This week’s Kniss Connection episode: How our primal brain’s advice can keep us small…. If we let it!
Category: Awaken Consciousness
I went to hear Hank Wesselman speak recently on his new book, Awakening to the Spirit World: The Shamanic Path of Direct Revelation, that he co-wrote with Sandra Ingerman, one of my heroes in the world of modern shamanism.
I often tell my clients, “It doesn’t matter to me what you believe in, I’m interested in what you experience.”
Wesselman clarified this idea when he talked about how “direct experience is above belief, beyond faith. Direct experience equals personal transformation.”
He spoke about the role of the shaman as one who restores power to those who have lost it. In some ways, this is how I approach coaching, except I don’t think of it as restoring power, so much as reminding people of their own power and offering a re-connection with what may have been forgotten: the strength within, a source of personal power. It’s the essence of all that is beyond your physical self, yet accessible by your physical self.
He also touched on how nature mysticism is the doorway to authentic deity mysticism. It begins “out of doors, where the juice is,” in nature. And it’s not like this is new. Everyone who’s had anything to say about the evolution of consciousness “got it”… that nature is one of the truest references of that power – that life force – that energy – that flows through us. It is our blood, and cells and aura and vibrational being that is, and emits, this stuff…
I have yet to read their book, but based on his talk, I’m looking forward to learning more from him. It was refreshing to see the reverence for such an ancient tradition, as Wesselman, Ingerman, and their colleague Michael Harner all maintain.
Sacred Shiva Lingam stones symbolize Divine Creative manifestation and only come from the Narmada River in India. The dark yoni markings symbolize feminine energy, and the shape represents masculine energy… a perfect balance. The stone corresponds to the heart chakra, the love energy within us.
“What these Shiva Lingam stones offer us is an invitation to join with them in Sacred Stone Acupuncture, where the stones, placed vertically on the Earth’s body, connect with the Crystalline Grid within in the planet (the core geometric pattern and flow of all of Life on Earth, and of the Earth Mother herself), and hold uninterruptedly the intent and alignment of peace for all forms of life.” ~ Peace Across the Planet
Me with Shiva Lingam stone at ChocolaTree in Sedona, AZ
“I am here.
Where are you?
What inspiration captures your intent?
Which direction stores your roots?
I am Shiva Lingam.
Who are you?
What thoughts weave your attention?
Which dreams grasp your lifetimes?
I am Crystalline Grid Keeper and Recorder.
What are you?
What manifestations spring from your hands and feet?
What spirit do you follow when you delight or fear?
I listen for your answers,
for your ways,
for your fears,
for your kindness.
Bring them all to my body and heart
for I judge none of them ever.
Wherever Whomever Whatever
you be,
you are,
I match all of you with deepest honorings.
I know well that courage brings you next to me now
because courage is what brings you to the Earth Mother
in this brave and haunted season–
this previously untouched, unimagined growth,
transformation,
love-beyond-words, ways, fears, kindness.
All stands freely seen in my open and opening eyes
for that is the courage that I bring,
that stands me here upon the Earth Mother
that roots me in this place
in this ritual
with you.
Meet me
with all that you are
with all that you do.
Let us hug all the gifted challenges to our hearts
here and now
so that all that you are,
all that you do,
bravely becomes
Peace.”
Recorded from Arizona Shiva Lingams Listening March 2009
Here’s the latest Kniss Connection video. “Praying rain” is manifestation. What will you manifest in your life this week?
This week’s Kniss Connection video contains a tip to help you bring mindfulness to your everyday tasks.
This week’s Kniss Connection video: Do One Thing That Scares You… Stepping toward success in spite of fear.
I met my friend Sean Stephenson at his office today and couldn’t resist giving him a hard time about being a Sox fan. I grew up on the north side of Chicago, so my allegiance remains with the Cubs, even though I haven’t followed baseball in years. Throughout our conversation Sean, being Sean, asked some super in depth questions and, while they weren’t unexpected, they still tapped into a place in me that felt fragile. He reminded me of the normalcy of “being human.” Apparently, it is all too easy for me to forget…
Hence the topic of this week’s Kniss Connection video:
from Gwen Bell’s Best of 2009 Blog Challenge
The Question: What did you start this year that you’re proud of?
I recently started “Kniss Connection,” a weekly video series to kick start the week with a positive perspective. I spend a couple minutes talking about a particular topic each week; it’s quick and easily accessible. I love the idea that, with today’s technology, there is potential to inspire and empower people all over the world. If I can make even one person’s day a little brighter, or give them a tool to manage stress, or build rapport with others, then the whole thing is completely worth it.
It’s been a learning lesson for me too… Not only am I getting to know more about video and sound editing software, but working on this project continues to poke my perfectionist buttons. I’m a 7 on the enneagram, so I’m well aware of how easy it is to take on the negative qualities of a 1 – the perfectionist. These videos provide a consistent opportunity to practice letting go and relaxing, instead of obsessing over every last detail of sound quality, background, what I said, etc… I won’t even mention how long the first video took to create, with take after take, but now, it’s becoming a more fluid process.
Here’s the most recent video, in which I talk about an equation I learned from Jack Canfield’s Success Principles (E+R=O).
If you’re interested, you can subscribe to my YouTube channel and receive an email reminder when new videos are posted.
from Gwen Bell’s Best of 2009 Blog Challenge 
The Question: What book – fiction or non – touched you? Where were you when you read it? Have you bought and given away multiple copies?
I’m re-reading Marianne Williamson’s A Return to Love right now and it’s pretty much altering the way I perceive everything — again. Of course there is the famous quote that is always a good reminder…
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of us, it’s in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
But there are so many other, equally potent gems scattered throughout the pages. My copy is already filled with underlines from the first go-around, but I’m finding new ideas on almost every page that somehow resonate with me in a way that is both novel and familiar.
Want to play along? Check out the list here and blog about your favorites for ’09 all through December:
http://www.gwenbell.com/blog/2009/11/30/the-best-of-2009-blog-challenge.html
