Adele Leas writes: “African Reflections through the Lens of Jin Shin Jyutsu” in The Main Central Jin Shin Jyutsu Newsletter, issue Number 72, Spring 2011:

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continued…

In order to view animals in the wild, one must be patient and silent. Over time I became aware that the animals seemed to appear and come closer when the energy we were radiating was that of deep, connected peace. I have a new understanding of Safety Energy Lock 4 and one’s ability to Assume the Pace of Nature. We arrived just at the end of the spring monsoons, and the bush was so lush that parts looked more like Ireland than the pictures I had always seen of South Africa. I had the rare opportunity to observe a lone elephant doing what appeared to be a solo ballet at the watering hole. As I watched, I was filled with the awareness of being and breathing with the elephant and the whole forest. I felt the land exhale!

Blaine and I also had the life changing opportunity to share “hands-on time” with a semi-habituated 5-ton bull elephant, Rambo. We also got to feed his mate, Rachel, with their nine-month-old son Jabulani close by. (Jabulani is “Happiness” in Zulu.) Rachel and Rambo were infants when the rest of their herd was culled as a form of population control. Somehow the babes escaped and, in their confusion, turned to their family’s killers for help. These hunters did not have the heart to kill them and so they matured into full-grown adults in the wild but without a real herd. They choose to come visit people each day for a brief while and act as wonderful teachers and ambassadors, displaying their great intelligence, sensitivity, sense of humor and compassion.

Blaine and I both loved our time with the elephants, but sensed different things. Here again was a wonderful lesson… What we perceive of a situation is based largely on our past experiences and frame of reference. We each took away different impressions of this opportunity. The feel of Rambo’s musculature overawed Blaine, and I was absolutely rocked by the feel of his pulses throbbing not only in my hands but through my entire body and down my legs into the earth. Universal Life Force indeed! And yet, if something is not done soon to slow the human population growth and the paving and development of lands, it is predicted that these walking miracles will become extinct within the next hundred years.

We had the magnificent opportunity to observe wildebeests, giraffes, zebras, warthogs (who move very much like my old dog, Scooter); white and very rare black rhinos, elephants and a lion…all in their natural habitat. Surely we are meant to be a part of the picture, finding our place among this majesty. Being awakened at sunrise by thousands of birds filled my heart with joy and gratitude, and I could not help noticing how different our “modern man’s lifestyle” rhythms are. I did not share actual hands-on sessions with them. Instead I rode in the land rover and held fingers. I also did lots of 25s, “lazy man’s exercise”, as one does not get to walk where the lions are in charge.

I also had the opportunity to share sessions with a number of Thonga and Zulu people in the villages where we stayed and visited. I was thrilled that there seemed to be an innate understanding and acceptance of the work whenever I offered it, even though none of these folks had ever actually heard of Jin Shin Jyutsu before. Doesn’t Mary tell us it is “our spiritual inheritance?” It was very clear to me that not having formally studied did not keep these people from a profound understanding of the energy and interconnectedness of life. It was truly unique to share outside sessions at dawn with the sounds of the birds and hippos moving down to the water’s edge from their beds along the banks. There is a real lack of good medical care available to many indigenous peoples in KwaZulu-Natal, and AIDS is at an epidemic level. I am pleased to say I have a few new friends who are practicing Main Central and holding fingers every day now.

The whole experience was a chance to live in FUN (Fulfillment, Understanding, No-thing), and I see every day differently now because of insights gained from the trip. It is our hope to return next year, offering some JSJ self-help classes, and to assist Digs to pen a book sharing the lessons that seven decades in the bush have taught him which he believes could not only guide modern man but help maintain “A Space for Elephants”.

Thank you, Adele.

Thank you, Mary.

Thank you, David.

Gassho, Namaste, Blessings

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