Upcoming Events The Essence of ARC Introductory Gateway Class Practice open-hearted listening skills as a means to create intimacy in your life. Learn how we communicate through unconscious body language and how to hold “presence” - a deep sense of self-awareness - in stressful situations. Discover how daily stresses and emotions influence physical conditions. There will be a special two hour segment where students can experience working with horses to increase body and emotional awareness, enhancing personal presence. More information May 14-16 – Abbotsford, BC O pen to the Public ARC’s Sixth Annual Summer Gathering and Workshop Join ARC friends, old and new, for a Friday night potluck and gala followed by two full days of classes. More information August 13-16 - Location to be announced Pre-requisite: One ARC Workshop The Essence of ARC Introductory Gateway Class Practice open-hearted listening skills as a means to create intimacy in your life. Learn how we communicate through unconscious body language and how to hold “presence” - a deep sense of self-awareness - in stressful situations. Discover how daily stresses and emotions influence physical conditions. More information October 2 - 3 – Nanaimo, BC October 1 – 3 – Abbotsford, BC Open to the Public

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Articles An Interview with Pietro Abela Animals Are People Too ARC Bodywork: A Return to Consciousness Attention Deficit Disorder Awareness Alone May Not Guarantee The Change You Seek BODY-SPEAK™ Contemplating Burnout Creative Codependence Grounding Shock Treatment Something Called Faith Spiritual Direction The Caretaker and the Healer The Truth about Sabotage

BODY-SPEAK

By Pietro Abela

About ten years ago it dawned on me that the physical issues I was treating as an energy worker masked a deeper emotional layer. I saw that trauma is internalized energetically in precise locations of the body according to the nature of the trauma or event, and that it would manifest physically when left unattended. A physical symptom is almost always sending a message that something in our emotional system is not best serving us. If our emotional system is re-organized so that we are operating from our center, or Self, the physical symptoms dissipate because they become unnecessary.

This approach was so effective that clients began asking me to teach them the method so that they could help their family, friends and clients in the same way, This led to the development of The ARC Institute in 1994. ARC was different from other schools of energy work in that it taught that the real key to taking care of others lies in our ability to take care of ourselves. ARC teaches ways to address a myriad of issues while at the same time facilitating your own self-care. One of ARC’s primary tenents is that emotional reorganization is the key to treatment of pain and discomfort. Therefore, students of the ARC Institute include not only those pursuing a career as a practitioner (or those adding to their present practitioner skills) and others who simply want to learn ways to care for better care for family and friends, but also those whose main priority is to develop a strong sense of self and heal their own emotional and physical issues.

It is much easier to approach this internal re-organization if we divide ourselves into emotional parts. When I have a client come into my office who is totally flustered because life is out of control, and I respond to her with the observation that there is a part of her that is having difficulty coping, the person invariably feels relief. The relief is in knowing that it is only a part of her and not all of her who cannot cope, and that maybe there is another part within her that is fully able to cope well. So to be able to say, “a part of me feels angry,” or “I have a part that feels disappointed” puts you into a place of observation. To say “I am an angry person” says to me that the angry part often takes over and assumes a dominant position. “A part of me feels angry” says that the part that is able to observe what is going on could be supportive in some way, and if so your inner reality will change.

When we work with emotional body parts our approach needs to be non-linear. If the observation part, which ARC likes to call the Self, were to ask the angry part, “What do you think about being angry?,” the intellectual mind will answer. Ask somebody that same question and watch how their eyes go up, their head moves upwards as they “think about it.” One of the central methods The ARC Institute teaches is Body-Speak. Body-Speak is bodywork dialogue. It is the ability to talk, to yourself and to others, in such a way that the body, and not the mind, responds to the question. ARC teaches that it is in the body that our issues reside, and it is there that the true answers lie to the nature of the issue, history and more importantly what is needed to solve the issue. Now ask, “ How does that part of you feel about anger?” Do the eyes look downward? Does the head tilt down? These are indicators that the body is being accessed for the information.

Body-Speak questions need to be slightly confusing so that the body and not the mind responds to the question. A person’s first tendency is always to respond from the mind. A non-linear question will temporarily confuse the mind and the person being asked has no other option but to respond from the body. Let’s say that you feel sad. To ask, “what is sad for sadness?” is hard for the mind to grasp. But if you move into your body for that answer chances are a response will be forthcoming.

Body-Speak can be applied to yourself. You could write out the part’s response and then from that feed it another question. Or you could just ask the part something and see if in time a response to the question emerges. Here are some suggested general questions that usually produce answers:

• “How does the part feel it is serving you by doing this?”
• “Where did the part learn to do this?”
• “What does the part need right now?” And…
• ”Is there a way for this to be provided for the part?”
• “How would it be to just allow the part to be sad/angry/disappointed?”
• “Is there another part that feels something different to how this part feels?”

Parts are like little personalities all unto their own. As you explore in this manner you are likely to emerge with a whole family of parts that each have their own character, personality and behaviourial patterns.

An ARC practitioner is versed in exploring emotional parts. Whatever the response you give he or she will instantly distinguish the charged word in your response and form another non-linear question around that. The ARC practitioner does not have a goal in mind. She shouldn’t be trying to lead you up a certain path. She is trained to follow the client’s process and the order of the responses given back. This is the quickest way to resolving body-based issues – that is, by following the client response. It is also the most challenging, because like it or not, parts within the practitioner sometimes want to take over and lead the way. We are all subject to being triggered into our own issues however skilled we are. This is why ARC is so vigilant in teaching how to know your own emotional parts, and how to instantly recognize when they take over and how to resolve that issue within ourselves so that we can return to balance – or to consciousness. This awareness is useful for all aspects of relationship, whether therapeutic or within the challenges of personal changes in life.

I feel one of the potential riches of life can emerge from asking for support. If you arrive at a place where your personal self exploration seems as if it can go no further approach one of our ARC practitioners who are trained in exploring the world of parts and ask for their assistance. These folks put you in the driver’s seat and navigate you through your inner parts. Yes, like any journey it will present its challenges, but I also predict you will find it fascinating and highly rewarding for yourself, and for those close to you who will also benefit from the changes that occur for you

As you re-organize more and more of yourself you arrive at the full expression of Self. As you come into Self, you come into your own strength. Physically, there is greater tolerance and therefore greater ability to protect yourself from stress and disease. And as your inner reality changes, your outer reality changes. You have a healthier lifestyle, fulfilling relationships, career changes that reflect who you are and what your heartfelt tasks are in life. This unfolds naturally as a reflection of Self, because you’ve changed internally. It’s something that you can see in yourself as it occurs, and something that people can see about you. The greater the presence of Self, the more conscious we are of our present needs. It is a return to a conscious way of being, and in that there is peacefulness and internal safety - a coming home.