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March 06, 2014

Holding A Grudge

Tags: entitlement, Selfishness, acceptance, blame, control, forgiveness

To hold a grudge is to insert a fishing hook into the mouth of the offender and drag it around behind us forever. It is to build up a huge wall and meter out crumbs on your own terms... watching all the while to ensure your meagerness is responded to properly. It takes a huge amount of energy to hold a grudge and the true loser is the one holding it.

The first step is to forgive.

The second is to recognize your needing to forgive shows that there is still a hook in there making you a victim. Not to say that what happened was right or ok... but when you truly let it go, there is nothing to left forgive. We are then unburdened with maintaining this illusion of separation... This division we built up dissolves... allowing the energy we have been hoarding to flow again, freely…

October 18, 2013

Loyalty And Selfishness

Tags: Selfishness, Empowerment, Loyalty, self respect

Thinking about the Q'ero word "ayni" today and how that relates to loyalty. Ayni means right-relationship, harmony or balance... When we are loyal to others, over ourselves, when we are more concerned about their hurt feelings than being true to ourselves, we are not in ayni. There is a difference between being loyal to one's self and being selfish. Selfishness is usually rooted in fear and scarcity. It comes from a sense of lack...Loyalty to self is listening to your higher self, the intuitive part looking out for your highest good.
As much as we think we are being honorable and selfless by putting another's feelings first, we hurt ourselves when we do not honor our inner voices first. Our Judeo-Christian ethos is based on martyrdom so putting our voices and needs aside to please another "feels" like the right thing to do... But ultimately we are telling ourselves "You are less important that this other person." You are not!!

I began taking classes at the Austin Shamanic Center with the intention of guiding my personal development as I transitioned through major life changes. I was leaving roles behind where I had been working full-time for 38 years as a licensed clinical social worker and I was getting married after being single for 20 years. I knew I needed to change my perceptions of self and how I interacted with the world. I wanted to make those changes through a more thorough integration of my true Self into my daily life. Each step of the way, I noticed I was calmer with the vicissitudes of life, and I was more confident. At the end of the Andean Master’s Class I noticed a significant shift in my internal awareness of Self! I felt “fuller” and experienced “balance” with life in ways that are difficult to describe. I have a precious awareness of all that life offers and very little angst about anything, including writing this testimonial! I also have the skills needed to navigate thoroughly through the time/space continuum to shift from one life experience to another.

My husband, Harry, said that I seem more comfortable in my own skin, more comfortable being Valerie. My daughter, Miki, reported that she thought I was calmer and less excitable about everyday things.

I highly recommend taking the classes at the Austin Shamanic Center for anyone interested in enriching their interface with life.

Valerie Shown, Austin, Texas

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