Awake the Soul, LLC DBA Annie L. Browning, Ph.D.

Client Service Agreement, Informed Consent, and Terms & Conditions

Welcome to Awake the Soul, LLC, DBA Annie L. Browning. This Agreement explains the nature of services offered, client responsibilities, payment and cancellation policies, confidentiality limits, intellectual property rights, privacy practices, and informed consent for participation in spiritual guidance, retreats, workshops, meditations, teachings, and related offerings.

By signing or purchasing services from Awake the Soul, LLC, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agreed to these terms. You are encouraged to ask questions before signing and may consult an attorney or other professional advisor if desired.

Awake the Soul, LLC provides spiritual guidance, education, contemplative practices, retreats, and related personal-development services. These services are not psychotherapy, medical care, crisis intervention, or a substitute for treatment from a licensed healthcare or mental health provider.

If you need psychotherapy, medical care, psychiatric care, emergency support, or crisis intervention, you agree to seek those services independently from an appropriately licensed professional.

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Client Rights and Responsibilities

As a client or participant, you have the right to:

• Receive information about the general nature, methods, fees, and expected structure of services.
• Ask questions before, during, or after services.
• Decline participation in any practice or exercise.
• Seek a second opinion or outside professional support.
• End your participation at any time, subject to the cancellation and refund policies below.
• Have your personal information handled with reasonable care and confidentiality, except where disclosure is required or permitted by law.

You are responsible for:

• Disclosing relevant physical, psychological, medical, or emotional conditions that may affect your participation.
• Determining whether these services are appropriate for you.
• Continuing care with your physician, therapist, psychiatrist, or other licensed provider as needed.
• Stopping participation and notifying the facilitator if you experience distress, discomfort, or concern.
• Making independent decisions about your health, relationships, finances, spirituality, and personal life.

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Informed Consent

You understand that Awake the Soul, LLC does not provide medical, psychological, psychiatric, legal, financial, or crisis services. Services may include spiritual guidance, guided meditation, energy-based practices, contemplative inquiry, retreats, teachings, ceremonies, workshops, readings, group discussions, and related experiences.

These practices may support insight, reflection, emotional awareness, creativity, spiritual exploration, or personal growth. They may also bring up discomfort, grief, anxiety, confusion, emotional release, memories, or unexpected life reflections.

No specific result, outcome, healing, transformation, awakening, financial gain, relationship improvement, or personal breakthrough is promised or guaranteed.

By participating, you acknowledge that personal and spiritual growth can be unpredictable and that you remain fully responsible for your own choices, interpretations, actions, and wellbeing.

GAZE Method™ Informed Consent and Assumption of Risk

Purpose and Nature of the Practice

The GAZE Method™ is an educational and experiential practice designed to support self-reflection, expanded awareness, emotional exploration, creative insight, and personal growth.

The method may include one or more of the following components:

• Panoramic or peripheral visual awareness

• Focused visual attention practices

• Guided meditation

• Breath-awareness practices

• High-Ventilation Cyclic Breathwork (HVCB)

• Structured eye-movement exercises

• Reflective inquiry and group discussion

Participation in the GAZE Method may result in altered states of consciousness, shifts in perception, emotional activation, enhanced insight, or changes in awareness.

The GAZE Method is not psychotherapy, counseling, medical treatment, psychiatric care, crisis intervention, diagnosis, or healthcare of any kind.

Participation is voluntary and may be discontinued at any time.

Modified GAZE Format

Certain GAZE sessions utilize only Panoramic Gaze and contemplative awareness practices and do not include breathwork or eye-movement exercises.

This modified format generally presents lower physiological risk and may be more appropriate for individuals with medical, neurological, vestibular, visual, or trauma-related sensitivities.

Even in the modified format, participants may experience emotional release, changes in awareness, unexpected memories, physical sensations, or altered perceptions.

Contraindications for Full GAZE Practice

You should not participate in any GAZE session involving HVCB, intensive breathwork, or structured eye-movement exercises without prior medical clearance if you have:

• Cardiovascular disease or heart conditions

• Uncontrolled hypertension

• Respiratory disorders, including severe asthma or COPD

• Seizure disorders or epilepsy

• History of stroke or significant neurological conditions

• Bipolar disorder

• Psychotic disorders

• Schizophrenia-spectrum disorders

• Dissociative disorders

• Recent surgery

• Recent concussion, traumatic brain injury, or head trauma

• Pregnancy

• Any medical or psychiatric condition that may be aggravated by altered breathing patterns or altered states of consciousness

Participants currently receiving mental health treatment are encouraged to consult with their licensed provider before participation.

Potential Risks

Participation may involve psychological, emotional, physical, or spiritual discomfort.

Potential experiences may include:

• Emotional release or emotional intensity

• Anxiety, fear, sadness, grief, or anger

• Vivid imagery or memory recall

• Feelings of disorientation or altered perception

• Temporary dizziness or lightheadedness

• Tingling sensations or changes in bodily awareness

• Temporary changes in mood or emotional regulation

• Fatigue following participation

While most experiences are temporary, individual responses cannot be predicted.

No guarantee is made regarding the nature, safety, effectiveness, or outcome of any experience.

Remote Participation

For online sessions:

• Facilitators are not physically present.

• Facilitators are not emergency responders.

• Participants are responsible for ensuring a safe environment free from hazards and distractions.

• Participants should have access to a phone and emergency contacts if needed.

• Participants are responsible for monitoring their own physical and emotional wellbeing throughout the session.

Facilitator Role and Scope

GAZE facilitators provide educational instruction, experiential guidance, and supportive reflection.

Facilitators do not provide psychotherapy, psychological treatment, medical treatment, crisis intervention, or emergency services.

Facilitators do not diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any medical or mental health condition.

Participant Acknowledgments

By participating, I acknowledge and affirm that:

• I am at least eighteen (18) years of age.

• I have accurately disclosed relevant health information that may affect participation.

• I understand the risks described above.

• I understand that participation may involve altered states of consciousness and unpredictable emotional or psychological experiences.

• I understand that no specific outcome or benefit has been promised or guaranteed.

• I accept full responsibility for my participation and any decisions I make before, during, or after participation.

• I will discontinue participation if I experience distress or believe continuing is not in my best interest.

• I understand that I may decline any exercise or withdraw at any time.

Assumption of Risk and Release

I voluntarily choose to participate in the GAZE Method.

I understand that participation involves known and unknown risks, including physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual risks that may not be fully foreseeable.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, I assume full responsibility for my participation and release, indemnify, and hold harmless Awake the Soul, LLC, Annie L. Browning, facilitators, contractors, employees, representatives, and affiliates from any claims, liabilities, damages, injuries, losses, or expenses arising from my participation, except where prohibited by applicable law.

Confidentiality

Participants are expected to respect the privacy of others and refrain from sharing personal information disclosed by fellow participants outside the session.

While facilitators will make reasonable efforts to maintain confidentiality, confidentiality cannot be guaranteed in group or online settings.

Ongoing Applicability

This informed consent remains in effect for all future GAZE sessions, programs, retreats, workshops, and online experiences unless revoked in writing or unless a material change in the participant's medical or psychological condition occurs, in which case the participant agrees to notify Awake the Soul, LLC before participating again.

Emergency Situations

If a participant experiences a medical or psychological emergency, emergency services should be contacted immediately by the participant or an appropriate support person.

GAZE facilitators are not emergency responders and cannot provide emergency medical or psychiatric care.