* Continued from last week........
Fear and judgment lock belief into place to replay over and over until we look deeply and choose love. I tried to make Leading as Love "fit" with the prevailing paradigm; it just never would or could. The majority of our organizational and societal practices perpetuate the deception that we are separate from our spiritual nature of love. It could be said that deception is the foundation of our social interactions. The truth is we are connected to source and all that is; love is the inherent core of our being. Disowning this wreaks the chaos, melodrama and overwhelm that we experience.
The physical (external) is not the foundation for life, the spiritual is. It is the core of our being. Spirit is our "higher" intelligence, the loving awareness within, the witness to our experience. Next comes the emotional (heart), then the mental which all show up in the physical. We get caught up in the physical (material)and mental (thought) and ignore or suppress the emotional and spiritual and literally have lives half-lived. We have nothing to "give up" other than the stories we tell ourselves; it's about bringing balance and integration to all aspects of our being: spirit, emotions, thoughts, and actions.
A couple of summers ago I experienced chronic foot pain, along with knee and back pain (remember the song, "the foot bone is connected to the ankle bone"...?). I was anxious that I would have to give up my power walks in the Oswegatchie Hills with my beloved golden-doodle, Moriah. This is my regular exercise that I use to maintain my weight loss. I went to an orthopaedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine. He essentially dismissed me saying it was arthritis and to live with it...and keep walking. Didn't matter that my feet hurt. A lot.
A friend's mother recommended her podiatrist. He diagnosed collapsed arches (exacerbating the arthritis that I do have). Six hours after I started wearing my custom orthotics, I was in the ER with appendicitis. Coincidence? Our feet represent our grounding and foundation in this world and they enable us to move forward. The appendix is viewed as an evolutionary vestige and no longer needed. Wake-up message from my body: Shed the old and establish my spiritual foundation for being in this world.
My podiatrist thought I was kidding and then "blamed" my appendectomy on the arch supports. For a new foundation, it was out with the old. This was 18 months ago. I continued to fail to see the message about deception reflected in my work/financial situation. It took a "world stage" event for me to see what was inside all along. Looking directly at the blind spot, the illusion dissolved its hold on my life. The game, the illusion was over. And life offered a miracle to meet my financial obligations - taking a lump-sum pension pay-out.
Over the past several years, not contributing in a meaningful way with others and the ending of several friendships has been painful for me. I have come to appreciate that my real "work" throughout this time was witnessing my process, midwifing my own rebirth, and embracing who I Am in order to truly and fully engage with the world. It's been a priceless experience. I am deeply, deeply blessed and grateful that Alexander has stood by me (with considerable, justifiable frustration) during this time.
Outside of our personal experiences, the world is mirroring for all of us that our choice to cut off from spirit and love - fear-based living - is no longer viable or sustainable. It's breaking down, corrupt, bankrupt, blowing itself up, collapsing.
The winds of change are roaring to make way for the new. How many of us feel we are in "pressure cookers" ready to explode? I find this world stage fascinating, not frightening, to watch: We are witnessing our own internal relationships with our true nature play out in life as a mirror.
Every experience is a metaphor of our relationship with our divine nature. Every experience is love calling us home, like a treasure hunt. Our challenge is to avoid nothing. Our challenge is to meet life on life's terms in the raw experience of it all.
One last story. A number of years ago, I was on the train to NYC using the time to prepare to meet with a potential client. I was thinking what, in my past experience, would bolster my "credentials" to take on the engagement. I "heard" just be present as love. So, I put my notes away and relaxed for the rest of the trip. The meeting was an effortless success and this practice has become how I consistently prepare for any client engagement.
Several years ago, I used this practice and received feedback that a highly positioned client called me a "lightweight." At the time I was embarrassed and devastated by the perceived "insult." This is when I started to withdraw. In hindsight, it was great that the client reflected the real me that showed up. On death, the ancient Egyptians believed that one's heart is weighed. If the heart had nothing weighing it down, it was as light as a feather and the deceased was allowed to pass into the afterlife. I now appreciate that by being present as love I mirror clients' heart and soul to them; this is my gift. Our lack of self-love blinds us to our own light being reflected.
The divine in me honors the divine in you!
Namasté!
<>~~~~~~~~..TO BE CONTINUED..~~~~<>
Lucira Jane Nebelung is a Faculty member of the Center for Leadership Studies, The Graduate Institute, and Founder & Principal of "Leading as Love". She wrote in from Norwich, Connecticut Area.
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