Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/365665
ENERGY WORK I t p a y s t o b e A B M P C e r t i f i e d : w w w. a b m p . c o m / g o / c e r t i f i e d c e n t r a l 113 burnout because they give clients more time than booked or add just one extra emergency client, despite exhaustion. Another typical mistake is to allow verbal mistreatment or other disrespect from a client, which in the end reinforces negative behavior and damages our self-perception. Understanding these basic categories of mistakes can help us prevent an error before it happens. TRUSTING OUR INTUITION It's also important to consult with another valuable practitioner commodity: our intuition. Time and time again, I've been saved from a slipup because I've followed my intuition. I once sensed a new client wasn't giving me complete information, so I suggested we table a healing until a later session. The next time she came in, she admitted that she had bipolar disorder and hadn't told me. I might not have been as sensitive to her condition if I had treated her without this information. Another time, I had the sense I was being played by a client. I fi nally asked him what he really wanted from the session. He admitted he was trying to get me to gossip about his wife, who had come in the week before. My intuition also assists me with helping clients avoid mistakes. I once suspected a client's symptoms suggested he had more than a cold and asked him to consider going to a doctor. The physician found a tumor. MISTAKES LEAD TO ENLIGHTENMENT When we do make a mistake, we can employ our intuition, value system, and advisors to fi gure out how to handle it. Sometimes, we only have to say we are sorry. Sometimes, we can provide another session and alleviate the concern. Other times, we might encourage a client to see another professional or allow us to consult with other providers. The most important advice we can follow, however, is to learn from our mistakes. Dogen Zenji, one of the greatest Buddhist teachers of the 13th century, was clear that his life was a series of mistakes—but how wonderful, this state of affairs. Enlightenment follows our ability to embrace the everyday world. He said we are to love all it has to offer, even while we practice detachment. 3 To cultivate the ability to show up for a client and remain present, to own what we must own and release the rest—this is the path to true wisdom. When we learn from our mistakes and build on our successes, we have greater potential to become better people, and better practitioners. Notes 1. Fatima Lateef, "Patient Expectations and the Paradigm Shift of Care in Emergency Medicine," Journal of Emergencies, Trauma, and Shock 4, no. 2 (2011): 163–7. 2. Innovative Educational Services, "Prevention of Medical Errors— Massage Therapy Goals & Objectives," accessed July 2014, www. cheapceus.com/course_documents/44/Medical_Errors__Massage_ Therapy.pdf. 3. Masunaga Reiho, "The Standpoint of Dogen and His Ideas on Time," accessed July 2014, www.zenki.com/index. php?lang=en&page=Masunaga04. Cyndi Dale is an internationally renowned author, speaker, and intuitive consultant. Her books include the bestselling The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy (Sounds True, 2009), The Complete Book of Chakra Healing (Llewellyn Publications, 2009), and Advanced Chakra Healing (Crossing Press, 2005). To learn more about Dale and her products, services, and classes, please visit www.cyndidale.com.