The seen and unseen forces that help us.
Online Breathwork Tonight, April 2nd, at 8pm ET
Chicago Area Folks: Join me in Oak Park on Saturday, April 5th, from 1:30 - 4:30pm, for the Enough As You Are workshop.
Hi Friends,
Damn was I inspired by Cory Booker’s 25+ hour speech in the senate yesterday. I caught very little of the content but checked in on Youtube throughout the day to see if he was still going, listened for a minute or two to what he was talking about at the time, consistently blown away by his passion and eloquence, and his heart. What he did was incredible — standing up, without food or a bathroom break, for 25+ hours to address the crisis in our country right now. We’ll see what his commitment ultimately inspires in his colleagues and people around the country, but he sure reminded me what commitment to a cause can look like, and that, when we are acting in alignment with a deeper calling, there are seen (in his case, millions upon millions of people cheering him on from around the world) and unseen energies at work to support us in the realization of our desires. I don’t believe he was able to do what he did by his will alone. He was supported.
A few summers ago I participated in a Lakota Hanbleceya ceremony, more commonly known as a vision quest. I’m not going to go into details about the experience (we were asked not to) except to say that for four days and nights I sat outside on a Santa Fe hillside, with no food or water, and didn’t feel hungry or thirsty the entire time. That sounds impossible, and would have been impossible, had I, and the six others who were also fasting on their own part of the hillside, not been supported by more than twenty friends at a basecamp nearby. When those friends had their meals, they very intentionally ate and drank for us, imagining that as they sustained themselves with nourishment they were sustaining us as well. They prayed for us and sang for us, the entire time letting us know we were held. There is zero question in my heart and mind that they got me through the Hanbleceya. Well, they, and Spirit, of course. I put my faith in God even more than my friends that I would make it to the other side.
I spoke with my dear friend Jacob the other day. We had a podcast together for a couple years called Hey Jacob, Hi Scott, in which we came together to talk about whatever we felt like talking about. Each episode began with us greeting each other, Hey Jacob. Hi Scott, and then we riffed from there. We never planned what we were going to discuss, but always came into the conversations with the intention to be of service to the listeners in a helpful way, and we always found our way into some deep, often cathartic discussions about life, the spiritual path, this insane and beautiful reality. I guess this was another example of trusting, in Spirit, in ourselves, that something beneficial to the listeners (and to us) would come through. There’s no way Cory Booker could have prepared to speak for that long. Not really. Yes, he had notes about the things he wanted to say, but had he needed to, he probably could have said it all in an hour or two. But the words kept flowing. People kept cheering. I wish I had thought to eat and drink for him the way my friends had for me. And pee!
The other day when we were catching up, sharing with each other some of our recent challenges, Jacob shared that, when he found himself (his mind) caught yet again in a fear-based struggle, he began to see those experiences as working out. All of the energy we put into shifting our minds away from fear and insecurity and anxiety and conditioning are actual workouts, like at the gym.
I loved this. I often refer to the energy we put into our personal growth as work, because I see it as work. But I had never thought of the chunks of time doing the work as workouts, and this feels even better to me. When it takes me three hours to ground myself after someone says something that triggers me, rather than looking at that as three hours wasted in mental insanity, I can look at it as having completed a three-hour, personal growth workout. Hell yeah, I’m a badass! Along with leg day at the gym, it’s I am enough day in my mind. Fifty push-ups and two hours loving myself through a shame spiral. It all counts. It all matters. It’s all of service to finding a deeper sense of peace and acceptance. And in the case of the push-ups, stronger pecs and triceps.
The thing about working out your body in the gym is that you get stronger when you do it. It’s the only possibility. The same goes for working out your mind, and your heart, and your creativity, and every other thing you find yourself working out. You get stronger. More clear. More loving. More creative.
And then there’s trust. Not just in ourselves but in those who love and support us, and in whatever we call God. Whatever we call the energy that created the mountains and oceans and planets and stars. We can, should we choose, to remember that very same energy is alive within us, unbounded, abundant, creative and clear. All this to say, whatever it is your heart is calling you to do, you are not alone in the doing of it. You are supported. You are loved.
I’m leading a long-planned workshop this Saturday afternoon and won’t be able to participate in the protests, but send love and gratitude to all of you who are. As John Lewis said years ago, and Cory Booker repeated yesterday, make good trouble. While doing so, may we all stay connected to our hearts, to love, no matter how we feel called to show up right now, understanding that without love as a guiding force, real healing is not possible. Change, yes. More of the same, yes. But not healing.
Love is the way. It always has been and always will be.
So much gratitude and love to you all,
xoxo…Scott
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LOVE this Scott. So true, and inspiring.
Love Love Love this! Big Love Scott <3