Edie
Edie didn’t let fear dictate her thoughts, emotions, or actions. Not for long, at any rate. When she was first invited to speak at a post-war convention in Germany, at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp in 1990, she refused. After some conversations with Bela, however, she changed her mind with the perspicuous explanation: „If I don’t go it would mean that Hitler had won after all!“ This ability to discern what was driving her intentions, and her willingness to change course whenever she discovered that fear was lurking in the shadows pulling the strings; this awareness and vitality has always inspired me. It is something which can be cultivated on a daily basis…
Regrets
„Compassion“ (or „Empathise“); the love of self, others, and circumstances. „Explore“; the love of discovery, of expanding our scope of experiencing the endless abundance and opportunities of life. „Innovate“; the love of new ideas and breaking new ground. „Navigate“; the love of purpose and deeply held values, – and aligning our thoughts, emotions, and actions with these values. And „Activate“; the love of moving from thinking and feeling into taking action, while guided by the Powers of Sage. We move through life drawn by love rather than being driven by fear…
The Big Picture
Having moved our focus to the body, – a more healthy form of being „out of our heads“ – we can engage our deeper Self through the heart, and shift to any one or combination of the five so-called Sage Powers: Compassion (Empathise), Explore, Innovate, Navigate, and Activate. Each of these is a manifestation of one of the many facets of love. Compassion is the love of connection. Explore is the love of discovery. Innovate is the love of creativity. Navigate is the love of values and purpose. Finally, Activate is the love of making a difference, of converting ideas and intention into actions…
Scapegoating
On the definition of sin, I can remember many lessons in junior school where countless examples of sin were expounded by the elderly Jesuits in whose care our education was placed. Original sin, venial sins, mortal sins, white lies, etc. Egged on by my classmates, I would distract the teachers from our regular school work by asking to which category this or that deed (or thought) belonged. Today, I prefer the definition of sin provided by Richard Rohr, contemporary Christian mystic, namely “missing the mark”. This implies that our thoughts, emotions, or deeds are not in alignment with our deeply held values…
Metanoia
Richard Rohr, a leading contemporary mystic, says — when speaking about childhood trauma — that we have only two choices: „We can either transform or transmit (to the next generation)“.
I am so grateful for the many modalities for transformation which have emerged in our lifetime: The ACA Programme, the Positive Intelligence (PQ) Mental Fitness Programme, Polyvagal Theory, Emotional Freedom (tapping) Technique (EFT), various forms of Somatic Trauma Therapy, and more. We truly live in a Golden Age, in terms of the resources available to us, and their ready accessibility to anyone who wishes to partake of them…
