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INCLUDED HERE:
- Hope Piza
- Nancy Prottengeier
- Andrea Puglese
- Chloe Pyle
- Marilyn Pyle
- Ania Robertson
- Rossella Rossi
- James Tennant
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HOPE PIZA
Hope is a collaborator and co-creator with Source Legacy, a Licensed Massage Therapist, she holds a degree in Universal Sciences, and is a Panchakarma facilitator at the Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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DATING TODAY
by Hope Piza
I think I have relationship problems, or at least problems with romantic relationships. I realize things are only a problem if you make them a problem. The problem for me is that I really would like some kind of long-term relationship and the possibility of having a family with the right person. I’ve been pondering this for a while because every time I start dating someone and feel like I am making progress the whole situation crashes and burns. I know it is partly my fault due to the fact that I am stubborn and pig-headed at times. I also have a propensity for liking men who have issues with commitment. Is that a reflection of myself? Maybe that is a small part of it. The very thing I desire is the thing I fear.
As a woman in the world and an energetic being who definitely displays more feminine than male energy, I realize that there is an imbalance between the two. I hate to say that the two are at war with one another because in my heart I feel like “haven’t we had enough?” I will say that I think male and female energies are just not “getting” one another right at this moment. I’ve heard more than one person comment on the fact that the feminine is really evolving while the male energy is just stagnant for most. This is just a generalization because this does not hold true across the board. Trust me; I know. Many of my girlfriends are lunatics (please don’t wonder if you are one of them because it doesn’t matter who is and who isn’t. Plus a lot of you have willingly admitted it, as have I).
I have been asking all my friends about this and the irony is that my guy friends blame the girls and my girlfriends blame the guys. Bottom line: if you want to challenge yourself right now in this world then date!!! Whether you are more masculine or more feminine you will most likely learn a lot about yourself. I often feel crazy and out of sorts when I am dating, and I really would like to blame the men of this world – but I can’t quite go there because I feel sorry for men. Women are becoming so independent that the old ways of relationships no longer apply, and a lot of my male friends tell me they feel lost. They don’t seem to know how to relate to us and that becomes frustrating for my sisters and me. As a result I hear (and, yes, I have said it myself at times) how men suck!!
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| Hope at Source Legacy's 2009 Retreat |
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My fear around this whole situation is that women will become the dominating force if we are not careful, if we continue with the attitude that men are bad and the reason for our problems. I pray for a time when we all empower ourselves as men and women and respect one another for our differences. I often wonder what would happen if we looked at the masculine within and really took the time to honor that portion of our being. Would it cause a ripple and make it easier for others (especially the masculine) to heal themselves? I’ve really been contemplating this question the past couple of days and it makes sense to me. I know not every single thing is a reflection, but we do create our realities and I just can’t put all the blame on the men I’ve dated for my misfortunes.
It’s interesting to me that most people I know want to have a lasting relationship – or at least a good run with another person. My observation is that fear is the biggest culprit. If we let enough of it sink in then the wall comes, leading to Splitsville, and then we do it all over again. In my opinion, the missing link is the Highest Divinity. At least for me I lose sight of spirituality sometimes. My faith can be very tenuous on a daily basis and that affects all aspects of life, especially in a partnership.
I have been thinking about the difference in male and female energy. Energy flows in through our feminine (left) side and outward through the masculine (right) side. Why is it so hard to have these two in balance? The two energies work like the infinity symbol, constantly making a circuit so that we can create from the Highest Realms. It seems the male energy is hurting and is having a hard time letting that go and letting the energy flow outward so that it can be cleared. The men I have dated or who have been my friend seem to reflect this theory. Most of the men I know have been hurt by relationships and have experienced great pain because of this.
To really let someone in and be vulnerable is not easy and I feel it’s because there has been great disappointment in the past. I have realized this in myself lately and I have realized my own reluctance to commit. This reluctance to commit is not just in relationships with other people but also with myself. I never thought I had that problem, and yet when I realized this it seemed so obvious: I have never lived in one place longer than five years. I have not been very good at communication over distances. There have been few things that I have stuck with for very long. These things are just a few things I have noticed in my life that have clued me in to my lack of commitment.
I am grateful for the awareness I have gained from really taking a look at what is going on with my fear of commitment. I know I have work to do, but I seem to be much more content with myself these days. I have gone through whole days without even thinking about being in a relationship. I used to think about this subject daily. I have more energy to put toward other things and I feel like something inside of me is shifting. I am responsible for my own happiness and, having had this opportunity to really look at what is going on, my awareness of this fact has expanded.
© 2008 by Hope Piza
CONTACT HOPE
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| Nancy at Source Legacy's 2009 Retreat |
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NANCY PROTTENGEIER
Nancy is a collaborator and co-creator with Source Legacy and is a facilitator in Source Legacy's Educational Programs. She is also an Ayurvedic Practitioner and teaches at The Ayurvedic Institute in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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REFLECTIONS ON A LIFE:
Looking for the Right Combination
by Nancy Prottengeier
We all reflect on our lives. At some point relationships, illness, career changes, death, birth, and quiet moments pole vault us into a sense of inner inquiry. We look for the key that will unlock our true happiness. At each of these crossroads we are given the opportunity to examine our perceptions. Often there is the illusion that what we seek is found in some external parameter. I have been given many opportunities for such reflection.
When I was six months old I was rolled into an operating room for the first of many surgeries to come. By the time I was a bright-eyed, enthusiastic and playful four year old, I had been through a series of operations. Each one yielded hope for my parents that I would be well. It was the surgery when I was four that I vividly remember. There was an orderly who rolled me into the elevator on my way to the operating room. I recall his eyes and his smile. To a little girl on a gurney he seemed larger than life. I wish I could thank him. To this day I am touched by his calm and sweet demeanor with me.
My recollections include the excruciating pain in such a small body and those who did their very best to help me. That surgery was the last of my visits to the hospital for many years. The pain returned when I was 11 years old. My body remembered things of which I had no conscious awareness. My physical experience had no context. The pain made no sense. As I grew into adolescence and, then, young adulthood, the medical doctors provided medications in an attempt to ease my discomfort. By now I was re-arranging life events, trips, holiday plans, school, work and social obligations as best I could to work around the symptoms my body would manifest every few weeks. Doctors kept switching my pharmaceuticals as they failed to have any effect after a short time. Some medications made me nauseous. Some accumulated in my system and ultimately caused hallucinations and convulsions. Some worked for a time, giving me hope that I had finally found the “right combination,” only to lose their pain-reducing effect and send me deeper into fear and frustration. I wondered if I would be like this my whole life. What had I done to deserve such punishment? My symptoms affected my relationships, my career, and my quality of life.
When I was in my thirties, my cousin was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was about my age. With great diligence she explored complimentary medical alternatives along with traditional care. After many months of brutal allopathic treatment and post-op recovery she went into remission. Her cancer returned after nearly five years of hope and being symptom-free. I was stunned. It was then that I began to explore what my career in mental health could offer her. I believed to the core of my soul she would regain her health. She died shortly after her cancer returned. She was such a young woman and it had a profound impact on me. I believed she could have lived if we had just found the “right combination” in time.
While looking for alternatives to help my cousin I came across the science of Ayurveda. When she died so did my exploration of alternative healing options for the physiology. I focused instead on pursuing my academic study in psychology, looking for the answers to life’s questions there. Ironically, years later, a dance therapist at the hospital where I worked suggested I look into Ayurveda for my own physical pain. I passed it off as kind, sympathetic advice. So many people were so eager to help but I was tired of chasing hope. I had succumbed, mostly, to the fact I was to bear the burden of what my body suffered. What I didn’t know was that Ayurveda, and ultimately Source Legacy, had just come into my life.
Years later I moved across the country, which meant a new set of doctors who wanted to initiate their own set of tests, surgeries and procedures. I had been through it all numerous times before and couldn’t bear the thought of being tested, injected and cut open yet again. As I said to one surgeon: “I live in this body, and each time it is cut open and explored I am left with another scar, memory and trauma.”
Remembering my cousin’s determination to live I plunged into my own dedicated search for answers. Ayurveda kept surfacing. This time I paid attention. I found a chiropractor who had Ayurvedic training and my treatment began. My symptoms became more severe before they improved but I truly believed I could be well. Ayurveda was my new lifeline. Not surprisingly, this very quiet and unassuming practitioner referred me to those with greater authority in Ayurveda, as it was revealed that my symptoms were more complex than initially assessed. There were obstacles with this referral: these authorities came to this country from India, getting an appointment was terribly complex and expensive and there was no opportunity for follow-up treatment. I pursued it anyway. This was the reservoir of my renewed hope. Soon I realized Ayurveda was no longer going to simply be a treatment modality in my life, it was a greater part of my life path – and I studied every venue available to me. Eventually I went to two schools of Ayurveda and incorporated the teachings and practices in my everyday life, as well as my chosen career of psychology. My health improved as did my optimism. Ayurveda seemed to be the missing link I had always known existed and searched for so many years to find.
NOTE: Ayurveda is an art and a science that addresses the whole person; the mind (which Ayurveda believes to lie in the heart), the physiology, and the spirit. It is an inclusive philosophy which adheres to balance and reverence of life, all life, including living in harmony and respect with nature.
My studies ignited a passion for healing that had been a consistent thread throughout my life but was frayed by so many years of pain and suffering. I was quite sure I was on my way to perfect health. I had found the “right combination” in my life and the world was going to be my playground. I was yet to discover the source of a deeper awakening.
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Within my own healing process came the opportunity to resolve deeply repressed energies that had been buried for lifetimes. My physical body was finally strong enough to handle the reverberation of such an endeavor. It was not by conscious choice that I experienced this releasing. I did not wake up one day and decide “okay, today I am going to face my deepest fears.” Instead, it was a gradual escalation of emotions that began to surface and release. With this purging of stuck energies came another set of symptoms. They were completely foreign to me and dramatic in their manifestation. I knew how to manage the symptoms familiar to this body but this experience was intensely different. Nothing I had used in the past to find relief worked. I did my best and found a balance that seemed to manage life without too much strain... until it didn’t anymore.
Sometimes it is one simple incident in life that brings the whole thing tumbling down. In hindsight, I wonder how such a simple and now seemingly insignificant event could have brought me to my knees, but it did. It was the one last flake of snow that caused the avalanche in my life. And it was a mighty avalanche. Everything I knew to be true no longer existed. Everything seemed void of substance. I was disconnected from myself, from God, from my relationships and from my heart. To talk with me, see me or watch me navigate in life would not have revealed the state of my being; I was masking my fragile vulnerability from others and it was exhausting me on all levels. I felt only grief and isolation as I smiled and carried on with the normal schedule and familiarity of life. Time became a series of hours and days and weeks of feeling separate and alone.
Years before, a friend had told me about Source Legacy and suggested I explore it as an option for further understanding of the healing process. As was the pattern in my life, I asked a respected teacher their advice. They had never heard of Source Legacy, and therefore, did not have an opinion one way or the other. I did not pursue the option. Years later, when I was in the throes of the avalanche aftermath, another friend suggested I explore Source Legacy. Just as my Ayurvedic discovery took me years to recognize, so it was with Source Legacy – except this time, at the second suggestion, I realized I had been given the same opportunity, again, and it was most likely not a coincidence.
I made the phone call and began the retrieval of my Soul.
It seems difficult enough to re-claim ones s/Self. Some might even believe that would be the conclusion of the story with a happy ending. At another place in time that might have been enough. But I was given the chance for something more. It was, yet again, a choice to grasp the brass ring or deny myself. At so many stages of my life I had been given opportunities to spread my wings and fly. But there were hidden fears. Resistance was born out of a denial of my own power. This time was different. My body was finally healthy enough to handle the vibration needed to absorb the emotional and spiritual shift. The teachers were all right in front of me. The courage was somewhere deep within me. The time was now.
It was through my work at Source Legacy that I realized the “right combination” always existed. It was within me and had been there all along. I knew this intellectually but this time I was beginning to own it. It takes skilled and compassionate healers to assist the growth defined as claiming oneself. It takes someone seeing what is invisible to others. It takes a thoughtful and respectful approach to guide the steps of assimilating all that is and all that can be. It is not always an easy or comfortable task, but I have learned it is always worth the work. Healing is creating harmony within the matrix of the mind, body and soul and defining the essence of the pure Self. Few are gifted with the true grace of being a healer. It takes patience, wisdom, a sense of humor (!), authentic power, Light, an open and fearless heart, time, focus and energy. My contact with Source Legacy provided such healers and the forum to do the work at hand.
I have been given the rare and exquisite gift of teachers/healers, and I am deeply grateful. I thank these profound and gracious Lightworkers: Eddie Gobb, Dr. Kshirsagar, Dr. Vasant Lad, and Ron Brown Grayson. They are masters of this adventure we call life. They are givers of great bounty and abundance. They are the epitome of what they teach: living from Truth, expanding the heart, standing in authentic power, capturing the present moment with full attention, knowing (not just hoping) there is a better tomorrow, and accepting responsibility for S/self, humanity and the planet.
I started out as a tiny baby with a body trying to communicate the lessons of the soul. The body that was once interpreted as a punisher and enemy was, in fact, filled with the grace of Divine Language. It took pain to get my attention. It manifested physically, emotionally and spiritually. It was the pain that delivered motivation to persistently search for answers. And the answers came more abundantly than I could have ever imagined.
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It is important that I acknowledge another teacher/healer in my life. It was my father. He taught me what love felt like, that it truly existed in absolute pure form, and that everything I ever needed was provided. He gave me abundance in all its exquisite manifestations. He taught me I could have whatever I wanted. To a child that meant one thing. To an adult woman that means something far different; it means I can be myself and that I will be embraced. I can live abundantly and confidently. I am healthy. I have choices that come from fear or love and each has a different set of consequences. It means I get to have relationships with people who celebrate life with all of its dichotomies. It means we are all One. I am no different that anyone else. Everyone can claim their birthright of unadulterated joy and knowing. Everyone can be, do, and have what they dream. It is within each of our life stories.
It was through a broken body and spirit that I found Ayurveda and Source Legacy. As I share reflections on a life that found the right combination and unlocked the fear I am grateful. I am free from suffering and constant pain. When pain of any magnitude revisits I have the tools and resources to release the patterns that seduce constriction. I know when I expand I will find safety and comfort, joy and freedom.
I invite those of you reading these words to breathe, expand, unlock fear, and recognize your own innate wisdom. Truth and love exist. When they are claimed they can never again be tarnished or taken away.
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Perfectionism and the ROLE OF THE Healer
by Andrea Puglese
When I work with my clients, I often find that perfectionism comes up as a major defense in therapy. I define perfectionism as rigidly holding onto the idea that I am not allowed mistakes, that there is one right way to manifest my intentions and I am wrong or bad if I don’t uphold that image. Making mistakes is part of the human condition. And allowing for a growth process is part of human evolution. Yet my clients can have a very difficult time accepting their own limitations and their mistakes. I too sometimes fall into the self-judgment loop that states, "I must act perfectly and I'm not allowed any mistakes." Even in the healer role, I am still developing my own worth, self-love, and grounding. This reminds me that my role as a clinician is not to stand on a hierarchal high-ground telling a client what to do from a place of authority, but to approach all relationships on this planet as a fellow human being, remembering I am actually exactly the same as the client, and to offer support and the invitation of positive change.
When thinking about my own perfectionism, I often laugh at myself because my tendencies are so unbelievably consistent. I am perfectly knowledgeable that hanging out with a certain person is a bad idea, or that a certain thought pattern will cause me to feel bad about myself. But I still make the same mistake of returning to that dynamic again and again. I like to joke that, “At least I’m consistent” so I can mitigate my own shame at “not having learned my lesson quickly enough”.
But there is no need to feel shame. What I truly believe is that I simply have a wound, or sort of a soft spot to be attracted to or tempted by certain dynamics that then lead to unhappiness for me. With no intervention, I unconsciously re-open this wound again and again. I used to become frustrated and waste even more energy trying to fix things within that unhappy dynamic. But it never works. And each time I fall into old patterns I really allow myself to see the lesson and how I can bring more of what I really want and who I really am into the material plane, into my immediate surrounding environment.
When I make a mistake – that is the crucial time for me to practice self-acceptance and unconditional self-love: to be in the hurt and disappointment, and watch all my reactions come up – reactions of anger, pain, sadness, victimization, punishment, embarrassment for showing whatever aspects of myself my ego didn’t want me to let others see because it’s “ugly”. That is the time to practice acceptance and forgiveness, to watch those dark and reactive thoughts come and go without acting on them, to acknowledge my own emotional state even if it’s uncomfortable to me. Then softening the resistance around “what is” and allowing myself to change through whatever process I choose.
One way I soften my resistance is to remember that my wound is not a "bad thing" or deficiency, but simply a positive aspect of my true self that has become distorted. For example, I could be a very open person who accepts people easily into my space, but when this becomes distorted I can become invaded by others’ negative energy because I have no boundary in place. Another example is that I can be a naturally loving and forgiving person who likes to give people a second chance, but when this becomes distorted I might allow myself to be taken advantage of in my good disposition. One thread I have been working on recently is the knowledge that I form attachments easily. This part of me is really an asset when people value engaging me in relationship. But this aspect can also become distorted if I get attached prematurely or to an unworthy object.
There is nothing "wrong" with me – I'm a beautifully attached person in my true nature and I just need to be aware that I may make mistakes with the way I distort that truth. I used to think I could just change and not be attached anymore – but it hasn't happened. What I have found more success with is to just totally accept my wound as a distortion of a very lovely truth, and to practice being aware of how I present this aspect of myself in relationship. As I identify how that distortion manifests, I can then work a process to use that distorted energy more to my liking.
In the past I used to really feel embarrassed by my own mistakes and waste good energy getting stuck in that resistance. I used to get stuck in victimization or become internally enraged that my needs were not being met. But the more I practice unconditional love for myself and total acceptance for my human condition the more I can see the reality of the situation and make the changes needed to align myself with my truth in a relaxed way.
In softening my own self judgment I came to see that everyone has a wound and a pattern of imbalance, and that it’s actually okay. It is just part of the human experience. I have a wound, my clients have wounds, everyone has a wound. And often times there are several wounds. But I don’t need to be perfect or totally heal my wound in order to be of service to others and offer my support from a place of compassion. I can offer my clients the same knowledge I use for my own processes. And I find I am more compassionate to others’ processes when I remember what it means for me to be in a process. I look at the questions my clients look at and deal with the problems my clients deal with. We really are not that different.
It feels so good not to have to be perfect! Everything can soften and relax and shift into a comfortable place even when I just think “I accept my limitations” or “It’s okay to make mistakes.” What a relief! I can just be myself, be a Human Being, and offer service to others from an authentic place that respectfully reflects my current experience. My experiences have shown me that people respect authenticity and openness. People can intuit if I am being disingenuous by trying to be perfect. Besides, my clients are not even asking me to be perfect. They are asking to be acknowledged in their current experience. All that is required of me is that I show up, be open, and perform the duties of service. And service work has never failed to improve my mood, even when I make life's mistakes.
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CHLOE PYLE:
Chloe Pyle has been a friend of this organization for many years – since she was a little girl, in fact; her mother, Marilyn, is a co-founder and teacher with Source Legacy. When I thought of all the things I might want to say to introduce everyone to Chloe and The Wire Tree Collection, it seemed truest to me just to let her do it herself:
"The sacred fig, or the Bodhi tree, represents ones journey into infinity, into Nirvana. As the seed, which begins tiny, grows open and free, so should the mind and heart."
“I have been inspired by family and friends to reach out and create, express and grow and to them, my thanks are extended as I share with the world, you, my collections of beautiful beads.”
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“I am a college student from Florida and have begun making jewelry and meditation beads that were originally gifts for friends and family, but have now expanded to share those things with you! I will be keeping some items in my shop but, for the most part, my business is custom – so please check out the things in my store and see what I can do to make specific items special for you!"
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| Ania at Source Legacy's 2009 Retreat (...she catered it) |
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ANIA ROBERTSON
Ania is a collaborator and co-creator with Source Legacy, a gem specialist, a designer and artist, and a renaissance woman in every applicable sense of what that means; she is dynamism in motion with a focus on friendship and sharing. Ania is the owner and artist-in-residence of “The Renaissance Gallery” in downtown Albuquerque.
To find out more about this unique artist's work, visit The Renaissance Gallery online at:
www.TheRenaissanceGallery.com
The Renaissance Gallery has some really beautiful, unique, and soulful pieces; all of Ania's creations intend to inspire the conscious artist and lover of life within. Check her out.
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| Amber |
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| Aventurine |
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| Carnelian, Quartz |
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| Mother of Pearl and Pearls |
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| Sonora Sunrise |
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ROSSELLA ROSSI
Rossella is a world-class yoga instructor based in Miami, Florida whose teachers’ training workshops interface around the world. Rossella is also a busy nutritionist and health coach, and has been a long-time collaborator and co-creator with the Source Legacy Foundation and our school.
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ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS:
A Spiritual Practice of Forgiveness and Unconditional Love
by Rossella Rossi
As one wily teacher puts it, “intimate relationships are good practice; they teach us to open our hearts in hell.”
For most of us on serious spiritual paths, it is easier to find balance, peace, and purity as light beings when we are single. The single life may from time-to-time be a little lonely, perhaps prone to boredom occasionally, but let’s admit it: it is somehow more peaceful. Everything seems under control, we feel proud for keeping ourselves on “the path,” and our spiritual practice is usually solid and grounded. But deep inside we feel that it is too easy and that, really, we are not growing that much. Something is missing.
We ask God, our Guides, our Guardian Angels, and the Universe to bring us this opportunity for growth. Sometimes we are aware of this request at the conscious level, and sometimes we are aware of it only at the soul level. But eventually our prayers are answered: we meet that special person and fall in love. If we are fortunate, our newly beloved falls in love with us, too, and we experience the magic. When there is a spiritual connection in our love relationships we reach a state of bliss and we even feel as though we can transcend this reality together. That first stage of love is deep and unconditional, and we open our hearts and souls to each other and to God. It is heaven.
Of course it takes two people who are at the same level of awareness to experience this blissful state as truly spiritual; it doesn’t happen to everybody and with anybody. And, unfortunately, it doesn’t last for all the couples who experience it. Only a few are mature enough and aware enough to be able to handle and nourish this highly spiritual union. After the first blissful stage, however, “reality” usually kicks in.
As the challenges of everyday life demand our attention, we forget to keep our relationship at that high level. We think just because we reached that depth in our spiritual connection with each other that we will have it at all time. And we forget that our relationship needs to be watered and nurtured and cared for like the beautiful house plants that bring vibrancy and life to our homes. We forget that discipline, attention, time and energy are required to keep the relationship at such an elevated level, just like in any other spiritual practice.
We discover that our beloved is human just like us, and we get overwhelmed by everyday practicality, losing awareness of the deep sacred connection of the united souls. We stop treating our beloved as if he/she were the embodiment of the Divine (which is the truth of all souls), and then we stop looking at them and talking to them from a place of respectful Godliness. We grow disappointed that things no longer feel perfect, that our beloved is not perfect, that the relationship is not perfect – and everything changes.
Instead of keeping our eyes open and our hearts in tune with the soul connection, we get trapped in the external. We are puzzled that our life is no longer in order and that we lost the apparent sense of peace we had before the relationship when we felt strong and “on path.” Now we feel sad, angry, disappointed, deluded, and absolutely not serene! What we have forgotten is that we asked for growth and we got the chance to make it happen through love.
A romantic relationship provides an opportunity for one of the highest spiritual practices. It can be cleansing. It brings out all the emotional garbage we carry with us, all the “bad” about ourselves, all our weaknesses, our fears, and even our spiritual doubts. It is amazing how much ugly stuff we end up showing to the other person when the going gets rough. And so our beloved ends up paying the bill for this extended and expensive therapy session. In return, however, we pay the bill for our beloved, too.
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| Rossella and Luca |
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Did we ask for this challenge? Did he/she ask for it? Well, yes, we did. On a soul level we surely did. Believe it or not, our beloved is serving us a great favor, and vice versa. Maybe we are helping each other to pay old Karma, or to learn important soul lessons, or to face our own Self, or (most of all) to find peace, love and serenity in the midst of “romantic heaven and hell.” But life in the middle of this cleansing therapy isn’t easy, and we find ourselves closing our hearts, resenting our beloved for the difficulty of the journey.
We try to run away, but we can’t really stop the process so we try to run yet farther away. We try to hide, we get angry, and we hurt each other. But the souls still long for each other, and the separation is impossible. The inner battle starts: our mind wants to separate from our beloved, pretending that the fault for the “failure” of the relationship rests on the other person’s shoulders. We convince ourselves that we are incompatible, that we’ll find a more suitable partner, and a better relationship. The truth, however, is that we will still be human, any new person we bring in will still be human, and we will still have another human relationship. We will always face challenges and we will always go through some cleansing no matter who we are with. Should we stay, then? Even after we have been hurt, betrayed, or even somehow abused? What does our heart say? And our soul?
If we did once feel and experience that deep soul connection with our partner, most likely it is our time to perfect our practice of forgiveness and unconditional love. Can we still look at our beloved and see God’s beauty in him/her, despite some of the uglier truths that might have emerged? Can we still see the beautiful soul in his/her eyes? Are we capable of letting go of the past as a tool for growth and embracing the present as an opportunity to take the relationship to another level? Can we commit to this rewarding spiritual practice?
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| Rossella at Source Legacy's 2009 Retreat |
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If our beloved is in tune with us and ready to invest heart and soul, this is when the true spiritual relationship can begin. If our beloved is not at this point, we can’t force his/her process. It would be disastrous to do so. We need then to realize that we have two options: (1) we can wait patiently with no expectations; or (2) we can leave, thanking our beloved for the miracle of the journey itself – and then process the events and all the emotions involved individually. Both options are perfectly valid. But whatever the choice, the important thing is to keep our hearts open, replacing anger, pain, disappointment and any other negative feelings with love. With or without our beloved, we need the practice of forgiveness and unconditional love.
It is our time to learn how to keep ourselves serene and peaceful and not lose sight of what really matters. It is our time to practice what we have learned in our spiritual studies and be able to see the big picture (as my husband would say), getting ourselves out of the “little drama.”
What have we learned? There is no one to blame and no faults to find. What can we do now? And how? Well, the good news is that we don’t have to do it alone. We are helped at all times. We have tools. And God is always with us. Likewise, our Angels are always around, our Team is on-duty 24/7, Spiritual Guides are always holding our hands, and we can call upon any form and shape of Divine help. These Divine beings look so forward to helping us in our practice of unconditional love and in the process of cleansing fear, pain, resentment, and anger. In fact, it fulfills their purpose.
If the soul union is strong and both partners are willing to invest in this spiritual practice, we are blessed by the opportunity of taking the relationship to yet greater heights and redefining its form, even after everything has fallen apart by conventional standards. If both parties cannot commit to this practice, then it becomes even more important to not leave the relationship saddled with new fear, resentment, anger, or disappointment. Even if we decide to terminate the relationship in its current form, we must take this time as an opportunity to clear our hearts of negative feelings and practice forgiveness, unconditional love, and LETTING GO! It’s not easy, we all know that. But practice makes perfect!
It is like in yoga: after many years of asana practice, one morning we step onto our mat and, magically, our legs go behind our head with ease. This is because we kept practicing faithfully every day. In the same way, one day we’ll wake up and we won’t know anything but unconditional, infinite Divine Love.
© 2006 by Rossella Rossi
CONTACT ROSSELLA
YOGA
http://www.rossellayoga.com/
NUTRITION:
http://rossellarossi.org/
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JAMES TENNANT
James has been a valued and respected colleague of mine for some time now. I often ask folks I know to write things for our web site, and James was kind enough to write the following piece back in 2007.
I always see Buddha standing somewhere on the perimeter when I think of James, and it’s not in any way by accident. James is a really clear-thinking dude and, like the Buddha-minded, he tries to keep himself grounded somewhere near the heart of what purity of beingness means to him. Expressing that with integrity of heart and self is very important to James, I’ve noticed, and it’s what makes him such an exceptional man. I think, in large part because I feel so personally committed to expressing the creative directions of my own purity, that James does something in his life that is very difficult to do: he interfaces with the world as a business man and lets himself be visible and present and giving while maintaining that place of purity inside that nourishes him. And it’s for real. It’s a tremendous gift as a teacher, and this clarity of personal direction makes James present in a way that you don’t see with everybody.
A prism in chaotic motion doesn’t catch the light well, does it? And the projections are disjointed and diffused – still beautiful and valid and real, but nevertheless muddled. If direct beams of illumination are what you’re looking for, it’s the stable and centered prism that best catches the light for you and directs back sharp, clear, brilliant streams. That’s a star to my notion: it’s self-consolidated and bright and shines asking for nothing but to be what it is. And the world is very often captivated by its glow, aren’t we?
James is a successful teacher and healer with his own studio, Tejas Yoga, in Chicago, IL, and he’s definitely a friend and brother-of-heart on this planet
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SACRIFICE
by James Tennant
I never gave the concept of sacrifice much thought until recently. That may be because sacrifice was my way of living life up to this point. Sacrifice connotes giving something up that you really want or need, but giving it up anyway for the higher good of someone else or many people. And to me that’s always been a good thing. How noble such an act is, I felt; isn’t that what we are supposed to do? But I started to realize how much of my own power, my attention, and my energy I was giving away and how often I wasn’t allowing others to find their own power.
Because sacrifice was so ingrained in me from many lifetimes, it was what felt natural. In fact, if I did receive anything there was an automatic response in me to give back to the point of deficit (whether it was time, money, or even affection). I had become so habituated to not taking, not having, and not asking for energetic balance that accepting anything made me a little uncomfortable. It took many years to allow the people in my life to give to me without me feeling guilty or feeling that I needed to reciprocate in any way, to just accept and be grateful. However, I had no problem teaching others that it was okay to receive what I had to give without expectation or a need to reciprocate. I always wanted people to be comfortable and content, even if I had to sacrifice my own attention, money or power.
I have come to understand just how much sacrifice starts in the mind, how often I would become fixated on a relationship or problem, just analyzing or questioning the situation over and over again or wondering what the person was thinking or doing. I know that experiences in our lives have to integrate and be processed, but I would open myself up so wide to the problems of others and make their problems my own mentally that I often lost me. This just played havoc with my mind and, ultimately, it began to manifest in my physical body. The Navajo believe that when the body gets sick it is due to the spirit/soul being out of balance with nature, and I believe this is the state I would often find myself in. I was not in harmony with nature, with the balance of the universe. I would take on situations or problems for people, process or transmute those issues for them and, in turn, they would feel better and I would feel poor. I was convinced that I would feel badly for a shorter amount of time then they would and so it was better that I “took care of it.” This very behavior was the way Jesus worked and ultimately he sacrificed his life to “try” and repair human consciousness. Look at us…perhaps things would be a lot worse if he hadn’t done what he did, but I’m not living in Utopia…are you?
Sacrifice went on in my life unconsciously for all of my childhood and most of my adult life; it’s apparent in the “people pleasers” of the world. As I became more sensitive to the happenings in the present moment, I gained awareness that this exchange is what was going on. The idea that I can process another person’s problems better than they can may sound quit egotistical. Well, it is egotistical. Even though I felt I was doing it out of concern and love, the ego was still very much involved because the truth is that I can’t process anyone else’s issues better than they can. In the short term they may feel better if I process things for them, but in the long term that issue, that lesson is theirs to learn – not mine.
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| James with Albert Lee, Director and Teacher of Lotus Palm School of Thai Yoga Massage in Toronto (albertlee@lotuspalm.com) |
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This was a pattern that has been with me for many lifetimes and was a method that was, perhaps, more efficient in the past. Now, however, the universe is asking – telling us – that this can no longer be the way; we all have to face our own karma, lessons, and fears in this lifetime. They must be confronted and healed. As a teacher I have become very clear that I can only shed light on what those lessons may be for others and point them in the right direction. They must do the work and have the realization, though. As teachers and light workers we all have our own way of demonstrating that assistance. But I’ve realized that living in sacrifice isn’t the way anymore and that there is a difference between living in sacrifice and living truly within your power. I’ve become more conscious of when I’m making sacrifices on any level, and when that occurs I ask if it is appropriate not just for me but for everyone. Finding that balance and creating that awareness will be different for everyone, but we have to start understanding a fundamental truth that can liberate us all: God does not ask us to sacrifice anything.
© 2007 by James Tennant
CONTACT JAMES
http://www.tejasyogachicago.com/
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