SCS Matters, LLC

Helpful Resources and Reviews

This page is designed to present you with a variety of resources you may find helpful, including the SCS product line; reviews of significant books, CDs, and DVDs; reviews of workshops we have found helpful; and links to important Websites.

Essential Tools for Trance-formation

For a look at the SCS CDs currently available, a list of those planned for release soon, and the SCS training manuals availabe for purchase, see Essential Tools for Trance-formation.

Books, CDs, and DVDs

Because the list of books, CDs, and DVDs we have found helpful is so extensive, we will provide brief reviews of those that have influenced us the most and add additional reviews on a rotating basis as time permits.

Workshops

We are firm believers in the concept of continuing education and attend workshops and other trainings as time permits. We have been fortunate in being able to take one major workshop with Richard Bandler, co-founder of NLP, and John La Valle (NLP Seminars International) each year for the past five years. We have also completed Awakening 1, with Angel Gail Konz—Joel twice and Debra four times in the last two years.

Linda Beushausen, a Licensed Trainer of SCS, completed the Trainer Training workshop with Richard Bandler and John La Valle in 2004, and her review of that workshop is also included here. The reviews are listed in reverse chronological order, with the most recent training listed first. John Suhar reviewed The MythoSelf™ Process and Training, with Joseph Riggio.

Helpful Websites

Most of the Websites listed here belong to people we know and trust. We have linked to them with permission. The exceptions are commercial Websites selected on the basis of content and quality. Neither of us, for example, has met or trained with Ilana Rubenfeld or Donna Eden, yet we were both very impressed with their books and approach to energy medicine. The general areas of coverage here are neurolinguistic programming, energy medicine, surgical support, hypnosis and guided imagery, bodywork, and spirituality.

Neurolinguistic Programming

Joel and Debra have trained extensively with Richard Bandler and John La Valle, who frequently co-presents with Richard. Trainings include Charisma Enhancement: Trainer Training™, Design Human Engineering™, Neuro Hypnotic Repatterning™, Applications of Hypnosis to NLP,, Persuasion Engineering®, and Meditation, Magick, &Change™.
We know and can vouch for Dom Luzi and Kathleen La Valle who often serve as facilitators during workshops. Gabe Guerrero and Owen Fitzpatrick have also served as facilitators and co-presenters at those workshops. We know Erwin and Brenda van den Boogaard from having worked with them at a number of different trainings. We offer their Websites here as an endorsement of their skills as practitioners and trainers.: www.purenlp.com—John and Kathleen La Valle offer a comprehensive listing of NLP products and services. John and Kathleen distribute a free monthly email newsletter about NLP and related subjects.; www.richardbandler.com—Richard Bandler’s official Website offers a variety of information about what have come to be called Bandler Technologies.; www.richardbandler.com—Richard Bandler, along with John Grinder, developed NLP in the early 1970s. Since then, Richard has refined NLP while developing Design Human Engineering™ and Neuro Hypnotic Repatterning™. He is a masterful hypnotist and presenter.; www.managementalchemy.com—Dom Luzi is an expert in Process Improvement and Enterprise Resource Planning, where he applies his NLP and DHE™ skills. Email him for more information.; www.nlpinstitutes.com—This site provides links to Websites and trainers recommended by NLP Seminars Group International and The Society of Neuro-Linguistic Programming.; www.nlp.ie—The Irish Institute of NLP was founded by Owen Fitzpatrick and Brian Colbert. Both are Licensed Master Trainers (and masterful trainers), and the quality of their work is well-reflected in the quality and sophistication of their Website. They are among the top trainers in Europe.; http://www.neuroing.com—Gabriel (Gabe) Guerrero is a Licensed Master Trainer and is considered the premier trainer in Mexico. He is fluent in English as well as Spanish.; www.nlpseminars.nl—NLP Seminars Nederland provides top-quality NLP training in The Netherlands. Erwin and Brenda van den Boogaard offer excellent NLP Practitioner and Master Practitioner courses as well as life-enhancing workshops and coaching services. They are among the few trainers internationally licensed by Dr. Richard Bandler. Most of their Website can be navigated in English as well as in Dutch.
Energy Medicine
Debra is a Certified Healing Touch Practitioner. Joel is a Reiki Master. Both have studied a number of approaches to energy medicine and consider themselves eclectic in philosophy and application of energy-based modalities.: www.HealingTouchInternational.org— Healing Touch International, Inc.,™ is a nonprofit organization established in 1996 by Healing Touch founder Janet Mentgen. Healing Touch is endorsed by the American Holistic Nurses Association and is taught in universities, medical and nursing schools and other settings.; www.healingtouch.net—The Healing Touch Program™ has been taught since 1989 to more than 96,000 participants worldwide. The Program’s Energy Magazine™ is available free to anyone interested in Healing Touch and its practices.; www.dianestein.com—Diane Stein is considered a radical by many traditional Reiki practitioners, but her book, Essential Reiki, is (at least in our opinion) the best book on Reiki available.; www.barbarabrennan.com—Although neither of us has trained with Barbara Brennan, her books, Hands of Light and Light Emerging, provide excellent coverage of hands-on healing techniques.; www.innersource.net—Donna Eden is another one with whom we have not studied, but her book, Energy Medicine, is one of the best. The coverage of the locations and functions of the major meridians is especially well done.
Pre- and Post Surgical Support
Debra has trained with Peggy Huddleston, the developer of the widely acclaimed program, Prepare for Surgery/Heal Faster™, and is certified to lead workshops in that program.: www.healfaster.com— Peggy Huddleston is a psychotherapist, conducting research on the benefits of her presurgical program at a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital in Boston. Her clinical work and research focus on the ways positive emotions and the human spirit enhance healing. Her book and tape have been featured on PBS-TV’s Body and Soul.
Hypnosis and Guided Imagery
A number of studies have shown that hypnotic trance, even in the absence of specific suggestions, promotes health and well-being. The combination of deep relaxation plus appropriate suggestions can make a remarkable difference in an individual’s physical and psychological well-being.: www.infinityinst.com— Infinity Institute is a state licensed school of hypnosis founded and operated by Dr. Anne H. Spencer. Her answers to frequently asked questions about hypnosis are extremely helpful, especially for those who are not already familiar with the use of trance and other altered states in therapeutic contexts.; www.erickson-foundation.org—Milton H.Erickson, M.D., is considered the founder of modern American hypnotherapy. Dr. Erickson’s approach to hypnosis employees a variety of language patterns that address the unconscious mind and secure its cooperation in achieving desired outcomes.; www.interactiveimagery.com—Guided imagery is based on Dr. Erickson’s use of metaphoric language to promote health and well-being. It is a gentle form of inducing an altered state and the cooperation of the client’s unconscious mind.; www.healthjourneys.com—Belleruth Naparsteck is one of the best-known practitioners of guided imagery. She has developed a wide variety of guided imagery products and maintains a busy schedule of workshops and seminars.; www.shaktigawain.com—Shakti Gawain was one of the original popularizers of guided imagery, and her book Creative Visualization has been a perennial best-seller.
Bodywork
Subtle Communication Systems combines bodywork with energy- and language-based therapies. Bodywork is a crucial element. Because our experiences are stored in our bodies as well as in what we think of as our minds, bodywork often provides an essential key to releasing trauma and promoting health and well-being.: www.abmp.com—We are members of Associated Bodywork and Massage Professionals (ABMP). The ABMP Website provides a number of resources, including descriptions of types of body-based, somatic therapies and lists of registered bodywork and massage professionals. The AMBP publication, Massage & Bodywork, provides detailed coverage of body-based therapies.; www.ilanarubenfeld.com—Ilana Rubenfeld, author of The Listening Hand: Self-Healing Through The Rubenfeld Synergy Method of Talk and Touch, was one of the first to combine bodywork with language-based therapy.
Spirituality
The underlying philosophy of Subtle Communication Systems and other energy-based forms of holistic interventions is that the Energy is a spiritual force and that the work is sacred. Although neither Debra nor Joel adheres to a particular religious philosophy or organization, we both believe that connection to Spirit (the Source, the All That Is, the Divine, or God)—by whatever name is used—is an essential component for holistic health. Through Subtle Communication Systems, we advocate increased awareness of spirituality in all things, including the physical, what is usually called the incarnated body.
The links here represent a very small portion of the resources available for expanding your conscious awareness of the process of your spiritual journey.: www.angelgail.com—Angel Gail Konz is a remarkable teacher of intuitive skills. Her orientation is spiritual, and she is a remarkably gifted intuitive and healer. Debra and I have completed the first in her series of Awakening workshops. You can see our review for more information.; www.lovingreminders.org—Betty Lue Lieber and Robert Walton are the co-founders of Reunion Ministries. Debra and Betty Lue have recently developed an ordination program for those whose ministry focuses on healing—physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Your studies in SCS can be applied toward certification as an Ordained Interfaith Minister of Healing.; motherstrust.org—The Lakeshore Interfaith Institute, also known as “Mother’s Trust,” offers programs and classes in Interfaith Studies, peace and justice, and environmentalism.; www.shamanicvisions.com/ingerman.html —Sandra Ingerman is one of the best-known practitioners and teachers of shamanism. She has written a number of books and articles on the subject, including the ground-breaking Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self. Ingerman’s materials are part of an extensive Website on shamanism, Shamanic Visions, and the entire Website is worth exploring.; http://www.jeanhouston.org—Jean Houston is the founder of the Mystery School—a program of cross-cultural mythic and spiritual studies—dedicated to teaching history, philosophy, the new physics, psychology, anthropology, myth, and the many dimensions of our human potential.