"ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE"

            Any negative emotion that lasts longer than 90 seconds is the result 
            of negative self- talk and storytelling by the left-brain. My stroke of insight 
            is that the core of my right hemisphere consciousness is completely committed
            to the expression of peace, love, joy, and compassion in the world.

                                                                             Jill Bolte Taylor, Neuroanatomist

            There is plenty of good love available—love that heals our heart, melts 
            our needs, and makes our spirit sing.

                                                                             Melody Beattie

                                                  "ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE"

Love is simple. It asks for nothing in return. When a friend requests me to send some positive energy, I do. If a family member writes that her cancer is back, I send love. It’s now part of my morning observance to send love to people, animals and issues who enter my consciousness.

What I don’t do is let my left-brain negative thoughts send messages with the LOVE, such as, “Maggie give up your political views.” My left-brain doesn’t get a vote on what’s bad for Maggie. Those thoughts go into the trash.

But LOVE? Love I can send Maggie for the present situation that she’s facing.

Until I read Jill Bolte Taylor’s book, My Stroke of Insight, I didn’t know we could simply pick the negative self-talk “weeds” from our brain. My left brain, like yours, has been programmed to talk trash. Those thoughts are weeds and they’ve got to go.

Today, a few words into writing this blog, weeds showed up. When the electrician arrived for a ten-minute check on my breaker-box, it turned into a three-hour affair. With my computer shut down, I was “hired” to confirm what outlets belonged to which breaker.

I heard my brain complain. It took a few attempts, but I succeeded in tossing out the negative talk. I aligned with being friendly. So my day wasn’t going as planned. When the electrician left, I sent him love; me, too, and those impacted by the delay of promises that I had made. I sent love to my blog. I sat in the sun a bit, connected with a few friends online and wham, I was back in the zone. Ready to write, grateful that the electricity was back on.

In my last blog, Healing the Cosmic Split, I shared cosmology stories about the UNITY FIELD. It’s this field of energy that our right brain hemispheres tap into, sending loving, peaceful, joyful and compassionate vibrations. I’m part of that Field. So are you.

What happens if we routinely are sending and receiving love from that field? It aligns us, heals us and unites us. Who knows the impact it has on our crying world?

Dear Reader, do you want to send Love? Okay, take a moment now.

With your heart open and your mind quiet, send one person LOVE. Send LOVE to any troubling situation.

If you like this moment of sending love, what’s one thing you can do to keep your vibrations tuned to this LOVE channel and the Unity Field?

HEALING THE COSMIC SPLIT

The Chandogya Upanishad

In the beginning was only Being,

One without a second.

Out of himself he brought forth the cosmos

And entered into everything in it.

There is nothing that does not come from him.

You are that, Svetaketu; you are that.

Svetaketu is us all: humans, animals, birds, trees and rocks. Like Svetaketu, we don’t realize that we are THAT, that we’re ONE BEING.

Our world view is that we’re separate; entitled to do as we please. We don’t have to answer to all life forms. We aren’t intrinsically related. Deuteronomy tells us we have a choice to make. We can pretend we’re not connected and wreak havoc (death) or we can see that every action we make impacts our collective whole.

            New Living Translation
            Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings

            and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. 

            Oh, that you would choose life.

In the teachings of mystic Isaac Luria, God performed a “tzimtzum”, what Kabbalists call a tremendous act of love. In this story, God created special vessels to contain Divine Light as he brought forth the world. The light was so brilliant that many vessels, unable to contain this radiance, shattered, flinging shards all over creation.

Some Light returned to Source; some got trapped in the shards. It became our collective life purpose to gather this lost light...to let our light shine. To choose LIFE. We have the choice to participate in Tikkun Olam (world repair) by healing our own inner splits.

What’s a “split”? It’s like that reactive impulse to lash out when someone’s unkind. We heal it by slowing down, remembering our connection-letting in the LIGHT. As I reflect on this past week, I hear again my sister’s daughters saying heated words as my eldest niece was preparing to embark upon her new life.

This family has had more than their share of loss, some tragic. Transitions are taxing. It’s where their Light is trapped in sorrow. While harsh words were spoken, the three adults remained calm, supporting each sister to speak her deeper truths. Shining our light where it was dark. Fences got mended and voices were heard. Now, if the adults could extend that to each other when tensions are high, we’d heal the cosmic split more quickly. And we do, every time we calm the waters.

Oprah asks Ms. Angelou in an interview, “What words do you turn to for comfort.”

Love,” Ms. Angelou answers.

"[Love] may be that energy which keeps the stars in the firmament. It may be the energy that keeps the blood running through our veins.”

This is soul work: turning to kindness as loss surfaces. Loving ourselves and loving each other.

Love gives us the strength to participate in a great Tikkun Olam, healing our splits. We’re called upon to transform our unworthiness. We are called to let go of resentments.

This LOVE is WHAT we are. Ubuntu. You are that, Svetaketu; you are that.

Freed, this LIGHT gives hope. Dr. Rachel Remen says:

           We can learn to see [these sparks] in ourselves and others. When we
           spot one, we blow on it and strengthen it.

Dear Reader, what’s one split that you will start healing today? Can you see the light shining in someone that you love?

South Dakota International Black Hills Survival Gathering

Vicki and I were going to the South Dakota International Black Hills Survival Gathering  At the end of our ten day Buddhist meditation retreat, we knew we had to go. In Buddhism, the fourth noble truth shows us how to end individual and global suffering. Buddha taught that ignorance, greed, attachment and hatred are torments of the minds. These poisons were at cause in the Lakota people being denied safe water. 

The Black Hills Alliance and Lakota people of Pine Ridge Reservation discovered cancers, spontaneous abortions, and birth defects in 1980. In the WARN report (Women of All Red Nations) a biochemist documented that radioactive materials were in the water.

Those born into our western culture are conditioned to be at war with nature. Not accustomed to "sharing territory" we fight over it. As scarcity thinkers, we feel that we lack stuff: money, land, yachts, villas, glamor, being good enough. We feel empty, believing we need external reality to fill us with stuff. It keeps us at war. We feel inadequate. Without the time or ability to care for our resources...or our stuff. 

Vicki and I were ripe with this knowing. Flying commercially at this point made no sense. Neither did driving 1,374 miles. We returned to work and met early a few days later at a small-craft Oakland airport. We had a tent, sleeping bags and essentials. Our plan: hitchhike with pilots seeking company.

After six declines, we flew to Bakersfield, CA. We loved the blue sky so close to us and the pilot loved our company. After a long wait in searing summer heat, we hopped a ride to Tucson, Arizona. The pilot flew in close to the mountains. (Wow.)

From Tucson, we caught a flight to Albuquerque, New Mexico. For the next three hours, we hiked the long dusty road with 110 degree temperatures burning down our necks. With frayed nerves, we rested in the shade at the next airport, waiting for a plane to land for refueling. 

At twilight, we walked to Albuquerque International Sunport to ride standby. No luck: I slumped in a chair to sleep. Vicki stretched out under the chairs. At 5:00 am, security woke us. Grumpy, we hiked back to the small-craft airport. A small Leer jet was just landing. With my heart in my throat, I asked his destination: "South Dakota near the Black Hills." (Wow.)

"Can we catch a ride?" 

South Dakota International Black Hills Survival Gathering John Trudel opened the Gathering saying: "I would like to talk tonight in honor of all of us in the struggle who have lost our relations to the Spirit world." Later, Vicki and I hiked into the foothills to meditate with Mother Earth. We felt renewed by the mountains for the days ahead. 

When disconnected, we forget to love ourselves and each other. When our cups are full, we share territory. Within each of us lies an ability to connect with ENOUGH stuff: LOVE and NOURISHMENT. By letting go of baggage (our scarcity beliefs), we can open into abundance. We are nourished there. Refreshed, we will want everyone to eat, have shelter and good water.  

We can release poverty consciousness. We can let go of our conditioned ways. 

This past weekend I joined my family to empower my niece to pursue her dreams, moving to a new life and home, letting go of fears. 

Affirm: "I am enough. I am good enough. I succeed in my endeavors. I am grateful for Father Sun, Sister Moon, the stars, and water. I am satisfied. I am full." 

Reader, are you ready to embrace prosperity and release the old ways? Are you ready to embrace Gaia?

FIREDANCE

As I looked into the fire I was mesmerized by what seemed to be an apparition in full Native American regalia, dancing in the fiery cinders. He danced into a circle of flames, twirling and turning as if in ceremony. Others followed; he led them through a blaze of joy, wending this way and then that.

It was as if the flames knew him. They swayed in unison with his movement. Glowing red fire responded as if he was Spirit, Wind whispering through.

High steps of pale-colored moccasins rising and falling as he danced to a beat I could not hear. Fringed buckskin pants kissed crimson embers. His rattle danced high above his head. Amidst sizzling ruby red embers, I sensed droning sounds. Lively dancers chanted with heads bobbing and bodies flowing.

Others in our camp group had retired hours ago. Serita and I sat watch, tending the flames for a long time. The big logs we put on the fire flamed intensely. Embers then emerged, birthing new life as the thick fiery flames simmered. The burning coals produced a portal.

As I write, I smell the clean air and see the night sky hanging low with the thick red fire bowl beckoning. I am still enchanted by her charms. I hear a loud whoop catching in my vocal chords. I see the spiral dance. I see painted faces as they dance, move and whirl, rattles shaking the sky.

It is not now, but then.

I was careful not to disturb the fiery spirits. I was careful not to speak. My friend, Serita, kept a steady gaze into the flames and ember haze. The golden moon hung low in the sky. Stars twinkled. The night air was fresh, calm, and clear. Fragrances of throaty Chaparral and smoky sage merged with oak and pinon logs. I inhaled deeper, eyes fixed on the moving troupe’s fire dance.

It is past midnight when the embers subside. My dancing friends are gone. My throat catches as the last dancer fades. Serita and I pour water on dying embers and say good night. I lie still a long time, watching the stars through my tent flap.

After a long hike the next day, Serita and I offer to get fresh water for our campsite. Serita is the first to ask. “Did you see a young buck inside the fire bowl last night dancing?”

Why did I let myself write this after years of silence? My last two days were perfect days. Today had twists and turns. I got jarred. Others seeking respite hovered around me. I did not belong in stores amidst mundane chatter. I came home.

My inner voice soothed me: Stop. NOURISH YOURSELF.

I took small walks, sat in the sun, and prepared dinner early. No blog.

My inner knowing took me by surprise. “Write about the time when you were deeply nourished. Write about the fire dance.”

So, dear Reader, what captivating enchantment fed your soul that can now set your restless spirit free?

FEEDING YOUR SOUL

I was in the barn doing equine leadership coaching yesterday. I’m also exploring what Carolyn Resnick calls, "Sharing Territory."

Over the course of a week, I’ve shared territory with a squirrel, deer, horses and cows. Sharing territory is about fully inhabiting someone else’s worldview and listening deeply. It’s about trusting the dance of partnership. It’s about just being together before moving into work. 

On my walk up the mountain Monday, I came upon an industrious squirrel. Seeing me approach, he was ready to run. I stopped walking. I simply stood, noticing the sunlight reflection through the trees, rich red soil, and occasionally glancing at my squirrel friend. He went on eating, finding nuts, and hiding them. 

I thought about moving forward. He almost darted for higher ground. I walked slowly. Curious, he moved closer. I moved a few inches and then let him cross the road. It felt good, him trusting me to wait. It lifted my spirits, gave me confidence, and left me refreshed. 

Yesterday, entering the barn, I said hello to chickens, goats and horses. I assembled my tools and let the horses sniff my camera. These horses and goats have the freedom to be in the pasture and in stalls. Each horse moved closer; they let me scratch behind their ears. One moved her head into my chest. A goat bleated until I caressed him. 

It couldn’t have been clearer:  Humans have Facebook and email; animals have telepathy. The squirrel, deers and cows communicated to the barn about my new adventures in sharing territory. Without debate, the horses read my energy. I changed...and they knew it. We stood at their stalls in rich communion. 

 Photo by Karla Boyd, Copyright: Sky turning around for a better photo only by my thought

Later that day my friend, the ranch owner, opened up about changes in the herd. She shared personal events. I dropped into yet a deeper layer of shared engagement that continued into my client coaching and her big opening. 

Fast-forwarding to today, I received an email from another good friend who was acknowledging the need for our non-profit Namaste Global Vision leadership development work. Did I know that a well-known veterinarian had committed suicide?

Suicide. That’s one word I will be happy to NEVER hear again. How could this be that veterinarians have a high rate of suicide? Well, simple, it’s not; it’s a deep and long conversation. There are many layers to unpeel. These blogs explore a few issues rife in the animal steward community that contribute to that statistic and offer pathways to positive change.

 1. Burn-out and seeking help. 

2. We live in a western culture that promotes killing as a solution. We need to shift paradigms and worldviews.  

3. FIRST DO NO HARM is a deep look at responsible self-care and the need for leadership development in the veterinarian community. 

Equine-guided coaching is not fringe. Learning to share territory and space decreases isolation and feeds souls. Herd dynamics have a lot to teach humans about how to be in community. Leadership development is essential in learning how to stay in the game, aligned, whole and inspirited.

What change is being asked of you? And, dear Reader, what is one thing that you will do today to nourish your one precious life? 

Photo courtesy of Ron McGinnis, used with permission

Feeding Your Soul