Practitioners of Energy Medicine typically learn to rely on their intuition for what to say and do when they are working with clients. Most people, in fact, rely on their intuition more often than they realize. For this reason, we decided to take Awakening 1, with Angel Gail Konz, whom Debra had met through a friend in Michigan City. We were both aware of the significance of intuition in our own work, and we wanted to do whatever we could to increase the accuracy of our insights and our ability to interpret the information we received through that channel.

Intuition comes in different ways to different people. Some will “see” an image. Others will “hear” a word or phrase of advice. Others will “get” a feeling. In each case, the person receiving intuitive information may act on it or reject it based on previous experience with such information. Awakening 1 is designed to help participants be more aware of their own intuitive abilities and to trust the information they receive in that way.

The Reading

Before the workshop, Gail requires participants to have a session with her in which she uses her own remarkable intuitive skills to determine whether each individual is really ready to benefit from the training. During the session, Gail “reads” the energy of the person’s chakras and reports what she finds. She is able to do these readings over the phone as well as face-to-face. Joel had his reading over the phone, and Debra had hers face-to-face. Both of us found the readings remarkably accurate.

The process of awakening intuition actually begins with the reading. Those familiar with SCS or other energy-based healing modalities know that conscious intent and commitment influence the Energy: Energy follows thought. During the reading, Gail uses her own considerable skills as an energy worker to stimulate the pineal gland, which is considered the seat of intuition and is often called “The Third Eye” for that reason.

The Workshop

The workshop we attended was held in Michigan City, Indiana. It began on a Friday at 9:00A and concluded with a potluck lunch on Sunday. In between we had two and a half days of using intuition to learn what we could about others, starting with other participants in the workshop and then moving on to people we knew, both living and deceased. To serve as the vehicles for reading others, each of us brought objects and photographs, which we “read” without knowing who owned the object and without seeing who was in the photograph.

Gail’s focus in the workshop was on showing us how to be more intuitive and giving us the opportunity to experience our own intuition. She provided information about how intuition works and about working with energy in general, but the main aspect of the workshop was experiential. We learned by doing and then paying attention to the feedback. When participants were unsure about the information they were receiving, Gail supplemented their information with the information she had received intuitively and helped bridge the gap in a way that allowed all of us to learn from the experience.

The first exercise was based on reading the energy in one of the personal objects each participant had been instructed to bring to the workshop. After the objects had been distributed, each of us commented on the information we received intuitively from the energy of the object. Although not all the information seemed pertinent, most of it was sufficiently accurate to be impressive. Participants were able to provide numerous details about the individual based on the energy in the object.

The second exercise was a reading of the energy in a photograph of individuals known to the participants. Each of us had brought two or three photographs of people we knew to the workshop. Each of us selected one of our photographs and laid it face down on a table so that others would not be able to see the image. Most of us found this exercise a little more challenging, but once again we were all able to “get” meaningful information.

The third exercise was a “homework” assignment to do a reading on one of the other participants in the workshop. We were matched with the person seated across from us to help ensure that the individual for whom we were to do the reading would be someone we did not already know well. We did our readings either that evening or before the start of the second day of the workshop. Once again, we were impressed by—and in some cases stunned by—the accuracy of the information received intuitively. Following the initial sharing with the group, we had the opportunity to spend time with our partner for that exercise and to expand on the information initially presented in the group setting. That helped us make sense of information that had been confusing and to discover new ways of interpreting information that had seemed erroneous or inconsequential.

The next exercise involved work with another photograph. This exercise was more extended than the initial work with the photographs had been and was one of our opportunities to spend a longer time with—and do a more extensive reading for—one of the other participants.

On Sunday, we did two exercises before the workshop officially ended. For the first, each of us wrote the name of someone we knew who was deceased on a slip of paper. Once gain, the slips were put in a basket, and then each of us drew a slip. We were to ask the “real” reason the person had died and to ask for a message from the deceased for the person who had submitted the name. The last exercise was similar, in that we used an additional photograph or object to obtain a message for the person who had brought it. In both these exercises, participants were able to demonstrate that they were highly intuitive and really could obtain accurate and meaningful information using their intuition.

Gail led the closing ceremony, which was a remarkable display of energy work and attunement. Those of you who are Reiki practitioners are familiar with the process of attunement that allows the body and energy field to align with the Reiki energy. You also know that no explanation of the attunement process actually describes what happens. Gail does something similar, and—as is true for the Reiki attunements—words can’t really describe the amplification of connection to the Energy that took place during the closing ceremony.

In many ways, the same was true for the entire workshop. Some of what we saw and heard was extraordinary. We feel privileged to have been part of the group.

The Extras

Along the way, we had some time for socializing and getting to know each other in more conventional ways. Those of us who were able to stay in or close to Michigan City met for dinner on Friday evening and had an elegant dinner at a nearby restaurant, Kelly's Cuisine at Creekwood Inn. One of the participants, Fay Smith, is a classically trained musician with a rare gift of extemporaneous composition. At an appropriate time in the workshop, she used her considerable talent to compose and play the “soul song” of one of the other participants. It was an amazing piece of music that deeply affected all of us who were there.

We also had some time to simply relax and enjoy ourselves. We [Debra and Joel] took advantage of the weather late Saturday afternoon to walk along the Lake Michigan beach. Afterwards, we had a gourmet pizza dinner before tackling the homework for the evening. The potluck lunch was a perfect way to end the gathering, allowing us all time to “decompress” following the intensity of having put our intuition on the line for the two and a half days of the workshop.

The Next Time—Gail’s Return to SW Michigan

For those of you who are interested, Gail will be returning to SW Michigan in August. She will give a free introductory lecture from 6:00 to 8:00P Sunday evening, 1 August, and give readings on the following Monday and Tuesday. She is planning to conduct another Awakening 1 workshop at the Holistic Alliance in St. Joseph, Michigan, 8-10 October, Friday (9:00A to 4:00P), Saturday (9:00A to 4:00P), and Sunday (9:00A to 2:00P).

This is an excellent workshop for everyone doing energy work—and for all who wish to learn more about using and trusting their intuition.

Addendum, February 2005

Following the first training, Debra attended two additional Awakening 1 workshops in 2004 and Joel and Debra both attended the training in January. Although the basic workshop was the same as the one in June 2004, the actual experience was different because the participants were different. Given the nature of the class and the way in which intuition develops with use, this is one workshop that will be new, different, and increasingly beneficial each time you take it.

The schedule for the remaining Awakening workshops in 2005 is available on the SCS Calendar. You can read more about her on her Website: www.angelgail.com.