Moving Beyond Negativity: Healing, Compassion and Integrity

One of my teachers from South America noted- the most important and powerful thing we can do, individually and as a country: heal ourselves. Want to change the plight of the developing nations. fix the US problems. If we solved OUR energy crises- we would not be exploiting and polluting the rest of the world. If we took care of ourselves.. the rest of the world is perfectly capable of taking care of themselves, as well. The developing nations are not poor brain damaged helpless children. They all deserve the chance to evolve and develop their own countries, governments and policies.  So, how do we do our own work?  What does that mean?  What does it look like?

I think that knowing that all we are truly responsible for, is ourselves. Healing ourselves as the most important and potent approach. It changes how we interact and the choices we make. When we are healed, we come from a place of compassion, patience and understanding. This extends to ourselves, our communities and even out to the global levels.

When we interact from a place of wound or anger, that is not beneficial to the greater, larger picture. At any level. When we act from our wounds, we are revisiting a story of hurt and pain.  This strengthens the wound, like feeding a weed. It also spreads more wound, onto others.  When we come from a place that is hurt or angry, we are using our sami, our good energy- to create anger.  And we then spread this anger out into the world, onto other people, our friends and family, and the environment.  Emotions are like ripples in a pond, that just keep spreading out from the center, the sender.  What kind of ripples do we want tracing back to who we are, at the center?

By resolving the sources of wounds, hurts, unresolved issues, we can come from a place of compassion and patience. We can be very good at forgiving the people we care about.  The key is to also learn how to forgive the self, and our personal past.

It is important that we extend the same compassion for ourselves, as we do for others. Know that each person is moving forward, in some way- we can never know their full story. Patience and respect. And then apply that same compassion to ourselves. When we can be compassionate and patient with ourselves, we are more understanding of others around us: both personal experiences and global events.

One thing that truly helps to do this, is understanding the importance of being nourished on all levels.  Depletion of ourselves leads to a lack.  a lack of compassion, tolerance and patience. In the Andes, they teach that it is essential to replenish the self, FIRST. ALWAYS always always, give from a place of fullness. In that regard, I might guess that slipping into negativity, might indicate that the self has been depleted and needs nourishing and tending.

To replenish, I would reconnect with Natural sources of power/ energy. Pause, take stock, and maybe take a little “time off” from whatever it is/ was that might be feeding into the negativity. Do something that genuinely replenishes the self.  Coffee, for example, is not replenishing. sorry. In fact, it stresses the body more than it helps- and keeps the nervous system over-charged: not the best way to find patience and compassion.  But there are a lot of ways to replenish the self: from taking a nice hot salt-bath, to a nature meditation, or just a few moments in the sun, gifting yourself with the warmth of the sun.

On the global scale, as opposed to the personal, I think the same approach applies. yes, there is a LOT going on. It seems that the Earth is very active, energetically. There is a lot of transition: and change rarely flows entirely smoothly- especially when it meets resistance. Breathe, regroup, recharge- and know there is a bigger picture. We are not the end of the story.. we are merely a piece in a very vast tapestry that is weaving and unfolding all around us. Whether you believe there is an ultimate story-teller, or that this is a story we create as we go along… it IS going along, forward, personally and collectively.

This helps you to re-align yourself with a better energy: physical, mental and spiritual. It allows your energy to slow down for a moment, release any heaviness, or hucha, and to recalibrate or re-tune. It is like making yourself quiet for a moment, so you can hear the inner/cosmic metronome and find a more balanced rhythm. In this way, you are more effective for yourself.  And you can be more effective in helping others.

In terms of helping people through crisis, you can be more supportive and beneficial.  And now you can practice that same compassion on others.  Since you have learned, or remembered, how to not-beat yourself up, or be impatient with yourself, you are more likely to have this same approach with others.

Saying- hey.. you aren’t aligned.. etc etc, is akin to saying- you brought this on yourself. Whether or not this is the case (sometimes it is. sometimes it isn’t).. this is rarely a productive approach to handling your own, or someone else’s circumstances. Sometimes we do create the circumstances around us.  We draw toward us the things we have not resolved.  This is a mixed gift from  the Universe: a chance to revisit and resolve the past energetic.  On the other hand, it means our past will keep popping up, with new faces and specifics, repeatedly, like a fly: bothersome and a nuisance. Other times, we are part of much larger forces and currents.  It can be tricky to know when we are involved in things that we set in motion, and when we are less responsible.  However, using this belief to absolve all personal responsibility is not the optimal course.  We still need to have awareness of our circumstances, decide where we want to go from any given NOW moment, and act with integrity- even if we don’t feel like we are completely responsible.  And generally, we almost always have some degree of ownership.  So it is important to acknowledge, and learn, and move on.

When addressing others in difficult circumstances it can be a little different. I suppose what I would say/ do in such an instance – and hard to address without specifics, since each instance is unique 🙂 – is first, to respect the pain and the process. In our culture, we have made it wrong to feel sad, bad, or pain. sometimes things happen, and they suck. Very simple. no amount of trying to put a good face on it, or make it something other, is going to diminish the hurt. Honour the hurt. Grieve, mourn, etc. But there comes a point when that process shifts into a healing phase- we do, as a matter of course, begin to move forward once again. example- if I got hit by a car… I would go to a doctor first. Tend the immediacy. I might then go to a healer/ shaman to understand/ find out why I was hit by a car. — and yes, sometimes a duck is just a duck. Not ALL things have deep cosmic meaning and significance, plain and simple. the trick is learning how to tell the difference. Either way… in working with a client, I would say… or maybe ASK… if they wanted to try to understand if there was a larger reason.. maybe it is because we are out of balance. HOWEVER, sometimes bad things happen to us… in order to propel us forward on an express train. I have a friend who struggled for years with addiction and alcohol, had been molested as a child and been through an array of various life-challenges. She now has a power and gift that I will NEVER have. I can work with people who have gone through these sorts of experiences- but I will never KNOW what that person experiences from direct knowledge.

In that regard, sometimes the reason is casual, and sometimes it is the effect. Regardless of what we believe, about synchronicity, cosmic influence or God- the ultimate question each of us must face when surmounting adversity- what do we want to do with this experience or information. We can own it, without blame or judgement, and allow it to empower us, or we can stay stuck with it and remain a victim.

I often use this metaphor with clients/ students: Life is the playground of the soul. the world is like Disneyland. You have come here. You have a full-access pass. Go on the rides. Enjoy the experience. Some you may like, some you may not, and note, whatever the cosmic belief- eventually, the rides are over- and we go home.

 

 

I am an Education Specialist, Health Coach and Author. I work with aspects of the teachings I have learned from Andean shamanic and cosmology, to health, nutrition and education.  Everything is energy. Energy must flow. Like water, when it does not flow, it stagnates and is not healthy. These techniques help your life to flow. I have been initiated into many of the ancient lineages and learned ceremonies, rites of passage and healing techniques.  I have worked as a healer and done workshops and taught some of these aspects – passing the teachings on.

Author of:
Dancing in Your Bubble : ancient teaching, modern healing
Natural Support for Alzheimer’s
Getting a Handle on Happy : find and fix causes of stress and depression
The Naturally Smarter Kid : a parent’s guide to helping kids succeed in school and life
Cafe of the Hungry Ghosts : behind the veil of ordinary – a paranormal-ish fiction book

http://BeingHerd.com
http://repairalz.com