Making Heroes of [HIV/AIDS] Victims

A transformational training with NLP, Body Massage and Zen

=============================================================== ===== The NGO GRAM works in Nizamabad and Adilabad districts of Andhra Pradesh. In its work with Children affected /infected by HIV/AIDS GRAM has taken a new challenge of rekindling hope and self help among PLHAs as benefactors beyond service recipients. Two days training was attempted (23-24 January 2009) towards this objective facilitated by MR.Arulraja an NLP expert. Aim and Objective:

Help victims out of trauma/stress related to infection Build hope in life Equip with information, knowledge and skills to build up immune powers Learn to live with hope and enthusiasm even as they wait for a cure to be invented Discover a purpose to life: contribute to society a valuable product or service

Strategy:

Conduct two days training Impart skills in NLP: Amplify good feelings; remove stress; Dream/plan for three years Introduce Zen meditation Teach Massage as therapy Inform how to boost immune power: home remedies; turmeric, garlic, pepper

Activities Training for two days: First Day: 23rd January, 2009 Session 1: Awareness of the inner Self that protects: We began training by building awareness of the inner power we have that protects us from infection the automatic system that leads us called as unconscious, the Athma, the soul etc This inner source is one that protects, nurtures life. Even without consciously knowing the scientific need for oxygen, we breathe. We did an exercise to see how long we can stop breathing, and found there is something in us that forces us to breathe! We cant stop breathing the inner force is more powerful preserving us!

A candle was lit, and then covered with glass. It got puts off; it needed oxygen. We, too, need oxygen. And, let us celebrate the fact that we have this power in us that ensures we have oxygen, even when we sleep; let us celebrate that power that protects and leads us. Let us learn to tap into that power. That power is not in our conscious awareness; and we need to go deeper into our self to tap into that power. It requires skill to go deep into the action of our brains. Session 2: Tapping into your Inner Resources: How do we use our brain to think, or when we think how do we do it? We discuss and we are not able to find, since for the most part, what happens inside is not in our awareness! Doing an exercise, we could discover how: The trainer asks them to think of a monkey, climbing a coconut tree and they say they could do that thinking. Next, asked what happened when they thought of the monkey, they realized they were creating pictures, and called it thinking. Next, we proceed to learn that pictures in our minds influence our body chemistry, instantly! Think of eating your favorite curd rice with mango pickles and you salivate. Saliva is a chemical response, created by image. Similarly, think of a tiger entering your room, you may feel fear and sweat. A sexually provocative image causes physical responses in men like what Viagra does, or symptoms of arousal in women. That is, image causes transformation of body chemistry, instantly! We need to create/maintain right images in mind to have a healthy body. Particularly, if you imagine dying of AIDS you create chemicals that destroy your immune power. If you kept imagining success, achievement, living long, you give different commands to your brain, which produces different chemistry! Depression reduces count of white cells in body; depressed people are susceptible to infections! The equation goes like this:
o o o o

Thinking = making pictures in mind Pictures = creating feelings/emotions Emotions = boosting or destroying white cells! Right pictures = greater resistance to diseases

HIV/AIDS is not a diseases; it is the destruction of your power to resist diseases. Learn to make good pictures, big, and keep them as you go ahead in life. NLP Exercise to amplify happiness:

relax become aware of sounds your body your breathing As you reach alpha state, remember a very happy event in life; make it big, like in a theatre and experience ecstasy future pace, imagining you go ahead in life with this sense of joy Session 3: NLP Exercise to reduce pain and suffering: Let us learn to relax, get out of pain and suffering, by keeping our painful memory far away, making them small Relax reach alpha state, and think of an experience that made you feel pain and suffering Stop that movie in your mind; make it a poster; you see that experience as a wall poster no sound no movement now it rains, and washes off the color of the poster its bleached the picture is shrinking becoming in your memory an old photograph and you blow it off seeing it go away from you to your left below to the far end and put a glass wall between you and the picture realize how your pain has drifted away! You feel peace; relief you are out of that old feeling of anxiety and worry, and into a new space of relaxed feelings We tend to live in memory; remembering the past few have a clear idea of what they want to achieve, and are anchored in to their vision of the future; these are the achievers, winners! The way winners use their brains differ from the others; they use dreams to imagine their future. Future is not there yet. So it can only be imagined. We shall learn the way that successful people dream; the differences between their dreams and ours In fact, eye movements can show you how you are seeing pictures A group exercise shows them that visualization takes place somewhere above and feelings, self take place below(eyes go down). A successful person, too, goes through pain, suffering, loss, but they keep it down, far away, to their left. You notice that when you talk to them; soon their eyes move to the right, brighten up, and they talk of the future they want to create. They are winners. The ways of winners: A long term (3-5 years) dream of a winner typically is:

1. Specific, to the right.

2. Filled with Self Confidence: Ill make it feeing 3. Does not break legal barriers; and is fine-tuned with familys dreams 4. Experienced in ones senses as visuals, auditory cues, touch, smell and taste.
Session 4: Expand your horizons when you dream Have a larger canvas to paint your dreams You are privileged people. Having had a taste of death, having lived with a feeling of death staring at your face you know that life here passes away. You could avoid the foolishness of people who accumulate who end up in jail you could cooperate with each other better than anyone else in the world! I dream of a group of HIV infected people going for a group loan, and having a common diary. If you show to the world that the poor can cooperate at the level of production, you will have the whole world coming to you to learn how to do it. Its a question of learning to organize operations; to manage; to supervise Once you make your rules, you are through. You can also write into your rules the procedure you will follow to resolve conflicts, like, for instance, we will abide by the decision of these three or four people in case of a conflict! You will produce more milk, with less work, and make more money. Imagine, you are able to make beyond Rs.10000 income per family of this producers cooperative, you will become a role model for the whole world! After a relaxing session in Zen, you go and dream, and come and share Introduction into Zen: sit in Vajrasana, back straight, hands in Zen mudra, and become aware that you are breathing in and breathing out Sitting like mount Everest you may watch the thought clouds come and go emotional storms blowing but you sit unmoved, uninvolved into thoughts and emotions letting them come and go just being aware you are breathing in and breathing out. After Dinner Session: As a front runner to takes the dreams of future generations, Sunny was called to chair the session, and he graciously obliged: Women shared their dreams.

Some wanted to go and educate children in schools about the need to dream. To keep their body chemistry as that of winners Some wanted to do business Some wanted help from Gram to build houses; or get lands

No one bought the dream of the trainer! Subanreddy who was there said may be these women came from different villages, and hence could not think of doing group dairy. That means, we could plan for a village with large enough number of HIV infected people say 5 or more start an experimental dairy. Some were not able to get out of DWACRA/VELUGU mould of mindset! They are seeking doles! The damage done to the poor by their projects is defying all attempts to reinstall dignity into the life of the poor by training The power of government to destroy was so clearly manifest in their sharing session. Sunny summed up saying My name is Sannihita; a friend of all; want to help everyone; and all are always welcome to approach me! Sunny was very personal in his approach, sharing his own depressed feelings and how he overcame them by his dreams and activities for a bright future. Subanreddy shared his life struggle to study and come up in his life by his own efforts.

Second Day: 24th January, 2009 We began the day with a brief review of what they gained from the training of the first day. One after the other spoke of how she felt Happy and Courageous. It was encouraging to see their face beam with joy, radiating hope about life after the trauma they were into. Particularly, they mentioned that the NLP exercise of making images big/small in mind helped them to increase joy and decrease pain. As feedback on the previous days final session of sharing, the trainer spoke to them of how having a mission in life gives a purpose, which instructs their unconscious minds to organize life energy towards reaching that goal. And it was very encouraging to see how some of them spoke of their desire to give life to others: go from school to school, assisting children to dream a bright future, as Dr.Abdul Kalam does. Some others wanted to continue with their studies. That again is a great sign of faith in self, hope in future. Yet, unfortunately, some were very vague in their dreams, in spite of being taught that they need to be specific in order to be able to instruct their minds. A few were asking for doles from GRAM! And no one spoke of organizing milk production at the production level, which is disappointing to the trainer...

And the women replied that since they were each one from a different place, they could not dream of collective farming. The need to dream big was reiterated to them, once again. Two Steps To Achieving Ones Dreams: Once you have your dream in place, then you only need to take two simple steps to reach the goal you dreamed about.

1. Its like this: You have a peak before you that you want to scale. Thats your
dream. Then, all you need to do is to take your steps, one at a time. Chunk your large goal into a small piece that you can swallow today. Trainees were told of the importance of moving out of their homes, looking around to see if they could plan some activity, even if they are not able to plan the step immediately. 2. Next, they need to appreciate themselves every once in a while for having taken the steps they wanted to. Particularly at the early stages of ones struggle, there is no one going to encourage you. You need to celebrate your success every week or two, by doing something you like: buy sweets and eat? Go for a movie? Next, the group took a walk around the campus to look around for what things they could do. They saw the goats, azolla cultivation1, vermi compost pits, drip irrigation of Jatropa, vegetables like brinjal, cucumber, cabbage, chilli, ladies finger etc. Trainer encouraged them to dream big. Like, wanting to generate an income of Rs.10,000 per month Next, they could see how many goats, or cows or buffalos they will need to generate that income. Then, they may look around for fields that have water, and available for lease Next study the fodder you could grow then study about dairy Make a budget, for the lease expenses; construction of sheds, and purchase of animals work your way backward to make your big dreams come true. Tea Break: We had a specially brewed flavoured milk, made with turmeric, black pepper and garlic to help build immune power. The process was explained to trainees. Also, the importance of eating fruits vegetables of different colors were explained to them. Body Massage: Massage is known to increase immune powers. 1 Also, Whether your client has cancer or AIDS, you are touching more than the body - you are also touching his or her soul.2

One lady volunteered to be massaged so that others could learn. She was massaged on the head, face, neck, shoulder, hands and back. The nerves and muscles that were twisted due to tension were identified and tension released. The tension she carries on her shoulder provided a learning point to others who came forward and to feel with their fingers the way to identify tension and to relieve the same. The head, neck shoulder and hands massage is something they could do on themselves! Only the back massage will require assistance! It was a very happy experience of relief and it was evident of the glow on the face of these victims of stigma.
ZEN:

Further, a second session on Zen meditation was held, so that trainees learned to do it themselves when they go home. After introduction of a simple technique of counting the breath, we sat for five minutes in meditation. Trainer also spoke briefly of www.ishafoundation.org who conduct training in meditation on invitation. The trainees were eager for such a course from the foundation. We then wound up with Ms. Uma Sarswathi from Lepra Society doing the non-formal evaluation. In the course of the evaluation they expressed their great joy for having attended this training. Ms. Umasaraswathi wanted them to draft their follow up, regionwise which they did immediately afterwards, and submitted to the organizers. We had lunch and bid good bye after a group photo by Sumi. Reflection by Trainer on this training: This is a privileged group of trainees. They have realized the fleeting nature of human life; and, in that sense, they are enlightened beings. Being enlightened, more than anyone else, they could see clearly what is proposed to them. They are more ready, willing and eager to achieve transformation than the rest of humanity. Thats my personal belief. Here, GRAM has put its belief in people when, for instance, it promoted dairy cooperative/company. Years of problem to sell milk could be solved cooperatively, and income could be doubled or more than doubled! The next generation of development is round the corner: large scale dairy units. Such units will provide greater level of income. But, for the poorest of the poor, large farms will be possible only by cooperative dairy farming.

Victims of AIDS, or the physically disabled might be the right group to show the way to those free from AIDS and those physically abled. Its in them that the prophesy of the stone rejected by builder becoming the corner stone will be fulfilled! GRAM has done well in getting them round, to give them a sense of a mission to the society. These trainees who are going with a sense of purpose, particularly the leaders among them will certainly be the torch bearers of larger society in the days and moth and years to come!