tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-277616602011-06-08T01:29:36.232-05:00"Discovering joy in the life you are already living."@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comBlogger581100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-7000001630860085092009-02-27T21:14:00.001-06:002009-02-27T21:14:40.310-06:00

Join us on our New Blog: Awaken to Joy

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-24263802338384537122008-10-06T21:13:00.002-05:002008-10-06T21:18:55.346-05:00

This month was intriguing for me and the teleclass illuminating. The essence of the month was separating your observations (the facts of a situation) from your evaluations (your opinion and feelings of a situation). So, I spent much of the month investigating my reasons behind negative evaluations (making negative assumptions or jumping to negative conclusions) and was intrigued by a piece I

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-39469708424533993742008-10-06T21:11:00.000-05:002008-10-06T21:12:05.591-05:00

What a fascinating month for me. As I mentioned on the other blog, discovering I was still saying “no” and “don’t” to my children more than I wanted to was quite illuminating. Actually, it was more like a shock. I also became acutely aware of the soul-shrinking power those words have both on my children and upon hearing them out in the world. Now I know those words are necessary at times,

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-21862521379363468562008-08-10T12:06:00.002-05:002008-08-10T12:13:03.210-05:00

What an interesting month for me. I am constantly amazed at how each year I seem to go more and more deeply into these topics. There is so much to learn! This year I learned that when I gave love to the person I was judging, my judgments released. Hmmm...sounds simple when I write it here and yet it was so powerful for me. The person was my husband and the release was so profound it has

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-44052489572214822082008-06-09T15:32:00.002-05:002008-06-09T15:35:14.662-05:00

I think my biggest insight was the realization that judging what we are eating does far more damage then what we are eating. One person on the teleclass realized she really likes to eat something sweet during the day. In fact, she loves it. The only thing keeping her from her deeper joy of it was her feeling she "shouldn't" be eating it. Let this be the final thought of this year's eating

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-66946036939176377342008-04-29T21:43:00.000-05:002008-04-29T21:44:36.421-05:00

I am finding this month’s topic more than any other during the year always has much to teach me. There are so many facets to how people affect our compassionate state. When I first wrote the Module three years ago, my focus was on how others can affect us if we aren’t solid in our positive space. I also discussed how we leave residuals with other people as well and we want to be conscious of

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-69520961457418928942008-03-10T12:26:00.001-05:002008-03-10T12:26:31.976-05:00

One great idea that came out of the call this week was letting go of how your needs should be met. One participant mentioned previously feeling very attached to how her needs were met (mostly, who needed to say what). She felt a tangible shift this month and was incredibly surprised to find her need being met in a completely unexpected way. (Interesting to note that the expectation of wanting a

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-633283218204842932008-03-10T12:25:00.001-05:002008-03-10T12:25:51.926-05:00

Last time we did the program we focused entirely on fear on this teleclass. This time we talked all about unmet needs. So, I want to share a thought that came out of the last program’s call around fear. Here is your question to ponder: Is there such a thing as a “realistic fear”. What does that mean for you? In your fear area in your life, how does the fear help you?

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-51471881667677610132007-08-13T13:27:00.001-05:002008-07-28T13:21:33.259-05:00

“The words we say do matter and they resonate powerfully within our bodies.” (-Gormukh Kaur Khalsa, an internationally-renowned yoga teacher and author)I have recently begun to understand on a much deeper level the effect our words have on us. Recently I have been studying the work of Masaru Emoto. Mr. Emoto used high-speed photography to discover that crystals formed in frozen water are

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-43658286283776722482007-05-21T12:39:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:40:58.362-05:00

Here is a thought from a participant for you: “Since my tolerations and boundaries have changed, I ask myself why I was continuing to seek out or continue relationships that did not resonate with that. I think that sometimes, relationships become old habits instead of being old friends.”Is it time to reevaluate old relationships? Ron easily lets go of relationships when they no longer fit

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-48607721794998742072007-05-21T12:27:00.001-05:002007-05-21T12:40:58.362-05:00

One of the suggestions in the People Module is to pay attention to the feeling your own presence leaves behind. What type of residual do you want lingering with the people with whom you interact? This comes from one of the participant’s experience with this idea: "This had the biggest affect on me. I really thought about what I leave behind and I had never focused on this before. It's great to

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-17965568913284351412007-05-14T13:22:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:40:58.362-05:00

We had quite a few participants (myself included) who realized our challenges with others often came from residual opinions. Residual opinions are opinions we formed about people long ago that have stuck with us. The people have long since changed, but your opinion remains and colors everything they do. I had an interesting experience in which I was the "victim" of someone’s residual opinion.

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1739407338180715082007-04-23T13:18:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:41:18.743-05:00

I have had more comments about people who choose certain media for their positive effects, in particular intellectual stimulation. One person chooses specific NPR shows and another uses podcasts to select only what she wants to hear. Ron and I watch almost exclusively PBS in our house. What I like about PBS is I am able to choose shows that have a positive message, I am intellectually stimulated

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-26175423045643482052007-04-16T10:46:00.001-05:002007-05-21T12:41:18.744-05:00

Is there such a thing as "neutral media"? I ask this question because on the calls, I heard several times people say, in reference to the media they use, "but it doesn't affect me." I also heard Ron and I say the same things about what we do. Interestingly, we all said this about media sources that were anything but neutral. For me, it was about my mystery novels, which, as tame as they are, are

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-22474724629878184582007-04-03T22:02:00.001-05:002007-05-21T12:41:18.744-05:00

Something I (Laura) noticed on each call was that those who actually did some level of media fast each had a new awareness around how much the media was affecting them. Those who didn't do the fast felt that the media wasn't affecting them (or at least not as much.)For those of you who have never done any kind of fast (media, food, etc.), I highly recommend them. Fasting is taking a break for a

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-53363217581901079902007-04-02T15:32:00.001-05:002007-05-21T12:41:18.745-05:00

Here is a quote that came from a participant last year when we were discussing positive media. “These to me are the type of media that actually help me or stimulate my intellect. There is a fine line, though, between what is helpful and then what is then truly avoiding and escaping my time away. Quite a bit of our culture is about escape rather than being in the moment and dealing with reality.

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-76835648558584209542007-04-02T15:29:00.001-05:002007-05-21T12:41:18.745-05:00

And yet another quote: "Even though TV has a relaxing or numbing effect when you watch it, I find that it creates anxiety. The anxiety is kind of the TV hangover :-) If I watch TV before going to bed, my mind is assaulted with commercials that include extremely violent images like murder, assault, rape, child abuse, etc. They are usually preview for shows that I would never watch. Unfortunately,

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-48638995455712642162007-04-02T15:27:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:41:18.745-05:00

Here is another quote from a participant: "I am adding on to the comment from last week. I, too, didn't feel the Media month applied to me. I do watch tv but I had never been aware of any effect on me. I always enjoy my 'veg time' as I call it and I only watch sports that, to me, was neutral. I especially thought of it as neutral in comparison to television news and shows about murder. Last

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-78956242343822964312007-04-02T15:21:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:41:18.745-05:00

I decided to pop these quotes into the blog because I thought they were excellent insights for these people and many could gain insights from them as well. Enjoy!“I didn't think this month was one that would apply to me. I don't watch the news and hardly every watch television so, honestly, I didn't even participate in the assignment. You mentioned that there are many sources of media besides

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-36929700635783235182007-03-23T10:16:00.001-05:002007-05-21T12:41:47.689-05:00

This topic came up several times over the teleclasses. What about “realistic fears”? Aren’t they okay to have? Perhaps even necessary for our own good? Hmmm…sounds logical. Then we began to discuss what a realistic fear is. What makes a fear “realistic”? Do you know the definition of fear is: “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-18635004496914494812007-03-15T14:00:00.001-05:002007-05-21T12:41:47.691-05:00

Here is a comment I received on last year’s Teleclass on Needs: "Usually when I become crabby and irritable it is because my tiredness is a result of taking care of other people, their feelings, their needs, etc. As a result, I usually have put my needs aside. It is important to put our needs aside for others, of course. There are many good reasons to do that. However, if I do it for too

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-24647282518618444342007-03-12T12:20:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:41:47.692-05:00

Have you begun to make the connection (pardon the pun) between connecting with yourself and others to feel compassion? In order to be in our natural state of compassion we need to be connected to our Higher Self and to the person with whom we are speaking, even if we don’t agree with him/her. Frankly, the connection is just what we are working on in this program. When we are truly connected,

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-10983076703569323662007-03-01T10:18:00.000-06:002007-05-21T12:41:47.692-05:00

This week I want to share a wonderful story from one of the teleclasses from this month. I had one teleclass participant say she committed to doing just 20 minutes of exercise 3 times each week for the month in an effort to meet her needs. Two amazing outcomes occurred from this commitment.The first was the ease at which she continued with her commitment. She had previously attempted to commit

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-9955668313711816742007-02-26T13:24:00.000-06:002007-05-21T12:42:18.212-05:00

One participant had a fascinating insight into her anger. Her anger almost always started with blame. In particular, she blamed others for not sensing her needs and, therefore, not fulfilling her needs. I think many of us feel blame as well. I know it resonated with me. Even when I think about it in a “rational” moment, I can still feel as if my needs are “obvious” and any partially

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-51322855303208460752007-02-15T14:46:00.000-06:002007-05-21T12:42:18.213-05:00

Here is a quote from Judith Hanson Lasater, a yoga teacher I very much respect. “We cannot become angry unless we believe we are right.” Is there anything to add to this one? Think about your own life and when you feel angry. It is true, isn’t it? You feel you are right. (I know, I know, you are thinking, “but I am!”) Here is Judith’s recommendation: “Today when you feel irritated about

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-63577427721386954092007-02-12T13:43:00.002-06:002007-05-21T12:42:18.213-05:00

Residual anger refers to holding onto irritation from one situation and allowing it to seep into another situation. Be careful with this one, it is insidious. Residual anger can seep into a later encounter with the same person or it can come up in a seemingly unconnected situation with another person. Residual anger erodes your heart, bit by bit.One participant realized that it was residual

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-32369853761048368752007-02-12T13:43:00.001-06:002007-05-21T12:42:18.214-05:00

One Teleclass was especially lively with a debate over whether we can ever not be angry in certain situations – situations that are particularly horrible. A few participants felt deeply that if a situation was terrible enough, it needed to change, not them. They felt they would never be able to not be angry when faced with it (and, ultimately, that they should be angry. It was their anger of

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1170103286111094582007-01-29T14:37:00.000-06:002007-05-21T12:42:39.679-05:00

Intrigued? I had a wonderful discussion group last week during which we discussed anger and its derivatives. One participant said she had been pondering the source of all violence. She, herself, had experienced a considerable amount of anger in the past year and she was wondering if there was a connection between the source her anger and the source of all other types of anger, from a simple

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1169237631138547122007-01-19T14:13:00.000-06:002007-05-21T12:42:39.679-05:00

We are reading the Magic Tree House series of books to our children. They are wonderful fantasy books with lovely lessons in them. In the latest one, Merlin the Magician tells them on their next mission to “be sure to answer the question from love not fear.” They then face a frightening sea serpent who asks them a question. The question has two answers to it the one that comes from fear is

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1168547085911915782007-01-11T14:23:00.000-06:002007-05-21T12:42:39.679-05:00

I would like to continue on my thought from last week, being able to accept love. Being able to accept love gives others an opportunity to give and increase their love. Of course, receiving the benefits of giving love isn’t contingent upon others accepting your gift. It is much more satisfying, though, to give when the gift is received well.So, here is my thought. This example is so simple it

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1168285582508364152007-01-08T13:45:00.000-06:002007-05-21T12:42:39.680-05:00

One of the main ways of expanding our capacity to love (and perhaps the only way) is to give love; to help others. Although we all “know” this in our heads, have you thought about one of its corollaries? Are you someone who has a hard time accepting help from others?I had an interesting email from one of YLC participants. She told me how she clearly experiences love when she is helping others.

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1166472977006488492006-12-18T14:15:00.000-06:002007-05-21T12:45:32.181-05:00

I realized about two years ago that I used my time showering in the morning to think about my fears and get myself adrenalized for the day. I found I actually felt better on days when I didn’t shower until later in the day since I wasn’t “setting” myself up for fear and negativity. I decided to change what I did with my shower time. (I am amazed at how long it took me to shift the behavior,

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1166215282041091162006-12-15T14:40:00.000-06:002007-05-21T12:45:32.182-05:00

This question led to some interesting discussion on the teleclasses. Everyone agreed that his/her definition of “spiritual practice” had evolved over the years to become much broader. Almost everyone felt they had originally equated spiritual practice with whatever was included in their religion such as attending weekly services, reading scriptures, prayer, etc. Most people had since, and

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1165600719344458942006-12-08T11:58:00.000-06:002007-05-21T12:45:32.182-05:00

This question sparked some thoughtful comments. One person wasn’t sure she had ever felt connected so we first stepped back and discussed what being “connected” meant. Most people agreed that it meant having a direct link to our deeper self, an awareness of harmony in the world, knowing God is there and listening. I think there is great latitude to the definition, though. What does it mean to

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1165262598757677232006-12-04T14:02:00.000-06:002007-05-21T12:45:19.173-05:00

Are you kidding me? I have no time for a practice! I have a job, kids, a house to take care of, meals to prepare, a lawn to cultivate, clubs I have joined, activities to drive my children to… responsibilities. The list can be endless. When someone asked the Dalai Lama how she was suppose to find time to do a practice within the confines of her incredibly busy life, the Dalai Lama chuckled.

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1164046555888794952006-11-20T12:15:00.000-06:002007-05-21T12:43:59.024-05:00

As my last blog entry for this topic, I want to add my final thought around compassionate communication. Ultimately, I think the key to truly compassionate communication is seeking to completely hear and understand someone before seeking to be understood ourselves. Once someone feels heard fully, they are much more likely to be in a place to help you be heard as well. All of the work we are

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1163187697866474452006-11-10T13:40:00.000-06:002007-05-21T12:43:59.024-05:00

How do you respond to a negative message from someone? Where do you go with your thoughts and words when someone labels you with a negative adjective (i.e., self-centered, pessimistic, irritating) disagrees with your opinion, or honks at you while you are driving your car.In Dr. Rosenberg’s book, Nonviolent Communication, he discusses the four ways we can respond to a negative statement from

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1162498039753787312006-11-02T14:05:00.000-06:002007-05-21T12:43:59.024-05:00

On our teleclass, I asked everyone if they recognized in the moment whether they were communicating with someone in a connected way vs. a separate way. In other words, when they are actually hearing the other person and know the other person is hearing them vs. not.When I asked the question, there was an audible “oh yeah” from everyone. We all seemed to agree that telling the difference was

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1162165600417867662006-10-29T17:45:00.001-06:002007-05-21T12:43:59.025-05:00

I want to continue with what I began last week – how to handle the really challenging communication. One of the participants of the call last month mentioned a conversation she had with someone who was really negative. As much as the YLC participant tried to pull the individual away from the negativity and to a more positive subject, the negative person kept coming back to the negative place.I

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1161630683057089072006-10-23T14:06:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:43:59.025-05:00

Let me begin with a quote from one of the participants of last month’s call: “I find that I do already apply the principles of NVC communication with a few adults who I am close to, but that these principles are difficult to apply (judgment here) with people who are difficult. There are a couple people in my life who are so hardened that no amount of compassion seems to soften them. While I go

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1160679364751404392006-10-12T13:54:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:43:59.025-05:00

One participant made a wonderful point – you cannot communicate well, with a compassionate heart, unless you are speaking that way to yourself. She realized that her internal communication wasn’t as positive as she wanted it to be and it often created a negative internal environment for her. From that environment, it was difficult to be anything but negative in expressing herself. She

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1160158655945184742006-10-06T13:16:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:43:59.026-05:00

One topic that came up on the teleclass was how to remember to check yourself to see if you are evaluating or merely observing. Observing is just noting precisely what is happening. Evaluating is injecting your opinion or ideas into the observation. The evaluation can be positive or negative, either way it interferes with us seeing what is really happening. As one participant commented, “

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1159552239992441362006-09-29T12:47:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:43:59.026-05:00

“I feel so sentenced by your words, I feel so judged and sent away, before I go I've go to know is that what you mean to say? Before I rise to my defense, before I speak in hurt or fear, before I build that wall of words, tell me, did I really hear? Words are windows, or they're walls, They sentence us, or set us free. When I speak and when I hear, let the lovelight shine through me. There are

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1159201205705974472006-09-25T11:18:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:45:56.917-05:00

Judith Lasater once said, “When we are fully present, we have space between action and reaction and can choose our response. We all leave residue with those with whom we interact. With space, we can choose the residue we want to leave.”That quote has stuck with me ever since I heard her say it. Somehow, knowing that an interaction with me can affect people long after we are together – and can

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1158344737578183532006-09-15T13:24:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:45:56.917-05:00

Often the negative words we use are merely a habit, something we learned to use along the way and continue even though the word may not convey or represent what we are actually feeling. Unfortunately, using the word, even when we don’t actually mean it, still lead to negativity and fill the negative well within us. I had a coaching client with whom I spoke this week who had a challenging week.

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1157648063119130912006-09-07T11:51:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:45:56.918-05:00

There was one comment that came out of the teleclass that has really stuck with me. I think, in part, due to the simplicity of it. This story demonstrates the power of changing what may seem like an insignificant negative thought. This woman was working in her garden very much enjoying being there and taking care of her plants. Then a thought popped into her head, ‘I have to go inside and

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1156623715974252132006-08-26T15:21:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:46:22.395-05:00

One discussion that came out of a teleclass was around our punitive methods in this country. Our justice system is based on judgment. We discussed whether this was a good or bad idea in light of our work on compassion.I have very strong feelings and opinions about this area, especially now that I have children. When I began disciplining my kids in the traditional, American way, using judgment,

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1155845285888664172006-08-17T15:06:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:46:22.396-05:00

I mentioned briefly in the Module how when we label someone or something, evaluate them, or judge them, we limit how we see them and that then keeps us from fully accessing our compassion with them. On one of the teleclasses, we were drawn into a lively debate around this topic. Think of how you viewed your teachers in grade school. We saw them as teachers and couldn’t imagine that they had

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1155236045224045182006-08-10T13:53:00.001-05:002008-06-19T12:20:23.981-05:00

Ever think about the term “prejudice”? It just means pre-judging or making up your mind before you have an experience. Interesting to see it in that way, isn’t it? We don’t want to think of ourselves as prejudiced – what a horrible thought – yet how many times over the past month did you notice yourself developing an opinion before you actually experienced a situation? Hmmm…you were being

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1154800402704244752006-08-05T12:49:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:46:22.396-05:00

One idea that came up on both of the calls was the realization that thoughts are as important as spoken words on how they affect us. A few participants thought that as long as thoughts went unspoken they weren’t harmful to our hearts. Thoughts touch us and affect us in almost the same way as something that is actually verbal. Spoken words are still more potent; speaking something creates more

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1152896431970768802006-07-14T11:58:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:46:53.123-05:00

“Yet I’ve learned that you don’t serve the world by taking on its judgments, hanging your head in shame, and saying, ‘Yeah, you must be right. I must be bad.’ Take responsibility for your part in your own disasters, yes – but take on every projection of guilt from every unhealed person? No! For whatever reason people may need to project their own anger and guilt on you, you don’t have to

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1152547038498051192006-07-10T10:56:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:46:53.125-05:00

I once said that you cannot be compassionate with others until you learn how to be compassionate with yourself. This month I found the teleclass participants fully understood that idea…I asked everyone if they were able to be compassionate with others when they were feeling judgmental toward themselves, even just a little. Unanimously, all said, “no.” In fact, the response was much more

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1152544578614577072006-07-10T10:12:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:46:53.125-05:00

I think the most remarkable idea that came out of the teleclasses (and I believe this came up in each one) was the idea that our self-judgments aren’t even based in fact…Our self-judgments are our own making and usually (or in the case of the examples shared on the calls, always) aren’t based in truth. One woman said she feels she is a “bad mother” and assumes her husband agrees and hears his

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1151901505737687502006-07-02T23:37:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:46:53.126-05:00

One idea we discussed on the teleclasses was realizing that self-judgment was a downward spiral and once we get started, it just leads to more self-judgment and other negative thoughts and behavior. We discussed identifying red flags and steps for stopping this spiral…There were many red flags that people identified once they thought about their own situation such as rumination, just feeling

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1151347529069473212006-06-26T13:29:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:47:17.002-05:00

My last thought around eating is the guilt and defensiveness we have around eating the foods that are a source of negative energy for us. I heard it on all the teleclasses and I hear it in my own head as well. As I mentioned in the eNewsletter a couple of weeks ago, despite all of the horrible side effects we have eating foods we know aren’t good for our system, we often continue to eat them,

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1150733037425553952006-06-19T10:53:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:47:17.003-05:00

Another idea that came out of our teleclasses was around the quantity of foods that affect us negatively. Several people mentioned that even though a large quantity of their "negative food" would affect them, they could eat a smaller amount and be fine. But...I realized as we were discussing it that the "effect" had to be fairly large to be noticed since the effects people discussed were

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1150039706084538462006-06-11T10:27:00.000-05:002007-05-21T12:47:17.003-05:00

We had some great discussions on the teleclasses about eating. The piece I have been thinking about comes from a question that I asked on one of the calls. We had been discussing the effect of foods that are bad for our system. I was amazed at the range of effects. There was fogginess, nausea, cramping, gas, rashes, joint pain, and more. Yet, when asked if people still at least occasionally

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27761660.post-1147113602501043232006-05-08T13:39:00.000-05:002006-06-11T10:30:31.320-05:00

This story is where I began this journey...I once read a quote that I will paraphrase because I do not remember it verbatim nor do I remember its author, but its sentiment rang in my ears. “If you squeeze an orange you get orange juice. When you are squeezed, what comes out?” Well, when I had my second child, I was being squeezed and I did not like what was coming out. I was exhausted and my 2 ½

@MuseLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18242543025805548527noreply@blogger.com