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 Malcolm Hollick describes his cathartic experience of a 10-day Peak States training.
I've just returned from a 10-day training run by the Institute for the Study of Peak States (ISPS). I've been studying their ideas for some time, and this was an opportunity not only to clarify my understanding of their approach, but also to experience their healing methods first hand.
So how did it go? It was an intense and amazing experience. At times, I had to suspend my critical mind and immerse myself in processes that would appear weird and wacky to an outsider – at one point another participant dissolved into helpless laughter at the thought of a hidden camera! But the bottom line for me is 'does it work?' And my conclusion has to be 'yes'. I shifted a lot of 'stuff', including some of my deepest fears, patterns and blocks. I had some beautiful mystical experiences unlike any I've had before. I came away with a kit of tools for tuning into and healing my own traumas as well as for helping others. And I watched in awe at the deep transformations taking place in those around me who were mostly experienced therapists with many years of work on their personal issues behind them.
Background
I want to share more about my experience, but first I need to back up and summarise key points of ISPS theory and practice. Central is the effect of trauma on our development. According to standard medical definitions, trauma is an emotionally painful, distressing or shocking experience that has lasting mental and physical effects. Well-known examples include post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and the effects of accidents and child abuse. (more information on trauma) Between late June and early September, I wrote a series of blog entries arguing that trauma is a root cause of the planetary crisis. This perception is complemented by the core purpose of ISPS, which is to find ways to improve the quality of life of all humanity through its work in healing trauma.
ISPS believe that what we regard as normal consciousness is actually well below par. If we weren’t blocked by traumas, we would all be in permanent peak states of consciousness – of which ISPS has identified many different types. For most of us, however, we get no more than brief glimpses of what is possible that last from a few seconds to several hours during meditation, in nature, or on other occasions. The most important blocking traumas happen before birth. They include injuries at well-known developmental events such as conception and implantation, but, according to ISPS, extend right back to the time when the egg and sperm that eventually become us first start to form. This is inside our grandmothers, soon after our parents are conceived!
According to ISPS we all have hundreds of thousands of traumas, and it would take lifetimes to clear them one by one. Fortunately, this is not necessary. When we first experience a particular type of trauma, the way we respond becomes stored in the body. This 'memory' is then re-enacted every time an event evokes similar sensations – the well-known 'button' or 'trigger' effect. In other words, we develop an unconscious, automatic response which is activated every time something happens that our bodies identify as similar to the original trauma. In this way, we acquire ‘strings’ of connected traumas over time. If we can find and heal the original injury, or root trauma, then the whole associated string is also healed at the same time. However, even this shortcut doesn’t guarantee rapid healing of all traumas as most of us apparently have thousands of strings!
Most trauma therapies are based on reliving the traumatic event in some way, usually through talking or emotional release. However, ISPS believe that all traumas that occur before birth (and hence almost all root traumas) involve physical injury of some kind due to bumps, squashing, loud noises, toxins from smoking or food, and so on. It is only after birth that traumas can be caused by emotions. This is a vital point because it means that healing of root traumas must be physical/biological rather than mental or emotional.
From this perspective, the stories and emotional feelings on which most therapies focus are irrelevant! Rather, we should concentrate on the physical sensations we felt at the moment the trauma occurred. This is the basis for the "Whole-Hearted Healing" (WHH) approach developed by ISPS, which is described on their website and in a publicly available manual. This method is based on regression from a current trauma or issue, back to the earliest moment at which a similar sensation was experienced. Once this moment has been located, healing is achieved by focusing awareness on the sensations until they dissipate and we feel calm, peaceful, and physically light, bright and large. Other 'power therapies', particularly EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique), are often used to support and speed up the healing process.
WHH is relatively slow, and ISPS researchers are continuing the search for faster, more reliable, and safer methods. Details of many of these are still confidential because they have not yet been tested on enough clients to be sure that they work and are safe for general release. They include rapid WHH, taught to us in the training workshop, and more advanced techniques that rely on the therapist being in particular peak states of consciousness (more information). We experienced one of these, the "Gaia Command Process", which combines regression to specific developmental events with repeated phrases (like mantra) accompanied by a recurring short piece of evocative music.
My experience
With this background, I can now return to my workshop experience. In the first four days, theory and methods of WHH were presented in the mornings and evenings, with practice in pairs in the afternoons. Fundamental was the rapid creation of a sense of loving support, trust and security that enabled us to go deep into our fears, patterns and blocks. This sense of safety was produced not only by the methods, but also by the two instructors who were advanced practitioners, the 3 assistants who were recently certified therapists, and the 16 participants who were mostly experienced therapists in other modalities.
At first, I had difficulty with the regression process as I do not get visual images of past events, only body sensations. However, in time I learned to relax and trust that when I felt a sinking sensation I was in fact regressing to a similar earlier trauma. I chose to work on several life-long fears that I realised were all related to a dominant core belief that "I'll die if I don’t get this right." As I think about those issues now, the emotional 'charge' has gone from most of them, and I'm working on another.
After this introduction, the workshop changed gears to focus on enhancing our states of consciousness using the "Gaia Command Process" in various ways. For me, the most powerful was the Brain Light Process, which was run over several sessions. The music was incredibly powerful. I never tired of the constant repetition, and felt I could have stayed there forever! The first two sessions seemed to be about clearing shit. I spent most of the first one twitching, choking and sobbing. In the second session came repeated, violent physical ejection of what felt like a stone from the centre of my solar plexus, followed by deep relaxation and a sense of emptiness in that part of my body.
Having cleared the way, I 'saw' a beautiful golden being who was me rising up out of a grey mist in the third session. This being began to emerge again in the next session, and my hands involuntarily rose from my lap very, very slowly to a 'blessing' position from which they seemed to release a golden ball that was me. I sobbed for a long time at what felt like separation from God, but at the same time had a deep sense of knowing that I and the Being releasing me were One. It was very beautiful. In the final session, I felt like a large balloon slowly being filled and released into the deep waters of a gently undulating ocean. I was moving effortlessly towards freedom and independence as my healing continued, and yet I was still One with the Source. Later, I had a similar deep sense of Unity with the other 'balloons' around me that were my fellow participants in the workshop. Again, it was very beautiful, and I didn’t want to leave.
I’m not given to such mystical visions. This is one of the most beautiful and significant experiences of my life. And the imagery was not 'seeded' by introductory descriptions.
Evaluation
ISPS research is currently undertaken by a small core group of dedicated people who risk exploring new territory and trying potentially dangerous new processes. As with any research into the inner realms of consciousness, the methods are subjective. They rely on the inner vision of trained and gifted people with particular peak states of consciousness. And the theories depend on interpretation of experiences which may be totally different to the world of normal sensation and perception.
Having said that, ISPS apply these tools as rigorously as possible by carefully comparing their experiences with each other and with those of other investigators, and by seeking valid biological interpretations of them. Some of their theories have a solid basis in modern molecular and cellular biology, but others represent a new paradigm which may or may not prove biologically correct. Once a method is well-enough developed, it is tried on a wider group of volunteers, and eventually tested on clients under carefully supervised conditions. Only when its effectiveness and safety are well-established is it released for use by certified therapists, and, eventually, made widely available in publications and on the website.
My critical, rational, intellectual self is challenged in at least three ways by the ISPS approach. First, I find some aspects of their biological theory hard to swallow from my perspective, particularly the primary cell theory. I am not alone in this questioning, and am looking for alternative interpretations that don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater. Second, as I commented earlier, some of the processes appear weird and wacky from a mainstream perspective, with no obvious reason why they should work. However, in my experience they do work, although I need to reserve final judgement until I see how their effects survive return to the 'normal' world – both for myself and other participants. Third, in principle I am open to the existence of special powers of consciousness such as those of some psychics and healers. In practice, I find it a little 'spooky' to see such powers being used. The instructors in this workshop jokingly referred to themselves as the 'Harry Potter Committee' when they used special 'sight' to assess participants on issues such as inner peace and good-evil.
If the claims of ISPS are correct, the advanced methods they are developing constitute a very powerful 'technology' for changing consciousness, even without the permission of the client. In order to avoid misuse of this power, ISPS require advanced trainees to achieve a high score for 'good' in the Brain Light process. However, this does not eliminate the risk, only reduce its probability. This leaves me with serious ethical concerns, similar to those I have about the application of many advanced technologies. The potential for harm is great, and history suggests that all technologies are used in harmful as well as beneficial ways.
Having said that, the potential for good is immense. Not only do ISPS have powerful methods for healing 'normal' people, but also they are developing ways to heal many specific conditions. Already, they have begun training practitioners in specific techniques for curing addictions of all kinds. Early trials indicate that they will soon be able to cure schizophrenia, and a few trials on autism have been successful. They are also targeting other conditions, including multiple sclerosis and diabetes.
A final point. ISPS is committed to introducing a 'pay for results' system – a revolutionary first in therapeutic work. This shifts the incentive for therapists from hanging onto regular clients, to getting them healed as quickly as possible. And it provides a financially viable basis for applying advanced techniques which, it is claimed, can often cure traumas in less than 5 minutes. Above all, this approach signals strongly the confidence of ISPS in the power of its techniques.
Conclusions
It is very early days yet. ISPS is only just beginning to emerge from the research phase into practical application, and their theories and methods are evolving rapidly as fresh results come in. In the last couple of years they have established an international training programme for therapists, although there are still very few certified practitioners. As noted above, they have just instituted a specialist training in addiction therapy, and are aiming to set up clinics in several locations as human and financial resources become available.
If you feel drawn to this work, I strongly recommend that you explore the ISPS website and publications, and sign up for a training if possible.
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Malcolm Hollick lives in the Findhorn Community in Scotland, and wrote "The Science of Oneness: A worldview for the twenty-first century" published in 2006. He regularly posts blog articles on a range of subjects. This article is reprinted from his blog with his permission.
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22 November – 30 November 2008
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