The Gift

Welcome to The Gift ? a simple pattern that is both ancient as well asmodern, with a thousand and one uses, that can make the world a different place for you, for the people you love, for the people you don't love, and for those who you haven't even met yet.

It may be that the act of giving The Gift can make changes at a far widerlevel too; as more and more minds become involved in this wonderful process, wemight well have the opportunity to permanently influence matters on a profoundplane of reality.

Having worked professionally with Energy Therapies for many years, I am veryaware that we receive far more information and insight about the nature ofreality around us than we could consciously ever understand, or evaluate, oreven respond to.

Much of this information is invisible ? but you can still feel it and itcertainly has the power to make you happy and bright, or to bring you down; itis this information or knowledge that makes the hair on your neck rise onentering specific buildings; that gives you a strange feeling in the pit of yourstomach before the telephone has even rang, and that accounts for "gut levelresponses" to people, situations, proposals and ideas.

When you are engaged with another in any kind of healing relationship, andthis could be both as a professional therapist or just listening to a friend whois in trouble and you are trying to help them somehow, both you and I have thepower to help in a most profound way ? if only we knew how to transfer ourinvisible and unspoken understandings into action in some way.

The Gift is the bridge over which your deep and unspoken understanding andyour knowing about how to help can travel to the other person. It is easy togive, any human alive can do this ? children are especially good at it - andyou will know that a change has occurred when you have given The Gift.

What exactly happens when you give The Gift is a mystery. It has beensuggested that you could be making a healing adjustment to the other's energysystem, or maybe that you adjust the flow of the meridians through their bodies,or perhaps align a chakra or two in just the right way. I'm not sure whathappens, only that something happens, that it feels wonderful and right, andthat it creates positive change both for the giver and for the receiver.

I invite you to try it for yourself. It's a simple thing yet endlesslyapplicable in its very simplicity and profoundly useful and helpful in manysituations.

How To Give The Gift

Very simply, we are going to ask for a metaphorical representation of ourunique contribution to the person to whom we are going to give The Gift.

The name metaphor means a container ? and in the case of The Gift, ourmetaphor will "contain" whatever the person needs from us at this precisemoment in time and space. It could be an understanding, a special vibration oflove, something that might remove a certain negative energy, something thatcould unblock something, or provide nourishment in some way, support, anembrace, a space of silence or perhaps sanctuary or sustenance.

We do not need to consciously understand what it is that we are giving; and Iam saying "consciously understand" because when you have given The Gift, youwill have a different kind of understanding ? you will know that it was theright thing to give, because it "feels right". You might not be able toexplain in words how it was the right thing ? but then, metaphor and intuitionare from the unspeakable realms, where what exists is beyond words, and that'sjust fine.

So, for a moment, consider a person to whom you might like to give The Gift.

Allow yourself to consider them in all ways, and beyond the face they may bewearing, beyond their social status and clothes, beyond their problems andsuccesses, beyond any love or jealousy you might have for them.

Consider them and then ask yourself this question:

At this time, at this moment, I ask what gift I can give to this person.

Relax and let an idea or image bubble up in your mind. This image, sound,feeling or idea is the container that will carry your unique gift to the other.

Here are some examples of gifts that appeared when the question was asked:

• - a small blue and red bird
• - a multi coloured spiral
• - a small tree in a flower pot
• - a pair of wings
• - a huge field of green grass
• - a luminous white dove
• - a warm blue cloak to wrap around your shoulders
• - the sound of ocean
• - what looked like a beach ball at first and turned out to be Planet

  Earth.

Now, take your time to consider the person and find a gift for them. Don'targue with your choice and accept whatever springs to mind; your conscious minddoesn't know enough to know what would be the perfect gift but yourunconscious mind does, and that is the place from where the metaphor arises.

Most people more than readily can think of something. Should your mind goblank, you can either leave the request to keep working on it and send it to youas a "flash of insight" at any time within the next few days; or you mayconsider which colour might be good for this person, and then just imagine agift box with a matching ribbon on top in that colour and trust that yourperfect gift will be inside that box.

Now, imagine the person and imagine offering the gift to them. This part ofthe pattern creates the transfer from you to them and represents your intentionto be of help.

That is all you have to do. From then on, whatever happens next, will happenunder its own processes as the interaction unfolds and the changes are made.

Some things you might notice or come across when you give The Gift are asfollows:

Sometimes when you think of the person, they appear very different to whatthey normally look like ? they may appear older, younger, may be dresseddifferently than in "real life", or may be expressing emotions through theirbody postures that you are not normally aware of. This is perfectly normal andit is a sign that you are seeing who they really are.

Often, you might experience strong emotions yourself when The Gift has cometo your mind. Again, this is in a way the correct reaction to this process andit tells you that it is working. Emotions and energetic states are inextricablylinked in a single system.

So far, every person who was offered a gift received it most gratefully ?some with tears, some with astonishment and gratitude and some with childlikedelight. It is conceivable however that a gift might be rejected. Should thishappen, you could ask what they would prefer to have from you instead ? thereis something that is absolutely unique to you for them, that they cannot getfrom anyone or anywhere else. If you feel you can fill the request, go ahead;but you also have the right to not fill it if it seems inappropriate or feelsless than good to you.

Pay attention to your self when sending The Gift. It is often as profound anexperience to give it as it is to receive it.

It is not necessary to tell people about the Gift, although with good friendsit adds another dimension to the process and if you can discuss the nature ofthese gifts, gain tremendous insights into many things.

You can give The Gift just while talking to someone and without them knowinganything about it. Briefly focus on a place beyond their physical body, and youmay be able to imagine an astral copy of the person to whom you will give thegift. When you do this, pay attention to how the other person responds when TheGift is given. Some people lose their train of thought, some look over theirshoulder; they are aware that something has happened which, indeed, it has. Notealso how after a giving of The Gift the nature of the whole interaction seems tochange for the better.

Remember that The Gift represents an energetic exchange, in spite of theoften seemingly simple or mundane metaphorical object that carries yourintention across. Energetic exchanges are felt not heard or measured with aGeiger counter; pay close attention to your feelings and your emotions when giveThe Gift because that is how you will know that you have done somethingimportant.

The original pattern of The Gift was developed for healers and therapists whowere suffering from extreme overwhelm when faced with deeply unhappy, physicallyand mentally scarred people who were suffering from a lifetime of neglect,terrible trauma and lovelesness.

The Gift creates a straightforward method for their unique healing energiesand intentions to go the right places for that individual, and most importantly,helped them to no longer feel overwhelmed and helpless. The negative emotions ofhelplessness and conscious overwhelm disappear when you use The Gift to helpothers, and in so doing, are a gift to you.

A Gift For You

Interestingly, sometimes it happens that a person to whom you have given TheGift, will offer one in return to you ? and I don't mean people who you havetold about having sent them a gift and who will nearly always reciprocatelikewise automatically, but those you imagined offering a gift to.

Needless to say, please receive it in gratitude. As we have said before, thisis an energetic exchange and energy needs to flow freely both from you to them,and from them to you.

You can also give yourself a gift in the same way as you would to anotherperson.

This is an interesting exercise on many levels and it is intrinsically verydifferent from other people's gifts as it will be your own energy you areusing instead of a different flavour which comes from another person.

You may consider gifts for "past selves" ? perhaps there was a time inyour life that was very traumatic, or you "used to be a different person"which usually means, a worse person. To give those parts of yourself gifts canhelp to re-align them, ease their suffering and to help them grow and heal. Itis possible that there are certain "past you's" that cannot be healed byanyone other than you yourself.

The Mirror Gift

As it is the case that people pop up in our lives in order to be a mirror tous and our own problems, and as it is also the case that my sister-in-law alwaysgives me presents she would liked to have received, you might consider when youhave given a few gifts to your loved ones, which one of those gifts you wouldlike to have received as well, and give yourself the same one, too.

Gifts For Strangers

As my intuition increases, I used to find it harder and harder to travel onpublic transport or be in crowded places, simply because of the generalunhappiness, loneliness and suffering that was emanating from the people aroundme.

For example, I saw an Indian lady with many heavy bags at a train station.Although I helped her carry the bags onto the train, there was so much sadnessand physical suffering around her like a dark grey fog that she hardly seemed tonotice me. I gave her a tropical garden, and she took a deep, deep breath andseemed to become alive and aware of her surroundings.

I then went through all the passengers of the train compartment, one by oneand felt myself getting lighter and more comfortable with each gift given andhungrily received.

I received a number of gifts in return also and left the train full of energyand brighter than I had been in years.

What I believe is that The Gift is a stepping stone, a learning process thatwill allow us to do this type of work automatically and without us having toeven give attention to it once we are fully familiar with its workings.

I would invite you to try it for yourself, and note what difference it makesto you and your individual dealings with strangers and passers by.

Gifts For Animals

Animals (wild animals and domesticated animals) are extremely aware ofenergetic shifts of all kinds, and they too can receive The Gift. Further, theirfeedback to receiving the gift is immediate and clearly visible in theirphysiology, their body postures and their subsequent behaviour. Here are a fewexamples of gifts for animals:

- a gift bow (for a dog which later turned out to have been "an unwantedgift");

- a foal (for a mare who was highly strung ? as soon as the owner thoughtof the foal the mare stopped dead, relaxed right out and stood very quietly,with her head drooping);

- a blue green blanket (for a dog who then came into the room for "no goodreason" lay down, at full stretch, exactly in the spot the blanket "hadappeared" to the owner).

A Gift For The World

If you remember, the original gift pattern was designed to help withoverwhelm.

What can be more overwhelming than global issues such as world pollution,world hunger, the suffering of all the children, all the animals, globalwarming, wars and famines, and so forth?

What causes depression and overwhelm is the thought "There is nothing I cando".

With The Gift, there is something you can do now beside recycling anddonating to charity, and I believe that every one of us who addresses suchissues at the energetic level in this way actually does make a difference.

As The Gift pattern does not require much meditation, time or effort otherthan conscious volition to do it now it is a perfect beginning to start to useour abilities to make changes at the energetic level on global issues too.

What gift will you give to the world today? To The Children? To Humanity?Whatever you have to contribute, know that it is uniquely yours to contribute? no-one else in the world can give this gift the way you do ? and that itwill make a difference.

Feedback

Here are some stories received about using The Gift in practise. I would verymuch like to hear your experience with The Gift, too. Please mail me at theaddress at the end of this article to contribute.

"A friend came to visit me who is in a very unhappy relationship. Ilistened to her for a long while but began to feel more and more uncomfortablein the face of her anger and couldn't think of what to do other than to justgo along with it and hope she'd tire of it soon. I remembered The Gift fromthe newslist, and focussed on what I could be giving her. As soon as I thoughtof it, a white dove appeared before me. It was carrying a long flowy red ribbonin its beak, and fluttered in midair. I stared in awe. After I got over mysurprise, I *gave* it to my friend, mentally released it to her. Instantly, shestopped talking. The entire mood of the room calmed, and she tied up a few looseends and left, calm and confident."

"This metaphorical gift giving solves a huge dilemma I have had weighing onmy heart. I recently spent time with some very old friends and was quitedisturbed by the way they are treating their children, and by their troubled 13year old son. These are not people I can confront or help right now, and theirkids live across the country from me so I can't establish a relationship andhelp that way. But I CAN go inside myself everytime Ithink of it, and send whatever seems appropriate at that moment. It has been awonderful relief to me."

"I heard that a dear friends father had died suddenly. I wanted to do/saysomething to help but was in a spin, couldn't find the right words, so I settledmyself down and pictured my friend and his father, immediately I knew that the'gift' was a very special poem about laughter. Later on I was tapping for myfriend but it just didn't feel right, I couldn't find the right thing to tap on....until your mail arrived.It was so obvious I couldn't see it. Now I know that the greatest gift that Ican energetically send at this time is laughter. Thank you for putting intowords what I knew but couldn't see."

"I have been troubled by feeling very negative ? hateful ? towards acertain person recently. When I got the message about the gift, it occurred tome to try it on that person to see if it would make any difference. Immediately,a huge black raven sprang to mind. I was worried that it might be something badand hesitated, but it looked very beautiful and powerful so I decided to trustmy unconscious mind and send it anyway. I felt better immediately as I "saw"the raven flying away all purposefully and actually found it hard to get backthose feelings of negativity about the person. Later, someone told me this: "Theraven on the Shamanic Medicine Wheel is the guardian of in absentia healing andit's medicine is considered needed to bridge the Void, to reach the collectiveunknown." I had no idea of that but WOW. What a gift ? and just what thatperson must have needed. And what I needed to do to regain balance in my mind."

"The gift I gave to a friend I did give to myself too and quite a fewspooky things have happened to me since including: a change of attitude to food: frequentlyI am "energised " by some "energy " which leaps out of me;feeling at peace and "full " of self-love and kindness. I also I had aweird experience to find out I share a past life memory with a friend!"

"Today, a friend stopped by. He was tripping out, exploding with ideas, andI began to feel overwhelmed with his energy. I thought of The Gift, and a smallspeckled egg appeared in front of me. It was a lovely greenish bluish greyishcolor, with brownish spots. I just stared at it for a moment, sort of cherishingit. Then I released it to him. I was watching his face as I gave him this egg.He stopped in mid word and just stared at me, and asked me what he'd beensaying. He said, "Something just happened. everything is different."so I told him about the egg. he teased me about having *egged* him. Then he saidthat the sensation he was experiencing was a sort of encapsulation. about a halfhour later, he was again escalating his thought process, and my attentiondrifted back to the egg. I replayed it in my mind, and as I did so, he againstopped, looked at me, and asked if I'd egged him again. I hadn't meant to! Welaughed about it. Now I can't wait to use this with my kids, and my ex when hestops by & begins to attack me. This is truly the simplest thing I've everdone, and the results are remarkable."

"I was in this doctor's office with a replacement doctor because theregular one was on holiday. This was a woman of about 50. She spent the firstten minutes apologising to me that she wasn't the real doctor and kept askingme if I wanted to wait until the real doctor was back again. I thought of TheGift and what came to mind was a single red rose. Whilst she was stillapologising, I imagined a ghost shape of me giving the rose to a ghost shape ofher, it took it and said quite loudly in a tearful voice, "No-one has evergiven me one of these before." At that moment, the real woman stopped talkingand looked over her shoulder, in the same direction where I was seeing the ghostshape. She took a deep breath and seemed confused for a bit, then she smiled atme and said, "Well, lets find out how can I help you".

"The morning after I received The Gift on the list, I was out walking andsaw a woman shouting and screaming at her dog in the park. For some reason Iwondered if I could give a gift to the poor dog and I thought of a big redribbon, like a gift bow. I send it to the dog and then went on to say hello tothe woman and stop her somehow. She was very angry at first but calmed down, andthen told me that dog had been "an unwanted gift". I nearly burst out intotears on the spot."

"One of my best and oldest friends is dying. I lay in bed and couldn'tsleep for tears although I kept telling myself it was all for the best and thathe was going home. I was exhausted and at 3am, I called up an image of my friendand began to give him all sorts of gifts, dozens of them, until he smiled andstopped me and gave me a gift instead ? it was a big white Indian blanket withsymbols painted on it which he wrapped about me. I don't know what happened orhow but I felt really warm all of a sudden. I stopped crying and went to sleep.Thinking about it now, I think the gift was always about me."

Further Information

Working with metaphor to heal, solve problems, or even just to have fun withfinding out what your imagination and intuition can do for you, is both one ofthe most ancient human endeavours as well as being now at the absolute cuttingedge of mind-body technologies.

This is a vastly under-rated, underestimated and underexplored domain ofvirtually limitless potential that is easy to access and comes naturally to mostpeople.

If you would like to learn more about this amazing undiscovered country, werecommend Silvia Hartmann's "Project Sanctuary" which can be found at http://ProjectSanctuary.com