ABOUT DEBRA
"Healing is not a science, but the intuitive art of wooing nature.”
-W.H. Auden
After thirteen years in the professional theatre as a Stage Designer and Scenic Artist, Debra began her study of Energy Kinesiology with Touch for Health in 1985, building on a lifelong fascination with art and energy. Since then she has studied a variety of techniques with leaders in the field including Donna Eden, Richard Utt, Dr. John Thie, and Gordon Stokes among others. She has also studied other holistic therapies and esoteric material. In addition to her many certifications, Debra is a founding member of the faculty of Eden Energy Medicine.
She has been a member of the Energy Kinesiology Association, in its various forms, since 1989. She holds that organization’s highest professional designation: CEnK-3.
She has also written on the subject: Energetic Dynamics for Performers, An Introduction to the Chakras: A Workbook to Color, The Chakras: Characteristics, Essences and Elements, and Character Is The Ultimate Currency: Ethics and Energy Therapies. Another book on energy and political activism is underway: The Frustrated Warrior.
In 2016, Debra added TRE - the Tension and Trauma Relieving Exercises to her practice by becoming a Certified Provider. She offers TRE in her private practice and to groups.
Debra maintains her private practice in Bend, OR, Portland, OR, and online. She teaches around the U.S. and elsewhere.
ABOUT ENERGY
"1. Man has no body distinct from his soul; for that called body is a portion of soul discerned by the five senses, the chief inlets of soul in this age. 2. Energy is the only life, and is from the body; and reason is the bound or outward circumference of energy. 3. Energy is eternal delight." - William Blake
What is Energy?
We are familiar with electrical energy, chemical energy, thermal (heat) energy and electro-magnetic energy in the world around us. All these and more, often difficult to perceive with our physical senses, conduct a subtle interplay within the human system. Our proper functioning and continued health relies on the dynamic harmony of these various energies being maintained.
These forces are often difficult to characterize and sometimes difficult to perceive. Therefore, we have to rely on models to organize our thoughts about energy, how energetic systems work, and how we can affect them. Many of the models that we rely on are ancient; some are more modern. All models are created from theories built through observation. As new information is observed, the model changes or is updated. Nowhere in our experience is this so clearly represented as in modern science. Often what we refer to as “scientific fact” is actually “scientific theory” and as soon as we come up with new information, we’ll adjust the theory. Sometimes these changes happen so quickly, and appear to be so contradictory that several models vie for attention as representing “reality.” For an example of this, just go to a bookstore and look through the section on “Diet.”
So, we’re working with a dynamic harmony; a system, or more accurately, series of concatenate, simultaneous, interpenetrating systems that make up our “energy.” We’re all aware of some of the factors that can disrupt this dynamic harmony and some of the resulting physiological consequences. We make choices all the time--both consciously and unconsciously--that affect the quality and availability of our energies. And we build our personal models of how our own energies work from those experiences, choices and results. “When I eat x, y happens. I don’t like y, so I don’t eat x.” “If I don’t get at least 8 hours of sleep I’m a wreck.” “Being around people who only look at the dark side of every situation depresses me.”
We assign value judgments to just about everything. So, naturally, we assign value judgments to energy as well, even though energy in and of itself is neutral. Here's an example: it's a morning in May. The radiant energy of the Sun (that we perceive as light and heat) is streaming down to the Earth.
A woman in Montana who has been snowbound for months in a small house with two little kids steps out onto her porch. She smiles, throws her arms wide and basks in the warmth and light of the Sun with utter delight.
That same morning, a woman in the desert of Arizona with malignant melanoma pulls the shades down and broods over her isolation, being unable to go out into the bright sunlight.
Does our planet have two different Suns? One that gives off positive energy and one that gives off negative energy? Of course not. There is one Sun and it gives off energy in many forms that varies on the Earth depending on where you are and what the season is. So what creates these two vastly different responses in these two women? PERCEPTION. They perceive the energy of the Sun as having positive or negative qualities based on their past experience and current sensory input. They create the quality of their experience of the energy. The energy itself is neutral.
Besides perception, what else contributes to an assessment of energy as positive or negative? INTENTION. So when someone says: "I can just feel the negative energy in this room!" what they are trying to describe is probably closer to "I can just feel the negative intention that’s held within the energy of this room."
This may be a small distinction to make but I think it's an important one. We work with energy, intention and perception when trying to restore balance. Energy may be excessive or deficient within a particular system, but it is neutral. Intention and perception are by nature not neutral, and as we all know, can have a powerful effect on the equilibrium of energy. As we educate ourselves about the subtle effects of intention and perception on energy, we learn how to effect change effectively and responsibly. Then we can get those positive experiences more of the time. We are the perceivers, we are the actors, we are the intenders. There’s power in that!
“A very slight cause, which escapes us, determines a considerable effect which we can’t help seeing and then we say [it] is due to chance.” - Henri Poincare
ABOUT TRE
TRE®: the Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercise
TRE® provides a safe, simple way to discharge stress from the nervous system. It gives the body a way to “let go” of shock and stress on a regular basis, relieving habitual contraction in the muscles and heightened reactivity in the nervous system.
What is TRE®? Created by Dr. David Berceli as a result of his work with populations around the world affected by the severe stresses associated with warfare and natural disasters, TRE is a simple technique to initiate Self Induced Therapeutic Tremors (SITT). The simple act of tremoring in a safe environment with good self-regulation allows the nervous system to release muscular tension and calm itself. This simple, safe act of completion does not require one to re-experience the stressful events in order to release them. Big plus! And an even bigger plus is that you can learn the process after a couple of sessions and be able to practice at home on your own on a regular basis. This gives you a great tool to manage the ongoing stresses of life.
The session will typically take 65-75 minutes or can be included in a 90 minute energy session.
For more info on TRE check out traumaprevention.com.