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But I did look twice at a large scar that would spread across the face from cheek to ear, and at how very crooked the mouth would appear, looking like a huge red gash. The hair was of different colors in various moments cut short and shaped in a rounded way. I would notice also the warm but rough shapeless clothing that he appeared to be wearing. The back of this person was a little bent over and could be the body of a man or woman, no fixed gender. I experienced the emotion of tenderness towards this being each time I glanced at the face, which was etched deeply with misery. At times the face was transformed, the ugliness disappeared, and it was replaced with a lopsided smile. The face then had an erie kind of radiance. The face and the figure reminded me of a time and a place I already knew. I remembered a dusty road, a noisy crowd and the sight of the bent over women's figure as we passed on opposite sides of the road. It had been a few hundred years before. A word came to mind and fitted exactly this being: Ghoul.
A few weeks later, during the Rebirthing session the man said to me after I had him covered and warm in the soft space on the floor: "Are you going to cover my head?" This was surprising to me, as it was not a request that I had encountered before during this kind of session. I realized that it was relevant so we agreed to compromise but I felt that the whole head and face so covered would be in the way of the deep breathing, which was part of the therapy. Instead I swathed the head and face surrounding it with soft gentle cloth. The session continued and went well. The healing and releasing process was underway. After a particularly intense period, my client just stopped the breathing and clearly said: "I am ready now to be done". I paid attention to this statement and one by one went through all of the possibilities of what he might mean, disregarding them when I knew they did not feel right. As I watched, I saw the body being embalmed and I knew then that I was in the role of the embalmer. I saw that each layer of the embalming material put on and taken off represented also the misery and miseries of generations. The body did vibrate and the different forms superimposed one on top of the other straightened themselves and then fitted together perfectly.
I observed as the body died and was time and time again reborn and the release that came with all of that amazing process.
After the session my client described powerful feelings of empowerment, release, and calm. He felt energized and reborn. I asked as a by the way question if he remembered me from anywhere, any time or any place, as he felt familiar to me: "not intimately, but that I noticed him in a passing crowd a long way back" I said. He thought and responded: "Well, I am not sure. I just knew that you would not judge me". He spoke as one who had been always judged.
Later that day I looked up the word Ghoul in the dictionary. The definition said: "An evil demon originally of oriental legend supposed to feed on human beings and especially to rob graves. A person who revels in what is revolting." I remembered the layers of misery the ghoul had shed and realized how easy it is for society and also us as individuals to label as Evil and Revolting that which we have not explored thoroughly enough. It was an interesting realization and experience. |
