BIRTH OF A NEW EARTH CURRICULUM FOR CONSCIOUS PROCREATION

 
 
BIRTH OF A NEW EARTH
CURRICULUM FOR CONSCIOUS PROCREATION ©
By Jeanice Barcelo, M.A.
jeanicebarcelo@yahoo.com
 
 
Current research indicates that youth all across America are increasingly at risk for a variety of social disorders including drug and alcohol abuse, eating disorders, behavioral problems, learning disabilities, severe depression, suicidal behavior, violent behavior, criminal behavior, and more. In addition to the serious psychological and behavioral issues just mentioned, young people are also at risk for reproductive challenges such as prepubescent menstrual cycles, premature sexual activity, unwanted teen pregnancy, single or repeated abortions, single parenthood, and/or giving birth to an unwanted child.

A growing body of research in the field or pre- and perinatal psychology is now suggesting that this current cultural crisis may have its roots in unresolved trauma that our young may have experienced while in the womb, during birth, or during the immediate post-natal period of their lives. Western society has paid very little attention to the importance of the birth experience and the first nine months in the womb, and we have seriously underestimated the impact of pre- and perinatal trauma on the psyches of our young.  As a result, our youth are suffering tremendously and are having difficulty leading joyful, healthy lives.

Much to our misfortune, there is not a single school (that I am aware of) in the whole of the United States or elsewhere that has taken on the responsibility of teaching young adults about the principles of conscious procreation and parenting.  Although “sex education” has made its way into high school classrooms, truly meaningful discussions about the spiritual implications of haphazard sexual behavior, and/or about the importance of conceiving babies consciously, gestating them in loving and trauma-free wombs, birthing them gently, and parenting them consciously, are sadly absent.

As a result, millions (perhaps billions) of children are being conceived haphazardly and then gestated in wombs filled with fear, shame, and resentment. This difficult beginning (if it doesn’t end in abortion) is often followed by a birth experience that is filled with trauma and toxicity.

According to a study done by William Emerson (expert in pre- and perinatal psychology and pioneer in the field of birth trauma healing), 95% of American hospital births are considered traumatic, with 50% of these being rated as moderately traumatic, and 45% being rated as severely traumatic.  Early trauma has been shown to affect the development of the fetal and infant brain, nervous system, neuro-chemistry, organs, physiology, psychology, and consciousness.  Early traumatic memories leave imprints that are stored somatically and, although these memories may not be available to the conscious mind, they nevertheless influence all aspects of health and personality.

Traumatic imprints create psychological and behavioral patterns that tend to repeat themselves throughout life.  For example, fetuses that are gestated in wombs where mother and father are not in a loving relationship may carry an imprint of dysfunctional relating that can manifest and seek resolution during adolescence and adulthood.  The imprint can effectively cause a maturing adult to repetitively enter into unfulfilling and/or abusive relationships as he or she recreates the conditions of his/her early wounding in an attempt to achieve a different outcome.  Unless human beings become conscious of the primal wounding that is generating their behavior (which is often inter-generational), and unless they find ways to come to resolution, the patterns are likely to recapitulate and get passed on to the next generation.

Early traumatic womb experiences can include, but are not limited to:

- being in a womb where one is not wanted and/or where thoughts of abortion are contemplated

- being in a womb where the mother is experiencing deep emotional pain or chronic depression (the fetus is swimming in the hormonal/neurochemical make-up of its mother)

- being the product of a loveless sexual experience

- being in a womb that is filled with stress hormones due to the stress that parents (especially our mother’s) are under

- being exposed to toxic substances such as alcohol, nicotine, and illegal and prescription drugs while in the womb, at birth, or during the first two years of life

- being exposed to domestic violence or violence of any kind before, during, or after birth

- being abandoned by one or both parents

All of the above experiences (and this is a very small sampling) can, and most often do, result in the underdevelopment of the human brain and the over-adrenalization of the nervous system. Biological deficiencies and traumatic compensations tend to compound over time and can lead to an adolescent and/or adult that has difficulty generating healthy behavior, satisfying relationships, and a joyful life.

It is for this reason that it is imperative to offer an educational youth program that will raise awareness of the social conditions that are perpetuating this dis-ease and offer tools that will help our youth put an end to the lineage of abuse, maltreatment, and dysfunction.

The program described below is geared toward youth and young adults between the ages of 13 and 30.  It is designed to help change the way young people think about relationships, sexuality, pregnancy, birth, and parenting.  It is also designed to provide youth with tools and knowledge that will help them heal their past and create a better future.

The curriculum outlined below encourages young people to understand the social implications of irresponsible sexual activity, thereby encouraging them to be in absolute integrity with their sexual behavior.  Each class will stress the importance of being truly ready to bring forth life before becoming sexually active and, once this readiness is established, to seek a stable, committed, loving relationship (and home) before conceiving a child.

The curriculum is further designed to educate youth about the types of trauma that can occur during conception, prenatal life, at birth, and during the first two years of life. This information has a variety of benefits including:

- helping youth become conscious of any trauma they, themselves, may have experienced in their own early life, thereby starting the process of conscious resolution;

- providing them with tools they can use to heal their own damaging imprints;

- helping youth understand the implications of irresponsible sexual behavior and haphazard conception;

- providing them with a moral incentive to make sure the important pieces are in place BEFORE they become sexually active and/or become pregnant and have a child.

Emphasis will be placed on their capacity to make responsible choices, encouraging them to maintain a drug and alcohol-free environment at all times and trusting that, if they do choose to become pregnant after this program, they will have enough information to create the best possible circumstances for themselves and their babies.

The program consists of a 20-week intensive lecture, film, and experiential series that will utilize a combination of classroom-like discussions, auditory and visual aids, and on-going focus-group interactions, as outlined below.
 
 

BACKGROUND AND CREDENTIALS

 
 
Jeanice Barcelo is a former adjunct college professor with a master’s degree in sociology and a minor in women’s studies.  She has taught numerous classes on several college campuses with her expertise being in the area of gender issues, human sexuality, pre- and perinatal psychology, and conscious birth and parenting.

Jeanice is a trained doula and an independent childbirth educator with expertise in the healing and prevention of prenatal and birth trauma. She is an international speaker, a TV and radio show host, and the creator of the Birth of a New Earth curriculum.

Jeanice is a also a certified Jin Shin instructor and practitioner with seven years of experience using subtle energy medicine for the resolution of primal shock and trauma. Jeanice has studied in-depth the impact that early trauma has on the human mind/body system, and, in particular, the ways in which prenatal and birth trauma effect the development of the fetal nervous system and brain. Through her own personal life experience, in combination with several years of intense training with Dr. Stephanie Mines (http://tara-approach.org), Jeanice has come to a deep understanding of how early overwhelming experiences can influence one’s health and personality throughout life and can cause a variety of disorders later in life including, but not limited to, repetitive relationship problems, chronic health issues, drug and alcohol addiction, uncontrollable violence and criminal behavior, chemical imbalances in the brain, fertility issues, severe depression, and an inability to lead a joyful, healthy life.

Jeanice offers birth trauma healing and counseling, doula support, educational seminars and teacher trainings, as well as workshops and programs designed especially for men. She can be reached via email at jeanicebarcelo@yahoo.com.
 
 
 

“BIRTHING A NEW FUTURE”

COURSE OUTLINE

The course you are about to review is designed to examine cultural practices and beliefs in the areas of sexuality, pregnancy, childbirth and parenting.  By utilizing cross-cultural anthropological data as a method of comparison, the following curriculum critically analyzes western habits and customs with respect to the conception, gestation, birth, and parenting of children — and the impact this is having on individuals, families, society, and the human species as a whole. 

Through a combination of lecture, film, and focus-group interactions, the curriculum explores the things that can be done to heal the past and create a better future – one that will support the preservation of love in families forever and completely transform the quality of western civilization.
 
 
Part I – A Cross-Cultural Look at Human Sexuality

Weeks 1 & 2 – A sociological and anthropological overview of the social construction of “masculinity” and “femininity” and how cultural definitions, norms, and expectations influence human relationships and sexual behavior.

Week 3 – An examination of the media and pornography and the impact they are having on our understanding of human sexuality.

Week 4 – A review of some of the most pertinent religious beliefs that Americans hold about gender, sexuality and childbirth, how this compares with indigenous cultures around the world, and how this is influencing the way we are conceiving, gestating and birthing our children.
 
 
Part II – A In-Depth Look at Pregnancy and Childbirth

This part of the course will offer in-depth information about the importance of prenatal and birth experiences, and how they affect our lives and our civilization. We will look closely at hospital birthing practices and how technological interventions are influencing the primal process of gestation and birth. We will examine how the relationship between mother and father can affect baby’s brain development as well as its relational abilities later in life. We will learn about the importance of the mother-infant bond and how this bond begins to build in the earliest stages of gestation and can create a lifetime of healthy relating or its opposite. We will discuss, in-depth, the types of trauma that can occur during the various stages of gestation and at birth and how these traumas affect our later lives. We will also look closely at ways to prevent prenatal and birth trauma, and examine tools we can use to reorganize our own neurology and brain chemistry to repattern our own unhealthy imprints.

Weeks 5 & 6 – The importance of the preconception environment and how to prepare oneself for conscious conception.

Week 7 – An overview of the important role of the father during the childbearing year.

Weeks 8 & 9 – An overview of life in the womb and how our experiences during the first nine months of life can affect our health and personality throughout life.

Week 10 – An examination of the significance of mother’s emotions during gestation and at birth and how they impact the neurology, brain chemistry, physiology and psychology of the fetus.  Included here will be a discussion about parental love and how mother’s relationship with father plays a very important role in our brain development, our personality, and our capacity to develop healthy love relationships later in life.

Weeks 11-14 – An examination of modern birthing practices and the impact of technological interventions during gestation and childbirth (including review of several pertinent films including Pregnant in America and The Business of Being Born).

Week 15 – An overview of the significance of the mother/infant bond and the impact on the parent/child relationship and the psychological health of mother and child if this bond is interfered with.

Week 16 – Viewing of the film “Birth As We Know It.”

Weeks 17 & 18 – How to heal our past trauma with Jin Shin and prepare for conscious procreation.
 
 
Part III – Conscious Parenting

Week 19 – Attachment parenting – the importance of holding the baby, sleeping with the baby, and making sure the baby and the mother are properly nurtured and cared-for. Also, an in-depth look at vaccinations.

Week 20 – Discussion about the physical and emotional benefits of breast-feeding, and info about lactation support and/or postpartum doula support.