The Art of Forgiving

Have you ever sat down on a big rock by a flowing stream, hung your head and cried like a baby? Me neither but hey days not over yet! Sometimes in life we get hit hard and fast. Maybe by a friend, a lover, spouse, neighbor or just a complete stranger. When that event does take place, it hurts, hurts so bad we see red. Our chests feel like a heavy weight has been dropped on it, tears just want to burst from our eyes. We want to kick and scream or just curl up and die! Then of course we have to deal with depressive states, anger states. Did we deal with them or are they still there, buried in whatever way we've always dealt with our hurts and pains. Did we forgive and move on or is that little something still there waiting to spring to life again to continue dissolving happiness we all deserve. Oh, you are happy! Then why does a certain something, a smell, a name, a color, whatever, bring back that tight feeling. That tear to corner of your eye or that angry look in your jaw? We all have been hurt and we've all hurt others. But that's life, it will continue that way right to day we lay down for big one. We're not responsible for other people's feelings, only our own. Unless of course we've hurt someone else but that's another article. Right now we have to deal with thing that's eating our life away.

Dessert In The Dessert

Last week, on my vacation I was having dinner with a group of special friends. These friends are affectionately known by many as "the grannies off grid". The grannies are three conscious, artistic, elder women who live on a beautiful piece of land in Arizona desert. They live in sustainable, solar homes, which for most part they built themselves. These women are an inspirational model of a future community that benefits many people. On this particular evening, I was engaged in a conversation with one of these delightful, wise women about my identity as a coach and a businesswoman. With her 70 some odd year perspective she told me she had let go of need for an "identity". She preferred to think of herself as a part of All That Is, as undefined. Immediately, wanting to emulate her wisdom, I began to try on idea of "letting go of my identity" for something that seemed "bigger" and more "evolved" to me. Part way into my wayward fantasy, I realized, she had reached fourth stage of Steve Bhaerman's Four Stages Of Knowing. It was clear she belonged there and despite my wanting to be like her, I didn't. The Four Stages Of Knowing is a simple model for understanding human development. I originally heard about it by comedian Swami Beyondananda (Steve Bhaerman's) on a metaphysical radio show. Originally meant to entertain, Four Stages actually represent a profound view of normal and healthy stages of human evolution. Here are four stages: See which stage you find yourself in. 1. You don't know. This is stage when you're a baby or a child. You're fresh and new to world and you really don't know. It's pure innocence.