Awaken the Genie Within

Beyond the Appearance

On my walk today I saw a man coming toward me in the opposite direction that made me uneasy. He looked as if he hadn't showered in weeks, his clothing was tattered, his bare chest was exposed and the closer he got the more crazed he looked.

I wasn't scared for my safety as this was on a main road but it's very unusual to see someone with his appearance in my neighborhood. Immediately I heard the verbal tug of war between my Gremlin and my Genie deciding to say hello or to just ignore him as we were ready to pass each other.

I chose to go with my Genie - my heart - and before I knew it a big smile and a hearty hello came out of my mouth. He stopped, looked back at me as I kept walking and said two simple words that just shook me to the core - "Thank you."

Then I stopped and looked back at him with tears in my eyes and gently said, "Your welcome." No longer was I seeing a crazed looking man - now I was simply seeing a human being with a gentle face.

Can you imagine the amount of people he's passed by who have looked the other way or moved further away out of fear. I can only imagine his pain, his sadness, his frustration. I don't know anything about him and I'm sure it's nothing like I was originally thought.

When we can look beyond the appearance and move into our heart it gives us the opportunity to receive a gift from someone we might never have thought was possible.

My only regret is that I didn't take his hand in mine when I said, "Your welcome." and learn a little bit more about him.

Next time.

A New Member of the Family

This isn't my usual blog - but it's one that is very special to me because we have a new member in our family and I wanted to share her with you.
Her name is Lacey - a 10 week old yellow lab. She is a rescue and came to us very quickly. We are so blessed to have her in our life.

Enjoy the pictures of her!

 

The Power of Words

Learning from the Heart, by Daniel Gottlieb, contains wonderful and transcending words.
I'm sharing some of what I highlighted in the book because of the internal shift that can occur when you read these sentences as though it were your life he were talking about.

"Over the years I have learned that we humans tend to be happier when we are where we belong rather than trying to get somewhere that is not really who we are."

"Sure, I was mobilized because of concern. But the anxiety was about my history and not my daughter's future."

"Each of us was trying to make the other into the person we thought we needed."

"The truth is, if we become comfortable with who we are rather than who we think we should be, then we will be less insecure."

"The answer is simple and terribly difficult," I said. "You must fix your life. It is an act of love to your children to find meaning, joy, and contentment in your own life."

"What changed? We didn't try to cure the illness. We tried to pursue happiness."

"It's very difficult to feel such hatred in your heart and feel compassion for yourself at the same time."

"She still has not condoned her father's behavoir. But in making him human, she took away her father's power."

"There is a part of us that knows we can never be fully known. It is one of our primary fears. If I open myself up fully, how can I survive if I'm rejected?"

"Trying to change others is about intolerance, which is at the core of so much enmity. We cannot find peace unless we are trying to help others find peace also. It doesn't come when we win battles; it comes when we stop fighting."

"According to Chinese medicine, we have a heart protector - the necessary ingrediant that protects our tender heart from injury, but the wound is still there.

"I had to love her the way she wanted me to love her. This was about her needs, not mine."

"Maybe that's what the Buddha learned. Desire is just a symptom of distress and not a call to action."

A Wake Up Call On Judgment

When it comes to human beings treating other human beings with disrespect - whether it's silently with a roll of their eyes, a smirk on their face or outright verbal disrespect - my heart just sinks, and yeah, sometimes my blood gets a boilin'!

People can be so harsh, so full of themselves and so full of judgment. So when given the opportunity to witness something that gives us a wake up call as profoundly as the video I watched, I feel a responsibility to pass it on.

I obviously don't know if you've seen it or not, but either way, just watch the expression on people's faces imagining yourself in this woman's position throughout her life. Imagine what it would feel like to be going after your dream while behind your back was the snickering and mockery - before you've even opened your mouth.

There's one thing I know for sure, people feel other people's judgments energetically even if they can't always see it up close and personal. It takes tremendous courage to continue to go after a dream and to continue to believe in yourself when others can't look beyond one's appearance.

I was moved to tears. Not just because of her magnificent voice but because she proved everyone wrong about her. She dispelled the lies they told themselves about her ability. Susan Boyle persevered and now the world knows the truth about her gift.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY&feature=related

An Unconscious Lie

I challenged a client the other day about his reason for keeping information he had from his fiancé. He said he was protecting her feelings because he was sure this news would be too difficult for her to handle - opening up old wounds.

"Really?" I asked.

"Absolutely." he said.

That's when I took a loving stand and said, "I think you're telling yourself an unconscious lie." Because we've been working together for a while now, he trusts me, knowing I only have his best interest at heart - so he asked me to go on with my thoughts.

I asked him if it was possible that he was more afraid of having to deal with her emotions about the information than he was actually concerned with the information hurting her.

After a long silence he quietly said, "Yes. That's true. It pains me greatly to see her in pain and I don't like feeling that way."

That was a huuuuuge admission on his part and because he's such a smart guy he saw how he was not giving her enough credit to handle difficult circumstances and was denying her the opportunity to grow from the experience. He even went on to say that "unspoken lies have a way of coming out" and that would be detrimental to their relationship. By the time we were done with our session he decided to tell her everything and deal with whatever showed up - holding the space for love throughout it all.

I'm glad to say because of his willingness to step into the truth, their relationship has moved to a new level and their love for each other is stronger than ever. He also realized that it's okay for her to have her feelings and just be there for her without having to take her pain away. And from this insight he gained an inner strength he didn't realize he had. Talk about win/win!

Keeping information from the people we love because we think we're protecting them is not unusual. If this is something you do from time to time, I invite you to do an honest check in with yourself. Are you really withholding information from someone for their benefit or is it about your own fear as to how they'll react to it.