 |
|
Editor's Note: Some of you may have heard the expression the "dog days of summer." Well, this edition of Reflections is the "doggie" edition. It's been a tradition of ours for the past 15 years of doing this newsletter to make the summer edition a light and fun read. Rehana was telling me about one of her dog's adventures and I said, "Perfect! Please write about it for the newsletter." Then Alex thought the adventures of our two doggies would be fun to write about, and our "doggie" edition was born. But, we didn't want all you EFTers out there to suffer withdrawal symptoms, so we are pleased to introduce you to our newest a guest columnist, Shannan Selyem (in California) writing about one of her client sessions. And, we promise to include more articles on EFT once we get back to our regular editions next month. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy our "doggie" edition! A
Tale of Two Doggies We were barely clear of the coolness of the forest when both dogs bolted over the ridge. Either their mental maps of the terrain had kicked in, or the smell of water had finally reached these two phenomenal sniffing machines. Either way, both were up to their bellies in the creek, lapping away. Kaylie, a White Shepard and Golden Lab cross, had activated the Lab genes, and was busy front pawing a stick through the sand and back into the water. This was a self taught amusement, which might explain why, once the hapless stick entered the water, it promptly disappeared under thrashing paws.
This part of the play is then followed by an immediate blank look, and all senses are tuned to one purpose - find the elusive stick. It's only a matter of time before a paw moves in the water, and Surprise! up pops the stick, and the game begins again. |
 |
|
We both sat on the log, enjoying the last of the day's sun, and watched her once again carry the stick up the embankment, drop it on the sandy slope, and front paws flying, manoeuver it back down the slope and into the water, where it obligingly disappeared again, triggering the same perplexed look once more. "Where's Ty?" Berit asked, looking along the creek's edge. Ty is a Chow/black Lab cross, and since the creek's opposite side is wild grass down to the water's edge, he spends most of his time on that side of the creek - after all, that's where all the neat smelling holes are.
A few whistles later (which were ignored) we decided we'd best go looking for him, and began to follow the creek downstream. Some time later, we came to a hill overlooking a large field, and about a half mile away, we spotted the curled black tail, presumably still attached, making its way through the tall grass. Suddenly a good sized bird erupted into flight about five feet in front of the tail, and the chase was on. "Oh, look, it's got a damaged wing," Berit said. The bird hadn't covered a distance of more than ten feet when it jerkily returned to the ground, and Ty was closing fast. With what seemed the last of its strength, the bird forced itself into the air, gained another ten feet or so of lead, and semi spiralled to earth again. "Do something," was the plaintive cry, so I scrambled down the hill and after zeroing in on the periscope tail, began making my way through the grass hoping I wouldn't get there too late. Just then, the bird rose again, and after struggling valiantly for height, glided down to a gravel clearing.
Ty exploded out of the grass, but the bird, dropping its left wing on the ground, skipped out of reach, and somehow managed to get airborne again. Ty watched in frustration, but obviously tiring, turned reluctantly in my direction, and began to saunter up the road's edge towards me, as the bird circled back in Ty's direction. If I didn't know better, I would have to say the darn thing dive-bombed him, pulled up just before striking him and began a slow circle once again. Then I heard the sound of chicks howling for their dinner and few remaining grey cells in my head kicked in, and I began to laugh. Berit had obviously surmised I'd taken leave of my senses, as the next thing I heard was, "What the heck is the matter with you? Are you going to save the bird?" drifting above from the hill. "It's a ploy," I yelled back, "the bird is faking it. She's leading Ty away from the nest." Sure enough, as soon as he began trotting back, the bird swooped down, staggered in the air, did a touch and go, and with what seemed the last of her strength, climbed, but barely, once more into the air, heading in the opposite direction. As she headed for the ground once more, Ty, with renewed determination took off down the road in hot pursuit. By now Berit had joined me, and we watched the scene repeat itself until both were out of sight. A few minutes later, we spied momma gliding in towards the nest, both wings flared as she touched down beside her young and settled in to watch and wait. About ten minutes later, one very exhausted, dust covered mutt appeared, and with barely a look in our direction, headed up the hill towards the creek. By the time we got back to the log, Ty was lapping up water as if he hadn't seen the stuff in weeks. Kaylie still in compulsive obsessive mode, was happily depositing the stick on the sand bank, only to drag it back into the water once again, offering the same surprised look when it disappeared beneath her once again. As we made our way through the woods towards the trusty Subaru once again, a fellow hiker took one look at the two exhausted dogs, and commented, "Wow, you guys sure give your dogs a workout. Aren't you both tired?" "Naw, we're both used to it," I replied, glancing at Berit with a "keep quiet" look. For some reason, both dogs were asleep long before we got home, and the occasional moan and woof emanating from the back suggested the dreams had begun. "I almost had that bird," I'm sure one was processing. "I sure got that stick," dreamed the other.
ICE
(In Case of Emergency) We all carry our mobile phones with hundreds of names/numbers stored in its memory but yet nobody, other than ourselves, knows which of these numbers belong to our near and dear ones? For this reason, we must have one or more telephone numbers stored under the name ICE (In Case of Emergency) in our mobile phones. "ICE" pic here The concept of 'ICE' is catching on quickly around the world. It is a simple, and important method of contact during emergency situations. As cell phones are carried by majority of the population, just store the number of a contact person or person who should be contacted during emergency as ICE' (meaning In Case of Emergency). The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when they went to the scenes of accidents, there were always mobile phones with patients, but they didn't know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognized name for this purpose. In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and hospital staff would then be able to quickly contact your next of kin, by simply dialling the number stored as 'ICE.' For more than one contact name simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc. A great idea that
will make a difference! Want to feel all warm and fuzzy... ? Some
of you may have already seen this, http://www.idodogtricks.com/index_flash.html
You can contact
Shannan at shannan@shannanselyem.com
EFT Client Session Beatrice, a sophisticated woman in her 50s, already knows EFT and has worked with me a number of times before. She also uses therapies such as color and aroma therapy. She called to arrange for a phone session, only saying that she was "working on something" and wanted help to "reinforce" her work. As we began our session, Beatrice explained that she had done color therapy the day before for her fibroids. While being treated, some strong emotions arose and she had a large emotional release. The color therapist then told her several things. First, using muscle testing, the therapist told her to do EFT for an hour over the next four days "to help process the release." Again using muscle testing, the therapist told Beatrice that the emotional release was about "over-punishment" as a child. Believing the over-punishment emotions were now released, Beatrice was a bit unclear about what she wanted to "reinforce" or "process." There was quite a bit of strain and apprehension in her voice. After some discussion, she chose to begin tapping on the specific stress she remembered feeling as a child when her parents over-spanked her. After a couple of rounds on this, the topic turned to the physical tension that she had been feeling since the beginning of the session. Her description of this tension changed with each new round of tapping. It went from a general feeling of tension, to "the feeling of being disgusting", and then "feeling disgusting as a child." During this last round of tapping, she added cautiously "just like the bird." She explained that when she was a little girl she found a dead baby bird, fallen out of its nest, and she carried it all day in her hand. Her parents owned a grocery store and she would show the customers. "I would say 'Do you wanna see a picture of me?' and then I'd open my hand and show them the dead bird," she said haltingly. She tapped and successfully reduced the tension connected to:
As tension connected to these things reduced, a concentrated tension arose in her stomach. She described it also as "feeling disgusting." While she was tapping on this tension, a "disgusting" movie scene that she saw as a young girl came to her mind. It depicted a demon-possessed girl the same age as her. Beatrice's breathing became shallower as she hesitantly recounted some of the movie scene: "Her head spun around and she threw up and did other things," her voice waning. Concerning her stress level, she added shortly afterwards "this is pretty big." So, I suggested that she tap the main relaxation points while she made a cartoon version of the movie scene, using a cartoon character to do exactly what she remembered the girl doing. "I choose to recognize that this feeling of clarity and calmness is right and proper." She really liked the word "proper," so we continued with "this feeling is proper and good," followed by, "I choose to feel good about feeling this way for the rest of the day" and "I choose to feel good about feeling this way for as long as I want." As we ended our session, she expressed surprise at having the movie memory, its connection to feeling disgusting and her stomach tension, and also the realization that she identified with the little girl in the scene. "This was a big release for me," she stated. She was now looking forward to the rest of her day's activities. Also, she felt she didn't need to do EFT over the next four days, because she experienced a powerful and complete release from this one session.
You can contact
Rehana at webstar@ps.gen.nz
Doggie Positive Reinforcement Ballue entered my life when he was only ten months old and already quite large. His previous owners reluctantly gave him up because they were moving out of town. He is a Huntaway (sheep herding dog) and Boarder Collie cross and has a lovely, playful personality, with heaps of energy and a very deep bark. I was reluctant to adopt him because of his age and size, but it was love at first sight and I eagerly brought him home and he settled in quite nicely. Everything was going fine till last month when he started acting very strangely. His hormones were out of control and he wanted to do what he was pre-wired to do, which is chase and subdue anything on four legs; even two legged seagulls weren't safe! Normally this would not faze me, however, since he is the size of a small horse and very strong, he can pull me off my feet in a flash. Not good to have an out-of-control big dog. Suddenly, every walk was a nightmare. On our next walk we came across this gynormous St. Bernard, the size of a grown horse. Thankfully he was on the other side of the street. As soon as Ballue spotted him, every fiber in his body tensed and totally focused on the "big sheep" to be subdued. Every hair in his coat was stiff and Ballue was ready to launch a full out attack. Immediately, as I sensed the change in his body language, I increased my gait and shortened the leash while sticking the treat in Ballue's face without letting him have it. I continued to walk and kept repeating, "Good dog." I could see, and sense, the confusion in Ballue as he continued to do his aggressive stance, yet the treat was really distracting him. Within ten seconds I could see that the treat was far more attractive and continuing to rise on the "attraction scale" very rapidly. As soon as Ballue's desire for the treat peaked (where he just wanted the treat and all thoughts of the St. Bernard were gone) I let him have it, followed by lots of cuddles and "Good dog" vocalizations. Did it work? Yes! During our next walk Ballue spotted another dog, a yappy little terrier who shot across the road with the owner in hot pursuit. Ballue started to bristle, get all twitchy and nervous. He was probably thinking, "Oh goody, lunch!" However, I had my "magic" pills with me (the foul smelling jerky) and I waved it in front of his snout, but wouldn't let him have it. I could see the confusion in his eyes and imagined him thinking, "Lunch is being delivered (as the yappy terrier got closer) but there's this wonderful smell in my nose, what should I do?" Then he must have remembered the smell and taste of the jerky as he settled down, sat and waited. I immediately gave him the treat, and he calmed down even more. "Lunch" was forgotten. What I've managed to do is attach a new trigger to an unwanted behavior. The promise of the treat and the positive reinforcement has definitely modified Ballue's behavior, and we both certainly have much happier daily walks. The interesting
thing is that we can apply the same strategies I used on Ballue, to
humans. Although, trying to get a human excited about foul smelling
jerky probably wouldn't work! But, I'm sure you can think of many creative
ways to reinforce or install positive behaviours in some of the humans
in your life.
 Berit's
Corner I have to admit there were days near the end when I thought we would never finish it because we were constantly adding something to it, or changing a word here or there. It's been an amazing journey and in some ways I still can't believe it's done, and it ONLY took just a little over six months! I have no idea how other authors go about the business of writing a book, and if they have a good time doing it, or not. We did! Every day when we took the doggies for a walk, we'd bounce ideas back and forth. Some of them were good and made it into the book. Others didn't, and towards the end we were both saying, "Let's save that for the next book." One of the most fun parts of this whole exercise was working with Rehana on the illustrations. I thought I had it all figured out. I read through the book and picked the places where I thought it would be fun or useful to have an illustration. Then I tried to put into words, the pictures I was seeing in my mind. The next step was to send Rehana an email which she had to translate into an illustration. We were both doing quite well... somehow Rehana saw the same pictures I was seeing (and she's half a world away) and we were quite pleased with ourselves. Then I hit a snag...
I couldn't figure out what I wanted Rehana to draw for several places
in the book. So, of course, I asked Alex... it is his book after all.
Somewhere in my translation, the picture I saw from Alex's description, and the drawing Rehana created, did not match Alex's picture in his mind. Back to the drawing board for all three of us! We usually got it right on the second go, I'm pleased to say. Now we can take a little time to relax before we have to deal with the editor, printer, etc. As we get closer to the publication date, we'll let you know. It would be nice to have it for Christmas, but it may not be done until late January. We'll see how it all goes. Meanwhile, we are going to enjoy the rest of our summer, especially now that we've finally got some good weather. Then we'll get back into the swing of things in September and continue doing our workshops through the Fall. But, that seems like a long way off, and right now we're looking forward to a long weekend. My friend Tamara is coming up for the weekend and we're going to a wedding and then hit a casino. The last time Tamara and I went to a casino we were there for five hours! Tamara came away with some winnings and I almost broke even, but didn't feel bad because I had five hours of fun and it only cost me $25.00. Alex doesn't like to gamble so he'll stay home and watch a sci-fi or king-fu movie - his favourites - so a good time will be had by all. I hope you have a great August and if some of you venture into a casino - Good Luck! Take care,
True Story... This is a bricklayer's accident report, which was printed in the newsletter of the Australian equivalent of the Workers' Compensation board. Dear Sir, I am writing in response to your request for additional information in Block 3 of the accident report form. I put "poor planning" as the cause of my accident. You asked for a fuller explanation and I trust the following details will be sufficient. I am a bricklayer by trade. On the day of the accident, I was working alone on the roof of a new six-story building. When I completed my work, I found that I had some bricks left over which, when weighed later were found to be slightly in excess of 500 lbs. Rather than carry the bricks down by hand I decided to lower them in a barrel by using a pulley, which was attached to the side of the building on the sixth floor. Securing the rope at ground level, I went up to the roof, swung the barrel out and loaded the bricks into it. Then I went down and untied the rope, holding it tightly to ensure a slow descent of the bricks. You will note in Block 11 of the accident report form that I weigh 135 lbs. Due to my surprise at being jerked off the ground so suddenly, I lost my presence of mind and forgot to let go of the rope. Needless to say, I proceeded at a rapid rate up the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel, which was now proceeding downward at an equally impressive speed. This explained the fractured skull, minor abrasions and the broken collar bone, as listed in section 3 of the accident report form. Slowed only slightly, I continued my rapid ascent, not stopping until the fingers of my right hand were two knuckles deep into the pulley. Fortunately by this time I had regained my presence of mind and was able to hold tightly to the rope, in spite of beginning to experience pain. At approximately the same time, however, the barrel of bricks hit the ground and the bottom fell out of the barrel. Now devoid of the weight of the bricks, that barrel weighed approximately 50 lbs. I refer you again to my weight. As you can imagine, I began a rapid descent, down the side of the building. In the vicinity of the third floor, I met the barrel coming up. This accounts for the two fractured ankles, broken tooth and several lacerations of my legs and lower body. Here my luck began to change slightly. The encounter with the barrel seemed to slow me enough to lessen my injuries when I fell into the pile of bricks and fortunately only three vertebrae were cracked. I am sorry to report, however, as I lay there on the pile of bricks, in pain, unable to move, I again lost my composure and presence of mind and let go of the rope and I lay there watching the empty barrel begin its journey back down onto me. This explains the two broken legs. I hope this answers your inquiry.
|
|
In
case we are involved in an accident or had a heart attack, the people
attending us get hold of our mobile phone but don't know which number
to call to inform our family members. Yes, there are many numbers stored
but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency?
Shannan
Selyem ( based in California) is a Stress Reduction Consultant and a
certified Practitioner of EFT. She provides personalized consultations
for reducing stress and tension, using variations of EFT, NLP and similar
self-applied techniques. Shannan has taken our EFT Level 1, 2 & 3 courses,
as well as passing our written and practical certification exams. We
hope that she will write articles for future editions of Reflections.
After
Beatrice spent a few moments picking the cartoon character, she played
the movie in her mind and tapped, while I quietly waited. After about
five minutes of silence, I heard "OK, I'm done," as she let out a breath.
"OK, where is the level of disgust at now?" I asked gently. "It's gone,"
she said in a clear and relaxed voice. She added "the tension in my
stomach is also completely gone," sounding pleased. She wasn't interested
in tapping or exploring any further. She didn't want to do anything
that might upset or disturb her clarity and calmness. We then tapped
on the following "choosing" phrases:
Contributing
Columnist Rehana Webster (in New Zealand) is an EFT Master and NLP Master
Practitioner, and also conducts seminars/workshops internationally.
After
trying various techniques I had seen on popular TV shows for training
dogs, I was seriously thinking of taking Ballue down to the vets office
and having some bits snipped off. Fortunately for Ballue my friend Phoebe
was visiting and she had taken several courses with a leading animal
whisperer trainer. Besides keeping horses on her farm she also owned
an unmanageable Border Collie. Her advice was to use "positive reinforcement"
and in this case the best way to do that was with highly smelly jerky
treats and lots of cuddles followed by, "Good dog." Phoebe reckoned
that the positive feedback would be much more effective than constantly
reprimanding him. After some practise session with Ballue, we figured
he was ready for a walk.
The date will be forever etched in my mind... July 26, 2007... the day
we finished the book! What a feeling of accomplishment... I'm so proud
of Alex... I know that I am a tad prejudiced, but I do think he's done
a wonderful job. The book is conversational in style, informative and
humorous. For those of you that have experienced Alex at a workshop,
you know what I'm talking about, 'cause when you read the book, you'll
be "seeing" Alex in action all over again. And, for those of you that
haven't yet had the pleasure of attending one of our workshops, I'm
sure you'll want to after you've read the book. 
 |
(C) 2007 - Dr. Alexander R. Lees & Associates Inc.