Issue #1 Article#10
Dr.
J. Enters the ARC Zone
An
Interview with Dr.James Clauss by
Ruth Donald
How did you come to ARC and what were
you like before taking it up?
I came to ARC by way
of Chi Kung and Reiki. I chanced upon
Chi Kung in the search for some form of meditative practice, the result of
anxiety involving a sport's injury; I
was and still am a “gym rat.” I
did not know what I was getting into and the first time I actually experienced
the buzz of the chi that the exercises generate I realized that I had entered
into some sort of Twilight Zone of Woo-Woo/New Age/Mysticism. I soon found myself at Seattle's East-West
Bookstore where they sell books and tapes about this stuff as well as crystals,
incense, and other transformative paraphernalia. This was an odd place for a
Classics professor at the University of Washington to visit, I had to admit.
At first, my wife and three kids
started to consider whether or not it was necessary to enlist the services of a
deprogrammer. But then they began to
notice changes, good changes. I was no
longer as anxious and tense as I was.
In fact, I began to get anxious about not being anxious in the kinds of
situations that provoked this response.
In time, I came to realize that I must have been a nervous person for
much of my life.
When you began ARC training, what were
your expectations?
After studying Chi Kung for a couple of
years, I came to understand the nature of chi as a vital force. This in turn led me to want to do something
constructive with it. So I was drawn to
Reiki and took a weekend seminar and completed the first degree. I found this very rewarding but only
practiced it on my family and a couple of friends. My "normal" side kept me from going too far with this,
lest I be seen as a nut-case, as if I were not always in that category!
I liked Reiki very much. I was impressed by its effectiveness—getting
rid of headaches, putting folks into a relaxed state, etc. Still, I felt drawn to finding a more
engaging, less passive use of Chi. A
friend told me about what was then called Energy Dynamics and this seemed like
the thing I was looking for, as it included in its repertoire not only
allowing, but also evaluating and directing energy, a direction that I was
already taking, though I did not fully appreciate it at the time.
Describe
your experience as a student of ARC and how it met or didn't meet your
expectations.
I started with the third class (“The
Back and Beyond”) of what was then the first level of Energy Dynamics, now ARC,
and indeed from the first session we were moving energy instead of allowing it;
that is, instead of being present while universal (sky) energy flowed through
us to the client, as in Reiki, we were actively directing both earth and sky
energy. This felt like the right place
to be, except for the fact that Pietro was alluding to such things as exiles
and defenses, those unconscious parts of ourselves that drive our thoughts and
behavior, as I would learn in time.
This was scary, as I realized that we were not only going to learn a
technique for moving energy, but were also going to expose our innermost
being. AHHHHHHHHHH! I continued, but hesitantly.
ARC more than met my expectations,
given that I began the series of seminars looking for ways to work with energy
and ended up also learning about myself in ways I never counted on. More than satisfied, I was also transformed
in the experience. And what is more, I
find that I now play a much more active role in continuing the transformation
that will be an ongoing process for the rest of my life.
What
was most challenging for you?
Once I realized that ARC was not only
passing along a technique for using energy but was even more focused on the
exposure of our inner workings, I became somewhat alarmed, the result of not a
few defenses on high alert. It was not
until the very last class that I was able to make a break through large enough
to discover that where we were going was ultimately not scary, but even
exciting.
What
was the greatest gift for you within the training?
The greatest gift turned out to be a
new sense of self. I came to see that
those aspects of myself which bothered me most were after all reactions to
events early in my life and were not after all “me” deep down. Moreover, in knowing them, I found that I
could now deal with them with greater personal authority, insofar as I came to
discover that space where my true self resides.
Describe
how the transformation you just described affected your work as a teacher of
the Classics in the University of Washington.
There are two notable changes that I
observed: (1) I have begun to read passages of ancient literature from the
perspective of the internal organization system presented in ARC; that is, when
I read texts about mythological figures such as Achilles or even the gods, I
can better see how their words and actions can be understood on the basis of
long-standing personal issues that run deep.
For instance, is it surprising that Achilles is so angry, given the fact
that his parents had a nasty divorce when he was a baby and sent him to a
foster home run by a centaur? And there
are other aspects of his life recorded among the ancient authors that, when
seen in the context of ARC, would account for the intensity of his anger. I should add that, when I make comments
along these lines in class, I notice that the students respond with greater
interest and intensity.
(2) I can now sense more of what is going on
for my students and as a result I am able to reach them in ways I was not able
to do before. To be more precise, when
students come to me, they reveal more clearly to me in their silence,
distraction, anxiety, even tardiness that something very specific is going on
in their lives. While I may not know
what it is precisely, I am alert to this something and, by being open,
sympathetic and supportive, they appear to sense my presence for them and they
respond positively
Was there a
specific aspect of your ARC experience which influenced you as a teacher the
most?
The
fact that I can read the students better will translate into an enhanced
ability to communicate the information or insights I am trying to get across.
Do you notice
a difference in how students and maybe even other staff members relate to you?
Insofar as I am more
relaxed in general, I believe that my students and colleagues are all the more
open to me. I also sense that by my
being more present I may well be providing a model subconsciously for others,
though I do not know this for certain!
I know you are
redoing parts of the training. Do you have a specific intention here? And how is this repeat experience for you?
There is much to
learn and absorb in the course of the various weekend seminars and it is
difficult to fully comprehend all of the concepts that are presented in class,
particularly as these concepts involve things we are working through at that very time. Now that I have scratched the surface of the complex inner
workings of the self, I am better able this time around both to hear and
understand the big picture and many of its details. Moreover, I am less intimidated by the practice sessions we do in
class, comfortable with not knowing where I am going, and even satisfied with
partial or preliminary results. That is
a pretty big change for someone who preferred closure.
Do you have
any words of advice or encouragement for anyone who may be considering taking
the training?
Do it. It will change your life. And if these statements prompt a negative reaction: congratulations, you may have had two defensive parts engaged: (1) that part which responds negatively to authority and (2) that part (or those parts) of you which is afraid of change. If so, you are now into the ARC matrix.