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Today I Come Out of the Closet

Today I come out of the closet. First, I don’t wish to offend anyone in the LBGTQ community and certainly not any of my friends in this community. Rather, I want to explore a different closet… the closet where other like-minded spiritual friends joined me in keeping our beliefs secret.

What Prompted This Opening Up?

As I prepared my Asian Chicken Soup, pictured above, my thoughts transported me back in time and space to Denver, Colorado 2014. The faces of the women who shared this soup with me came into focus. Their giggles mixed with mine as we filled our soup bowls in the basement kitchen of our teacher’s office space. Next, we settled into the sofa, or chairs in the sitting area. The silence broken by quiet sounds of contentment.

Our Common Ground

We gathered every three weeks or so to learn about ourselves and our special gifts. The class title, “Psychic and Personal Development”, had been shortened to simply “Personal Development” in my mind. Only later did I realize the importance of this class and its affect on me. Milestone steps in our development often escape us when they are happening.

Each of us had come to know our teacher, Kim Moore, in different ways. When she asked how I found her, she was very surprised. It was through a book recommended by a fellow employee at the Denver Police Department. Although he was also in the closet, his intuition prompted him to share. Within this book was the author’s recommended professional psychics and mediums by state. Although there were two in the Denver area, I was clearly drawn to Kim.

A Very Special Group

Apparently, this class was also pivotal for Kim. She decided it would be her last. We all loved watching her rise to a featured speaker at the Mind, Body, Spirit Celebration. Now I am privileged to know Meredith Johnson, The Healing Hummingbird, who will make your debut in the Cincinnati event.

Stayed tuned for more next week…

How to Grow Your Resilience

How to grow your resilience comes from many sources including an innate ability. We don’t often hear the word resilience. A Google search results in this definition for resilience – the capacity to recover from difficult circumstances or simply toughness.
In addition, it involves:

  • Connecting to a positive attitude
  • Developing a determination to work through
  • Saying “Yes” to difficult emotions
  • Developing the capacity to allow

Is This Something I Can Develop?

First, it’s nice to know resilience is a common occurrence in most people. However, we need to cultivate more of it. In fact, anyone can develop toughness or build upon it.

A meditation practice is key to developing all the qualities to build resilience. In fact, the capacity to recover (equanimity) is built-in to the meditation practice on Ten Percent Happier. A short meditation by Sebene Selassie is the basis for this article. Furthermore, you can watch a YouTube interview with Dan Harris and Sebene titled “The Joy of Allowing Life to Be”.

Practice

Although I recommend a set time for developing the habit of meditation, you can use these steps anytime you find yourself upset about a difficult situation. Allow your intuition to determine whether or not you remove yourself to a private location, safety first, always.

  1. Find a comfortable posture
  2. Either close your your eyes or gaze downward
  3. Begin with slow breathing, in through your nose, out through your mouth
  4. Soften any tightness in your body on the out breath
  5. Connect to the breath or whatever sensations in your body are prominent
  6. Accept anything happening right now; annoyance, distraction, ease, even pain
  7. Say to yourself, “Allow”
  8. Slowly open your eyes

Meditation practice is just that… practice. It doesn’t matter when you lose your way with distraction or thoughts. Noticing and starting again happens for everyone. Make space for exactly what’s here. Saying yes, starting over, allow.

Learning how to grow your resilience, your toughness, through cultivating a positive attitude, determination, and the capacity to allow result in working through difficult times.

Learning from Their Life Choices

Learning from their life choices is a great way to avoid some pitfalls. In this instance I’m referring to my mother. I have cared for her the last five years. In spite of my age (67), this past week I’ve seen clearly how my own choices can be improved.

Choose Your Viewpoint

Learning from their life choices, is influenced by the viewpoint we select.

  1. Looking downward in judgement
  2. From a place below them, feeling defensive
  3. Stretching out with care and curiosity

#3 is a viewpoint that enriches our lives and the lives of others. We are equal on this earthly plane. In fact, the equality is based on our sameness. Furthermore, we are all on this earth to learn, grow, and find our uniqueness, our special way we can help each other.

You Don’t Need to Feel Apologetic

If you feel a burden to others, remember “It’s okay.” You are teaching them something valuable.

If you feel you are or have been burdened by others, remember, “It’s okay.” Their difficulty is a window into your internal struggles. This is even true when they are no longer in your life.

We can bring memories into the present moment, activate our curiosity about what we can learn from it and transform the memory into a peaceful, heart-filled new reality.

Add a Dose of Gratefulness

I find meditation is a beautiful way to start the day. The Ten Percent Happier app is my go to place each morning. For instance, today Anushka Fernandopulle led me through a ten minute Grateful for Your Body meditation. It was exactly what I needed.

I invite you to download the Ten Percent app and try it. If it resonates, keep it and pay for it. Yes, I know there are tons of free meditations on YouTube. If you are happy with that and use it everyday, you need look no farther. For me, I find the helpful words of the meditation experts on Ten Percent Happier app are exactly right for me.