differently, and I am getting used to experiencing & working with the Reiki energy. It is very helpful having the Reiki energy for personal use. The daily self-Reiki always helps me live an open & positive existence. It’s also different when doing Healing Touch to have Reiki energy beckoning to be used as well.

As of now, I prefer Reiki due to it’s simplicity and power. However, Healing Touch’s comprehensive array of healing interventions is impressive & powerful. I look forward to using both as I grow into an integrative social worker.

Reiki Attunements

benkimball4625 — Sun, 31 Oct 2010 13:40:38 +0000

Last Tuesday, I received my first two Reiki attunements. I wrote down these thoughts after receiving the second attunement.

It was a cold, rainy night caused by a large storm with extremely low air pressure. This caused strong winds.

After the first attunement, I performed some self-Reiki. I stopped at my mid-abdomen because of a strong urge to simply sit in a meditative position and cup my hands together with the palms facing up. There was much heat and tingling in my hands, and I visualized a heavy stream of yellow energy and information flowing into my palms. The Reiki energy is different from the energy I feel when doing healing touch or therapeutic touch. The Reiki energy is sharper, stronger, and more defined than the often vague temperatures and pressure I feel with healing touch and therapeutic touch.

After the second attunement, the energy I felt in my hands was much less pronounced than after the first attunement. However, I returned to the cupped position, and it rapidly grew in intensity again. I worked with a partner on the basic Reiki positions, and I could feel the energy connect and flow from me into my partner. After we completed our work together, I again returned to the cupped position. The Reiki energy again grew in intensity.

My hands felt hot and tingly for the rest of the night and most of the next day. On Thursday, I woke up with seemingly normal hands again. Testing myself, I called upon the Reiki energy and cupped my hands. I was amazed at how quickly I felt the energy again. I have done this many times since then, and each time the Reiki energy returns, ready for healing.

Many things have changed in how I see and experience the world, though I am still processing it all. There is a significant protective factor with Reiki, as life has slowed down to a rather manageable speed. I am able to see situations clearly, and have a better ability to work with the negative energies I experience. I am able to stay grounded and focused much easier than before when I would use just meditation and coping skills. The Reiki energy infused me and created a connection with something very powerful and informative. Information is still flowing into me, and I feel like I am experiencing a large energy & information dump into my being.

It’s almost like the healing touch and therapeutic touch is a direct connection with the Divine, whereas the Reiki is something quite specific (Divine energy tool vs. Divine energy).

I have two more attunements this coming Tuesday, and then I’ll be at Level 1.

Finding my way around the city is hard

benkimball4625 — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 15:35:30 +0000

The energy work I have been doing has opened up my intuition to the point to where I feel like I am acquiring psychic abilities. I can sense and see things I never could before. It’s not like I can predict the future or read minds, but I can sense directions, flows, and tendencies that suggest future paths.

All of this is really messing around with my being. For example, I am in Portland, Oregon, and my sense of physical direction is severely inhibited. I am having the hardest time finding my way around when in the past I was a human GPS. I have to now plan and write detailed directions just to avoid getting lost. This is an odd development for a person that once flawlessly navigated around the greater Toronto area without a map.

To work through all of this, I maintain a self-care regimen that includes frequent meditation, self-energy work, study, and classroom discussion. As I am writing this, I realize that prayer is lacking. I’ll have to work on that. I have also worked on reducing the amount of chemicals I am ingesting to help with my sense and awareness. This is a continual work in progress.

Energy Healing

benkimball4625 — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 13:47:43 +0000

This past weekend, I completed the requirements for Level 1 Healing Touch. I have learned how to listen and sense energy with my hands, and then take that information to facilitate a person’s healing using a variety of interventions.

This is an exciting time for me, as I am experiencing a major life shift into my vocation. This is the first real taste of my future, and it was fantastic. As I have journeyed into this realm of holistic health, my intuition about energy has been heightened. However, to become a channel of universal energy to facilitate someone’s healing is a major step forward in my development.

Everything I have learned so far about working with energy has been very natural and effortless. There is no strain nor depletion when I am working. I believe the sensing and interpretation will be refined even further with practice.

All of this has happened in just the first month. I have the rest of the academic year to progress into Healing Touch, Therapeutic Touch, and Reiki, which starts in a few weeks.

September

benkimball4625 — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 12:44:18 +0000

September is like the second new year. All things academic reset to a new cycle, and in my household, everyone is starting a new educational year. For me, I am taking three rather intriguing classes.

Alternative Approaches to Nutrition
Core Concepts in Mind/Body Interactions
Energy Healing 1

On top of this, my MSW application was submitted a few days ago. I’ll probably find out about my acceptance to the program after January. Though I am confident on being accepted, I have learned never to take anything for granted. I will accept any decision reached and continue on with my current Master’s degree with vigor and full presence. If accepted though, I’ll transform into an integrative social worker.

Relaxation & Meditation Class

benkimball4625 — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 13:07:38 +0000

A few weeks ago, I conducted a relaxation and meditation class to seven stressed individuals. Given an hour time slot, I decided to use three techniques to help provide some relief: light T’ai Chi movements, guided imagery, and meditation. The T’ai Chi’s physical motions provided a mind-body synchronization, the guided imagery helped relax, and the meditation cultivated mindfulness through breath work and body awareness. This was all received well by the participants, and they asked me to come back again.

This all happened a few weeks ago, and I believe I am still processing it all. This event is rather remarkable because it marks the beginning of my vocation’s implementation. Though I am not yet done with graduate school, my vocation of helping people find their healing & wellness has already started. The door of working in a manufacturing environment has started to close, and my service vocation door is opening. It’s a very exciting time for me.

Here is a diagram showing how I see holistic wellness. This is the model I’ll be using to help people find healing & wellness.

Energy

benkimball4625 — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 13:03:36 +0000

As scientists, we would hypothesize that energy waves that each of us continually emanate are encoded with information that Caroline’s brain—or perhaps other cells in her body—can somehow decode. (p. 37-38)

This quote came in a chapter on intuition from the book The Power of the Mind to Heal. As I continue to learn about energy now and in the energy healing courses I will take this upcoming academic year, I can see this energy emanating from everyone I contact. The idea of cultivating one’s own intuition through mindfulness really tunes one’s ability to sense and decode the energy waves of another person. It’s like I have become an antenna that is constantly being tuned for improved reception.

Recognizing this energy has caused a mindfulness of my interaction with other energy fields. It’s like how a person emitting negative energy often draws others in, and before long, they all are spewing negativity. I have learned how to recognize these situations, and I am developing skills to to not become an emitter of harmful energy. This is important for my future healing role, as I need to not do any harm to the person I am helping learn how to heal.

Eager

benkimball4625 — Sun, 20 Jun 2010 14:53:17 +0000

Though I have been done with the year for only a month and am just finishing up a psychology class, I am eager to begin my second year of graduate studies. Part of this is to due with my pending application and admission to the MSW program. Another part is that I want to continue learning more about the healer I am becoming. As with all things, I turn to books to help guide me during the academic vacation. Some of the areas I want to concentrate on as a healer include:

Showing people how they can help heal themselves
Working through dark times and difficult emotions in a healthy and helpful manner
Working through and healing from trauma
Biological (physical + nutritional), psychological, social, and spiritual balance

Holistic healing and wellness is a worldview I am building on the spiritual, religious, and theological foundation already existing in my being. It’s an exciting time in my development.