Abstract

The use of Goal-setting with active, affirmative, consise and relevant goals while monitoring stress associated with the goal is a technique central to the Touch for Health (TFH) balancing technique. TFH recognizes that stress is often associated with goals and this stress serves as a detriment to attaining the goal. Therefore, it is common in TFH to balance in a goal while performing the testing and balancing process to reset or eliminate the stress associated with the goal. In this process, it is the norm that after a TFH balancing session that there is reduced stress when the person focuses on their goal as measured by the Manual Muscle Test and through comments made by the person. With high stress, the accurate indicator muscle (AIM) easily unlocks and with reduced stress the AIM easily locks.

One of the primary goals in this process is for the facilitator to assist the person being balanced to identify a meaningful and relevant goal and then help them form the goal into an active, affirmative and concise statement. Kenichi ‘Dharma’ Ishimaru of Japan is a student of both Zen and Touch for Health and an admirer of John Thie’s interviewing style and technique. He has created a technique using Zen philosophy that he uses to assist in identifying meaningful goals for the person. He has entitled this approach, Zen Counselling and the portion of his paper describing the technique and some informal results are included below. The specific steps have been removed as those are beyond the scope of this abstract.

In his paper Ishimaru states, “When I was wondering what to do in order to support my people, I met Dr. John F. Thie, the founder of Touch For Health in 1996. His technique was so simple, and the result was always tremendously great. He proved that a simple technique like TFH is enough if the goal setting interview is excellent. I found he behaved as a Zen monk, though in fact he was a pious Christian. I started to try and err to simplify and systematize the essence of John's way of interview and my own personal experience. After repeated trial and error, I finally succeeded in creating a very efficient way of teaching the goal setting interview method. It is called Zen Counselling.

When I started one-to-one consultations with clients, I tried to behave not as a therapist, but as a Zen teacher. Zen teachers give you a chance to be aware of your true self, but never give you any advice because they know other people's opinions do not work. Indeed, they can even be a hindrance preventing you from being able to see inside yourself. I committed myself to taking a non-intrusive process to my clients, as Zen teachers did.”

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Background

Kenichi ‘Dharma’ Ishimaru is the Faculty Representative for the International Kinesiology College (IKC) for Japan. In 2007, Ishimaru was awarded the distinguished International Academy Prize by the Japan Culture Promoting Association for having promoted Kinesiology in Japan.

Paper

Zen & Kinesiology
by Kenichi Ishimaru

Presented: Touch for Health-Conference, January 2008, Basel, Switzerland

I come from Japan, the country where Zen flourished. My nickname is Dharma - from Bodhidharma - the name of the founder of Zen. In this life I have found a modern way of Zen: Kinesiology. Perhaps I was a Zen monk in a past life!

To me, Kinesiology is Zen, and with this approach I have gained tremendous benefits from Kinesiology. Today I would like to talk on my Zen Kinesiology & Zen Counselling.

I will be happy if you understand that Kinesiology is more effective when regarded as Zen. And I will introduce you to the Zen-like goal setting interview method named Zen Counselling.

The vision of Zen is so simple: everyone is a buddha, an enlightened being. By practicing Zen meditation you can get to know your true self, and attain the final spiritual state in which there is no more suffering or desire. The method of Zen meditation is so simple: just sitting silently or walking with awareness. But the daily practice of Zen meditation is so boring and difficult that historically, only a few have attained enlightenment!

Don't you think that many more people could attain the highest happiness if there were a far better and far easier method to access your true self? Anyway, I thought that Kinesiology could be the alternative method to Zen meditation when I experienced a Kinesiology session for the first time in 1990.

When I started one-to-one consultations with clients, I tried to behave not as a therapist, but as a Zen teacher. Zen teachers give you a chance to be aware of your true self, but never give you any advice because they know other people's opinions do not work. Indeed, they can even be a hindrance preventing you from being able to see inside yourself. I committed myself to taking a non-intrusive process to my clients, as Zen teachers did.

The outcome of my sessions was almost always successful, even though I was an inexperienced kinesiologist. Surprisingly, some professional therapists and practitioners started coming to me to learn non-medical Kinesiology. Finally I found that non-medical Zen-like Kinesiology is far more effective than any other kind of therapy or medical treatment. And now I can say that Zen philosophy - everyone is a buddha - is perfectly correct. Zen Kinesiology is a kinesiology where the kinesiologist uses a very simple technique like Touch for Health (TFH), simply giving the client a chance to see inside, trusting that he is also a buddha.

I also did my best to train kinesiologists to spread non-medical Kinesiology in Japan. Many became very skilful, but almost no-one was successful. I wondered what was happening to them. Finally I understood that their attitude to their clients was wrong - they did their best to learn the skills, but they had no chance to study the proper attitude to their clients.

When I was wondering what to do in order to support my people, I met Dr. John F. Thie, the founder of Touch For Health in 1996. His technique was so simple, and the result was always tremendously great. He proved that a simple technique like TFH is enough if the goal setting interview is excellent. I found he behaved as a Zen monk, though in fact he was a pious
Christian. I started to try and err to simplify and systematize the essence of John's way of interview and my own personal experience. After repeated trial and error, I finally succeeded in creating a very efficient way of teaching the goal setting interview method. It is called Zen Counselling.

I have already taught Zen Counselling Training more than 30 times, not only to Japanese people, but also Westerners. It is 4 or 5 day (24 hour) seminar. You can learn it in such a short time. Usually it takes more than 4 or 5 months, or 4 or 5 years to become a professional counsellor. Zen Counselling is a miracle. No one believes any counselling can be learned in such a short time.

Zen counselling is not counselling in a way, because no advice is allowed. I regard my client as a buddha. I know my clients have the ability to find their answer by themselves. So no advice is necessary. Once in a while some advice may help to solve the problem, but even in such a case it will be more helpful if they have found it by themselves, instead of being given it by others. I do not allow you to give any advice to your client in this training.

I just ask you to listen relaxed - this is the key of Zen Counselling. Listen relaxed. I do not allow you to make any effort to help your client to draw the answer, because the effort goes against relaxation. We just wait for him/her to find his/her own answer.

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Informal Observation of Results

These following results are from the observations made by Kenichi Ishamaru from the sampling of students taught by him. This was not a designed study and these exercises need to be repeated under stricter study conditions.

Exercise 1: For five minutes, do not talk, but just listen relaxed.

Result 1: More than 50% of clients feel safe and satisfied with your attitude.

Exercise 2: For seven minutes, just listen relaxed. You can nod or make a gesture to show the client that you are listening very well. Do not show your agreement or approval. You are not allowed to make any statement or give any advice.

Result 2: More than 55% of clients feel safe and satisfied with your attitude. Some clarify the problem, find the goal, or find the answer.

Exercise 3: For ten minutes, just listen relaxed. You are allowed to repeat some of the client's expressions. You can nod or make a gesture to show the client that you are listening very well. Do not show your agreement or approval. You are not allowed to make any statements or give any advice.

Result 3: More than 60% of clients clarify the problem, find the goal, or find the answer.

Exercise 4: For five minutes, repeat everything your client says. You have no time to nod or make a gesture. It seems stressful, but it is so important. Do it totally. You have to repeat at least 90%.

Result 4: Many start listening to the rhythm of speech.

Exercise 5: For twelve minutes, just listen relaxed. You are allowed to ask a question to clarify your client's unclear statements. You can repeat some of the client's expressions. You can nod or make a gesture to show the client that you are listening very well. Do not show your agreement or approval. You are not allowed to make any statement or give any advice.

Result 5: More than 65% of clients clarify the problem, find the goal, or find the answer.

Exercise 6: For fifteen minutes, just listen relaxed. You are allowed to ask a question to clarify your client's unclear statements. You can repeat some of the client's expressions. You can nod or make a gesture to show the client that you are listening very well. Do not show your agreement or approval. You are not allowed to make any statements or give any advice.

Result 6: More than 70% of clients clarify their problem, find the goal, or find the answer.

Exercise 7: For seventeen minutes, just listen relaxed. You are allowed to ask a question to clarify your client's unclear statements. You can repeat some of the client's expressions. You can nod or make a gesture to show the client that you are listening very well. Do not show your agreement or approval. You are not allowed to make any statements or give any advice.

Result 7: More than 75% of clients clarify their problem, find the goal, or find the answer.

Exercise 8: For twenty minutes, just listen relaxed. You are allowed to ask a question to give a different point of view. You can repeat some of the client's expressions. You can nod or make a gesture to show the client that you are listening very well. Do not show your agreement or approval. You are not allowed to make any statement or give any advice.

Result 8: More than 80% of clients clarify the problem, find the goal, or find the answer.

Exercise 9: For twenty five minutes, just listen relaxed. You are allowed to do anything you like as a counsellor. I recommend that you avoid giving any comment or advice.

Result 9: More than 85% of clients clarify the problem, find the goal, or find the answer.

Results