As I was browsing the news, I came across an essay by Christiane Amanpour. Whatever my thoughts or opinions on CNN, my admiration of this amazing woman stands on its own.
Thursday, December 4th, Christiane’s most recent documentary – ‘Scream Bloody Murder’- will air on CNN at 9:00 pm. As I read her essay, I felt a compelling need to engage in some way.
I do not do what Christiane does. I am drawn to engage my world in a very different way, and one that I believe makes a huge difference. And, having said that, I feel the need to stand with this courageous and powerful woman in some way, as she often stands alone in the face of very real, very present and very grave danger.
It will be difficult to know. It will be difficult to watch the images that will, no doubt, cause great upheaval in the body to know that we – as a species – are capable of such horrific and vile acts. It will be even more so to know that we are capable of harboring such intentions. From those intentions flow our manifested reality.
I encourage you to consider standing with her as she stands alone. Look around you and notice: where else in your life are women choosing to raise their voice and take a stand… often standing alone? Whatever the issue, whatever the personal interest, consider what life may bring as you choose to stand with those who choose to stand alone.
As you take a breath and wonder about it all, consider also: where in your life is it up to you to stand alone? And then, look around and notice all those who are willing to stand with you.
No doubt, this conversation will surface and be further explored on the Women Gathering Google Group. I hope to see you there.
December 3rd, 2008
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Louise |
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I wrote this a long time ago and for whatever reason, it found me today. I share it with all of you in the event that it will reach for and find something inside you, too. Who knows why or how such things take life!
Peace….tranquility….serenity….those soft, seemingly endless moments when we can hear the unique sound that we are in the Universe. If all that is expresses through rhythm and tone, in those quiet and introspective moments, we can hear the note that we are in the vast harmonies of our existence.
Yet, all is not always quiet. The peace and serenity that we long for is far too often pierced by what we have come to know as the ‘necessities’ of living. Relentless in its pursuit of our edification, television, radio, newspapers, magazines, email, etc. flash their bright shiny colors in our direction, fully expecting us to turn our heads and stare into the blinding lights. And when we do (having been trained and tempted for decades to do so), we find ourselves paralyzed in the intensity and detail of its message. Once again, head-lighted deer on the knowledge freeway of life!
Gone is the serenity of the fleeting moments between broadcasts and headlines. Big print and surround-sound scream at us about yet one more disaster on some part of the planet that we’ve never seen and likely never will. And yet, even though so far away, we are touched…and we know that we are profoundly shaped even if we don’t yet know in what way.
In those moments, we turn to what we hold will keep us safe…will guide us….will let us know that we are not alone. For some of us, we walk or drive to our nearest church. For others, we head for the vast and boundless cathedral of tall pines in an open valley. And for others, we light candles and sit quietly, allowing the rhythmic sounds of our own breathing to rock us gently back to feeling safe, feeling loved and feeling connected. The sun will rise again tomorrow…..and the next day…and the next…..
Yet, whatever destination we might be drawn to, the pathway is always one that will seek and call to the small voice inside ourselves. As we head for our chosen place, so many conversations unfold inside us – moving us forward and pulling us back. Daring us to call up the Fire from within and unleash it on the world that surrounds us. Or, perhaps in a more gentle way, inviting us to learn, to grow, to uncover and to discover how we are – already! – that very thing that we seek. We need only trust and allow it to move and make itself known to us.
Perhaps the greatest challenge to our own peace of mind – to our ability to find the tranquility and serenity we seek – is our willingness and ability to stay in the tough conversations, with ourselves and with others. The ones that unfold between us and the people who surround us – the ones we live with, work with and share our bed with; the ones who are living and the ones who are long gone, yet linger to chastise us yet one more time – and perhaps even more importantly, the ones that we have with ourselves, inside ourselves where no one else can know.
Our willingness and ability to stay in the tough conversations and not try to shut them out or drown them out or ignore them, with all the tried-and-true methods of drugs, alcohol, food, sex, relationships, tv, gambling, etc. will determine what we become. The mystics of the ages have always been the ones who, among others things, have been able to find peace inside themselves when all around them was in chaos. They found a way to engage the threads of thought that moved through them and rather than find themselves bound and gagged, were able to become The Weaver. Calling up every thread, they claimed them all and were able to weave through controversy, dissention, fear, rage, grief and sorrow to a new way of moving through their world. As frightening as it might appear in the moment, moving into the conversations will move us through them. Seeking to find ways around them will only cause us to lose ourselves.
As we claim each one and still the voices inside us, the one, strong voice that is the sound of us in the Universe allows us to reclaim the space that allows peace and serenity to find us.
I am reminded that I AM vibration…and so are you.
October 19th, 2008
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Louise |
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Today, a small group of women gathered… talking… each woman speaking to what mattered most to her in the moment. No agenda; no notes; no pre-determined outcome. Just each of us, in turn when we were drawn to, willing to be fully present, authentic and engage!
These women are passionate about living meaningful lives. As a result, the conversations are equally intense and frequently (ultimately and predictably) turn to include our early family experiences. As the Jesuits knew a long time ago, we are indeed, shaped by the time we’re seven. The good news is, it’ s not fatal! We can awaken to the effect of cultural conditioning (brain washing, mind share, etc - call it what sits best with you…) and choose to engage otherwise. However, to attempt to do so on a platform of pretending our history has not shaped us is a recipe for failure.
Part of this early family systems experience requires an acknowledgement of loss of innocence. In truth, I know of no one who has been spared. And the innocence of which I speak is not about youth or naivete. Nor is it necessarily a dictionary-bound definition of innocence – it is much more powerful than that.
The innocence of which I speak is tied to a capacity to trust the world, trust myself and trust my ability to not only navigate my world with safety but with a boundless sense of joy and adventure! It is a state of being that says ‘YES!’ to everything, knowing profoundly that I am creating my world as I go; and that the world I am creating will source and nurture and not only sustain me but allow me to grow and expand and become more!
The innocence of which I speak is a force of being… an outflow of energy that emanates from the core of who I AM… that says “This is my world and in my world, I am master of my own outcomes.” It is a force of being that trusts that all things are possible; that life will prevail; that choices determine outcomes and my choices are of my own design. This innocence… this state of being… allows me to look around at my world and find excitement and joy and adventure in everything that draws the eye. It is a way of seeing… a way of staying connected to mySelf and being able to connect to others. It is an open heart/open hand way of moving through from one moment to next, without any sense of harm existing as a possibility in my universe. Innocence as a force of being stands on a platform of complete safety – inside and out – and is fed by an insatiable curiosity about the ‘more’ for which (I believe) we are intended and designed.
And then, in the midst of all this, along comes ‘reality’. In the midst of my innocence ’state of being’, I am birthed into a context – a larger collective called ‘family’, however it is defined in my particular experience of it – and the innocence of who I AM now begins to unfold within the context of this larger collective. For far, far too many of us, those who shape and direct and mold this larger collective are themselves bereft of their own innocence, it having been taken a long, long time ago. Innocence lost will produce a sense of disconnect; innocence taken will produce vengeance and rage!
It is into these contexts that our own innocence seeks to express and survive. For most of us, we don’t stand a chance! So, we grow up in environments and in experiences where varying degrees of ‘assault’ are perpetrated upon the innocence of who we are on the inside, and the powerless of the small child that we are on the outside. For some, it is at the end of the continuum of being dismissed, disregarded or ignored. For others, it comes in the form of violence and assault of body, mind and spirit – whether directly on our being or witnessed in our own powerlessness as it is directed at others. No matter its content, its ultimate outcome is a deep and vast sense of betrayal – of Self, of our world and of the ability of our Self to function effectively in that world. And in that moment, I am lost to my innocence. I must disconnect in order to survive.
There is great power in innocence as a state of being. In that state of being, I am both willing and able to trust – mySelf and yourSelf. I am willing to engage and move forward. I am able to know that I can choose, I can create and I can manifest my life as a reflection of these. I am without fear – not because I talk myself into it, or affirm myself into it, but because there is, in truth, no fear that moves through my body. I am able to see what can be and am not blinded by what is. I touch and am touchable. I move through my life, moment to moment, with my eyes open, my heart beat strong and resonating through the world around me; and I recognize that I AM all things and all things are who and what I AM in my world.
In innocence as my state of being, I am able to see through the eyes of the godforce that I AM and in each moment, recognize the same in you. My desire is to engage with you to co-create a life worth living.
Is there any wonder that we must find ways to strip our children of this force? This is a force of being that transforms the nature of who and what we are. This is a force of being that can profoundly reshape our world. In addition, if I have long ago known this force in my own being and I have had this stripped from me, my longing drives me to destroy it in others. If I can’t have it, then neither can anyone else! And from one generation to the next, the deed is repeated until we no longer remember who we are.
Can innocence, as a state of being… as a force… be reclaimed? I believe so. And it requires, first, that we awaken from the deep, deep coma of ‘cultural conditioning’; from what we have been told is ‘the truth’ or ‘reality’; and that we bring the full measure of that formidable awakened presence to bear in all that we choose. A re-awakening, reclaimed innocence brings with it the will to claim all that we have already become and all that we might be – and we honour that in each other. Only by taking back who I AM in the world will I ever find a place to stand that I might honour your doing the same.
May 31st, 2008
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Louise |
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I’ve just posted my latest article The Year of Practical Magic… and The 5 Keys to Making it Happen. For those who know me, you’ll also know that this is a real shift for me. I have never been willing to write anything with that ‘5 keys to’ or ‘7 steps for’ flavour to it. I believe strongly that the genius of who we are does not need recipes or formulas for us to discover ourselves. We just need to be willing to open our eyes!
So why now? Because maybe we need to learn how to open our eyes. Maybe it will make a difference. Maybe it will appeal to someone who, in this moment, thinks s/he needs it and can’t see without it. Or maybe it will give someone a simple framework from which more compelling thoughts will tumble like dominos. Or maybe the potential of who we can become needs to be spelled out in the language of who we think we are. In truth, I’m not really sure – and it feels like it’s time.
I particularly like the notion of ‘practical magic’. The magic of our everyday lives. The magic of just being ourselves. The magic of inhaling and exhaling, and life unfolds. It’s already there. We’re already it! The challenge becomes: when we have been taught to see ourselves through the fog of cultural conditioning, do we recognize ’self’ as being capable of clear lines and sharp edges, with intense color and texture? Or do we look away because we think it is not us; that it is not familiar to us? When we have been taught to see ourselves as small and ugly and broken, will our eyes allow us to see ourselves as massive, magical and wonderous? It is not ’self’ that causes us the problem – it is how we’ve been taught to see.
January 1st, 2008
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Louise |
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