Permission – Day Thirty Four

 Permission

 Permission. It’s an interesting concept, and securing it in my work is something I take very much to heart. But before I even get to the point where I would seek permission to do anything on behalf of a client, I stop myself – and the client – from getting there prematurely.

It has been my practice since early on in my shamanic work to make a point of not ‘reaching out’ to a client in any way before a session. In a regular, every day sense, that means that I prefer not to receive emails from them that contain details of their lives or the possible issues or difficulties they may be facing that caused them to make an appointment with me.

A corollary to that, which I’ve found intriguing but not entirely sure whether it was ‘real’ or not, was the sense that I should not even ‘think’ about my client ahead of our session. Not in a ‘block them from my mind in every way’ type of sense, but rather a feeling that I shouldn’t reach out to them energetically  (using a combination of my mind and my feelings, is sort of the best way I can describe it). And the sense that tells me that I should not reach out in such a way is two fold:

First, if I reach out to get a bead on what is at the foundation of how they’re feeling or what is going on with them, I could totally misread or put my own spin on things. This is especially true, obviously, if they have succeeded in making contact with me enough to have spilled in an email or whatever some details of what they’re dealing with or why they feel they need a session. And let me tell you, as a die-hard problem-solver, it almost used to reach addiction-level temptation to want to ‘suss out’ as much information as possible before a session. Or even just ‘get a sense’ of what their underlying stuff might entail.

But that’s ego. That’s thinking I somehow ‘know’ a lot more than I actually do, and it’s also a place where experience can lead to arrogance in the blink of an eye. It’s thinking I can figure things out ahead of time that can really lead me astray.

Manipulating Energy Without Permission – Even With the Best of Intentions – is Wrong

Second, though, is an even a greater risk, and that has to do with the concept of tampering or working one’s will in a situation; manipulating energy – or in some way intervening in a situation, even with the ‘best of intentions’ – without another person’s express permission . In other words, if I reach out energetically beforehand and happen to sense their malady (or what I perceive  to be their issue, which again, could be spot on or could be my intellect trying to ‘figure it out’), I might be tempted  to do something that I ‘think’ could ease their pain or even ‘fix’ an issue right then and there. Remotely, or from afar. And that would be wrong.

Those of you who have studied with me or done any work of your own beyond ‘just’ having a session with me know what a stickler I am about this aspect of energy work. I firmly believe in securing the express permission of anyone with or for whom I’m asked to help out in any way. Considered odd by many, I also extend that to ‘prayer,’ and ‘sending’ Reiki (just using this as an example – I am not a Reiki practitioner), or doing anything energetically on behalf of another. Personally, I do not feel it is right to ever assume that I know what is right or appropriate for a person to receive.

Permission from Parents or Guardians, too

And I’m persnickety about that permission, too. For instance, I do not subscribe to the ‘my soul asked their soul and they said it’s ok’ school of thought if, say, a person is unconscious or in a coma. If that’s the case, I then seek to secure the permission of the one who is charged with making care or treatment decisions for the person on the physical plane as well.

This is true in the case of a person ‘of tender age,’ too, so even with a child, I not only take great pains not to ‘check things out ahead of time,’ but I also make sure the parent or guardian has given me permission to work on the child as well.

I had two interesting experiences just this week that pertained to the issue of permission. But before I could even discuss them here, it felt important to explain my perspective and how I approach my work.

Sometimes it’s really, really hard not to step in and do what ‘feels’ right. But not without permission.

(T-1077)