Rebirthing is a simple breathing technique anyone can master that greatly increases our ability to experience joy and aliveness. It is not a religion or a ritual. It does not replace any other kind of self-improvement process. However, it greatly enhances any conscious growth work, as long as the aim of those techniques is awareness and love.
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CHALLENGE
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The main challenge to health and happiness facing humanity today seems to be unmanaged stress caused by unacknowledged and unprocessed feelings. Everyone suppresses feelings to varying degrees at different times. Culturally we are taught this is the way to "maintain" so life can proceed as easily as possible. This creates two kinds of problems immediately and later.
On a purely physical level, our bodies do not know the difference between fear and joy; it is the same adrenalin rush. Because of that, when we shut down to fear, we also shut down to the ability to experience joy and love. (The idea is to be more discriminating and create positive situations.) Most of us still find ourselves, at times, creating unpleasant situations when we consciously understand how to act more mature and really don't want to experience this struggle.
This is the second and longer term result of resisting or suppressing feeling. As the word implies, there is a pressure built up that will not be denied. This suppressed energy always expresses itself in our lives, whether or not we are conscious of it.
For instance, if a man has a fear that he will be "smothered or "abandoned" in an intimate relationship; until he is willing to deal with his unfinished business with his mother, he is probably going to keep attracting women who want to smother or abandon him. This will be his experience, no matter how strongly he thinks he wants a healthy relationship.
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RESOLUTION
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What will shift it for the man is to explore the truth of his feelings about his mother (or other women- whoever brings up those deep emotions). After spending time just acknowledging and feeling all the emotions about that early relationship- the joy, fear, love anger, hurt, etc. - what our man will notice is that, because of the inner emotional clearing he just experienced, he is emotionally healthier, and so will be the next close relationship he creates.
In the same way, Rebirthing performs two very valuable functions for us. The first part of the process starts dissolving the suppression mechanism in our bodies. That begins to open our feelings to us more consciously. Some of those feelings carry a fear connotation for us. The second part of the breath work functions so that, if we just keep relaxing- and acknowledging - those emotions, soon they no longer appear to be a threat to survival.
This is exactly what happened for the man in our example. As soon as he surrendered to his long-buried feelings and let them be exactly what they are rather than an internal argument about what they ought to be- a rather magical-feeling shift occurs inside. It is as if a burden has been released. That emotional weight is no longer being carried around, and the energy used to suppress is now freed to be used creatively. This shift happens totally on the be-ing level inside; there is no outer do-ing involved in causing this change.
This shift is called Integration and is the aim of Rebirthing. Integration is (ideally) full conscious experience of our feelings, whatever they are. This is being fully alive, fully in the moment, created by the alignment of head and heart, mind and body.
Integration is not experienced just in Rebirthing (it is created by surrender), and yet the breathing is the quickest, safest, most consistent, and effective tool, easily mastered, that we can use to make a significant positive difference in every area of our lives.