Who is a Bully?

We've all had issues with bullying in some capacity....


 "Don't pick on her," Jessica said angrily.  We all stood stock still, gaping at the girl who said something to the ones picking on a girl in our class, Maddie.

"Thank you, Jessica," Maddie said in a way that made it seem like she just won an academy award.  I was shocked.  Who was I in all this? I was the bully, and Jessica had just stood up for the girl I was bullying.

I don't remember what I had said to Maddie, but a few friends and I were poking fun at her.  We were in 5th grade. 

The reason we bullied Maddie is because, honestly, she was an easy target.  She was different, maybe a little nerdy, and a little socially awkward.  Basically, she was everything I didn't want to be (but was, anyway) and since I didn't like myself and was afraid to be myself, it seemed the thing to do was to attempt to separate out the things I didn't like about myself.  I did this by finding them in someone else and ridiculing them for it.  I was trying to prove that I was different than her, but instead I made myself into something far worse - a hypocrite and a bully.  It took a long time to figure out what I was doing and begin to accept and appreciate the pieces of myself that I had made fun of in Maddie.

It all seems pretty cut and dry, but there's more to it than that.  Through my work with Janice; I've begun to learn about energy and beliefs. Have you ever been feeling fine, and then you'll get a phone call from someone who is complaining about something they are trying to do and how they can't get it right?  Instead of just calmly being able to answer their question or reassure them they can do it,  you may begin to feel angry or frustrated with them. You respond with criticism or lash out; telling them that they should know how to do this already or ask them, "how many times are you going to call me with the same stupid thing," etc.  What we don't realize is this:

People who feel bad about themselves can draw out anger, frustration, or ridicule with their energy, especially from those closest to them. We can mirror what others feel about themselves without even realizing that is what is happening. 

Have you ever been feeling really bad about yourself, like you just can't do it, or you feel like you're a real screw up; and then someone comes along and says something to reinforce this idea?

I'll give you an example: I was running behind one morning and didn't clean up my dishes from breakfast.  As I'm walking out the door, I am feeling frustrated, like I just can't get anything right, be on time for anything, and am generally just a disaster.  As I am driving to work; I get a message from my roommate "Can you please clean up after yourself!? You always leave things a mess!" it said.  I already felt bad about not being able to do my dishes, and I was beating myself up for running late.  Then, I get this message and it just reiterates to me that I am a screw up.  

It felt awful.  But is it real?  

My roommate was responding to the way I already felt, and her emotions, fears, and beliefs got mixed in there too.

Bullies and their victims often share similar beliefs.  Often, they both feel there is something wrong with them, that they won't be accepted the way they are, that they don't matter, and/or that they can't do anything right.  For these reasons, they feel they are different or don't fit in.  We often hear in our work that people feel like they just don't really belong, that no one will accept them the way they are and that no one really cares.  Underlying all of this, are the feelings that we are "not good enough."  The difference is in what people do with it.  Some people hide, and hold their energy in close to themselves. They are fearful that others will see their flaws and they try to keep people from seeing them.  They don't feel good about themselves and try not to draw attention to themselves. They can feel very victimized by the people around them and the world.

The second type of person is someone whose fear and dislike for themselves is also profound, but instead of turning in; they turn out. The will strike first, draw attention to others, ridicule, can be abusive and mean.  By doing this, they feel more powerful. Instead of being the victim they become the victimizer.  They use their abusive actions and judgements to make themselves feel better, feel like they matter, and/or are important. They instead choose to focus that dislike outside themselves and blame others.  

People are afraid to really be seen, but how we handle it will differ from person to person.  A bully and their victim typically have more in common then people really realize.  It is a relationship that is built on the beliefs they share about themselves.  It is almost more like a dance.  One of the ways Janice helps people manage bullies is to teach them about this energy connecting them, and help them to alter or change it so that the bully isn't drawn so much towards the would-be victim.  She also emphasizes the need for the group to stand up against bullies.  Many people are afraid that they'll be next if they stand up to a bully, but typically a person who doesn't feel bad about themselves already can stand up to a bully and avoid becoming a victim.  Even if the bully says something mean; it won't affect them because they feel good about themselves.

Bullying is a real problem, and one of the biggest issues with it is that a lot of adults actually bully. It may seem different, or that we have a good reason for the way we treat others. The judgement, the hate, and the fear may feel different than when we were children.  We may have grown up but we, most of us anyway, have not grown out of our own insecurities that we felt as children. We are the role models for our children and what we teach them, whether we know it or not, is very much the same cycle as what we learned.  It is possible to change this, but it must change from a standpoint of awareness, not blame. Most of us don't go around hurting others on purpose, and if we do it is because we feel we have been hurt. 

Bullying isn't a child thing, it's a people thing and a world epidemic.

That's why we call our program Bullying Exposed.  We are working on getting to the root causes of bullying: which are our feelings of low self worth and self esteem, and our feelings of not being good enough.  We try so hard to be the same or to fit in with the crowd instead of embracing our differences. 

Bullies are really people who are just afraid of their own insecurities.  When kids, adults, organizations, or governments bully; it's because they are afraid.  Often, they are trying to make themselves feel better by highlighting the difference between themselves and the people or ideas they are ridiculing.

​We have to help people who abuse, try to control, make fun, and cut others down understand what they are actually doing, which is really just hiding behind their fear/anger and not actually dealing with the real problem.  They think that by hurting others; they will make themselves feel better.  Well, I can tell you from first hand experience that this is not the case.  When Jessica stood up for Maddie that day; I felt really bad about what I had done.  Here, Jessica was one of the more popular girls in school, and I wasn't.  The fact that she would stand up for Maddie, a girl who I considered "below me" really stuck with me, and I realized that what I had done was wrong and I was really mad at myself.  I had been punishing myself for a long time for that, believing myself to be a mean or bad person, and treating myself as if I was.

It is worth noting that the teacher was right there, and hadn't said anything to myself or the other girls.  It was only Jessica who said something, and then, after the fact, the teacher gave her a pat on the back for sticking up for Maddie.  Janice says that this is actually a good thing.  The adults shouldn't get involved with the group dynamics of the kids.  Children need to learn to band together as a group to stand up against bullies.  Otherwise, they will always be looking for an authority figure to protect them or handle their problems.  This is all well and good until there isn't one to be found.  

As a side note- I really wish that at some point, the teacher had spoken to me about why I bullied Maddie, and helped me understand that the anger and frustration I was feeling was a normal thing to feel at that age, but that I needed to find ways to deal with it other than lashing out.  Another options was if she had helped to facilitate a talk with Maddie where we went into bigger depth about what it had made Maddie feel for me to be mean to her, and why I had done it in the first place.  It's important to realize that bullies are hurting too.  They just are funneling that pain into anger and hate rather than into sadness.  I'm not saying it's excusable, especially when people know better, but it is understandable, and what's more, given time, patience, and practice; I do believe it is possible to fix as well.  We need to expose the dynamic that creates bullies and we need to help victims to begin to gain self confidence and love for themselves so they don't present as targets so easily.

No one is truly a victim, we all have a choice about how we feel.  No one can make us feel anything.  They can try.  But on some level we have to agree with them.  We have a choice how we react to people.  Awareness is key.

It's worth mentioning that in my youth; I was bullied, too.  I had blocked this out for a long time,  but I remembered recently that in 3rd grade, my whole class made fun of me for having a crush on a boy.  I think someone had overheard me say something and it began to spread throughout the classroom.  Everyone began singing and chanting, "Christine has a crush on Jeremy" and I got really upset, and started to cry because he was sitting there.  I didn't go back to school for two weeks.  So, maybe that has something to do with why I wouldn't want to feel vulnerable anymore, and made fun of another girl.  And that is typically the way it will go.  Bullying is a cycle, just like abuse is a cycle.  People learn it somewhere, and it's usually because they have been hurt and don't want to let that happen again.  I have learned alot just from looking at the ways I have been hurt in my life and how I then changed my behavior to try to protect myself from further hurts.  If you've ever had an experience with bullying, whether you are the bullied or the bully; I highly suggest you begin to explore the programs we offer here at Miylana and Bullying Exposed.  Janice offers much in the way of workshops and resources to begin to identify the parts in you that were hurt, felt victimized, or lashed out to protect.  As Janice says,

"Most people are not trying to hurt you unless they are mentally unsound.  If they are hurting you, it's because they themselves are in pain."

Learn more about bullies and ways to use your energy to protect yourself, check out upcoming Energy Affects classes or our Bullying Exposed programs.

Does Hypnotherapy Work for Anxiety?

A Major Component of Janice's Work Is Her Hypnotherapy Sessions...
But Does It Work?

One of the first things Janice will give to new clients is a hypnotherapy cd (and a copy of her book - This Is Only a Dream - When You Die You Wake Up!).  She currently has over 15 different hypnotherapy cd's that she can offer to clients, ranging in topic from Abundance to Weight Loss.

When she handed me a hypnotherapy CD to help improve Self-Worth, I was indifferent.  I was open to it, but I certainly didn't run home and throw it right on.  I think it took me a few weeks before, after a reminder from Janice, I finally took a listen.

The intro to the hypnotherapy sessions recommend that before you begin, you make free time to listen in a quiet place and that you set yourself up comfortably without any distractions or responsibilities for alertness- aka. don't drive a car and listen to hypnotherapy.

I had been told that before going to sleep was a good time to listen, so I got into my pajamas and popped on the cd, and climbed into bed.  The soothing music began to play, Janice's calming voice began to speak, and before I knew it; I was asleep.

This cycle repeated itself over and again.  I was so relaxed by the cd that I had never actually heard the end of it consciously until several months after I began to listen to it.  So what was the deal?  And what was it doing, if anything, while I slumbered?

Research shows that even while we are asleep, our ears remain active.  Our brains still register auditory stimuli, and this can impact the depth of our sleep, and how well rested we are.

If you often feel like you sleep a good 8 hours, but are still waking up feeling exhausted, noise may be the culprit.

 In fact, research has linked traffic noise and chronic bad sleep with cardiovascular disease.

Obviously, our body still registers the sounds we hear during the night, whether we are actively aware of them or not.  Regardless, and my situation aside, what does hypnotherapy actually do for our bodies and minds?

First we must understand what hypnotherapy is.  The cut and dry definition of hypnotherapy is the use of hypnosis for therapy.  Ok.  So then we must ask, what is hypnosis?  Hypnosis is an induction of a trance or dream like state in which the subject is highly susceptible to suggestion.  We've all heard the stories of the man who would act like a chicken when a master hypnotist snapped their fingers, but this spectacle doesn't necessarily suggest therapeutic value and can scare people to believe that hypnosis is scary and can control you.  Actually, you would never do anything you would not normally do.  If someone gave you a suggestion to "rob a bank" for instance, unless you're a bank robber, you would not do it and even then you would still be making the decision.  You are just in a relaxed deeper state of mind, which makes it easier for you to make changes.

What most of us don't know is that at least 80% of the time our beliefs and programs are running our lives.

Most of us really do not know what we believe, but we can start to see our beliefs by looking at the patterns that show up in our life. To really change these beliefs, we need to change them from the place where they are stored and running to begin with, our subconscious mind.

During a hypnotherapy session, the hypnotherapist helps you to become very relaxed, and then will suggest concepts to you.  If you are struggling with self-worth, for example, she might suggest that you are a worthy, confident, and capable individual.

When we say "beliefs," we don't mean spiritual or religious beliefs.  The idea is that our minds create our reality.  You can be the most independent, capable and worthy person in the world; but if you are always thinking that you aren't any good, that's the reality you will live in.  That's a belief.  You'll make decisions from that place, and constantly sabotage or under value yourself because you don't actually believe you can do it.  The idea is that if we can change the script your mind is playing, then you may begin to see examples of how worthy and capable you are when those experiences come up.  Perhaps you begin to see opportunities that were always there but that you didn't recognize as viable options before.  Much more is open to you, because you began to use the up-till-this-point cobweb infested parts of your mind that said you were worth a damn.

Janice often says that one of the major benefits of hypnotherapy is that it helps to re-wire your brain.  If you've always had low self-worth, then that means you've created a bridge between any sort of criticism, rejection, or disapproval as a reflection of who you are and what you are capable of.

Eventually you may begin to see that criticism, rejection, and disapproval in advance, as a sort of inevitability.  

It is here that we come to a crossroads, and we begin to shift from a place of perception to a place of creation.  We begin to create the experience of rejection and the feeling of unworthiness even though it is essentially only in our minds.  You begin to live from this cycle.  Many arguments stem from this inevitability of response.  People foresee criticism when it isn't there, and project their own fears on the other person's actions.  It's really quite amazing what we do.

One experience can fit into many different interpretations.  Hypnotherapy allows our mind to experience, while in an open and relaxed state, the other possibilities and helps change your old beliefs that have been keeping you stuck, repeating the same reactions and experiences.

So, if you're feeling like you may need assistance in any particular area; whether it be anxiety reduction, weight loss, smoking reduction, abundance, etc. than I highly suggest hypnotherapy.  It will help you see the other possibilities, and at the very least is very relaxing.  Studies currently have shown that hypnosis can be effective for a range of issues from pain management to anxiety reduction.  The effectiveness will depend of course from person to person and from hypnotist to hypnotist.

My own experience with hypnotherapy and listening to the cds was highly positive.  It seemed to help me relax, get to sleep faster, and definitely encouraged me to wake up on the right side of the bed.  That, coupled with my ongoing sessions with Janice, and the work I'm doing to 'change my mind' has really helped me make better choices for myself and feel happier.  If you have anything to add to this, please feel free to comment below!

If you want to try out one of Janice's hypnotherapy sessions, you can see this one on youtube!

Hypnotherapy audio downloads are available here.

For more info or to hear Janice's unique perspective on solving the world's problems, check out our podcast, How to Survive Earth School, available on Soundcloud or Itunes!
 

The Season Of Change- How do I Change My Life

There are two things that we can all be looking at right now to totally transform our experience of the world.  The first is to look at what our energy is doing.  Energy, as we say, is everywhere and is everything.  From a blade of grass to the sun's rays, a beautiful piece of music, and the light flickering in the store; we relate to our world and each other through the exchange of energy.  Energy can come in many forms and we express it in many different ways.  Learning how to manage our energy is absolutely pivotal for this time.  What signals are you sending?  Identifying these will be the key to understanding your world.  Just as important is recognizing the energetic messages you are receiving.  We are a receptor as much as we are an antennae.  If you do not begin to actively work on identifying what messages are coming from outside of you; you will have a very challenging time going forward.  Have you been feeling crazy?  Overwhelmed?  Anxious?  Most likely, much of that feeling is coming from outside yourself.  If you do not recognize that the feeling is coming from outside yourself, however, the experience of life can be maddening.

What are you doing to manage the energy exchange in your life?  If your answer is nothing, we need to change that.

The second thing we can all be doing to totally transform our experience of the world is to begin to identify how what you believe, or what you expect from life, actually creates the experience of it.  The one thing we should all be asking ourselves is "what is this showing me?"

"What is this showing me" is a question to ask frequently to better see your patterns.  It calls your experience into question, and highlights the assumptions you are making day in and day out about life.  We assume so much, jump to conclusions, and live from an understanding based in our own false perception.  I know that it can seem utterly bizarre to think that you are creating your world, but you are.  Just remember that for every one explanation you have given to the reason something has happened; there are literally hundreds of others.

We are going to be exploring these topics much more going forward.  It's time to move from
"I know I should be doing this..." to actually doing it.  It's so important you do the work right now, and recognize the message you are sending to yourself and others through the communication of your energy and beliefs.

We have a few opportunities to go more in depth with these concepts.  I highly suggest you attend an Energy Affects class.  We have class a few times in November and December (www.miylana.com).  We are offering a two part seminar on energy.  These teleseminars are the beginning of training's we will be offering entitled Magic and Mysteries.  These first two will take an in depth look at the idea of energy and explore tools to protect yourself, project yourself more clearly, and recognize energetic messages from others.  If you still haven't shared this work with your friends and family; now is the time to do so.  It's so important that everyone begin to recognize just how they are creating their life and how energy works.  We can help so many people if we start to understand, use the tools, and more fully explain how all of this works.  It's time to give everyone the gift of new perception!
​
​- Christine

How to Raise Your Vibration

"Raise your vibration" is a term that is thrown around a lot these days, and especially in the sort of work we do here at Miylana.  Janice relays often that the earth is going through an intense period of change where the planet's vibration is becoming faster/higher.  If you are curious about how and why this is happening, I suggest an article by Our Ultimate Reality for an explanation on vibrational changes in our world.

Vibration can be used to describe the physical characteristic of a particle or wave, and this is it's more scientific usage.  We also use it to describe the feeling we may get from someone, as in "he gave me a weird vibe," or the Beach Boys' famous song "Good Vibrations."  For our purposes, these terms can be almost combined into the characteristic energy of a person or thing that another can perceive or detect.

One of the effects of the vibration of the Earth raising is that information, other people's energy and emotion, is traveling much faster.  This can effect us by making us feel ungrounded, really sensitive to things like light and sound or each other, and we may feel more emotional.  Emotions are energy too.  If you are all over the place with regard to your emotions, do some of the following exercises to help yourself ground and re-calibrate the energy.  These exercises help you to ride the wave of the energy, as opposed to being stuck under the swell getting crushed by the power of the breaking wave.  When you are aligned with the higher vibration, you will feel more joyous.  When you aren't, well then - watch out!

THOUGHTS, ENERGY, AND EMOTIONAL CONTAGIONS

Janice teaches that thoughts and feelings have energy.  I believe we can all relate to this idea.  When we meet up with a friend who is having a tough time, we may recognize that something is the matter before we even speak to them.  Our minds and bodies are very adept at picking up on cues, and so some people may explain this away as our subconscious minds being aware of the person's state of distress as evident from an obvious clue, like bags under their eyes, or clothes in disarray, etc.  But if a person has no perceivable change to their exterior, we can still recognize how they are feeling.  Sadness, happiness, and excitement all have characteristic energetic signatures that an attuned antennae can pick up from another person.

We can also pick up emotions from each other.  In Psychology, they call this the emotional contagion, and many studies confirm what we know intuitively.  One person feeling downtrodden or angry has been shown to effect the people close to them.  Thoughts, feelings, and even reading rude words, or being exposed to angry or violent media will also have an effect on how we feel and go about our lives.

We absorb the attitudes and emotions of what we are exposed to, and often act on them.  We feel less happy with ourselves and our performance when we are around unhappy people.  Even though this emotion begins with someone else, we take it on as our own.

Thoughts have energy - are energy, in fact.  Neurons in our brain interact, releasing various chemical and electrical signals.  Tendencies of human behavior including facial mimicry, and related brain chemistry indicate that we commonly and unintentionally pass around and feel the effects of another person's bad, or good mood.

Learning how to be in control, rather than at the whim of this process is a major aspect of working with Janice.  It often entails figuring out how to identify when something - a feeling or a thought - isn't actually yours, and learning to override it with your own, more positive, feeling or thought.  Practice makes perfect here.

So where does vibration come in?  While we cannot, yet, measure someone's vibration; the idea is that low vibrational energy encompasses all of the feelings we typically find uncomfortable, such as anger, fear, frustration, sadness, or worry.  These feelings often result in disordered thoughts, and chemical changes in the brain that increase in power the more these feelings are felt.  This contrasts to high vibrational energy.  High vibrational energy results from positive thinking, feelings like joy and happiness.  You might, literally, feel like you are walking on air.  This feeling is excited and gifts you with the feeling that you are elevated, aware and can see potential pitfalls and problems from above.  Others can also feel this heightened joyful feeling when they are around you, and may feel happier around you.

Still, it's easy to get wrapped up in a negative emotion and fall back into a lower vibration.

Studies have also shown that a negative event holds multiple times the impact of a positive one.  That means that when something bad happens, it makes a much bigger impression and takes longer to recover from than a positive event.  '“Put another way, you are more upset about losing $50 than you are happy about gaining $50,”' relays this article from the NY Times.  When we come into contact with a negative person, you are more likely to get pulled into their bad mood than pull them out of it.

So what does all this mean?  It means that you have to work, really work, to maintain a healthy positive or even just neutral outlook.  Our psychology, and our brains are hardwired to pay attention to the negative, to absorb those uncomfortable emotions from others, and to emulate them.

So let's talk about how to raise your vibration.  It should follow, based on the studies and information above, that much of it has to begin in the brain - with your thoughts.  I asked Janice what we should do to improve our vibration and make it easier to have a positive outlook.  Here's what she said:

A FEW WAYS TO RAISE YOUR VIBRATION:

1.  SHUT UP.

No, really, this is what she said.  She said we really need to shut up and listen more.  Not necessarily to each other, but to ourselves.  Our own thoughts.  She said many of us are not at all aware of what we are thinking, and so can more easily be affected by those around us.

2.  SAY/THINK SOMETHING POSITIVE- CREATE A MANTRA

Replace your repetitive inner monologue ("I have to get to the bank, I don't have time, I'm late for this thing, my friend is being an asshole, I want this thing and it's not happening, ugh!") with something much more positive.  Create your own personal mantra full of significant keywords for what you really need in your life: not a better job but more happiness, not more money but more abundance, not someone to listen to you and do what you want all the time but more love.

Ex: I am in the process of creating my life.  I now call more love, abundance, peace, and joy into my life.

Then repeat it.  Whenever you fall into a negativity trap and begin to feel dissatisfied, use your mantra, and smile.  Smiling has a wonderfully positive impact on the brain.

3.  TAKE A BREAK.

We're all running around like chickens with our heads cut off most of the time, are aren't in touch with how we really feel.  People really do need to learn to stop, and take a break.  In Janice's words, "feel the sun on your face."  When you do this, you may be surprised to see that you are actually feeling fine, and whatever was happening before was a result of rushing, or being around someone who is giving off some low vibrational energy.

4.  SHAKE IT OFF.

This is one of Janice's go to exercises.  Put on some upbeat music and shake, moving your body, and imagine excess energy falling into the Earth to be recycled.  Do this for a few minutes, and then put on a slower, more meditative song.  Stand still, rooted to the Earth.  Your hands should be placed on your belly below your belly button and over your hip bones.  Feel comfortable and breathe deep, imaging white light entering your head through the top of your skull and filling you from the bottom up.

IN CONCLUSION

While we still can't measure our own vibration and see where we are at on a high to low scale, we can certainly be aware of it and recognize that when we are feeling better; things go smoother, and we can find more joy in them.  High vibrational energy is all around us, carrying with it energetic signals and messages that come in the form of intuition when we can match them with our own high vibrational energy.  If we are vibrating lower, they may feel more like anxiety and seem overwhelming.  If we really aren't receptive to them, they can jam the circuits of our mind so to speak, and we may feel like hiding or numbing out.  Regardless, this energy is here to stay so the better choice would be to learn how to thrive in it.  If you do, you'll see that other things don't effect you so much, and that, what's more, you can have a positive impact on those around you.  Now, those are some good vibes.

Are You Lying To Yourself? I was.

During our most recent podcast How to Survive Earth School recording (available on Itunes and Soundcloud), I had an epiphany of sorts with the help of Janice and Christine D.

While I do this work, and feel like I have gotten so much better recognizing my old programs when they begin to run, I am realizing that I am still operating on really basic underlying truths that tend to always be playing in the background while my awareness is distracted.

Typically, when this happens, it's because something has upset me.  But rather than move from this feeling of being upset or hurt, I move directly into anger at the supposed perpetrator of this transgression.

Why don't they know what they did?  Why do they continue to do this despite my asking them not to?  Why don't they listen to me?

This inevitably leads me to my programs, which take these thoughts into the realm of absolutes.


People don't care.  I'm unlovable or there's something wrong with me.  People do not listen.

While I have gotten so much better, particularly in the area of feeling not listened to, and not taking things personally when people do things that feel inconsiderate; I realized that my awareness and recognition is limited to specific acts that I have just begun to recognize.  But, there are some other things that are falling through the cracks.

What are these?  The tend to have to do a lot with not belonging, abandonment, and the home.

While I am doing so well at not taking things personally from friends, family, career, and even relationships; when it gets into an arena that activates my fear of abandonment, not belonging, or my home space; it really begins to unravel my well formed identity.

Particularly in my home life, I have been taking it for granted that the people you live with simply will not care about how what they do will impact you.

Saying it out loud this last week really hit home just how apart of my understanding of the world this concept was.  I never even gave it a second thought these last couple of years working with Janice.

It's so bizarre for me to still be finding these hidden beliefs stuck in the mud of my fears.  I suppose some things simply just take time to rise to the surface so that you can deal with them.  While this may be a small thing, it really isn't.  I was dedicating so much time to feeling angry, to feeling hurt, and to feeling resentful all while feeling like there was simply nothing I could do about it.

While I haven't perfected asking for what I want, I have gotten alot better at it.  What I am still working at, and which is coming a bit slower for me, is letting people know how I feel.

I don't know why this is so hard.  I suppose because it feels like the ultimate test of someone's caring for you.  If you say how you feel and nothing changes?  Well, then they obviously don't care.

But change takes time, and so many people are stuck in their own illusion - their own programs - that to continuously take another's behavior as a reflection on you is almost insane.

Learning to remind people, gently, when they've dropped back into their old routines is a wonderful way to keep things from turning into a button pressing game.

Rather than get your hackles up, and begin to create an argument or defense in your mind; look for a way to discuss your feelings in a non-confrontational way.

The reason discussions devolve into confrontations is because somewhere we, or the other person, believes that they are not entitled to their feelings or else they are afraid that the person won't care or listen to what they say.  Practice slowly, and reiterate your caring for the other.  It's ok to not always see eye to eye, but compromise is a gift and should be employed whenever and towards whatever thing you need to resolve.  Not discussing the problem is no longer an option.  It will grow and grow until it consumes you and it's all you think about.  Is someone leaving dirty dishes in the sink really worth all that?

So, in conclusion.  Yes, I have been lying to myself.  People do care, and I know because I talked to them about it. 

http://www.miylana.com/blog/are-you-lying-to-yourself

Am I Psychic?

 Everyone has gifts.

The level to which we can access and utilize them is another matter.  Our psychic abilities are alot like other gifts, such as the gift of music, song, skills in sports, or business acumen, in that you have to practice and learn about it in order to hone your skills.


While some people are born with the ability to know and see far beyond what most of us are able to, we shouldn't get discouraged by the ease with which they access their gifts.  


Some people are born with this door more open, but some people are born as business prodigies and musical virtuosos, as well.  That doesn't mean that we shouldn't work on learning the instrument of our choice.  Most people don't have innate ability when it comes to their successes.


It turns out, that most, if not all people, had to work hard to get what they achieved.


So, what are the steps to accessing this knowledge?  This will range from person to person, but it certainly will begin with awareness of yourself.  If you are running from point A to point B, never taking a second to care for or inquire deeper about yourself- then you likely aren't developing the awareness to hear beyond your inner monologue.


The first thing you have to do to receive an answer is to ask a question.  If you aren't questioning, than this is your first mistake.


Here are a few steps to beginning to open to your own psychic abilities:


1.  Set aside time dedicated to yourself and to increasing your inner awareness.
For most people, psychic thoughts and feelings will come from inside as a intuitive "lurch," not in a movie-eque way with visions and involved dream sequences, although this may happen with time! (Hey, anything is possible so don't discount it..)

2.  During this time, close your eyes and really go within.  
Begin to play with your other senses.  See how far you can hear into the distance.  Put a series of objects in front of you and use your fingers to trace and explore them, use your sense of smell and taste to explore your environment.  Question yourself about what are sensing.  What do you notice that you hadn't noticed with your eyes open?

3. Exercise.
Our mind is more rested and more open when our body is tired.  So many people spend their days at the desk and then go home to flop on the couch.  Despite the exhaustion many of us feel at the end of the day, our body has unexpressed energy that it is holding onto; maybe it's frustration from an interaction with a co-worker or excitement over a promising deal; whatever it is, releasing is necessary.  Some suggestions include joining a sports league, doing yoga, dropping into a dance class, or hiking.  Whatever way you enjoy using your body, make time to do it. 

4.  Begin to question when you want to know something.
Start with small things.  Where is there a parking spot?  What time will my wife be back?  etc. etc.  See if you can begin to get answers to some of these questions.  You'll find the more you do this consciously, the easier it is to question subconsciously and start to get answers to the questions you are asking.

5.  Consciously note your predictions and intuitive feelings when they come true.
It's almost like a stream that starts as a trickle and begins to gain momentum.  Become aware and consciously make note of when when you are using your abilities.  This is a good way to better understand when a thought is your intuition knocking or when it is something that's been generated from your thoughts, feelings, wishes or fears.  Being an "active antenna" also makes it more likely that messages will be sent your way.  People tend not to send mail to an address that isn't checking the mailbox!

6.  Recognize the intersection of manifestation and psychic ability.
We all also have the power to manifest what we want.  The intersection between manifestation and psychic predictions can be confusing.  Did that thing happen because I wanted or feared it was going to happen or because I knew it would and it was inevitable?  Much of our lives are created by us and our thoughts and feelings.  Begin to play with the idea of creating your future from your desires.  Set intentions and create goals and action plans.  You may be surprised to see that this helps you to tap into your abilities, to foresee possible pitfalls, recognize when a person is an ally that can assist you, and attract more fortuitous coincidences.


Using these tips and practicing everyday will begin to open you up to the amazing amount of information that is bouncing around at any given moment.  Make sure you protect yourself when you begin to play with your psychic abilities in the white light of love and protection.  You want to surround your aura with a golden net to keep out negative energy.  Being more sensitive is wonderful, but you want to make sure you are only letting positivity and light into your sphere.

Have fun!  Let us know your results!


- Christine

WHAT TO DO IF YOU'RE FEELING SAD

You'll be feeling great, and then all of the sudden out of nowhere you'll begin to feel a little off.  During these times, I can't quite place what happened.

It's human nature to feel bad sometimes.  In fact, I think that the ads and the tv commercials that imply that being all good all the time is the norm are doing us a great disservice.  Sure, being happy and excited about life is what we all want, BUT 

It doesn't help us to beat ourselves up for the feelings we have that we can't control.  

Treat yourself with love and respect.  Sometimes, we may not know what or why we are feeling a certain way.  During those times, rather than play into a routine (dissolve into sweatpants, get a pint of icrecream, throw on old reruns of Friends and pretend none of this every happened?) why not stop for a moment and really delve into what led you to feel this way.  

Often, we'll find that limiting beliefs create the illusion that something is wrong, when in fact, everything is just fine.

A limiting belief is anything which is based on supposed norms, expectations, possibilities, or abilities.  

We typically do not know what is a limiting belief and what is a real obstacle unless we have the presence of mind to question what we think and feel, but many people live with these false boundaries all their lives.  

People get swept up by the emotion, not realizing that the emotion is a sign post saying, "Please look at this..!"

So, when you find yourself feeling upset, think - really think - about what got you there.  And then question yourself, "Am I feeling low because I think I should be other than I am?  And if so, why do I think that?"

You may be surprised to find that you are putting alot of pressure on yourself.  Does that mean that we shouldn't work at changing or reaching for other things?  No.  But you'll be a lot more energized and excited if you don't pummel yourself any time you feel you aren't stacking up.

Here's some ways to get out of feeling sad:
1. Shake it off - when we move the body and breathe, we can often find renewed energy to work with.

2.  Affirm to yourself - I am a creative being living and growing at my own pace.  I respect the rate at which things happen, and I am grateful for the work I do every day.

3.  A great rule to live by - if you're tired, rest; if you're hungry, eat; if you're sad, cry; if you're angry, scream (into a pillow preferably) ; if you're energized, run; if you're happy, dance.  

So dance, and feel happy, because it all is ok or it will be soon.


- by Christine

Next Class: Energy Affects on Thursday August 20th at 6pm

CLASS RESCHEDULE- PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR NEW DATE/TIME OR SIGN UP FOR EMAIL LIST BY GOING HERE.

Why Come to This Class?


- Have you been feeling extra sensitive? Overwhelmed? Exhausted? Cranky?

- Do you feel like you have no time for yourself?

- Are you having trouble focusing?

- Do you feel yourself getting angry and frustrated easily?

- Are you beating yourself up?

- Do you flip flop between extreme emotions and then all the sudden you are ok again?




You DO NOT have to feel like this! This class will help you to break through the illusion of these negative feelings to see how YOU actually feel. We're all being bombarded by these high intensity emotions from people around us and taking them on as our own.




In this class, we explore how we pick up thoughts and feelings from others around us, learn to block and protect ourselves, and create healthier connections.

It is so important to begin to use our gifts consciously instead of just acting like a sponge. You will be AMAZED how much better and more like yourself you will feel after this class.

Price:
$60

***Bring a friend special!***
Buy one, get the second half off! ($45/person)

Barrage of craziness!

Do you feel like it's hard to get anything done? Tired, stressed out, overwhelmed, having a hard time trying to stay focused? Emotionally, mentally, physically drained? Getting hit by your stuff and everyone else s all at the same time! Feels like a barrage of craziness?  This feeling is part of another shift we are going through, our mind and bodies are in the process of downloading new information, new codes as the vibration of the planet moves even higher. Each time it shifts to a higher vibration we have, lets call it a beat you over the head opportunity to let go of the old and usher in the new. There becomes a fight within as we are transitioning from our old beliefs and programs to the new. We can experience a lot of intense emotions and feel very victimized. Everything we experience can feel like torture and then there are moments where you can see and feel the joy, happiness and peace poking through.  This process can literally be painful as well, our bodies can feel more aches and pains than is normal for us. We may even be getting sick easier and more often.

When major shifts are happening, we are under pressure. the pressure can seem so immense at times that it is hard to function. Time is already moving so fast and there is way to much on our plates as it is. If that wasn't difficult enough. These shifts bring up all of our issues, our beliefs, mostly our negative programs, to give us another opportunity to heal from, understand and finally let go of the baggage we have been holding onto, keeping us stuck.

It is one thing to deliberately get on a hamster wheel and go around and around as an exercise program. Like any exercise program we would like to choose it and most importantly choose one that we enjoy, that actually makes us feel better, happier and healthier.  Probably not the hamster wheel we may feel like we are on! But, this too is an exercise program, it is an exercise of your spirit. Your spirit is pushing you to a higher level and to tell you the truth, we did chose it. Although at this time we may want to renege on the contract and swear we never saw the fine print! But we did, most people are not awake enough yet to understand we have chosen to be here. That incarnating is something we are excited about, the opportunity to learn and grow, to expand our soul especially at this time as we can grow exponentially.

So it's a time to be extra patient with yourself and others. Understand you are already working overtime, give yourself a little down time. Go out in nature and take in the energy and beauty all around you. Know that everything is magnified, so you can look at it. Try not to react, just see what it is showing you about yourself. We are all in this together, let's not forget that so be compassionate we are all going through major changes.

In love!

Energy, Entities, and Attachments- Oh My!

t's time to talk about something that we've been putting off for a bit. It has everything to do with who you are versus who you feel like and may make some people uncomfortable.

We are not alone. This, many of you will already know, is a strongly held belief and reality.

This wonderful reality is what allows us to communicate with our guides, angels, and passed on loved ones as well as our higher selves. The world goes far beyond what we see, is multi-dimensional, and full of varying energies.

How many of you, at a time of need, have reached out to something beyond your vision into faith to find that something reaches back for you? How many of you have asked for help and received a knowing or a sign? Through struggle and challenge, again and again, I have been blessed with the certain knowledge that there are energetic beings of varying vibrations out there to assist us. The fact is that, for me, this world is not an accident and we are far more special than we give ourselves credit for. Think, for a minute, when was the last time you considered the vastness of the universe and the miraculous fact of your existence. There are others, surely, but at this moment in history for all we know; we are alone in our ability and our intelligence. You are one of a relatively small species (comparatively) that are capable of doing what we are doing in what appears an infinite ocean of space and stars. Sit on that fact for a minute.

It is so easy to feel unimportant, faceless, a number in the crowd. We are a loud bunch, for all that, and it is a small (getting smaller) planet.

If you can harbor, just for a moment, that golden knowledge of your lineage and the immense improbability of your existence (how many of your ancestors had to overcome great struggles to survive in order for you to live?) can you see that you are special?

We are in an age now where we are being asked to evolve. Transition is the name of the game, and being more sensitive is one of the effects. We are all much more sensitive than we realize. Our sense have been numbed by our world, society, and culture and yet we still absorb so much from those around us whether we realize it or not. Many have lost their connection back to source, yet live each day with the support and love that source offers. It's quite strange, honestly!

This is all back story, though. The real reason I bring all of this up is to acquaint you back with the idea of the unseen and the multi-dimensional. As much as there are beings that exist in this world as guides to bring us up to the next level, there are also beings that work the other way, that induce negativity, and feed off of lower vibrations.

This is not intended to cause anyone anxiety or fear. Yet, knowledge is power and we cannot solve problems when we do not understand what's causing the problem in the first place.

I have known for many years now about beings that work sort of like parasites. Like common parasites, they attach to other beings to survive. The parasite itself, like a virus or bacteria, is not really malicious. It's just trying to survive the way it knows how. If you have seen any of these, perhaps in meditation or while visualizing, you will note that some of them are downright comical looking. Others are more fear based and so attempt to play on our fears to give them strength.

If you are tired, low energy, feeling negative or unhappy; it is much easier for these lower vibrational entities to connect with you. Once you realize you have one, though, they are not hard to get rid of. Do the work to keep your vibration high, i.e. shake off things that do not belong to you, engage in activities that make you happy, and use gratitude and positivity to protect yourself from stress and worry. Strangely, I find that if you do have an entity attached to you, doing this work often helps them as well, and makes it easier to separate them when it comes time to part. Often, during a removal session; these entities or spirits will decide to enter the light and attempt to move towards their own evolution. It is very healing for all involved.

The thing is that these beings can and do influence many people. After a removal session, many people are surprised to feel more like themselves than they have in a while. They have more energy, are more lighthearted, and better able to move forward. It's very encouraging and exciting to see!

Look below for an exercise to check yourself for energies, entities or spirits. I know it may seem crazy, but it can happen! Also look at our blog for a first hand account from one of my clients on their experience with entities and spirits.

We are all on a spectrum. Sometimes our vibration is high, we can help bring others up, and sometimes we are low, and we need a little bit more help. The important thing to remember is to not fear that which we don't understand. Let us seek to improve everyone's situation, even the energies that at this time, for one reason or another, are in an expression that takes more than gives. Our higher guides, angels, and loved ones are here to protect and help us as we evolve. Surround yourself with the white light of love and protection, and if you have questions about the above, or think you may need assistance in dealing with a pesky stowaway do not hesitate to contact us. You are a gift and a healer!

Entity Removal: A First Hand Account

"The thing I remember is waking up in bed and not being able to move.  That was alarming in and of itself.  Sleep paralysis wasn't anything I'd ever experienced before and was ignorant of at the time.  As my mind fought for consciousness, I became aware of a struggle happening.  It seemed like a wrestling match was occurring.  I felt scared and attacked, held down and gasping for breath.  I had been meditating the previous two days for almost 12 hours a day.  As I sat up in bed shaking from what felt like, for lack of another explanation, a psychic attack, I wondered if I had somehow left myself open and vulnerable from the transformational experience of marathon meditation. 
 

That was in 2010. I mentally thanked whatever being came to my aid, and freed me from the thing keeping me mentally and physically held down. Was it my own self that was the champion? Was it my own self that was the assailant? I really couldn't say at the time. I remember walking into my living room where my then roommate was sitting with her sister and trying to tell them what had happened. They looked at me like I had two heads and insisted that I just must have been very tired. We changed the subject.  I asked my yoga mentor and teacher about the experience and she said just to shake it off and try to move past it.  Psychic attacks weren't something that we were going to talk about, either, despite the many discussions about different dimensions of existence, spirits, guides, and angels that were ongoing during our teacher training course.  I remember feeling disappointed.  Why wouldn't she give me insight or advice into what happened?  I felt like she knew something but she wasn't telling me, but perhaps she just didn't really know what to say.  

The subject was left unexplained and forgotten for years.  

Then I met Janice Corsano.  All of the sudden we were delving, quite literally into very deep harbored fears and anxieties.  She helped me uncover beliefs about myself that I had been holding onto and proving over and over.  Beliefs like I am not good enough, I don't know what I'm doing, no one cares about me; the list goes on.  Through this "de-programming", I began to see the falseness of these supposed truths, began to see how many times a day I was doing really positive things, was being responded to with caring and kindness, was being invited to join others in community and friendship.  It was eye opening.  Still, while exploring these basic issues and getting to the bottom of neurosis, I held on to a dark sense of anger, frustration with the world, and cynicism, especially towards matters of faith.  I was bitter and wanted proof that was not coming.  

I expressed this frustration during one of the classes I attended on Empowerment that Janice teaches.  I couldn't allow myself to believe that there was more to see beyond the eye, couldn't help but feel that to hope for more was delusional.  I didn't want others to think that I believed in fairy tales.  Fairy tales were only for children, I thought, and those ignorant of science and naive as to the way the world works. But I was feeling extremely alone despite the work I had been doing to expand and grow.  Janice responded that we are never, truly, alone, but it can certainly feel that way.  We talked about the idea that our angels and guides are always with us.  The idea brought tears to my eyes.  I, who had been feeling so alone and isolated for such a long time, couldn't help but imagine how nice it would be to realize I wasn't actually alone.  

It stuck with me into the next day.  While driving, I forewent listening to my audiobook, and instead I began to shyly ponder the possibility of there actually being something akin to a guardian angel with me at all times.  It was just as I considered this that the stereo system suddenly came to life and the speakers began to play the sounds of my audiobook.  I was astounded.  Was it a fluke?  It felt too synchronistic for that to be the case.  Stereos don't just turn on by themselves, and the timing felt significant.  I took it as a sign, and began to revise my beliefs.  This is how I met my guardian angel who I call Radio.  I had once been someone whose greatest ambition in life was to help deliver people back to their spirits.  Somewhere along the way, I lost my belief, had felt abandoned by God/universe/source, felt naive and taken advantage of, and so had abandoned my faith. Now the embers of my belief in something else were rekindled although I stalwartly refuse to put a name to what that is.  It is a personal belief of mine that we are not truly capable of comprehending the universe and its workings at this time.  It wasn't long after my re-acquaintance with Radio, though, as it surely must be a re-acquaintance, that I began to have scary dreams.  

I believe, now, that I was becoming more sensitive and that I had succeeded in raising my vibration such that things that were holding me back were coming to light.  A particularly vivid dream left me certain that there was something antagonistic around me.The dream involved several friends at a party.  I remember there was a beautiful blond woman there with wavy hair.  A friend approached her and asked if she would do the "thing where we disappear."  I watched in fascination as they sat across from each other in a crossed legged meditation and instantly disappeared.  When they had both returned, I approached the beautiful young woman and asked if she could help me do it too.  I assumed the position and watched through slit eyelids as my body disappeared around me.  

When I opened my eyes again, still in the dream, I was sitting across a wooden table from Janice in an upstairs bare room. The bright, vivid sunlight fell across the bare wooden floors and cast shadows onto the white walls.  I looked again and saw that Janice had transformed into a man.  The man went to the window and began to climb out, hanging from the sill and yelling in excitement and glee.  Concerned, I approached the window and nervously requested he come back in.  He made to start climbing back inside when he slipped.  In a rush, I grabbed him.  As soon as I took hold of his wrist; his face transformed, becoming blueish- his ears extended, and his lips curved into a triumphant grin.  No longer falling, and he held on tightly.  Almost weightless, he climbed back in through the window up my arms.  He pushed me back into the wall and lifted me off the ground.  I raised my fingers in the sign of the cross yelling that infamous chant of the movies, "The power of Christ compels you" over and again until, dropped unceremoniously; I landed awake and scared, once again, in my bed.  A sharp pain stabbed me in-between the shoulder blades such that my chest rose up in an arc from the bed.  I was exhausted and shaking from the vividness of the dream and the ache in my back.  

I asked Janice.  In a departure from the past, Janice surprisingly said something to the effect of "Oh, that.  Yes there are beings that feed off of sensitive people and try to keep them in a lower vibration."  She said this like it was as common as getting a splinter.  We would deal with it, she assured me.  Surprisingly, when the day to deal with it came, a scheduling conflict kept us from doing whatever thing it is that Janice did for the particular problem of night terrors and feelings of psychic attack.  I had been in a funk all day, feeling apprehensive and angry at Janice for some unknown reason.  As soon as we realized the scheduling conflict, this feeling lifted.  I mentioned it to Janice and she said that that was not uncommon.  They try to find excuses and reasons to not be removed.. We rescheduled to the end of the week.  

The night before the day, I had another dream.  In this one I was laying prone in a void, and a heart in the shape of a bird was being dragged away from me.   It was disturbing and I woke up with the greatest sadness.  I barely made it to Janice's before I was crying.  I felt hopeless.  It was so different than the way I had been feeling recently.  As soon as I got there, Janice rallied me and we hopped into action.  Janice sat with me and led me into a meditative state.  She led me through a landscape to a room filled with my high white light angels, guides, and loved ones.  A handsome young man smiled and approached me as I entered the room, and I was delighted to recognize the personified "Radio."  We looked and found three beings attached to me.  

The first was a blue humanoid with pointy ears and wings.  The second was a woman with a bonnet and an apron.  The third was a bird.  We started with the blue thing.  Janice had me ask him his name, and he said something that made no sense to me, then smiled and said just to call him Bob.  Bob had been with me for a long time.  During the course of the hypnosis, we found that Bob had been fighting for his life, trying to scare me back into my negative ways so that he would not have to leave me.  He had begun to feel sort of protective of me.  Bob, I recognized from the first two of my dreams, first in the one where he protected me from another entity assailant, and the second, where he tried to scare me into a lower vibration.  Janice gave Bob the option of moving on, and learning more about the higher energies.  She said that when an entity has been with you during a transformational period, it raises their vibration as well as yours.  Bob was ready to leave the lower realms and discover what the white light was about.  

The second we approached was the woman.  Here was someone I recognized from yet another dream.  I had had a dream of children with blue eyes and blond hair playing hide and seek in the woods when I used to live in the East Village of NYC.    When I woke up, there was a pale spirit in the shape of a woman standing at the foot of my bed.  My roommate remembers me waking her with a drawn out "NO! Go away!" This was not something I had ever really thought about, passing it off as another bad dream.  This woman's spirit had been around for awhile.  She had stayed on for her kids, but didn't realize how much time had passed.  She was ready to move on, and she entered the white light easily and greeted her family.  

The last we approached was the bird.  Gently, Janice asked me if it was really a bird that we saw.  I realized that no, it wasn't a bird, and watched as it transformed itself into a little boy with canvas shorts and a collared shirt.  He was scared and didn't know what had happened.  He had died, he said, but he wasn't sure how.  He was looking for his parents.  It was heartbreaking.  He had come to me, just the night before, because he saw that I was nice to children, he said (I work as a nanny), and he thought that I might be able to help him.  We approached the light with him, and encouraged him as he entered it and reunited with his family.  

Having finished the removals, I lifted out of the hypnotic state to the feelings of exhaustion and elation.  My body felt somehow lighter, and I became aware of energy circulating in areas that I hadn't really been aware of before.  The pain between my shoulder blades, which had been chronic for years, especially when I would meditate, was gone.  Since this time, I have had to do this process a couple more times.  Particularly sensitive, apparently, to taking on extra energies, I have found myself waking with odd pains that feel alien and shifting radiating energy that seems to come and go.  

I have repeated the process both alone and with Janice's help.  Despite this, my critical mind can't help but try to find rational explanations for my experience.  Sometimes I think that your mind just makes things real.  Whether or not these energies existed, they existed in my head.  Perhaps they are just names and faces I've given to my own neurosis and the ritual of removing them is just a process that I happen to need in my therapy and growth?  

The mind is very powerful, and the placebo effect real.  If you believe it will heal you, often, it will.  I find solace that the way other cultures looks at mental illness could be representative of the process I describe above.  When people hear voices, present with symptoms akin to schizophrenia, or depression, etc. in shamanistic medicine they treat it as "the birth of a healer," and recognize the difficulty as spiritual crisis.  People who are beset by these issues are given treatment but are also heralded as a voice of the spirits. This article about shamanistic views on mental illness resonated with me.  How different would our world be if mental illness was treated as a spiritual crisis, which to my mind it undoubtedly is?  You can alter your chemistry to feel it less, but shouldn't we be looking at the underlying cause of the fear, depression, anxiety, ADHD, OCD, neurosis, etc.?  I know that talk therapy does some of this, but perhaps, this idea of energy attaching to us isn't far fetched, and maybe, just maybe, recognizing and releasing the "demons" we have harbored is a way to allow our minds closure that it isn't getting another way.  

Either way you look at it, as a metaphor or a reality, I have found great use to this wisdom.  I personally think that there is much to the universe that we don't understand, as I've said, and have felt enough and seen enough now to be humbled as to the likelihood of my figuring it out.  I am not really concerned with being right, but very interested in doing whatever it is that helps myself and others to feel better, take control of our lives, and move closer to being who we want.  I am happy to say that beliefs and faith aside, I'm much more comfortable in my skin than I have been for a long while.  For that, I can thank Janice Corsano for being a constant source of nonjudgemental support.  After all, it's kind of a crazy world!  There just might be something to crazy ideas."

- Christine A.

  

Finding Meaning in Tragedy

UPDATE: After posting this, we received feedback from one of Janice's clients, Jeff W., who lives in Charleston. He wanted to let us know how the community has been responding:

"I was reading your post about the tragedy here and wanted to tell you what our experience has been. Sandy, Sophie and I have been attending many of the vigil's since it happened. To say the least, it has been an amazing, uplifting, inspiring experience for all of us. The family, friends and associates of the deceased have responded with Love and Forgiveness since day 1! Unbelievable, to say the least. We have not seen a moment of hatred, bigotry, or violence.. Sunday night, for example, we all went to the Ravenel bridge vigil where upwards of 20,000 people from all faith's and denominations showed up to join hands in unity to pray for love, forgiveness, peace and acceptance. We renamed the Ravenel to the "Bridge for Peace" for the night. The people, police, firefighters, politicians, relatives of the deceased, joined hands on the bridge to shout this message. People were high fiving, raising their hands in the peace sign. Cars traveling on the bridge were blowing their horns. Everyone had a huge smile on their faces. I was so grateful to be there. For this moment in time, from this community, a message to the world and beyond has been sent out! I am so proud to live here in Charleston County right now. I think it all started at the bond hearing for the young man who committed the crime. Relatives of the deceased attended and instead of screaming out their grief, turned to him and said, "I forgive you"! Not a new message for sure, but, in this case, a new astounding reaction to a violent act. Well, we all heard their voice. For this moment we have woken up and joined them in celebrating peace, love and forgiveness instead of hatred and violent reactions. I think God is smiling right now. I only hope this message travels far and wide and doesn't fade away too soon. It has changed many of us here in Charleston. Three cheers for this community and the people who started it!"


ORIGINAL POST: The Charleston shooting has been on the periphery of my vision. It was only today that I could really think about what it means and why it happened. To think about the horror of such an act, and how many we've had to process recently, it really is hard to come up with ways to explain it or find purpose in it.

As most of you know from working with me, the guides teach that we create the circumstances of our lives for a reason and to learn. The people who lost their lives the night of the shooting were prayerful, loving, beautiful people. Many close to them attest to their goodness and their kindness. The idea that something like this befell them, these good people, is tragic. Still, I can't help but find meaning in the fact that these people, these good people, would not have wanted their deaths to be used as fodder for hate or for fear. These good people would have wanted the tragedy of their deaths to somehow inspire connection, love, and understanding. It is with that in mind that I think we may find a way forward. It would be so understandable if people retracted, hid themselves, and stopped taking risks. Of course, a part of us wants to not face the problems in our society that need fixing at all; addressing mental health, race inequality, and weapon control not the least of these. How do we come to an agreement with so many dissenting voices?

Far from hiding, and playing into the illusion of our separateness; we must take this moment to connect even more to those in our community, to cross boundaries, and to stop being afraid of that which we don't have much experience with. Often, when we approach the thing we have anxiety about; all fear drops away and we are left wondering why we were afraid in the first place! We are so afraid of being judged, of not being accepted; sometimes we stop trying. Fostering our own worth of self and continuing to be an emissary for light in this world, despite the obstacles entailed, will remove these fears. Perceived judgement cannot touch you when you know and love yourself as much as you deserve.

Help support those who who need it in finding assistance, be aware of those in our lives that are not receiving what they require and take action, support equality, bridge understanding and differences, and alter your way of life to make more time for connection: these are the things that will help us to move into a more peaceful and happier world. I believe that this is what the shooting in Charleston can teach us. Let us honor these amazing souls by endeavoring to create a better, kinder world. Maybe, if we can start to create that world, these atrocities will end.

Remember, we are all connected. If you are feeling sad or overwhelmed by emotions circulating right now, remember to bless the feeling and then shake it off and let it go. You will be better able to handle everything from a place of quiet.

Thank you so much Jeff for sharing this with us and for sharing your love with the community of Charleston. It's people like you and your family that are really doing the work of bringing everyone to the next level!