Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Are you a rescuer? Change your perspective and shift away from your old role

Change your perspective and change your life!
What you see, hear or feel isn't always all there is...


When you look at someone as needing to be rescued you may be viewing them as incapable. You may be viewing them as in lack, as helpless or as weak. ETC.
Instead, view them as warriors in training.
View others as warriors going through a “rites of passage” so to speak.
View them as capable people in training.
View them as a student in the school of life and they are cramming for an exam.
View them as skill building. View them as if they are on a tool gathering hunt.
But view them as holistic people at different places on their path of life and as equals and as worthy.  
Sure, you can offer assistance but if you offer a hand out instead of a hand up, you stop their opportunities from being fully realized.
Teach people how to pray (or chant or practice some from of affimative spiritual practice), how to play, how to learn and how to work smart instead of hard and you will develop empowered communities.
According to thefreedictionary.com  
res·cue  (r s ky )
tr.v. res·cued, res·cu·ing, res·cues
1. To set free, as from danger or imprisonment; save. See Synonyms at save1.
2. Law To take from legal custody by force.
n.
1. An act of rescuing; a deliverance.
2. Law Removal from legal custody by force.

Truly to rescue an able bodied capable adult will not free them it will imprison or enslave them to dependency and or to debt. It will also do the same to you.
Most people rescue because they feel bad. When you rescue most often in makes you feel better in that moment. Yet the pain created in the long run for you and the person or the people you are rescuing can be far worse. There is a big difference between a hand out and a hand up. A hand up comes with guidelines that serve the greater good as well as serving the big picture.
A rescuer giving a hand out can feel used, taken for granted or of little value, etc.
The recued can feel insignificant, worthless, shame, guilt, in debt etc.

Both being rescued and rescuing can create the same emotions and consequences in life for each regardless of the role. It can create a wave of lack for all.
As a rescuer you are not doing great selfless acts of service you are doing selfish acts of service. You could be creating a dependency that others can end up becoming disabled by and in the long run they can resent you for it.
A hand out can cause others to lose the lessons they may have gained had they worked things out on their own or simply suffered the losses; they can feel insecure and unsure of how to handle similar situations in the future because they did not gain that skill this time around. They can also feel that all failures are theirs and all successes belong to the rescuer when they receive a hand out.
A hand up will create an option that makes to person or the people you are assisting feel better about who they are and what they are doing.  
One of the most powerful ways to change your role as rescuer with others is to change your perception. When you change how you look at a situation the situation will change. With a hand up, the recipients will feel empowered. They will see all failures and success as theirs. They will have the opportunity to grow and learn.
Suffering or challenges often hold important lessons. Challenges or obstacles are often in our lives to help us to grow and or develop skills. We can learn that we are truly strong, smart, wise, capable etc from such lessons and growing opportunities. When we allow others to work through their issues in their way and in their time, as well as allow them to deal with all of the consequences we in turn allow them the opportunity to grow and to learn. We also allow them the opportunity to see their own greatness and celebrate fully each success as their own.
 As well, when we do not rescue, we get to become the observer and expand our own growth. We get to learn by seeing how others deal with challenges. And more importantly we get to see that they can deal with challenges
I heard once “sometimes cruelty is the strongest form of compassion”.
Compassion is not just about stopping immediate pain in others or in us. It can very well be about allowing the small suffering now so that many small sufferings or large sufferings will be alleviated or minimized in the future.
Wouldn’t it be an act of cruelty to make such causes that creates great suffering in someone’s life? Wouldn’t it also be cruel to rob someone of a lesson or skill building opportunity that is essential to life?
Teaching someone how to stand on their own, how to fall with minimal damage and how to come back from temporary setbacks is an act of compassion. Teaching them to and allowing them to celebrate life is a true form of compassion.
The tree stands tall and strong because it has endured the winds, the fierce storms and the changing of seasons. It stands bending and dancing in the storms seeming to be creating a poetic motion. The tree does not seem to weep or break with the stress of the weather, it has learned to flex and to root itself deeply so that it is usually unaffected even by the harshest of weather.
The big trees that have lived long full lives, that are deeply rooted and highly flexible did not get this way by growing inside sheltered from the world. Yet in their greatness they can offer shelter to those in need for a temporary moment. The tree never offers a hand out, only a hand up.
Learn how to set boundaries, say no when it is in the best interest of the greater good and learn how to say yes when you truly want to.
Say yes when it comes from your heart. A true gift holds no expectations, resentments or suffering. A true gift is not a loan, a debt or a loss. A true gift is a blessing to all.  
A hand up empowers both the giver and the recipient.

We can all offer gifts of many kinds and hand ups as often as we’d like. This is what makes us all strong. We all benefit from vulnerability, temporary shelter and food for our souls. We are social creatures and we all need to feel loved and supported.
When we allow others to work through their own challenges only offering them hand outs that are empowering we get to see their joy as they overcome. We get to see them as equals and equally receive from them. We get to celebrate with them. We get to be part of a community. We get to show love thru an act of compassionate service.
When we accept hand ups that are empowering when we are in need we get to see other feel valued, we get to see them as our equals, we get to give to them as much as receive from them. We get to learn and grow. We get to feel part of a community. We get to celebrate with the giver in unity. We get to be loved and show love.
Wealth or prosperity is truly abundant when we feel it in our hearts and souls regardless of our wallets.
Let go of negative or limiting beliefs about those in financial wealth or those in financial poverty. We all have the same things regardless of our bank accounts.
When we view others in a certain light based on finances alone, either good or bad we send out a message of lack into the world. We are all one. We are all worthy. We are all spirits having a human experience. We are all dealing with learning from and healing from human conditioning.

AS Buddha said: “Suffer what there is to suffer, enjoy what there is to enjoy”
What do you miss out on in life when you are always in the drivers seat?
What do you miss out on when life passes you by quickly and you don't stop to take time out and enjoy the scenery?
What can you learn by stopping and watching others?
What can you learn by living and allowing others to live?
What can you experience by being instead of always doing?


I wish you all holistic prosperity.
Jody G

Be in unity with your community.

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Expand through appreciation. You get more of what you "see".

Hi beautiful people! What an amazing day it is today!

Two years ago and most of the years of my life I would have had rare times when I could have made such optimistic statements... especially from a place of sincerity, authenticity and inner peace. Now, this is how I live my life! I live a life full of joy and inspiration!

Someone asked me "how do you know when you are doing well in your life? How do you know you are a good person? How do you know you are beautiful and acceptable?" I said, look at the people in your life, how do you see them? Weather or not the people in our lives are these things is irrelevant, it is whether or not we SEE them as such. We are all wonderful reflections of each other.

What do you see when you look in the mirror? What do you see in the physical mirror on the wall or in the mirror of those around you?

There was a time in my life that I could only see "yuck" in all others and especially in myself. Then later on, I could only see others as something or someone good and I could only see the "yuck" in me. I felt that through spirituality finally I could recognize the good in others... but that somehow I was the exception to the rule. Ha! I found out... there are no exceptions to this rule. We all have good in us, it is just a matter of what we choose to see.

Truly the more beauty we see in ourselves the more we can see in others and/or vice versa.

I now see beauty, greatness, love, joy, and so much more. I see this in my mirror and in the mirror that my family and friends reflect back at me. And I see this in people I am meeting for the fist time every where. I see all of this because I made a decision one day to open my eyes and SEE. I made a decision to look as I would think the Great Spirit would look. I wondered; "If I were my higher power, how would I choose to look?" Hmmm, this sparked a curiosity in me. This took me from place of a victim or other reactive role to the place of observer and active participant.

When I look at myself and others in my life... I choose to see the good.. the light... the love... the joy and so on. The question is; what do you choose to see or focus on in others? What do you choose to see or focus on in yourself?

Do you do EFT tapping, massage, counseling, Reiki, study, spiritual practice or some combination of healing arts to assist you on your healing journey so you can make and step into such decisions?

Sometimes this is a process, it was for me (and still is), but you must make the first step whatever that is for you.

When we choose to see the good in the world... this does not mean being blind to the darkness of the world... but what it does mean is we get to contribute to expanding the light in our lives, in the lives of others and in the world.

What you focus on expands. It's the law
What you resist persist. It's the law
There are no exceptions to universal laws.

What do you want more of?
How do you want to see yourself?
How do you want others to see you?
How do you want to see others?
How do you want to live your life?
What impact do you want to have on others and on the earth?
What impact do you want them to have on you?
What do you want more of in your life?
You get to choose.

Appreciation is the greatest tool for expanding what you want, distracting you from what you do not want, bringing more joy, raising self esteem and self worth.

Find something to appreciate in everyone, in every situation and in each hour of each day and watch your life shift!

Find a spot on your body (big or small) that has no pain and appreciate that it feels GOOD and watch that spot expand!

Find that penny in your pocket and appreciate that you have money in your life and watch your financial prosperity expand!

Find that love you experience in your life and appreciate it deeply and watch love expand in your life!

Give thanks for all of the quality relationships or moments of them in your life and watch quality relationships expand!

Find appreciation for all you have enjoyed and watch the wealth of experiences expand!

Life is sooooo gooood!
Enjoy.

Recommended reading:
Eckhart Tolle, The Power of Now
Eckhart Tolle, The New Earth

Louis Hay, You Can Heal Your Life (book and movie)

Catherine Ponder, Open Your Mind To Receive

Recommended Viewing:
What the Bleep Do We Know; Down The Rabbit Hole
The Peaceful Warrior
(These are also books).