—Image source: Flickr user AlicePopkorn
I am sitting on a beach in Vieques, Puerto Rico. The sand is white and soft- the water- lapping onto the shore in the most beautiful shades of aqua blue- glistening with the reflections of the sunshine. I cannot imagine a more serene place. And yet, even here, there are times when the storms are so fierce that they batter the shore or an erupting volcano from the nearby island of Monserrat covers the island in grey ash.
Rubenfeld Synergy has taught me the importance of the metaphor. It is based on a principle that our “body” awareness is a metaphor for our lives. And today, reflecting on this place on earth, I see that my awareness is a metaphor for our experience of ourselves.
Our bodyminds are our islands- they contain the most idyllic places that sometimes get battered by storms or covered by the remnants of an earthquake in our lives that has passed. Sometimes the effects of the storms or the earthquakes stay held in our body memory and we forget that the serene places are still there. The greatest blessing I get from my work with clients is helping them to find these beautiful places in themselves again and again until the route becomes a well-travelled one that they can find on their own.
I recently was asked by my Rubenfeld Synergy mentor to partake in an exercise involving a series of steps that allowed me to come home to the place in me that guides my work. I love the exercise and want to share it because it will let you know more about me as a Synergist and is also a great tool for any holistic practitioner to use to gain (or return to) clarity about their own unique philosophy that guides their work. Whenever I refer to this exercise, I receive clarity about how to move with clients in new ways. Here are the steps and my responses to each step:
Step One: In a few words, state the belief that captures why you do the work.
My Response: “Everyone deserves to know their own light, love and power.”
Step Two: Based on that belief, state three intentions that allow this belief to manifest itself in your work:
My Response: “1) Create a space for my clients to find the light, love and power in themselves; 2) Create opportunities for my clients to seek and remove blocks from their light, love and power; 3) Believe in my clients without wavering.”
Step Three: For each intention, identify several actions that support and allow you to fulfill your stated intentions.
My Response:
Intention # 1: Create a space for my clients to find the light, love and power in themselves.
Actions: 1) Guide clients to become aware of sensations, memories and feelings in their bodies that allow them to find the unique resources that reside within them; 2) Heighten awareness of the client’s breath both as a way to find new openings in themselves and as a key to inviting the relaxation response and reduce stress; 3) Use imagery to allow the bodymind to open to its full potential, sensory awareness and experience; 4) Educate clients to identify postures that assist them in grounding and centering.
Intention # 2: Create opportunities for my clients to seek and remove blocks from their light, love and power.
Actions: 1) Assist clients to identify the location and awareness of the blocks, held emotions, places where the body feels stiff, tense, or dark; 2) Explore with clients how and when the blocks might have started in their lives; 3) Invite movement, emotional expression and voice, sound, and/or postural changes that create more ease and fluidity in the body.
Intention # 3: Believe in my client without wavering.
Actions: 1) Communicate verbally and nonverbally my deep respect for my clients; 2) Demonstrate through consistency that I believe in them and that it is my truth that they possess unlimited love, light and power; 3) Give them regular, authentic feedback about their progress; 4) Create a safe environment of trust and acceptance; 4) Allow clients to move at their own pace and give them permission to take the time they need; 5) Continuously communicate my belief that the body tells the truth and contains an innate resilience and wisdom for healing.
I come back to this exercise to guide my work with each client and to stay true to my life’s unique purpose in doing this work. There is so much light, love and power in knowing that whenever the storm or ash blows our way, the beautiful places are still accessible and alive within each of us!
Lori R. Schlosser, PhD, Certified Rubenfeld Synergist. TouchTalkTransform.com.
Lorie, Thanks for sharing this clarifying process and how it supported you in your work . I am so glad your mentor shared it with you and now you with the community. I love the energy it has created for you. It was the focus for one of our training weeks in RST 17 and has been incorporated in the the new training designs. It was Chris Hammer’s brain( full-bodied) child and was so helpful to align belief-intention- and action. She is actually adapting this to a webinar and will be offering a full experience of the process to all CRS. Look for an upcoming announcement.
Twitter: LoriRSchlosser
says:
Hi Noel- Thank you for your comment and for letting me know who “birthed” this very special brain ( full-bodied) child! My heartfelt thanks to Chris Hammer!! RSM training and mentoring have given me and continue to give me so many gifts in my work and in my life. Lori
Hi Lori,
You are welcome! I am glad you are able to use this simple process to connect with your beliefs, intentions and actions.
It is my experience that once I clarify or sometimes just reconnect with my core beliefs and set my intentions, the actions follow easily.
I was particularly appreciative in the language you chose in stating each step. You have articulated clearly a map for your self by stating each with the focus on what and how you will practice.
As practitioners in a helping profession, we naturally focus on our clients. And to know the value of what our work is for our clients will “shore” and “sure up” our belief in the work.
And the other equally valuable and necessary process and what I believe will sustain us as RSM practitioners is to connect with our own guidelines for doing the work. You mention many important ones i.e. create a space, guide clients, communicate verbally and non verbally, believe in them and create opportunities.. These provide a guide for you , an important focus and necessary to maintain ourselves through the many “storms”, highs and lows , our practices and our clients may expereince.` And after all , establishing our own behavior is where we get to know our own power.
Paradoxically by focussing on ourselves we can optimize the benefits our work can offer.. I see this as a demonstration of one of our 18 principles: Self care is the first step to client care.
Thank you for offering this to our community. I look forward to presenting this so that others may be supported in doing the work we all love.
Lori, thank you so much for sharing your philosphy and intentions. It was a beautiful experience to read about. And I have written down the steps for my own deeper exploitation.
I also look forward to hearing more about Chris’s offering for the Rubenfeld Synergy community. I hope this will this be open to other types of practitioners as well. I imagine that there are many who might benefit from this exercise.
Twitter: LoriRSchlosser
says:
Hi Chris- I have such fond memories of your presence as one of my teachers during my official RSM training and I am delighted that your wisdom has appeared to en-”lighten” me once again! Thank you for this elegant tool, an internal GPS for my work and my life!! Hope to see you in Ashland!, Lori
Twitter: LoriRSchlosser
says:
Hi Kelly- I am so grateful that my sharing created positive emotions for you and that you may find it a useful tool. It is really amazing and beautiful how the gifts of the RSM method and community keep on giving!! Hope to see you in Ashland!, Lori