Sing Your Song

A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song. ~ Chinese Proverb

I was inspired by my 12 year old daughter Tedi this weekend.  She has made a huge transition this week--from  wanting to be a singer to "being" a singer.  This transition has moved her from hoping, dreaming, and fearing--measuring herself by what others might think--to doing what she loves!  

She spent the entire weekend practicing, performing for us, recording, and uploading videos to YouTube. (Check her out at "doitup128" on YouTube!")  

Now she knows she has plenty of work ahead, but she is undaunted by the task at hand--because she believes she is a singer--and she's getting better by the day. Not because she thinks she has mastered her performance, rather because she loves to sing.  She is a bird who has song in her heart.

I think of the best times in my life and find that when I sing because I have a song, life is sweet. When I try to do it right, look for answers, concern myself with what others think, or measure myself by something outside me, I struggle. When I grow up, I want to be just like Tedi!!

Each of us has so much to offer--what a shame that we waste so much of our talent and gifts by anxiously measuring ourselves by some external standard.

What do you want to sing about?  What do you want to offer to the world?  What makes your heart sing?  It doesn't matter how good you are or think you are--or aren't--just sing!!

I'm going to do some singing this week--how about joining me!!

Blessings,

Gary

The Problem is not the Problem

I've been saturating my life with an onslaught of healing modalities. I'm in the process of combining and synthesizing some of my insights to create a basic healing program--I'll be sharing that very soon.

One of the basic insights that keeps coming up is that the "problem" is not the problem--it is almost always something unseen. As I reflect on my own history of getting caught up in some current or longstanding issue I may struggle with, I realize that I get caught in a loop of stress or distress about something that later seems like a wild goose chase. Einstein said that we can't solve a problem with the same level of thinking that created the problem in the first place--we have to go deeper.

For example, I have struggled with financial issues my entire life. My attempted solutions have usually been to either cut spending and/or make more money. Yet when I make what should be plenty of income, the struggle remains or soon reappears. As I have immersed myself in the study of energy and the chakras, I am realizing that the "problem" is something much deeper and more profound. The first chakra--root chakra--is the energy center of power in general and the 3d chakra is about identity and personal power. I am now seeing that I have weakend or blocked this 3d chakra thereby limiting my personal power. Money is simply a symbol of power. So  making more money doesn't solve the "problem"--clearing the 3d chakra and increasing my sense of personal power is where I need to do more work. This has been incredibly freeing for me.

Another example is a longstanding frustration at my lack of organizational ability. This has created unbelievable stress and disempowerment in simple things like planning, organizing, completing projects, and coordinating tasks. I have tried for years to write a book, plan activities, organize my life, accomplish tasks--all to little avail.  In researching brain function, I have found that the executive function of the brain lies in the frontal cortex. This eventually led to realizing that I have ADD.  ADD is a condition in which the frontal cortex cools when it should be lighting up when trying to focus attention necessary for writing, organizing, and completing tasks. This has led to massive distraction and procrastination. So all the time management, project management courses, writing classes, etc have not helped--because these were not the real problems--they were symptoms of the deeper problem of brain function. I am completing a process called "Brain Integration" which claims to cure ADD.

Take a look at the "problems" in your life and see how much progress you are making.  If you aren't getting very far despite your best efforts, then maybe it's time to look deeper--no matter whether you know how to do it or not. When you are looking in the appropriate direction, the answers, solutions, and resources will appear. Really.

I'll be giving more suggestions about some of the deeper stuff as we go along in these blogs. For now, simply observe and inquire. I'm excited to be getting more clarity about this and it's leading me to an abundant supply of resources for any issue. Send me your comments and I'll begin responding to your specific issue.

Blessings,

Gary

When You Know What You Want...

When You Know What You Want... You'll Want What You Know!

I'm often asked, "How do I figure out who I am?"

In the past I may have answered that inquiry with suggestions that included personality type, birth order, archetypes, roles in your original family, talents, skills, etc. These are all rich fields of inquiry ripe with valuable fruits that expand self-awareness.

In the past couple of years I have focused on perhaps the most valuable of all paths to self-awareness: DESIRE.
I am learning that desire and self-knowledge are inseparably linked. Who I am will ALWAYS be revealed in  what I want.

While it can be difficult and even confusing to search for authentic self, as well as quite frustrating, your path of desire will continuously reflect important elements of who you are. This includes dreams, fantasies, daydreams, expectations, values, and beliefs--things that really matter to you. Pay attention to what you want. That want or desire comes from something--what?  Who you are!

I've been speaking with a client recently who has become paralyzed with anxiety and self doubt. A highly talented, competent, and intelligent person who has accomplished much in her life, she now realizes that she "sold out" some of her most important aspects of self by trying hard to please others, accomplish what "they" thought was important, and became quite successful in the world's eyes. In order to achieve at the level "they" encouraged and expected, she put aside her imagination--dreams, fantasies, and possibilities.

She reports to me that she stopped asking what it is that makes her heart sing--and now feels stuck, even trapped, in a life that doesn't fulfill her. We are in the process of asking those fundamental questions: who am I, what do I want, what makes me happy, what truly drives me. We are now taking a step back to explore what it is that she "knows" about her self and her true desires. What is she discovering? That when she tunes in to what she intuitively and deeply knows--her secret ambitions, her traits and attributes, her meaningful talents, her passions--she feels energized, excited, motivated.

Her career may take a very different track as she embodies the long standing advice of the sages, poets, and teachers of many ages. Teachings like "Know Thyself", " The unexamined life is not worth living", and the Rick Nelson line in the song Garden Party: "You can't please everyone so you've got to please yourself". This search is opening up fresh insights and energy for her as she shares that somehow she has always known what  she wants, but somehow learned to put it aside. As she furthers her journey, I expect she'll uncover more and more of what she knows, what she wants, and ultimately, who she is--really is.

Blessings,
Gary