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August 2010 Message, Second Owning Pink Blog Owning Our Gifts
A gift by any other name…
More often than ever before, my clients are asking me to help them find their most fulfilling life work or endeavor. Over the years, we have gone through various approaches to this fundamental question about our lives. In the deepest throws of the warrior masculine dominated world, the question wasn’t about the work that would be most enjoyable, but instead the work that would provide the most money, be the most secure, or simply what was most needed according to the authorities in charge around us. Then people began to ask what work they “should” be doing according to a spiritual authority, again with little regard for enjoyment of use of the gifts we were born with. Things began to shift when we started asking about our “life purpose.” This created and opening that allowed for the possibility that we ourselves may have chosen that purpose before we were born – that we came in with gifts that we intended to own and express in this lifetime. Have you been noticing this shift in your own life and those around you as well?
They want you to go for it now more than ever before
Through my client work, I have noticed this internal shift of perspective and priorities over the last 15 years or so, which corresponds to the re-awakening of consciousness spoken of by my teachers, known as the return of the Feminine. They spoke of this time we are in as a time to choose to follow the integrity of our own hearts, over the rationalizations of our minds. They say that “the mind is mad”, in that it can convince you of anything, but the body, the heart, the gut, never lies. A great wave of evolution is helping to support our internal shifts, and to allow our gifts to take precedence. It seems that we can no longer suppress this ultimate purpose of life, which is to own and give our gifts passionately and courageously. My wife, Gina, took me to see Malidoma Some, a great African shaman, speak at a small gathering in Big Sur, and with his sweet and gentle smile he put it this way: “If you don’t give your gifts boldly, they will get pissed-off at you.” That powerful perspective inspired Gina to begin taking dance classes again, which has always been her deepest joy and very important to her health and well-being. And now SHE is teaching women’s dance classes, which has been a big and courageous shift for her, and one that her students are tremendously grateful for.
Your gift can come in any form
What do I mean by gifts? Sometimes our old masculine hierarchical way of thinking still gets in the way here. We may think that our gifts have to be some great and noble quality or endeavor worthy of elevating us to greater heights in the eyes of our peers, or spiritual authority. But, there really is no hierarchy of value in Creation. A mother knows this inherently regarding her children, where each and every one is unconditionally precious. Our gift may be to stir things up, or play the “devil’s advocate.” Our gift may be the way we nurture or sooth. Our gift may be to create music. Our gift may be to wash windows, shoe horses, be a great supporter, or be a leader. Our gift may be to sit quietly and observe or be observed. The forms by which our gifts can be expressed are truly infinite because this is the nature of Creation: the more diverse and the more complex, the more excuse for it to continue. Only the masculine rational mind tries to assign absolute scales of value, the feminine body knows better. How your gift makes you FEEL is everything. What it makes others THINK about you, or you THINK about yourself is nothing. Can you feel what your gift may be? Do you know deep in your body what you enjoy doing most? Have you undervalued it, even if it has been obvious to you what it is?
Let your gift find you
I know that it has been a very long time, up to many thousands of years, that most of us and our ancestors have forgotten how to follow and trust our feelings over our frontal lobes. In fact, most were punished for doing this. So what seems like simple questions like the ones above can be difficult to answer. We have basically been out of practice, out of touch with our Pink, with the Feminine. The secret of your gifts, and a greater quality of life lie within the pink center of your heart and soul. The great news is that the world at large, indeed all of Creation is again in full support of you finding your gift, even better, your gift finding you.
One example that I think you will all appreciate is about a shaman brother named Christopher Amodeo. Chris has been a successful Rolfer for over twenty years. And like people in many fields, he has always been a shaman – that person in the village whose gifts can take the village beyond where it has been before. His Rolfing work certainly brought great improvement to the quality of life of his clients, and helped support his family financially. A few years ago, Chris began to be influenced by the wave and had a feeling that something was still missing. What seemed incidental at the time, Chris bid on a guitar at a fundraiser for a sick child, and began to play and sing Beatle’s songs to his daughter and son. Then his wife, Justine, suggested he write a song to his son, Dante, for his 10th birthday. The song turned out to be quite amazing.
When Chris and I met, through an invitation from Justine, there was an immediate connection, and they both graciously have hosted me at their home on my monthly visits to Orange County since then. When I first heard Chris play Dante’s birthday song, titled “Splittin’ the Atom,” I said something like that will be the first song on his album. This was one of many clear visions that we shared. As we explored the shaman work together, it wasn’t long before Justine suggested that Chris would be going through the full shaman training. You can ask Chris, but I think he was feeling the accelerator being pushed to the floor. His gifts must have been getting really happy and excited. Sometimes it is even a little frightening; and, you know that you are getting close to what you really want when the hair stands up on the back of your neck. This can be a good sign. Have you ever felt that fear when you thought of making a change?
The synchronicities and everything Chris needed to fully express his gift came to him very quickly in spite of all doubts and obstacles, and fourteen-plus brilliant songs later; he has just produced his first album. Check it out here: http://homo-luminous.com . His songs are fun, deep, and inspiring, and I feel they even carry the energetic initiations related to our Q’ero teacher’s work, helping the great shift of humanity taking place now. In fact, Chris wrote the song “Amazon Dream” looking over the same Madre de Dios River that I spoke of in my previous blog. And you will not want to miss the song for his daughter Ruby titled, “Love Could Run the World.” Chris’ gift has found him and he gives it boldly and courageously, and it seems to give one hundred fold back to him. His veteran music industry partners, and band members, can’t believe he has only been at it for a couple of years – all of the normal assumptions have flown out of the window. Do you have assumptions about what it will take, and how long, for your gift to find full expression? Are you willing to change those assumptions, toss them, or simply let them fly away when they see you coming with your gift?
I invite you to share your experiences of the journey to owning or re-owning gifts. Posted on 27 Jul 2010 by Jon
I couldn't wait to share this! Our shaman work comes through it. Get Chris' album here: You can also get it through his website: http:homo-luminous.com Posted on 22 Jul 2010 by Jon
July 2010 Message, First Owning Pink Blog Entry Diving In: Faith, Writing, and the Amazon
And so it is to be entering the blogosphere for the first time here in the Owning Pink community. This reminds me of two shamanic experiences: one personal, one archetypical. The personal was my first time deep in the Peruvian Amazon Jungle along the Madre de Dios River (Mother of God – the Pink of all Pinks). Come to think of it, the whole sky and river are pink there at sunset …but I happily digress. I don’t particularly like to swim in the official sense, but when I see a body of water, I feel I must get in and play. Imagine this massive muddy brown river 500 yards wide, enough to support an island in the middle of it with its own ecosystem, flanked by lush chaotic jungle as far as the eye can see, the mind can imagine, and the heart can feel. At night you hear the Jaguar jumping in the water with its massive splash and deeply echous and guttural breathing. Cayman rest along the banks, and eagles soar overhead. You know there are Piranha and other things National Geographic hasn’t even discovered yet. It’s the Feminine at her most glorious, most unpredictable, most dangerous, and most nurturing.
So we are canoeing back from the Monkey Island in the middle of the Madre de Dios River, and I ask our local guide, Victor, if anyone swims in the river. He simply said with the biggest warmest smile you’ll ever see, “Yeah, go ahead.” Which leads me to the second more archetypical shamanic experience, which states that you can be prepared but not ready, and do it anyway. I would like to elaborate further on that in my next blog about owning our gifts. Back to the river: I jumped out of the canoe. The first thing I noticed was that the river was solid brown all the way to the bottom, and the current is deceptively strong. I was in heaven. Nothing ate me or chased me; I was in the most glorious mud bath of my life. I LOVED the river, and she LOVED me, so much so that she seemed to eagerly want to take me all the way to Bolivia. I would have let her if I didn’t think it would worry some people. Not Victor though, somehow I knew that he would just come down in the canoe and pick me up in a couple of hours with that same big smile on his face. But that’s when I began to officially swim like that Olympic dude toward the bank.
At the moment of that leap, I became one with the Jaguar I had heard the night before, one with the Cayman watching from the bank, one with the Piranha, and one with the Eagle. I wasn’t on the menu; instead I belonged in the Garden. Remembering this for the first time in several thousand years of believing otherwise. My great muddy pink mother, lover, and friend carried me with her overwhelming power, but I was simply whelmed. And even if I was on the menu that day, what a way to go!
So I come to this community, and my endeavor to serve by sharing my gifts and receiving yours, the same way I come to the jungle and my shamanic work, prepared but not ready, a little scared, highly respectful, and ready to play in the arms of the powerful, divine, and wise Feminine. And the Pink that I love in me, and all of you, can also be known as volcanic Red in soothing attire. Always seeking greater complexity through Nature, beautiful, inspiring, all things rich, sweet, and dramatic, bathed unconditionally by the Masculine Sun to take Creation beyond where it has been before.
Posted on 08 Jul 2010 by Jon
Posted on 02 Jul 2010 by Jon
Where is the World Headed?
A friend asked me recently where the world is headed. The question arose out of the obvious turmoil represented by the financial crisis, effects of climate change, and effects of major fear and greed driven blunders like those coming from North Korea, the Middle East, and British Petroleum. The answer that came through surprised even myself. It reminds of one of the core tenets of shamanism, that things aren’t always what they seem. The bottom line of the question was that things don’t seem to be going very well for our species and others at the moment and it is all placing a psychological strain on many as well. And these are just taking into account mainstream observation and data; not mentioning the more esoteric prophecies and fringe science related to the “end of the world.”
But here is the hope-inspiring answer to the question of where we are headed: The magnitude of the current events is creating a widespread shift in conscious awareness from the inside out. There is nothing like direct experience to accelerate the learning and awakening curve. No amount of preaching and teaching from the outside seems to do the job. Essentially this is how it seems to be happening. Our Earth and our man-made systems are reacting the way all natural systems react when out of balance. And this rebalancing will lead to a more intelligent, awakened, sustainable, and peaceful experience going forward. Contrary to the more pessimistic belief that things are spinning increasingly out of control and to a point of no return, what we are experiencing is the critical point of a u-turn back to a new level of possibilities and probabilities for greater beauty and complexity for our species and the rest of the planet’s souls. This is the great awakening that will lead to a millennium of gold and a thousand years of peace spoken of in many prophecies. The new balance and greater consciousness will bring greater economic, environmental, and psychological stability and improved relationships on all levels.
The saying “It is always darkest before the dawn” seems to be at play here. Creation is “driven” by and experienced through contrast. Nature seems to seek greater contrast. So to the extent that pain has increased, so pleasure will increase. The magnitude of pain and pleasure must be equal, but the time duration of each is arbitrary, and ultimately our choice. We have come now to a point where the duration of pain versus the duration of pleasure is no longer tolerable for a critical mass, and this is driving the shift, the “Pachakuti.” The relatively small percentage of more sensitive people have a lower level of tolerance for pain that may have been reached already decades ago. And this shift couldn’t have happened soon enough for them. But if we hang-in-there just a little longer, maybe a year or two or less, we will see what we have been waiting for. I know this “learning the hard way” isn’t pretty, but rest assured the other side of it is beautiful.
More on Personal Timing
I encourage you to recognize and honor your own, and other’s, relationship to time. Another way to say it is: your pace. Everyone operates at his or her own speed. Like computers have different rates for their CPU’s. One may be 1 GHz. and another 4 GHz. If your internal clock or processing speed is 4 GHz, you may get impatient or bored around a 1 GHz environment or people. If you run at 1 GHz, you may get overwhelmed or burnt out trying to keep of in a 4 GHz environment. A person whose core processing nature is relatively faster, may feel like they are under performing if they are not running at full speed. A person whose core speed is relatively slower, can for some time run faster, but will be stressed and eventually burn out; just like a computer would (for those who know about over-clocking CPU’s).
The most important point here is to recognize that everyone has their own internal clocking that needs to be recognized and honored. And in the world of the masculine warrior, we have tended to value the faster over the slower; but this is a fallacy. There is no definitive across-the-board value judgment that can be assigned to speed; so please love and value your own pace and respect that of other’s, and choose freely where and how you want to dance with time.
Posted on 08 Jun 2010 by Jon
This is an amazing new approach to learning that I highly recommend. Posted on 03 Jun 2010 by Jon << Previous 1 2 3 Next >>
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