We have within us an amazing and awesome creative potential. It is truth that we are at our core creative beings, making us the only force responsible for what we experience in our lives. We were created in the image and likeness of The Creator and therefore have the same creative abilities available to us that we often attribute only to a Supreme Divine Being, commonly called God. This makes us creators ourselves and performing this process with awareness and intention is an indicator of wisdom and enlightenment.
We are, in fact, in each and every moment creating and setting up the reality that we will experience for our tomorrows. What you experience today is the result of the creations of your yesterdays. We are always engaged in a process of sending out messages to the universe of who we are. These messages depend on what you believe about yourself and the world around you, what you hold as possible and available to you, and where you are holding your attention and consciousness. With every thought, word and deed, you are communicating who you are to your world, and your world cannot help but reflect that perception back to you in your lived experience. This is natural law and an inescapable truth. Who among us has not had the experience of acquiring a new thing or attracting a certain desired circumstance or situation into our lives? Is it not true that you then congratulate yourself and own the responsibility of being the one who brought that into being, into your experience? How funny it is then that when we lose the things we have or attract an undesirable situation to us that we will place the responsibility for that outside of ourselves. After all, why would I have created that… I don’t even like what just happened to me. This only means that you were unintentionally creating experiences without your awareness.
There is actually quite a simple formula for how we create our experiences. It starts with our beliefs and our thoughts, is followed by our words or exclamations of our thoughts and beliefs and is then brought fully into the physical through our deeds and physical actions. All of these are the product of our choices. If we are not making new choices for what we want to experience, then we will automatically default back into earlier choices that have already found a home within our consciousness. If their foothold is strong and we have previously been quite committed to a certain way of thinking or acting, then we find ourselves re-creating our experiences of the past, usually unintentionally and without awareness. You are a creator, and you cannot help but create. If this statement is true, and it is, then the question simply becomes: What will you create in each moment?
So we are the only ones responsible for the things and circumstances in our lives. There is a great thrill available in the choice to change the script and create more desirable objects and events in your experience. Far beyond that thrill, however, is the one available when you choose and commit to change the qualities that you create, such as peace, unlimitedness, forgiveness, compassion, grace, and wisdom. These too are creations, and are also the responsibility of no one except yourself. They are always available and within the sphere of possibility in each moment. However, they do not truly exist, for you personally, until you choose to create it within yourself.
These qualities, and many more, must be consciously and intentionally created in each moment or else it is very easy to fall back into the default creation of qualities that have already been developed and entertained within the self. When there is a choice of commitment to the fostering of new and inspiring qualities, then you will be placing your attention in each new moment to experience these within and express them without to the world around you. With practice and diligence, there is a shifting that begins to take place where these qualities become the new default and take a strong foothold within your consciousness. Soon it becomes easier to consciously choose and create yourself to be a certain way. It is simply who you are.
You are always engaged in the process of creating. Therefore be very aware of your thoughts, your words, and your actions. Do not create unconsciously but ceaselessly learn from your present creations and move toward creating a better tomorrow than your yesterday. And remember, each and every moment holds unlimited possibility and is eternally waiting for you to choose and decree Who You Are.
We are welcomed with blessings and grace into this golden year of the upcoming new age of humanity. There has been much attention, predictions and prophesies concerning this year; especially near the end of it, in December. There are fearful stories of catastrophes and destruction, turmoil and chaos, and then there are enlightening stories of massive shifts in consciousness, awakenings and ascension. Is it possible that either one has the potential of becoming your reality? There is a tremendous amount of creative potential available to us in this next year. The reality we experience will be in direct relation to the level of consciousness we are holding within ourselves.
We are naturally creative being, or Creators, with a divine presence that is always there awaiting your awareness for it to be known and allowing for it to move through you. When we are in any number of states of love and oneness, we are causing this awareness and allowance through alignment. The most powerful of these love states are forgiveness and gratitude or appreciation. Whenever I personally invoke these states, I can literally feel the energy in my body, down to the cells themselves, opening up and tingling as they fill with light. Forgive yourself generously for any and every time you have ever held a state of judgment. This brings you back into harmony with states of oneness and love. Passionately find things in your direct experience to be grateful for and exponentially appreciate the value you hold for all things in your world. Through this, you generate love within yourself and extend that love into all that is around you, and all that you are connected to.
When we are in states of selfishness or separation, we become disconnected and fall back into the darker expressions of human behavior. There is a very wide range of these experiences. When expanded upon, they always lead toward conflict, either expressed outwardly in physical experience or as an inner conflict with an increased sense of disconnectedness accompanied with unpleasant emotional states. The majority of these states stem from judgment and duality. These then become the experiences of right and wrong, good and evil, love and fear.
When I find myself in judgment and fighting the wrong, evil and fearful within my own consciousness, I know that I can forgive myself first and then generate appreciation and gratitude for whatever it is that I’m dealing with. This can be done only if I also realize that I created this situation and attracted this particular experience to me for my learning. This is powerful because there is the shifting of perspective from victimhood to being accountable and responsible as a creator.
We are always in a state of service. We are either in service to the self, and only invested in fulfilling personal interests, or in service to others and the sacred self, and invested in developing one’s self to greater potential so as to be of greater service to others, and the whole of existence. One form of service exists in an experience of separation, the other, in an experience of unity. The most pleasurable and inwardly fulfilling path is in service to the sacred self, which is also in service to all of creation, and essentially in service to Love.
When this service is the ruling choice in our lives, we remember to naturally act from a place of love and oneness because there is the recognition that we are connected to everything we perceive outside of ourselves. This is governing the self from the inside out with inner direction and thy will rather than from the selfish ‘my will’ or from an outside force imposing its will and direction. It is our destiny to move toward this state of governance individually and eventually collectively. We take action with acts of kindness and in loving service to others not because we feel we should but because that is the desire moving through us. I believe that through this movement, we can collectively create peace on earth, beginning within ourselves.
In this potent time of creation, we can more clearly see our experiences as an outer reflection of our inner choices and consciousness, either existing in selfishness and separation or in love and oneness. Be, then, very intentional with how you direct your thoughts and create the state in which you exist so that your reality will be one of awakenings and ascension rather than turmoil and chaos. Intentionally embrace and develop that divine connection within during this year and may you find many joyous and expansive manifestations ahead of you. This is my New Year’s wish for all of humanity.
As I look out into the world around me, Sunrise Ranch, and look further out into the world at large, I am reminded of the upcoming holiday season. I see three major holidays occurring during the last two weeks of December. Of course there is Christmas on the 25th, and then also the Winter Solstice on the 21st and New Year’s Eve on the 31st. I believe that each of these hold significant value even beyond a reason to simply celebrate, exchange gifts, and be merry.
The Winter Solstice and the transition into a New Year both represent the ending of one cycle and the beginning of a new one, the cycle of nature and the cycle of our calendar system. The Solstice is the longest period of dark or night and nature uses this time period to gather its forces and energies to set up a pattern for creation as it moves forward toward increasing days of light and life. Life and creation abounds as the light increases. The New Year is a symbolic fresh slate with which we can create ourselves anew.
This is a wonderful time to reflect and plant the seeds of new creations that we desire to experience within our own consciousness. This might come in the form of new beliefs, attitudes, thought patterns, emotional expressions of self and ways of being. We increase the light of awareness within ourselves by giving directed, focused attention to this new desire, practicing this new way within our daily environment, and expressing love and gratitude to ourselves and our world. As we do this, these metaphoric seeds planted in the rich, creative soil of darkness grow and will produce fruit or the changes we desire within ourselves. Nature gives us an outer example of this internal process. The darkness can be a powerful time for exploring and nurturing the many possibilities of creation and development that can be manifested with an increase of light.
The New Year transition is commonly celebrated with a night of excess and then resolutions of change starting the next day, or New Year. What if we treated every day like a New Year, skipping past the night of excess and straight into the new day with resolutions for change? Every day would be focused with a strengthening of the current resolution or the creation of a new one. We could do this anytime and can start today with a new slate available to transform ourselves into whatever form of expression we can imagine. We do this naturally, sometimes even without awareness, simply by having the intention and desire. I give thanks for this one day a year that impeccably reminds us of that divine inherent ability.
During the joyous season of Christmas, I am reminded of the essence of Christ, which we celebrate. This is personified through the birth of Jesus as he was the living example of a life lived as Christ. Living life this way is something he taught that is available as a potential possibility for every human that exists. He often spoke of sourcing himself from the Father, and that the Father works and speaks through him, and finally that He and the Father are one. This Father was not only his but all of ours, realizing that Father was a patriarchal descriptive term used for public understanding during the society of that time period. It is the Source from which we emanate from, the radiance that expresses through us, and the divine being which we are.
When a person increases their light of awareness on this fact, and chooses to make realizing that in the life their most important work, then the Christ begins to develop and emerge from within. This Christ essence is Love. I believe that this was Jesus’s true desire in the life example that he provided and the teachings that he gave. I propose that on this holiday, we honor this great master soul by making it our life’s purpose to emulate that example and bring the Christ essence through each of us and out into the world. A mass of people existing in oneness with the Father and expressing as Christ, or Love, unto all that is. This concept is also known as Christ en masse, or Christ-mass, or Christmas.
May your holiday season be filled with great transformations, ever expanding love and light, and new creations for a blessed and enlightening new year!
I’m in Costa Rica … where my heart feels the pulse and my body knows the truth … it’s my home. In the last seven years I’ve had a singular focus and that is to know the truth of Creation and Creator … of my own self and of others. The difference I’m sensing now, between this seven-year quest for truth and right vision and that of my earlier life, is that truth can no longer be known to me “as told by” someone else. The only truth that registers in me with any meaning is recognized, known and experienced throughout the cells of my whole body.
Here in the misty greenery of tropical Costa Rica and in this momentous October week leading up to the completion of the Mayan calendar, I’ve come to understand my true place in the context of Heaven and Earth in a way unlike before. I laugh to myself over the countless high points of understanding that this remarkable life journey has lead me over, each time bringing me a sense of ultimate knowing – and then still not. No doubt the same is true now and I am eager as always to take in the breathtaking views of this high place of truth, and then to take another step and another until the next peak is discovered. There could be no greater thrill, no greater joy for me than this.
My place in the context of Heaven and Earth
It’s time to return my loving affection to this One beloved Body of Earth and Humankind of which I am an integral aspect by the very fact of my incarnation as a human being. Heaven and all the Hosts thereof, indeed hold within It the ultimate Force of Life. Each moment I pay tribute to this Source of all Being, remembering too my place within this Whole. But in this new day of consciousness I see the love that has been deficient here within my very own body. Ancient wounds have shrouded this body’s joy. Shame has bent her low and caused her to hide. Fear has risen to such height that love was diminished, faintly known. Not that love can ever truly be lessened. But its presentation can. The way in which it is expressed through my body – and the One beloved body of Earth and Humankind – can and has been severely suppressed and distorted, like so many layers of crud and messed up skin tissue.
We forgot that when we chose, all those times ago, to incarnate as human beings and come to Earth, it was to bring the Love that we are to Her, to care for our family here and the beloved place called Earth that is a home beyond compare for us all. We made that choice; we came … only to forget the almighty Wonder from whence we came, but equally important, the sacred nature of the Earth Body which we have come to — and for a delightful cause indeed.
I can’t change what has happened nor necessarily what those around me still do, but there is one magnificent thing, or rather many untold numbers of things, which represent and distinguish this New Day in the history of Earth and Man for me. I can do my work. What is the “work”? I can open up, and heal my wounds, my shame, my doubts and fears and return to my original state of Love. I can love myself, my own beautiful body, deeply and truly because it is one with Earth and Humankind, which I have already chosen to be with intimately back when I incarnated.
Loving yourself
We have been taught by wise teachers for millennia to love ourselves. To your own self be true. If loving yourself is not easy for you, check out your wounds. Lay them open, let them burn. Sometimes it helps to know where they come from and follow that thread with healing. In every case they need to be bathed in warm, aromatic love. And there is one rule that can not ever be skipped over – honor where you are in the healing process. It matters only that you are interested in healing, loving and becoming more keenly aware of the nature of Truth. There is no one set method, no person or program and certainly no one religion that will help you unlock the truth within you. In my experience it has been wonderful to tap into a great many, and widely varied, expressions. Find the ones that assist you in doing “your work” the most effectively and the most joyfully.
If loving yourself seems complete and easy for you, cross check the quality and strength of your love by noting whether the same level of love is true towards all others … whether beast, man or earth. You are the mountains … and the cities too; the grass beneath your feet, the song your neighbor sings. All that you touch is a sacred gift of opportunity to spread your golden Angel dust. Receive each gift of Love that is given to you for if it is pure it will enrich and build still greater wonders of Heaven and Earth.
This is where only Good Spirits reign. Let it be … a New Day!
Susannah Light is the founder of Divine Nature Tours, a non-profit organization born of the inspiration to know ones innermost truths through the silent Teacher and exquisite beauty of Nature. She lived six exciting years in Costa Rica. Susannah is a Life Coach and practitioner of Sacred Healing Arts, presently living at Sunrise Ranch in Loveland Colorado. Click here for more on Divine Nature Tours
This is a series of blog posts in response to quotes by spiritual leaders who will be presenting at the upcoming Creative Field Conference, which will be held here at Sunrise Ranch in Loveland, Colorado September 15-18, 2011. If you would like to respond to any of these quotes with your own experience of their meaning, please email Helena at helena at sunriseranch.org for consideration as a published blog entry. Two published entries will be chosen to receive a free ticket to the keynote speech of either Lynn McTaggert, Matthew Fox, or Katie Hendricks!
“Beauty saves. Beauty heals. Beauty motivates. Beauty unites. Beauty returns us to our origins, and here lies the ultimate act of saving, of healing, of overcoming dualism.”
Matthew Fox
Beauty is all around, and inside us. It is infinitely available for us in our lives. The trouble comes when we forget to see it, breath it in, and let it flow through us. I admit that in my most emotionally challenging times, I can lose site of Beauty. I can feel disillusioned, lost, and bitter. But I find that if I can focus my attention on something right and true, something of Beauty, to give thanks for, I am saved from that downward spiral. As soon as I recognize that preciousness in life and give thanks for it, it seems to magnify.
Early this month, I was feeling pretty bad for myself. It’s been a stressful summer in my work life and at times I’ve felt pushed beyond what I thought I could take. There were a lot of things I was sure should be different in the people around me and in myself. Part of me wanted to hole up in my cave (my house in Denver) and not answer any calls or emails or do anything creative. Because I deserved it! But that’s hardly ever the answer, for me anyway. I have to be creative to be happy. So instead of wallowing in my self-pity, I decided to have a dinner party. I needed to create something beautiful.
So my husband and I invited three other couples over for chicken Parmesan, pesto pasta, garlic kale, salad, and bananas foster. The kale, basil and salad came from our gardens. I set the table with my white tablecloth and colorful napkins, floating candles, and orchid in the center. It was a really sweet time, with lots of thankfulness all around for the time together. I ended the day feeling peaceful, confident, and loved.
This is a simple example. I’m sure you can think of many examples of letting Beauty express through your life. For me, dinner parties are like a touchstone, reminding me of my “origins” as Matthew Fox puts it. When I am sitting around a table with friends, holding hands in deep gratitude for Life and the provision in front of us, I feel deeply connected to who I am. I feel stronger, like I have more substance to bring into my world. What does that for you? What are your touchstones? Where do you find and magnify Beauty?
Raised in New York and Connecticut, Helena is a graduate of the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies in Redlands, California. Her self-designed emphasis was: Facilitating Personal and Organizational Transformation. Her Masters is in Business Administration with a concentration in non-profit management. Helena lives in Denver with her husband and works for Sunrise Ranch. Her passion is to provide settings where people can know and express their creativity, power, and unique spirit—in a spiritual seminar, an office meeting, or around her dinner table. Visit her blog on practical spirituality.
Dr. Charles Horowitz is a psychotherapist located in Boulder, Colorado. He lived in Esalyn in the 70s, and is very familiar with the evolution of consciousness. Here is what he had to say about the upcoming Creative Field Conference at Sunrise Ranch September 15-18.
To find out more about this conference and register, visit the Creative Field website
Larry’s Pearlman’s experience of The Opening class held at Sunrise Ranch in 2011
Quiet intensity and inner transformation.
That’s one phrase that comes to mind relative to the 8 days just shared by 11 participants plus Rich and Mary Ann Kenny and Larry Pearlman on faculty. Perhaps the best way to describe this experience is through the following comments submitted by participants and shown here anonomously.
“We had people from different countries and different backgrounds that attended. We all had the same goal; to connect to our divine self within. That required a practice of the teachings presented in the class. Patience, humility and openess are just some of those teachings. For me personally, I found my main obstacle is my strong preconditioning. The group came together in true love from within and grew together for a successful week.”
“Embracing THE OPENING and self-forgiveness, I witnessed radiance as the shining of the Wonderful One Within. I am grateful God’s love lives in me. Now I am grateful God speaks in me. I learned when sacred things are sacred they hold more value than judgment. I feel a purity of heart and now my mind practices coming on board. “
“Initially I was concerned that the Opening class was too basic for me to get much from, as the “knowing God” topic was way in the dust of my experience, but Rich assured me I would not be bored and another individual whom I admire and respect assured me as well that one could get a great deal from the experience, if they were willing to “show up” fully.
Well, I decided to risk it and found a deep, heart building connection with the other individuals who made the same choice. I learned a great deal about trust, and letting go into Spirit’s direction, and honoring of my unique self, even when no one else was even close to doing what my heart called me to do. I recognized that it was my choice to do what my heart called for, and I could, and when I trusted that, I saw that it made a difference. Primarily it made a difference inside of me.
There were educational presentations where my awareness was raised by a substantial view of the history of humankind and a clearer representation of where we are on the time line and the challenge that is before each of us. The review of the thinking process helped me better understand the factors at play in my mind constantly and how to work with that more effectively. Plus, how my emotions enter into the mix and how various filters I may not even be aware of can throw me off balance.
“Practical, magical, deep hearted and challenging – not a bad combination.”
Truly this was a week of many “openings” in hearts and minds. It was rewarding to be a part of it.
Larry Pearlman
Larry Pearlman is a personification of the evolution in consciousness that recognizes that spirituality and the material world are not mutually exclusive. While working 32 years in corporate America, Larry also offered spiritual perspective in study courses. In addition, he has taught courses in “The Art of Creative Living” and serves as a faculty member for “The Opening” – an 8 day experiential class in discovering your full potential. Larry hosted a radio show, “Opportunities”, in Phoenix emphasizing participation in the business world from a higher state of consciousness. He recently served in the Peace Corps in Ghana for 27 months and currently resides at Sunrise Ranch.
When I was about 10 years old, I fell in love with beading. My parents had a friend, Yienan, who was a dancer in New York City, made beautiful costumes and jewelry, and had a loft in NYC that was one huge room lined floor to ceiling with mirrors. Yienan was pretty much the coolest artsy woman a young girl can have to look up to. She got me started with my first beads, and I taught myself how to design and make jewelry. In high school, I got a small business license with the name “Full of Light Creations”, since my name means “full of light”. I’ve had my pieces in the Sunrise Gift Shop for years now, mostly because if I don’t sell them I can’t afford to keep making them!
I notice that my beading creativity comes in spurts. I can go months without doing anything with it, and then sit down and create 10 pairs of earrings in a row. This is what happened to me on Monday of this week. I brought out my gear, spread it all over the dining room table and went it at for a few hours. Here is some of the magic that happens for me when I’m indulging in my artsy self:
1. Total Focus
When I’m beading, I’m not distracted by lots of thoughts of what I should have done in the past, will do in the future or wish I was doing differently now. I’m present. I’m sensing what color and shape and size goes where. I’m stringing beads on a string, a simple, repetitive motion that requires my attention. It’s a bit of a meditation.
2. Accessing My Creativity
I love trying something new, and knowing that if a part of me chose to make it that way there is a person out there who would like it that way (hopefully more than one person). I love experimenting with new designs, and seeing what comes. Like everything in the creative arts world, my creation is part “me” and part “something else,” an inspiration or muse. Even with something as simple as making a necklace, I know that I’m not just making it out of my own talent or training (both of which are limited in supply); I’m tapping into some kind of larger creative energy, which is of abundant and never-ending supply. Check out Elizabeth Gilbert’s (author of Eat, Pray, Love) TED talk on this topic.
3. Making a Finished Product
There is something satisfying and vitally important in being able to say “I made that.” So many of us have intangible jobs. I do marketing and management. I can point to increased revenue, or employee satisfaction, or event attendance. But in my “9-5” I don’t often get to take a picture of a completed project and say “That’s a piece of me right there. And it’s available to the world”. It’s a simple thing, but putting a part of our soul into tangible form, it’s…well, awesome.
So after my late night beading extravaganza Monday, I asked around to find out where I could sell some jewelry. Immediately, I heard back from a friend about the need for vendors at a dance festival (Sol Vida Dance!) her daughter was performing at this Saturday. So maybe advice for those of us who need to engage in our art more is to set it up so that you have to! Sign up for a show, or gallery opening, or performance so that you will do what it takes to make it happen. Speaking of which, I need to get beading for the show tomorrow!
Please share your thoughts on the value of creating art and how to keep it in your life.
Helena Barrera
Raised in New York and Connecticut, Helena is a graduate of the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies in Redlands, California. Her self-designed emphasis was: Facilitating Personal and Organizational Transformation. Her Masters is in Business Administration with a concentration in non-profit management. Helena lives in Denver with her husband and works for Sunrise Ranch. Her passion is to provide settings where people can know and express their creativity, power, and unique spirit—in a spiritual seminar, an office meeting, or around her dinner table. Visit her blog on practical spirituality.
No – it isn’t. Nor is this a description of someone selling Bibles. A spiritual salesperson is one who bases his / her everyday life, including business, on spiritual principles. Interestingly, these are the most successful salespeople in the business! How do I know this? My entire business life was in sales. I was a salesman for 23 years, a sales manager for 2 (didn’t like it and went back into the field), and a Director of Sales Training for 7. I worked with, competed with, and trained thousands of salespeople and found many of the most successful had an understanding of spiritual principles. Let’s look at just one example.
Life moves in cycles. Any farmer or gardener can tell you how important it is to understand those cycles and be in sync with them. You can plant your seeds in January and try to harvest a crop in April but chances are you’ll have a refrigerator full of snow and little else (unless, of course, you live in Hawaii or Arizona). But with the Industrial Revolution and the Information Age, most of us got away from doing any job that directly related to the cycle of the seasons. That in itself is not a problem. It becomes a problem for me, in whatever business I’m in, if I also lose perception of the cycles of Life that are represented by the seasons.
So what are these cycles? Well, let’s start with the seasons themselves and consider what they symbolize. Winter is a time of rest where there is not a lot happening visibly. It is a time when plants and animals go dormant to some extent in preparation for a coming time of activity. Farmers also rest and begin to move into a time of planning for the coming year, starting in a place of not knowing exactly what it will bring. Spring is a time to begin to put ideas into action – to prepare the ground and sow the seeds for future harvest. Summer is time for full action – weeding, feeding, and caring for the plants and animals along with the fences, machinery, and other aspects of the job. Fall is harvest time, when the bounty comes home to roost. This overall cycle can be seen in terms of the four elements: water, when things are still; air, when ideas begin to move; earth, when things come into form, and fire, the time of culmination.
There is a sales cycle too. It usually looks something like this: Prospecting, Qualifying, Information Gathering, Product Demonstration, Proposal, Agreement*. The average salesperson who is unaware of Life cycles falls into the trap of being controlled by the artificial sales activity cycle imposed by the usual quota system. As the end of the month approaches, pressure comes down on any salesperson who has not yet met their monthly quota. This leads to frantic activity trying to “close” business. The salesperson starts calling everyone s/he has given a proposal to and tries to entice them to come to agreement now – not because the timing is right but just because they are under quota pressure. Those same salespeople tend to relax the next week at the beginning of the next month because the pressure from their boss is less. This approach does not work – at least not as well as it could.
The salesperson who learns to sense the cycles of Life as they are working out in their business world (and that is not as hard or mysterious as it may sound) learns to spend more time prospecting and learning their product during water cycles, qualifying and gathering information from prospects during air cycles, concentrating on demonstrations and proposals during earth cycles, and seeking agreement during fire cycles. Obviously there is overlap because not all prospective customers are going to be in the same cycle pattern but I was initially surprised to see how businesses in a certain area in a certain industry tend to follow similar patterns. By coordinating my activity pattern with natural cycles, I not only sell more but avoid the pressure that comes from being trapped in an artificial business cycle.
For those who would like to learn more about how spiritual principles can help your sales career and how sound sales principles can be applied to the rest of your life, I have designed a one day program “The True Principles of Living / Selling”. The next one is scheduled for Friday May 5, 9am to 5pm at Sunrise Ranch.
The usual term for the end of a sales cycle is “closing”. I don’t use that term. “Closing” means to finish or terminate something. If an agreement is reached between two people or two companies, then that is the beginning, not the end, of a relationship.
Larry Pearlman
Larry Pearlman is a personification of the evolution in consciousness that recognizes that spirituality and the material world are not mutually exclusive. While working 32 years in corporate America, Larry also offered spiritual perspective in study courses. In addition, he has taught courses in “The Art of Creative Living” and serves as a faculty member for “The Opening” – an 8 day experiential class in discovering your full potential. Larry hosted a radio show, “Opportunities”, in Phoenix emphasizing participation in the business world from a higher state of consciousness. He recently served in the Peace Corps in Ghana for 27 months and currently resides at Sunrise Ranch.
On Monday night my house was the site for a fabulous start to a group cleansing week. Thirteen friends gathered to learn from our friend Alexandra about the importance of cleansing and a raw, alkaline program she designed. We’re now connecting through a Facebook forum about our experiences eating mostly vegetables for at least 7 days. We’ll meet back together in a week. There are many physical benefits of an annual/semi-annual cleanse like this. Here are some of the psychological benefits I’ve been experiencing:
1. Need vs. Want
Perhaps the most profound thing I’ve learned in the past and am remembering through this cleanse is how much I eat is based on need and how much is based on want. It is unsettling for me to get really clear about how much I eat because I’m bored, upset, or simply in the habit of doing so. But fasting or cleansing will bring that realization on pretty quick. You see that you can survive, and thrive really, on something as simple as salads and good fats and you realize how complex and excessive what you typically consume is. It is a gift, but I also feel angry and sad about my typical habits. I’m having an experience of repentance, what Wikipedia defines as: “a change of thought to correct a wrong and gain forgiveness from a person who is wronged.” I need to ask my body for forgiveness, because it doesn’t need or want much of what it has received. My experience is that my body is a pretty forgiving thing when I make positive changes.
2. My Body is My Temple
Whether cliche or not, this statement is certainly not the generally-held principle guiding our society’s relationship with food. And it should be! Food is the offering we bring to our temple. I believe that in my head but there’s something that doesn’t register in my body and my behavior. During this cleanse, I commit to seeing my body anew as a temple. If we saw our individual bodies as temples we would see this planet as a temple also. It’s hard to have one vision of reality without the other. The vessel, the context we are in, is always a temple if we treat it as such.
3. Food as Love
Food is fun, it is creative, it is communal. Once I understand what my body needs to sustain itself, I can also wisely give it what it wants to enjoy itself. We are here on earth to experience pleasure and fulfillment. Breaking bread together is one of our best ways of doing that. Cynthia Stadd at the Institute for the Psychology of Eating has taught me in her day long workshop that one of the biggest problems in our society’s relationship with food is that we feel so much shame for what we eat. That creates health problems and psychological stress. I have to choose what I’m going to eat and enjoy it, not turn what could be a pleasurable moment into an hour of guilt. When I recreate my diet (including more grassfed beef and less gluten) after this week, I want to not take it so seriously that I take the fun out of my food. I want to enjoy my life and the friendships I nurture over a feast at my dinner table. I want to treat myself to pizza or ice cream on occasion. And in it all, to know that the most important nourishment I give myself is intangible.
4. Change is Easier with a Buddy!
It makes such a difference that my husband and 11 other friends are doing this at the same time as me. Change is hard. And having support and a group to be accountable to can be the deciding factor in a success. What kind of change are you trying to make in your life? Find people who are excited about that too and get them on board with you. Make agreements, have weekly check-ins, however you can create a support system for yourself. The world is not going to shift its paradigm based on one person’s leadership; we know increasingly that this is a collective movement. So find those who are passionate about transformation and do whatever repenting, forgiving and loving you need to do, Together!
What are your experiences with cleanses? Please comment on some emotional benefits you’ve received from fasting or cleansing.
Helena Barrera
Raised in New York and Connecticut, Helena is a graduate of the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies in Redlands, California. Her self-designed emphasis was: Facilitating Personal and Organizational Transformation. Her Masters is in Business Administration with a concentration in non-profit management. Helena lives in Denver with her husband and works for Sunrise Ranch. Her passion is to provide settings where people can know and express their creativity, power, and unique spirit—in a spiritual seminar, an office meeting, or around her dinner table. Visit her blog on practical spirituality.
Between yesterday and today I spent about three hours at the Denver Five Points DMV, with a trip to the emissions test center sandwiched in between. My license plate sticker renewal was overdue because the notice was sent to the wrong address. Anyway, here’s what I learned
Patience
This is perhaps the most obvious and important step in approaching a DMV office. I had to remind myself to breath several times. What helps me is to remember the big picture. Yes, right now I am staring at a big screen just waiting for my number to appear. And my number is over 50 numbers away. Oh, and now that my number has been called I’m finding out that I need to go get an emissions test. But it won’t always be like this. I am more than this situation they call DMV. Much more. And so is everyone else here. I can radiate patience. It might catch on and calm everyone down a bit. Maybe it will rub off on the old man who just told off the teller and is now being told to leave.
It’s OK to Freak Out Sometimes
Having said all that, it is still important to know that freak outs happen. The best we can do is relegate them to a non-public place and have them not last forever. When I waited all that time to find out I had to do it again, I felt a little bit like a five year old; I’m sure my pout would have been familiar to my mother in 1989. “But whhhhy?” Not wanting to have a similar fate to the rude old man I quickly changed my tone and pledged to cry about it later. I got the information I needed and then went to my car to whine and feel sorry for myself. Then I went home.
We all need to give into our emotions at times in a safe space and just explore them. This “five year old” Helena tantrum might not have looked all that creative (if a passerby glanced in my window) but it was. We need to get in to the drama of a feeling for awhile so that we’re sure of what it is. That way it can’t control us. We control when we let go into it and for how long.
Connect with Strangers
We can go about our lives only interacting with certain kinds of people. Our work environment and personal lives might not explose us to a diversity of ages, races, etc. Government offices give us that opportunity. If you don’t usually see toddlers, you’re going to be sitting next to a chair that they’ve claimed as their own personal castle. If you’re not used to hearing Spanish, get ready to test out your high school Spanish skills to help a new friend from Ensenada fill out the right forms. Don’t spend much time with the elderly? Here’s your opportunity to chat with the grandma next to you to help her pass the time.
Everybody comes to the DMV. Where else do a group of strangers from every walk of life pile in a room and really have nothing to do for about an hour? What better place to engage with someone new?
Celebrate the Victories
When it’s all over, party! Do whatever victory dance you do internally or right out there on the sidewalk to shake loose whatever tension built up and release it. You have your day back! Acknowledge the blessing that for the most part we have the freedom to do what we want without getting tickets left on our car for expired plates at 4am right in front of our own house. After going through a stressful time, I need to let go and have fun. Sometimes I just go “yesssss” under my breath. Sometimes it’s more of a ice cream cone with a friend. Sometimes going out dancing. Pick a celebration and give thanks. Life is good.
Helena Barrera
Raised in New York and Connecticut, Helena is a graduate of the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies in Redlands, California. Her self-designed emphasis was: Facilitating Personal and Organizational Transformation. Her Masters is in Business Administration with a concentration in non-profit management. Helena lives in Denver with her husband and works for Sunrise Ranch. Her passion is to provide settings where people can know and express their creativity, power, and unique spirit—in a spiritual seminar, an office meeting, or around her dinner table. Follow her on Twitter
Last weekend my husband and I got a Goldendoodle (Golden Retriever and Poodle) puppy. We named her Ginger because of her color and because it seemed to fit her playful, feisty nature. It’s amazing how much I love her already, and how attached she is to us. I know that I’ll learn a lot from this being, but here’s a list of my first lessons:
1. Brighten everyone’s day
There’s nothing like puppies and babies to bring out a smile in people. Though only a few of my friends have met Ginger, many more online have seen her picture and I can feel their happiness in their responses. Her happiness and sweetness is contagious. She’s not trying; her spirit just lifts up the people around her. When I told a friend that I was getting a puppy, she said “I don’t know how I would have gotten through those hard years without my dog.” I want to be like that for my friends–uplifting them in their saddest hour. I want my joy to be inspiring. I want my love to be that unabashed and complete. When we let happiness fill us, it overflows to those around us, and in giving it out it increases in our own heart.
2. Let others take care of you, too
Ginger is clearly dependent on us. In many ways she’s like a baby, which many dog owners warned me about. She still can’t figure out how to go down the stairs, so we pick her up and carry her. She doesn’t know what cars are yet, so I keep her in a fenced-in yard. So she’s giving us all this day-brightening love and we’re taking care of her. And, I know that when I need taking care of in a sad moment she’ll be there. This reciprocation feels beautiful. She’s not self-conscious of needing our help. Sometimes I am uncomfortable with being taken care of. It’s hard asking for help, no? I think it makes me weak or that people won’t think that I have my life “together”. I’d like to learn from Ginger that it’s okay to be held and it’s okay to be taken care of sometimes. Also, I’m feeling so fulfilled taking care of her; maybe friends that help me are blessed by the same feeling? Let’s give each other the opportunity to nurture–it’s good for you, and it’s good for me!
3. Everything is a game!
Wow this girl has fun. She loves playing with her toys, fetching and rough-housing with us. But it’s not just the official “games” that are fun. Ginger makes everyday tasks playtime. I’m brushing her, it’s a game. She’s following me up the stairs, it’s a challenging game. She’s walking from the kitchen to the dining room, it’s a game that requires jumping forward and in reverse. And why not? Life is short! Why not have fun? Being human is challenging, but it’s a lot easier when we’re not taking things so seriously. I could use more play in my life. Could you? It’s really about a way of being, not about pursuing entertainment. Let’s find ways to be silly for the fun of it. Today at the grocery store I saw a bunch of flowers in the floral section. I wasn’t going to buy any, but I walked over and said out loud “what pretty flowers. I LOVE flowers!” in a cartoon-y voice. I certainly enjoyed myself. How can you act out your silly, playful self?
4. Live in the present
When she first came to our house, Ginger was confused and nervous. She had been with her parents and her litter for three months, and was now in an entirely different situation. It was so sad when she saw her reflection in the mirror and thought it was her brother (or at least that was my human interpretation). I wondered if she would recover, whether this was a terrible trauma we had inflicted to her. But now she is, as previously mentioned, really happy. She’s at home. She’s with her family. From what I’ve read, dogs don’t have memories in the way that we do. I don’t think she’s pining away for what once was, or imagining the life she could have had in that house with the other dogs. I want some more of that attitude. Feeling the loss, but moving on. Doing whatever dramatic mirror-gazing reflection I need to do and then Being Here Now. Being present is the most practical, most spiritually potent discipline we can practice. Let’s take a cue from our pets and BE.
Raised in New York and Connecticut, Helena is a graduate of the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies in Redlands, California. Her self-designed emphasis was: Facilitating Personal and Organizational Transformation. Her Masters is in Business Administration with a concentration in non-profit management. Helena lives in Denver with her husband and works for Sunrise Ranch. Her passion is to provide settings where people can know and express their creativity, power, and unique spirit—in a spiritual seminar, an office meeting, or around her dinner table. Visit her blog on practical spirituality.
In the recent EnneaMotion training I atttended at Sunrise Ranch Retreat Center, our teacher Andrea Isaacs was asked whether there were some Enneagram Personality types that were best matched in relationships. She discussed some of the theories about that for a couple of minutes. But pretty quickly, Andrea qualified all that by saying that although that’s all interesting and can be useful, every relationship is going to have it’s issues. What we have to ask ourselves is whether we’re up for working with the issues that a certain type of person brings up for us. Is that a set of buttons we’re willing to have pushed? Will that help us grow in ways that are important to us?
The fairy tales are usually about finding that One somebody who is our soul mate, our prince/princess charming. Once that happens, you both know it instantly, and you fit together perfectly. You’re swept into a love that is beyond personality, or even likes and dislikes. This is a real experience; it couldn’t have inspired all the stories, songs, and movies it has otherwise. That “falling in love” is powerful, and can be the force that teaches us that we are more than what we thought we were–we are someone who has a huge capacity to love and be loved.
When I met my husband Victor, it was like that. I remember standing on the porch of my dorm building between the tall white stone pillars at the top of the staircase and beaming at Victor as he crossed the lawn towards me. My smile was unabashed, his walk was more like a jog. Whatever insecurities, flaws, problems each of us had didn’t exist for the other. Or if they did, they only made the other more endearing. I knew I’d loved my parents, Spirit, friends. And I had. But not like this; this was different. This love made everything new, made me cry with the responsibility of guarding it’s preciousness.
Relationships go through cycles. We all now that that “falling in love” changes; if we’re lucky we can bring the “in love” part with us to for the dedication, sweetness, and forgiveness to handle the issues that come up. We are tested by the challenges of life, and by the natural conflicts that come up between two personalities. My relationship is no exception. Sorry this is not that real life story you’ve been waiting to hear where two people fall in love and never have any problems. We’ve had our share of challenges.
I’ll skip ahead to what I know now five years in.
I know that being in relationship is a choice. Yes, I can get into the “something greater brought us together” perspective. But there is nothing external to us that has the power to keep us together. It’s about doing the work together to bring our love consistently into all the day-to-day realities of our life. Which brings me to: “are the buttons this person pushes in you buttons that you’re ready and willing to get pushed?” Can you use that towards your own growth and transformation?
You have a choice in partners, but if you’re still fighting against the idea that your partner pushes your buttons, please give up that fight now. They will do things that make you sad, afraid, angry, frustrated, worried. Fight, instead, the notion that your reaction to those things are their fault. Fight the societally-accepted belief that anyone can “make you” feel anything. And fight for communication where you ask for what you want clearly and cleanly.
Knowing the work it takes, choose a partner who wants to work too. And let the work be fun! “Hey baby, isn’t it so adventurous and hilarious that I’m a dominating, leader type (8) and you’re a peacemaking, easy-going type (9)?! Should be an exciting life, as a combo that’s ‘like fire and water’ according to the experts, right?” Know your story but don’t take it too seriously.
Visit my series on being thankful for all of your emotions to find out more and please add your own voice by commenting below. Also, take an EnneaMotion workshop March 12th at Sunrise Ranch!
Helena Barrera
Raised in New York and Connecticut, Helena is a graduate of the Johnston Center for Integrative Studies in Redlands, California. Her self-designed emphasis was: Facilitating Personal and Organizational Transformation. Her Masters is in Business Administration with a concentration in non-profit management. Helena lives in Denver with her husband and works for Sunrise Ranch. Her passion is to provide settings where people can know and express their creativity, power, and unique spirit—in a spiritual seminar, an office meeting, or around her dinner table. Visit her blog on practical spirituality.
![[del.icio.us]](http://sunriseranch.org/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
![[Facebook]](http://sunriseranch.org/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[Twitter]](http://sunriseranch.org/blog/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/twitter.png)
