Living Energy Blog

“Fear constitutes a much larger and more comprehensive presence than has yet been realized. Beginning in the nineteenth century, therapeutic psychology sought to identify the symptoms related to this phenomenon. The types of fear recognized included hysteria, behind which some trauma, real or imaged, was always to be found; shell shock or combat neurosis, now commonly called post-traumatic stress syndrome, which was first investigated after World War I; abuse and domestic violence; fear of natural catastrophes such as earthquakes, hurricanes, tornadoes, or fire; individual phobias such as panic attacks, anxieties, and obsessive-compulsive disorders. 

The reality of fear is far more wide-ranging, however. Working with victims of trauma does little to impede the larger presence of fear in the world. The goal is to become more conscious of what we are dealing with and to recognize that different fears require different capacity of soul to overcome them. The need is not to remove fear from the world, but instead to develop in ourselves the psychic capacity to confront its destructive power. In this realm, consciousness, coupled with love, is everything. Enlarging consciousness to include an awareness of soul allows a healthy struggle with fear, and love makes possible its transformation, not just within ourselves but also within the world.” Robert Sardello, Freeing the Soul From Fear

Training ourselves to release fear and choosing to feel love more often—instead–helps to attune our energy to more of what we DO want to experience. 

Excerpt from EnlighteNext Magazine

A fascinating interview with Dr. Beatrice Bruteau

Here’s what Elizabeth Debold has to say about Dr. Bruteau–

“This interview reveals a next step for humanity that no developmental psychologist would dream of. Perhaps it has to do with Bruteau’s intellectual grasp of a range of disciplines—she holds advanced degrees in mathematics, philosophy, and religion. Drawing on the deepest mystical teachings and the best of science, her vision places human development within the context of cosmic development. And that vantage point gives us a glimpse far beyond the present into an unimaginable future.”

WIE: The great evolutionary thinkers have all also made the point that the human ability to choose, to intelligently exercise free will or volition, is what sets us apart from other creatures. Can you say a little more about the significance of choice?

BB: You see, evolution up to this point has gone by happenstance and natural selection. The individual animal doesn’t get to choose how it’s going to evolve. But the individual human being can, and we, by our concerted intention, can make something that hasn’t existed before. If we are to make this change in favor of forming a New Being, we will have to redirect our energy currents. And it will take energy even to make that option. You see, our energy currents are egocentric—the currents flow out from the ego, grasp what’s good for the ego, and flow back to the ego. This energy pattern cannot form a creative union because it tries to assimilate all other beings to the being of the ego. And because of that, it’s important that we make a big effort to realize the True Self—otherwise we’re running entirely on the motives to exploit and dominate—the motives that are endangering the world.

To read the entire interview click here:

http://www.enlightennext.org/magazine/j34/bruteau.asp

Would love to hear your thoughts on the information!

 Great commentary on the working of the mind–and finding the heartbeat of the universe…the God within> 

 

Bedes Griffith was a Catholic monk who adopted the trappings of Hindu monastic life and entered into dialogue with Hinduism. Griffiths wrote twelve books on Hindu-Christian dialogue. Griffiths’s form of Vedanta-inspired Christianity is called Wisdom Christianity.^{[citation needed]}

Griffiths was a proponent of integral thought, which attempts to harmonize scientific and spiritual world views. In a 1983 interview he stated,

“We’re now being challenged to create a theology which would use the findings of modern science and eastern mysticism which, as you know, coincide so much, and to evolve from that a new theology which would be much more adequate.”^[1]

Griffiths died at Shantivanam in 1993, aged 86. The archives of the Bede Griffiths Trust are located at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. ( From Wikipedia)

There are many ways to reduce and manage stress. I find it gets exhausting if I am always focused on trying to fight it, or conquor it.  A very powerful approach that has really helped me to have a healthier attitude and approach to stress is to side step the idea of combating it and rather learn ways to open to a fundamental flow of creative energy and develop it. This provides a deep well spring from which to engage and build on practices that are more life enhancing and revitalizing.

The I Ching, the oldest book of China, of the Book of Change gives us some guidance regarding this approach.  The I Ching is an observation of human behavior and the constantly changing structure of the universe.  It is about the way things are at the moment and the way that they tend to change and transform themselves.  A basic premise is that there are no isolated actions.  Every action has a reaction and every thing affects every other thingin a synchronistic manner.  The observation of patterns in nature can help us adopt an attitude of flow in order to move more gracefully, consciously and purposefully through change and challenging times.

 Sixty-four different life situations (also called hexagrams) are highlighted in the I Ching.  The first of these is called The Creative.  It is about how worthwhile goals will meet with success.  When you use your inspiration, energy, will and personal strength — your Creative Power —  you can catapult yourself into new situations and use your opportunities to your best advantage.  The Creative is a time when personal growth is accelerated.  You focus and become aware of the situations around you. You learn when to act and when not to act.  It is a time when people may look to you for leadership.  You act for your highest good and you meet with success.

 You can make room for the energy referred to as The Creativeto develop within you and learn to live more from this place rather than being in a combative relationship with life and its stress.

 How? More on this tomorrow!

1. Be aware of your energy. The more familiar you are with how you mange and shape your energy the more you can be in charge of what happens and your responses to events and people. During an interaction feel the energy in your body.  If there is something that feels unpleasant, especially re: a power issue, you can place your hand over your solar plexus, your midriff, and say “you have no power here now.”

2. If you are aware that you have been attached to through energy cords, use imagery to detach them. Gently extricate them and send them lovingly back to the one who “corded in”. Also intend to gently and with care return your energy to the place the cord was released from. Return to your center.

3. Create strong healthy boundaries through your energy filed and refuse to engage. (It takes more than one.)

4. Know that you have a choice. Become mindful, present to the moment and calmly choose your response– which can be to not engage.

5. Make it a practice to get quiet, work with your mind power, center and ground your energy via your breath.

6. Keep your energy strong through making it a habit to frequently intentionally flow strong, vibrant energy through your body, filling in any empty spots and smoothly out any irregularities.

7. If someone habitually drains your energy, intentionally (and wordlessly) flow energy toward their feet, in your mind say “ you can do this for yourself”.

As some of you are aware, over the past decade Tony, Peg and I have all been immersed in the experience of being caregivers for aging parents and relatives. These experiences have challenged us,  stretched us to grow in unexpected ways and moved us deeply in terms of what it means to be a spiritual being  living a very human life. We found that the Living Energy approach that we were teaching and writing about helped us navigate the difficult passages with more ease, grace and sanity than otherwise may have been the case. Hence we have turned our focus to bringing the tools and techniques embodied in the Living Energy work to the world of caregiving.

My own personal experience through this life stage (caring for elderly parents) has been long and strange. As a nurse and psychotherapist I had dealt with people facing illness and end of life issues many times. Without consciously thinking about it I had “learned” that there was a pattern–or a few patterns–that the experience tended to follow. But when it came my turn to deal with such an experience personally nothing followed the norm that I had unconsciously come to expect. I wish I had known a lot of things that I did not. I wish there had been guidance and support that would have helped me not get caught in unimportant places. I wish there had been help to point me to the growing edges of consciousness that would have smoothed out the bumps.

All those things were available in some ways but I had to search. Fortunately it is one of my coping mechanism to search! So it has actually turned into a  deeply expansive time for my entire being. I suspect this process could have been more graceful with fewer bumps if there had been a different kind of preparation and expectation, if there had been a different kind of guidance available when it got weird, surprising and unpredictable! But ultimately that is okay because it led me to a commitment to helping others learn as much as they could about this time of life –practically, emotionally and spiritually—to help them learn to dive deep to find the inner resources to strengthen and support them so that it could become a life enhancing (although often painful) experience rather than a soul deadening one.

So with all that in  mind…here is an excellent article on conversations that it is important to have when aging, serious illness and death edge more fully into your life. There are so many more details and nuances to these conversations than the ultimate one of whether someone wants to be kept alive by mechanical means. These things are difficult to address upfront but in the long run they smooth out the bumps so you can manage this journey a bit more easily.

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/08/02/100802fa_fact_gawande

Here is a link to an excellent piece by Daniel Pinchbeck on the oil spill, our transitional times, opportunities and challenges, as well as some great comments on our power and collective transformation. 

It is long but very thought provoking, eye opening, scary and hopeful if you read all the way to the last two paragraphs! Lots of food for thought in the comment section as well. What do YOU think?

http://www.realitysandwich.com/gulf_oil_spill_unfolding_prophecy

A nice viewpoint for 2012 rather than fear…

“The Call” from keith wyatt on Vimeo.

I believe this is part of the shift in consciousness that is underway for us all–realizing what is beneath all our outer seeking, needing, and wanting and making the inner changes to bring it about.