In The Main Central Jin Shin Jyutsu Newsletter, issue Number 53, Summer 2006, Alison Hammer Winans shares her experience as:

Some of The Things That Mary Taught Me

After Mary stopped teaching in 1990, my studies with her continued in the form of a yearly intensive at the Scottsdale office – receiving nine sessions in a week, four of them being with her. I was so fortunate to have these precious moments with Mary from 1992 – 2000. Every time I went, more “layers of the onion” were peeled off as Jin Shin Jyutsu housecleaned my body and my mind. During my first week of sessions, Mary was holding a vertebra in the middle of my back one day. It really hurt and felt like her finger was penetrating to the bone. I remembered her telling a story in a seminar about someone who was so depressed. She said to this person, “Be the happiest miserable person you can be.” So I decided to enjoy the pain, to be the happiest person in pain that I could be. I focused on the center of sensation, breathed deeply, felt the pain, and witnessed it dissolve and disappear. Some deep, deep fear was dug out of my back that week, and I was truly happy for the first time in my life. Jin Shin Jyutsu is “The Art of Happiness”.

During my sessions I didn’t talk very much with Mary; nevertheless, these times were a continuation of my studies. One year that I was there, she taught me about gratitude. The words she said the most were, “Thank you, God”. She looked out of the window at the beautiful Arizona sky – “Thank you, God.” She listened to my pulse – “Thank you, God.” I asked her how she was, and she said, “Perfect, I am perfect in every moment – Thank you, God.” She thanked me for coming to see her. Through her presence, she taught me about being grateful for everything, good experiences and also the bad ones, knowing that it is all given to us by God/the Divine/Creator. Through her own Being, she was also teaching me to let go of attachments, to have no preferences, to see whatever comes as a gift from God, no matter whether it is pleasant or unpleasant.

Mary also said to me numerous times, “God is my Do-er”, humbly showing me that although I thought she was masterful, wise and fantastically skilled, she was aware that it was God working through her jumper cable. When I asked her how she knew where to put her hands, she would say “God is my Do-er.” This concept lies at the very core of the practice of Jin Shin Jyutsu. At the very beginning of Text 1, Mary states, “It is not application of technique; it is demonstration of Art, simply Being the channel through which flow infinite aesthetic powers of the Creator. One’s progress with Jin Shin Jyutsu Physio-Philosophy depends on complying with the Art’s established procedures and unencumbered communion with the Creator.” (Italics are my emphasis.) When I asked her questions during my sessions, Mary knew that I did not need to add more techniques to my toolbox; she knew that the part I really needed to learn was about Be-ing, not Do-ing, and finding my own way to maintain that “unencumbered communion with the Creator.” So simple and yet so deep, these were the biggest lessons of all those times I was blessed to spend with her in Scottsdale.

Another time, I said to her, “Mary, even though I hold my 11s every day, my shoulders are still tight. What can I do to help this?” What she told me was masterfully simple. she suggested that every half hour, I could just “exhale and drop my shoulders.” I heard her say this so many times in the seminars. This is so simple and yet it is not easy to do – it takes a lot of willingness, awareness, ability to detach from the whirl of daily life and a real motivation to change old patterns. It’s not just about physically relaxing the shoulders, it also means letting go of all the beliefs, stuck emotions and ways of being that create the tension in the first place. At the end of my third annual week of sessions, my shoulders were so relaxed that they felt like butter. Because they were so clear, I noticed the muscles tightening up when a fearful thought crossed my mind, “Will I have the money for such-and-such, and where will it come from?” Oh, so that’s where the shoulder tension comes from! Exhale, drop the shoulders! I was still on vacation for a week and so had the leisure to observe the effects of my thoughts. Most of us have lives that are so fast paced, it is inevitable that layers of tension accumulate and we are not even aware where it comes from. Herein lies the value of taking some quiet time every day to help ourselves and get to know ourselves with Jin Shin Jyutsu.

Thank you, Alison.

Thank you, Mary.

Thank you, David.

Thank you, God.

Gassho, Namaste, Blessings

All issues of The Main Central Newsletter are available at http://www.jsjinc.net.