“For the first time in five years, I was able to be in the same space as a caretaker with whom I share a tumultuous history; and not only was I able to be in the same space, but was mostly present and even able to experience compassion for them. This was truly remarkable for me.”
Hello Amy, do tell us a little bit about yourself!
I’m in the “40-50” age range, but fairly certain I have the spirit of a 5-year-old (classic playful Gemini!). For the past 15 or so years I practiced massage therapy in various parts of the US, but I recently moved to South America to pursue an opportunity to study with an Andean mountain shaman. In preparation for that training, I’ve been spending a good part of my days learning Spanish and Quechua. Besides that, I love to join as many Field Dynamics and EHT community energy healing sessions as I can during the week, go for mountain walks with my roommate’s doggie and dance as much salsa as I can!
What initially attracted you to energy and the EHT course? Did you have experience with energy work or other holistic practices before?
Some years ago I completed a weekend training in Reiki, but still wasn’t “convinced” energy healing was legitimate. Both of my parents were scientists and I believe I inherited a healthy logical-ism from them… but when I opened up the Insight Timer app to one of Keith’s talks, I was pretty instantly hooked. His masterful ability to synthesize and articulate the relevant modern science around energy healing WITH the jewels of the ancient wisdom traditions, backed by his personal experience from his own practice, blew me away. There was a sense of “this is what I’ve been waiting for.” I signed up for the training that was starting one week later.
What would you say was the most surprising or unexpected element of the training?
On the first day of training, when Keith and Christabel ran energy for the group, I felt the “top of my head” open and a spiraling of energy up and out. I was sitting in a hotel room in Maryland, US, and they were in Europe. Up until that moment, I had still held a healthy scepticism of the legitimacy of energy work, but from that point on I’ve been fully on-board. Over the duration of the course, there were many experiences of widely varying sensations and, in general, I was fascinated, curious, and welcoming of them. This ease around new experiences was also aided by the environment created by the facilitators, that of safety and clear guidance, to name just a couple.
How was the 6-month structure for you? Did you look forward to the weekends?
Oh my god the weekends couldn’t come fast enough! If there had been training EVERY weekend I would have been thrilled, but the space in between was very useful for integrating the teachings and also for practicing with the materials and protocols from the modules.
How did you find the experience of juggling life, self-practice and partner trades alongside the weekend modules?
My life during the course of the EHT was relatively spacious. I found that shifting my morning meditation practice to running energy sessions and practicing the homework protocols worked very well for me. The partner trades were such a gift! The healing and learning that went on in those sessions was often profound, and those extra opportunities to connect with like-minded and hearted people were soul-warming, especially on the back of a relatively isolating time of the pandemic. Nine months out from the end of the training, a handful have remained dear friends that I feel I’ll be connected with for the rest of my life. Truly magical.
What changes, if any, have others noticed in you since you started your practice? What changes have you noticed in yourself?
During the time of the EHT, one of my dance students remarked that she felt my space-holding capacity had expanded, which I received as a great compliment. For the first time in five years, I was able to be in the same space as a caretaker with whom I share a tumultuous history; and not only was I able to be in the same space, but was mostly present and even able to experience compassion for them. This was truly remarkable for me. I am also someone who has been challenged by a lack of self-esteem since childhood, and during the program I auditioned for my local musical theatre production of “Mary Poppins.” I was cast in the ensemble, singing and dancing, and discovered a long-dormant passion for the art. I truly felt like a fish in water and can’t wait for the next opportunity to join. I’m not sure this would have been possible without the EHT-100.
Did you participate in private session work alongside the training? If so, how did that alter or add to the experience?
Nine months out from the end of my training I continue to work with both Christabel and Keith in private sessions. This has been a significant part of the healing and transformation I experienced during the program, and that I continue to experience as time moves forward. They are teachers who, in my opinion, are true masters of their craft, and meanwhile walk their paths with humility, grace, and a commitment to their own energetic hygiene and continuing evolution. I feel blessed to have encountered these guys.
The partner trades were also awesome. I had no confidence in my ability to feel the energy of other people when the program started and was blown away by what I was able to experience and feel with my classmates in these trades. Another great benefit has been the lasting friendships I’ve made due to the opportunity to spend such quality time together in these private exchanges. Although I was nervous in the beginning about the trades, I came to cherish them.
“The partner trades were also awesome. I had no confidence in my ability to feel the energy of other people when the program started and was blown away by what I was able to experience and feel with my classmates in these trades.”
What has been your biggest takeaway from the training?
My mother was diagnosed with cancer when I was six months old, and she subsequently died two years later. I came to know during the EHT just how deeply those events have impacted my life, and particularly the consequences of an energetic disconnection from the mother. I have been challenged by a strong core abandonment wound that has manifested in the past as intermittent thoughts of not wanting to even be alive, having no goals, no particular will to live. When I was diagnosed with cancer in 2018, and during the treatment, there were times when strong thoughts of “I could just let myself die” appeared, and that seemed like a very legitimate option. During the EHT, and in particular with Christabel’s skilful guidance, that energetic connection with my mother was reestablished in a single moment. One week after that experience, one of those old thoughts appeared, “Why don’t I just die,” but my perception saw it with laser beam precision, and it evaporated. Since then, and for the last year, I have not experienced those thoughts, and beyond that, I am able to feel my mother almost every day. Since then, I have been not only surviving, but thriving, and have real excitement for what the rest of my life will bring. The word “transformational” does not even adequately express the change that has taken place. My gratitude for these teachers and this program is immense.
What would you share with someone considering the EHT training?
Dive in! The six months of the EHT-100 have been the most healing six months of my life. Before entering the training, I had no will to live, believed that cancer would return any day and take me out… I am now training to practice as a shaman and imagining that I will live to be 90. You are in the BEST hands with Christabel and Keith.
How do you plan on taking what you’ve learnt out into the world? Do you have a regular self-practice since the course finished?
I have occasionally offered energy sessions to friends, but this work has catapulted me on to the “next” adventure of this shamanic training. I say “next,” but I am planning to join the EHT-200 sometime in the future. I have recently had the pleasure of receiving a healing session from a former classmate of the EHT-100 who is currently training in the EHT-200, and, wow, it blew me away.
I run energy sessions on myself most mornings, 4-5 days a week, and use a mixture of structured protocols offered by the training as well as intuitively led sessions. I join as many of our EHT online community sessions as possible (former students as well as current trainees get together for group energy healing sessions – these are open to all students of the EHT programs). It is a beautiful community of people all over the world that provides a truly enriching support to my life.
Anything else you’d like to share?
I really don’t have the words to express the transformation, the gratitude I feel. I can’t wait to connect in Bali for the retreat!
Thank you, Amy.
Applications are now open for our next EHT-100 training. If you would like to arrange a consult to discuss if this training is the right choice for you, do reach out to us!
