Beginner's Guide To The Third Eye

THE CONSTELLATIONS THERAPY EPISODE

• Krista Rauschenberg • Season 1 • Episode 8

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In this episode we explore Constellations Therapy which is a technique that allows individuals or groups to explore their family dynamics and interpersonal relationships through a process that often involves representing family members or elements of a system using other participants or objects. 

trî chung is an integrative manual and somatic trauma therapist, group facilitator and educator utilizing many modalities, such as Cranial, Sacral, Polarity, Osteopathic, Constellations Therapy and Somatic Experiencing to explore and holistically treat pain, injury, or trauma, supporting clients to be their highest visions of themselves.

Our willing participant is Cassie Tregellis. She is an entertainment marketing executive who has worked in the field for over 20 years. She considers herself a lifelong student and has spent many years exploring any and all modalities of growth in self-reflection. 

Tri:

I always think of a session as a microcosm of the greater process in life. I always give things space in the moment because, a lot of people's survival strategies are using their mind to try to figure things out and a lot of trauma lives, behind the conscious mind in the subconscious. So the more we can access the subconscious, whether it's through a somatic experience or through intuition. That is, connecting to yourself a lot more.

Krista:

Welcome to the Beginner's Guide to the Third Eye, the podcast that delves into the profound realms of spiritual experiences, exploring the dedicated practitioners and various modalities that guide us on our transformative path. Together, we will explore the mystical, the magical, the enlightened, and the sacred. In each episode, we pair seasoned practitioners, spiritual experiences, or healing modalities, and a willing participant to share their experience in working together. We will explore the unique insights, stories, and wisdom gained from their own profound journeys, unveiling the extraordinary narratives that shape spiritual seekers and practitioners alike. My name is Krista Rauschenberg and my work as a healer has emerged from hundreds of hours of certified training, spiritual initiations, direct experience, and deep personal work. I have been employed in the healing arts as a postpartum doula, an advanced Akashic reader, an Akashic breathwork practitioner, and a writer. Facilitating and educating people through their personal, spiritual, and healing journeys is my greatest source of happiness.

El:

And I'm Elle Larson. I use sound and space to help balance internal and external environments. I've practiced holistic healing modalities for over 20 years, and my work includes Tibetan bull sound healing, feng shui, reiki, and shamanism.

Krista:

Welcome once again to The Beginner's Guide to the Third Eye where we demystify the mystical I'm really excited about highlighting the work in today's show, Constellations Therapy. This work brings forward the parts of ourselves that we may have tucked away for protection or hidden away from ourselves or others. I feel its power lies in bringing forward the things we can't or don't see, rather than building on what we already know we're suffering from. Constellations therapy is a technique that allows individuals or groups to explore their family dynamics and interpersonal relationships through a process that often involves representing family members or elements of a system using other participants or objects. Constellations Therapy takes a systematic perspective, viewing individuals within the context of their broader systems, such as families, communities, and cultural backgrounds. It emphasizes the interconnectedness of individuals and the influence of larger systems on personal experience and behaviors. It recognizes that individuals may be influenced unresolved traumas, or hidden dynamics within their family system. By honoring by honoring and acknowledging their stories and experiences, individuals can find a sense of belonging, continuity, and purpose in their own lives. Our practitioner this week is Tri Chung. Tri is an integrative manual and somatic trauma therapist, group facilitator, and educator. Tri uses many modalities such as cranial sacral, polarity, osteopathic, constellations therapy, And somatic experiencing to explore and holistically treat pain, injury, or trauma and an individual system. Tri's passion is to offer tools and resources to release trauma, regulate stress, and create embodied practices that support people to be their highest visions of themselves. And our willing participant is Cassie Tregalis. She is an entertainment marketing executive who has worked in the field for over 20 years. She considers herself a lifelong student and has spent many years exploring any and all modalities of growth in self reflection. Welcome to you both. We are so happy to have you. Tri, I'd love to start with you. You offer so many types of healing strategies, not just constellations therapy, which is what we're going to focus on today. So I'm interested in how it all began for you. What modality first caught your interest and how did you hear about it or become interested in it? What was your evolution?

Tri:

So my journey has started like many people with chronic pain or injury or some big life event. I know a lot of people will have a big illness actually in some traditional cultures with shamanism, there's usually some sort of like life threatening illness that happens that is the shaman's journey. So I think in the Western world, I've noticed a lot of practitioners have a similar kind of journey. And for me, I had a car accident in 2008 and I was rear ended and I just never recovered from it. I kept waking up and feeling like I had been hit all over again. And this cycle continued after a year, they basically couldn't figure out what was wrong with me. And they diagnosed me with fibromyalgia.

Krista:

Tell me about your pain. Where was it?

Tri:

It was everywhere. It wasn't even muscular pain. It was neurological. It was nerve pain. So I felt like fire. When I was first hit, I obviously had muscle pain because I was hit by the car. But even as I started to get better, I would wake up. a few weeks later and I would feel like I was hit all over again. And so that kept happening. The duration would spread out a little bit more as time went on. So I could go two, three weeks without feeling intense pain. But I always had a low level of inflammation going on. So I always had a severe chronic fatigue. I did always feel like my body was on fire, but there were, times where it would flare up and I would wake up and I would feel like I had been hit by a car again. Wow. I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything. And so that lasted for a while. It lasted for Eight years, actually.

Krista:

Oh, what were you doing for work at this time?

Tri:

At the time I was hit, I was in school full time. I went back to school when I was older and I was working full time. I was actually a wine manager. So I was a wine buyer for a big company in San Antonio and I managed the wine department there, or I co managed the wine department. So I was juggling a lot and I will say that most people who are not able to recover from something it's because they're under a lot of stress and their nervous system is not able to fully recover I was basically trying to go back to school a week later, I gave myself a week and then as soon as I could get up out of bed, I was like, okay, I gotta go back, that's partially me, but I also think it was partially the school. My teachers were not very supportive. They were, really pressuring me to drop out and I just couldn't afford to do that. And then with work also they were just pressuring me to come back and because I didn't break anything. They weren't as understanding. They were like, there's nothing wrong with you. The doctors say there's nothing wrong with you. So what's wrong with you?

Krista:

Wow.

Tri:

Yeah.

Krista:

And at that time, did you have any association to a spiritual awareness? Like energy, where were you in that realm?

Tri:

Nowhere near that at all whatsoever. So I was in the very conventional medical model. I was taking the drugs. I did go to an accident clinic which wasn't very good. And they would give me some chiropractic adjustments, but it was very minimal. The clinic I went to was really bad. And so later on, I did find a chiropractor who was much better, but when I first started, I was just basically taking medication and again, because the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with me, they just were like, take more medication. So that's where I was at. I had no connection to energy or spirituality, which I think is actually part of the problem in a lot of healing is a lack of spiritual connection. There's a PTSD or trauma recovery and forgetting where it comes from, but there's five components to recovery. And one of them is having a spiritual connection.

Krista:

So then what was your first experience with the metaphysical world or energy work?

Tri:

So I did try a lot of different types of therapies. I tried a lot of acupuncture. I tried herbalism. I went to a naturopath. I try Korean herbalism and Korean body work because I'm Korean. And none of them really helped that much until I took a class. I was able to finally make my way through different referrals and different recommendations to craniosacral therapists. Somebody said, Oh, I think craniosacral therapy could be good for your nervous system. And I was like, nervous system? Yeah, I think I have a nervous system that sounds good. Maybe that will be helpful. I went to get a couple sessions and I noticed I felt a lot better. I felt worse at first, but then I started to feel more like myself. So I decided to take a class because at that point it had been like eight years and I was just like, I can't, I got to learn how to do some of this for myself and this is working for me. So let me learn about what's happening. Cause when I received the session, it didn't seem like she was even doing anything. I don't know if you've ever watched a craniosacral. therapist work on someone, sometimes they'll just hold something for five, ten minutes. It doesn't look like they're doing anything. And I was like, what is going on here? And she kept telling me, Oh no, it's based in anatomy. There's clinical evidence of, why this works. And there's things that I'm doing that are related to your physiology. And I was like, okay, I don't understand. So I want to know what you're doing. So the first craniosacral class I took, Which ended up being a pivotal moment for me because I ended up in the most spiritual, craniosacral class available. There's another school that I've also studied with since then who was a lot more clinical. I didn't end up going to that school that my therapist studied at. I went to this other school and I met Gary Strauss there, who has been my teacher for the last eight years. I think what really captured my attention was that he did bring in spiritual and energetic principles, but he talked about it in such a grounded way. He was really able to talk about energetic principles in a way that wasn't throwing out attitudes, it was. very thoughtful and very logical. And then it was mixed with this very anatomical physiological work. I was like, this is so fascinating to me this combination of energetic principles and anatomy and physiology. And at the time, I didn't know anything about anatomy. I'd never touched anybody. I was freaking out about having to practice on somebody. But what motivated me was watching Gary do the demos. And again, he was like barely touching anyone and seeing that their pain went from eight to zero and just listening, holding space, and very gentle tuning in.

Krista:

Beautiful. For someone that may not know, can you give a quick description of what craniosacral therapy is?

Tri:

Craniosacral therapy is a light touch therapy. It comes from cranial osteopathy, which comes from osteopathic medicine. And it's a modality that helps support the craniosacral system. generally. So there's a lot of different complexities and there are different schools of thought in craniosacral, but generally the focus is on the craniosacral system, which consists of the cranium, the spine, the spinal cord, the sacrum. So the cerebrospinal fluid in the spinal cord that washes over your brain. It's created in the ventricles in your cranium, and then it washes over your brain, over your nerve endings, down your spinal cord. And then we're working with the bones as like handles and the fascia around that system. And the idea is that you can feel the craniosacral rhythm anywhere in the body and that it's an indicator. If the rhythm is. Slow or it's struggling or there's a challenge that, that is a place that your body needs support. And the idea is if your cerebrospinal fluid is flowing, then it's a a positive feedback loop where it helps your own healing system in your body. It awakes your own innate healing intelligence

Krista:

through like an energy flow. Correct.

Tri:

Exactly. It's generative. Yeah. Beautiful. Beautiful. It's the cerebral spinal fluid is in the midline. And the old osteopaths. They believed that was where your spiritual essence lived

Krista:

I didn't know that. That's so lovely. Cassie, tell us a bit about your background and experience with the metaphysical, what kind of readings or healings have you done before?

Cassie:

I always. Joke that my spirituality found me. I grew up going to Catholic school for 13 years, kindergarten through high school. I think it was my junior year of high school which was a rough year for me personally just going through a lot of, challenging things emotionally. I remember being at a record store. Buying something and a book literally fell off of a shelf and hit me in the head. And it was many lives, many masters by Dr. Brian L. Weiss. It was the, founding father of past life regression therapy, which I had never heard of before. Without looking at it, I bought the book, went home, read it all in one sitting. And It felt like everything that I had always felt to be true was just articulated for me in that book. And I always point back to that moment as being my awakening, and since Without necessarily really trying or seeking it, I think I have just found a lot of consistent truths that have resonated almost like breadcrumbs throughout my life that have resonated with a lot of what again was articulated in that book. Since then, I. Ended up leaving college my sophomore year because of what I call an intuitive nudge that I got where I had this moment of realizing that it was. Now my turn to choose my path in life. And I left college much to my parents dismay and moved to Los Angeles and found my own path here working in the entertainment industry. It hasn't necessarily been a a deliberate journey but over the last couple of years, specifically somewhat, similar to what Tri was talking about having kind of a crisis for lack of a better word. I went through a divorce two years ago and entered into a new relationship. And while both of those things were actually not Something I would consider a crisis, a lot of things happened around me that brought up a lot of trauma that had been just, stored in there over my life. And, I became, again, not, I didn't choose it necessarily. It was a like a nudge, from the universe, but I discovered astrology and got really into that. And as strange as it sounds, that really helped give me this bigger picture perspective. In a time where I was feeling very just sucked into the depths by way of that, somehow found you, Krista and discovered the Akashic Records which again, I think when I learned about them, similarly to, past life regression therapy just seemed like something that I had always known existed, but had never really heard articulated It just felt so resonant for me and I don't even know how it happened, but I somehow blacked out and found you. Thanks. Thank goodness. And have been doing a lot of work with you over the past year in that space, which has been, to say life changing is an understatement. And, through that work, I have uncovered a connection to that world that I always knew was there but didn't even fully comprehend and still honestly feel like I'm just scratching the surface.

Krista:

That's beautifully said, thank you for that. So all that to say, you've been seeking and questioning and curious and you haven't had resistance, it seems at all to exploring. Yeah, definitely. Into the unknown, let's say. Yeah.

Cassie:

Yeah. I think you had actually asked me a question at one point about If I felt like I needed protection in the sort of spiritual realm or the metaphysical world and I think my response was something like I feel safer in that. space than I do here. And that definitely resonates. It's true for me. I think that everything makes so much more sense to me in that world or that realm. And only through making sense of that space, does this space make sense.

Krista:

This was such a beautiful session. Cassie, I would like to thank you for sharing it with us and Tri for facilitating. It really just touched me on such a deep level. Just witnessing it. So Tri, let's go a little deeper into the work you do with Constellations Therapy for someone that has never experienced it. How would you describe it? What would you say its purposes and how does it work?

Tri:

Yeah it is a way of working with the field, the energetic field and the relational field family field, we are in the field. We're always in relationship with each other. And I know there's a lot of talk about the quantum field. And it's a way to work with the field and to be able to work at observing it, witnessing and connecting to our experience in those fields. It was originally attributed to Bert Hellinger, who is a German psychologist He lived with the Zulu for people for a while, and he really took their spiritual ancestral practices and integrated them or synthesize them with family therapy at that time. There's a lot of, nods to Gestalt. I always say Gestalt, but I think it's Gestalt. Virginia Satir is another big person who influenced him. And so Bert Hellinger, developed this way of working to discover where ancestral and family trauma came from, to be able to understand the roles that we play. that we inhabit and where they come from. A lot of times they are from family dynamics or ancestral trauma. And because the system the field is trying to resolve an old trauma, we end up. Seeing it show up in each generation, oftentimes a person will end up almost taking on that trauma or they end up playing a role in that system that they aren't conscious of. This allows us to see the dynamics in a three dimensional way. Traditionally it's done with other people and to resonate or represent different aspects of the system.

Krista:

The actual people in the family dynamic.

Tri:

Yeah. So you won't have them in the constellation. You'll have people representing them. And because it's a phenomenological modality we rely on this somatic sensory experiential resonation. And so it's a little inexplicable, but there, there is an aspect of magic to it. I believe when you step into the field, things come up and you have to experience it for yourself, but sometimes when you step into representation, you feel things that are not maybe your own things and it's really accurate to the person's field.

Krista:

Wow. It's powerful. So you started with a sentence of intention that was based on Cassie, your ability to trust. I think the exact sentence was, I have a hard time trusting. I find it difficult to trust. And then you identified elements of the sentence, which were I and find and trust Tri. Can you explain a little bit more about. Setting up that sentence and why it's necessary.

Tri:

Yes. So the traditional family Constellations has branched out into a lot of different kinds of Constellations. So systemic Constellations can be done with any group. Franz Rupert, the developer of ID Constellations. Discovered over thousands of sessions, that it was more important To focus on the person's psyche than the family system, because the psyche is really where everything lives. And so that's where our human behavior lives. And it's more self focused, understanding who am I in relationship to the world and being able to focus on self versus focusing on the family.

Krista:

And different people might need different elements of that at different times in their life. It might be important to try both depending where you are, right?

Tri:

Yeah, I think Constellations is great. All the time. In my opinion, I just love Constellations for anything. You can use it for business as well and organizations it's like any modality. Sometimes you need a massage. Sometimes you need a chiropractic adjustment. Sometimes you need osteopathic therapy. Sometimes you need lymph. So it's like that and with this ID session, it's focusing on the sentence of intention. And then what comes up in the psyche around these different elements. And so they're not necessarily literally these words. It's not literally trust sometimes people will use other people's names in the sentence. When someone's resonating, you're not actually resonating them. It's just what comes up for you in your psyche and your subconscious around that word. Or element. We have the sentence of intention that I find it difficult to trust. And basically, I'm going to have you pick three objects in your space. And it can really be anything, and so you're going to pick three elements of the sentence. One of them is going to be I, and then two other elements of the sentence.

Cassie:

I'm feeling inclined to use find or like the idea of finding it rather than difficult. And then obviously trUst.

Tri:

To give you a little bit more background about the session basically what we're going to do is we're just seeing what comes up for you and noticing what's what comes up for you around each of these elements. And I will guide you and it is important. To be able to notice what is happening in your experience as we're doing this, because like I said, it's all related. We are, in a relational field with each other. And so whatever comes up in the field is really important to acknowledge and It's relevant to your process are you noticing some charge around like needing to do your best right now?

Cassie:

Maybe a little bit. I just, like I said, I just don't know what is expected of me yet. So I'm just I'm just trying to surrender. I'm trying to surrender.

Tri:

It's okay that you're feeling that. That could be part of your sentence, the intention that you have that I find it difficult to trust. And maybe there's a sense of perceived danger in not knowing what's happening.

Cassie:

Yeah, I'm definitely feeling emotions coming up, which I don't know why I'm like sweating.

Tri:

Is it okay to let those emotions come up and to just let your nervous system process some of the heat that comes up around that? Was it something in particular I said that really caught your emotions?

Cassie:

I don't know. Maybe just the safety part.

Tri:

Just that sense of safety. Can I ask what you notice around that in your body or in your nervous system or your energy?

Cassie:

I don't think I like being seen vulnerable. It's, it was not welcomed when I was. Growing up and it's something that I've been trying to work through. And it's gotten better. I've been allowing myself to just feel things as they come up, like I'm doing right now. Cause I don't know exactly why I feel this way. But yeah, it's not a comfortable feeling for me. I'm not like one of those people who is comfortable like crying in front of other people or being like witnessed in emotion.

Tri:

So it wasn't welcomed and it wasn't supported or encouraged when you were younger to be vulnerable or to have emotions. Definitely nOt.

Krista:

And then you had Cassie collect three objects and ask that she didn't choose them using her mind, but chose them using her intuition. So you had her choose three objects that were just in and around her house. Tell us about that.

Tri:

Yeah, I think it's important to be able to connect to what your whole system is being called to versus just your mind. Part of people's survival strategies is that they are using their mind to try to figure things out. And actually a lot of trauma lives, behind the conscious mind or under the conscious mind and in the subconscious. And so the more we can access the subconscious, whether it's through that's a somatic experience or through intuition. I think that is really connecting to yourself a lot more.

Krista:

And then you entered into what you called a relational field. You stated that it was important to notice what came up within that field. Can you explain what that is, and what it felt like for you?

Tri:

Sure. So we're always in a field. So when we decide to do a session, it's just switching the intention to be able to focus on the field of someone's subconscious or their psyche. And there is a word for it's called the morphogenic field.

Krista:

Morphogenic field.

Tri:

Yeah, but in craniosacral, there's also a relational field. So there's a lot of different words for it. The more intentionality that we have towards what's happening in the field from the beginning of the session to the end, whether or not we're connecting or checking in it could be even before the session, we're always in some sort of field of a phenomenon.

Krista:

So another way to say it might be, you're creating a space, a container, a field, is that all? Yeah. Okay.

Tri:

and I will say the process is happening in the background all the time.

Krista:

True.

Tri:

So the sentence of intention is to focus the intention and to create a container.

Krista:

Beautiful. And how does it feel for you as a practitioner? Do you have sensations are some fields more charged, less charged? Are you picking up any kind of information through the energetic field?

Tri:

Yes, I will say yes to all of that. I am noticing sensations, emotions, A big anchor for me is sensations, emotions, thoughts. And one of the things I had learned in my somatic processing trainings, also called SIBAM, which is from somatic experiencing sensation, image, behavior, affect, and meaning. Those are all anchors, but what I'm noticing in my own system is, yeah, what do I notice? What is happening right now? Am I noticing feelings in my body? Am I noticing energy in the field? And a lot of times there's a lot happening. So it's just being able to really be in my own alignment while that's happening. And it's almost like meditating pull back a little bit and just notice what is happening. Because. To me, there's always a lot happening, whether or not we're in a session or not. And I will say that, of course, everybody's fields are different from moment to moment. And some, sometimes there is a lot of energy. Sometimes there is this like almost sense of stillness. And the more that you can connect to that sense, and name it intelligence the field will have.

Krista:

And then as the practitioner, you might be a few steps ahead of your client. Is it your job to support them in a way to help them find their next, Move or perhaps a way to open up into a truth or a realization

Tri:

actually one of the things that has helped me a lot is to not think about what to do next. The more that I worry about what's going to happen next, the more that I'm not present in the moment. And this is a big principle within cranial sacral as well, which is why,these modalities have a lot in common that the more that we can be present to something. the more it can have space. And a big part of Constellations is trusting the process. and trusting what's going to come up and being with what's coming up in the moment and not having an idea of what do I need to do next? Or what does this person need next? It's really sitting with things. And then the more that you're able to sit with something, the more it allows the energy to come through.

Krista:

Yeah. It's powerful. How just allowing space or stillness to be present, allowed everything to open creating that space and then the quiet, and then just being in service to it allowed for. a lot to awaken. Cassie, tell us about your experience within the session, starting with what your expectations or reservations were coming into this, and then what effect did the session have on you? Yeah.

Cassie:

I had really no expectations and I knew nothing about Constellations Therapy, which I think I must have said about 25 times at the beginning of the session. I think part of what came up for me certainly at the beginning was, I don't know how to do this

Krista:

how did that make you feel?

Cassie:

Awful! It's not comfortable. But I was just so in awe with the space that Tri held. And, hearing you say Tri, how so much of that practice is about just not really having a next step and just allowing the space and the silence to exist. I felt that and it is not comfortable at all. And is so powerful. Because it really is as you said, it's what allows all of that discomfort, all of what's been churning beneath the surface to come up. You had said something in what for me was a very uncomfortable silence about how, in trauma, oftentimes our feelings aren't named and because of that, aren't given the attention that they need in those moments to go through the full emotional process of feeling it and experiencing it and then releasing it. And so they You know, stored, in our body as trauma and not surprisingly, I guess the process of feeling them now later in life is not comfortable and is so impactful. I was reeling in a good way from the session for almost a week after, it, it continued to come up for me in the days after that And I felt like I was able to really allow myself to name the feelings that were coming up, even if they were uncomfortable and really allow myself to experience them. I think I can't remember if you named this in the session or not, but there was a lot of kind of a teenager, like my inner teenager almost raging against, the emotional repression that I was I guess forced into, not to sound dramatic, but as a child and, I felt like for the couple of days after that, I described myself to others around me as feeling like a teenager who was just like raging. And I'm like, you're just going to have to deal with this teenager today because she's got a lot of anger coming up. And I, allowed her to just, I sat with that and literally gave attention to my teenage self and was just like, you can feel this and will help take care of you so you can feel this now. Which was such a powerful experience and I think really allowed me to enable that feeling to just move through me.

Krista:

That teenager now?

Cassie:

She's quiet today, so I guess she's feeling okay. Yeah, people talk about inner child work and that kind of thing in a way that I know can sound so cliche, but when you do it, it really is. so powerful and it's, and it is uncomfortable. Like it's not a comfortable process, but being able to really just sit with whatever version of it is for you, like whether it's, I've done it with my inner newborn at times too, of just like really allowing that version of yourself to get their needs met in that moment and almost like role playing it. It's amazing how healing it can be. Yeah. Yeah.

Krista:

So just to reiterate, Tri, you mentioned that Constellations was a lot about naming what there is and how healing that can be, because a lot of times when we experienced trauma, it isn't acknowledged at all or named, as you say, can you talk about that a bit and then what the training is. Around that, when you are learning Constellations,

Tri:

I actually would also like to name another foundational modality which I learned with Gary. So I learned craniosacral, but I learned polarity therapy. It's polarity therapy is a big umbrella that includes craniosacral, not all craniosacral includes polarity. But polarity includes craniosacral. A big part of naming what is also in polarity. It's acknowledgement, it's being able to give space. And he, in particular his whole MO is about holding space which, is very connected to Eastern philosophy. Again, that meditative practice of being able to be with what is.

Krista:

And

Tri:

so in those trainings, I will say I've gotten them. I will say I'll get a little bit in each training, but in polarity and Constellations work. And I will say that the polarity really helped me with the Constellations work because I had already had a familiarity of being able to acknowledge what was coming up and that holding space and really being able to just allow. Okay. Because Constellations though the principle is there to name what is, because again with trauma a lot of times it's things are not acknowledged maybe the, even that the order is not acknowledged, the order of love is not acknowledged. And I will say that I learned a lot of it in the polarity training in the Constellations training that I did. I learned with Francesca Mason boring. And the reason why I loved training with Francesca is because she also has a very holding space way. And I will say that not all Constellations therapists or teachers have that Bert Hellinger is a perfect example. He was a very directive facilitator. he was very good at naming what is, but he would really do a lot of interventions. And direct people to move around and to say things.

Krista:

Yeah.

Tri:

So there's different and varying levels of being able to acknowledge and name what is some are more spacious, some are more directive. What I loved about Francesca is that she did have that more holding space way and being able to give space to what was happening. And so there's a lot of modeling. With Constellations. The best way to learn it is to see it because the more and more Constellations you can see and be a part of the more that you can see where all the places are that things are not acknowledged and how all the different ways that things are not acknowledged. And I will say that is a huge resource and being able to just practice it and practice and see it. Yeah. A workout. And then with the ID Constellations, I did a two year training with the identity development Institute. And they also have that very holding space. They're actually very non directive. And they give a lot of autonomy to the person as well. And again, it's like experiential, it's just doing it over and over again, being. Participant being a receiver and then practicing facilitating and so it's not just like a one time thing. I will say to me, it's a constant practice to be able to acknowledge and hold space.

Krista:

Sure. Of course. And I think your style really compliments your being your energy, the quality of you, because I have had other Constellations work done with someone that was very. Directive almost opposite to what you do. So isn't that beautiful that, your healing work, your energy work is just an extension of you and developing, a relationship with you. Does that resonate?

Tri:

Yeah, thank you so much. I talk about this with my colleague, a lot we talk about how this polarity background that we have. Has really helped us and supported us to be able to even name what's coming up in the group. Yeah. Before the session even starts, like what's happening in the field right now? Like with the thing with Cassie, when Cassie kept naming I don't know what Constellations is. So most people would maybe just. Right? Yeah. Either want to fix the need or not notice it. Yeah. I was like, okay, this is something that's coming up for you multiple times. So how can we honor this? How can we give it space? And I do want to credit my teachers who have taught me that I am very grateful that I had those kinds of styles. And that's my default mode anyway, is to really notice what's happening.

Krista:

That's beautiful. It's a talent. I in my work, I've been shown or seen time and time again, that, any and all healing begins with awareness. First, you just have to know and notice and see it and pay attention. And it's the threshold to any kind of change, so back to the session. You start with a sentence of intention. You choose inanimate objects that are around you through kind of an intuition. And then you isolate certain words within the sentence and Cassie, the word find which you associated with this beautiful beetle that was in a loose site, square. That became a touchstone for you within the session. So finding safety, finding trust, being able to see it, knowing it was there, but not being able to find it or touch it. You made the observation that the little beetle was stuck in the glass all alone. Tell us about your experience with the object and then the word find.

Cassie:

Yeah, it was really interesting. The fact that you just arbitrarily choose these objects and then are able to create such a profound and direct connection to the word that you're resonating with it was really fascinating. There was something about the word find for me for whatever reason that really I found to be important. Like I, we had initially talked about a sentence that was more along the lines of, I can't trust or something, but there was something about the activeness of the word find for me. And I find it hard to trust. I find it hard. I find it difficult to trust. I think was the sentence. And yeah, it was amazing. And I think Tri made a distinction even between the word stuck. I think the word you used Tri was stillness What came up for me was this barrier between myself and my ability to engage with trust.

Tri:

I think, There is some pain around that too. It reminds me a little bit of like a teenager. It's like they're very angry, but actually underneath it, there is pain because there's that constant work that you're talking about of trying to catch something that you can't get.

Cassie:

Yeah.

Tri:

Yeah.

Cassie:

Yeah. I've had a lot of rage come up over the last year or so, that I've really never experienced before, and it's just literally screaming because nobody is listening or hearing me there's that feeling of defeat afterwards where you just give up and you're like no one cares people misunderstand the screaming and they misunderstand the rage and they Turn it back on me. So it's like, why would I engage with that?

Tri:

Yeah. Yeah. We need to be seen and understood, but we're not. And so now we don't want to do it anymore. How is it for you when you look at trust or when you connect with trust right now, after saying all of that,

Cassie:

It still feels elusive. I guess I don't feel connected to it.

Tri:

Yeah, I'm trying to find the sentence but it is, it's elusive.. I was like, oh, it's right there. There's something like right there. Um, and it feels so related to how you feel towards yourself. You know, There's this part of you that has wanted trust and love for so long, and that has been shut down, that has not been disconnected. And so, it feels sad because there's a disconnection from yourself, and it was, a way to survive the pain of not having love.

Cassie:

Yeah.

Tri:

What you're describing is a pretty complex relationship with trust and it really circles around this being seen and heard and understood, right? So that's coming up a lot today. And so there's aspect of trusting that you can actually be seen and actually be heard and actually be understood. Can you really trust that? Cause you haven't, you didn't have that. And this part is describing this really strong desire to both give up and then a lot of reach. So even with the Oh my God, I don't want to do this anymore. There's still a lot of life energy. Yeah. Big theme for me. Yeah. And so maybe it's not so much about finding trust because I think it's there, but It's it's about being able to give space to all of these emotions that you have around the pain of the trauma that you had growing up of not being seen or heard or understood. Maybe for you, it's not about forcing yourself to trust people, but to acknowledge that in order to trust somebody, you need to feel heard and seen and understood.

Cassie:

That is definitely true. It was amazing that this little beetle was suspended in this little piece of resin and you could see the entirety of the beetle. You could turn it around and see its underbelly and all the parts of it. And yet it was still. To use Tris words in stillness and suspended in that space. And that it was it was definitely very resonant with how I was feeling. And I think a lot of what was coming up for me was around not feeling seen and heard and understood. That was like the core wound. I think that I took away from the session that like really resonated for days after. And I think just the irony of looking at this little beetle that you could see, you could see all of it, but it still didn't feel, I still didn't feel seen.

Krista:

Yeah. Tri, you offered the value sentence

Cassie:

yeah. That was, thank you for that Tri because that, I took that away from that session. Like I said, I wrote it down. I think it was the only thing I wrote down the whole time and I carried it with me. I still do. It was a big lightning bolt moment for me. And the sentence was, I need to feel seen, heard, and understood in order to trust. And it was, As simple as it sounds like it really did break through for me because I think that I always thought there was something wrong with me and that's why I couldn't trust and instead it was like no this is the need that you have, the needs that you have in order to trust, and just even that reframing, I can't even tell you I mean that. It completely shifted my entire perspective of my relationship to trust.

Krista:

Because then didn't it just give you permission, right? All of a sudden it's like, oh, this is what I need and that's okay. I now have permission or I'm giving myself permission to even ask for those things. Which are easy to give someone you love if you understand what they're asking for or what they need.

Cassie:

Yeah, and I think even tying it back to that kind of core wound that came up through exploring find of not feeling seen, heard, and understood, I think like we were talking about before, the more that you're able to name, those feelings that come up, you're then able to craft what you need in that moment. And to connect those dots of that is the core wound. And this is what I need in order to get this thing that is not implicit, like it is an earned relational dynamic. That just, it really, again, as simple as it was, or as simple as it may sound. To other people. It really reframed everything for me

Krista:

because within that Tri was able to identify your survival or coping mechanisms in protecting yourself and gave you permission or offered permission that those coping mechanisms aren't right or wrong or good or bad. Those are your default and to value them. Knowing your needs are important, having no shame around them, and knowing that they are identifiers and they're telling you something then you can start to work backwards into, okay, my needs are this, and they're not being met, and therefore I don't feel like I can trust.

Cassie:

Yeah, I think even more than that, I think what they did was they, me to honor and thank those coping mechanisms. As something that did serve to protect me at one point. But that is that are no longer serving me. I think similar to giving the attention and the naming to the feelings that came up as uncomfortable as they may be to also give that attention and honor to These coping mechanisms that did serve a purpose to protect me really allowing them to have a space and to be honored so that you can similarly release them and say, Thank you. You've done your job. I don't need you anymore. Good day, and send them on their way.

Krista:

Yeah. Perfect. Next step kind of thing. And then Cassie, you found that you had a numbness towards trusting. Is that a new revelation or were you already aware of that? And if you were aware, did it feel at all different in the setting or experience?

Cassie:

Gosh, I don't know that it's, I don't know that I would say it was new, although I don't know that I'd ever explored it in that way. I think. Yeah, I think it was, there was definitely a resistance to it and a bit of a numbness. And even in the process, like there was a moment I remember feeling during the process of feeling shame in that. And Tri did such an amazing job of holding space for what was and that allowed me to just quickly dissolve that shame and be like, you know what, this is what I'm feeling right now. This is just what's here for me. It doesn't mean that this is how it's always going to be. But right now I am, I'm feeling that resistance and, allowing that to just be what it was. And I think, as I processed the session in the days after that softened Like I said, I think even just that statement of, I need to be seen, heard, and understood in order to trust, like just letting that kind of sink in and allowing that to reframe my relationship to trust, it softened that resistance a bit.

Krista:

You then went a step further. And you said, I have no memory of trust or being able to trust. So you are essentially building something from nothing. Tri, can you speak to that and tell us what are the practical steps of having to rebuild your relationship to something so fundamental as trust?

Tri:

Yeah, actually, as I'm talking about this, I realized like how many modalities I actually do integrate into one session. And, I don't know if you remember, but at the beginning of the session, we took some moments to acknowledge that you couldn't remember. And a lot of emotion came up around that, like just not even being able to remember, that's a good place to start. How is that for you that you can't remember? And maybe there is a lot of grief in there and there's a lot of sadness. And so to me being able to process what is there is always a good place to start. And sometimes it could be again, a physical sensation, or it could be an emotion. Because. There's so many ways that we store information in our bodies and it's not always conscious and it can be in the body as well or in the energy field or sometimes people feel it as energy outside their bodies.

Krista:

Can you speak to the different ways we store information in our bodies?

Tri:

Yeah. One of the principles of ID work, and I would say I believe in this, is that our psyche is not just our brain. It's not even just our prefrontal cortex. There's the limbic, there's the midbrain, there's the brain stem, the survival brain. there's like a three brain theory that our brain has three different parts. And then there's also the entire nervous system, which. If you track all the nerves in our body, which is connected to our brain there's nerves that go out, there's nerves that innervate our organs and our muscles. So there's constant information just zipping around our body at all times. And that's just like the electrical neural connection. And they're starting to do more and more studies that show that cells have sensors to receive electromagnetic information, which, of course, if you think about it, that makes sense because our hearts themselves have a greater electromagnetic field than our brains. Heart math Institute does a great job of explaining the science of how our electromagnetic fields of our hearts are tuned with each other and there's so many books, actually, like The body keeps the score, Peter Levine has books as well waking the tiger, how trauma is stored in our nervous systems and bodies. And so I, I do believe that there's so much more information storage in ourselves and our tissues and our different body systems than just My conscious mind.

Krista:

It's fascinating, huh? It's never ending.

Tri:

Yeah. So if somebody doesn't have a conscious memory, then I think a good place to start is how is that for you that you don't have a memory of that? And is there something that comes up for you in your system around that?

Krista:

I had a reaction just in witnessing it. And it just spoke to how our bodies want to communicate to us. And we are just stuck in these cycles

Cassie:

And it was interesting to again, watching myself in the session. And I think there were probably three times where you asked me so lovingly and so gently, what was coming up for me in that moment. And it didn't even register for me. I was like, what do you mean? Do you mean what's coming up? What's going on in my life? Do you want background on me? I didn't even hear the question. And I noticed that when I was watching myself in the session where I was like, Oh, she asked me this three times, and I couldn't even hear the question. To your point, Krista we're so conditioned to not listen to ourselves and listen to our bodies and to just fill the space with noise and talking and information and intellect and, so yeah, I noticed that immediately.

Tri:

Yeah. Feeling is hard.

Krista:

Oh, feeling is hard.

El:

Articulating feeling is hard too, a lot of times feeling for me, especially in, deep situations. It's like this wave. A big indescribable, emotion that's difficult to maybe parse apart. So I'm one of those people that really investigates my feelings for a while before I'm ever really speaking about them.

Tri:

Yeah. Being able to navigate what you're feeling from moment to moment, I think is a skill that we aren't taught in our lives. And actually it is maybe one of the most important things is to be able to even maybe not always identify what you're feeling, but to acknowledge that something's happening because we often can react from a place of feeling. And we say something that. Reflects the feeling but isn't acknowledging what is actually there. So if I'm angry, I might say something in a really angry tone, or I might take something out maybe a momentary frustration that's in front of me, but maybe I'm really actually upset about. something else, or I might be lonely or sad or something. And I might be disappointed by an argument that happened, earlier that week. And yeah, navigating feelings is super complicated.

Krista:

When we do that, when we slow down and isolate and connect and register, Then we set ourselves up for the next step of asking the question, what do I need? And if we can, take on that responsibility then we're not as. able to project and demand and, have unrealistic expectations. But our society is built on avoiding our feelings and distracting from feeling, and just revving up constantly and distracting, distracting, distracting.

Cassie:

You had said something to that. I wrote down actually, as I was re listening about how with trauma, oftentimes things don't get named and they don't get the attention that they need in the moment. And so we kind of condition ourselves. Unknowingly to not acknowledge and not give the attention or even know how to name sometimes what is coming up for us because we've been so conditioned by, you name it, our parents, our, schooling, our education, our society to not allow the space and the attention for those feelings that are uncomfortable. They're uncomfortable feelings. And I think to what you're saying, Krista, too, so much clarity around what we need in those moments comes directly from being able to name the feeling and so I feel like there are so many of us just like wandering around the world not knowing what we need and bumping into other people who don't know what they need, and what chaos that could cause and also what deep connection and healing can come from being able to name those things and name what we need.

Krista:

Ree as a practitioner. How did these sessions feel for you? What are you experiencing?

Tri:

I'm a strong resonator of other people. A lot of people call that empathic. So I tend to lean. heavily on my inner emotions of what's coming up in my own system in relationship to another perSon. sometimes I have to dial it down a little bit because I can feel like I'm really with the person And I do need to remind myself to pull back a little bit if I'm feeling like I'm in it too much, because it is helpful for me to be able to pull back at times to be able to hold the container and to hold space. For myself, a lot of times I'm feeling a lot in my own body. I tend to process things very viscerally and a lot of times I don't even have words for what I'm feeling. I just, I feel it and I feel like I'm there with them and maybe because I've taken part in so many Constellations and also so many sessions with people I've really developed that skill in a way. I feel like it's always been there, Cassie, you were talking earlier about these breadcrumbs and I do feel like that, that there's these breadcrumbs of even spirituality when I was younger, I was so fascinated with all these different types of spirituality, even though I was raised Lutheran which is like a very pragmatic religion. And it's the same with this resonating. I feel like I've always had it, but I just have a different relationship to it. And in the sessions, it is almost been empowering for me as a practitioner to learn how to be able to resonate with somebody in a way that feels supportive for me and for the person and not like something that I'm constantly overwhelmed by.

Krista:

Of course, and I'm sure it took a little bit of time to fashion that or regulate that.

Tri:

Yes, I definitely feel like that is my daily practice, and it's taken a long time to get to the point where I can be comfortable even naming. Like in the session with Cassie at the beginning, when she was naming, oh, I don't really know what's mine or what's other people's. Like in that moment, I was feeling that with her. I was like, yeah, I don't, I can't tell I'm nervous, but I can't tell if it's I'm nervous or if it's Cassie's nervousness. And I don't know. And so one thing that's helped me as a practitioner is just to name it and say it like, Oh, I'm feeling that too, you know, because people like we're human beings and it's okay to be a human being. Is it?

Krista:

Yay. Finally. So I would, speaking of, daily practices, I would love to hear from both of you. What are your self care or spiritual practices? How do you balance your energy and what kinds of things knock you out of alignment? And who would like to go first?

Cassie:

I'm happy to go. I think one of the most important self care practices that I've really developed over the past few years just making sure that I always have time allocated on my calendar each week to just spend time alone and just be in my own energy and honestly, not have any structure to that time, just allow that time to be whatever comes up. don't know that it's meditation necessarily, but just allowing myself to connect with. the spirit realm and you know that world and just allow whatever communication or messages or even silence, whatever it is allow that to come through. I try to do that at least a few times a week.

Krista:

Maybe a listening practice.

Cassie:

Yeah. That's a good way of putting it. It's like a muscle that I'm continuing to build because, it's easy for the intellect to jump into that or like judgment to come in and say, Oh, I'm not hearing anything, or is this message clear? Am I getting this right? So even just the practice of doing it and not having judgment and allowing that process to unfold as it does

Krista:

will you now add naming what is to your listening practice?

Cassie:

Yeah, definitely.

Krista:

Tree what are your self care practices?

Tri:

Yeah, I agree with Cassie. Having alone time and non structured time is super important for me. There's something really amazing about not having any scheduled meetings in a day. That in itself just opens up my energy because I wake up and I'm like, I have nothing that I'm supposed to be doing today. It's so good. I really love that. And even if I end up doing something being able to work on whatever I want to do is really important to me. I think those are like the biggest things being able to have access to control over my time and control over what I want to do. And then more functionally, I would say going to the Korean spa and then getting sessions is also very important. What kind of sessions? I, it's like we were talking about earlier. It depends on what I feel I need in the moment. Sometimes I, I do just want to receive like a regular body work session. And sometimes I want energy work. I see a practitioner once a month to do like really focused work. Manual therapy. And then the other times I just feel into what I'm looking for. And sometimes it's, I need to do an ID session.

Krista:

So

Tri:

I'll hop onto a workshop and get a session because I'll feel like a little trigger bubbling up that I need to release or support. So beautiful.

Krista:

And theTriat. Tell us why clients usually come to you. What are they looking for?

Tri:

I will say a lot of times people will come to me for craniosacral, but then it ends up being that they have other things going on. And so because we can explore process in so many different ways. It really does become an exploration of like, where is this coming from? Where is this? Is this emotional? Is this physical? Is it a combination of both? Because usually when there's chronic emotional stress, there's also a way that it shows up in our bodies. I do find that I find a little bit of myself and a lot of the clients and the things that they come for. And so it's been really cool to see that in the field, to see that relational field and have it show up. But I don't know if you've seen that in your practice as well.

Krista:

Absolutely. To the point where I was like, am I making this up or is it this well designed? But certainly people with emotional pain, physical pain perhaps Yeah things of that nature.

Tri:

I would say people come to me who have either acute injuries. Like they broke something or they had a surgery, or people who've had an injury for a while and they can't figure out where it came from. Some people do come to me for somatic trauma work. What I love about my practice is that it's very diverse and so we can really explore a lot of things. Some people come in and they're like, I want to work on my developmental trauma and that's cool. And then other people come in and they might have, complicated chronic pain issues. So again, like all the things that I've focused on in my life is I think what gets attracted to me. Beautiful.

Krista:

Tri, tell us. Why you do the work you do. Tell us what it means to you. What does it give to you?

Tri:

I really want to support people to be able to connect to themselves and their lives. I know how much of a struggle life can be just to be yourself. Cause for myself, I have felt that My whole life up until recently, I felt very challenged by life. I felt like it was hard for me to show up. It was hard for me to talk in front of other people. I felt like there was something wrong with me all the time. And I've struggled with physical pain. I've struggled with emotional pain. And so I just,, I just want to help people to be able to feel comfortable in their bodies. I just want to share that there's possibilities. I just want to be able to share with other people that there is hope. Yes, it takes a lot of work. And constant practice and I love connecting with other people in their journeys around it. It's so gratifying. And I just feel honored to be able to support people that way. I can't say how touching it is to be able to connect with people in a healing way and an intentional and purposeful way. There's something really special about being able to connect one on one in this very vulnerable and open and I will say sacred way.

Krista:

You're so incredibly gifted. There's such a beauty and a grace and a peace about you that really arrests. Us in the human in the doing and the achieving and the conquering and all of that I feel like you wake up something else in us At least for myself and Cassie mentioned the same so Incredible. Thank you. Thank you so much. I have just a quick question. So the craniosacral I'm imagining is done in person, but the Constellations work and perhaps some of your other modalities can be done via zoom. Am I right in that? I can also do distance craniosacral.

Tri:

Wow. Yeah. Yeah. So I, I would say, there's something about touch in my opinion that just feels really good to have someone just touch you and to feel the touch. And so that is missing in the distance craniosacral. Sometimes I might have the person touched a part of their system so that they can feel it. And then I might tune in with their bodies that way. But everything I do can be done online or in person, obviously without the some of the things. That I can do in person. The current website that I have for my office is craniosacralhealingarts. com And I have an office here in Pasadena and I also do online sessions. I'm also starting a new blog. It's Taking a very long time, but I'm very happy with the process of creation and it's going to be a digital garden and blog. And it's going to be called the known self dot space. So that's my Instagram right now. And I also am doing ID sessions. I have The trauma groups where we're doing ID sessions and I think that they're also very special. They're queer inclusive, which is a very strong value of mine to be able to create more inclusive spaces. And they're small but we take turns doing ID sessions with each other. And I like the container of it because we get to go on a little journey, like eight to 10 weeks long

Krista:

that's wonderful. And so all that information can be found on your website,

Tri:

If I can also just plug one more thing. I am a teacher instructor at the school of integrative psychostructural body work, and I am a craniosacral and polarity teacher there. So I teach craniosacral and polarity classes, and I have a communications to class coming up, which is all about. Acknowledging and naming and working with boundaries is a lot of the stuff that we are talked about today.

Krista:

Thank you so much. Both of you for sharing yourselves with us in this way.

Tri:

I didn't really get to say thank you, but I just want to say thank you so much to Cassie and to you, Krista and to you, Elle. This has been such a beautiful process just to be able to connect over a session like this. It's such a unique experience.

Krista:

Oh, yay.

El:

Thank you both so much for being a part of this.

Cassie:

Thank you for creating the space for it.

Krista:

Thank you for joining us for this episode of The Beginner's Guide to the Third Eye. For more information about the show, visit our website Beginners guide to the third eye.com. For show inquiries, email us at Guide to the Third i@gmail.com and visit the shop page on our website to find many of the products suggested by our practitioners and participants. And if you would be so kind, please leave a review and follow us on your go to podcast platform as it helps build our audience. Thank you. See you soon