I am thirsty these days and actually drink full glasses of water. That does not sound so unusual, but it is for me. I have always proclaimed that I had no thirst mechanism, and was a sipper. Drinking any large amount of water made me feel like I was "drowning.” But I have overcome this hydration issue by breaking a mind-body connection that never served me well.
I have always been fascinated with how the mind works. I have also been curious about the concept of trauma stored at the cellular level: the kind of trauma that is not just stored in the brain, but stored throughout the cells of the body. In the spirit of always wanting to move forward in growth, I have been searching since then for a way to release past trauma. I was introduced to one method about eight months ago.
I was in my homeopathy class, and mentioned two near-drowning experiences that I had had, one that I remember and one that I do not. One of the teachers suggested that NET could clear the trauma. All I knew about it was that it stood for neuro-emotional technique.
I went to see an NET practitioner. I told her that I had hydration issues, and I wondered if it could be connected to the near-drowning experiences. We began with my sitting with my arm out in a muscle-testing position. She pushed down on my arm, and tested through “family, career, finances…” What came up first was “inner child.” My arm flew down and tears sprang to my eyes at the same time. Then she tested different organs, with kidneys responding positive. She went through emotions often connected to the kidneys, and came up positive with “fear.” She tested further for the age, breaking it down to age three.
This is how I had heard the story. We were at a motel by the pool. Apparently I got into trouble when my father went into our nearby room to answer the phone. Someone had to jump into the pool to save me. Whether this is how things happened in reality or not is irrelevant. I can be relatively sure that I went under the water, probably swallowing a lot of it, and felt true panic for the first time in my life.
The practitioner asked me to hold the feelings in my mind of how it might have felt as a three-year-old child who was under the water. Meanwhile she stood behind me and tapped me gently on several points. I found myself looking upward with my vision full of bright clear water over me, and I had the momentary sensation of being unable to breathe. As this passed, she came back around and tested me for many positive statements dealing with feeling safe, and allowing myself to hydrate, and letting go of the trauma. I tested that the trauma was cleared. Then I told her that I was really thirsty and wanted some water. That made her laugh.
The goal of NET is to break that connection between the current emotion and the emotion from the first time it was experienced. The present and past situations are often not so directly related--except through the emotion being experienced. Through muscle testing, the block of energy in the body is located. Then through questioning and muscle-testing, the person can usually pinpoint a prior event that first triggered the emotion.
Once the initial triggering event is cleared, then all subsequent and future events are freed from repeating the same response to the same old song. It seems to be a simple, non-invasive, and effective method to release pent-up emotional trauma from the cells of the body. I particularly appreciate the efficiency. I like to think of it as behavioral therapy on fast-forward.
This first experience with NET was certainly the most dramatic I have had. But I have been returning at regular intervals, and feel lighter because of it. I take my daughter there occasionally as well, because how wonderful to have childhood trauma cleared during adolescence. I find this new modality particularly fascinating, and definitely count it among the methods which have helped me and my family tremendously.