Is it any surprise that we become adults and when certain circumstances present themselves, we feel like children? Have you ever wondered why it is that you are an intelligent, articulate, capable and responsible adult until you cross the threshold of your parents' house and then, all of a sudden, you're eight? What is stored inside us that leaves us believing in our own powerlessness and helplessness?

Although we have been trained to operate from what is referred to as linguistically structured thought - meaning that how we think the process of thinking occurs is in words and phrases - there is much more occurring inside the body. For hundreds of years, ancient wisdom has proffered the notion of energy centers in the body, or chakras, that are like generators that keep the body energy, or life force, moving freely. Many trained in the traditional allopathic world view have, until recently, dismissed this notion as ludicrous, as there was no evidence that could be measured with the naked eye or with existing instrumentation.

However, with the discoveries of scientists such as Candace Pert (Molecules of Emotion) or Valerie Hunt (Infinite Mind: The Vibrations of Human Consciousness), we are becoming more aware of the power of the human body and the implication of the presence of an electromagnetic field that surrounds it. There is a correlation between the movement of energy through this electromagnetic field, the process of thought as we have come to know it, the movement of energy and information through bio-chemical and electrochemical impulses through the body, and our sense of personal power. Given that few of us were taught any of this in Grade 10 biology/science classes; or even beyond at the University level, how well do we know how to decode the messages of the body and their relationship to our thoughts?

The next step in the program is to introduce a tool that we use not only for defining the relationship between linguistically structured thought and movement of energy, but also for decoding the messages of the energy system in the body and identifying their expression through linguistically structured thought. We explore how our cultural conditioning has taught us to ignore the messages from the body and defer to the rules, whatever they may be, at work, at home and in relationships. We have been taught to value linguistically structured thought, which often translates to logic and reason, above all else in our lives. But have you ever noticed that before you ever think a linguistically structured thought there is always a movement of energy through the body? We sometimes call that movement 'a hunch' or 'a gut feel'. And yet, as our thoughts become more habituated, we notice the energy less and less, as it has become a habit of thought and moves through deeply rooted existing pathways, with very little resistance from tissue in the body. Science tells us that the average human being thinks about 65,000 thoughts a day. That's the good news. The bad news is that more than 90% of them are exactly the same as the ones we thought yesterday!

As you allow yourself to think new thoughts, meaning to move away from the traditional, culturally conditioned, biased thinking, the topography of the brain is actually transformed by the action of this process and its related movement of energy. When this happens, a sensation runs through the body. You have just had an original thought or a new insight, or an interpretation that is entering your awareness for the first time. It is not unusual at such times to find yourself unable to put words to what you have just experienced. When this happens, you become able to perceive your experience through new eyes, to process the data of your life through new thought models. It is now impossible for you to come to the same old conclusions.

Personal power is the deep sense of calm and alignment that comes from knowing that you create your own reality. What matters is not what happens; what matters is what you do about it. Personal power is trusting, at a very deep level of mind, that no matter what is occurring in your experience, you created it. If you created it, you can change it and create something else instead. With this level of trust also comes a willingness to think new thoughts, take risks, say no to the things that hold no value for you and move forward. What also comes with this level of trust is a willingness and an ability to allow yourself to know the truth - not truth as an absolute but truth as it exists for you, from deep inside you where you live.

Your body is sending you messages all the time. You will interpret these messages through culturally conditioned thinking, which may result in your interpreting them as pain or the flu or a sinus headache. Were you to become more familiar with the energy centers in the body, you would come to realize, for example, that your headache is about the energy center called the Third Eye, which is the center of ethereal sight, the platform on which we stand to move into the future, or the center of the possible self. If you are experiencing pain, which is caused by a blockage of movement of energy, you may want to consider what is going on in your life with regard to your future. Are you allowing yourself to know the truth of where you want to go and what you want to do? Of who you want to become? Are you experiencing confusion about your next step in life and feeling uncertain about taking action? Are you trying to push away an insight that you know is there and, should you allow yourself to acknowledge it, you will no longer be able to live as you do? (For more detail, refer to Anodea Judith, "Wheels of Life".)

Each of these energy centers relates to a specific level of thinking, meaning that movement in each of the energy centers carries clues and cues about its corresponding level of linguistically structured thought. When you work with both of these together (integrating the process of the left brain and the right; or the processes of the conscious mind and the unconscious mind), you become aware of things that are sometimes hidden from view. Learning how to decode these messages could be the key to changing your life. There is no greater sense of power than to know that you are in control of your own destiny.

Take the big plunge and read Candace Pert, or Valerie Hunt or Anodea Judith. So what if they weren't recommended reading in high school or university! You may be surprised to know that science has made leaps and bounds since you and I were in our twenties! We are not who we have been taught to believe we are. We are multidimensional, multi-faceted expressions of pure potential. But sometimes, when we look in the mirror, we'd never know it

�1999 by Louise LeBrun. All rights reserved.