GREGG BRADEN GREGG BRADEN - Earthstar

ing toward myself and others?• How has my intimate history preparedme to create and share thelove I desire?Look at your old ghost story andthe new story you have just written.Your story is the way you choose tosee it. It is time to move past yourfears with a new courage to love.Fire RitualRituals have been utilized by everyculture throughout human history tohonor and support change and celebratethe moment. The following fireritual is designed to help you let goof the ghost story or stories that haveheld you back from intimacy.In many ways fire is the perfectsymbol for this ritual because it is aliteral and figurative representationof burning our old stories into ashes.When we do this, we purify our heartand mind. At the same time, we areable to ignite the flame inside us andopen ourselves up to even greaternew experiences of intimacy andlove.Light a fire. It can be a candle, afire in a fireplace, or a fire pit in yourbackyard.Make an intention to releaseyour old intimate ghost stories. Placethe paper that you wrote your oldstories on in the fire and let it burn.Allow this ritual to signify the lettinggo of your ghost stories that areholding you back from intimacy.Now take your rewritten intimatehistory and place it next to yourheart. See it as the gift and opportunitythat your experiences in intimacyhave brought you. If possible,walk in a circle around the fire. If itis not possible, walk in a circle infront of the fire. (This circle signifiesyour “Love Wheel of Fortune” turningagain.)Bring the gifts from this ritualinto a new, fulfilling experience ofintimacy. You may choose to honoryour rewritten story by keeping it ina special box. You can place this boxin your bedroom to inspire positiveenergy in your love life, or you canchoose to discard the story by burningit in the fire as well.Letting go of your ghost storiesby transforming them and thenreleasing them in a fire ritual can bea very emotional process. You mightwant to go for a walk, exercise, dosomething fun, or even celebrate insome way afterwards.Emotional AlchemyRemoving our emotional armoringmay require deeper support beforewe can fully release our capacity toinvite fulfilling love and intimacyinto our lives. Long-held emotionsand subsequent reactions that haveinhibited intimate connection mayrequire us to take a deeper look intoour hearts and bodies.We can carry our emotions aboutintimacy not only in our mentalthoughts but also in our hearts andbodies. The openness in our heartsand the ease in our physical bodiesreflect the emotional memories andpatterns that we have held over time.Our level of emotional and physicalopenness shows up in how weexpress ourselves intimately. Thefollowing practice is designed toalchemize deep intimate emotionsand enable us to express and receiveemotional intimacy.First I will explain the emotionalcenters that are central to workingwith this Emotional Alchemy practice.Emotional CentersThe understanding of the mind-bodyrelationship is one of the fundamentalarts that the ancient Chinese lovemasters studied to enhance their skillfor achieving health, vitality, and theability to love well. What they discoveredwas that our emotions originateand tend to be stored in specificareas of our body. These specificareas are called energy centers.When we have an abundance of specificpositive emotions attributed to aspecific energy center, that area ofour body is more open, and energyflows from and to it in a healthy way.The area of our life connected to thisenergy center feels good and functionsoptimally.For instance, if we feel an abundanceof love in our hearts, ourhearts are healthier and more open.We attract and enjoy more love inour lives. When we have an abundanceof specific negative emotionsattributed to a specific energy center,that area of our body is more closedoff. Energy has a difficult time flowingfrom or to it, and we may evenfeel pain or very little sensation inthis area of our body. As a result, thepart of our life that is connected tothat specific energy center functionsless efficiently. For example, if wehave felt emotionally heartbroken bya person in our life and have not fullyresolved and let go of that story, wetend to not open up our hearts as easilyto new intimate experiences andmay have trouble expressing love ina healthy way. In turn, it becomesdifficult to experience satisfyingemotional relationships.We will explore energy centers andthe movement of energy throughoutthis book for the purpose of enhancingour experience of love and intimacy.There are many energy centers,such as the third eye (psychic)center, located at the mid-eyebrow,and the spiritual center, located at thecrown of the head. However, in thispractice of Emotional Alchemy, wewill focus specifically on our explorationof the two primary energy centersthat relate to love and intimacy:the Heart and the Sexual Palace.www.earthstarmag.comFEBRUARY / MARCH 2008 EARTH STAR 31