KAREN'S JOURNEY, PHILOSOPHY AND PASSIONS
THE BASICS
Business: SEMMELMAN ENERGY CENTER
Owner: Karen L. Semmelman
Contact information:
Phone: 443 786 0472
Email: ksemmelmanenergy@gmail.com
Website: www.semmelmanenergy.com
Location: SEMMELMAN ENERGY CENTER is located in both Boston, MA and Sanibel, FL, Click here for specifics.
Karen's Education: BS in psychology magna cum laude; JD 1979 with licenses in Pa, Md. and Ma; Fellow of Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers; Advanced Eden Energy Medicine Practitioner; authorized instructor for EEM Foundations Year 1 program (1st year toward certification in EEM); Reiki practitioner; radionics training; extensive teaching experience; passionate about energy medicine; presented programs on TV, live audiences and video; conducted and attended many varied workshops and lectures on alternative modalities. Authored many articles…
Family: Married to Bernard M. Ortwein with pet-Golden-doodle named Chezzy; between us we have 4 children and 11grandchildren!
CREATION OF MISSION STATEMENT
Throughout this website you will find continual references to
The creation of this name resulted during meditation early one morning as I was sitting on my deck in Boston with the sun flooding my being. I sought a mission statement that embodied my philosophy and this statement was thus born. Click here to read full Mission Statement.
KAREN'S STORY: ADRENAL FATIGUE, LISTLESS PUPPY AND HUSBANDS' BROKEN HIP—TRANSFORMATIONS IN THE MAKING
Adrenal Fatigue
Holistic Belief Foundation
While in college I lived on a commune; grew many of my own vegetables while in college and law school; exercised regularly; used herbs for many issues; was a member of many cooperatives where I sought to obtain organic and pure food; made my own bread for years; was knowledgeable of the benefits of many teas; practiced Transcendental Mediation; lived on a farm; bought properties during all the years of my adult life that had a lot of land I either owned or was surrounded by; found healing in nature, beautiful melodic music, mindful art, reading philosophy books; placed my son in alternative educational schools and generally was open to varied approaches to health and healing.Bach Flower Essences Search Led me to Eden Energy Medicine
As I struggled to find answers for my own health, I became fascinated with Flower Essences. After reading several of Bach’s books and before I took courses on studying Bach’s methodology, I decided to find a Bach Flower practitioner in the Boston area. This search led me to Susan Stone, an acupuncturist, Bach practitioner and Eden Energy Medicine practitioner. It is fair to say that Susan’s skill as a healer, her kindness, intuitiveness and perceptiveness opened the doors for healing and for my attainment of being 98% healthy today. As Susan will be the first to tell you, when she met me “Karen was functioning on sheer will-power. Most of her energetic systems were shut down; her body was in a continual state of stress with her adrenaline pumping nonstop.” As an excellent trial lawyer, with clients who would wait weeks for an appointment to see me, I had effectively created a continual state of Fight or Flight in my body and it was no longer able to even recognize calm. When I first started working with Susan, and then as I decided I wanted to pursue Eden Energy Medicine in earnest (enrolling in the certification program with Susan being my Regional Instructor), no one could energetically test me while facing me or it would create a stress reaction and my energies would lock or become “frozen”. Thus, people had to energetically test me by standing behind me and off to the side.Unpeeling the layers of Stress
As I began, with Susan’s guidance and help, to unpeel the layers of stale, clogged and blocked energy, there was a need to alter habits that had been deeply engrained in my nervous, neurovascular, circulatory and energetic systems. For so long having been in a flight, fight or freeze mode, it was a process to convince my systems that not being in this high alert adrenal state was safe. Because I was committed, determined and disciplined in doing my Energy Medicine work, I began to see dramatic changes as I released more and more toxins energetically, physically and emotionally from my being. I saw Susan regularly for about a year, tapered off during the 2nd year and now engage in regular energy work with other EEM practitioners. Of course, I do my own self-testing and balancing each day which keeps my energies humming. With my own persistence and the excellent mentoring and treatment with EEM, today I have found that wonderful balance in my life and my well-being!Passion for Energy Medicine is Born
It has been quite a journey. The profound realization that by working with my own energetic systems, I could impact my health so dramatically led me to utilize my skills as a seasoned educator, orator and listener to a help teach and EMPOWER others to shift their own systems to effectuate optimum health. Thus began my education to become a Certified Energy Medicine practitioner, finish a year of clinical training in Year 3 with EEM and finally complete year 4 to become recognized as an Advancer EEM practitioner. In addition, I undertook another year of training to become authorized to teach the 1st year Foundation program to students beginning year 1 of the certification program (this required a year of internship with a senior faculty member of EEM). As a result of this journey, I have found a place of calm, harmony and balance in my essence, which I bring to the practice of Energy Medicine, seeking to assist each client and groups in obtaining this state of health that is accessible within each of us.Husband’s Hip Broken in 2007
Yet another part of my story unfolds when my husband broke his hip while we were skiing in New Hampshire. It took 3 years and 3 operations to completely restore my sweet and sensitive husband’s health. In 2006, I had been given Donna Eden’s Energy Medicine book, but had not done much with it. As synchronicity would have it, my sister mentioned the book to me and I remembered I had it. So, I began to look at all the exercises and approaches it provided. As a Reiki practitioner at that time, I started doing some of the energetic protocols with my husband and they helped! Now, years later, my husband too does his 5 Minute Routine, and other exercises to assist in keeping his energies humming.Chezzy Enters Our Life
The last piece of the puzzle that created the life changing shift to energetic attunement enters my life. In 2008 we got our beautiful wondrous puppy Chezzy. He is the love or our lives. But by 7 months of age he was listless on the floor, having been over vaccinated; over anesthetized; given way to many steroids, antibiotics and other drugs that merely compounded the poor choices the allopathic veterinarians made. To the rescue was Wendy Volhard who co-authored a book Holistic Guide for a Healthy Dog. I spoke to her on the phone and in September of that year took Chezzy to West Virginia for a 5 day conference on healthy dogs. There I was exposed to the Chinese Five Elements, Acupuncture; homeopathic remedies, energy testing (scientifically known as kinesiology- see the book Your Body Doesn't Lie); supplement testing, feeding a raw diet and other “new to me” approaches. My antenna was open and primed to make a major leap in our lives to our own care and health. I was primed, raring to go and learn about all these wonderful approaches to health.
Education Commences in Earnest on All Fronts
The universe was speaking to me and it was time to listen. I was hungry for knowledge. I began attending study groups on Energy Medicine and as I learned more about this dynamic approach to working with your bodies’ energies, which provided immediate feedback about each component of our energetic systems with verifiable energy testing (kinesiology), I became more and more excited about the prospects it provided to maximize not only my health but others. I began doing energy work everywhere and on everyone, including Chezzy. Chezzy loves to get a spinal flush or have figure 8’s made over his body or get his aura “fluffed”.When Susan was certified to begin teaching a Regional Program in Southborough Massachusetts, I was one of the first to sign on. This step was the beginning of my own transformation of fundamental beliefs that our bodies do have the ability to heal because out body wants to heal. Given the tools, it will heal. After spending a year with Susan at the Regional program, I then spent another year in Arizona completing the initial certification program. After graduating, I continued to hone my skills by taking TEEM teaching classes in Phoenix; the Foundations TEEM training in Phoenix to help teach others who desire to become Energy Medicine practitioners; the 3rd and 4th year of EEM to become the advanced practitioner that I am so honored to be. So now, here I am years later practicing and teaching Eden Energy Medicine myself.
THE BASICS
Exploration of Many Modalities
As mentioned above, I was hungry for knowledge and explored many approaches including the following (all of which have been invaluable educationally, but my first and foremost favorite is Eden Energy Medicine): • Radionics Training• Chinese Five Elements
• Animal Communication Workshops
• Flower Essences
• Homeopathic Remedies
• Ayurveda lectures, workshops and books
• Week at Kripala with Ayurvedic Dean
• Crystals, use every day, testing and wearing
• Energy Testing everything that goes into my body, Chezzy’s body or that of my husband
• Nutritional Education, Awareness and testing
• Utilizing a Naturopathic Doctor
• Working with the Biocom Resonance machine with Chezzy at his vet (this machine is licensed for use on people in over 50 countries except the US) and personally experiencing its benefits in Sweden
• Utilizing natural supplements like Standard Process
• Using Earthing sheets, pads or patches ( See book Earthing)
• Reading many books focused on treating causes not masking symptoms
• Working with Ellen Tadd, who wrote the book The Wisdom of Chakras, attending her meditation classes monthly and obtaining personal readings
• Seeing a chiropractor regularly, who has Eastern training
• Consulting with Chinese Medical Doctors, Tai massages, acupuncturists
• Reading works by Bruce Lipton, by Jean Houston, by Deepak Chopra, etc.
• Attending Yoga Journal Conferences
The list could go on and on. But, I think you get the gist. I love learning tools that help us heal ourselves!
Donna Eden At Omega
I would be remiss if I failed to mention the 5 days I spent with Donna Eden at Omega. There were approximately 200 people in attendance. Although I had watched videos of Donna, I had never met her in person. My impression of her, after having watched her video and after the first day of class with her all day in person, was that she had to be “faking” all that buoyant radiant energy. I could not imagine anyone being that joyful all the time. It just couldn’t be real. Well, guess what? Day after day and night after night and hour after hour, Donna was glowing and happy and full of passionate joy. She bubbled and oozed powerful positivity out of every pore of her being. She is truly a RADIANT CIRCUIT. Spending those 5 days with her- well that was the clincher- I was sold. What she had – I wanted. And, I believe, I have attained that glow in a large part of my life. YEAH!My Daily Routine
My daily routine includes The 5 Minute Routine, Radiant Circuit Exercises, testing my own major energetic systems and correcting those out of balance, meditation, regular exercise and yoga. I believe I need to take care of myself to be effective in all other aspects of my full and filled life. I have learned toBLENDING EXPERIENCE OF MATRIMONIAL LAWYER WITH THE PRACTICE OF ENERGY MEDICINE
Most of the skills I have honed as a high profile attorney both state-wide and nationally, easily transfer to my work in energy medicine. My intuition; investigative skills; background in psychology; highly developed listening skills; ability to "tune in" to the client; assisting clients in transitioning from one phase of life to another; knowledge of the body both physically and psychologically; assisting a client to be empowered in learning new perspectives and approaches; encouraging a client to try new paths and offering the support as she/he learns the footing; ability to teach and convey new concepts; desire to educate a person to understand her/ his own unique situation and possible outcomes from trying a new approach; recognizing the uniqueness of each person and the need to be attuned to such differences to effectively assist her/him in their journey; and my strong desire to make a difference in people's lives in a very positive way. All of these experiences and skills are put to effective use in my Energy Medicine practice and teaching.The first question may be: What is Energy Medicine?
Click here to learn more about Energy MedicineInitially, I was as skeptical as most people in accepting the Energy Medicine concept of healing one’s own body through the subtle movement of its internal and external energies. However, having embarked on a lengthy mission to learn and understand the value of its life changing possibilities, I have become committed to sharing my knowledge and passion for its ability to improve our individual well-being through enhancement of our body’s existing energy systems.
Energy is the foundation of the body's physical structure, so by balancing the energies, hormones and chemical balances in the blood, all other systems come into balance as well. Energy Medicine is a simple practice that works with energy as a vital, living, moving force that is the foundation of our well-being. In Energy Medicine, you heal the body by activating its natural healing energies and restoring energy that many have become weak, disturbed or out of balance.
Energy Medicine is both a complement to other approaches to health care and a complete system for optimizing health by working with the subtle energies of our bodies. It draws upon ancient healing and spiritual practice like acupuncture, qi gong, yoga, meditation and shamanism; combines them with contemporary scientific understanding, and applies them in modern ways. You may have heard about subtle energy through terms such as the “life force,” “chi,” “meridians,” “chakras,” “biofields,” or “auras.” In many healing traditions, the “life force,” the animating power whose presence defines life and whose absence defines death, is understood as a form of subtle energy. Eastern cultures in particular have studied such energies for millennia and have successfully applied their understanding for enhancing both physical and emotional health. Systems designed to influence the body’s subtle energies include yoga, Reiki, acupuncture, acupressure, tai chi, therapeutic touch, and energy medicine, to name just a few. Many hospitals in the United States now include such methods to help with the healing of a variety of conditions.
Quotes by well known doctors are appropriate:
- Dr. Mehmet Oz, Chief of Cardiology at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons, predicted on Oprah:"The next big frontier in medicine is Energy Medicine."
- Albert Szent-Gyorgyi, M.D., Nobel Laureate in Medicine, observed:
"In every culture and in every medical tradition before ours, healing was accomplished by moving energy."
- Donna Eden first book Energy Medicine is available in 15 languages, has been recognized as a Gold winner in the Nautilus Book Awards health category and a book of the year by US. Book News, in the self-help category. Donna Eden comments of Energy Medicine:
“I do not know of a more important skill to develop. We are required today to live in a conscious partnership with our body's energy systems if we are to thrive. And it is easier than you might imagine to learn how to mobilize inner forces that enhance your health, empower your mind, and brighten your spirit."
- Christiane Northrup, M.D., in the foreword she wrote for Donna Eden's book Energy Medicine for Women, stated:
"In the medicine of the future, as I envision it, working with the patient's energy field will be the first intervention. Surgery will be the last resort. Drugs will be a last resort. They will still have their place, but shifting the energy patterns that caused the disease will be the first line of treatment. And before that, teaching people how to keep their energies in healthy patterns will be as much a part of physical hygiene as flossing or exercise."
WE ALL HAVE THE ABILITY TO SELF-HEAL
The bottom line is that we all have the ability to self-heal given exposure to techniques that optimize our subtle energies. Einstein’s famous formula, E=mc2, changed the course of physics and history by showing that matter is a form of energy. Our bodies are comprised of molecules that are in constant motion and that are continually being influenced by outside forces. The medical profession utilizes electromagnetic fields with devices such as EKGs, EEGs, and MRIs. The vital role these energies play in our everyday health and well-being is well established. Scientists from a range of disciplines are now introducing concepts such as “force fields” and “subtle energies” to explain a range of empirical observations. Subtle energies are called “subtle” because they are not easily detectable and scientists have not been able to develop instruments to reliably measure them. Nonetheless, people throughout history and across cultures have described seeing or feeling subtle energies.THE BOTTOM LINE ABOUT KAREN
I, Karen L. Semmelman of SEMMELMAN ENERGY CENTER, believe so strongly that energy can make such a difference for each of us, that I want to share my perspective and this belief system to help you to