Who We Are
Vision
Mission
Values and Guiding Principles
- Ongoing Commitment to the Principles of Core Energetics
- Embodied Grounded Presence
- Accountability / Self-responsibility
- Authentic Self Expression
- Promote and Honor Diversity
- Practice Inclusion
- Engage with Respect
Core Energetics was developed in the early 1970’s by the late John Pierrakos, M.D. Pierrakos had been a mentee of Wilhelm Reich and later founded Bioenergetics with Alexander Lowen. After meeting Eva Broch, the gifted channel of the Pathwork lectures, who later became his wife, he integrated the spiritual concepts of the Pathwork with the body psychotherapy techniques of Bioenergetics. And Core Energetics was born.
Core Energetics, which bridges body psychotherapy and spirituality is based on three tenets: 1) that an individual is a psychosomatic unity 2) that healing lies within and 3) that all of life moves toward creative evolution. In his book, Core Energetics, John said, “every part of the human person, from the structure of the body, to the clarity of perception is molded by internal energy.” This life force energy, of which we are molded is meant to flow freely and pulsate with aliveness. The experience of this free and natural pulsation is one of pleasure and presence.
Life energy also has a qualitative aspect. It has direction and purpose. It is imbued and is inseparable from consciousness. Everything is consciousness “from the smallest subatomic particle yet to be discovered, to the totality of being.” The phrase, “pleasure and fulfillment through energy and consciousness,” which was for many years a motto of Core Energetics is based on these principles.
Human development, from embryo to adult is a process of embodiment. It takes the individual through a series of stages in consciousness, in which you come to know yourself, within the polarities of unity and separation. The successful completion of each stage of development depends upon a positive experience where the primary needs of the growing child are adequately met. Each stage brings about an expansion of consciousness with a new sense of yourself in your body and in relationship to others.
The Core Energetics process opens the blocks to free the life force, which brings about an increase of energy and awareness. It would seem this would be something everyone would want, however, in reality we often have resistance to this process. As humans, our instinct is to avoid change and discomfort, to stay within our “comfort zone,” even if it is filled with suffering. It is nevertheless a “known suffering.” To take a growth journey means to go beyond our comfort zone, to engage the unknown and the unconscious, and to have experiences and feelings, which we may have believed were too dangerous to feel.
To realize what we lacked in our childhood is painful; to feel and express our repressed rage actually reconnects us to an energy supply, which was previously unavailable to us. In Core Energetics, we work with this powerful energy, that when grounded and integrated supplies vitality and creativity.
We do this work to reconnect with the truth of our experience exactly as it was; to feel the disowned feelings; to express what could not be expressed. In doing so, we take ownership of the energy we had to disown, because at the time it was too painful and our ego could not integrate it. This is not about blaming our caregivers. That is not the point at all. Paradoxically, we discover that what we imagined we had to avoid at all costs, turns out to be an illusion. We do not die from the pain, or the feelings, or the consciousness but quite the contrary, we come through to the other side, t-r-a-n-s-f-o-r-m-e-d, feeling more courageous and more alive than we were before.
Not only are we more alive and more empowered, we also have access to a greater range of emotions and we don’t get stuck in any of them. As energy courses through the body, it opens the energy centers and in particular the heart, which we believed we needed to protect. As energy flows freely in and through the body we become more grounded and present to what is. Life becomes joyous not because there is no pain in living. Of course there is. Because we can cry and express freely when we feel the need to, we no longer hold onto the feelings. They flow through us as they are meant to. We experience joy because we come to trust ourselves in our grounded sense of self and truth, as we feel and express our feelings.
This in turn creates connection, deepens intimacy with others and enriches the quality of our contact. We feel a greater connectedness to all life, as the life force within us is in continual open exchange with the universal energy field. We are inspired and we experience pleasure in its pure form as a result of the fullness of our embodiment. We can laugh more heartily, love more passionately, and live more dynamically.
This is the promise of the Core Energetics journey. Pleasure, fulfillment, and joy are not empty words, nor are they a promise of a pain-free life. Core Energetics provides a process to transform the suffering we experience when our energy is fragmented, depleted, or held. The work of Core Energetics is powerful because it addresses the body in breaking through long-held defenses. Cognitive work is simply not enough. The work of Core Energetics is integrative, it unifies mind, body, emotions, sexuality, will, and spirit. When you show up for the work of Core Energetics, it changes you from the inside out and connects you with your deeper purpose, so you can live the life you are meant to live.
The moment we break down and transform our defenses, we experience a total flow of energy and love throughout the body, and our consciousness changes.
— John Pierrakos, Founder, Core Energetics
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