Chapters 1-3

Question 1

What are the 3 possible benefits of expanded states of related to the spiritual aspect?

Answer 1

1. Contact with a much greater intelligence than what our limited ego identity can possibly fathom.
2. A reconnection with the eternal, formless dimension of our identity, which gives us the ability to heal and discern the original purpose and wisdom of our soul
3. Can bring a person to a place of clarity where basic truths are felt profoundly.

Question 2

What does the direct experience of previously unconscious memories, thoughts, tensions and emotions allow the opportunity for?

Answer 2

Allow the opportunity for processing and integration

Question 3

What is deepest seeking impulse of the body and mind?

Answer 3

To seek wholeness and flow

Question 4

What 4 techniques are appropriate for people with a history of psychosis?

Answer 4

1. Art
2. Earth-based ritual – earth rites ceremonies, healing earth ceremonies
3. Sound healing
4. Meditation

Question 5

In what two ways is the psychedelic trip more about the journey than the destination?

Answer 5

1. The journey requires us to have the courageous willingness to look inside ourselves and face our fears, regardless of what we see
2. We have no guarantee of getting somewhere but we can control whether or not we are showing up for ourselves

Question 6

Pablo’s take on the two essential fears and the two virtues to hold when entering our infinite inner world

Answer 6

Fears: Madness and death

Virtues: Faith and surrender

Question 7

Francoise’s definition of surrender - what it is not and 3 part definition of what it is

Answer 7

It is not lying about passively giving in or giving up

It is:

1. A combination of active receptivity towards and curiosity about whatever shows up.
2. A letting go of expectation and open ourselves to the present moment, whatever it holds.
3. Walking into the unknown without attachment to outcome.

Question 8

Francoise’s definition of acceptance- what it is not and what it is

Answer 8

Does not mean we have to like what is happening. It means we stay present with it anyway.

Question 9

What 4 things happen when we surrender?

Answer 9

1. We receive exactly what we need.
2. We perceive how our consciousness seeks healing and wholeness by creating situations that push us to grow
3. We may come to realize there seems to be an intelligence and benevolence to the unfolding of our life
4. We develop faith in the moment and trust in the unknown.

Question 10

What is the role of the guide regarding faith in the work (3 parts)?

Answer 10

1. Bring the faith by remembering his or her own certainty in the healing potential of the work.
2. To communicate this sense of faith verbally and energetically
3. To hold the light that the client might not yet be able to see.

Question 11

Two reminders about the difficulty of journeying into expanded states of consciousness.

Answer 11

1. Transforming a person into a warrior takes a hero’s journey.
2. It is not about being happy, it is about being whole. The work can be difficult and intense but ultimately it is fulfilling.

Question 12

What 6 commitments do guides make as they live their lives?

Answer 12

1. To be as balanced a person as possible
2. To nurture their spiritual life
3. To cultivate communit
4. To create
5. To be in their body and to continue recalibrating their natural rhythms
6. To have a wide range of experiences vith a variety of healing/creative modalities so that suggestions can come from an embodied sense of how the practice will support a clients growth

Question 13

What 3 things guide offer to a journeyer during session?

Answer 13

1. Available presence
2. Attuned support and reassurance based on tracking signs of fear, sensory overload, or isolation and to offer that even when the journeyer does not ask for it.
3. Safety – establishing and maintaining a secure and contained environment that allows a person to release their strategies of self-protection and to surrender

Question 14

Two things to assess:

Answer 14

1. Where the client is at in the ego strength continuum (under or over developed)
2. How the client’s symptoms may be an intelligent communication of what is out of balance

Question 15

Francoise’s two part definition of spirit and what does she view as its function

Answer 15

1. Spirit is that which exists beyond ordinary human perception, beyond intellect, beyond scientific theories; and that which can be measured by quantitative methods.
2. Spirit is the quality of the divine that resides in every animate being as well as inanimate aspects of creation

Function is to enliven and enriche the other dimensions of life.

Question 16

What are the three qualities to infuse into the process of self-exploration?

Answer 16

Wisdom, creativity and love

Question 17

“On the most fundamental level, it is the creative transmission of love, sourced in wisdom, that has the power to heal.”

Question 18

How to work with clients who have either under or over developed egos

Answer 18

Under-developed: need to be parented and comforted

Over-developed: need support in identifying their coping mechanisms so as to find their way to the tenderness that lies within.

Question 19

What are the 5 Aspects of the Holistic Model for a Balanced Life?

Answer 19

1. Body
2. Mind
3. Spirit
4. Community
5. Environment

Question 20

What is the overall purpose of using the HMBL?

Answer 20

1. Helps collect pertinent information for the guide, which is useful in preparation and integration
2. Helps the journeyer see where imbalances lie in their lives
3. Helps guide us toward a more honest relationship with the five aspects of our lives and toward a deeper cultivation of love, wisdom and creativity.
4. It provides the client with reassurance that every dimension of their life is being addressed in this process

Question 21

What kinds of shifts are possible within the body through an experience of expanded states of consciousness?

Answer 21

1. New awareness of the places of contraction, repressed energy, buried memories and shadow parts.
2. Opportunity to release the contraction, give flow to repressed energy, experience memories and understand shadow parts
3. Integrate these experiences to develop and enhanced flow of energy and stronger vitality

Question 22

Three aspects of how we are in relation with environment

Answer 22

1. The external environment directly affects our daily life. We, in turn, affect our environment
2. Every resource we use comes from the Earth and will go back to the Earth.
3. Through the ways we live – how we cook, consume, relate and travel - we express our level of ecological awareness, our commitment to sustainability and our personal connection with the natural world

Question 23

What are the two ingredients that create wisdom?

Answer 23

Life experience + knowledge

Question 24

How can all of us express creativity in daily life?

Answer 24

By simply authentically showing up in our life. Every thought and every action can be a new creation.

Question 25

What is the three part definition of love and what direction does the presence of love point us in?

Answer 25

1. As a state rather than an emotion. 2. Love is a force that compels us to know ourselves more deeply and connect more fully with others. 3. Love is our capacity to appreciate the complexity of others in all their dimensions The presence of the loving state points use to be caring and concerned with the well-being, growth and fulfillment of live.

Question 26

How does Francoise distinguish love from compassion?

Answer 26

Compassion tends to the vulnerability of humanity with an acknowledgement of the suffering of others, whereas love encompasses the greatness and celebration of all that we are.

Question 27

How does Francoise define "Pure Being" (4 parts)?

Answer 27

1. It is beyond words and can only be defined by our capacity to perceive it. 2. It is the field of pure potentiality that seeks manifestation 3. It is the spark of the divine within all things 4. It is the space in which our lives unfold -- it exists everywhere all of the time

Question 28

What are 6 possible benefits of expanded states of related to the aspect of mind?

Answer 28

1. Directly experience previously unconscious memories, thoughts, tensions, and emotions and allow the opportunity to process and integrate them into the wholeness of our psyche and life 2. Reveal what is most imbalanced because the psyche, like all things natural and wild, strives for balance and when listened to will intelligently communicate and move towards what it needs to reestablish the highest level of health possible. 3. We have the opportunity to see our patterns, our avoidance behaviors, and our strategies for survival. 4. We can more clearly perceive what we are doing and why. Compassion can then naturally arise. Thus, our simple awareness, directed by our intention, begins the process of liberation 5. Perhaps the greatest gift expanded states of consciousness offer is the opportunity to reconnect with the aspect of our self that is always already whole. 6. Through our healing process, expanded states can teach us to have compassion and love for the child who endured and to invite our healthy, original self out to trust in life again.

Question 29

What are 2 possible benefits of expanded states of consciousness related to the body?

Answer 29

1. They can catalyze intense somatic expressions to come through 2. Help increase the body awareness of tension in the body and the connections between mind and body