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Community Events

Buenos Aires – “Deep and light without being serious or superficial.”

“Aerin, can I be honest with you?” – a participant of our recent seminar approached me in a break a couple of hours after our workshop had started. “I have lots of judgments right now. I am judging everyone here and I am also judging the workshop. I am sorry, I just want to be honest with you.”

I took a deep breath and smiled. I looked at her eyes—I liked her immediately. I wanted to tell her that we all judged all the time and that she was going to feel better after practicing the recapitulation exercise that we were about to do, but I stopped myself. I was avoiding the issue. Instead, with curiosity I said “tell me about it. What is the content of your judgments?” 

“I think what we are doing is superficial and that it lacks depth. And I also think that what people are sharing is also superficial,” she said.

I looked at her bright large honey eyes. I thought she was smart and beautiful. There are so many beautiful people in Argentina. Buenos Aires has the largest amount of psychotherapists per capita in the world, and the same goes for theaters and cafes. There is an emphasis in philosophy and in the arts that exhudes from the streets. I love walking and meeting people everywhere. She reminded me of the best of Argentina. 

The themes presented at the workshop were about how we handle money, sex, and old age. We were exploring cultural and family beliefs passed on through generations that hinder our ability to handle money with impeccability. Some of the participants shared their struggles with money and their ability to give and receive in vulnerability and openness. Mostly, for us women, how to produce our own money has been a struggle for hundreds of years.

“You may consider that the superficiality that you judge in others, you may also judge in yourself. What other judgments do you have about you, that are not allowing you to be fully present and engaged today?” I asked her in a loving voice.

She paused and looked at my eyes. “I don’t know. I cannot stop it,” she replied. “I don’t know if I want to come back tomorrow.” She added.

“It is ok, whatever you decide to do is ok” I told her. “The important point here is your relationship with yourself, not what I do or what others do. How are you taking care of yourself as you become aware of these ingrained patterns that are emerging. How are you loving yourself?”

The next day she came back. Phew!, I was glad—and she opened up, like a flower. She shared with the group she was mistakenly seeing as light and superficial. She said that she learned we can be deep and handle deep issues with lightness. Her smile illuminated the room. I thanked her for her honesty in the first place, and for sharing her learning process. 

This is exactly what happens at our workshops—participants learn what they need to learn, they figure out in their own time, with their own uniqueness. We support individuals to find out their own resources and abilities, and we love each one of them as they do their process. 

The workshop in Buenos Aires was powerful beyond measure. Participants came from Buenos Aires, from many other provinces and even from Chile and Mexico. 

We identified, acknowledged and released judgments and fears about money, sex and old age. We sat down in silence. We held hands and prayed together. We did lots of energy passes. We sang, and we danced together.

Miles and I are moved and grateful for such unique experience. The commitment of participants to work their issues and free themselves from misinterpretations and the depth of their sharing touched our hearts deeply.

Below, please find some of their feedback after the workshop. 

We look forward to seeing you in Teotihuacan in March 10-12, 2017.

May you have a peaceful and heartfelt Holiday Season, surrounded by your loved ones,

Aerin Alexander

“Thank you very much for your presence and for what you provided us in this Workshop. I loved the movements of the morning and the recapitulation in the afternoon, was very productive, we made a good team the 3 of us we participated and we drew very powerful conclusions. Also the movements to strengthen the pelvic floor and the awareness about our energetic nature, was a much appreciated info.

Love and thanks,”

Maria del Carmen

“The seminar is just settling in me and it is difficult to explain in words because the real pearls are physical understandings, the physical sensation of what a belief is and how simple it is to disarm it and the great gift was the after: Innocence that Leave it alone, wow.

I emphasize the love, the love that you transmit, the care, the elixir of Miles and the oil of Aerin whenever I use them I imagine them preparing them. All beautifully and all carefully handled.

I learned to stop sitting on my lower back and sacrum and instead to sit on my sit bones! What a difference! I loved the tennis ball to open the fascia at the sole of the feet and the gentle jumps on the heels to lift up the energy!  And the wonderful pelvic exercises and dancing passes.

Hugs from Guanajuato”

Margarita 

“The Gathering Energy series, gained depth when you explained details I had never noticed online. Miles and Aerín executed it with their own variations and it was very rich and interesting. The stretching exercises with my legs rejuvenate me!

The stalking exercises done in three parts were plunging us into our memories and thoughts. Talking to our beliefs was shocking to me and my fellow students.” Pablo. 

“I stayed with so much freshness in the body that I set out to practice every day, and I just have a partner at work who also practices. We are getting together every day to make passes … even if it’s 20minutes !

Thank you,” 

Cinthya

Categories
Community Events

Mother Mountain, Father Sun – Our Retreat in Schweibenalp

Dear friends,

Miles and I just came back from teaching a six-day retreat in Switzerland, and it was not until I arrived to the Los Angeles airport that I realized how quiet my mind had been. At the customs line, there were a couple of ladies behind us wearing a turban in their heads, and they were asked several times for their passports. Two men were removed from the immigration line, just because their skin was darker and looked “suspicious”. Interesting enough, police didn’t question the white ones like me.

I crunched and held my breath confirming once again the racial discrimination in the US. And this thought felt like a sharp knife cutting through a field of yellow flowers and a rain of blessings that I had groomed while teaching in Switzerland. Before my arrival, my mind was quiet, entertained by the poignancy of the present moment, admiring nature and catching up with trains, taxis and planes.

Experiencing inner calm and peace for a week became so “normal” that only after being removed from that state brought me the self-awareness of it. Isn’t that funny? I guess I needed darkness to see the light that I already had inside. It made me think of when my teacher said that one only becomes cognizant of having been in inner silence after the silence is over. There is no self-reflection in inner silence—we are simply IN the state.

Our retreat took place in the dreamlike mountains of the beautiful city of Brienz, on the Bernese Overland region of Switzerland. The village, on hour and half from Zurich airport, is surrounded by turquoise large lakes and the Brienzer Rothorn mountains.

Maurice, who had been dreaming this event with us the entire year, drove us from Zurich to Brienz and we couldn’t stop gazing at nature with our noses glued to the windows. The quality of the sunlight shining through the orange and reddish autumn leaves took our breath away. We saw a few boats as if pained in the background of turquoise and deep blue lakes. The outstanding beauty of the snow painting the peaks and the freshest wet and clean air made us feel as if in a dream.  Then, we arrived to another dream, that of Schweibenalp.

The Schweibenalp Center for Unity was founded in 1982 by Sundar Robert Dreyfus, Fredy Aly and Silvia Bollag, upon guidance from the Indian teacher Sri Haidakhan Baba. It is a place where traditional religions and cultures meet a new religion of the heart; founded as a place for multicultural community on the way to the realization of Truth, Simplicity, Love and the experience of Unity.

The center has a powerful venue built is an octagon, with large windows where we could watch deer coming while practicing energy passes. The wood floors and the natural sunlight accompanied us throughout the week in our quest to find our real selves.

We walked to the forest mountain stream in the early morning, among the fresh foggy air, and ate delicious meals between our sessions. Truly, organic, vegetarian and CLEAN! Swiss perfect and clean kitchen that made me feel at home.

I was moved by the sincere and honest welcome of Sundar, Schweibenalp’s founder and his staff. They walk their talk and practice daily the returning to the heart!. Sundar took us on a walk around the property and shared about a very auspicious finding just before our arrival. In their property they found three trees of different species living together, joined into a common base tree trunk. They saw it as an omen and a symbolic expression of their vision.

Highlights from the six-day retreat:

  • Sundar also invited us at 7:00 am on a rainy day to a full Fire Ceremony, to thank mother earth and to ask for the removal of obstacles in our dreaming
  • An amazing 3-hour hike in the mountains towards a green alpine lake, hiding between granite peaks and high forest terrain

And, the long recapitulation-witnessing exercises that gave us the time and depth to liberate our hearts and brought clarity and sobriety to our minds

Ah, wait, something important. For our entire days we explored, experienced and worked with the “four natural enemies” of man described by Carlos Castaneda: fear, clarity, power and old age! Below find some feedback form the participants.

It was so good that we are coming back to Schweibenalp on October 26-29, 2017!

With gratitude and love,

Aerin Alexander

Here is what the retreat participants said:

“Everything about the Schweibenalp retreat was a joy–the energy movements, especially with music, the mountain setting, the delicious food and the energy of the place, a place dedicated to mindfulness and the unity of all seekers.  However, for me personally the very best part was the deep exploration into places where each of us has vital energy stuck in the memory of an event.  I cannot describe how powerful it was when my group of three, each willing to be honest and open, really listened to each other, without judgment or criticism, just being present and reinforcing the wisdom that each of us already carries within.  Thanks so much to Miles, Aerin and all the participants!” – Tom Reavley, USA.

“What a pleasure it was to see you guys, to spend such an amazing week together and to get to know Axel! I so enjoyed it all even though it was also a very deep and intense experience to go through the recapitulation sessions. I will be processing it for a while! Heartfelt thanks for your energy and excellence” – Ena Xena, England.

“Now that few days has passed, I can examine with more clarity what happened during our “energy boot camp” in Scheweibenalp retreat.

1) Schweibenalp is truly a place of power. I never felt such a harmonious, nourishing and gentle energy and if you’re looking for a boost for your transformation process, it’s the place for you. Seems like it’s almost impossible to act like an asshole there. Almost.  And the food was truly great and so was hiking in the Alps and that lake…my god…never seen such a beauty.

2) We did some serious energy work during those six days. We examined and recapitulated four enemies of man: fear, clarity, power and old age and did some other interesting stuff. All those exercises were truly powerful. At the end of day, you were just exhausted, but it was a good exhaustion, because you felt you did something very, very important to yourself.

3) But most of all, it was a BE family meeting. It was truly a pleasure to see you in flesh, chat with you, crack jokes with you, listen to your stories, have a lunch with you. I’m deeply grateful for that and I will keep it in my heart. We are a band of brothers and sisters because we share the same trenches, the same battles. The seed of freedom is firmly planted into ourselves and there’s no escape, so we move on, following Intent with open hearts. Thank you all who were there in flesh and in Spirit” .- Sami Penaman, Finland.

“Dear Aerin and Miles, you really hooked me with your program. I enjoyed these six days with you very much and I already set the intend to be there next year again. Thank you for the wonderful pictures.

I’ve done many retreats and workshops of various kinds and most of the times I couldn’t get the experience back in daily life. But I’m really confident that this time it will work. If it’s interesting for you, I will write some more in a couple of weeks. Really daily life will begin tomorrow for me again. I’ve also decided to join your upcoming Path with Heart Class in December. So, I’m looking forward to see you there again. Love” – Andreas, Germany.

“The six-days retreat in Schweibenalp was extremely interesting and very well organized, sharing body movements and witnessing exercises allowing us to, as you say, update old beliefs and misinterpretations…The group was extremely open minded and respectful and it was a great pleasure for me to have participated in this workshop. I thank Miles for his very attentive and kind listening during private consultation. In fact his suggestions how to see our lives in a positive manner were very much appreciated.

I would not forget to congratulate Maurice for the tremendous work he has done in order to make every thing perfect. His kind “omnipresence” was very much appreciated by all the group. And I will either not forget you Aerin for what you have done, showing perfectly exercises, giving explanations and being attentive to each of us. With my warm and kindest regards.” – Zina, Switzerland.

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Tools and Tips

Energize With Intention!

Energy means vitality. It is an impetus expressed in our bodies, in our moods and in the way we relate to others.

We might say someone has “good energy” or “bad energy” for example, or that we are energized by an idea. This all has a physical expression—as scientific studies continue to reveal. The body’s physiology and one’s particular life experiences in the mind are intricately connected—we could almost say inseparable. In fact, every day in our clinic, we see how our patients’ perceptions of what is happening to them in their lives is expressed by their bodies through symptoms. That is how the body itself communicates our emotional relationships with the world.

This is great news! It means that we have the power to influence our health at all levels with our thoughts and actions, and that each influences the other.

Our thoughts influence our energy instantaneously. Our movement also influences our energy levels and our thoughts. When we move with intention, this has an even more dramatic influence. Moving with intention powerfully affects the state of your mind and your emotions, as well as your physical experience of being in the body.

Being Energy’s United in Vitality classes are a great example of moving with intention.

We invite you to enjoy the experience of movement, and wish you good energy!

Categories
Community Tools and Tips

Why Do I Teach?

“Get on stage and give your very best. Follow your body; it knows what to do.” Carlos Castaneda said this to me just before I got on stage in 1996 for the first time to teach —there were 700 participants at his workshop. I felt unprepared and unfit for the occasion, and yet his words vividly resonating within, cleared the path for me to step onto that stage.

“The only way of knowing if you have learned something is by teaching it,” he said. “Share what you practice, share what you love to do.” And I did. That was 20 years ago, and I am still teaching and sharing. I still get butterflies before each class I teach or lecture I give. I review my notes, I prepare, I practice. Each class is a new experience, each person in front of me is unique. I can be guiding the same sequence of movements I taught to that audience back in January 1996, but I do it with wonder and awe.

What is the secret? And why do I do it?

I teach because I like to take risks, to put myself out there. I teach because it makes me vulnerable. I teach because it creates uncertainty within me. I teach because it awakens new resources within me that I didn’t know I had. I teach to learn to fail, to make mistakes, and to revamp myself. I teach to learn about success and to love with whoever is in front of me. I teach knowing that there is nothing to teach, and that whoever is in front of me has all the answers he or she needs. I teach to be reminded of my strengths and my weaknesses. I teach because I practice and because I breathe.

Why do others teach Being Energy? Some of our teachers share their experiences below. Maybe teaching will open up something in you, too? We are offer a comprehensive teacher training program. Learn more about that program.

Why become a Being Energy teacher?

The first question to ask yourself is: Is the practice Being Energy a path with heart for me? If it is, and you have committed yourself to the practice, then teaching others will help you along the path more than you can imagine. When we commit to teaching others, it brings out the best in us; something comes to our aid in spite of all the doubts and hesitations that inevitably arise. The decision and commitment to teach is truly magical. Something else takes over. Not all the time, but even when we find ourselves out of alignment, we learn something and continue working, confident that we are doing the right thing, following our path with heart. Come join us!

Pilar Soro, BE Teacher in Spain: 

“I offer the classes as a volunteer and teach Module 1 material. I leave the classes with a lot of energy, I can say that there is a ‘before’ and an ‘after’ with giving the BE classes. I have a new purpose for my projects, strong and sustained, as the fruit of these classes.

“Yesterday, a 65-year-old man who has had fibromyalgia for 15 years told me that he ended the class feeling so well that he went in the ocean for more than five hours, swimming and diving; that he had tried a lot a things before these classes, but this was the thing that worked best for him.

“In my school the other day, I also had two children who were very angry at each other. After talking a little, we did the movements that I called ‘A Shower of Energy’ to get rid of the bad vibes, to clean ourselves. They followed me for five minutes and then left the room laughing and very much friends; I really liked their smiles and loud laughter—they were very happy.”

Erika Gavin, BE Teacher in Mexico:

“Teaching helped me, among other things, to feel and convince myself that I am an instructor. I did not have enough confidence before. What made me change was the consistency, and trying to be there, as I have always been sure that this path is my path and I feel love and passion for it.

“After three years, I felt increasingly confident and creative in preparing a class and incorporate everything I need to do, movements, books, what pops into my life. I am very grateful and honored to share that with others.

“I want to tell you about a student called Thamara. A few years ago, she had pain throughout her body; she was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Now since taking Being Energy classes since August, it is better. She is very attracted by the philosophy and is very motivated to generate a change in her life, especially regarding the relationship with her body.”

Crisólogo Chavez, BE Teacher in Mexico:

“After several years of thinking, in late September 2014, I decided to jump off to start teaching BE movements, with great excitement, even though I did not feel sufficiently prepared. Now I teach a regular group of 10 to 12 people each Saturday for about an hour and a half. It has been steady, constant. It seems incredible to look back—I gained confidence to do the movements; teaching has put greater demand on my personal practice and a result I perceive in my physical and energetic body. Most gratifying, however, are the comments I hear from student practitioners about their pleasure in doing the movements.”

Tom Reavley, BE Teacher in Mexico:

“When I guide Being Energy classes or teach it to others, my only option is to suspend my own story—which includes plenty of self doubts about handling something that can’t be reduced to logic or reason—and let the spirit channel through me, even if only for a while. Under the pressure of my commitment to present something, I have to relax at some point and let ideas flow—what to emphasize, how to express it, what sequences of movements to do—and then connect to the energetic feeling that the movements and practices create.

“By deciding to teach, you are committing yourself. You are choosing to put yourself on the line and rally your energy each time you lead others, even though you have no guarantees that you will succeed. When a class approaches and you feel lost, the commitment comes to your aid. It focuses your attention and activates your intent so that you can genuinely connect to the inexhaustible source of life and creativity. You stand before others not knowing exactly what you will say, but with a feeling of certainty that expresses itself in your voice, your eyes and your movements. And in that moment you have changed your story—you are someone or something else, an expression of the infinite.

“What a great gift is this opportunity to share beauty of spirit with others!”

Pavel Pavlov, BE Teacher in Bulgaria:

Pavel recounts how powerful it was to teach a Being Energy workshop recently in Bulgaria:

“At the end of the workshop we left some time for everyone to ask questions or just to say how he/she felt. Most people shared that they now had a new vision for their lives. One of the newcomers explained that she was expecting to practice yoga, since we also announced the event through our yoga teacher friends. At first the movements confused her. She was astonished when we spoke about Carlos Castaneda, as she had recently begun reading Castaneda’s books. Upon making that connection, between reading the books and this event, she realized that she was not here by chance.”

This is some of why we teach!

Categories
Community

Congratulations Valery! A New Life in the World

A new life in the world! One of our wonderful BE teachers has just brought a daughter into the world. Elizabeth was born at the end of November. Mom Valery writes:

I had a wonderful 9 months of pregnancy and gave birth on November 28th, 2015, t o a lovely girl, Elizabeth. My practice of Being Energy was very important throughout my pregnancy. Every Friday in Moscow for 9 months, I practiced together with a group. The practice and support of my group members helped me to feel healthy, gave me strength to engage in professional activities during my pregnancy, and helped me lead an active life and even go swimming. The birth of my daughter, too, was amazing–light and full of positive emotions.

I’d like to thank Valentine, Kate Paul, Masha, Cyril, Marina Julia, Andrew Olga and Arina for the support, love and warmth during this period of my life. Aerin, I want to tell you thank you very much for your attention to my challenges and advice.
I wish all the new dreams and discoveries.
With love,
Valery M.

Categories
Community

Teaching Being Energy: Sharing Magical Moments

Dear Community,

Below, Luis Alonso, a Being Energy® teacher from Costa Rica is sharing his experience on the class he just taught to a group of students. Enjoy it! Aerin

“The experience of transmitting energy passes is very pleasant and mysterious.

I always am in wonder at the vibration generated in the group, as well as the possibility of opening, through practice, a space for inner silence. I remain hopeful that the people who attend my classes achieve that cubic centimeter of chance that don Genaro talked about—that second of silence that allows you to stop the world and change your point of view.

Two hours of class can seem like a short time or a long time. It depends on your perspective.

One second of intensity may be sufficient to turn the wheel of time. Inevitably, I link my teaching experiences with the Being Energy workshop on the Wheel of Time, which made a big impression on me. This choice of holding or moving body tension, of letting ego control you or finding freedom and relaxation spirit.

I hope that people who attended this class came away with the idea that it is possible to move with consciousness and freedom, that energy passes are not mechanical movements, but life and energy in expression.” Luis Alonso