My SLOW progress -- finally a little breakthrough

[Lira]

I've been able to feel energy rising quite well, but it seems to take a very long time to do arms and legs and torso, etc. It seems like about 45 minutes to start w/toes and/or fingers and work my way up each limb. Then I have had problems pulling it into storage. It seemed to me that one of my frustrations has been to find the right combination of techniques for consistancy. Early last week I started to use a deep raking-like action in my thighs, and that really woke them up. So I figured I needn't be as 'delicate' as I've been in the past. Still, it took a while, and my concentration wasn't 100%.

So I started playing with 'tools' that might increase the speed and efficiency so that I can focus more on some of the other exercises in the book. Each night I try to re-read a section of the book to get a new slant on what I'm doing in a new light. Last night I re-read a comment about slicing action being effective in emotional release. I've been experiencing some memories that I hadn't exactly forgotten, but that haven't been at the forefront. So I knew I was getting somewhere, just not very fast.

This led to my new tool. I envision a large white 'daisy' just below my feet -- the petal are a bit raked, like a fan. The center of the daisy is a white energy ball. I start up the daisy (weird that I generally choose counter-clockwise), and slowly it rises. The petals are almost like combs, so as the whole thing rises, I get the slicing action, and the combs really rake the energy. In addition, the rising action is like a syringe, as I pull it upward, the energy rushes in behind it.

For some reason, this combination of ideas worked really well -- it pulled the energy up to my navel in about a minute, and I could feel everything pulsing quite strongly. I continued (a bit slower) all the way up over my head. Later, in experimenting, I added two smaller daisies that begin at my fingertips and meet the larger one at the shoulders. This way I can get my whole body pulsing a lot quicker than I was before.

After I did this a few times to get it down, I added a new twist -- as I reach each chakra, I change the color of the energy ball (and the size if appropriate, speed, length of petals, etc.) and spend a bit more time. For some reason, this is especially effective in the throat area. I may have to tune it back a little above this -- I did get a pressing sensation in the third eye area, and a slight (brief) headache.

But I'm happy that I'm branching out and playing to personalize such a wonderful system.

I'd love to hear about others' personalization techniques.

[Palehorse Redivivus]

Very cool. You sound like me... always trying to see how I can improve on existing tools or invent new ones. Just wait till the part where the tools start improving themselves... you may go to use the daisy-fan one day and find that your subconscious has made changes to it for even greater effectiveness. :shock: :D

[Lira]

Yes! I'm already getting an inkling that the tools do just about what they want to. For anyone thinking that this is just imagination, I can't just make them go faster or quicker, or whatever. That was actually one of my frustrations that led to experimenting. When I tried a slicing action rising a little at a time, I just couldn't hold the control for very long at all. And I couldn't make it faster. For some reason (unknown to me!), once I start up the daisy fan, it can spin really fast on its own. And hold a vertical straight up the core. With the petal-less energy balls, I was having a hard time having them move in a straight line unless I was very forceful with bouncing them. The petals and the spinning seem to stabilize the action so I don't have to concentrate as hard!

What is that quote about wanting something done faster, give it to a lazy person? That's me...always searching for efficiency...

Now it's full steam ahead until about the navel. Then things slow down. So I know I've got some work to do there. The *good* thing is that I haven't worn out my ability to concentrate before I reach the area that I need to focus.

[Palehorse Redivivus]

Eh, laziness gets a bad rap. :P

One of my biggest tools has been to work with the subconscious mind; get it to take over processes that are repetitive, or that I find tedious. Doing manual energy work is great for when you have time to burn for instance... but I've found that it can be automated to a large extent. The subconscious mind doesn't sleep, and has all the time in the world... so not only can it be programmed to do things like raise and cycle energy, as well as find and remove blockages; it can cycle rapidly through all imaginable scenarios like an intelligent supercomputer, and continually improve on its methods. This, in turn, frees up your conscious mind to do what *it* does best -- which is to engage with the world and bring in new ideas for the subby to add to its repertoire. The subby can likewise engage with other subbies, as well as the Collective Unconscious, but if it brings in things that you can't consciously relate to your experience, it will all be very abstract. It seems to me that your daisy-fan is a good example of a synthesis between the two -- your conscious mind probably wouldn't normally associate the familiar concepts of daisy, fan, energy ball, and e-body work, but to take these concepts, combine them creatively to form something you can put to good use, and then keep improving on it, is a very subby thing to do. :)

Anyway, IMO there are processes that are worth enjoying for the sake of the experience, and then there are processes that are a means to an end. Which is which, depends on individual taste. Some people might enjoy the energy raising process and find it relaxing, which I do myself -- but there are times when I want the increase in energy but don't have time to sit and go through the process. Also given the choice between years of "manual labor" and getting the same result much quicker, I'll usually take the latter, heh. That's where subby comes in. :D Even if you don't hand the entire process over to subby, as you've noticed, it will throw up ideas and refine the process in subtle ways for greater efficiency, enjoyment or whatever your aim is.

[Lira]

You've just suggested a whole new avenue for me...I'm going to let that simmer in my subconscious for a bit!

I do know that I'm having signs that it was a good energy work-out last night. I'm so thirsty today!