hello all, I'm writing this in a rush, busy marking third year students assignments - so forgive me if it is a bit...er....rambly - but all this is too interesting and important for me not to comment. I really appreciate the stories and am constantly amazed at our human capacity to function and function remarkably well despite the supremely difficult experiences...
and the stories of triumph and joy...how encouraging they are to hear/read.... and how inspiring you ALL are.... There are so many rich topics of conversation here, deep and important matters to consider and a building impetus to develop effective strategies to manage and change the contemporary paradigm of fear and distrust. The conversation of the last while has shown, in my mind, the clear and startling difference between the medical model of (ill)health - based on disease, decay, fear and distrust and the social, midwifery model, based on health, love, growth, wonder, faith and trust. Vicki and Nic are certainly developing effective strategies, with their beautiful films and stunning workshops in a wonderful,deeply moving, positive way. And yes, Vicki, it is important to get your work in people's faces and speak to their hearts, not merely their intellect. The National Maternity Action Plan is another. Each of us - continuously presenting it to pollies, media, obs, health services, people in the street, anyone who will listen - or not, still present the idea - it takes six or seven presentations of an idea/product for it to take hold in someone's brain - ask any advertising person - unless the idea/product has a huge emotional code -which is why fear is soooo powerful as a memory fixative. Our culture is continuously subjected to hypnosis/brainwashing about birthing of the unsavoury kind, the kind steeped in fear and distrust, as evidenced by the obs educational material quoted by Vicki; the comment by the midwife to Toni's sister in law; the RMO that Justine met etc...We are continuously being moulded, shaped by forces and information that appear to be designed to steer us towards self doubt and fear - unless people see what they are doing, they continue to do what they always did - "it" then becomes 'normal', that is how unconscious processes work. It is the human that is the only animal that is capable of reflection and modifying behaviour accordingly, but most of us seek to justify what we did, rather than looking objectively and considering all possibilities and chosing a better path next time. Self doubt and fear are powerful memory fixatives and behaviour modifiers. That is why advertising works so well. They understand the way the human brain works. Advertisers want reaction, they don't care if it is positive or negative, it is emotion that codes learning and drives behaviour - apathy is the problem for advertisers, there is no behaviour change when people are apathetic - which is why each of us has to be so positively energetic around this stuff - and take time out for self nuturing and self development - like the natural seasons and the growth cycle, otherwise we get 'burnt out'. The climate of fear around birthing is mostly unconsciously driven and perpetuated - the climate of fear is feeding itself in medicine (as you can clearly see by both Vicki's and Justine's stories). It is however true that most medicos want the best for the people they care for and believe they are doing the best thing. Unfortunately they are being pulled by deeply embedded, unconscious strings of fear and don't realise it. The use of "Hypnobirthing" is one excellent way of defusing/minimising and redressing the unconcious fears and redirecting the energetic force towards positive outcomes. It enables us to harness our energetic power for ideal, desired outcomes, instead of diving head long into the pit of unpleasant realities made by our unconscious fears. Those of us who can see the truth, that fear is becoming the moving force of western world birthing must develop and hold on to the vision of conscious women centered care - recognising that each interaction with birthing women and our disease fixated medically oriented colleagues must contain the seeds of faith and trust; must be therapeutically oriented towards best outcomes - ie intact, healthy mothers and children; asking the questions that liberate, demonstrating the wonder and incredible wisdom of our bodies/spirits (thanks Vicki and Nic!) We have become so socialised into a polluted plastic, fear based world, we have, as a culture, lost our connection to our own pristine wilderness and our deep DNA coded wisdom. Time to step out of the brainwashing (them and us; litigation; powerlessness; terrorism; perfection is a right - root out anything that isn't) and bring back the wild women (and men) :-) My guess is the arts is the way to do it - speaks to us/grabs us/shows us on many levels - go Aviva, Vicki and Nic need more songs, dances, plays, theatre, film, satire, sculpture, paintings etc.....belly casts....lots of humour - great memory fixative... warmly, Carolyn Hastie ended up being longer than I thought :-) trust it makes sense - have a great week everyone! "We all have two choices: We can make a living or we can design a life." Jim Rohn Heartlogic Consultancy Leaders in personal mastery and healthy organisational change Phone +61 2 4389 3919 Fax +61 2 4388 6819 Mobile 0418 428 430 Email [EMAIL PROTECTED] PO Box 5405 Chittaway Bay NSW 2261 Australia -- This mailing list is sponsored by ACE Graphics. Visit <http://www.acegraphics.com.au> to subscribe or unsubscribe.
