The Foundation is Crumbling!

I had an unpleasant experience the other day when a friend of mine pushed one of my core buttons.  The button has to do with rumors, intolerance, and fact checking.  I caught myself getting completely riled up over his belief in something that I know to be untrue.  This did not feel good, and I found myself doing my best to let it go.

The truth is, I love my friend, and he believes what he believes.  It is not my job, nor my desire, to change him.  But why did this rumor thing bug me so much?  I think because it goes against one of my core values of honesty and integrity.  And yet, if my friend firmly believes the rumor to be true, then he is being honest and speaking with integrity – isn’t he?  Neither one of us is “stupid” or “ignorant”, we just have very different ideas of the truth on this particular subject.

So, I did my best to let go of the emotion that was swirling around in my stomach.  I thought I had done a pretty good job of it when I went to bed – but when I woke up at 4 a.m. thinking about it – I knew that I had some more letting go to do.  It wasn’t anger with my friend or the people who continue to circulate this particular rumor – it wasn’t even anger with myself for getting emotional.  It was something deeper.

I think that we all have core values that form the pillars of our existence.  We may be open to shifting some of the beliefs that we hold, but the core values are our rocks.  These are the things that hold us up, support us in the navigation of our lives, and shape our overall view of the world.  One of these, for me, was a love of truth.  Out of this love of truth sprang my deep desire for honesty and integrity.

But what I have come to realize is that truth is fluid and ever-changing.  At one point in history, everyone knew that the earth was flat and that anyone who thought otherwise was a fool.  And of course, women were too feeble-minded to make intelligent voting decisions – and everyone but Galileo was sure that the earth stood still in the cosmos and the sun, planets, and stars revolved around it.  Everyone knew these things to be true – until they weren’t anymore.

And so, if truth is not static, but fluid; how does that impact the very foundation of my being?  I heard the message from my higher levels that “the foundation is crumbling”.  To be honest, I know that it has to.  I cannot fly if there is something holding me to the ground.  As I sat on the couch, I felt a great sadness move through me; a grieving of sorts.

To be open to all that is means that I hold on to nothing.  The full realization of what that means makes me more than a little bit uncomfortable.  So, my foundation is still here, but getting shakier by the minute.  I have the sense that flying free is a pretty amazing thing, and it feels like I’m going to get to experience that in this lifetime.

Namaste!  
Susan

Anger Anyone?

This week, two friends shared with me how they were dealing with feeling angry with someone. 

I have had this kind of experience myself.  Someone does something and I respond angrily.  The other person goes on with their life, often oblivious to my anger.  Sometimes, even years later, this anger resurfaces when I think of them.

By now, you know that I like to let the emotions go that don’t serve me anymore.

What has helped me to get out of anger and back to my peaceful self is a mantra that Susan gave me several years ago.  It goes like this:  as I think of the perpetrator, I think or say out loud: 
“I free you.  I release you.  I forgive you.  I love you.”

I do this, over and over, until I feel relief.  With practice, this process now takes a lot fewer repetitions.

Try it if you like.

Lots of Love!
Wolfgang