Can you imagine being a sibling of a child with cancer…? All the focus is on the sick brother or sister… Ending up being left at home yet again when Mum rushes to hospital with the sick sister… Being forced to spend endless hours at hospital while the sick brother is undergoing chemo or radiation therapy, scans or even more scarily surgery. But what about me…?

 

The worries…will my brother survive? …did I do anything wrong? …if my sister has cancer, will I get it, too…?

Having a sick child places huge stress on everybody in the family and it can be especially distressing for the siblings. They often end up with high levels of anxiety. This, of course, can affect their self-esteem and confidence, and as a result their behaviour and performance at school.

 

Peter’s mum was concerned with Peter’s separation anxiety. She had experienced the power of the Journey with her sick child and hoped it would also be able to help his brother.

 

There was no way Peter (11yrs) was going to stay at his friend’s house, not even at his Grandparent’s house, even though he really wanted to, but he just couldn’t. The thought of going away on class camp was too much for him to bear. He really wanted to go, but something much stronger was holding him back.

 

 

When I met Peter I was impressed with his openness and willingness to give the journey process a go.

 

Even thinking about staying a night at his friends’ house caused Peter butterflies in the stomach.

 

In our conversation we discovered that the some of the reasons Peter didn’t want to stay away from home was a deep fear that while he was away his brother might suddenly get really ill and have to go to hospital or even die.

 

 

It was so good for Peter to get all the sadness, worry, fear, anger (that all of a sudden everything was different) and guilt (that he was healthy and his brother was not) out of his system. He was able to rediscover his natural confidence, trust, and courage. He learnt to say how he felt and that all his feelings are valid. He started to accept life the way it was and began to trust that things would be all right.

 

 

An amazing thing happened after the first process, when Peter was meant to go to class camp. All of a sudden he got really, really scared. Then to his Mum’s surprise he took himself on a journey and calmed right down. He told himself, ‘If I can get through this, I can get through anything – I can do this!” And he did…he went on camp, using his journey tools when he needed them, and had a great time. Fear was not holding him back anymore!

18 months later… you should see Peter now! He is a very handsome, mature and confident 12 year old. He excels at school and is a role model to others. And – he has been elected Head Boy. He is truly shining!

 

During the last school holidays Peter spent a week with a friend and the friend’s dad in Nelson. He has no more problems spending time away from his family.

Now it’s his mum who has to get used to her son’s new found confidence and independence …

 

 

Peter is one example of children in NZ who suffered from anxiety. The fun journey process helped him to heal himself and gave him tools that enabled him to deal more effectively with life’s challenges.

 

Imagine if your child could heal their anxiety and tap back into their natural confidence and self-esteem? What difference would it make to them now and in the future…?

 

To find out how Karoline can help your child or someone you know call 021 384 155 for a free introductory session.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Most of us have felt anxious at various times, butterflies in the stomach, a sense of dread, a racing heart, shortness of breath…maybe before giving a presentation or starting a new job. According to the Wikipedia anxiety is a normal reaction to stress. It is designed to help us deal and cope with a new situation. [1]

 

 

Most of us have probably experienced insomnia at least once in our lives…

Lying in bed for hours tossing and turning, then finally dropping off to sleep in the wee hours of the morning, only to be woken up by the alarm a couple of hours later. Then going through the day feeling like a zombie… Or falling asleep easily, just to wake up a few hours later. No matter how many sheep we count we just can’t get back to sleep…

 

Sounds familiar…?

 

Jim* belonged to the second category. For more than 10 years Jim kept waking up at 2am surviving on only a few hours sleep each night.

Not only did tiredness and exhaustion affect his ability to deal with work and everyday life, his ability to deal with stress was reduced, irritability was present more often than he liked, and the disorder also put a strain on his relationship, his restlessness and getting up in the middle of the night interrupted his wife’s sleep also.

 

 

I gave Jim the book ‘The Journey” by Brandon Bays which gave him hope that he could get to the bottom of this debilitating pattern. Shortly after he came to see me for a Journey session.

 

Jim, now retired, is a successful businessman who had pushed himself very hard throughout his life, and for many years had worked 12+hour days, at least 6 days/week.

 

 

In our discussion preceding the Journey process Jim realised that even though he never considered himself being stressed (although other people thought he was…), there was a constant level of anxiety to fail and let down his family and business partners.

Was it possible that this underlying tension could affect Jim’s ability to have a relaxed and restful sleep?

 

Jim’s intention for the session was to get to the bottom of this fear that has been running his life and to finally feel at peace within himself.

 

It never ceases to amaze me how the journey taps into the subconscious, the storehouse of all our past experiences with associated emotions and beliefs, (our ‘emotional baggage’) and unfailingly brings to the surface the ones underlying the current issue.

 

The memory that came up for Jim was being a little boy, the middle sibling, feeling overlooked and suffering from the fact that his older brother got all the attention from his father. So he decided there and then that he was going to do, whatever it took to be better than the older brother, and he realized that this had been the driving force behind everything he had done and achieved. The pressure this little boy was under to avoid failure at all cost, to live up to his father’s expectations and gain his approval had created fear and anxiety which accompanied Jim throughout his life.

 

The journey process allowed Jim to heal the hurt of the past and let go of this self-imposed stress.

 

 

Ever since the process Jim has been feeling more relaxed and peaceful and he can make financial decisions more easily and with more confidence. He finds that his level of anxiety is greatly reduced and he can now finally enjoy good nights’ sleep waking up refreshed around 6am.

 

 

Jim is one example of people in NZ suffering from insomnia and he was willing to explore the root cause and healed himself.

 

What could be underlying your insomnia or anxiety?

 

What is it costing you to keep living with it?

 

Isn’t it time to do something about it?

 

To find out how Karoline can help you or someone you know call 021 384 155 for a free introductory session.

 

*Name changed to protect privacy

 

 

 

 

Imagine being diagnosed with cancer, spending endless hours in hospital with needles and scans, being examined by different doctors and as part of the treatment maybe even having to shift to another city for treatments, leaving home and a part of the family behind. As well as enduring chemotherapy with all the side effects of feeling sick, vomiting, pains, dizzy spells, hair loss, fatigue… and the constant fear “Will I Survive?”

 

Now imagine being 6 or 8 years old and having to go through this. Doesn’t this all sound like too much to handle for anyone, let alone a child…?

 

John* was diagnosed with a brain tumour when 6yrs old, now aged 9yrs old he had been through two surgeries and was undergoing chemo therapy when his mum was introduced to ‘The Journey’ as a way of resolving hurt, trauma and stress in life. She decided they didn’t have anything to lose by trying something different and John was happy to give it a go.

 

When I met John he was a shy boy hiding behind his Mum’s back. He was chronically tired, had frequent headaches and most days was complaining of feeling sick. He hated ‘chemo’ and was scared of needles as well as the claustrophobic MRI scans which often led to tears and tantrums.

 

We started the first session by asking John to imagine that deep inside of him he had a special place which is like a beautiful diamond where there was lots of love and he was safe and happy. This simple concept really makes sense to children and gives themhope and strength – they just accept it as truth!

Then I explained things happen in life like being left out at the playground or falling ill, or having a sick brother or sister and these things cause painful feelings like sadness, being afraid or anger…when we don’t cope well with these feelings they stay in our bodies and start covering up the diamond and that causes things like headaches or feeling ill or just being unhappy…

 

The next step was to use The Journey process to gently take Johnny to a place where he could face some of the painful feelings in a way that he could process them healthily and let them go. What seems to happen is that by doing this gentle process the layers of pain are peeled off this “diamond” and it begins to “shine” again and in this case a session taking only 30 minutes, left John feeling lighter, happier and more confident.

 

After the first journey session his Mum reported that Johnny stopped having headaches and feeling sick, however he was still tired. Even the tiredness eventually dropped away and all physical symptoms subsided except those straight after a chemo treatment.

 

Gradually over a period of 10 months Johnny processed his traumatic past events, the feelings of fear, sadness, self-blame, anger, feeling different to other children and losing friends to cancer. He learned how to express his feelings and that all feelings were ok.

 

John was able to handle the chemo treatments with greater courage, he felt safe when given a needle, he knew how to relax and handle the regular scans better and was more accepting of what was happening and trusting that he was going to be ok. His belief became, that no matter what happened to his body the diamond stayed untouched! He also deeply understood how loved and supported he was.

 

John was still going through incredible challenges, but now he had greater resources and tools to help him deal much better with them. It was amazing to see him mature and become a very confident, happy, robust, and healthy boy. He was truly shining!

 

As a result of this boy’s amazing progress the Child Cancer Foundation agreed to fund Journey sessions for children with cancer as well as their siblings.

 

John is just one of the many examples of people throughout New Zealand who have found they can take on life’s challenges with strength and a healthy, positive outlook when given the tools and a way to let go of pain and hurt.

To find out how Karoline can help you or someone you know call 021 384 155 for a free introductory session.

 

*Name changed to protect privacy

 

 

 

 

 

 

It’s hard to believe, but in pain often lies a hidden blessing.

Let me explain what I mean.

 

Jo* came to me with a sports injury which had resulted in persistent leg pain. In fact it was so bad that sitting for just 20 min could cause excruciating pain in her leg when she then tried to move it. Even worse it was difficult to find a comfortable position in bed despite the support of pillows and bolsters and trying different lying positions. For 18 months Jo hadn’t had a full nights sleep.

Not even back surgery, painkillers at night-time or an ongoing rehabilitation program stopped the nagging and debilitating pain.

 

Imagine how depressing it must have been for her to think she‘d have to live like this for the rest of her life!

 

Jo was referred to me for massage therapy which gave her some temporary relief, but it quickly became apparent to me that there were deep seated emotions associated with this pain linking to a traumatic event in the past – Jo had suffered repeated abuse in her childhood.

 

She was very anxious about facing up to her past trauma, so I explained to her that the Journey process that I had in mind for her was a very gentle healing method.

It took huge courage for Jo to first of all trust me enough, and then trust that the Journey would help her to sort something out she had avoided dealing with all her life.

 

I felt very moved by Jo’s fierce determination to heal herself and to be free.

Much anger, frustration, hurt, helplessness, sadness, confusion, grief, shame came to the surface. Jo had carried these feelings in her body for over 40 years.

Is it a surprise that they ended up manifesting as physical pain…?

Jo also became aware of old beliefs she had formed around that time in her life, beliefs like “I’m not good enough’, ‘I can’t trust anybody’, ‘I have no control what might happen to me’. She could see clearly how these old beliefs had been running and limiting her life.

 

At the same time the Journey also provided Jo with profound experiences of freedom and even bliss. She reconnected with her essence, that deeper part that is whole and remains untouched by anything that happens to the physical body.

Amazing healing becomes possible when we connect with our real Selves.

 

After the first session Jo felt freer and lighter just by virtue of having faced something that she had suppressed for a very long time, and that was impacting on her relationships, her work and obviously on her health. At the same time Jo was still in turmoil. Something so deep and painful was going to need more than one session to allow positive lasting change. Process by process Jo met and released these old painful feelings, like peeling layers off an onion. Jo let go of her old beliefs and integrated new healthy ones. She also got remarkable insights and tools which help her now to live life in a new empowered way.

Something amazing happened in Jo’s 4^th session, all of the years of anxiety and turmoil melted away, the past had lost its power at last and she was completely free.

 

Jo is now pain free and gets good sleep, which is in itself a small miracle. However, the real bonus is the deeper seated healing. She is now in charge of her life, makes decisions more easily, has more confidence, and is able to feel the real joy that she had shut herself off from for years.

 

So, even though nobody likes pain, here is one story of the gift the Journey can give those brave enough to face themselves. Are you brave enough?

 

*Name changed to protect privacy