The Value of Connection

Nov 18, 2016

By Katherine Ebacher

"You-all means a race or section,
Family, party, tribe, or clan;
You-all means the whole connection
Of the individual man."

--You-All; anonymous poem from the Richmond Times-Dispatch

One of my favorite expressions that I learned in a BodyTalk class was the phrase "A-DAM-E-WA." It was described as the original sounds of manifestation. As the story goes, in order to make the sound "A" there is first an in-breath that initiates the creative process--from that space emerges the original, divine idea. The actual sound "A" (pronounced ah, as in spa) is the idea appearing in your mind. "DAM" (pronounced dahm, as in mom) is the blueprint you create from that idea. "E" (pronounced ee, as in tea) is the constructive or manifestation process itself. And "WA" (pronounced wah, as in spa), which is so critically important, is the Wow! --a full expression of gratitude, appreciation and excitement about what was created.
 
This creative process is required for anything to become manifest in our world, including writing an article and biography for the International BodyTalk Association newsletter (note: Katherine's full biography will appear in a future newsletter). I was honored when Esther Veltheim invited me to write for the IBA membership and the public at large. Esther's outreach was such a gift because she encouraged me to share my stories of growth and discovery. The process of writing itself is an opportunity for insight, inspiration, and connection with you, the reader; as well as an opportunity for personal healing, including re-discovery, reconnection and letting go of the painful illusions of separation. I highly recommend it.
 
As we learn in the Principles of Consciousness course, we are all ultimately striving for connection. The course describes the peace that we can feel when we have, "...connection with our families, our communities, the world, and God or some other symbol of divine consciousness." Engaging at any one of these levels (or all of them) can dramatically shift your experience of reality because as we connect with others we better understand our Self.

When I moved to Cincinnati, Ohio in the United States to be with family, I had a zeal for BodyTalk. I knew that I had found something wonderful, powerful and full of opportunities for healing. I had previously lived in Chicago, and there was a very large group of BodyTalkers who were taking multiple classes and getting great results. But in Cincinnati, there were only a few people who knew anything about it. When I talked about BodyTalk, it was encouraging that almost 1 out of 10 people that I connected with one-on-one were interested and willing to give it a try. However, I only interacted with a limited circle of people. I imagined that so many would find tremendous value in BodyTalk if I could only touch their hearts with the curiosity and space I learned were so critical to the healing process.
 
As an introvert, I felt comfortable sharing the wisdom and value of BodyTalk through writing on my personal website, BodyTalkCincinnati.com, and became a practicing member on the IBA website, which is an amazing marketing tool that connects prospects to local practitioners, classes, educational opportunities and more. Six years ago, a woman named Christine Graeter found my website including its links to the IBA website. She discovered that BodyTalk Access, a course designed to bring about significant improvement in health using five simple techniques, was being taught the next weekend. Taking the class motivated her to then experience private sessions with me and the results were dramatic. She was very vocal and eloquently expressive about the value of BodyTalk to many people with whom she connected. She referred many clients and promoted BodyTalk to a much wider audience than I could have ever reached on my own. A-DAM-E-WOW!

Over time, people from Cincinnati started taking more BodyTalk classes. Mary Shields taught Access, Fundamentals, and Principals of Consciousness only two hours away in Columbus, Ohio. She also coordinated multiple advanced classes with John Veltheim and other advanced instructors to serve the growing need in the Midwest. Yet these efforts still did not bring the breadth of connections that I knew in my heart was possible. 

Then Christi received a divine inspiration. She saw a vision for developing a physical location to serve as an energetic center and sacred space that integrated the best of traditional healthcare with holistic healing. With the support of many people, a non-profit corporation called The Healing Space of Cincinnati was launched in 2015. It attracted an interdisciplinary team of practitioners who had advanced training in various modalities. In addition to BodyTalk, TheHealingSpaceCincinnati.org offers Acupuncture, Aromatherapy, Chiropractic, Massage, Meditation, Mental Health Counseling, Reiki, Yoga, and more. The friendships and core values developed there launched some practitioners into their own practices, spawned spiritual study groups and expanded opportunities to serve an even larger community.

As further outreach, Christi offers several five-week Brain Balancing (e.g. Cortices) classes every year. I am inspired to get out of my comfort zone of private practice and give public BodyTalk presentations during the last week of the series. Since students best appreciate BodyTalk when they experience it personally, I also give several demo sessions during the talk. Only Certified BodyTalk Practitioners may give formal, advertised presentations as a practice-building tool. However, any member may teach the Cortices technique to clients and people attending their public presentations. I encourage you to try these in your local communities too. These demonstrations and talks motivate people to sign up for private sessions, seek additional BodyTalk training afterwards, and touch their lives in more ways than we can imagine. Because of our efforts in growing our community through outreach and connection, Mary Shields taught the first Cincinnati Access class at a local hospital this year. Joyce Petersen from Denver also taught MindScape at The Healing Space, which allowed us to share this experience with family members, clients and non-BodyTalkers.

Connecting with our local communities isn't our only priority. Another great way to connect is with our fellow BodyTalk practitioners through study groups. I organized a live Fundamentals study group at The Healing Space that encouraged students to review what they learned in class, have discussions to extend their learning, and practice sessions to gain confidence using the techniques. I also led a Principles of Consciousness study group over Skype so that we could reach more people outside the city. As we connected online and traded sessions, we strengthened our opportunity to help each other see and heal our own separation. Connecting the dots for people made these groups very valuable experiences.

We recently developed a Facebook group called the Cincinnati+ BodyTalk Matrix to give members the opportunity to interact, share what they've learned, and encourage friendships. On the first Tuesday evening of each month, we have started holding matrix sessions via the phone. You are welcome to connect with us on Facebook and join the Cincinnati+ matrix group sessions.

I also coordinate a PaRama Trade Group connecting PaRama students and practitioners from around the world. The group provides members with the opportunity to give and receive sessions from a different partner once a month by email, phone or Skype. Participants are thrilled to receive sessions from advanced practitioners who they would not normally have the opportunity to meet. They value the connection with practitioners who have similar skills with the goal of resolving their personal challenges that require more advanced techniques. I love the opportunity to connect through one-on-one sessions with these now close friends--they show me a mirror through their eyes that reflects an important aspect of myself. It is clear that as we heal together, the world heals too.

I am beginning to match the PaRama Trade Group partner pairs for the first quarter of 2017. I would like to extend an invitation to any PaRama practitioner or student who would like to join next year. If you are interested, please email bodytalkcincinnati@gmail.com with your name, email, phone number, time zone and your preference to trade by email, phone or Skype, and I will add you to the list.

Finally, there are growing opportunities for connection into the spiritual dimension with John's newest course, The Soul's Journey - Exploring the Mind & 3 Brains, which I plan to take in February 2017 in Pennsylvania. I anticipate that this course will fulfill our growing desire to connect with Self by exploring the unity experienced through our minds, hearts and souls.

The friendships I have developed from my growing connections literally transform my reality every day. I encourage you to explore some of these ideas to discover ways that you might connect with your families, clients, practitioners, community, the world and beyond.

A BodyTalk session starts with connecting through links. We start by sharing this miraculous protocol with friends and family through practice. Then, we develop outreach to our communities by connecting with lay people, clients and practitioners. As each person touched by this network connects their heart, mind and soul for the purpose of healing self and others, the opportunities for each of us to connect with Self on this continued BodyTalk journey are endless. All I can say for now is WOW!


Meet Katherine Ebacher

A couple of years ago, I made it a goal to be the same person I was in BodyTalk in all aspects of my life. I really liked the present, focused, inquisitive, and intuitive person I was when I would step into the BodyTalk matrix. At the time, though, I still felt a great deal of stress in other aspects of my life. But with that ultimate goal in mind, I developed a purpose statement for my life which helped clarify things for me: "To discover who I am through connection with others." This purpose has a great deal of depth to it that allows me the opportunity to grow with every personal exchange. From that purpose, I developed my passion statement to help me achieve it: "Give space and curiosity to myself and others." 

Everyday, BodyTalkers, coworkers, vendors and clients help me to see clearly that vision of who I really am in that moment. The purpose and passion statements helped me develop the design or blueprint to find myself through these connections. BodyTalk classes, life's up and downs, and my private practice offer me the tools and opportunities to interact with others at the level needed to succeed with this rediscovery. And the results show me the power of the creative process when I simply allow my real loving nature to emerge and lead. It's that simple ... A DAM E WA!

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