Sep 19 2010
When was the last time you just took the time to sit down and simply be present with something? Some activity, or event, or even spending time just being with a person.
I want to share with you a recent experience that I had doing this.
Sep 18 2010
I want to share a story from when I was recently working on firewood with my son.
Aug 27 2010
I took a video making class with Blue Melnick in March and April of 2010. Here is my review of that class.
Aug 14 2010
My son was working on my mother’s water system this morning. She has been having problems with it off and on for months. He planned to install a new pump because he could tell the old one was not pumping water. He was gone longer than I expected and when he came back he did not come into the house. I was looking for him and then saw him lying on the trampoline. I knew immediately the project had not gone well.
Later when he came into the house, I asked him how it went and he walked out again without saying a word. I knew by the look on his face that he was attacking himself for not being able to fix the problem or not being able to figure out what the problem is or something. For so many years I spent countless hours attacking myself for not being good enough – I know what it looks like when someone is doing that to themselves. And I could feel him having a hard time.
I certainly wished there was something I could do to help him! What I was most aware of though was his pain triggered the fear vibration in my body and I found myself saying, it’s okay! I’m safe! It seemed like I had no defense to hold his self-attack away from me and I was feeling attacked too. I have felt this before when he had a hard time, but not in quite this way.
Aug 14 2010
Taking more responsibility in your life is an idea that is often misunderstood. It’s something I’ve worked with a lot. It can be scary if you think taking responsibility means you need to change something you don’t heave any idea how to change, or fix something that is not actually yours to fix.
In its most basic form, responsibility simply means the ability to respond. It’s not about fixing something or changing something. It’s more about bringing awareness to what is happening, rather than glossing over it or turning away. The act of acknowledging and truly seeing what is occurring is the beginning of the healing process.
Years ago I struggled to be able to acknowledge the emotional pain my husband was in. I was doing my best to work on our issues so we could stay together, and it felt so complex I was overwhelmed. I was unable to allow myself to feel his pain because I thought it was my responsibility to change something in me to help ease his pain.
I remember the day I figured out that wasn’t true. His pain was his, and not mine to fix by changing my behavior. This was such an incredible relief because I had no idea how to help his pain! I’d already tried endless things that seemed to have no effect at all and I’d realized I couldn’t live my life trying to please him.
What I found out was that by acknowledging his pain and letting it be ok it was there, a point of connection between us was created. I could simply be there while he looked at his pain and why it was there, if he chose to do that.
Aug 13 2010
I work to neutralize the emotional charge a person has around whatever issue is up for them in that moment. Fear, anger, sadness, loss – it doesn’t matter whether the situation involves a health problem, physical pain, not enough money, no job, grief about a relationship, or any other challenging situation you can think of – these emotions are common to all of us!
The emotional charge around your challenge makes it difficult for you to see clearly, to feel distinctly, what choices are needed to bring the joy and fulfillment in your life you want. Neutralizing your emotional reaction to your situation is like cleaning the mud and debris away so you can see and feel what you specifically need to change your situation.
Aug 13 2010
I don’t have any letters behind my name. Nothing to let others know about the training I’ve had and all the things I have learned. I’ve always felt a bit uncomfortable about letters behind people’s names, but I’ve never been able to accurately put into words what I was feeling or way.
Interesting. All of a sudden as I looked at the notebook with the name of the instructor of the 6 month class I’m taking to help me build my business, with all those letters behind him name, and this is what came into words.
In many ways in our society those letters behind someone’s name have served as a way to divide and separate certain people from other people. They have served to put distance in-between people much the same way as money has often been used to separate people rather than bring them together.
In many respects the two things go together because letters behind a name usually means that person has paid lots of money to get other people to approve of him and tell him he is valuable and worthy because he has learned things that group of people believes is valuable and important.
Aug 12 2010
The instructor of the class I am taking on how to build a heart centered, six figure practice, talks again and again about how valuable the lessons are that he is presenting to us. He mentions the many thousands of dollars and years of time it took for him to learn these things.
My thoughts in the moment are that if you are living from your mind then yes, you study and learning may take years of time and thousands of dollars. If you are living from your hear and choosing again and again to shift away from grasping to understand all of it in your thinking, and simply noticing, observing and feeling, then the learning will happen with greater ease and speed and won’t cost nearly as much money!