Using the Inner Landscape to Regenerate and Heal
Topics:
“Being Relaxed with Manifestations”
“Physical Therapy, Surgery and Regeneration”
“Using the Inner Landscape to Regenerate and Heal”
“Regenerative Farming”
“The Earmarks of Reaction”
“Definition of Trigger”
Tuesday, August 15, 2022 (Private/Phone)
Participants: Mary (Michael) and Brenda (Leonora)
ELIAS: Good morning!
BRENDA: Good morning, Elias.
ELIAS: (Laughs) And how shall we begin?
BRENDA: Well, I’m a bit under-prepared, and I had during my quiet time this morning an idea, just popped into my head, that since Saturday is my birthday and Linda’s birthday and yesterday was the eleventh anniversary of us buying Goddess Acres, so I decided for a metaphor or a framework that I was going to suggest that the topics that we explore, see how we might interrelate it or relate it back to my birth date and time, which is August 20th, 1955. I was born at 5:38 and my sign is Leo, so born two months into the summer, and I have a Libra moon. So I wanted to see what that would work like as sort of just as a fun metaphor for us to talk about some of the topics we’ve been talking about for some time.
ELIAS: In what manner?
BRENDA: I don’t know. (Elias laughs) I really don’t know. The things that, the topics, I wanted to talk to you some about my exploration of regeneration, body consciousness, where I am a new, not exactly new curiosity, but something that I’m finding myself drawn to and exploring more is regenerative farming, and wanted to talk more about my pursuits with work balance and especially Goddess Acres and basketry, and then just the whole thing about work balance. So I wanted to explore those topics, and I have no idea where that idea came from. As I say, it just popped into my head (laughs) and it took away the stress of not being prepared for today’s call. (Both laugh)
ELIAS: Very well. (Both laugh)
BRENDA: But I will say, you know, looking and thinking about the numbers that in numerology, the year, the number that we, Linda and I, would be working is the number three, balance. And if you look at our string of conversations for fifteen years, balance has been a recurring theme.
ELIAS: I would agree. (Laughs)
BRENDA: And there are a lot of fives in our birth date, including our birth time. And when I think about all the changes I’ve been through in my life, particularly in my years when I was in runaway, runaway mode (laughs), definitely change has been another… another theme also closely related to seeking that balance. And then the eight in my birth time for mastery, we talked many years ago about my core belief being mastery. So I thought all of that was curious, thinking about our conversations.
ELIAS: (Chuckles) And where would you like to begin?
BRENDA: (Sighs) That was where I was getting hung up on (Elias laughs) preparing. So let’s just start with regeneration, because since we talked I had the second, the cataract surgery on my left eye, and in the meantime they’ve come out with a new lens for the replacement lens and I can pretty much see without glasses, except for reading books or something with pretty small print, so was very pleased with that. And I wanted to see… You know I have had the issue with pressure, especially in my eyes, and I wanted to check in about… How would you assess that I’m doing with that?
ELIAS: Actually, at this point I would say considerably well. And what I would say is that what you have accomplished tremendously is leaning into a direction of acceptance in relation to any manifestations that you’re creating. Rather than becoming distressed and oppositional and tremendously worrisome about whatever you’re creating, you have moved in a direction of being much more relaxed with whatever your manifestations are, and have moved in a direction of being much more calm about them. Which also lends to movement in greater healing AND helps in relation to regeneration.
BRENDA: Ah. I could—
ELIAS: The more relaxed you can be about whatever you’re engaging and whatever you’re doing with the body, then that lends itself to you moving in more of a direction of regeneration. Therefore, you might have surgery in relation to something such as with the cataracts, and in that, you could be moving in a direction of thinking that you’re not necessarily succeeding with regeneration, but that’s not necessarily true. And in that, the regeneration actually can be being expressed more because you’re being relaxed about what you’re doing in relation to a surgery or other procedures.
BRENDA: I can see that, and I think I’ve expressed that also in dealing with the numbness and the pain in my hand and shoulder. I decided to do physical therapy and the woman, the physiotherapist, has done dry needling and suction and I’m really getting it, relaxed about having to have a diagnosis to know what it really is, and that she’s just working with getting my body to relax and that it’s been very beneficial in, it seems like it’s healing more naturally and that it’s also flowing out somehow and helping other areas that were out of whack, also related to sitting too much at a computer.
ELIAS: Yes. I would agree. And I would say that this is another area in which you might see more action of regeneration in relation to how you’re helping the body. You move in the direction of something such as physical therapy or even surgery, you’re moving in a direction of helping the body and therefore it’s also aiding in that direction of regeneration.
BRENDA: Yeah, that makes sense. I have an EMG scheduled. I keep pushing it out. Well, I’ve pushed it out ‘til September, and part of me thinks that… or maybe I’m somewhat confident that I’m going to work through this without needing, without needing the surgery, but I waffle about whether I should have the test to validate that or not. Do you have any insight into that?
ELIAS: I would say that actually moving in the direction of the test would do precisely that, would validate you in what direction you’re moving and would help you to be confident in whatever direction it is that you’re engaging.
Now; as I said, moving in these directions, you actually are helping the body when you move in directions of certain procedures. And in that, it helps the body to not only heal, but it encourages it to actually move in that direction of regeneration.
BRENDA: Ah. Okay.
ELIAS: To not be degenerating but to be regenerating, because you’re moving in a direction of encouraging the body to be moving in a natural direction.
BRENDA: Right. That makes a lot of sense. I feel pretty, pretty confident about that in my processes for focusing on health and well-being. Is there anything in particular that you would recommend that would be helpful that I’m not doing, or…?
ELIAS: I would suggest that you engage the action of the inner landscape to be used in conjunction with the regeneration. That in that, you can be encouraging that regeneration more by using that inner landscape on more of a regular basis.
BRENDA: Can you—
ELIAS: You don’t always have to use the inner landscape in relation to something being wrong. You don’t have to use the inner landscape only in relation to some healing expression. You can be using the inner landscape also in relation to regeneration and the encouragement of it.
BRENDA: When you use that concept, inner landscape, could you tell me more about that?
ELIAS: I have expressed considerable information about this. This is an exercise that I have offered to individuals in relation to healing, for the most part, but you can also use it as a reinforcement to regeneration.
Now; what it is, is a visualization. And what you do is, you visualize a landscape – or it could be a seascape or it could be a space-scape. It doesn’t matter what it is. You generate some visualization of something that is soothing to you, that you enjoy and that you like to look at. It could be a meadow. It could be a mountain. It could be the ocean or something in space. But in that, what you do is you begin by creating the landscape. Then you don’t add anything else. You allow the landscape to evolve itself. Therefore, things will appear in your landscape. It’s not a painting. It’s moving.
Therefore, if you are let us say using the ocean, you would be visualizing under the waves, under the sea, and fish swimming, but you’re simply creating the scene and it’s a moving scene. And in that, then it will evolve by itself. In that, you might be generating a scene of schools of fish or perhaps tide pools or you may be visualizing any type of scene in which there’s activity that is happening in the water. And then, as you simply relax and watch the scene, then other fish will enter into your scenario. Predator fish will enter into it. And in that, they will be eating smaller fish or they’ll be making the fish scatter or that you will then perhaps engage other animals that are sea creatures, such as crabs or lobsters, crustaceans that are consuming different particles and scavenging from the bottom of the ocean.
Now; what’s happening is, you’re simply creating the landscape, the initial picture or scenario. And then, as you watch that, what’s happening is certain elements are being included to be redistributing things or to be cleaning up things, to be moving in a direction of consuming things. And what that is, is that’s the body receiving communications from you as to what to do, to be healing. And the body knows what to do. You don’t have to instruct it in an objective manner.
That’s the reason that the inner landscape is very effective, because so many times people are moving in directions in which they’re attempting to direct or they’re attempting to control the situation. And what they end up doing is creating precisely what they don’t want, because that’s what they’re concentrating on. They’re concentrating on what they don’t like and trying to fix it, whereas with the inner landscape, you’re not concentrating on any of that because you’re not actually visualizing the body at all.
You’re creating a visual of a scenario that doesn’t have anything to do with the body, in your perception, objectively, but the body is actually incorporating all of that as a communication and as an instruction of what to do, and to move in a direction of healing. And in that, it doesn’t only have to be used for healing. It can also be used for regeneration.
Now; in this, it’s very similar to a meditation. You simply set the intention before you begin the visualization and then the body will do the rest. And if you are expressing that you’re doing this inner landscape for an encouragement of regeneration, then the body will move in the direction of using that as precisely that, and it will know what to do. And that’s how you are receiving the additional imagery. That’s your indicator that the body is doing something, that it’s responding to your initiation.
BRENDA: And then to confirm, you allow the imagery to just come. You’re not creating intentionally imagery. The imagery just comes from—
ELIAS: Correct.
BRENDA: Okay.
ELIAS: Therefore, it could be you create a landscape of a lovely meadow with wild flowers and beautiful trees. And in that, you might then see a bear or you might see a deer coming and consuming the wild flowers, and then a bear that comes and consumes the deer. And in that, it’s the body responding to whatever you’ve created initially and then it responds by adding in the other images, and those images are symbolic of what the body is doing in response to what your intention is.
Or it could be a space-scape, in which you visualize beautiful images of space and planets and colors and stars. And then you might see some meteors shooting through, and you might see large ones blasting into planets and destroying them. And initially, especially if you aren’t entirely aware of what’s happening in these inner landscapes, you might be surprised or even distressed, because at times some of the expressions can seem somewhat violent in relation to what is added in to your inner landscape.
Now; that generally occurs in relation to healing. That wouldn’t necessarily happen in a violent capacity in relation to regeneration. But in relation to regeneration, you likely will have something that is destroying something or consuming something in certain capacities because it is your body consuming dead cells or consuming cells that are dysfunctional and therefore regenerating healthy cells and moving in that direction. You might also see more vibrant colors being expressed, which could be regeneration of pigmentation cells, which that can be directed towards hair.
BRENDA: Oh, yeah. So it sounds like from what you’ve said, the body understands the imagery and is creating the imagery. Is it important for me to understand it? Or do I just experience it—
ELIAS: No. It is not necessary for you to understand the imagery. You don’t need to understand the imagery.
BRENDA: Very cool. Wow. I didn’t… I’ve never come across that in the sessions I’ve explored. That sounds… That sounds great. I will do it.
ELIAS: Excellent.
BRENDA: Wow! That will be fun to explore. (Elias laughs)
The other two things that I had written down, I think it was our last conversation when we were talking about me creating work balance and so I could explore some of the things that I wanted to do at Goddess Acres. And I wasn’t, I think you said that I wasn’t, didn’t quite know what I wanted yet. And I think a couple of areas recently, in my curiosity, in my engagement with it, has increased. And I wanted to talk about that. One of them is connected – well, both of them are connected –with Linda and Goddess, what we’re doing here at Goddess Acres, and since it was just our anniversary, our anniversary of being at Goddess Acres, I’ll talk about that first.
Linda came up with this idea of us having a pop-up event at Goddess Acres. The first two weekends in December, there’s a big community-wide tour of art, art studios and things. We’re not on the tour because we’re not really at that level yet, but she had this idea that we would sort of add on to it and have our own pop-up event where she would set up shop in our studio barn and sell her boards, and that for the first time I would have baskets made to sell and we would invite the community in. So I wanted to share just that. I think we’ve found an event where we can share and move together in some of our creative things. I wanted to see what you thought about that, and I’m trying to think if I had a question. So first of all, what do you think?
ELIAS: I would say that is excellent. That is tremendous, because this is the direction that you always wanted to move in, in relation to the property and what you’re doing with it. And therefore I would be tremendously encouraging of you.
BRENDA: It seems like it’s an element too, multifaceted, that we’re inviting community into the Goddess Acres and we’re… I guess the piece that I think we keep looking for is how do we come to sustain ourselves without our traditional work, what Linda’s doing, the UNC work that has her at the computer for hours and hours, and me working for the co-op. Is this a step in that direction?
ELIAS: I would say definitely so. Yes.
BRENDA: Okay. Well, it feels like… For me, it was definitely a nudge for me to look at what it would take for me to have a number of baskets to display and sell. Because I hadn’t thought about selling the baskets, so it was definitely a good incentive. And Linda and Odie have an amazing inventory of boards that they want to sell. So we’re really excited about it and I think we’ve been more engaged with our property in… sort of like we are with our bodies. It’s you know, the beauty of it, that we’ve been gardening more this summer. We added a large garden. We’ve mostly been doing intensive gardening and this was our first foray into doing more traditional gardening. And somehow out of all of this, I have been exploring with greater interest regenerative farming. Which is funny, that it’s also about regeneration. It’s about regenerating soil and dirt and land, and it feels like that’s a good fit for me.
ELIAS: I agree. I would be tremendously encouraging of you, my friend. That is excellent.
BRENDA: It’s a bit daunting because there’s a lot of science and chemistry, and I haven’t really explored those subjects, and that in some way it’s like well (laughs) you know, I’m smart. I can learn something new.
ELIAS: Correct.
BRENDA: But I also… There is a connection with my work at the co-op, and I can’t quite grasp how… I’ve been wanting to reduce my hours. I wanted to give up the outreach work, and I still do, and I haven’t achieved that. Is there some way that I could potentially connect my work at the co-op with that, that you could share, or help me have a little clarity on?
ELIAS: In relation to regenerative growing?
BRENDA: Yeah, regenerative farming, agriculture. You know, I keep… At the co-op, we’re really focused on changing the food system, and one of the key things that we’re not looking at is where the food system begins with, with the soil. And I just keep having a sense that we need to be focused in this, and we are starting to think about helping our farmers do it. And I just… maybe it’ll unfold that I haven’t seen my path and how I tie that together.
ELIAS: I would say that’s definitely an excellent direction. And in that, perhaps it will come about or come into fruition through your interaction with farmers, because they know the importance of the soil. And therefore that would be something that you could be interactive with them about.
BRENDA: Yeah, that’s… And there’s a number of associations here that are… I looked at taking classes, and it just seemed like the academic route was too far removed from the subject, and I think that’s sort of what you’re saying. The farmers are actively engaged in it.
ELIAS: Yes. Yes. And therefore in that, you can be interactive with them and you can be engaging with them in relation to this. And that would be an avenue in which you can be moving in relation to developing that, through your interactions with them.
Now; not that they necessarily are entirely aware of this avenue either. They may not be. Some may be. But, but it doesn’t matter because what is significant is that you would be moving in a direction of engaging them in relation to what is important to them, that moving in a direction of the soil will interest them.
BRENDA: It also seems quite relevant to our own property, and even to what Odie’s doing at his property.
ELIAS: I agree.
BRENDA: And that there are ways that… And we already are, with the intensive gardening, I think we have a… You know, it’s just sort of happening. We explore and discover things a little, a little at a time. And some of it requires more, more collaboration I think. So it could lead to more collaboration with Mom and Linda on how we’re farming.
I did have a question, and maybe it’s something that… To me, it seems like we have really good water here at Goddess Acres. Is that, is that true, the water? I know it comes from, we’re named after a spring. Would you say that’s true?
ELIAS: Yes. (Pause)
BRENDA: Very good. Robert’s been concerned that we have arsenic in our water. (Laughs)
ELIAS: No. (Brenda laughs) I would say no.
BRENDA: (Laughs) Very, very good. Well, I like the suggestion of working with farmers, I guess because of the interest in regeneration and regenerative farming and our, mine and Linda’s, our birth season being the summer, which is typically harvest. Is that a connection back to our birth date and time?
ELIAS: I would say yes. This is actually not harvest, this is growing.
BRENDA: Right. Yeah.
ELIAS: And in that, summer is the time of engaging growth. And that’s what the two of you have been engaged in. That is what you do with regeneration. That’s what you’re doing with your directions, with Goddess Acres, with yourselves, with each other, with your partners, with family, and in relation to your expansion into food sources.
BRENDA: That makes sense. That’s cool. Well, it’s also in my perception of Leos that Leos are a bit colorful and a bit focused on beauty and appearances, that it seems like that underlies a lot of what we’re exploring as well?
ELIAS: I would agree.
BRENDA: Very cool. Is there a difference in the time – like Linda was born at 5:30, I was born at 5:38 – in the times of our birth?
ELIAS: Repeat.
BRENDA: I was asking about the difference in the times of our birth.
ELIAS: There is a significant interference.
BRENDA: I hear the little dogs barking.
ELIAS: It is fragmenting, the speech.
BRENDA: Fragmenting my speech?
ELIAS: Yes.
BRENDA: Ah. (Pause) Is that better?
ELIAS: Continue.
BRENDA: Okay. I was asking about the time that we were born. Is that significant to our exploration?
ELIAS: In relation to astrological elements, it is significant. But I would also say that think about that: the time that you were born. Think about the time of day that you were born. What does that represent?
BRENDA: Uh… dawn. The dawning of the day. The beginning.
ELIAS: I would agree. And it’s also associated with that growth. Because in the beginning of the day is the time in which growth is engaging and it is, in a manner of speaking, energizing everything.
BRENDA: Ooh! I hadn’t thought about it in that way.
ELIAS: In the evening, it is the time of rest. At night is the most significant time of growth, but in the morning and in the daytime is the time in which the sun is nurturing everything and therefore it is acquiring of all that is necessary for growth. Then what happens is you have the time in the evening of rest before the tremendous spurts of actual growth.
BRENDA: Wow. (Pause) That’s amazing in that we pick that deliberately. (Laughs) Wow. Oh, that’s very, very cool. (Pause)
Um… I’m sorry. I was just checking, checking time.
I wanted to check, just report in, that when we talked last time our boat had been grounded and it’s been in the boatyard for three months essentially, essentially all of summer from Memorial Day to almost Labor Day. We don’t have it back yet.
ELIAS: Ah. (Inaudible)
BRENDA: And I think Robert and I have talked a lot about it as a metaphor and really understand more about what happened. It also feels like having that break for three months, that it renewed our connection with our two properties, in particular Robert with his place, which we call Everwood. Would you agree with that? That it provided us an important break, that sort of transitioned us a bit?
ELIAS: I would agree. And refocused you, or allowed you to refocus and in that, moving in a direction of recognizing paying attention to other things that are important also.
BRENDA: Yeah. And it refocused and in doing so, I think creating for both of us greater balance.
ELIAS: I agree.
BRENDA: Yeah. It’s been pretty, pretty significant. And I can tell still sometimes I’m a bit resistant, when he wants to push forward quickly. And I question sometimes if it’s… if I’m reacting or responding.
ELIAS: What I would say is, how you can tell the difference between reacting and responding is that reacting has a push to it. And when you’re reacting, you’re not considering anything. You’re moving in a very narrow direction. Generally, it also involves something about being right or wrong and it’s about including a perception that is absolute, that it’s unbending and not willing to consider anything else except for what you are perceiving in the moment. Whether it be in relation to something that you’re assessing or someone else is doing, or that is a situation of what you’re doing and someone else might be questioning. It doesn’t matter what the situation is. The earmarks of reactions are that they involve elements of judgments and absoluteness, and generally a right and a wrong factor.
BRENDA: There I can, I can… Thinking about some of the instances where… I think both of us are getting better at recognizing when we have done it, and then circling back and having open conversations, and then we can really share and talk. But it still often happens after the fact, you know, with some time. And it seems like we are, we are doing that more. But they’re definitely things that trigger reactions. And you said triggers are related to memories, right?
ELIAS: Yes. Yes. That’s what triggers are, is they are memories being touched. And that’s all they are. But in that, I would say that even when you are engaging in an initial reaction, if you can stop at some point, look at that, and then move in a direction in which you are expressing differently, that you CAN stop, that you CAN look at what you’re doing, that you CAN consider the direction and that you CAN consider a different perspective, then that is actually excellent. Eventually you will have more and more time frameworks in which you will be responding rather than reacting.
And I would say that many times reactiveness comes, as I said, in relation to a right and a wrong. Either you react in perceiving that you are wrong, you’ve done something wrong, or that you’re right and the other individual is engaging something wrong. And I would say that that is a significant part of reactiveness.
But the more self-aware you become and the more aware of interconnectedness you become, the less reactive you are because the more you first of all, realize that it’s not necessarily important that you be expressing that you are right, that you might have a perception that you’re right which is entirely acceptable, because that has to do with your guidelines which form your opinions and for YOU, it IS right.
And in that, I would say that it’s a matter of recognizing that you don’t always have to express what it is that you believe is right because you can also see what another individual’s perspective is. That doesn’t mean you have to agree with them, but it does mean that you can see that everything isn’t absolute and that regardless of how you may maintain what you think and what you believe as being right, you also can consider the other individual’s perspective.
BRENDA: Yeah, I see that. And I do, I do see us moving in that direction more often, seeing the other’s perception and being okay with that. I think too sometimes in some of our reactiveness, it’s almost – I’m thinking especially for Robert – that there’s a threat that the… He’s not getting something he wants or something that he wants is being taken from him. Is that a part of the reactiveness that we share sometimes, is that there is that threat of something being taken away?
ELIAS: Sometimes, yes.
BRENDA: That’s a little… It seems like that sometimes is a little more emotionally charged, especially for him to kind of… almost like it’s a trigger for something, something other than him and me, what we’re currently engaging. That it’s more something from his past.
ELIAS: I agree.
BRENDA: Okay. Do you have a suggestion for when that…? I know when it occurs, we’ve always worked through it. It’s not always pretty. (Laughs) So I don’t know if we handle it well, because sometimes it seems… Yeah. How do you handle it and not induce more trauma or more…? I don’t know what I’m asking. Do you understand?
ELIAS: By listening. By not arguing. That’s a big piece that most individuals don’t quite understand yet, that it’s not about telling each other what is or what to do.
[The timer for the end of the session rings]
ELIAS: And many times, individuals think that they’re being helpful if they express a different perspective to the other individual and it’s not necessarily helpful, that the other individual doesn’t want a different perspective. But in that, it’s important to listen and not challenge, but to genuinely accept what the other individual is expressing. Whether you agree with it or not. Whether you have a different perspective or not. Your perspective may not be workable for the other individual, because their perception is different. And therefore, what you think of as trying to help sometimes actually simply exacerbates the situation, because then the other individual perceives that as you not listening or not caring or not understanding.
BRENDA: Yeah, we’ve had those moments too. (Laughs) We have. I think, I think what’s helpful is that, you know, in hindsight, we often realize when we’ve done that.
ELIAS: Which is excellent. And I would definitely encourage you to credit yourself with that, because it’s definitely something that you should credit yourself with. The factor that you might not recognize it immediately is not as important as that you do recognize at some point what you’re doing, and that you stop and that you change it.
BRENDA: Right. Yeah. And I think when we have those moments, then it continues to build trust that… that okay, these kinds of things probably will happen again, but we trust ourselves more that we’ll navigate them and then just that takes out some of the intensity that can trigger the reaction somehow.
ELIAS: Yes. Most definitely.
BRENDA: So we’re progressing. (Both laugh) Hopefully enough that we do not need to have another incident of being grounded several hours in a storm, so… (Both laugh)
ELIAS: I agree. (Laughs)
BRENDA: Well, I heard the timer go off. And I appreciate the session, and I love the, knowing about the time of our birth and about engaging growth. That’s exciting. So we did circle back.
ELIAS: (Laughs) That has been a theme with the two of you throughout your lives.
BRENDA: (Laughs) Yeah, I imagine we have a lot more still to come.
ELIAS: I agree. (Both laugh)
BRENDA: Very good. Well, we’re happy to have you on this journey with us, of engaging growth.
ELIAS: (Laughs) And I shall continue to be so. (Laughs)
BRENDA: And I am excited about incorporating the inner landscape. That’s exciting, so thank you for that. And Linda said to say hello. She will be doing the September session.
ELIAS: Excellent. I shall greatly be anticipating of that, and of our next meeting also.
BRENDA: Thank you.
ELIAS: In tremendous love to you, my dear friend, and in great encouragement in your upcoming movement in relation to your Goddess Acres and incorporating community and engaging in selling your wares.
BRENDA: (Laughs) Thank you.
ELIAS: Ah. I would be expressing tremendous, tremendous encouragement to you, my friend. In dear love and affection, as always, au revoir.
BRENDA: Au revoir.
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