Andrea: A Dalian Method Case Study

Written by Madeleine Newkirk
Dalian Method Facilitator

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Dear Reader,
I'm often asked, "What is the Dalian Method?"  So today I am sharing a recent Dalian Method session that I facilitated for a young woman.  She graciously gave me permission to share her experience and process.  For the sake of her privacy, I am using an alias in lieu of her name. 
Thank you for taking the time to read today!
Madeleine

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A 28-year-old woman, Andrea, came to see me for a private facilitated session because she was depressed and feeling lost.  Nothing in her life was working. She was not able to financially support herself, was unhappy at work, and struggled in her relationships.  She couldn’t see a way out of her circumstances. People didn’t understand her, and she felt her emotions, positive and negative, were too big.  She was left feeling anxious and stuck much of the time. Her body was also full of unexplained aches and pains. I asked her what she'd like to focus on for our session.  The answer came that she would like to feel less anxiety and find a path forward that would give her more self-assurance.

The Body Scan

I explained to Andrea that while it was good to have a focus for the session, the Dalian Method worked simultaneously on all levels of the being and we would likely address many or all of the concerns on her list.  We began the preparation work for the method, and through a body scan, Andrea identified areas of pain, discomfort, and heaviness in her body. Next, I asked her to connect with each area of pain and use her breath in a particular way to identify the repressed thoughts in these areas.  Andrea was able to do this with ease, finding thoughtforms such as "I'm worried"; "I’m carrying a lot of weight"; "I'm grieving"; “My spirit hurts”; “I’m suppressed”; and "I’m shackled and free."  

Andrea enquired about the thoughtform “I’m shackled and free,” as the contradiction puzzled her. I explained that contradictory thoughts are often held in the body and that “I’m shackled” was a false belief that she told herself, while “I’m free” was a recognition of her true nature. I reassured Andrea that through the Dalian Method process, she would likely strengthen her awareness and see the reason why she had been carrying the false belief that ran contrary to her natural state. 

moving through the body

After explaining all the elements of the Dalian Method, we began the 72-minute session with the thoughtforms "I’m suppressed" on the left side of her body and "I’m shackled and free" on the right side.  By that I mean that she breathed in, expressed "I’m suppressed," and then breathed down through the left side of her body and out the bottom of her left foot.  After approximately 10 repetitions, she repeated this process on the right side, expressing, "I’m shackled and free." The method continued in this fashion, moving up through the chakra system and other parts of the body, allowing new repressed thoughts and emotions to emerge along the way: "I am worthless"; "Mom, I hate you. You destroyed our family"; and "You destroyed my childhood, Mom, and now I don’t know how to live."  

Andrea stopped the process frequently during the early parts of the session, saying that she thought she might like to leave.  I didn’t try to keep her but encouraged her to stay with the process and take advantage of the opportunity to see something new about herself.  As she continued, sadness began coming up, and I told her to allow herself to feel it. "I overeat to cancel my feelings"; "I am ugly"; “I hate my life”; “I’m afraid I’ll fail.”  

Andrea expressed and released these repressions, and deeper layers surfaced: "I hate you, Dad, for leaving me"; "I attract abusive relationships because of you"; “Dad, you taught me to run.”  

I encouraged Andrea again to really feel the sadness that was coming up. "I’m tired of running";  "I'm nervous and lost"; "I'm weak and afraid to trust"; “It’s my fault my life is a train wreck.” As these thoughts and associated emotions were expressed out loud and released, they began to lose their power.  

the breakthrough

There is a magical moment in the Dalian Method when a new understanding comes into one’s awareness.   As repressed thoughts are released, inner consciousness is simultaneously brought to light. For Andrea this happened during the brief guided visualization within the Dalian Method: "Now imagine that you have all the power you need to change things around.  Give full freedom to your imagination and visualize how you would like yourself and others to be and to behave." Andrea could see that everything she had been telling herself was a lie and that she was supported by the Universe (God). She experienced a connection with Divinity and her own spirit that she had never known before.
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With this embodied experience, Andrea had completely different feelings about herself, her parents, and the possibilities for her life: “I forgive you Dad”;  “I am whole without my parents’ approval”; “I am no longer a slave to anxiety and negative thoughts”; “I welcome unification with my spirit”; “I am happy and free”; “I love and respect myself.”

reflecting on the process

As the session came to an end, Andrea sat in silence, writing her reflections and new understandings.  I sat in silence, too, awed by the amazing transformation I’d just witnessed. I felt honored to support Andrea and blessed to be a facilitator of this new, powerfully healing method.  What a gift Mada Dalian created for humanity!

As Andrea finished up her notes, she delightedly reported that her body was completely free of the aches and pains that she had been carrying for so long.  She read her new understandings aloud, and then we discussed homework for her to begin immediately, to integrate her experience. The first assignment was to read her new awarenesses each day—morning and night—for a week: “I am free to love myself and experience sincere joy”; “I am grateful for the Universe’s love and protection”; “When I am connected to spirit, I am free from fear and anxiety.” For her second assignment, she decided to enroll in nail tech classes.  This was something that she had been telling herself that she could not do financially. She saw during the session this was not true and was just an excuse that was keeping her stuck.

I followed up with Andrea several weeks later to see how she was doing.  She conveyed that she was thankful for her experience using the Dalian Method.  She thanked me for encouraging her to stay. She saw that wanting to leave had been a part of her pattern of running away and that she so grateful not to have missed out on this life-changing experience. 

“I didn’t know what to expect, but compared to traditional counseling, um, there is no comparison.” Andrea said.  “I am completely awakened in a way I’ve never been before. My life has transformed beautiful, and magic continues to happen every day.”