A Heretic's Path

I'm ready to come out. I admit it. I'm a bit of a heretic. It's deep within my nature to stand in the face of Opposition (perceived and real) and defy its polar essence. ...and by Opposition, I mean conventional beliefs, the beliefs of the righteous, the acts of those who are party to destructive conflict, even simple emotions such as fear or reactions such as self preservation. Anything that feels like it gets in the way of or brings one to avoid something bigger, possibly scary and probably something a bit more uncertain. One big reason that I'm here (on this Earth, at this time, writing this blog post right now) is to stand up and shout "YOU CARE, SO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!" I'm here to stand by you as you stand in your own fear and reactions to face whatever opposition comes your way. We each need to show up, big time. The safety of inaction and complacency IS part of the problem. Things are NOT just the way they are. We CAN do something about it. Resignation does not equal Acceptance. It's missing the critical element of Compassion.

As a part of my celebration of and involvement in the growing movement of Peace, I've been listening to calls on The Shift Network's program, PeaceWeek 2011. I've been moved again and again by the possibilities and encouragement that's been presented. I was blessed to be on calls with two of my heroes (and, dare I say, role models?), Marianne Williamson and Deepak Chopra. Hearing their voices again helped to clear away the static and present me, once again, with the evidence and inspiration I needed to refuel my heretic's spirit.

My take-away, that I'd like to share with you, is that PEACE IS POSSIBLE and we each have a role to play in making this possibility increasingly the reality. Marianne Williamson spoke of Fierce Peace -- actually standing at the heated centers of conflict and bringing Love in. Deepak Chopra spoke that Peace is the Way -- that it's an inside-out process, that Peace starts and is cultivated within, then flows outward. Both presented practical methods each of us can use to move our intentions of peace into appropriate actions of peace as we make our invaluable contributions to the expansion of Peace everywhere. You can access recordings to their talks (and many others) here.

For me, being on this heretic's path requires an attitude of passionate equanimity (or at least holding that as the ideal state to step forth from). ...and as a sensitive idealist, that ain't easy! In this state, I can feel others' suffering and not turn away in fear or with feelings of helplessness to do anything. I know where my responsibility lies, and that's as a transformative change agent.

There are three threads that I noticed in common between Marianne and Deepak's talks that seem to speak to finding that place of passionate equanimity so we can stand fiercely in the face of [perceived] opposition and make the difference we're meant to make.

1. We must continually address our own issues and stay in an upward trajectory of personal growth. This piece is internal, psycho-physical and includes self-care. Yes, we will backslide into old patterns, get caught up in other people's business and be stumped at times as to where to turn or how to keep going, but we must feel into the persistence of Life within us and keep growing. The seed of our intentions lies here.
2. We must hold a spiritual connection, whether that's through prayer, meditation, walks in the woods or following the teachings of a sage or messiah, in order to remain inspired. There's maintenance involved here, too, which can mean cultivating creativity, taking spiritual retreats, being in community, and practicing gratitude. Our spiritual connection amplifies our intentions.
3. We must stand courageously compassionate. This is where we show up bringing with us what we want to see more of in the world, things like respect, tolerance, consideration, deep, attentive listening... Our intentions are transmitted, reflected and compounded exponentially by everything around us.

It's an inside-out process. Peace starts within and flows outward, expanding. The intention of peace is amplified by our own personal growth, our own particular level of consciousness. Peace grows and flows like a rich, primordial stew.

So, I wonder... What's your role in the expansion of peace? If peace isn't your thing, then what is? What do you want to see more of in the world that you can bring with you the next place you show up? I'd love to hear from you about this -- please comment below.

September

Dreams, Intuition and the Inner Life

 September is a pivotal month during which the outward-directed energy of summer begins to shift inward in preparation for the six months spent in the darkness of the Earth Mother's womb.

This month we will review our lives in the form of spiritual autobiography.

We will open our sixth sense by noticing synchronicities, and we will enter the world of dreams.

September is the gateway to Mystery, and as the Medicine Wheel turns from summer to fall, we are greeted by the Archangel Raphael

--the Healer of God--

who remedies the sickness of belief in perfection by administering the great medicine of wholeness. Listen to the voices of the Ancient Ones 

who call from the mycelial mat that grows beneath the forest floor:

The inner and outer

harvests are complete

and the storehouse of the unconscious

is swept clean.

We enter the Gates of Mystery

through the Dreamworld

descending into the

fertile darkness in which our souls

are made new again.

excerpt from Pocketful of Miracles: Prayers, Meditations, and Affirmations to Nurture Your Spirit Every Day of the Year, by Joan Borysenko, Ph.D. 

My yoga teacher reads to us during savasana and this is what she read the other morning. It's been hanging with me as so much of it has been feeling so true and right as we enter this new month that I want to share it. My dreams have been hauntingly real. Have yours? Things I've been needing, like gathering with friends and family, have seemingly just happened for me -- synchronicity's clearly at play. What synchronicities are you noticing?

The "great medicine of wholeness" has been deftly offered to me in difficult-to-swallow, yet somehow just-right doses. Dark moments have come on mysteriously and left me clearer and even energized as I rode them out, grasping their meaning when I could and trusting my strength and safety through the discomfort. There's something here about enoughness, I think. This inflection point between summer and fall being the time that we get to notice, perhaps for this first time, areas where we've been trying too hard seeking perfection, areas that need to heal.

I wonder what messages lie in my Dreamworld? This passage has given me food for thought and a bit of the magical spark that I love to move me onward and upward toward the coming season. What does the transition toward fall-time mean for you?

The Healing Edge: an Introduction

One of the things I've been blessed with in my life is a very rich yoga practice. For me, it's become my wisest teacher, surprising me with new insights and a felt sense of rightness each time I practice. The concept of the healing edge was introduced to me through yoga and has been persistent in my practice from nearly the beginning. It's become a hugely helpful tool for growth as I bring what I've learned and continue to learn in yoga into my entire life.

In a nutshell, the healing edge is that place in you where, if you push past it, you risk injury, and if you don't quite reach it, you stay in the status quo. Your healing edge is that place of balanced effort and surrender where you find equanimity. I've found that it seems to be somewhere between 50 and 70% exerted effort. You go too far and you're struggling, flailing, hurting yourself (or even others); not far enough and you feel like you're lazing your way through, not trying at all. You feel bored, stuck in the same ol' place, or wonder "what's the point of this? it's too easy." The healing edge is that luscious place in between, it's that moving thread of just-right balance where insight is alive and possibility is transformed into something that really IS.

This healing edge is particularly helpful for those of us who are in a state of perpetual growth, always learning and striving to be better. I've been using it a bunch lately to work past difficult patches and the effect has been nothing short of transformative! It has helped me to tap into my internal wisdom, using it as my guide, to grow stronger, more courageous and easy-going. As a highly sensitive person, I'm prone to overwhelm at certain times and I've gotten pretty good at managing those times that are environmental or emotional in nature, but things get a bit tricky when the question of the purpose of my existence comes into play.

Perhaps this concept is totally new to you, so let me break it down. The idea of the healing edge has to do with the fact that the physical growth of living things happens at the edges. Two examples come to mind...

Imagine a sprouting seed, for one example. Under the right conditions, a dry, hard seed placed into soil will eventually sprout and transform into something grander, more substantial, more effective, more whole -- its ultimate plant form. It is at its healing edge where both new growth springs forth and old tissues die away.

Picture taken from http://www.steve.gb.com/science/plant_growth.html

As the seed swells and cracks through its outer shell, the cells of the sprout differentiate to become the first leaves, stem and rootlings of this new plant, the leaves grow and unfold, creating a pressure that eventually bursts forth from the hard outer casing entirely. The rootlings turn to roots,  becoming thicker and more effective at drawing nutrients and water as they reach downward and outward, expanding their hold and growing their network. The tiny petiole of a stem that was once tucked between the first leaves and the rootlings of this new seedling, widens as it lengthens, developing its structure especially designed for supporting the plant physically and providing a sort of conduit through which nutrients and water flow. The earliest leaves unfurl and spread as they follow the path of the apical meristem of the original germ, that persistent place in this budding form where cell differentiation initiates. This is the place where the cells of the new leaves, stems, and branches, possibly even flowers and fruit if it's in the plant's nature to develop those, get their functional assignments and transform from the same-same cells of the early seed to the reaching, growing, absorbing, breathing, supporting cells of the growing plant's whole self. The plant continues to grow as its cells differentiate throughout its entire life. It is at that place of differentiation where the healing edge of this plant resides.

Now, let's bring this into the human realm.

My favorite pose in yoga for finding my healing edge at this stage in my personal growth and yoga practice is Parsvottanasana because of its rich offerings of strengthening and flexibility in nearly every part of the body all at once. This pose creates an experience for me to feel wholly into those places of growth within my body and offers the fringe benefit of calming the mind. When I hold the pose long enough, exerting just the right amount of effort to maintain my alignment while deepening the stretch, breathing into it deeply to create space and relax into a place of feeling physically supported and held, I can begin to feel into those places of growth within my psyche and my soul. A simpler pose I'd like to offer is Upavistha Konasana (seated wide angle) as a another example of finding your healing edge so that you, too, can begin to bring it into your life. Check out Jess Ryan's video as she demonstrates. Notice how she speaks of "finding your own edge" about 2:40 minutes into the recording. As you practice this pose, you might even notice how you can find your own edge not only in how far you lean forward, but in the width of the angle of your legs, or even in the subtle nuances you can feel as you release into the pose. This is a great place to begin developing your awareness of this concept of the healing edge in your body so you can then begin bringing this awareness with you as you go about living your whole and beautiful life.

What other examples can you draw on from your own vast knowledge base to help you to find and explore your healing edge? Can you find it? How can you use it to nourish and germinate the seed of your intention -- the purpose behind your very existence? It just takes practice. Let it work its magic in you ... one breath at a time.

Interested vs. Interesting

My thoughts keep coming back to themes that were introduced to me while reading Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone, by Mark Goulston and I'd like to share one of those themes here for you to give you a taste of the nature of the power of just listening that the author presents.

But let's back up a little first, as this topic requires a little background. From Chapter 2: "A Little Science: How the Brain Goes from 'No' to 'Yes.'" Here, the author gives the reader a quick lesson in brain physiology. We humans have a three-part brain, each part interconnected with the others while prone to acting autonomously, especially when we're under stress. I'll paraphrase his brief description of each part here:

• "The lower reptilian brain is the "fight-or-flight" part of your brain. . . . all about acting and reacting, without a lot of thinking going on. It can also leave you frozen in a perceived crisis--the 'deer-in-the-headlights' response.
• The middle mammal brain is the seat of your emotions. It's where powerful feelings--love, joy, sadness, anger, grief, jealousy, pleasure--arise.
• The upper or primate brain is . . . the part that weighs a situation logically and rationally and generates a conscious plan of action. [It] collects data from the reptile and mammal brains, sifts it, analyzes it, and makes practical, smart, and ethical decisions."

Dr. Goulston goes on to demonstrate how getting through to people has everything to do with talking to them when their upper brain is not being eclipsed by its more primal brethren. ...and since we are often wanting to get through to people who are close to us, like friends, family, coworkers, or even clients, when they are upset or stressed or freaking out about something, it's very helpful to know that there are ways to "talk a person up from reptile to mammal to human brain."

This chapter also briefly introduces us to some specialized nerve cells called mirror neurons. It is believed by many scientists and others who study these things that these cells "may form the basis for human empathy. . . . they briefly make us feel what another person is feeling, like when you cringe when you watch a coworker get a paper cut. For an instant, it's just as if it's happening to you, and, in a way, it is."

Dr. Goulston's clinical studies support his theory that "we constantly mirror the world, conforming . . . trying to win its love and approval. And each time we mirror the world, it creates a little reciprocal hunger to be mirrored back. If that hunger isn't filled, we develop what [Dr. Goulston] refers to as 'mirror neuron receptor deficit.' In today's world, it's easy to imagine that deficit growing into a deep ache. Many people . . . feel that they give their best, only to be met day after day with apathy, hostility or (possibly worst of all) no response at all."

In a nutshell, providing the much-needed response helps another to feel felt.

Now, on to Chapter 6, "Be More Interested Than Interesting." The boiled down piece of advice given here is this: if you'd like someone to be interested in you, don't try to be interesting. Be really and truly interested in them. "The more you narrow the person's mirror neuron receptor deficit, the more intrigued the person is with you in return, and the more empathy the person feels toward you."

Imagine what the world would be like if everywhere we went people were interested! Gorgeous! (okay, maybe that's a little frightening, but imagine if at least the people you wish were interested were interested!)

There's a tremendous amount of other powerfully useful information contained in this book and I highly recommend it. I particularly appreciate the straight-forward style that the author uses, which makes the very rich content easy to take in. He not only gives helpful tips on relating to others on a level that can bring about significant shifts for the individuals involved, but I was particularly impressed that he suggests how the reader can turn these tips on themselves to deepen the learning, further develop and become a better listener.

If you've read this book or would like to read it, let's continue the conversation in the comment section below. ...and please, if you feel in any way pressured by this recommendation, to read, to grow, to participate -- I, too, have a growing pile of books (metaphoric and for real) that I've yet to read, accompanied by a growing pile of things to work on and engage with and will never get to them all in this life, so I totally hear you -- just take in what I've shared here and let that be enough for now.  :o)

Clear Vision: Clear Voice

This month features the work of Ruth Gerson, an inspiring woman I met recently during one of her Living Room Concerts. Not only is Ruth an outstanding musician and voice coach, she is a devout student and advocate of people in violent conditions. Her current project, Deceived, is a gorgeous compilation dedicated to serving those in situations of domestic violence by raising awareness, inspiring hope, teaching the importance of using one's voice to get help, and raising much needed funds for organizations that serve victims of domestic violence. I became further inspired when I read an interview she did with Ann Powers. Give it a read -- you'll see what I mean! In this interview Ruth and Ann discuss the violent lyrics of the songs featured in Ruth's latest album. At the crux of this project is a vital and healing piece of wisdom. Ruth states, "Expression is the means by which the brain can process rage. Without expression, the stress induced by human rage plays out in violence." She goes on to say, "I think the whole world pays for the murder of every face. That's why it makes sense to talk about it and why we all have a responsibility in working towards understanding it, with an ultimate goal of living in peace." Ruth is standing up for people without a voice while helping many more to find their voice and use it in a way that is powerful and can ultimately ameliorate the rampant conditions of violence in their lives and within society at large.

Ruth and I continued the conversation.

LP: Ruth, your music and passionate presence speaks volumes. I witnessed this first-hand when I saw you perform. And then there's your work as a voice coach, the Singing Belt, your stance against domestic violence and all the contributions you channel toward anti-domestic violence organizations. The way you've woven your study of violence throughout your work is beautifully inspiring.

What is it that inspires you to inspire others in this way?

RG: I am very influenced by the people who reached out to me a child and mentored me early on in my life. Teachers, counselors, my grandparents. Also, by the artists who would have no idea of their effect--Emmanuel Levinas, Franz Rosenzweig, Bob Dylan, Cat Stevens. There are songs, movies and books that I can point to which I believe not only guided and inspired me, but may have saved my life--Harold and Maude, It's A Wonderful Life, The Plague by Camus. I have found strength, understanding, and a way out of difficult places from listening to a song over and over, or reading the same chapters, staying with a painting, watching a movie fifty times.

LP: I'm wondering about your vision for the work you do in the world. Tell me about your vision.

RG: I wish that I could respond that I have a vision. I think that is something to aspire to. I hope for a global movement to understand domestic violence and violence against children, and I believe that the roots of violence stem from infancy. A vision of global peace cannot begin until there is peace in the home. Levinas says that "contact is gentleness and responsibility." Nature is a repetition of patterns, as well as a layering of them.

LP: Is there anything else you'd like my readers to know?

RG: I'd like readers to know that if they have any questions or comments, to feel free to reach me at mail@ruthgerson.com. A great question/comment can be very helpful and I will try to answer on my blog, or if it's directly related to voice work, then on the Singingbelt website. Also, that if they would either like to host a living room concert for fun or for a charity, such as AVON Foundation, Sanctuary For Families, Shalom-Bayit, The Family Violence Prevention Fund or another organization, they can email booking@ruthgerson.com. This is a quick quote from the host of a living room concert I did [recently] for the Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Center in Davis - I thought it would be nice to share it:

"Last night Ruth performed a concert at our house to raise money for a local shelter.  I can't thank Ruth enough for how much she touched our lives and the 50 people who attended.  The shelter's director commented that no one had ever done something like this for them.  Our friends were raving about Ruth--her music, her energy, her generous spirit.  Over and over people thanked us for including them in this event and introducing them to Ruth.  If you haven't done a living room concert with her yet, you haven't lived!" ~Sarah Zimmerman

Ruth Gerson is currently living and working in the San Francisco Bay area, doing Living Room Concerts, vocal coaching and using everything she's got to express her vision loud and clear! I've gained new perspective about the importance of self-expression, especially as it relates to perpetuating peace in the world. I'm even thinking about signing up for some vocal coaching. Thanks, Ruth! You rock!! What does Ruth Gerson's work inspire in you? Please take a minute and let me know by leaving a comment.