Take it Back!

"Take it back," the little boy yelled! His friend just stared at him with an expression of hurt for 12 seconds before apologizing.

"I'm sorry Stu. I take it back, I didn't mean it really."

"Still friends?"

"Still friends."

That initial reaction to hurting words is much more valid than we give ourselves permission to own. Words have power. They impact us on an energetic level and we feel them physically and emotionally. Whether positive or negative, we experience the wonder of communication on a level beyond the auditory delivery. We all need to be honest with ourselves regarding our intentions and use of words.

Walking through the city streets I'm always observant of my surroundings and the people. People fascinate me, often times in a grotesque horrible sort of way. The insanity, the games, the violence, and the struggle for power between people is an ugly mirror of the darkness that lives within us all. That darkness is created by us, either through action or inaction. Our society is what it is and we all have room to grow.

Seeing the interaction of verbal abuse between people, it is easy to experience the effect that exchange of energy is having between the two people. Stu's reaction in the dialogue above demonstrates the true response to a verbal attack. On a deeper knowing level the body's reaction to the assualt responds with the verbal command to take it back! The negative emotional energy behind the attack is wrong and it is wrong for both participants; we are connected.

Our energy flows as a life force within our being and is infinitely connected to the source of all life force. Abusive energy disrupts, corrupts , and weakens the life force in people in different ways, depending upon the influences experienced. This negative energy affects us and can easily be healed, hence the statement to take it back. Forgiveness and love have the remarkable ability to heal instantly if fully engaged. This is positive life force energy flowing and empowering.

Be honest with your words; to yourself and to others. You owe it to yourself really. You must feel that you deserve the best for your life. Even if you are discouraged, you must certainly feel a faint glimmer somewhere deep down that cries out for the best life has to offer. When shit happens, seize the opportunity! There is energy in that space for radical shifts that will bring positive change into your life - no matter how painful the experience may be. Engage with attitude, positive attitude! Show up, be available, and be honest.

One final note about being honest. Beyond the honesty of your words, be honest about who you are. Know yourself, your values, your boundaries, and your path. You'll encounter many people, temptations to drift and explore, and while they may all be great experiences, they could just as easily delay or keep you from the fullness of your brilliance manifesting itself. So many stories have yielded to many bright lights shining after long struggles with distractions and devastation. Engage with attitude, positive attitude! Show up, be available, and be honest.

Religion??? Harrumph!!!

Many know that I write a lot of articles and stories related to the human spirit, spirituality, and the human experience. Recently, I've been looking at teachings of various religions. It's my belief that a lot of the core values being taught resonate within all of us. Wisdom has a tendency to have that effect on us.

I also see how many in our society are at odds over religions and spirituality. It is for that very reason that I have always tried to find the middle ground that allows me to write something from a spiritual place without causing any offence. This hasn't always happened as I've lost some members of my entourage, newsletters, and relationships along the way. It's painful to the soul and heart when this happens.

I'm not here to tell anyone what they should believe where religion is concerned. Nonetheless, I do have a positive and powerful message for us all. So wherever you are in your own battle with relgiion and spirituality, if you have ever enjoyed any of my writing, put aside your judgement, park it at the curb, and come read a bit of wisdom.

This isn't about selling or debating your faith, religion, or anything. My writing is really to sell people on themselves! I'm venturing further into controversial subject matter than I ever have and it will sit well with some, might raise the hackles of others. If your hackles are raised, I again say, be curious about why and wonder what baggage you're carrying and then wonder what it is costing you? After all, I'm sharing this from my heart.

Without further ado....

Discovering Your Path and Truth
Kingdom of Heaven is Near

After a number of years with the Christian church, a decision to leave resulted in a deeper journey to self-discovery and spirit. Initially, this journey wanted nothing further to do with Christianity due to perceived shortcomings within the institution of religion. It is a belief that going deeper into the meaning and context of ‘What is the nature of love’ would expand consciousness to embrace more deeply the intent, nature, and teachings that Jesus offered.

After leaving the church, spiritual issues continued to tease consciousness as I fumbled through our modern culture wondering why - secular and religious communities alike - there appeared to be such a spiritual void in our society today. Further study into other religions provided a better understanding of other beliefs, cultures, and people, along with their origins. Studying quantum theory to a degree offered a better understanding of the science of creation. It is important to remember that science has done much to further substantiate religious teachings in many ways over the centuries. Coming back to review the New Testament, this new information offered a correlation between Jesus' teachings and how it fits with many values and beliefs.

Reflecting upon scripture, seeking deeper insight, a walk through a natural setting provided a nurturing atmosphere. Asking for further insight to the meaning of the red-letter phrase recorded in a gospel verse, great learning and perspective demonstrated more fully and simply what Jesus attempted to share with a society 2,000 years ago. This is important to realize as well. There would be no way that Jesus could elaborate his knowing to the people of that time in the context that we can achieve today. He was limited by the societal knowledge and context of that era. Farm people, common people, enslaved people, governed people, people with various religious beliefs and gods, Jews steeped in their religious history and socialization, and so on. He had no other choice than to speak their language.

Today, we have access to much more knowledge and language. So come read the rest of this exquisite reflection.

Anger: A Bridge over Troubled Waters

An interesting event occured yesterday that revealed anger to be an opportunity.

I was walking back home after an appointment downtown in the morning and had an encounter with a rude motorist. I gestured a "what gives" posture as I tried to cross at the intersection, on the pedestrian Go signal, only to recieve a tirade of emotions. Equal to the opportunity, I responded with equal stupidity and responded in kind. This is where it begins to get very interesting.

We're all familiar with road-rage and I can recognize that something bigger is happening than the event at hand that triggered the road-rage. Knowing this, after he drove off I continued on my way, along the same route he had disappeared. A couple of blocks away, seeing his vehicle parked I placed my business card in his window. Less than 30 minutes later I received a phone call full of venom and arrogance at my action.

With some perseverance, I stayed present and invoked the Divine into the conversation, knowing that my audience came from a rich background of religious culture. This calmed the situation remarkably, although his passionate response still attempted to re-escalate the situation. At one point, holding the phone away from my ear, I spoke into the phone and said, "If you keep interrupting me, I'm not going to be able to have this conversation." This welcomed an apology and he made room to allow me to speak as well.

The truth is, he made assumptions based upon his current beliefs, his current and past experiences, prejudices, and anger relating to all of these influences. And I asked, "Did it ever occur to you that I was placed in that situation with you this morning to teach you something that you needed to learn?" I know that I did feel that way for myself and I had seized the opportunity to learn and to build a bridge rather than allow the initial encounter to burn that bridge.

Now we're talking about having a coffee, about getting to know one another versus making assumptions and accusations, and I invited him to discover the hurt that causes his anger and how better to counter these influences that continue to cause him pain. This came about after asking him if he knew what was underneath, what was causing his anger. He acknowledged that a lot of painful things have occured in his life, causing him to become more and more reactive as a self-defense strategy. Fight or Flight.

The coming days we will see how this plays out. In the meantime, I learned a great deal about responding to someone else's venom and the opportunity to recognize that so much more is happening. This encounter is an opportunity to extend a hand and heart to have us learn and grow. It allowed the seed of peace.

As for how I turned this around: After he drove off, I invited the divine (in this case I asked the angel presiding over the situation) to take charge and allowed the higher power to speak into my heart. This simple act, be it real or a mind trick, simply parks the ego and allows communication and insight from the higher self or source. This provided courage and humility to see an opportunity and lo and behold, I see his car, placed my card,he called and I reached out to listen and seek peace.

It was a powerful experience and learning opportunity.