Warrior of Light Lesson One

https://www.facebook.com/notes/10151156897004825/

It makes sense that we hold an ideal to be peaceful, compassionate and loving with each other, and ourselves all the time.

A dedicated spiritual practice will certainly help us embody and live these qualities.  There is however a misperception that we do not need to pick up our swords and fight some daemons to get to the light, the truth.

It is fascinating how much time and energy we will spend battling over the mundane challenges in our daily lives (traffic, money, discontent with a lover or a job).  Yet, when it comes time to fight the real battle… the thing inside each of us that is blocking our ability to grow, to open, to be free to live from an authentic, fearless and loving place with ALL that is in our lives… we shy away from the battle.   We find excuses to avoid doing the work.   We end relationships, quit jobs, move, blame anyone or anything for our circumstance rather than face the true fear that is causing our discontent.

Refusing to engage with and do the work, refusing to face our fears and that which is triggering our pain-body will never bring us the freedom we all desire.  Anywhere you turn, if you are turning away from that, you will always end up facing your fears again.   You will be choosing denial, escape, numbing out.    You will be stranded on the battle field and feel as a victim.    Maybe for periods of time you will find ‘happiness’ by constantly distracting yourself from your pain with a new job, a new relationship, new home, etc.  Or maybe you’ll find temporary relief in seclusion from the external world on some level.    Any relief found by turning away will be shallow and most likely short lived.   The only option to conquer that which plagues us, is to turn and face it as a warrior of light.

The challenge in this conscious battle with fear is that once we turn to face it, we usually realize that the external circumstance that we thought we needed to fight (friend, job, traffic, politics, etc) is not the source of our suffering.  In fact, it was most likely the source of our opportunity to grow and heal from the true source of our suffering.  Our perceived enemy is often our most precious gift!

When we step into our true power with intention of loving and honoring ourselves, we begin to face and fight our deepest fears.   When we conquer those, we realize how strong we truly are.  We see that we are not victims and that we most likely can start loving the very same things and people we were resisting and fighting.

Many of those things we have been fighting are out of balance.  This does not mean they are what we should be battling or separating ourselves from.

We must first eradicate that within us which does not serve our abilities to live in open hearted connection, peace, love and wonder of all that is.   Once we have found the courage to do this, we will stand on that same battle field with our arms outstretched and welcome in all that life offers us with a clear mind and an open heart.  We will all take responsibility for our actions.  We will each be willing to show up and do the work to create change in the things we can and let go with gratitude and love those things that we cannot change.  When we meet others who are willing to engage consciously in this way, we will be reminded of one of the greatest truths that has been lost in our attempts to avoid and separate from each other.  We will remember that we are One.

So, stop for a moment and look at who & what you are fighting/avoiding/pushing away in your life right now.  These are your mirrors!

Now, bring your energy back into yourself.   What within you are you afraid of letting go of that is creating these negative projections?  What deep hurt or fear is keeping you from seeing every one and every thing around you as the perfect opportunities to live, grow and thrive at this time?  Pick up your sword and cut from the very root anything within you that is holding you back from living fully with what is.

Fight this fight, and only this fight… and you will be free.  Even if no one else around you does it… you will be free.

If you are in a relationship with someone else who is willing to do this work… do it together.  Stop fighting each other and help each other instead battle your internal demons so that you can once again see each other with open hearts.

So, I’d love to say that being a Yogini has made me a warmer and fuzzier person.  I like warm and fuzzy, it feels sooo good!  Yet, my practice has made me a warrior of light… willing to brave the battlefield and face everything that shows up and triggers my pain body.   Willing to search and fight for the truth that each challenging relationship &/or experience offers me.  And it is not always a warm and fuzzy experience.  It is hard.  It hurts.  And yet, it is where I have touched the deepest and most Divine aspects of myself and of life.  It is where I have experienced the most growth and emerged stronger, lighter and freer.  More authentic, fearless and loving.

As I stand in this ‘field’ and look around, I see others who are doing the work and celebrate our victories.   I also see and feel compassion for those who are still fighting &/or running from false demons, unconsciously avoiding the real battle.  And I open my heart and hold out my arms (sword in hand) and say to them… come; let us do battle today.  I love you and am willing to fight for the truth.  We Are One.

~heather

(Inspired by lessons learned through my yoga practice, and a living amongst some spectacular Warriors of Light.)

Note Inspired By Government Shutdown

https://www.facebook.com/pg/HealingTheLotusWay/notes/?ref=page_internal

Note inspired by ‘government shutdown, obamacare, etc’

It is because of the series of events that has inevitably led us to this time and place of economic and political melt down, that I resisted a conventional teaching position and have NOT become a licensed M.D., yet spent my life studying education and the healing arts/medicine/science.

In my very humble opinion… we are past a tipping point and must allow for the decline and inevitable collapses that have begun and will continue to come on an ever increasing basis from here.

It is why I don’t make much money… but am always ready and willing to show up for anyone who requests my help and offer whatever services I can.

Insurance won’t cover me, and I’ve not found a way to make a business out of teaching/healing that focuses on profit when my primary goal must be following my heart and serving yours.  So, I work on a sliding scale or donation basis when necessary.  And I’ve been paying for my own health insurance my entire life.

I focus on preventative healthcare for myself and others when ever possible and then address all chronic and acute diseases as naturally as possible before turning to allopathic options as a last resort… because they are either no more effective, financially unfeasible for most, or often just plain dangerous treatments being promoted for the sake of creating profits for the med/pharma systems that are using politics, big corporations & mass media to make it nearly impossible to truly learn about and care for the health of our people.

As for the political shenanigans going on, suffice to say the documents that have governed this country were created by a group of men who represented less than 6% of the population in their time, and did so on the backs of a displaced (to say the least) indigenous population, imported slave labor and without any input from their mothers and wives.  These and other neglected, abused and unacknowledged demographics fought long hard battles to be acknowledged over the last few centuries in order to be included in and acknowledged by that small demographic (white male landholders).  Unfortunately, the fact still remains that the system was fundamentally flawed from the get go.  And all the revisions and additions are being done within that fatally diseased system.  At some point, we must face this fact and stop feeding the dis-eased system so it can die and a new foundation can be built by and for the people… truly… all the people.

It is time for more of us (all of us) to take healthcare and education back into the hands of the people.  It is the only way.  And soon, we will have no choice but to do so.   It is being done on a grassroots level now bigger than ever.  We need it to go mainstream now.

I hope we can do it before it is a forced shift… as a community… consciously… preventatively… nationally… globally.

Alas and sadly… this has not been the way our species evolves for the most part.  We wait for chaos to force us.   And so it may be in this case once again.   The signs certainly point to this as the most likely scenario.

Either way, I and many others are out here… ready and willing to serve those who are ready and willing to let go of a corrupt, dysfunctional healthcare, education, economic, political systems and reconnect to each other and the earth and practices that have and will continue to sustain us so far beyond any that this young and failing government’s system ever will.   This is not to say that discoveries made under the umbrella of ‘western progress’ are a total write off.   Far from it.  They simply need to become more integrative and removed from a profit-driven system.   Only then will they find their way into a healthy and balanced flow and truly be a healthy part of an effective and sustainable system that genuinely cares for the well being of it’s people.

Until then, the majority will continue to struggle along, dependent on a corrupt system… because that is the state which is necessary to ensure that the minority can remain in control and profiting so disproportionately.

Luckily, there are genuine teachers/healers/scientists/artists in the world who will continue to love and serve those willing to look beyond the smoke & mirrors.  To find ways to live off the corrupt grids as much as possible.   With perseverance and practice, many will find their way beyond the chaos of these times to a place of peace.

Here’s to those brave souls who are walking this path.  The forefathers and mothers of our future.

All are welcome.

It is The Lotus Way

Healing The Lotus Way

https://www.facebook.com/pg/HealingTheLotusWay/notes/?ref=page_internal

Into The Lotus Way

I agree with this beautiful quote for the most part.  I hope you enjoy it as well as my comments that follow.

“Imagine that you are a lotus seed buried beneath a muddy lotus pond. There is mud all around you, and you can feel them clearly. Above you, above this muddy pool of dirt, mud and filth, are sunshine and air. You are not disheartened as you begin your journey towards the surface.

With a determined heart, you begin to wiggle in the earth. You grow roots deep, deep into the mud. Your little stem grows up slowly. Suddenly, “pop” you are out of the mud! Your stem grows higher and higher, taller and taller. You rise up slowly, fighting against the muddy water. All of a sudden, you are out of the muddy pond! You reach up towards the warm sun, shining down on you.

Your lotus bud begins to grow on top of your stem. It expands and grows larger and larger,finally bursting into full bloom. A white lotus flower. You stand beautifully above the muddy water, not dirtied by the mud from which you grow. You are white, fragrant and beautiful.

Everyone who saw you marveled at your beauty! Your determination to grow out of the muddy pond reminds them of the Buddha and his journey towards Enlightenment. TheBuddha, like a lotus, is determined to grow out of the muddy surroundings, that is the defilements and sufferings of life. He has done all that is to be done and he is showing us that we can all do it too. We may have defilements but we all have the potential of growing out of our defilements and achieving wisdom,like the Buddha.

You are a beautiful white lotus flower, and your role is to remind people to rise above their defilements and sufferings, just as you are arising above the muddy water and not dirtied by the mud from which you grow”

http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/meditate/lotus.htm

Here is my input on this beautiful note:

If we are the lotus seed…part of us always remains connected… rooted even… in the muddy depths of life’s pond.  Another part of us is always growing and being moved about by the murky waters.  And yes, if we accept these conditions and work within them… a part of us may find ourselves blossoming into the air and towards the sun.  But… it is ALL beautiful… all necessary.  

I have always questioned why everyone needs to just focus on that part of us that is the beautiful flower.  We are also the dirty muddy roots and the fragile wavering stem. Sometimes if the conditions are just right and we are patient and allow for the time to grow, we can enjoy some time blossoming in this life. However, if several variables are not just right (most of which we have little or no control over), we may rarely or even never achieve the state of flower in full bloom.  So what!?  That is only one part of us. If we honor and cherish the mud where our roots remain… then we focus on that part of us which is still connected and continue on our journey with gratitude and a deep intention to grow as best we can from the conditions we find ourselves in.  It is this journey, not the destination that defines us.  We are still the lotus.  

Anyways… that’s my two cents on the beautiful symbolism of the lotus.  The concepts I note here are what inspired the name of my company back in 2001.  And although the quote above is beautiful and I honor these teachings deeply… the lessons I was receiving in my meditations were that something of the teachings of ‘TheLotus Way’ were missing.  And one day, the full teaching came to me. This note is a morsel from the volumes that took root in me that day. I came out of that meditation and within a days time had registered my company name ‘The Lotus Way, LLC’ and built my website.  From that day forward I committed to my growth more deeply as well as my desire to serve others in any way I could in their commitment to growth… whole-istic growth… mind, body, soul.   

I hope that this little note resonates with those of you who may feel you are still more in the mud or rising up through the murky waters rather than the temporal yet beautiful blossom on the surface.  

You, all of you, are The Lotus Way… from seed to root to petal.

In Love, The Lotus Way

Fasting & Cancer Treatment

I learned about this research in med school, thanks to Dr Heather Zwickey, a phenomenal immunologist.
I share this info so often, especially with physicians & their patients who are treating cancers.

For the cancer info specifically… it is in the last 20-minutes or so. But whole film has great info.

https://www.amazon.com/Science-Fasting-Sylvie-…/…/B075824XCB

some updated info: https://news.usc.edu/…/fasting-like-diet-turns-the…/

Are Homeopathy & Other Energy-based Medicines Valid?

February 23, 2018

A comment I just posted in a discussion with someone (a TCM practitioner) who does not (yet) believe that homeopathy and other energy-based medicines are valid:

“‘TCM’ was actually created as a western-minded approach using ‘Chinese’ medicine. Those with TCM training who study the Classical roots of our medicine, learn and move beyond this mindset into the lineages within our filed of medicine that allow the mind/heart to see what the western-minded cannot (yet). This goes for all ‘natural medicines’ with deep roots that include the yet immeasurable aspects of our existence. I have met quite a few brilliant physicists, neuroscientists, immunologists, and MDs who have (through a great deal of study and practical experiences & observations) found their way down the rabbit hole.  It’s super fun to speak with these folks. As for those still firmly rooted in a modern/western scientific approach to medicine (and life)… I think the best thing to do is open the door yet not spend too much of our time trying to shine the light on the passageways. “There is a road, no simple highway, Between the dawn and the dark of night, And if you go no one may follow, That path is for your steps alone”

The character I’m attaching to this post is shén. This is most often translated as ‘spirit’. It is at the root of our medicine. And I believe any ‘medicine’ that does not take this immeasurable aspect of existence into account, will never be a truly and fully effective medicine.

This is a foundational teaching of The Lotus Way.