Honoring Our Matrix- The First European IBA Conference.

Nov 26, 2010

By A Canadian Perspective. By Jen Harrison.

In October, 2010, I had the privilege of attending the First European IBA Conference: Honoring Our Matrix held in Munich/Munchen, Bavaria, Germany. Firstly, I want to commend and congratulate Claudia Schembri-Heitmann, Felix Schembri and Stefanie Diesch-Muller and their team of volunteers for doing an amazing job of co-ordinating and hosting this awesome conference. Job well done!

It was the first time I had been to Europe and I had the most wonderful trip. I flew from Calgary directly to Amsterdam where I stayed with friends for 3 days. In addition to greatly enjoying their company, we also had a great deal of fun walking around Amsterdam one day for 6 hours, taking in the Ryjksmuseum and Muidenslot (castle) the next day as well as taking a boat trip along the canal in front of their home past the only windmill in Amsterdam that is still fully operational.

One of the many wonderful things about BodyTalk is being able to use it so that I did not experience any jet lag. There is an eight hour time difference between Calgary and Amsterdam. I did a BodyTalk session on myself before the flight left Calgary. I ended up watching too many movies on the flight and only got 2 hours sleep. However, when I arrived I felt totally in synch. My friends kept asking me if I was tired or wanted a nap but I felt great – it was as if I hadn't travelled across any times zones at all. I did the same thing for my return flight. I did end up waking up at 2AM the first night I was back in Calgary. However, after doing another BodyTalk session on myself, I went right back to sleep and was in synch after that. Awesome!

On Wednesday, October 13, 2010, I flew from Amsterdam to Munich where my dear BodyTalk friend, Gudrun Lentner, picked me up at the airport. Gudrun, who lives in Erding, just outside of Munich, graciously hosted myself and 4 other BodyTalkers for the Conference. Wednesday evening we took the train into Munich to attend the public presentation that Dr. John Veltheim was doing. The presentation was very well attended. It was in a hall with a stage at the front. However, as the evening went on, I discovered that it was also a "bar" as there was a waitress who came around taking peoples' orders for beer, etc. I'm not a beer drinker, but I must say it was fun to attend my first BodyTalk Public Presentation where beer was actually served! Claudia Schembri-Heitmann did an amazing job translating for John.

Thursday was the Instructors' Meeting. Great representation of both Access and BodyTalk instructors from Germany, Austria, Italy, Ireland, England, Denmark, the US and, of course, Canada.

Friday was the first official day of the Conference. There were over 120 delegates from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Denmark, The Netherlands, Norway, England, Ireland, Italy, Australia, the US and Canada. I thought I was the only Canadian until the last day when Lisa Prentice, from Vancouver, British Columbia, came up and introduced herself to me. Interestingly, she too had come over early to visit friends in Berlin before coming to the Conference. Friday featured keynote speaker Dr. James Oschman. I've been a fan of his since 2002 when I first discovered his book "Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis". It was a pleasure to see him at the 2007 IBA Members' Conference in Florida and to hear him speak again at the First European Conference. His enthusiasm for BodyTalk continues to grow and he will be adding a chapter on BodyTalk in the revision of his book "Energy Medicine: The Scientific Basis" which hopefully will be released in 2011. He also said, "I talk about BodyTalk where ever I go." and that "BodyTalk is paving the way for future science." Wonderful words from a wonderful man!

On Friday evening we were off to the Hofbrauhaus for Bavarian Night! The Hofbrauhaus is a very famous historical Bavarian brewery, restaurant and pub. While walking to the Hofbrauhaus from the conference centre we had the opportunity to enjoy some of the magnificent downtown Munich architecture which is extremely ornate and beautiful. We all enjoyed a wonderful buffet, with "brews". They were out of non-alcoholic beer but I did have a taste of lemon beer which was quite nice! They also had traditional Bavarian dancers and of course, many of us did our best to dress Bavarian. Naturally John and Claudia had on their full regalia. However, there were a few others who went all out with their costumes.


Saturday featured Dr. John Veltheim talking about Epigenetics and his latest advancements in BodyTalk. Next, Dr. Gaetano Tassone, CBP from Switzerland via Italy, spoke passionately about "Ecologia Creativa" or Creative Ecology. He presented in Italian which was translated into English and German. While a few things got "lost in translation", Gaetano's enthusiasm for BodyTalk and his work came through loud and clear. After lunch Dr. Soren Ventegodt, director of the Nordic School of Holistic Medicine and the Quality of Life Research Center in Copenhagen, Denmark, shared his approach on helping people to heal through 3 steps: 1. Feel 2. Understand 3. Let go of negative beliefs. These concepts certainly resonate with BodyTalk. While most of Dr. Ventegodt's work involves the conscious mind, we could see how it tied in with BodyTalk which works on many levels of consciousness. After Dr. Ventegodt's presentation he stayed on to watch John do a couple of treatment sessions demonstrating the new advanced BodyTalk work involving epigenetics.

On Sunday, the first speaker was Professor Dr. Hartmut Schroder from Europa-Universitat Viadrina in Frankfurt. He spoke, in German, about the possibilities and limitations of research in CAM (complementary and alternative) methods and the legal position of working with BodyTalk in Germany. Next, Irmgard Hertzer, a CBP and Naturopath (with an extensive background in other healing methods) spoke in German about BodyTalk during pregnancy, fetal life and birth. One of the things I appreciated most about Irmgard's presentation was her talking about that our role as CBPs isn't about preventing medical interventions, such as c-sections, etc. It's about facilitating what is best for the parents and the baby. I think at one time or another we've all held limiting belief systems that if it's not "natural" there is something wrong that needs to be fixed. Irmgard truly reflected John's initial vision with BodyTalk that it was designed to blend in with all other forms of health care. Innate knows what needs to be done! Claudia Schembri-Heitmann did a wonderful presentation on Honoring the Matrix. She incorporated wonderful images of water crystals from Dr. Masaru Emoto's work on "The Hidden Messages in Water" representing different words to describe the BodyTalk Matrix. Monique Ring was supposed to do a presentation. However, because of some identified terrorist activity in Hamburg and Paris, Monique was unable to attend because of a terrorist travel advisory. We missed her presence but John did a very good job of impersonating her (just kidding, Monique!), I mean, narrating her power point presentation.

I must say I had the best time at the Conference and met so many wonderful, generous and funny people. In spite of language differences, people's sense of humor shone through brilliantly. I can hardly wait for my next trip to Bavaria!

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