I continue to be amazed by what I'm learning writing on this topic. In the context of the Catholic Church, which considers itself to be the one and only way, they refer to their adherents who are murdered as martyrs and yet the ones they kill are heretics. Did anyone miss the fact that someone is still dead? Is their point of view so weak it can't stand on its own in the Light of someone else's Truth? This isn't a rhetorical question to me. It makes it so very clear what living from fear means. We judge ourselves and others. We feel threatened. We react instead of respond. The cycle and circle of violence goes on and on and on. This is no small observation as we enter July in the Midwest where it is very likely to be its usual white hot intensity. This is particularly relevant as we proceed in our not so civil discussions about conceal and carry issues, 2nd amendment issues, people who insist that conceal and carry would reduce violence instead of looking at the facts of how the availability of guns increases violence especially in domestic violence situations where logic and caring have long since left the building. I could go on and on.

What I really want to do is continue to use my time and energy to help us all revel in the Joy, Beauty and Empowerment of Life. If we don't see or feel any of that we must ask a few questions of ourselves about what erroneous assumptions we are making in our lives. I've heard some amazingly awesome stories from people who have experienced unconscionable violence and abuse in their lives and yet when they understood that this is what their parents also experienced they forgave their parents and have gone forward in their lives to build multimillion dollar ministries dedicated to helping all humanity live from Joy and Peace and Empowerment. This is just one example of the Possibilities when we change our point of view. I have always known we are inherently Good even though that certainly is not the message I got from the Church of my childhood. It was anything but that and yet I was steadfastly committed to holding onto my point of view. I love my Life. I love what I'm doing. I'm constantly complimented by people who I know love and admire me. I'm very grateful. I do not take that for granted for one single moment.

Am I saying it's been a piece of cake? Hardly! Am I saying I will never give up the effort to be the best I can be? Indeed!!! I know with all my heart we live in an amazingly beneficent Universe. I have experienced great, great Joy and Happiness in my Life. I have also experienced crushing sadness and despair. I have reached out for help and allowed myself to be loved, helped and healed. That is a universal journey!!! Help is everywhere present. We must allow room for it. We must learn to value ourselves as inherently worthy. As I've said before it's not about the doing. That's an "outside in" point of view. That's like trying to fill a bottomless pit. It's about the being. That's an "inside out" point of view. It's about knowing Life is an adventure. Knowing we are here to express from the Limitless Love and Wisdom that is our very Nature as Spirit Identified humans. All the violence in the world is the Universe's mirror showing us how deeply disconnected we are from the Truth of our being. As so many have said before me we get used to certain messages we unconsciously abjectly accept them as our Truth and we go forward doing terrible things. That is not the best we are capable of being. That's why others are here to show us we are loved. We have different options. That's why it is so very important to keep our mirrors clear. That's where the holistic healing perspectives are so invaluable. As we clear our Luminous Energy fields of all the pain, abuse and violence we are capable of emanating an amazingly clear Vibrant Joyous Light. That's who we truly are here to be. I truly believe that violence exists to ask us at what point we will choose to become Conscious and invoke Compassion instead of violence. I clearly remember a very poignant moment in my Life as a young 20-something when I consciously said, "The violence stops with me." I knew I would not perpetuate a learned violence pattern. I saw very clearly the impact of my actions and I didn't like what I saw. I felt the impact of others' actions on me and I didn't like what I felt.

That reminds me of my graduate school training in Gestalt therapy, a Psychology perspective that teaches us how to stay connected in body~mind~Spirit Oneness. When we are unconsciously reacting from fear our body and mind are disconnected. We are reacting as disembodied heads as though our feelings don't enter the picture at all. This is not a healthy response pattern. When we can stay grounded in the moment we can respond respectfully and compassionately and responsibly. This is the true measure of our Spirit Embodied Love-centered connectedness with our true Nature. It is the path of Joy. It is the path of Wholeness and Wellness. That's where I want to be all the time. Friedrich Nietzsche, one of my very favorite people, had this to say: "True, we love life, not because we are used to living, but because we are used to loving. There is always some madness in love, but there is also always some reason in madness." What I love about this quote is it speaks to me about how we dance on the edges of our Awareness. There is a sweetness about the experience of being madly in love with someone when we mean passionately in love. It is quite another experience when we mistakenly equate control with love. The violence that erupts is not love. It is the complete absence of love. Then we are madly out of sync with our true Nature which is an Embodied Love.

As we celebrate the independence of our nation I also want to celebrate a broader independence that is global. I want to celebrate Peace on Earth. I want to celebrate the independence that is expressed as our love of living together in Peace, Harmony and Understanding as a beloved Community sharing our beloved planet Earth. We can only do this when we confront our fears, our unhealed pain, our as yet unlived dreams and we do all we can do to uplift and heal ourselves and each other. There is so much Joy that comes from sharing. There is so much Joy that comes from meeting new people, getting to know and understand different points of view and expanding our horizons. I get a glimpse of the Possibilities when I hear the new scientific information saying there are millions of galaxies in our Milky Way galaxy. Some of these galaxies are 14 light years away. Light travels at 186,000 miles/second. Doesn't that give you a glimpse of how astronomically huge (pun intended) our Universe is, our Possibilities are? I know, too, that some are still living in and from so much pain they'll say how astronomically huge it is that they'll ever allow themselves to feel such Possibility. That's where I and others come in to enfold them in Love and hold them up until the Light of day dawns in their hearts and they can live a new Life of Radiant Love, Peace and Joy. That's what I'm here for, for myself and all others. I invite you to join me on this healing uplifting Joy-filled journey as we go forward in Love, Peace, Faith and Confidence to build our new world. Will you join me please in the effort to heal and love our precious world? Peace to you!!!