Peace and Connection!

A very thought-provoking blog post. Thank you, Colette. And by the way, you look lovely amidst the autumn colors.

I hope it’s okay that I share the following below. I feel compelled to do so given the movement I’ve come across in the past couple of years, and most especially at the point in time.

The excerpts below are from an online article, “Point of View with Barry Boyce”. It’s in honor of our US veterans, whom we celebrate in the US this coming Friday on Veteran’s Day, but I believe it applies to all who suffer from trauma.

Too often I’ve come across many of us in the “Positive Thinking/New Thought” movement (I don’t know a better term for it), being so focused on the ethereal, etc. that it appears we fear anything to do with suffering and trauma – something which we’ve all experienced as human beings to some degree or another. Just as there are survivors out there in the world, there are victims. It’s not just a mentality to many, (especially those going through it), but a real visceral experience.

Perhaps as we grasp part of the reality that peace begins in us, perhaps we can also remember our vulnerability, lest it make us indifferent to the suffering of others – which could one day be us (if it hasn’t been us already and could one day be us again as we are in human form here on earth). In any case, in the human condition, we all must leave the Earth Realm – a suffering for some, a relief for others.

Here are the quotes from Barry Boyce:

“Part of a real flower’s beauty is that it will wither and die—It’s vulnerable. It’s alive. To be alive is to be vulnerable and open. But it naturally carries with it the danger that we could be subject to a very extreme event or a repeated series a very extreme events.

So, I think it’s interesting then, when we think about us all sharing in this vulnerability and the possibility of trauma, and pretty much everybody at some level has experienced some kind of trauma or another in their lives, and some of us many more traumas. Where does the practice of mindfulness fit in? And I think that it’s important to recognize various phases of working with trauma—and they are identified differently by different people, but I think in terms of three basic phases: The acute phase of trauma, the trauma has either just happened or, in terms of post-traumatic stress, you’re coming to grips with it, you’re starting to deal with it. And the most important thing there is safety and stabilizing.”

“It’s really vitally important for all of us to never forget those others who are suffering around us, including those people who are suffering from trauma. We have a tendency, all of us, as human beings we’re so attuned to finding comfort that it’s very easy to forget the pain of others, and frankly, the more that we can appreciate the pain of others on a regular basis the more resilient we are all together, because we are not going around with the false notion that everything needs to be absolutely hunky-dory for us to have well-being.”

Peace to us all!

______________________

Original Article: Point of View: When Vulnerability and Trauma Collide

Thank you Colette. As always, the timing is perfection. I really love the reminder of the community of trees. If they can do it, so can we. If I can remember that connection, others will get it, and we can learn to help each other rise above the anger and separation. Count me in for the loony toons hippy dippy granola grinder crystal bunny club! T-shirts coming soon.

Read ‘The Hidden Life of Trees’ by Peter Wohlleben for the whole tree story. Written in German it appeared in September in English

Fortunate am I! I’ve come from an idealized nature where I’ve been able to step aside and be the observer. lucky was I to be born under a sky that allowed the vision of injustice to be a bright light on the stage we call life. Without knowing why, the role of observer has been where the Great Spirit placed me. I am ever grateful for this gift.

I am on an incredible journey that reinforces the moment the camera snapped the shutter for life to begin. I thank all my granola grinding – hippy dippy – crystal bunny – indigo child – pagan honored – followed by Archangels – talking to dead people abilities and chances to see the roots of the trees are a mass of tangled support that keeps the forest in tact. Love to all of you ????????????lings❣

thank you Colette for your sharing and such a feeling of love be well and know you are loved

Colette
I have met you a couple of times at different places, and you are more amazing every time. The weekly readings make me love you even more. The energy you exude is incredible and I can t wait for our next encounter. Seriously considering the cruise, even if I get motion sick swinging on a swing

Thanks for all you do

LOV : )

Mild Winter Blessings
Lil’bud Blessings
Prosperity Blessings
Dreamboard Blessings
Healthy Pups Blessings
Safe Neighborhood Blessings
Work Commute Blessings
A Miracle!

Awesome positive message. This is my first time listening to you and I really enjoyed it.

Praying that your words of peace rreverberate around the USA and the world. Fear of what might be will hopefully be quelled by prayers for peace!

Well, I have just been stunned to hear that Donald Trump is our President now. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear 3 or 4 hours from now, that he may have found a way to rig the election. I am in total shock and disbelief over this situation, and if it’s really true, then you can bet that in a few months I will have moved to Canada or somewhere else. I apologize for getting political on here, I just don’t think there will be much peace to be had with him becoming King of America. I think I’m going to go outdoors to a forest or park today, and meditate and pray that this does not come to pass, although maybe it very well will. I’m extremely sad right now.

Colette,
This is the first time I’ve written for a while; I’ve been settling into a new job, getting used to my new surroundings, and addressing my health. It has been an adjustment but I think I’ve fared well.
I’m actually home from work today; it is a holiday today but I’ve been put on bed rest for the past few days. It’s been about two weeks since I’ve had a migraine and it has been debilitating. This is the first time that I’ve had a migraine like this in years and I’m not sure what has brought it on, but I have a few ideas. Here in the United States we have experienced the climax of a very divisive presidential election. Being a genealogist I have looked at many historical documents that the public at large doesn’t normally see and I must say that I can compare this moment to other divisive moments in our nation’s history: the 1860’s and the fallout of the U.S. Civil War, the Civil Rights movement of the 1920’s and 1930’s, and the Civil Rights movement of the 1960’s. The only difference between these periods in U.S. history and today is the availability of information; we know almost instantaneously what is going on in our surroundings due to the Internet of Things. Sometimes that information comes to us filtered or unfiltered; in the case of the latter we sometimes have to apply our own filters and these filters are applied based on our own experiences. We communicate differently today and most of our correspondences come without the cues of body language and facial expressions. As I’ve mentioned before even though we are more connected than ever before we are the loneliest that we’ve ever been because we are void of these important visual cues. The Megaphone Effect, a term that I used when doing research in graduate school, states that the amount of validation we receive is directly proportional to the amount of people we can connect to. The more people that we can connect to the likelihood of finding someone who can validate us and our ideas, no matter how divergent, increase. We all seek validation; one of the first questions that we ask is “why am I here?” We all want to be validated by what we do, who we think we are, and who others think we are. We can validate ourselves by uplifting others or we can validate ourselves by denigrating others. It can be a disheartening prospect when we don’t get the validation that we seek. I have seen people looking for that validation from you in your blog the past few months and have expressed their disappointment when they don’t get it the way they think they should have; I have sought validation, from you and others. I have looked for validation from you Colette, and I truly apologize for it. We seek validation from our friends, our family, and in our personal relationships. When there are problems in these areas or we don’t think we receive the validation the way we want we seek outside sources. We seek validation in the sporting teams we support, the music we listen to, or the TV programs we watch. We can do something called “basking in reflected glory”, where the team or event we support is successful then we feel successful and validated, despite the fact that we had no direct involvement. We can also further validate ourselves by insulting the supporters of an opposing team or event.
In the past week I have seen so much vitriol and acrimonious rhetoric posted online in social media between friends. I have seen it online in news posts, on cable news, and among people in the community. It got so bad that I had to suspend my Facebook account; I’ve had to pull the plug on cable news and other sources of media that has fallout from this election. I’ve had to do this because I know something that a lot of people don’t know or don’t realize. It’s something that the readers of your blog already know and are conscious of: words are things. Words have power; words can be transformed into reality. With all of these things that are being said back and forth might come to being and that is a frightening prospect. It pains me to see friends and family at each other’s throats over this. There’s only one other time in U.S. history that pitted family members, neighbors, and friends against each other. The U.S. has currently been in active armed conflict for over a decade in two different regions of the world and there still haven’t been as many casualties as there were in those 4 years of the U.S. Civil War on U.S. soil. The times have changed but some of the topics remain the same. I’m afraid that in this past week that we have GUARANTEED that our children and grandchildren will still be at odds over these topics and I have seen it already in the children’s reaction to this past week’s events.
As I have been seeking my own validation I had an epiphany; I have been doing my genealogy research and I have made a discovery. I took a DNA test and as I was examining the results I realized that I have two sets of grandparents, 4 sets of great grandparents, and 8 sets of great great grandparents. In fact for each one of us on this planet, for each person you see walking down the street, for each person you see on TV, there is exactly ∑_(n=0)^∞▒2^n -1 people responsible for their existence. So, if you put in the generation of your ancestor , your great grandparents for example which is 3 generations, ∑_(n=0)^3▒2^n – 1 = (1+2+4+8)-1 = 14. If you go back one more generation that’s 30 people. One more is 62. If you gathered your great great grandparents in a room and your family leading up to them that’s a class room full of people! There are some people who have stage fright but if you had these people in a room who have “invested” into your existence what would you say to them? If you go back far enough the number of people who contribute to your existence actually mathematically converge to -2; I haven’t figured out the significance of this but it’s something to think about, but going back a few generations you actually have a lot of people who have contributed to your existence on this earth. What more validation do you need than that?
I don’t know if my headache is due to something that I’ve done or my illness, am I picking up the negativity of others, or both. Perhaps it’s significant that your new book is called “Uncharted” as we are venturing into uncharted territory. I haven’t had a chance to read it; I’ve only read the introduction but I’m looking forward to reading more about “Fred”. Sorry for one of my novels, but I will end with what I told my friend after the election results. Although I had to get away from social media for a while maybe this is the time where we have to validate our own existence. Maybe we have to realize that people of light have to combat the darkness, not with divisiveness but with compassion and love. Maybe this is the point where we learn to love each other more, but we must learn to love ourselves first; we must learn to validate ourselves. We’re going to be ok, with both Fred’s help and each other. I will hopefully get over this headache soon, both literally and figuratively. As I do I will pray for healing for everyone, as they seek their own validation.