Personally... from the President

Embracing Pain

I've had the occasion recently to re-visit through experience the subject of Pain. I've observed that many of us in the energy healing field most often come into the field in search of a resolution to our own pain. We inevitably conclude at some point that while pain, like death, is part of life, it need not be feared or avoided. And that seems to be the explanation of and the resolution to the problem of pain.

I had decided to delve back into Pilates a few weeks ago in order to enhance my yoga practice. It had helped me before (about 10 years ago), so I was hoping for similar results this time. I was not wrong. But, "results" have changed their context since 10 years ago.

Now this is one-on-one Pilates as opposed to a class, so you get the full attention of the Pilates practitioner who then customizes a routine for your particular "situation." Well, my situation includes various misalignments of the pelvis, shortening of the hamstrings, and limited range of motion in my hips and shoulders. Pretty much everything you'd expect from someone who spends a lot of time in front of the computer.

After each session, I'd spend the next four days dealing with stiff, achey muscles and sore joints, way out of proportion, it would seem, to what we were actually doing in the session. This really perplexed me. I began in earnest dosing myself with homeopathics--arnica, rhus tox, ruta gravelens; taking extra magnesium, PureZyme, and of course, liberal use of E-3 Energy Cream. All of these helped and allowed me to avoid the pain becoming debilitating, but they weren't getting me any closer to resolving what this particular set of pain was.

Life seems to be a series of lessons, and reminders about lessons. As you get older, it's more about reminders than the lessons themselves. And this little romp through pain was one of those reminders: Pain is not so much about what is "wrong" but more about what could be "right"--or, better said, pain is about potentials. We all have a "preferred" way to feel, and it pretty much always does NOT include pain. This is an unrealistic expectation, first of all, but mainly it sets you up for a fight. No fight, especially with yourself, is ever going to result in a "winner," so fighting, resisting, ignoring, and all the other lame strategies we employ against something we don't like or want cuts us off from the value of the experience.

Pain teaches us to accept. It teaches us to be patient with process. It teaches us to appreciate the range of experience that is life. And, perhaps most importantly, it teaches us to "embrace with a smile" adversity. Because in the final analysis don't we always come out of adversity "better for it" in one way or another?

Pain is a forge, an invasion of your comfort level that makes you strive for something greater, reach for a new level, or state, and kicks your butt to evolve. Pain requires respect and honor, because if you do not respect or honor your pain, it isn't good for anything.

The irony is that when you accept and honor your pain, it transforms into a greater awareness of its opposite. It resolves into greater range, greater humility, and greater appreciation of the miracle of life. Observe pain in all its glory, observe the body's reactions, observe emotional responses, observe how it so effectively conjures fears. Then, let it be. Let it transform you. Let it be the reason for a greater future self. Let pain be a welcomed agent to a new world.

As I processed through in this way, I got flashes of the pain of my ancestors--past life pictures, and visions of events from people I don't even know. And as this continued, I saw how I was changing, and how I was beginning to embody the resolution of the pain, and how the transformation to a new self was unfolding.

Modern Western culture trains us away from "just being" into "just doing". It also trains us to identify with our bodies and our identity in society. Both of these trainings block the ability to accept and honor pain, in the same way Western society does not accept or honor death. To accept and honor our pain requires us to: 1) Be with the pain without reaction or judgement, and 2) Observe and allow what the pain is doing; what it is communicating. This takes focus, and with practice, it is every bit as good as aspirin, but with many more far-reaching beneficial effects.

In vibrant health,

Boyd Martin, President
Subtleenergysolutions.com

Message from the President

Why Are We Doing This Incarnation Thing?

January 9th marked one year since the passing of my life partner, Shay Arave. To honor the day, a good friend took me out for brunch, and because she had only met Shay briefly, I found myself telling the "story of Shay" in my life.

That inevitably led to this classic question my friend asked: "So why do you think we are here? Why do we come here?"

Usually, the existential debate centers more on the Why we exist, rather than the What are we doing by being here. The second question, for me, is more difficult to answer, but in explaining my position I found myself saying things I hadn't said before.

What occurred to me was the phrase, "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger." From a cosmic perspective you could say, "What kills you makes you stonger." This assumes you have perceived yourself as a spiritual being beyond the physical body and world. If you haven't gotten to that perception yet, I believe you will at some point in your life or lives. It tends to happen when someone close to you dies, or you personally have a near-death experience. I think this is because the concept of one's mortality is usually met with fear and trepidation earlier in life, yet becomes more and more acceptable as we continue our travels through the time space of this planet. Either we get tired and just want it to be over with, or we have some cognition that viscerally demonstrates the limitations of physical form and the promises of total freedom from it.

Well, I digress... As to Why We're Doing This? Back to the "makes you stronger" bit. As I spoke to my friend, I got a clear conceptual picture of me as a spiritual entity plowing through this life, like a snow plow pushes aside chunks of snow and ice to clear the way for others. But this is a special snow plow. The more it plows, and the deeper it goes into the snow, the more power it derives. It's got a special type of expanding engine that runs on snow. The more it runs into, the more fuel and bigger it gets.

Now, it's important to make a distinction on this wintery metaphor: The snow plow is YOU--the spiritual YOU, your soul; the snow is experiences in life; and the road is time. So the more we plow through the experiences of our life, the more powerful and expanded we become. Not only that, because we are all unique, each of us plows our own little section of the Life Road.

To carry the metaphor further and to finally reach my conclusion: Because we are clearing a path, there are others behind us who now have an easier time traveling down the road. They can choose to take the plowed road and skip along merrily, kicking up snow angels--enjoying the journey. Or, they can choose to plow a new road--their unique road that widens the path for others following. It looks hard when you first step into that snow plow. The snow is several feet deep and there is no guarantee you won't start plowing and go right over a cliff. And yet, we get into the snow plow anyway, I think because that is what our responsibility is. We have a responsibility as spiritual beings to become more than what we started with--to become greater than the sum of our parts--and perhaps most importantly, to blaze a path for others to find their part of the road to plow.

I used to be threatened by addicts, criminals, the homeless and the starving. Even though I've been homeless and starving, I still would judge them saying that they have a choice to not suffer--they have a choice to make something different happen in their lives. But this was wrong-headed on my part. People with the most difficult lives are plowing the deepest snow, and hence are doing the most work clearing the way for others to follow. They do the most important work: teaching compassion, teaching empathy, inspiring others to do their own work, and first and foremost, teaching us all not to judge. Because through judgement do we justify not getting on that snow plow and doing our own work.

Now, I'm not a fan of suffering, but I respect it. And I'm not a fan of unhappiness, as I've learned that it is a choice. But, I would not have come to those ways of thinking without those in the deepest snow.

In vibrant health,

Boyd Martin, President Subtleenergysolutions.com

Personally...from the President

The Interconnectedness of Light

I recently had an opportunity--and blessing--to attend a couple of "Masters of Light" workshops with Michelle Leuschen here in the San Diego Area. Her purpose was to introduce the classes to the practice of "direct enlightenment," or the lighting of the brain, a practice also taught by her guru Sai Maa.

The truly remarkable thing about this idea is that it uses imagination as a tool of enlightenment. This is certainly not a new idea, but what is new, in my opinion, is that the practice is no longer strictly in the realms of spiritual teachers, gurus, adepts, mystics, or other advanced practitioners. This is something ANYONE can do--that is, if you have a functioning imagination.

The first thing we did was a diksha (DEEK-sha)--basically a blessing. This blessing is specially for the light of Sai Maa (pictured right). We picked partners and exchanged "doing" diksha on each other. Here's how it worked:

1. Center yourself into the heartspace--basically putting your attention on your heart area.
2. Ask for the Light of Sai Maa.
3. Hold the hands, palms upward, on either side of the receiver's head just above the ears.
4. Slowly move the hands so the palms are above the head about an inch with thumbs touching.
5. Slowly move the hands until palms are resting on the receiver's hairline area.
6. Remain until you stop (could be 30 seconds to a couple of minutes)--whatever feels right, or your get some sort of intuitive signal.

I received diksha first, and for me, there was a faintly bluish-pinkish light that came in through the top of my head and cascaded very slowly down through my body. It was extremely calming and I noticed all thinking stopped (this was reported by several people). There was a sense of an infinitely gentle yet powerful energy seeping down into every cell of the body.

Then, when I gave it, the same thing happened, and I noticed I was smiling broadly without really smiling at anything in particular, or smiling at any thought, since there were none.

After the diksha, Michelle encouraged the class to report what they had experienced. It was slow going because everyone was obviously blank-minded and very blissed out. I did manage to blurt out, "A bluish light. Very nice. Very nice," as I sat there with my buzzing body.

Since then, I've incorporated self-diksha into my daily practices in the morning, and have found it to be very useful for preparing myself for the rigors of daily routines and business. It has increased my calmness and my appreciation for life in general.

Although I've experienced various types of "dikshas" before, sometimes called other things, this one, for some reason, impressed me as a useful tool for expanding my awareness and well-being. And what is truly remarkable, is that we all have the capacity to call in this "light" of consciousness, and in so doing reap the considerable rewards of that calling. Just a few minutes a day can have profound effects. Try it!

In vibrant health,

Boyd Martin, President
Subtleenergysolutions.com

Personally, from the president

The Challenge of Non-Duality

I've always had a penchant for deeply philosophical books, even though I try to mix it up a little with some fiction, I inevitably return to books about spirituality. It's just in my nature, and I dare say it's part of my mission. I recently returned to a book I'd read before, Devotional Non-Duality by David R. Hawkins. Hawkins passed over last month at age 85, and so in tribute to his long life of spiritual research, I revisited the book.

This book is Hawkins at his literarily densest. I will spend 30 seconds on one sentence in an attempt to mine the subtleties and ramifications of what those words in that particular order really mean to me. Books like these are not meant to be galloped through for some sort of overall "point" or "experience"--they are meant to be meditative books, and they can change your life.

In "Devotional Non-Duality" Hawkins provides many thought experiments, metaphors and analogies that de-construct the mind and its creations--namely physical reality. As we have learned, nothing can exist without its opposite: there can be no "hot" without "cold", no "hard" without "soft"--for example, if everything was soft, we'd have no concept of "hard" because of a lack of something to compare it to.

Ultimately, there can be no "reality" without some sort of "non-reality" to compare it to. The reason this is crucially important when it comes to health is that human societies tend to setup a dichotomy between "health" and "disease". Hawkins points out that if all one's perceptions and evaluations of the their body were of health--no matter the clinical condition--there would be no disease. For example, the concept of "de-toxing" is a re-defining of a range of uncomfortable physical symptoms. Where one person would consider de-toxing desireable, another may run to their conventional doctor who may provide a diagnosis of a disease. In the de-tox case, the person may make it a point to drink more water, breathe more deeply, exercise more and cut out the junk food and return to a comfortable, joyous place. The person with the disease diagnosis is now embroiled in the diagnostic morass of fears, symptoms, testing and drug treatments which may or may not return them to "health".

This is a crucial understanding, particularly when it has been shown that, for example, 93% of all cancers resolve on their own, and do so without any medical intervention. What this demonstrates to me is that what we call "cancer the disease" is really simply another strategy the body uses to maintain health.

Hawkins makes the point that there is really only one thing: Love. All creation is caused by it, and all things return to it. And this is what is called "non-duality thinking". In other words, there is no condition other than love, and thusly by analogy it can be said that love equals health equals well-being equals joy, etc. etc. By accepting this premise you have no choice but to realize that everything you experience is loving and good, despite its outward or initial appearance. It requires a re-purposing of the mind so that there are no good/bad polarities--only loving goodness.

In the case of extreme tragedies, losses, injuries and the various "evils" humanity brings upon itself, there is an element of eternal love somewhere within these experiences. Does not tragedy create the necessity of its opposite? Does not "evil" require "good"? In most religious traditions there is an "evil" force, entity, or faction that has come to existence "from a loving eternity" or is embodied as a "fallen angel" or as something "separate from God." In each case, it is some opposite phenomenon to its creator, but as the story plays out, that phenomenon or force returns to its creator.

Hawkins further demonstrates that it is the mind and the ego that create the differences in the world for the purpose of giving individuality to the personality. By replacing these perceptions of separation with those of connection and unity, one can return to a complete view of the world as a loving, compassionate, peaceful place. Yes, my pet died, but it is returning to love--it is returning to who I truly am. Yes, there is a pain in my back, but it is just another experience of how my body re-adjusts to continued joy and well-being.

By living in non-duality, health is all there is--even if another person defines a symptom or condition as disease. This is not denial--it is an awareness that every tiny expression of sensation and feeling is ultimately bringing you back to love and joy. It is a process--a coming to fruition, a celebration of creation in love.

To live this way is challenging, but it is extremely rewarding because life begins to make more and more sense, and after a while becomes miraculous.

In vibrant health,

Boyd Martin, President
Subtleenergysolutions.com

Personally, from the President...

Reaction vs. Creation

Most of our lives are spent reacting to what happens to us. And it seems the more intense or negative the circumstance, the more we react to it. This is only natural, because we are beings learning about good and bad, judgment and forgiveness. But what is it that we learn ultimately from all of our intense experiences? We learn that most basic lesson there is: We created it, and are creating it at every moment. Sometimes it takes years to come around to that learning, but that is what we're here to learn.

I used to say I was always trying to "get out ahead of my life." I think it was one of Carlos Casteneda's shaman teachers who said something to the effect that one must "meet the whole of life head on" in order to gain control or regain creativity. I've come to see that by embracing the fact of my own creation, life begins to have so much more meaning, and in this embrace I feel "out in front" of what's happening to me.

I'll catch myself, especially when waking up in the morning, going through lists of things I "must" accomplish or there will be dire consequences. This is reacting to life, because the illusions of future think are driving all the possible scenarios I'm trying to avoid. I am at the mercy of my own scenarios that are dictating my actions and behaviors.

It is better to wake up in the morning with an agenda that creates my life in the highest and best way I can imagine. There--that's much more fun, and more healthy... and, more creative. Instead of reacting to my interpretation of my current or future circumstances, I assess those circumstances as simply part of a "life sculpture" in progress. I mean, just because the outward circumstances of my life don't match my highest imagination doesn't mean I'm in any danger. On the contrary, it means I'm in process and well on my way to living the life of my dreams.

In vibrant health,

Boyd Martin, President
Subtleenergysolutions.com

Personally, from the President

Being Home

Every once in a while, many of us experience a "lifting of the veil," where for a moment we experience the world as One. We feel ourselves as the world, and for an instant get a glimpse of the Grand Creation and our indispensible part in it.

These moments have been coming on more frequently as I move along the timeline of my life, tantalizing me to investigate just what it is that causes me to suddenly and unexpectedly end up fully in the Now. I know certain practices that encourage this, and perhaps because I am doing them more, then that explains it. But, to put words to it, I'd say it's about duality vs. oneness.

We live in a dualistic world, a world of polarities: dark-light, good-bad, good-evil, virtuousness-sinfulness, fear-love, etc., etc., etc. Yet, in those those "oneness" episodes there is no "other" out there that is opposite or even different than me, and because this state feels so much like home, it really points up how illusionary this duality certainly must be.

We are all exploring the edges of this Creation we are participating in. Some of us are "dark workers"--who inflict pain and suffering on others, or experience extreme emotional states, or some physical malady or malformation. These dark workers are showing us where we do not have to go--they are already there. They are pioneers at the edges of reality, showing us how vast the possibilities and potentials of this world can be.

The "light workers" on the other hand, explore and demonstrate the realms of contentment, ecstasy and love, and yet, these states cannot be truly known or appreciated without their opposites.

It all gets down to the Grand Experiment of Separation. By separating ourselves from the Creator God Self in order to see who we are, we created a dualistic world: a world where we are, and are not. And the extreme sense of disconnection had us losing our way, as we felt along the edges of this new dualistic world in an attempt to get back Home.

And that's what my occasional bouts of oneness feel like: coming home. All my experience sensually, emotionally, intellectually and spiritually is showing me the Way back Home. If it weren't for the darkness, I could not see the light, and in darkness the light shows us the way. It is only judgment that cements us into the polarities of this dualistic world. We judge something to be not a part of us, and that solidifies our disconnectedness, adding yet another barrier to our journey Home. We fear the dark, and death the most because we mistakenly judge those things to be disconnections. But it is not the darkness or death that is the disconnection, it is our act of judgment that disconnects us.

Acceptance of this world and an embracing of both sides of the duality is the only way Home. Let me meet you There.

In vibrant health,

Boyd Martin, President
Subtleenergysolutions.com

Vibrant Living Newsletter

A time of transition...

It is with a sad heart that I report the passing of Subtle Energy Solutions' president, Shay Arave, on January 9th, 2012. She took over the company in 2001, transforming it from an MLM focussed on one set of products, to an entire retail product line for the express purpose of helping everyone live a vibrant, peaceful, and fulfilling life.

Shay most loved speaking with her customers one-on-one, and helping them with their difficulties and challenges. She inspired so many people, and changed the lives of the hundreds of people she cared so much about. Her beauty, open heart, and angelic caring attitude is greatly missed, yet it was her expressed wish that Subtle Energy Solutions continue on, expanding to help more and more people.

With renewed commitment and energy, we are spreading the word about the unique products we carry, and their huge benefits to all who use them regularly. Subtleenergysolutions.com sister site, Shaysways.com, will remain online in Shay's honor, reflecting her great enthusiasm for all the practitioners, inventors, authors, coaches, yogis and sages she admired and interacted with over the years.

We urge you to take another look at our core Subtle Energy Solutions formulas, if you haven't in a while, and find out which ones really speak to you. Include the Gem Elixirs, and Crystals, asking the question, "Which of these will help me the most?" I can guarantee at least one or two will ring a bell. These are the ones your physical and emotional bodies will most utilize.

Having used these formulas myself since 1996, I can confidently report that they have never failed to bring me back to a state of comfort and energy when things have gotten rocky, and have served as a bedrock of self-care for me. Their value and ease of use make them some of the most effective and useful formulas out there. So, please, check them out.

For the next few issues we will be exploring the value of subtle energy for healing and improving quality of life. We believe the entire field of subtle energy and energy medicine is the future of medical care, as more and more mainstream doctors, chiropractors, and naturopaths embrace it--from Deepak Chopra to Dr. Oz; Dr. Mercola to Dr. Andrew Weil--all have made this prediction.

We look forward to having you along on this journey, and welcome your comments and reports on your experiences. And, as Shay would always say, We love to hear from you!

Until next time...

In vibrant health,

Boyd Martin, President
Subtleenergysolutions.com