Page 13 - The Noise November 2016

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Dear Angela,
I feel I have been betrayed by a close-friend, and I have so much anger within me that I’m unable to sleep at night. One top of that, I still have work alongside this person. How does one go about getting rid of anger and resentment? Thank you,
Bitter in Cottonwood
Dear Bitter,
Our relationships with others often bring up the most troubling emotions. How we handle these emotions is a learned skill. I recommend that you get in touch with your anger in a healthy way. For example, write a letter (that
you don’t send) to your friend so you can get clear on what happened and why you feel the way you do. It can start with
“I am so angry because...” While you are writing, become mindful of how the anger and other emotions sit in your body, and how they shift as you express yourself. Did this person actually do something that you need to address, or did they just trigger something unresolved in you? One of my teachers encouraged me to celebrate my emotional triggers, and
see them as opportunities to let go of the past. Is betrayal a theme in your life? Silently thank this person for bringing this up for you to heal! After you write your letter, allow yourself to feel what you are feeling (hate, anger, rage) without judging your emotions, and then open the door inside yourself and visualize the anger leaving like a thick black smoke.
Afterward, you may decide to invite this person out for coffffee so that you can express your feelings in a neutral way. One way to do this is to say, “When X happened, I felt Y”. This
takes the blame and defensiveness out of the conversation. Hopefully, with your willingness to fully honor and feel your feelings, you and your friend can come out of this experience with more understanding and love.
It is also possible that you realize that this person is no longer in alignment with who you are becoming and it may be time to take a break and/or to move on.
Whatever it is, let your heart decide.
Dear Angela,
I was recently given a local arts magazine. I did not see it coming. I want to do something different for the community here, and decided a print-media focus on spirituality is something worth exploring. I am concerned about printing a column on spirituality when I believe deep-down, we are all floating in a sea of delusion and disillusion. How do we know what is true?
John Bianchini,
The Noise
Dear John,
Thank you for your question! You have been given a gift that is most precious! Obviously, the universe saw that you are capable, worthy, and creatively able to undertake this endeavor at this time. Congratulations! Spirit is stepping it up to cosmically nudge you out of any lingering hopelessness
or complacency, and is telling you that you have the ability to be a spokesman for many who do not have a voice, as well as a chance to express more of the good that happens in
the world. Perhaps Spirit is suggesting that you follow your
heart. Would it serve the community to report on what
is uplifting to humanity rather than, commonly, what
creates more chaos and discord? The power is in your
hands, so use it wisely. You speak about spirituality, so
I would ask your heart, “What is Spirit to you?” We each are offered the opportunity to cultivate that deep, personal relationship with the God of our Heart & Understanding on
a daily (and moment to moment) basis if we so choose. For many, suffering and disillusion are prods to go deeper into
the heart, to weed out what no longer serves us. Pratyahara, one of the limbs of yoga, invites us to go beyond the world by withdrawing from over-stimulated senses and monkey-mind so that we can reach into the truth of Oneness. It’s a challenge for anyone living today, especially those householders who are “actively in the world.” This inner-truth can be sought through prayer, meditation, being in nature, and requires our dedicated practice. Spirit wants this for you, and the collective! Spirit is saying, “You’ve had a time of retreat, now take your reflections and shape something beautiful that makes your heart glad.” Cultivating devotion (your personal inspirations) gives us the ability to discern what is true by direct revelation. That still, small voice is there, constantly ready, for all who get quiet enough to listen. It’s there even in the maylay of social obligations. Spirit is offering you an opportunity to “be the face of God” by serving others. Be the cleansing agent, in the ocean of delusion and illusion so the waters become clear.
May you be blessed in your endeavor John. May you bring joy, hope, and wisdom to your readers! Where there is breath, there is HOPE!
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13 • NOVEMBER 2016