Centering Tools: Holistic Counseling & Empowerment Tools
Holistic counseling practice since 1987
The Only Thing Within Us That Stops and Threatens Us Fear is the most basic and challenging reactive emotion we possess. It centrally stimulates the "flight-fight" response, which throws us into being singularly tied to whatever self-determined threat to our survival we perceive, creating overwhelming stress and "dis-ease" in our lives. I think fear is the …
Overcoming the Hard Core Foundation of Identity Crisis
I attended a planning committee for a local group of natural health practitioners over the weekend and once again reflected, after the off-agenda, extended discussion that ensued about what to name it, on how little-supported we are in our culture to be fully present and accepted in our own space of belonging. We really don’t know who we are and what we are in our world, so it’s no wonder we don’t easily allow another the right we can’t give ourselves.
This can lay a pretty hard core foundation of identity crisis, which profoundly sets the stage for everything from violence to racism. In my work I hear again and again clients’ complaints that they are hopelessly stuck with being unable to accept or even know who they are, blaming and feeling victimized, experiencing unsolved challenges to forgive, and engaging in ongoing power struggles.
How to Experience and Express Your Real Identity
Like the end of The Ugly Duckling fairy tale, we do have our authentic and right identity, it is real and meant to reflect and shine to ourselves and the world who we are and what we are, and we perfectly “fit” in our great circle of belonging. In that wonderful story by Hans Christian Anderson, the hero as the labeled “ugly duckling” struggles against a wrong label thrust upon him by the society he found himself in as an unrecognized swan.
Fortunately for the character, he is ultimately outcast from that blaming circle, which gives him the critical opportunity to surprisingly see who he really is and where he really belongs. He and his newfound “mate” live happily ever after, supported, affirmed, asserting and accepting who they are and what they are in a fully reflecting and affirming universe.
You Have a Sacred Place of Being
There is a place for everyone. Everyone is meant to be accepted and invited to share who they are and what they are in a greater circle of mutual respect and belonging. What would the world be like if we could finally fit over our respective I’s/eyes clear, strong lenses that made sure we saw each other and affirmed each other in this way?
We could not violate anyone in such a great circle of belonging, nor would we allow anyone to violate us, or tell us we were something we weren’t. If such an attempt were made, we would easily and definitively assert ourselves, coming from a center of profound identity and self-acceptance.
Honor All Diversity as Expanding Perceptions
Prejudice, racism and denying in any way another’s innate, equal and common humanity would disappear like the dinosaurs. Instead we would welcome and appreciate each other’s core beauty, equal power and unique and sharing gifts.
Power struggles would disappear, and the world would bear its great fruit of welcoming the diverse and great gifts we all yearn and are meant to share for everyone’s betterment and well-being. I imagine the phrase, “All for one” as the new language of an endlessly loving, abundant universe – coming from a spiritual understanding that we are all unique and common expressions of the divine, that we are all part of the Source and can well and rightly express infinite power – and freely, wholly create with it from a center of loving to give to the common good.
Meet the Challenge to Trust Yourself and Act Accordingly
We can only assert ourselves when we know and affirm ourselves as spiritual beings of multidimensional, aware consciousness, who are well capable of expressing divine power because we identify ourselves as being able to take full responsibility for it, particularly its outcomes. All that you yearn for regarding love represents your real challenge to assert and accept yourself, trusting (always the great recovery challenge) that your unknown vision will lead you into your great circle of inner belonging.
That is the magic, transformational portal that will offer enough power and courage to lead you to your corresponding outer circle of fulfillment, right relations, creative appreciation, abundance and true joy. Higher, extended balance results and real miracles occur.
My Thanksgiving Gift to You Oprah said she used a vision board to energetically support Obama being elected. Visioning, I think, is the new “power word” for our times. How else can we transcend, let alone cope, with such tremendously significant crises? I have been visioning long before I knew the metaphysical and motivational meaning …
Plugged and Unplugged I think, untampered, days are designed to open up like flowers. They each offer a universe of multidimensional feasts to the senses, teeming with rich, multifaceted life on this flowing earth plane. I have spent the past 9 days visiting my son and his partner, my daughter and son-in-law, and my 6 …
My Tarot History I was first introduced to the Tarot when a friend in college excitedly told me he could do a “reading” for my future with this original source of intuitive cards for spiritual development. Once I viewed the compelling images of the 74 cards of the Alistair Crowley Tarot deck he presented, I …
The Transformational Dream I don’t always remember my dreams, but I did last night. I had a short, interrupted sleep, so thought it was interesting that I remembered them all so clearly. I am in need of this message right now, to be sure, in the midst of a sad, old crisis involving my beloved …
Create, Express and Choose Your Identity
Of course I learned about this amazing, rich, wonderful cyberspace universe from my four children, now aged 15, 22, 24 and 30 – all of whom have their own “domains” in it. I must admit I like the title and the invitation to create, express, and choose how to identify, highlight, and focus on oneself with an eye to freely, confidently sharing it all with the world.
It occurs to me that in my Centering® practice I centrally support clients finding, keeping, expanding, and creating their own inviolate space; and that it is a mysterious journey with surprising, wonderful results that emerge through both hope and woundedness. In a world with increasing focus on the external and all its complicated pulls, no wonder we are so happy with creating, in the blank space of the inviting Internet, my space.
Connect in Simple, Meaningful Ways
Who are we, really? How do we want to be in the world? What are our widest dreams, deepest goals, and clinging visions? How do we relate, anyway?
My Space artfully draws this all out of us, makes us so suddenly eager to display it all for the world to see. I think the central invitation is to connect in simple, meaningful ways to ourselves and each other, and thoroughly enjoy all corresponding journeys. What an ideal vision of how to live one’s life, how to experience relationships!
The Price of Joy Lost
Joy can be in short supply these days. There is so much fear, so much wear-down, so much greed, so much obligation, so much anger that the joy that is the best, most basic part of who we are and what we are evaporates and eludes us.
We pay a price for this loss. We age mentally, physically and emotionally. Our spirit dies, and we become dead inside.
A Short Guided Meditation
I invite you, then, to celebrate the brilliant fullness of summer, and in the spirit of then harvesting your innate capacity to experience – even generate – joy, to join me in the following guided meditation to experience My Space:
Settle back comfortably, arms and legs uncrossed, close your eyes and deepen your breath. Count five full, deep easy breaths to yourself.
Of course I learned about this amazing, rich, wonderful cyberspace universe from my four children, now aged 15, 22, 24 and 30 – all of whom have their own “domains” in it. I must admit I like the title and the invitation to create, express, and choose how to identify, highlight, and focus on oneself with an eye to freely, confidently sharing it all with the world.
We have, in our Judeo-Christian culture, managed to associate the season of Spring with redemption; rebirth with freedom and saving. Saving a whole people. Saving souls. Redemption offers a promise of life everlasting through acceptance and forgiveness. Redemption offers, as well, personal sacrifice as an opportunity for completion. These are interesting linkages to contemplate and …
When we are moved to take spiritual stock, we are naturally moved to ask for and be open to receive blessings. We are then further stimulated to seek to give and, in our heart of hearts, trust and honor our power to share. An Inner Journey Here is an inner journey that you can do to …
Fifty Times-Plus Reads for The Lord of the Rings I have a confession to make. I have read The Lord of the Rings by J. R. Tolkien more than 50 times over the past thirty-two years beginning with a course requirement while in my last year of undergraduate school, many lifetimes, it seems, ago. I’ve just …