FAQs

Because you might be new here, I’ve put together this page just for you. I hope I’ve thought of everything you might want to know.

Energy Therapy FAQ

Because you might be new here, I’ve put together this page just for you. I hope I’ve thought of everything you might want to know.

Mind-body-spirit healing is the process addressing your whole self for complete wellness—mind (mental patterns), body (physical self, including energetic patterns that affect the physical body), and spirit (the energy of who you really are at the core). In my own experience, and after almost a decade of ‘incurable’ illnesses, it wasn’t until I addressed all of these aspects of myself that I got and remained completely well.

Illness and emotional challenges are not our fault, but if we want to feel better and move forward, they have to be our responsibility. Mind-body-spirit healing allowed me to see myself in a way I never had before. It showed me that my self-healing abilities were far greater than I ever imagined. And it was one heck of a cool journey.

Energy therapy is a set of techniques that are often used in mind-body-spirit healing. Energy therapy is an approach that focuses on rebalancing the energy system of the body, affecting overall wellbeing. While it may seem that we are physical beings, we are actually a complex network of energies. This energy system is the basis of Chinese Medicine and Ayurveda, as well as many other ancient healing modalities. When our energies are being disrupted, flow irregularly, or become sluggish and blocked, we can begin to experience both physical and emotional symptoms. This can include pain, fear, excessive worry, allergies, the inability to heal or recover from injury, and many other issues. Energy therapy helps to re-balance these energies and instigate the body’s powerful self healing ability.

Old emotions from the past, limiting beliefs, and fears are some factors we may realize affect our wellbeing, but that doesn’t mean we always know how to change things. Energy therapy is a way to shift things that aren’t working in our lives. For many people, energy therapy often works when nothing else does. And it’s something that you can learn to practice on your own.

Feeling out of control is one of the biggest triggers for us feeling unsafe in this world. And feeling unsafe is one of the major things I see affect overall wellbeing. Self-healing with energy therapy immediately works on counteracting that deep-seated feeling with every application you practice. In essence, it reverses helplessness. By embracing self-healing tools like energy therapy, you will learn to feel safe in your own hands, affirming the message of “I can be okay no matter what,” and “I can help myself!”

In other words, the sheer act of taking your healing into your own hands sends a strong message to the body of safety and capability, actually reversing the fight, fight, or freeze response. The practice of self-healing acts as its own healing modality. You will soon come to see that you are the key to a process of which you felt so wildly out of control.

For me, energy therapy was the very last thing I tried. But it was the only thing that helped me reach my full and complete healing. Score!

The answer to this varies (I know, I know….you’re sick of hearing that).

When I work one-on-one with clients, I usually see people start to turn a corner (in other words, see some big shifts) somewhere between the third and sixth session. But it can sometimes take longer with long-standing issues.

Here’s why results aren’t always immediate: The goal of releasing emotional energy (stress, trauma, etc.) from your body is to release the stress that’s imbalancing or stressing your system and creating a block to your healing. Once we make a “dent” in the emotional energy mountain, the body can start to come back into balance by moving into full healing mode. But it doesn’t always happen in a way where you notice it immediately. However, I am happy to report that some people do feel a positive shift very quickly – yay.

I have found healing is a process of gently working on layers of emotional stuff that’s contributed to where you are today. It’s a weaving, flowing process of healing. The body knows exactly in what order it needs to release things and I find over and over again that when we just follow the flow, it happens. Sometimes seemingly small things need to be released before we can get to the bigger layers keeping symptoms locked in place. I always trust my intuition (and yours!) about where to go with a session (especially when it’s not where I planned to go!). I love watching the process unfold and never get tired of the excitement when things start to really shift. Sometimes they do it very quickly and sometimes it’s more subtle and over time – it all depends on what your body needs to release, in what order, and how much time you need to do that.

While things like grief, fear and anger tend to transform faster, physical symptoms can sometimes take longer to shift. The emotional release works to reduce the stress on the entire system. It may then take time for the body to heal. For some people, it is actually very counter-intuitive to push for quick results. I have found that can stop healing in its tracks. Because we often have so many reasons we are scared (even if we are not aware of them consciously) to heal, and symptoms can provide us safety in some ways; I actually feel it can be threatening to the body to try to take those away too fast. Rushing the process can not only feel uncomfortable, it simply just doesn’t work.

This is one of the most common questions I get. And trust me, I had it too. When I first discovered how big a piece our emotional selves play in our overall health, I blamed myself for being sick. I questioned how some people, who had survived unspeakable traumas like war, could live happily and healthily into their nineties. And how someone like myself, who grew up with copious amounts of love and nothing I’d consider as traumatic as something like war, could end up where I was. Eventually, I realized that these struggles of mine were in no way due to flaws or failures of those who raised me, or something inherently wrong with me, either. They just were. Perhaps I was just born a sensitive soul. Perhaps this was simply meant to be my journey for a time.

Now, I often get “why me?” from clients.

Here’s the long’ish answer:

There are emotional forces—beliefs, past experiences, perceptions, discomfort with who we are, and more—in each of us. These beliefs react with our energy system and this determines how we react to outside influences. Most of us have tried to change our external lives, but alas, we remain imbalanced, unhappy, or unhealthy. And while it’s essential to listen to your heart in terms of leaving toxic relationships and making other changes that are good for your soul, it can be a faulty plan to rely on that completely. When you look at the effort and energy it takes to constantly try to control or adapt to situations around you—whether it be chasing viruses or trying to change stressful circumstances in life—you will and that this, in and of itself, is stressful. And you will learn that it is far easier to make any necessary changes that your soul desires when you feel better about yourself.

But the real and best answer to the “why me?” question is: It doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is that you decide from here on out, it’s all about moving forward.

Most definitely not. And if you have no idea, you’re the norm! Part of my own discovery through my healing journey, was figuring this stuff out. And now, I teach my clients and readers how to do that for themselves, too. This can be the fun part, too … learning all the silly things we’ve been letting hold us back.

Keep reading …

Everyone’s different so it’s all about finding what you resonate with. Whether you resonate with one of my techniques or five, you can see improvement. It doesn’t matter. Play around with them and see what feels good for your body. Whatever you feel best using will turn out to be the best techniques for you. As you may know from reading my work, a lot of success comes from knowing what to aim those techniques at in order to see results. Finding the blocks through intuition, muscle testing, and other approaches (all of the ones I use are in my book) will allow you to use whatever technique YOU like most, and still see success.

No way. In fact, if you don’t have any physical symptoms, you are actually a bit ahead of the game. Typically, emotional energies like grief, fear, anger, and feeling anxious tend to transform faster than physical symptoms. Even though it often feels like physical symptoms arose overnight, they’ve been brewing a long time in the energy system before they manifest as physical. They can take a bit of time to clear.

Yes! Energy work is not a substitute in any way for medical care. The energetic body and the physical body, although intertwined, are each their own systems. Energy work will not interfere with whatever program you are following with your physician. It will only serve to enhance it. This often happens with clients, because as we start removing emotional blocks from healing, all the good stuff your doctors and natural practitioners are doing can actually work without interference or resistance. I’ve also had clients who are not able to utilize medical treatment and see great results as well; however, again, energy therapy should not be used as a substitute for medical care.

There is nothing in energy therapy that is linked to or opposed to any type of religion. It’s literally just working on letting go of energy blocks in the body. My clients vary in their religious beliefs from Jews to Christian to Mormons, Jehovah’s Witnesses and Muslims and none have ever found an issue. I completely honor each person’s religious and spiritual beliefs and never integrate religious terminology into our work unless specifically asked.

This can happen and it’s no big deal. It even happens in my private sessions with clients. Sometimes it’s helpful to wait and re-test…possibly later in the day or even the next day. Drink some water. Do whatever you’re doing for the day. Forget about it for a bit. Then come back. A lot of times, your body needs a bit of time to process and clear. I can usually feel when this is the case and you’ll learn to as well. If that doesn’t do the trick, repeat the technique a few more times. Re-test. Some things are stickier than others, but they will clear.

I believe strongly that imbalances in the energy system are the root of many physical and emotional challenges. Because of this, I feel balancing the energy system and releasing old emotional energy, is invaluable. Energy therapy can reduce the stress on the immune system, which will then allow the body’s natural healing ability to become stronger, no matter what the challenge is. There is no guarantee as with anything, but I’ve seen some pretty cool things happen. And it definitely can’t hurt.

There are so many possible answers to this question, but the best one is to start anywhere. Start exploring yourself as an energetic, emotional, spiritual being. The world will start to open up to you. And just keep going, following whatever paths interest and inspire you. I had zero knowledge of energy therapy when I started using it. I just started somewhere and kept going.

Here are some easy ways to get started:

Healing journey FAQ

I get so many emails with great questions about the healing journey. And so many of the answers can be found right here. Yay.

Read any of my four bestselling, tell-all books

Learn about my healing approach

Take some classes with me to get started

Read, watch, and listen to me in the media

If you want to:


My books are available wherever books are sold, at the library, and on audiobook. They’ve also been translated into sixteen languages with more on the way!

The short story: I used mind-body-spirit healing, which is the process of addressing your whole self for complete wellness—mind (mental patterns), body (physical self, including energetic patterns that affect the physical body), and spirit (the energy of who you really are at the core). In my own experience, and after almost a decade of ‘incurable’ illnesses, it wasn’t until I addressed all of these aspects of myself that I got and remained completely well.The longer story: You can read my whole story here. But grab a cup of coffee because it takes awhile. If you still want more, read my healing memoir, This Is How I Save My Life. For that, you need chai tea (you’ll see why).

Oh my gosh, so much to say. First, I’m sorry. It’s so so hard. But it can be used for good too (sometimes finding purpose is easier than making sense of it). I’ve poured so much advice into my books, but in a nutshell, here are 8 important things I want everyone to know. You can also find tons more advice below and on my blog.

No way, definitely not, sorry but nope. My work is not a replacement for medical care. However, in my experience, chasing every single virus, bacteria, etc. does not usually create lasting health. It’s important to see the “bigger picture” and focus on supporting your immune system as a whole. Most health experts agree that stress, trauma, and our emotional wellbeing is directly linked to our physical bodies. This is good news as it means that addressing the emotional aspect of illness can support your overall well being. This was my own experience. This approach worked for me, when treating only my physical body did not. And it’s the same for a lot of other people. So don’t ditch everything you’re trying to do energy work. But if you’ve tried everything and nothing else has worked, this just might.

If you are wondering if there is an emotional component to _____ condition, the answer is probably yes. I’ve found that even with physical issues, there is most often an emotional energy that either contributed or is making it harder to heal. Energy therapy can reduce stress on the immune and nervous systems, which will then allow the body’s natural healing ability to become stronger, no matter what the challenge is.

f you’re looking for insight on how to work with my techniques for your specific emotional or physical challenge, here’s something important to know:

Stress and trauma are common denominators in many conditions.

There is not a standard to-do list for different conditions or issues. For example, what is connected to one person’s anxiety may be totally different than what’s connected to the next person’s. That’s why I wrote the How To Heal Yourself book series – so you can learn exactly what you need to do for your own unique situation; just as I did for my own healing.

All of the books in the series offer an entire encyclopedia section on what specific ailments, body parts, organs, and more are linked to which emotional energies so you can work on releasing them.

If you are experiencing Lyme disease and are looking for help finding a doctor, please go to www.ILADS.org for a list of lyme-literate physicians. It’s important to approach healing by supporting your whole body. I also recommend exploring integrative physicians, traditional Chinese medicine doctors (acupuncturists), naturopaths, or whatever type of practitioners you resonate with.

Some articles on Lyme I’ve written can be found here:

  1. https://www.lymedisease.org/
  2. https://rawlsmd.com/
  3. https://www.telegraphindia.com/

Writing & Creativity FAQ

Because you might be new here, I’ve put together this page just for you. I hope I’ve thought of everything you might want to know.

Being stuck or blocked is the #1 challenge that people come to me with.

Here’s the truth: Your ability to create and your ease in creating is directly tied to how you feel.

Over the last decade, I have worked with writers, artists, and creatives—from novices to celebrities—who are blocked or can’t find their flow. When we feel stuck, we tend to push harder to try to move forward. But this rarely works. Why?

When we don’t feel good, we can’t be the channel our work requires; which can cut us off from our source of creative energy, inspiration, and joy. In my experience, creative blocks often stem from a depressed creative energy, or rather the literal depression of self—usually, from being buried under the stress and stuff of life.

I give writers, artists, and other creatives the clarity, confidence, and support — no matter where they are in their process — to get unblocked and move forward on their path. My approach, which is a blend of intuitive and practical rules and tools, will get you feeling, thinking, and working better. It’s the trifecta that’s gotten so many people unstuck and back to work already. You’re next.

Start with 5-15 minutes a day. That’s it.

I know that figuring out what you want to do or how to do it can feel overwhelming. But here’s the thing. Writers, it turns out, often write about everything. Artists create art in so many ways. You get the idea. So start there. If you’re a writer, start by writing snippets of what you care about without boxing yourself into a genre. If you’re a painter, paint in little bits. From there, you may find you are drawn more to one path or another. So you’ll create a little more on that. And so on. But starting small and in snippets is the way to explore your life as an artist.

Any snippet can then be turned into a larger project later. This is how all my books start. I write totally out of order and in little pieces that don’t connect to each other at all. But it’s the way I start, and continue, when I don’t know what’s next.

Already know what you want to write or create? Same advice as above (snippets!)—but also set a timer. Make yourself sit, even if you can only bear to set the timer for 5 minutes at a time. There’s no way to be a writer without writing. No way to be any kind of artist without actually doing it. Promise yourself you’ll do at least a few minutes every day; not in order to create something “good,” but to practice the art of connecting to your work. when you are inconsistent in your creating, you lose your creative flow; and every time you sit down, you start all over again.

 

Specifically for writers … 
So many people dream of writing a book, but the follow-through is what counts. If you have an idea for a book and there are people who would want to read it, you are already on your way. But either way, writing isn’t enough to make you an author. The bottom line is that if you want to be a creative professional, you need more than an idea and the words, you need a plan. You need a structure. You need to know what you’re writing and who is going to read it. You need a framework for your project so you can convince publishers (or even just know for yourself) that you have a solid project.For writers: Before you write that book, let me share something that most potential authors don’t know. You don’t need the written book to sell a non-fiction book. You need a proposal to sell your non-fiction book.Whaaa? Always? The simple answer is: almost always, yes. The exception is maybe if you’re super famous of if you plan to self-publish (although as a previously self-published author myself, I will insist every book that begins with a proposal, even if no one but you reads it, has a better chance of success). Proposals are a document that allows you to outline your entire project — from concept to marketing to potential audience — and everything in between. Agents use book proposals to pitch your project to publishers. Many agents require you come to them with a proposal, but some will allow you to work on the proposal once they’ve signed you as a client.Even though book proposals are a lot of work, they make writing the actual book so much smoother. Once you have a finished book proposal, you essentially have the framework for your entire book. As a bonus, you also have a clear vision of what market you’re writing for, who your competition is, and how to write it in the most engaging way. In my opinion, having a great proposal helps you write a better book than you’d ever write without it.There is no magic number for how long a proposal should be. But if you have all of the right elements in it, it will be lengthy. Here are the six standard sections you should include: Overview, About the Author, Manuscript (how long it will be and how long it will take to write), Market (audiences), Marketing (how you’ll market the book), Outline (outline of chapters with chapter summaries), and Sample Chapters.As a reference, all of my book proposals tend to be around 100 pages, which include the sample chapters. But I’ve seen many that are between 50 and 80 as well.Feel free to contact me for my cheat sheet that will help you write this in the easiest and best way possible!

Platform, platform, platform. I’m sure you’ve heard a lot of talk about this requirement for a book deal. A platform is essentially the people you can sell your book to when published. Simply put, it’s your audience. Your platform comes from essays you’ve written for large publications, your social media following, any professional or social groups you belong to, and more. Publisher requirements vary greatly for required platform. The smaller presses may require only a small platform; with some of the larger publishers requiring a social media following of thousands to hundred of thousands, and wanting you to have bylines in major publications. During the proposal writing process, I’ll help you describe your current platform in the most complete, robust (but honest) way possible. This will give you more opportunity when going out to sell your book. I will also help you by offering ways in which we can build it so you can add that into the proposal immediately.

I’ve had experience with both: self-publishing and traditional publishing. My first book was self-published and later picked up by Simon & Schuster for traditional publication. I always recommend authors try the traditional route first. Even though I was self-published myself and give much credit to those who go it on their own, the industry does not view self-published authors with the same status as they do traditionally published. As a self-published author, I found it difficult to get bookstores to carry my book, secure speaking engagements, and more. In addition, publisher support in terms of cover design, editing, etc. can be priceless. On the flip side, and to be fair, getting your book out into the world is a great thing no matter how it’s done. So if you don’t have or want to build the platform you may need to get a traditional publishing deal, there is no shame in exploring self-publishing. But I still always recommend aiming for the stars and then adjusting your plan if necessary. Even if you decide you want to pursue self-publishing, having a proposal to use as the framework for your book will help you in ways you can’t imagine. I recommend every author put one together regardless of their publishing preference.

I’m so glad you asked! Writing essays or short stories for major publications is one of the best ways to enhance your author profile, get attention, and build your platform, making it easier to get a book deal (if that’s your goal). I learned an indescribable amount of crafting and pitching the perfect personal essay from Susan Shapiro, bestselling author of The Byline Bible and professor at The New School. You can sign up for her free events and classes at www.susanshapiro.net.

Release the #1 Subconscious Block to Health & Happiness

Get a FREE guided audio and use my signature The Sweep Technique to release the #1 block almost everyone has.

Plus, receive my famous newsletter that over 20,000 people wait for every Friday (unsubscribe anytime).