A Humanitarian & Healing Journey by Lindsley Field 2006

“New family values,” being the theme of this month’s journal, feels like a timely one as I share with you my journey of peace and goodwill to the war torn third world country of Viet Nam. What I received from these gentle, forgiving people and their country,
ravished by war for centuries, was immeasurable and life-changing. Their spirituality, their devotion to family and community, their commitment to the ‘greater whole’ is palpable. You see it and feel it everywhere. Poverty and beyond humble living conditions are transcended. There is a harmony, and a peace that exudes from even the poorest of situations. Picture thousands of bicycles, buses, motorbikes, all laden with passengers, young and old, packed onto a one lane highway. Every one with a horn is honking. Road
rage? Yelling and screaming? You’d think so. This is what we are familiar with in our country of abundance and opportunity. In
Viet Nam, the contrary is the norm.  There is a consistent giving way to each other, an allowing, a moving over, making room for,
a grace and ease that once again transcends what could be multiple accidents and trips to the police station! Not here. Yet, this
country has witnessed nearly constant war and oppression, since the French occupation in the 1800’s, and before. What lies within
them transcends how one perceives the reality at hand. Through my travels there, as my judgment of perceptual reality dropped
away, what took its place was priceless, precious and beautiful. They are a people living as Gandhi once admonished us to do:
they are being the peace. Let me share with you more about my pilgrimage.

This past October, I flew to Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) to join a group of fellow travelers. We were healers and lay people, four
survivors of the Viet Nam war, our Vietnamese translator, “Song”, also a veteran, and our leader, Dr. Edward Tick of Albany,
New York (War and The Soul, The Practice of Dream Healing) on an extraordinary mission, fourteen strong.  Our goals were several.
We were there, in part, to support the healing and honoring of the four veterans. Three had been back twice with Tours of Peace for
their own healing, as well as to offer friendship and health clinics to the ‘land of their nightmares’.  Some in our group, me included,
were also survivors of war, having been affected as family members of veterans. All of us, to one degree or another, carried trauma
from other sources, as well as war. We wanted to learn more about how to help ourselves heal, spiritually, emotionally and
physically, as well as how to help each other. Dr. Tick, author and spiritually based psychotherapist of 30 years, was our guide and teacher.  Experienced in Native American healing and ceremony, Dr. Tick was clear he was helping to hold the space for Great Spirit.
His intention was to create for us an opportunity to be touched and transformed by the power that spiritual healing provides.
Each of the veterans experienced soul retrieval while there. Spiritually based healing, Dr. Tick has discovered in his years as a psychotherapist working with veterans and trauma survivors, has been the critical, missing component to healing the brutalities of
war and trauma. “To begin healing, we must see PTSD as a disorder of identity itself. War’s violence can cause the very soul to flee
and be lost for life.” (War and the Soul, Edward Tick).  As a shamanic healer, I came to assist and learn more about this process of reclaiming and healing the soul. This process of transformation and healing has become my life’s work. I felt at home with, and impassioned by, the chance to ‘be the hollow bone’ in service as we traveled the country for 3 weeks. As we served we learned,
receiving so much more by our acts of giving and goodwill. We discovered new things about ourselves, we made friends wherever
we went, and we experienced the power of forgiveness and compassion.

Our group was also involved in several humanitarian projects and health clinics.  We loaded our suitcases with charitable donations of clothes, toys and medicines which we handed out as we traveled. It seemed a far greater gift for us to see their
eyes light up with delight and appreciation.  One of the vets carried as many tennis balls as he could stuff into his gear. He
had done this previously on his travels with Tours of Peace. Wherever he went, he’d toss out balls, sometimes out of our bus
window, as we drove through the countryside. It was pure pleasure to witness what joy such a simple gift bounced
unexpectedly into the hands of a child could bring! When we traveled to the school Dr. Tick’s group had previously helped
build, we unloaded bags of goodies. Teachers and students enjoyed the Santa like experience, donning new clothes, toys,
hats, hair ribbons, surprises galore. One of my clients had donated her daughter’s collection of “Beanie Babies”, 40 in all.
What a pleasure to be able to place them into the eager hands of children, most of whom had never seen such a toy.

Traveling with a portable bodywork table, I was able to set up periodically for the planned health clinics, and whenever the
need arose.  The first time I used it was in the Mekong Delta one hot, steamy evening. I did energy work and Trager® on
a former Viet Cong, “Mr. Tiger”, who had been present for many different political regimes in his country.  He was so taken
with how he felt after his treatment, he kept hugging and kissing me. He had also received a chiropractic adjustment by one of
our veterans, Dr. John Fisher from Golden, Colorado. Our translator “Song”, who knew Mr. Tiger for many years, shared
with us later, he’d never seen him look so peaceful and happy. Mr. Tiger’s son, handicapped from his wounds as a soldier in
the Vietnam War, received his first treatment that night from John Fisher. We were told this was quite significant, as he
had never before been willing to receive the healing work offered in previous trips by Dr. Tick’s groups. After his treatment
with John, the two veterans embraced, acknowledging each other in a way that could never have been imagined. It is such
a powerful healing when the veterans are able to give back and offer their healing gifts to the people they were trained and
told to war against.   

I felt guided to give Mr. Tiger a shamanic gift, a ‘talking stick’ I had brought back from New Mexico on one of my trips to
study with my native teacher. I told him that this ‘stick’ was a gift from Spirit to honor his contribution in his country as an herbalist and cultivator of plants and plant medicine, his current livelihood. I explained, with “Song’s” help, that our ancient native culture of plant medicine and wisdom was honoring and celebrating his, that we were one with each other in our
mutual mission to serve our people with the wonders of the natural world and their intrinsic connection to Spirit. Once he understood what this ‘stick’ represented, he hugged me tightly. Receiving his heartfelt thanks and hugs of appreciation, felt
like being received as a family member. One person in our group, witnessing his lavish display of gratitude and happiness, said they wondered if he was going to ask me to stay and become a member of his village!  This was a familiar theme throughout
my trip: being welcomed with open arms, being accepted despite the cultural differences. Are we not brothers and sisters?
Is it possible that total strangers, in any given serendipitous moment, might join hands in prayer, receive a healing, share a
meal, lend a hand, and enjoy a mutual laugh.  The moments in time, guided by Spirit and filled with grace, gave us all a chance
to become brothers and sisters, no more, no less.

Our group personally funded a “Compassion House”. Four have previously been built by other groups traveling with
Dr. Tick. We helped build a new home for an especially needy family. We spent an afternoon with this family, along with Vietnamese officials who helped make this possible. We gathered in the freshly painted new home for the traditional
ceremonial tea and honoring ritual. We learned more about the family’s plight, and each member’s story. The whole village gathered outside, watching attentively through the doors and windows, sharing in the blessing. Seated around a large table,
we all shared a beautiful meal. That afternoon, one of our veterans decided, on the spot, to fund the education of the youngest child in the family through high school. The government provides education for children only through fifth grade. Further
schooling becomes the family’s responsibility. It was truly a healing, uplifting moment for our veteran friend, his wife, and all
of us there!

I had the privilege of working in several health care clinics that had been set up for us.  What an experience to serve in a
former Viet Cong village in the Mekong Delta, in Da Lat at a disabled  orphanage, on the handicapped at the Friendship Agent Orange Rehabilitation Center, in a school for handicapped children in Hue, to name a few. We visited an orphanage for babies, where one of our veterans and his wife had previously adopted a little girl. We sang our familiar nursery songs to them. They
sang their songs to us.  We emptied our bags of gifts, and handed them out to the children and teachers. This school had also
been funded by Dr. Tick’s organization “Sanctuary International”.

Wherever we went, as sightseers and healers in service, we were met by welcoming appreciative arms. Wet met so many Vietnamese: veterans, families, authors, educators, social workers, teachers, healers, all working hard to make a difference.
The Vietnamese seem to have the gift of being able to live more in the present moment. They do not hold onto the past. They appear not to be living from wounded-ness nor broken-ness.  As we learned, their spiritual beliefs give them advantages and foundations of living today, and forgiving the past. We have much to learn from them. As we honored them, in whatever
capacity we were serving, they honored us.

I realized on deeper levels that we are truly one. We are limited only by our personal, cultural and societal conditioning into believing we are somehow better, or separate or right.  The spiritual roots of this land and its’ people, ‘fed me’ on many levels
of my being, in ways I had no idea would happen. This was the experience I had been seeking. I wanted to receive what it is
my soul had brought me there for. In closing, I want to honor one of my teachers, the beloved monk, Zen master and poet
of Viet Nam, Thich Nhat Hahn, formerly exiled from his homeland for his peaceful, anti-war teachings and philosophies. Here
is a passage from his Touching Peace (page 108), which expresses so well what it is I experienced, and what I will endeavor
to live and teach in my life.

 
“Having a community where people gather as brothers and sisters in the dharma and where children have a number of
aunts and uncles is a very wonderful thing. We have to learn to create that kind of family. We have to see that other members
of the community as our brothers and sisters. This is already a tradition in the East, and it can be learned in the West. We can take the best from both cultures.” 
 

Lindsley Field is a shamanic healer and spiritual counselor, Trager® practitioner, vision quest leader and Reiki teacher. Her healing and teaching practice, Path to the Heart, is based in Newcastle, Maine. Lindsley can be reached at www.pathtotheheart.net. For information about Dr. Tick and his work contact www.mentorthesoul.com.

Soldier’s Heart Journey to Viet Nam Spring 2010

The year 2010 is the year of celebrations for Vietnam. January began the festivities with the observance of 15 years of normalized relations with the United States. On April 30th it will be 35 years since the end of the war. The city of Hanoi
will commemorate 1000 years on October 10th (10/10/1010 – 10/10/2010) and Soldier’s Heart will be in attendance for
the festivities, also celebrating 10 years leading reconciliation journeys to Vietnam. This year also represents the first
year Soldier’s Heart has expanded its work in Vietnam by adding a second pilgrimage from March 28th to April 12th.
And unbeknownst to the travelers who signed up this year, Vietnam was ready to take notice with amazing receptions
and media coverage. Over the course of 16 days, Soldier’s Heart was televised on six nightly newscasts throughout the Central and Northern regions, two National talk shows on the VOICE OF VIETNAM (VOV) and TALK VIETNAM,
as well as the making of two documentaries, one on Vietnamese Television (VTV) and the other with the Vietnam
News Agency, which reaches more than 100 million readers/viewers in Southeast Asia.

Soldier’s Heart is a foundation based on the writings of Dr. Ed Tick, Ph.D., psychotherapist and author. With the
Vietnam War in the ‘60’s and ‘70’s and now the wars in the Middle East, psychological casualties have occurred at
alarming rates. Many returning soldiers suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and the stopgap measures
with traditional treatments have not been enough. Veterans from all wars, past and present, have not been allowed to complete their process, which must involve the entire society. The ancient traditions allowed for a different experience
after war and Dr. Tick has taken great measures to study the customs of Native American, Greek Mythologies and
even Vietnamese to discover the concepts to healing PTSD that is unprecedented in our Western culture. His best
selling book, “War and the Soul,” describes his findings and as director of Soldier’s Heart (term used during the
Civil War to describe PTSD), he is able to implement these methodologies long lost to the modern world. And he has
been taking veterans back to Vietnam too, since the year 2000, to help them recover from their experience and reclaim
their identity lost in the war, an important process discovered from the earlier traditions.

  John Fisher, Doctor of Chiropractic, Vietnam veteran and author, co-facilitated this years spring trip with his wife and partner Lindsley Field, Certified Trager Practitioner, Reki Master/teacher, aromatherapist and Shamanic healer. Together they have over 50 years of clinical expertise and were joined by eight participants, three of whom were also body workers with skills in orthopedic massage, Shiatsu, Cranio-Sacral, yoga and Reki. As with all Soldier’s Heart journeys, reconciliation for veterans and family members along with a focus on Vietnamese spirituality/culture is the primary concern, but in addition the spring journey brings on the opportunity to share clinical holistic healthcare, which is not readily available in Vietnam. As the trip began to unfold, a very collaborative relationship began to develop overseas. Through synchronistic connections on the Internet, the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation (VVAF) discovered the upcoming venture and asked for help in their sponsored Agent Orange villages and schools. Four of the six clinics offered this year were partnered with the VVAF with the other two being an elderly home in Hoi Anh and Friendship Village in Hanoi, also an Agent Orange facility. Close to 1000 patients were seen.

  Agent Orange is one of the chemicals sprayed by the American military during the Vietnam War. Used to defoliate the jungles where the enemy was hiding, C-130 aircraft were sprayed the herbisides onto the countryside. Each plane could destroy 350 acres of forest and a spray run took less than 4 minutes, used 1,000 gallons of chemical and was often sprayed by 3 planes flying side by side. That meant 1 run equaled 1,000 acres of jungle destroyed. There were 19.4 million gallons sprayed in all, 11.7 million gallons of that being Agent Orange, which was made from dioxin. Unfortunately, the toxic effects of the mission, called Operation Ranch Hand, still remains evident both on the land and in the society of Vietnam. Today there are thousands of disabled Vietnamese as a result of earlier generations consumption of the poisoned food and water supplies, not to mention those who were directly sprayed. Many American and their allied forces have experienced generational disabilities too, but none worse than those who live in the damaged terrain itself. The U.S. Government is just now starting to deal with some of the issues related with American veterans, but so far it has only been the special interest groups that have helped the Vietnamese.

  Soldier’s Heart clinics were set up to service patients in an orderly and efficient manner with all trip participants contributing in the process. “I know we’re all here to care for these people, but it is a very healing experience for us too,” commented a non-therapist member of our group. “I feel energized because our group is transforming the care and access that those living with dioxin exposure in Viet Nam are getting,” reflected one of the therapists. Dr. Fisher has done this work in the country he once fought against on five different trips, Lindsley on three, and they both share the healing benefits experienced, all above and beyond that offered to the patient. The work lasts between two to four hours at each center, which also accounts for the time spent to teach the skills possible to leave behind to the staff and volunteer therapists. In addition, this year’s journey was blessed with a $7000 donation of products from Young Living Essential Oil Company. Therapeutic grade essential oils were gifted to the villages/schools this year, many designed to cleanse and purify the body of the toxic effects of dioxin. The VVAF, Friendship Village (also sponsored by a Vietnam veteran effort) and now Soldier’s Heart are offering significant contributions to exposed communities.

  Participating on this year’s spring trip were two Vietnam veterans, one veteran wife, three veteran children and one veteran nephew. There were several ceremonial services for all of those involved with the after effects of war. One in particular was especially moving at LZ (Landing Zone) Bayonet, just north of Chu Lai. It was dedicated to the veteran daughter whose father had served there, but it soon became apparent that all veterans and their children were being honored. Even the news media that had been accompanying the group’s travel became involved as they turned off their cameras and joined the sacred circle. These journeys often have synchronistic events, as the reporter and cameraman were also veteran children of the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). All were anointed with sage and incense and as never before, true reconciliation for veterans, their children and their foe took place on an abandoned firebase where the breezes now whisper peace across the land. That feeling continued with a visit to My Lai later that day, site of the March 16, 1968 massacre. One of the survivors, Ha Thi Quy, now 85, agreed to meet with the group. There is love and forgiveness throughout this Southeast Asian land, but this unlikely woman exemplifies the culture as none other.

  Humanitarian projects are a large part of Soldier’s Heart ventures in Viet Nam. Over the years, schools, infirmaries,
street children shelters and compassion houses have been built where most needed. The spring trips are mostly focused
on healthcare clinics and all participants are asked to bring donation items such as clothing, toys and other
non-perishable items for those in need. This year, Tony Luick, Psychologist, Vietnam veteran and director of American Veterans Quest for Peace (AVQP) was along for the spring journey and brought a generous donation of $2500, courtesy
of the AVQP. The funds were utilized to subsidize a leprosy colony near Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), needed medical supplies at the elderly home clinic, food and necessities at a Buddhist orphanage and high school scholarships for 19 students in Hue. Soldier’s Heart is greatly privileged to team with AVQP in this generous offering. Both Dr. Fisher and
Dr. Luick were special guests on the National talk shows previously mentioned. Viet Nam is very happy to have
American veterans returning after the war and most honored when they also contribute to their third-world nation.
Christal Presley, Ph.D. in education, veteran daughter and author was also featured on one of the shows.

  Receptions for the group were held throughout the country from Ho Chi Minh City, through the central areas of Quang Nam and Da Nang provinces and into Hanoi. In the latter city a grand social event was held in honor of the Americans
and attended by many dignitaries including the Vice Chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Parliament Assembly Ngo Quang Xuan, Psychiatric Director of the Association for Handicapped Children Do Thuy Lan, M.D., head of the Orthopedic Department of Viet Duc University Hospital Ngo Van Toan, M.D., Deputy Secretary General Bui Van Nghi
and the American Ambassador to Vietnam Michael Mitchell. Before the group’s departure from Vietnam on Monday,
April 12, the Secretary General of the Central Government Tran Dac Loi gave a farewell reception for the group. In his speech he pointed out that the Vietnamese people have come to terms with the psychological aspects from the war,
however many physical aspects remain (Agent Orange contamination and undetonated land mines and bombs), He thanked the group for helping them to overcome these challenges.

Check out this website for more information: www.johnwesleyfisher.com
or email: john@soldiersheart.net or the info email on the website above.
If you wish to apply for the 2011   spring trip leaving June 7th. and  returning June 24th., please fill out the application below.