DERIVATION / INTERFACING
The Emotional Clearing Process is derived from
and interfaces with other humanistic and transpersonal disciplines
in the following ways:
Counseling / Psychotherapy: Although psychotherapy today is primarily concerned with feelings, it is often confined to an intellectual level. Emotional Clearing provides the working therapist with insights and training on how to take therapy to an experiential feeling level where authentic healing takes place. In our counseling work, we consistently see clients with long histories of therapy who tell us that the work they did never really moved to the feeling level, and consequently, although they have become articulate about feelings, negative feelings persist. Emotional Clearing Facilitator training develops the ability to access right-brain feeling capacity both in therapist and client. The 5-Step proprietary Emotional Clearing Process releases traumatic and other suppressed feelings in the subconscious that create psychological distress. Emotional Clearing can enhance existing emotionally-based modalities such as CoreEnergetics, EMDR, and EFT by providing an in-depth philosophy to support techniques so that they are not just mechanically applied, as well as giving the therapist additional, complementary techniques to maximize effectiveness. Emotional Clearing can deepen and extend your capacity to work with feelings, and provides a holistic East/West framework that many clients now seek.
Gestalt as expounded by Fritz Perls
forms the core of the Western psychological theory incorporated into
Emotional Clearing. The projection mechanism is strongly emphasized as a means to
understanding the nature of interaction and to enable the owning of
events and feelings apparently caused by others. The end goal is the
integration of the split-off parts of ourselves. As Perls says, "I
suggest we start with the impossible assumption that whatever we believe
we see in another person or in the world is nothing but a projection."
This idea is also basic in Eastern philosophy. Perls also states,
"...we do not analyze, we integrate." The emphasis is on
experience. Emotional Clearing emphasizes the feeling aspect of experience. Integration
occurs as a result of unobstructed feeling. How to feel, in such a
way as to allow feelings to clear and not be re-suppressed, is what
Emotional Clearing is all about.
Jungian/Freudian: The general concept
of the subconscious is central in Emotional Clearing theory. Suppressed feelings are
postulated to be a major component in the formation of the subconscious.
The subconscious is equated to the concept of Karma in Eastern philosophy.
The energy of suppressed feelings accumulates and then attracts events
into our lives upon which we project the feelings so that they can
become conscious. Emotional Clearing is a powerful approach to shadow work, emphasizing
the dualistic nature of experience and the need to integrate the negative.
Acceptance of negative feeling as a prime manifestation of the shadow
forms the basic approach to integration of the shadow. Until then,
realization of the shadow tends to remain an intellectual concept.
Emotional Clearing also shares Jung's interest in Eastern spirituality and Astrology.
CoreEnergetics/Reichian therapies
have shown that suppressed feeling energy is stored in the body and
that work with the body can bring about profound emotional-energetic
shifts. This insight has served to stimulate those who have broad
backgrounds in Yoga philosophy to realize the unsurpassed power of
Yoga techniques to effect the same kind of energetic release when
used consciously for that purpose. Emotional Clearing utilizes breathwork as an important
accessing tool, and Yoga postures as an optional technique
for body release of feelings. These ancient techniques are truly sophisticated
and greatly complement the Western pioneering work in body releasing.
Rogerian Therapy is grounded in total
acceptance (unconditional positive regard) of the client. Emotional Clearing strongly
emphasizes acceptance of the client, which manifests in conscious
listening. Any practicing counselor knows the power of listening –
clients want and need to be heard. This skill is a basic requirement
of the facilitator; much can be accomplished with this alone.
In Emotional Clearing, dialoguing consists of non-directive conscious listening as
well as direction given from the facilitator to bring the client through
the steps.
Hakomi is a recent body/mind psychotherapy
that has much in common with Emotional Clearing, including a present-centered orientation,
the need to have experiences in therapy instead of only talking about
them, and the evoking of altered states. Hakomi can be complemented
by Emotional Clearing theory and training in how and when to assume a more directive stance with the client, the specific five steps of processing, the use of breath, and
especially the Alpha induction as a powerful tool for establishing
mindfulness.
Energy Psychology is comprised of a broad range of techniques that involve manipulation of the clients energy field in order to effect psychological change. In all cases, Emotional Clearing can greatly assist in effectiveness and can be applied along with the Energy Psychology technique without conflict. Emotional Clearing Certification gives the practitioner ability and confidence to extend the healing to the critical feeling level, to dialogue on the feeling level, and to work with the feelings that normally come up as energetic healing proceeds.
EMDR: Emotional Clearing is not derived from EMDR, but incorporates a similar technique that gives equally effective results. EMDR training is available only to licensed therapists. Emotional Clearing, as a holistic relaxation process, is available to any holistic practitioner who would like to be prepared for the spontaneous appearance of strong emotional or trauma-based feelings during treatment, which often occurs as any type of healing modality is applied. EMDR has become associated with the treatment of trauma, but Emotional Clearing recognizes trauma as only a more severe instance of the normal involuntary suppression or 'freezing' of feeling as it is triggered by experience; Emotional Clearing has been found to work equally well with normal sub-optimal feeling-states such as depression, sadness, anger, etc. as well as trauma of all types. To reverse suppression, and thereby allow the particular feeling to be integrated into the personality from its split-off, frozen state, Emotional Clearing employs a range of techniques, held together by a comprehensive psychological philosophy, all of which synergistically work together to create a state of consciousness in the client that is conducive to emotional integration and release. One of these techniques involves the activation of the 3rd Eye Chakra energy center, an ancient Yoga technique which John Ruskan learned in the course of his Yogic training. When formulating his Emotional Clearing system in the 1980's, which was eventually first published in 1993, John instinctively applied the 3rd Eye technique while working alone with a feeling during meditation and found it to be an effective adjunct to the releasing process, much as Francine Shapiro accidentally discovered the EMDR eye-movement technique. At that point, John had not heard of EMDR. EMDR eye-movement has been theorized to produce what has come to be known as 'bilateral stimulation,' meaning the hemispheres of the brain are brought into harmony. It has been observed that emotional integration results. The Emotional Clearing / Yogic technique of activating the 3rd Eye while holding a feeling in awareness works the same way, and could perhaps even be considered to be a more efficacious manner of bilateral stimulation because of its ancient and reputable origin. In Yogic physiology, the 3rd Eye is regarded as the connecting point between left and right brain. Current EMDR practitioners would very likely benefit, especially if they have any inclination to align themselves with the holistic movement, from the quite penetrating Emotional Clearing psychological philosophy and methodology that prepares a client for bilateral stimulation and can augment its effectiveness: Bringing the client into the alpha-state, discussing how to drop blame, how to move into acceptance and drop unconscious mental resistance to the issue which is a critical factor, how to authentically experience feelings while disidentifying from them, and more. Emotional Clearing also advocates and employs binaural-beat stimulation in its programs to effect whole-brain bilateral functioning.
EFT is a new energy healing technique that involves tapping on certain acupuncture points. We have Emotional Clearing Facilitator graduates who are also EFT certified. They report that Emotional Clearing works well in conjunction with EFT, and that Emotional Clearing has given them a depth of psychological understanding that enables them to more effectively and appropriately use the EFT technique. EFT may be applied during the Emotional Clearing Process at the Direct Experience Step. The five steps of Emotional Clearing prepare the client and make the EFT application more effective: 1. Deep relaxation using the breath; 2. Awareness - consciously understanding the nature of your experience and taking responsibility for it; 3. A deep conscious understanding of Acceptance - what it is and is not - and how to apply acceptance to feelings and not the circumstances of your life; 4. Direct Experience of the inner energies we recognize as feelings; 5. Witnessing - breaking identification with the feelings.
Brennan Work is a sophisticated method of sensing and working directly with the energy field to effect psychological and physical health. We have Emotional Clearing Facilitator graduates who are also Brennan certified. They have found that Emotional Clearing works well in conjunction with Brennan Work, and has taught them how to confidently dialogue with the client on a feeling level when negative feelings emerge during energetic treatment. Most importantly, the Emotional Clearing Process enables them to release those feelings.
Reiki is a quite popular technique of sending energy to and manipulating the clients' energy field. As with the above techniques, Emotional Clearing deepens the psychological understanding of how to work with feelings and emotions as they arise during Reiki.
Hypnotherapy: The Emotional Clearing Process provides hypnotherapists with a cutting-edge technique for confidently handling negative feelings and emotions when they spontaneously arise in treatment, as well as a sophisticated trance modality for expanding their practice to a more feeling-based orientation. Hypnotherapists possess
skills to bring their clients into a relaxed Alpha-State, the same place
where Emotional Clearing Process work is done. Once in Alpha, hypnotherapy
is often focused on "reconditioning" - overlaying the negative with positive suggestion - in order to bring about desirable change. The Emotional Clearing Process presents an alternative method for
releasing the suppressed feelings that underlie the undesirable
habits, behavior, or conscious problematic feeling-states that are usually addressed with reconditioning modalities.
As these deeper 'subconscious' feelings are cleared, the habits and behavior adopted to keep painful
feelings suppressed are no longer required, e.g., smoking, overeating, or acting out.
After feelings are released, undesirable behavior changes spontaneously, with
little or no need for reconditioning. When combined with the Emotional Clearing Process, hypnotherapeutic behavioral
reconditioning can be ultimately more successful and much less difficult
to effect. A key factor in
the Emotional Clearing Process is premise that negative thoughts, feelings, and memories cannot be significantly altered by attempting to recondition or replace them with the positive - the negative must be released directly, and the five-step Emotional Clearing Process is a means to accomplish this. Since the Emotional Clearing Process is applied during the hypnotic Alpha-State, it flows seemlessly with other hypnotherapeutic trance work. When strong feelings come up, the practitioner just shifts to the Emotional Clearing Process mode; there is no need to jar the client out of the relaxed Alpha-State Right-Brain trance to apply other intellectually-based Left-Brain or tapping interventions. On a more subtle level, the attitude of reconditioning implies a rejection of the negative; an important element of the Emotional Clearing Process is the attitude of acceptance that permeates the work and allows negative feelings to ultimately self-release. MORE: A Special Page for Hypnotherapists
Art Therapy: As a life-long artist,
John has a deep personal interest in merging the practice of art with
consciousness work, which he explains in detail in his book, Emotion and Art.
John sees the artistic manic-depressive experience as a natural part
of the three steps of creating art, which becomes a problem only when
not recognized and handled correctly. John questions the basic tenets
of art therapy, which assume that "expression" of a feeling
will release it. It is not expression, but experience of the feeling
that releases it. The art process is a powerful means of bringing
feelings into consciousness, but then they must be experienced deeply
and without resistance, as occurs in Emotional Clearing work, either alone or with a facilitator,
for clearing to occur. Artists typically neglect this final step,
sometimes approaching art as a means to get rid of the negative instead of integrating it, and as a result experience only a pseudo-healing with their art, and
the manic-depressive cycle builds. His other book on art, Between The Moon And The
Walking, is both a left and
right-brained exploration of the artistic emotional process, intended
to bring the reader into a personal, moving, artistic feeling experience,
along with presenting John's conception of the art process itself.
Performance Optimization Coaches specializing in peak performance, such as with business executives
or athletes, can easily incorporate feelings work into their program.
Suppressed feelings such as fear are the main factor in limiting performance in all areas. Emotional Clearing training can teach a coach how to subtly guide a client through feelings release without having to invest heavily in psychological training. Processing negative feelings instead
of disregarding them or trying to just "pump up" will lead to the core structure behind the feeling and result
in release of the limiting negative inner blocking, resulting in genuine self-esteem and confidence, a necessary key for success.
Addictions/12-Step Work: Dealing with
negative feelings is a prime requirement of any recovery program.
Addictions are an attempt to cope with negative feelings. As the feelings are released, the addictive coping behavior (alcohol, drugs, food) is no longer needed, and falls away spontaneously. Although 12-Step group support is generally superb, Emotional Clearing training can
be extremely useful to 12-Step facilitators, providing a sophisticated
approach to feeling work without the need to invest heavily in extensive
psychological training, which may still not teach the powerful principles
of Emotional Clearing. Emotional Clearing also has an integral place for reliance on ultimate
healing through a Higher Power.
Breathwork such as Rebirthing, Holotropic Breath, or Conscious Breathing use breath
techniques to release feelings. Leonard Orr, the founder of Rebirthing, reports having been
influenced by the spiritual master Babaji. John Ruskan was also influenced
by Babaji, having been initiated into Babaji's Kriya Yoga at an early
age and getting basic spiritual and Yoga teachings there. Emotional Clearing has a
strong focus on breath. The breathwork taught is a refined approach
derived from various Yoga traditions, involving visualizations for
moving energy through the body. It can be used by the client in personal
practice as a gentle way to progressively release feelings. More intense,
accelerated breathing can also be used with clients in session to get
feelings moving. Emotional Clearing can provide
the Breathwork specialist with a more solid psychological background for guiding
the process as feelings emerge; more tools for supporting a client;
and alternate breath techniques. Other therapists will benefit greatly
from the comprehensive Emotional Clearing breathwork training. The breath is a most
powerful tool for accessing suppressed feelings.
Yoga Teachers: Eastern philosophy forms the
core of the Eastern side of Emotional Clearing. The psychological concepts of the
Chakras, the body/mind connection, Karma, Duality, the Witness, Higher
and Lower Selves, the basic spiritual concept of surrender, are all
integral in Emotional Clearing. Emotional Clearing recognizes Yoga techniques as the physical approach
par excellence for body-induced emotional release. Clients are advised
to practice Yoga on their own with full consciousness of the feeling
benefits. With proper background, Emotional Clearing therapists may place a client
in a Yoga pose during the therapy session to facilitate release in
the body corresponding to the emotion being processed. Emotional Clearing training
is a perfect complement for Yoga teachers or Yoga therapists. Familiarity
with Emotional Clearing principles can be extremely useful in knowing how to handle
feelings when they come up spontaneously in sessions, and can provide
insights into how to broaden Yoga classes into a more feeling-oriented
experience, possibly even with group sharing afterwards. Once encouraged,
students are likely to welcome the opportunity to incorporate feeling
work with Yoga. The group energy can be used to stimulate releases
that may not happen if permission is not given for feelings to come
forth. The concept of the Yoga class can be greatly expanded - the
leader becomes a therapist as well as a Yoga instructor.
Meditation Teachers: For clients who have the
inclination, meditation can be the primary vehicle for Emotional Clearing. Meditation
is the optimal state for applying Emotional Clearing as a self-therapy. Emotional
processing becomes another meditation skill. Emotional Clearing teaches how to work
with negative feelings that come up spontaneously in meditation instead of rejecting them by thinking you are having a "bad" meditation. Teach your students how to recognize when the subconscious is emerging, and how stay with it in order to release it, instead of just automatically going back to the breath or whatever when feelings come up. Learn how to distinguish thoughts from feelings. Don't lump feelings in with thoughts. Guided Emotional Clearing Alpha-State work
is meditation with a facilitator.
Spiritual Path: Emotional Clearing is essentially
a spiritual discipline. John's inspiration for this work came primarily
through Gurudev Amrit Desai and the Kripalu family around 1986. John's book is
dedicated to spiritual seekers everywhere, and was first conceived
as a guide for working with the emotional body as feelings came up on
the spiritual path. The scope of the work has since expanded to its
present form as a therapeutic emotional healing modality. Many of the insights
in Emotional Clearing are particularly directed to the spiritually
oriented. "Spiritual" in this context means a form of higher consciousness that may include a connection
to an inner Higher Power, in whatever personal form that may take. We learn
to use higher consciousness in the specific form of The Witness in encountering negative feelings as they
come up; we invoke the spiritual as a transcendence to the psychological.
The integration of feeling becomes a most powerful route to the spiritual.
Bodywork: In all forms of bodywork,
Therapeutic Touch, Rolfing, Acupuncture, massage, shiatzu, an important benefit is emotional
release. Emotional Clearing can equip a bodyworker with tools for facilitating
the release. Since many bodyworkers already find themselves working
with psychological material, Emotional Clearing can provide the formal structure needed
to successfully and confidently direct a client through the steps of emotional integration.
Astrology: Since John has a strong
background in astrology, he has incorporated it into his personal
approach to emotional release work. A motive for his formulating Emotional Clearing was the frustration
he experienced working with clients as an astrologer because although
astrology can accurately diagnose psychological issues, it does not
provide the solution. Although many astrological clients may not care
to be informed about their shadow side, an increasing number do. Emotional Clearing
can be useful then to give astrologers and their clients an approach
for working with the negative as it manifests in feelings. Astrology
becomes more therapeutic, and more spiritually oriented. For the psychotherapist,
knowing the psychological/emotional patterns of the client in advance
through the chart can assist in directing integration. Equally valuable
is comparing therapist's and client's charts to get a prior idea of
what their relationship will be like, including the nature of the
likely transferences
Religious Science practitioners do
prayer work on behalf of clients and also may influence clients through
their strong sense of the positive. They facilitate the client's realization
of how the subconscious mind-set creates experience. When this strong
positive attitude is directed toward the acceptance of all parts of
the person, especially the emotional shadow, healing reaches deep
and dramatic levels. The practitioner includes the emotions in the
healing, and the releasing of trapped emotions further contributes
to spontaneous transformation of experience and health conditions.
The practitioner thus uses both prayer energy and total acceptance
of the whole client as healing tools.
