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HEALING FROM THE BODY LEVEL UPTM METHODOLOGY INTRODUCTION

Copyright 1998 Judith A. Swack, Ph.D., revised 2003.

Healing from the Body Level UpTM (HBLUTM) is a holistic psychotherapy system that
reproducibly clears mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual blocks to success. Developed by
Judith A. Swack, Ph.D., HBLUTM, integrates the best of biomedical science, psychology,
spirituality, applied kinesiology, hypnosis, Neuro-Linguistic Programming, and other energy
psychology techniques with her original research on the structure of complex damage patterns.
Thus, HBLUTM is a unique way to get unstuck and eliminate struggle by clearing unconscious
patterns that cause self-sabotage. In addition to healing, HBLU is a valuable modality for
facilitating personal growth, spiritual evolution, and self-actualization. In this paper, we first
describe the underlying HBLUTM philosophy followed by a description of how we do HBLUTM
and how it works.

THE BIG PICTURE: Judith Swack's Philosophy and World View.

I believe that we all have a soul that is radiant and beautiful. Our souls are currently
embodied in human form on the planet earth. The question is, why?
I believe that there are two reasons for this. 1. We are embodied in order to manifest our
soul mission/personal contribution to the world. The ability to manifest our mission is what
makes our lives feel meaningful and deeply satisfying. When we die, we can look back on our
life and see that the world was a better place for our having been here. 2. We are here to
experience the fullness of life and all that it has to offer. We are tourists here. This means eat,
drink, be merry, learn, love, travel, experience emotional ups and downs, learn about your body
and other life-forms on the planet, etc. Life is fascinating!

THE UNITED NATIONS OF SELF

The next question is, what is a human being? In human form we are a complex mixture
of things. Our physical bodies are a symbiotic combination of human cells and bacteria.
Bacteria live in our gut, vaginas, sinuses, and skin. Bacteria help us to digest food, make vitamin
K for blood clotting, and protect our bodies from disease-causing organisms. We actually could
not live without our bacteria! This is why taking broad-spectrum antibiotics that kill our good
bacteria as well as disease-causing bacteria, often results in side effects such as intestinal upset
and yeast infections. To counteract this problem, people take bacterial replacement supplements
(yogurt, lactobacillus acidophilus pills, etc.) to repopulate their bodies with these protective
organisms.
In human form, we are also of several minds, each a different country in language,
customs, and values:

The conscious mind. This mind is the land of rational, concrete, linear, logic. It is very
literal. For example, the chair is blue. I have $200 in my wallet.
The unconscious mind. The unconscious mind is the land of emotion (which is not
rational), imagination, memory, creativity, poetry, and metaphor. It thinks in images, sounds,
feelings, tastes, smells, and sensations. It is not literal like the conscious mind. It makes
associations and broadens meaning and understanding. For example, the blue chair reminds
me of the one we had in our living room that the cat used to sleep on (feeling of happy

Copyright Judith A. Swack, Ph.D., HBLU, Inc. 56 Pickering St. Needham, MA 02492 781-444-
6940 e-mail: Judith@HBLU.org Website: www.HBLU.org
 2

nostalgia). I have $200 in my wallet and I feel rich. Im enjoying imagining all the things I
could spend it on.
The body. The body is the land of physical survival and reproduction. It values safety, good
health, comfort, strength, food, sleep, rest, cleanliness, nurturing touch, sex, etc. The body
values providing a good home for the soul so that the soul can live in the material world.
The soul. The soul is the land of soul mission and connection with God and all life on this
planet and in the universe. The soul values making a contribution and living a full and
meaningful life as long as the mortal body lives. The soul knows that in order to make a
difference in the material plane, it has to become material by living in a body. Souls do not
care about reproduction or physical survival. Souls know that they are immortal, and when
this body dies, the soul can choose to reincarnate in another body, or do something else.

The Big Picture

Life Experience
Conscious,
Unconscious,
and Body

Live Life Manifest

Fully SOUL Mission

Personality Structure
Enneagram

External Interference
Natural Disasters
Nasty People with Free Will
Supernatural

Copyright Judith A. Swack, Ph.D., HBLU, Inc. 56 Pickering St. Needham, MA 02492 781-444-
6940 e-mail: Judith@HBLU.org Website: www.HBLU.org
 3

SELF-PEACE, WORLD PEACE

As so often happens between countries, we find ourselves fighting between the different
levels of our being. In the United States, we are taught that the conscious mind is the only thing
that exists or matters. How then do you explain the common phenomenon, I didnt do it on
purpose. Which I is he referring to? This person probably means that he did not do the
problematic behavior with conscious intention. If not, then the conscious mind is clearly not in
control. The fact remains that the client did the behavior. So which level of his being was
actually in charge at the time, and does the fact that he didnt consciously intend to do this erase
or excuse the fact that he did it? (Are you following me?)
Other popular unhelpful conscious attitudes towards the unconscious mind and body:
I dont believe in that
Its not real (its a dream, or something I imagined) so I can ignore it/it doesnt really bother
me.
I cant (logically) explain why I feel this way (intuition), so the feeling/insight is not valid.
Its my religious or political philosophy that sex, meat, money, etc. is bad, so I should
suppress my urges and go without it.
Your unconscious mind and body are not going to like or cooperate with these attitudes.
If we are to have world peace, I believe we have to start with self-peace. To that end, I
have developed Healing from the Body Level UpTM methodology to 1. Teach people how to
understand and communicate clearly with all levels of their being, and 2. Heal any parts of them
that are not optimally serving the whole being. This allows us to align/coordinate all levels of
our being so that our intentions match our behaviors and all parts of us work together to
accomplish our life goals.

DIFFERENT LEVELS OF YOUR BEING CAN HAVE DAMAGE

If you are not on track with your soul mission, or you feel uncomfortable/not getting the
desired results in some area of your life, then there must be some type of interference pattern that
is causing a misalignment at some level of your being. The next question is, what type of
interference can be there? I see three major categories of interference. The first two categories,
Life Experience and Personality Structure are internal to you. The last category, External
Interference, is external to you.
The first major category is LIFE EXPERIENCE. The damage in this category occurs
during life experience and imprints in the conscious mind, the unconscious mind, and the body
levels. Examples of damage patterns at the conscious level include misinformation or lack of
information and skills. Examples of damage patterns at the unconscious level include limiting
beliefs (a belief that you feel is true, but you know better), and bad habits that we pick up from
our parents. Examples of damage that we pick up at the body level include physical
injuries/illnesses and emotional traumas.
The second major category of interference is PERSONALITY STRUCTURE. This is
your ego structure or operating system (like Windows is a computer operating system). The
personality structure sets your sense of self and your world view. It is the filter through which
you process all incoming and outgoing information. If you have "bugs" in your operating system
it interferes with large areas of your life. There are many models of personality structure. I use
the Enneagram model because I find it very useful.
New age ideas to the contrary, I don't believe that we create or control everything that
happens to us in the universe. Thus, the third major category is EXTERNAL INTERFERENCE.

Copyright Judith A. Swack, Ph.D., HBLU, Inc. 56 Pickering St. Needham, MA 02492 781-444-
6940 e-mail: Judith@HBLU.org Website: www.HBLU.org
 4

Examples of external factors that interfere with us are natural disasters, nasty people with free
will, and "supernatural" phenomena. Even though these interferences are not about or from us,
they still interfere with us.

HOW DO DAMAGE PATTERNS INTERFERE WITH US?

Damage patterns cause negative emotions. Emotions are energetic sensations felt in the
body. (That is why they are called feelings). Emotions have more energy than thoughts and
therefore influence/run behavior. This explains the common phenomenon of "I know I shouldn't
be doing X" while the person is doing X. Again, the conscious mind is not in charge. Thus,
damage patterns adversely influence our perceptions, reactions, and behavior in such a way as to
make it difficult to achieve our goals. So, the most important issue here is to identify the type of
interference, locate the negative emotions in the body, and use a technique/tool to clear out the
pattern. My criteria for techniques is that they be effective, work in minutes, be practically
painless, and clear the damage at the conscious, unconscious, body, and soul levels permanently.

ADOPT ATTITUDE, AWWWWW, NEEDS HEALING.

Information from the unconscious, body, and soul levels may be new to you consciously.
You may be surprised at what's coming up, and even experience the discovery of a damage
pattern as painful. No one really likes to discover limitations. You may need to take 10-60
seconds to react and wince, but as soon as possible move into an attitude of at least neutral
acceptance if not downright compassion. Say to yourself (or out loud), "AWWWWW, needs
healing." You don't need to love your damage, but you do need to accept that it exists before you
can address it enough to focus on and heal it. Self-acceptance is easier said than done, but do
your best to hold the attitude. Self-acceptance as its own topic is so important that you may even
want to use it as a goal.

STARTING THE WORK

We start the work by consciously establishing clear communication with our unconscious
minds, bodies, and souls. The first thing you need to do is notice when something is not
working properly for you. It is important to evaluate behaviors, beliefs, attitudes, emotional
reactions and end results according to whether or not they really work for you in the service of
your highest good and purpose. I suggest that people focus less on whether something is true or
not and focus more on whether something is useful to them or not. For example, when I moved
to Washington D.C., somebody told me that it would be difficult for me to find a boyfriend
because the ratio of women to men was 5:1. That might be statistically true, but not useful. I
decided to believe that I could always find someone right for me if I were open to all
possibilities. In fact, I always had male company whenever I wanted it. So, if you notice that
what you are doing or experiencing is not working for you check your beliefs, emotional
reactions, and behaviors and ask questions about them.
The first place to question is your unconscious mind. Remember, the unconscious mind
does not use rational, arithmetic, logic. It uses metaphorical, poetic logic. It is the land of
dreams. Therefore, it is important to understand the communication style of the unconscious
mind and recognize consciously when and how it is communicating. The first step is to go inside
your head and ask an open-ended question about the problem. "The part of me that is doing this,
or not doing this, or reacting like this, etc., what are you doing for me, trying to tell me, etc."

Copyright Judith A. Swack, Ph.D., HBLU, Inc. 56 Pickering St. Needham, MA 02492 781-444-
6940 e-mail: Judith@HBLU.org Website: www.HBLU.org
 5

Send the question echoing throughout your whole body and wait for a response. The response
will come quickly and take the following forms:

1. Visual; a picture, a memory, a dream that you can see,

2. Auditory; a thought in words, a piece of music, a tone of voice,
3. Kinesthetic; a physical or emotional sensation felt in the body. (Sometimes there is a
taste or smell response.)

It's easy to interpret an auditory response in words. You will have to dialog more with the
pictures or feelings in order to understand better what they are telling you.
There is a layer of information stored in the body that is difficult to access mentally. We
get this information by using an applied kinesiology technique called muscle testing. Muscle
testing is based on the same principle as lie detector testing i.e. the body will register true or false
answers to questions. We can get this same information without the expensive equipment by
testing the difference in muscle strength on true and false statements. We usually do this by
holding out the arm and pressing it after asking a question. You can also self-test by using your
fingers. Muscle testing allows us to get information from the unconscious mind, the body, and
the soul just by specifying which level you are asking the question of. For example, "From the
body level, do you have any physical injury trauma in this muscle?" "From your soul and
deepest wisdom, is this the best plan of action in this situation?" "Do we understand accurately
this message from your unconscious mind?"
One of the features that makes HBLUTM so novel is that once you have established
communication with all the levels, your deepest wisdom dictates all of the goals, directions,
and healing steps that we do during a session. Your deepest wisdom tells us what is interfering
with you, where it is located in your body, and which interventions you want to use to clear it.
The only trick is to know the right questions to ask. What your therapist brings to the work is
knowledge of the structure of the damage patterns, the quickest approach to healing them
completely, and a menu of interventions that work efficiently and at all four levels.

This work is basically a two-step process:

1. Interview all the levels to find, name, and locate the damage pattern,
2. Use a technique to move negative energy and clear the damage pattern.

IN SUMMARY:
I believe that the effectiveness of HBLU is due to four factors. The process of asking the
clients deepest wisdom to identify the priority goal and the priority interference pattern, then
having the client explain the pattern consciously, and finally locating the negative
energy/feelings in the body allows all four levels to focus on and clear the problem
simultaneously. I call this aligning the levels. The second factor is a comprehensive menu of
damage patterns and knowledge of their structures. The third factor is a comprehensive menu of
techniques. My criteria for including therapeutic techniques in my menu is that they be effective,
work in minutes, be as painless as possible, and permanently clear the damage at the conscious,
unconscious, body, and soul levels. The fourth factor is specificity. By choosing the priority
interference pattern from menu A and matching the appropriate intervention from menu B, each
session is tailor made for that individual.

Copyright Judith A. Swack, Ph.D., HBLU, Inc. 56 Pickering St. Needham, MA 02492 781-444-
6940 e-mail: Judith@HBLU.org Website: www.HBLU.org
 6

WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM HBLUTM SESSIONS?

Some people start to feel better after their first intervention. Most people start to feel
better after 5-6 sessions. For some people, it may take 8-12 sessions to resolve a problem or
longer if it is a severe problem. Your therapist may be able to give you an estimate on recovery
time after the first two sessions.

WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR

1. Withdrawal. HBLU work is very fast, but it is not trivial. After a session, if you
processed a lot of damage, you may experience sensations of spaciness, fatigue, trance, or
confusion. This indicates that you are still digesting and processing the healing. You can finish
the processing in minutes by doing an intervention called Unwinding Frontal/Occipital Holding
(UF/O Holding). Place one hand across your forehead and one hand across the back of your
head, and allow your head to move however it wants to while concentrating on the unfocused
feeling. Your head will stop automatically when you are done, and you'll feel like you're back in
focus. Then write down what else you learned.
Alternatively, you may not need an intervention to finish digesting the work. You may
need to sleep/dream on it, or just contemplate quietly while chewing your cud. This method
takes a few hours to a few days to finish the processing.
2. Sometimes, clients report feeling overwhelmed by new problems that seemingly arise
after a session. What is happening here is that once your unconscious mind and body
experiences the work, the parts of you that have waited years for healing get excited about the
prospects and start talking all at once. It is important for you to establish order by
acknowledging every part that speaks to you and promise it that you will heal it in order of
priority. Write down what it is telling you and tell it that you will bring your list in to the next
HBLU session so that it does not have to nag you.
3. While unlikely, if you are having an emotional or physical reaction about anything
that you feel needs immediate attention, call our office at 781-444-6940 and your therapist will
return your call within a day.
For further reading and study, ask our office for a reference list of information about
muscle testing, energy psychology techniques, and neurolinguistic programming.

Copyright Judith A. Swack, Ph.D., HBLU, Inc. 56 Pickering St. Needham, MA 02492 781-444-
6940 e-mail: Judith@HBLU.org Website: www.HBLU.org
 7

SELF MUSCLE TESTING

1. CIRCLE AND PRESS:

a. Make a circle with the thumb and ring finger of your non-dominant hand.
b. Insert the thumb and index fingers of the other hand into this circle from the bottom.
c. Hold light tension in the circle.
d. As you ask questions, press the fingers inserted into the circle outward.
e. Yes = the circle stays closed and holds the press fingers inside.
f. No = the circle opens.

2. CIRCLE AND POINT:

a. Make a circle with the thumb and ring finger of your non-dominant hand.
b. Insert the index finger of the other hand into the circle from either the top or bottom.
c. Hold light tension in the circle.
d. As you ask questions, pull the index finger and circle apart.
e. Yes = the circle stays closed and holds the index pointer inside.
f. No = the circle allows the index pointer to pull out.

3. FINGER RUBBING:
a. Lightly touch the pads of the index finger and thumb of one hand together.
b. As you ask questions, lightly slide the pads across each other.
c. Yes = the pads slide very smoothly, there is no resistance.
d. No = the pads are sticky against each other, there is resistance.
e. This can also be done using both hands rubbed against each other.

4. ONE HANDED:
a. Place the pad of the middle finger of one hand on the top of the nail of the index finger on the
same hand.
b. The index finger is straight with the middle finger bending to touch it.
c. As you ask questions, press down on the index finger with the middle finger.
d. Yes = the index finger stays straight.
e. No = the index finger bends downward.

5. LEG TESTING:
a. Place one ankle on the top of the opposite thigh at the knee.
b. Place both hands against the back of the calf of the top leg.
c. As you ask questions, press the top leg away from you.
d. Yes = the top leg stays on the thigh of the bottom leg.
e. No = the top leg falls off the thigh of the bottom leg.

6. STANDING TILT TEST;

a. Stand up and face North.
b. Relax your whole body particularly around the ankles
c. Yes = tilt forward (North)
d. No = tilt back (South)

Copyright Judith A. Swack, Ph.D., HBLU, Inc. 56 Pickering St. Needham, MA 02492 781-444-
6940 e-mail: Judith@HBLU.org Website: www.HBLU.org
 8

HBLU Explanation of the Enneagram Operating System.

Judith A. Swack, Copyright 2003

Many people have wondered how we acquire our enneagram personality. Some authors
speculate that an event in utero or during early childhood sets our type. Using the Essence
Process as a research tool to interview and study enneagram personality structure, I discovered
that the compulsions, wounded sense of ego identity, and distorted world views were practically
identical for people of the same enneatype regardless of their life histories. I also found that in
several sets of identical twins, each twin had a different enneagram type. These findings
suggested that the enneagram personality structure is set prior to birth and is not genetically
determined. Interestingly, the negative emotions, limiting beliefs, rationalizations, and
avoidance mechanisms found in the enneagram layers closely resembled the standard reactions
that people imprint during loss or violence trauma.
In discussing these findings with my collaborator and enneagram teacher, Andy Hahn, we
concluded that a catastrophic trauma, or wound, sets each person's enneagram type. We
hypothesized that this trauma occurred at embodiment, meaning the process by which the soul
enters the physical body sometime around conception. This rapid transition in vibrational energy
state is so extreme it is like matter going from a gas to solid state without passing liquid. Every
embodied human being experiences this transition as a traumatic shock meaning that the reaction
to it is exaggeratedly emotional and irrational. The transition trauma codes like a loss trauma and
is experienced by everyone in relatively the same way with slightly different wording and
emphasis on different layers of the trauma structure unique to each of the 9 points. 1,2

What is the function of an ego?

I believe that our soul is embodied in the material world in order to do our soul mission,
i.e. make a contribution to the planet, and experience the fullness of life. In order to function on
the material plane, we have to be material ourselves. In order to live in the world and be
productive (soul throughput), we need to be equipped with
a material body with a sensory system to take in information and act (hardware),
a conscious and unconscious minds (software) with certain gifts and skills to process
information and make sense of things
an ego structure (operating system) that holds a sense of identity and a world view to
coordinate the high vibrational soul energy/consciousness with all the functionalities of
living in a body.
Using a computer analogy, lets say that the higher mind wants to make a contribution to the
world in the form of a written document. If the printer is broken, you can get around it by e-
mailing the document to another computer and printing there. If the hard drive crashes, however,
the higher mind must put in a lot of effort to recreate the document on another computer. If the
software has a bug in it, lets say your word processing program doesnt make tables easily, you
can always use a different program to make the tables. It is a minor inconvenience. If the
operating system has a bug in it such that the mouse doesnt work, the hard drive loses data, or
you cant pull up a software program it is a major inconvenience. Bugs in the operating
system/ego structure are much more aggravating than bugs in the software.
Why do we have different operating systems available for our computers? Some
operating systems function better for some applications than do other operating systems. Artists
and designers prefer Macintosh operating systems. Engineers prefer Unix. Home and office

Excerpted from LIMITING IDENTITIES AND THE ESSENCE PROCESS Course Manual Copyright 1999,
revised 2017 Judith A. Swack, Ph.D. HBLU, Inc. 56 Pickering St. Needham, MA 02492, ph. 781-444-6940 e-mail,
judith@HBLU.org www.HBLU.org
 9

users use Windows. In the same way, we have nine different enneatypes; each type has its
strengths and weaknesses. Combining these areas of excellence produces a synergistic effect
that benefits all humanity. On an individual basis, however, we dont get to appreciate our gifts
because they are compensating strategies to prove a negative identity wrong.

How are bugs in the enneagram structure coded?

Companies such as Microsoft write an operating system by assigning computer
programmers to different departments to write the system code for different functions in the
operating system. One department writes the printer drivers. Another department writes the
hard drive functions, another writes the user interface, another writes the mouse and keyboard
functions, etc. When they are finished, they merge the code into a total operating system and
hope that one section of code doesnt break another section of code. They test the operating
system and fix any bugs that prevent the system from working properly.

Basic structure of one layer of the Enneagram wound.

Central I.D. Compensating Energy

Negative Positive
It is my job to prove the negative ID
Im the only truth about you,
is wrong and to hide it or get rid of it.
everybody else, the universe and
God (and you are the only
Strategies for doing the job:
person who this is true about).
Arrogances
Ha, ha, ha, anything you do to
Using other people
prove me wrong is nothing but a
Avoidance mechanism
fraud and a sham, because (see
Justification
above) Im the only truth.
Miscellaneous

Worst Fear: I cant prevail

100.00% of the time, and therefore
the (negative) Central ID is right,
it is the only truth.

Excerpted from LIMITING IDENTITIES AND THE ESSENCE PROCESS Course Manual Copyright 1999,
revised 2017 Judith A. Swack, Ph.D. HBLU, Inc. 56 Pickering St. Needham, MA 02492, ph. 781-444-6940 e-mail,
judith@HBLU.org www.HBLU.org
 10

I estimate that we all have 81 layers of buggy code in our operating systems. I
arbitrarily multiplied 9 X 9 = 81. When I find my 82nd layer Ill revise my estimate. Each layer
of buggy code is comprised of a minimum of two energies (often in two different locations in
your body) that are polarized extremes and the flip side of the same coin. One energy says it is
your ego identity (negative or central ID), and it is completely negative. Not only is the negative
ID extreme, it says, Im the only truth about you, everybody else, the universe and God (and
you are the only person who this is true about). For example, one layer of the enneagram 1
wound says, Im bad. Im worse than Satan.
I think wed all kill ourselves if we walked around with layer after layer of naked
negative identities. So, at the same time that the negative identity is issued, the compensating
energy (CE) (also known as the overcompensation) is issued (i.e. the standard issue
compensating energy). The compensating energy feels that, it is my job to prove the negative
ID is wrong and to hide it or get rid of it. It attempts to do this using four types of strategies:

Arrogances
Use other people
Avoidance mechanisms
Miscellaneous.

Arrogances are polarized equal and opposite qualities to the negative ID. The minimum
extreme for an arrogance is, I am better at X than everyone else in the universe. The next level
of extreme is, I am equal to God in quality X. The maximum and most common form of
extreme is, I am better in quality X than God. In the enneagram 1 Im bad layer, the
compensating energy says, Im good. Im gooder than God. The universe would be a much
nicer place if I had created it.
The use other people strategies include using reality examples to build a case or asking
other people to do for you what you are not good at. In the enneagram 1 Im bad example, the
use other people strategy might be, Im nice to everyone and everyone tells me how nice I am;
you (central ID) must be wrong.
Avoidance mechanisms include avoidance, denial, confusion, distraction, going to sleep,
etc. Miscellaneous strategies may be common to a particular compensating energy, or may be
idiosyncratic to the individual.
Each layer has a story comprised of polarized extremes with no in between. When you
interview the compensating energy it will tell you that its worst fear is that it cannot prevail
100.00% of the time, and therefore the (negative) Central ID is right; it is the only truth.
Meanwhile the central ID says to the CE, ha, ha, ha. Anything you do to prove me wrong is
nothing but a fraud and a sham, because (see above) Im the only truth. Thus, each layer has two
polarized energies that weave together through the same rigid story while struggling mightily
against each other. In some layers, there may be two or more compensating energies all
struggling to hide the central ID. No matter how you struggle, you cant win in the wound.

What is the energetic composition of each layer?

Each section of each layer is composed of fear and shame with (depending on the layer)
hopelessness, despair, anger, grief, regret, or emptiness thrown in for flavor. The central ID is so

Excerpted from LIMITING IDENTITIES AND THE ESSENCE PROCESS Course Manual Copyright 1999,
revised 2017 Judith A. Swack, Ph.D. HBLU, Inc. 56 Pickering St. Needham, MA 02492, ph. 781-444-6940 e-mail,
judith@HBLU.org www.HBLU.org
 11

emotionally charged that its like an active volcano, too hot to approach. The compensating
energys job is to keep the ID deeply hidden away from the conscious mind, thus maintaining
some kind of dynamic equilibrium (think of a pan balance).
Although no amount of life experience changes the wound structure or story,
life experience can influence how badly you polarize into and experience the central ID. In the
best of all possible worlds, we wouldnt be born with these wounds. In the next best of all
possible worlds, wed grow up in families that understood our enneagram structures and helped
us to compensate so that wed be bothered very little by the central ID. In reality, many families
bash on the negative identities thus tilting the balance and throwing us into the volcano. I call
this enneagram abuse. In fact, if life experience polarizes us so severely into the central ID that
the standard issue compensating energies cannot maintain the equilibrium, we will craft and
insert additional compensating energies in the form of illness and addiction identities. This is
why chronic illnesses and addictions are so difficult to get rid of behaviorally. People
mistakenly think the illnesses and addictions are the problem when in fact they were created to
be the solution to a bigger problem.

The energy efficiency problem.

Notice that each layer of the enneagram wound contains a tremendous amount of energy.
While we are inside these stories they feel absolutely real and true. Its absurd, however to have
different layers of woundedness with different stories each claiming to be the only truth. Also, in
what way does it serve your ability to manifest your soul mission when your ego structure says,
for example, you have no purpose (9s), youre invisible (2s), youre stupid/mentally
incompetent (all types), and youre not safe in this world (all types), or youre nasty (5-7s).
If you walked up to a soul that was radiating golden light, vibrating warmth, and humming and
asked it if it was invisible it would make no sense whatsoever. Soul: If Im invisible, then who
are you talking to? Furthermore, at any given point in time, for a layer with two sections, you
can only use 50% of the energy because you can only be in one side or the other (since there is
no in-between). This is a waste of the energy.

What is the solution?

The solution is to upgrade the bug in the operating system to bring a particular
function on line and to harvest 100% of the energy so that it can all be used in the service of the
soul. We can do this with the Essence Process. When you find that a layer of your enneagram
wound is interfering on the goal, you stretch into your soul space/soul perspective/highest
consciousness. From this point of view and with a neutral or compassionate attitude, you
interview the central ID and the compensating energies to get the story and emotions while
holding both sides with grace.
When the layer has shared with you everything it wanted you to know, you may peel out
the energies, as well as all the life experience damage from this lifetime, past lives and ancestry
that contributed to this story, and put them on the floor in front of you. Describe what the layer
looks like in its current configuration (usually an unpleasant color/often slimy). Notice that
although the layer claimed to be universal truth, the real universe extends out to infinity in all
directions and contains a variety of forms of matter and energy including this one. Then you
radiate your soul energy right through the wound material and out to infinity in all directions.
As your soul energy passes through the wound material, it raises it to a higher vibrational speed.
The wound energy is released and transformed into a unified flowing energy. (I think of this

Excerpted from LIMITING IDENTITIES AND THE ESSENCE PROCESS Course Manual Copyright 1999,
revised 2017 Judith A. Swack, Ph.D. HBLU, Inc. 56 Pickering St. Needham, MA 02492, ph. 781-444-6940 e-mail,
judith@HBLU.org www.HBLU.org
 12

process as taking two ice cubes and microwaving them. They start out as dense solids and
transform into a single gaseous flowing energy, 100% of which can be used for work i.e. steam
power.) As you continue expanding your soul energy to infinity you reabsorb all of the
transformed energy in the service of your soul.
Interestingly, this energy has an intelligence of its own and secretly did not want to be
trapped in a rigid story. Once it transforms, it decides where it will go in your body and what it
will do for you now that it is free. You can interview the transformed energy and find out what
its greatest hope is for you now that it is freed. In addition, you get to keep the gifts of that layer,
i.e. generosity, ability to love, intelligence and wisdom. The difference is that now you do these
things from choice rather than compulsion, so you actually get to enjoy your own gifts and
contributions.
I think of harvesting wound energy as striking oil. When you first discover it and pump it
from the ground it is toxic, polluting, carcinogenic, and smells disgusting. When you add energy
to it in the form of heat, chemical, mechanical, and thought - oil transforms into thousands of
useful products that look very different from each other. The photons coming from the light,
nylons, and gasoline all came from oil, but have very different properties. In the same way, its a
mystery as to what the transformed energy will become and its always fun to interview it once it
is freed.
The more layers you transform, the more energy you harvest, and the easier and more
satisfying life becomes. Its like developing soul muscle. As you transform the wound you
move not to another enneagram type but to the center of the circle where you experience the gifts
of each type and the high side of the human condition.

Excerpted from LIMITING IDENTITIES AND THE ESSENCE PROCESS Course Manual Copyright 1999,
revised 2017 Judith A. Swack, Ph.D. HBLU, Inc. 56 Pickering St. Needham, MA 02492, ph. 781-444-6940 e-mail,
judith@HBLU.org www.HBLU.org