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www.groovekorea.com / May 2014 82 Edited by Elaine Ramirez (elaine@groovekorea.com) INSIGHT Female healers lead the way to self-improvement and transformation spiritual healing Story and Photos by venus Robertson F or decades, famous self-help experts, gurus and spiritual leaders have tire- lessly offered alternatives to living in suffering and inner disorder. Mes- sages repeated and packaged in an array of programs, books, audio recording and shows have covered every issue that people seem to repeatedly regurgitate. Sure, maybe we need help. We are 40 kilo- grams overweight, have $30,000 in debt, go to bed with the wrong people and let go of the right people. But is it really so complicated to get a bit of peace and calm and set ourselves on the proverbial right path? It may not be immediately obvious, but be- yond churches, temples and self-help books exists a brave network of devout individuals right here in Seoul who encourage people to look past surface issues and surroundings and become more conscious and self-aware. Three female healers, each with unique methods and all successful business owners, shared their suggestions on self-improvement, both in one’s mind and in relation with the out- side world. “I don’t have a mentor because I realized that once you observe your mind and its relation to what you are experiencing in your outer world, you don’t need to look to someone else,” says Shia, an author, counselor and owner of the quaint Zen Therapy healing center on Bukhansan. “You will organically experience transformation.” From the center’s lofty and calming moun- tain perch, with its rows of Tibetan singing bowls and piles of crystals on shelves, the street-level chaos appears far off and forget- table. It seems an idyllic environment for med- itating. “Incorporating meditation into your life doesn’t have to be hard,” she notes in a calming, gen- tle voice. “Although it’s nice to have the dim lights, soft music and mountain air, realistically, we can’t always have that. So whether you can spend one hour or one minute on your way home, in a café or wherever you are, the thing is that you do it.” First, set a practical goal for how long you want to meditate, and extend it only after you have easily reached that goal, she explains. The point is to consciously bring yourself into the present moment and open your mind. Vipassana meditation — which means to “see things as they really are” — may not be for everyone embarking on a new meditation practice, but Shia gives a very welcome and non-intimidating suggestion for those who want to try out the benefits of quieting one’s mind: “Start with just one minute. The way you meditate doesn’t matter — just focus on be- ing here now.” Moon Young-min, who was once a TV broadcaster, notes that meditation can do more than simply bring a speedy transfor- mation in one’s relationship with the outside world. Change can also come through what she calls a “divine transmission.” She refers to the hundreds of people she has worked with and how their lives have dramatically improved since applying this technique and receiving fresh, new energy. “First, you must start looking within, at your own relationships,” she advises. “When you work with them, other areas naturally become clearer. You are able to see where the root of your issues began.” Moon is a “Oneness” teacher. According to the practice’s founder Sri Baghavan, certain belief systems can run our lives as if on auto- pilot. Moon explains that the negative mental- ities we may have grown up with — such as obsessions with money or power — end up running our lives from somewhere in the back- ground. Try as we might to avoid it, we end up repeating the same patterns time and again. “It’s important to work on healing your rela- tionship with your parents, as this was your first exposure to what relationships mean,” she adds. “As you heal these two relationships, this will also begin to move your wealth and health consciousness into a more expansive state.” According to the Oneness teachings, your health is connected to your relationship with your mother and your wealth is tied to your relationship with your father. Another, very different way that yogi and meditation teacher Ahimsa says can bring deeper self-awareness is through the reading of AuraSoma bottles, which she hopes will eventually reach mainstream Korea. The 105 rainbow-colored bottles of oil sit in rows patiently, alluringly, at her modest studio. With the catchphrase “Your light made man- ifest,” the bottles of alchemic mixture each have their own set of characteristics and clues that are relevant in combination only to the person choosing them. AuraSoma’s founder, Vicky Wall, is said to have received a series of reoccurring medita- tive visions that led her to develop the bottles further, adding herbs and crystals as co-facili- tators to the oils themselves. “The reason why I love AuraSoma so much is that it gives the ‘invisible’ realm a tangible connection to the material world,” Ahimsa notes with enthusiasm. “I’ve explored many different types of meditation practices and