Turned upside down

I woke up this morning with fire in my belly!

As someone with a strong interest and a deep commitment to Truth and Justice, I am truly confused about what to do when both of those things are being challenged!?

It’s funny how easy it is to practice “surrender” and “acceptance” when things are going well. But it’s in the not-so-good moments, the moments when life is turned upside down, that this becomes a really challenging practice. I’m writing about it because I know, at some point, this may also pertain to you.

Let me give you some examples…

 What do you do when your ex boyfriend publically starts calling his new girlfriend by your nickname?!

Or when someone accuses you of something that you know simply isn’t true?

Or when you go out of your way to put yourself out there – open, honest, vulnerable – and you get squashed, betrayed or humiliated?

Or when someone begins to profit and benefit from something that is actually your idea, your hard work?

Or when you see others lying, you know they’re lying and being deceptive, and yet you’re stuck about whether to get involved or ignore the injustice of it all and simply let nature run it’s course?

Every one of these examples are highly charged emotional situations that definitely have the potential to cause pretty significant discomfort.  So - ?

Here are some of the answers I uncovered:

-A very dear friend of mine says (as she often does) - “If you don’t know what to do…don’t do anything.”

-My Teacher (and friend) says: “You must send Love and Light. You must. Otherwise it will make you sick, literally.”

-Dr Wayne Dyer has this to say:

“First, you have to get past blame. Then you have to learn to send love to all, rather than anger and resentment. Just as no one can define you, neither do you have the privilege of defining others. When you stop judging and simply become an observer, you will know inner peace. With that sense of inner peace, you’ll find yourself free of the negative energy of resentment, and you’ll be able to live a life of contentment. A bonus is that you’ll find that others are much more attracted to you. A peaceful person attracts peaceful energy. You won’t know God unless you’re at peace, because God is peace. Your resentments literally send God out of your life while you’re busy being offended.

At the root of virtually all spiritual practice is the notion of forgiveness. Think about every single person who has ever harmed you, cheated you, defrauded you, or said unkind things about you. Your experience of them is nothing more that a thought that you carry around with you. These thoughts of resentment, anger, and hatred represent slow, debilitating energies that will disempower you. If you could release them, you would know more peace.

You practice forgiveness for two reasons: to let others know that you no longer wish to be in a state of hostility with them and to free yourself from the self-defeating energy of resentment. Send love in some form to those you feel have wronged you and notice how much better you feel.”

-My Vedic Astrologer says: “You just have to let go. Just let go.”

-In the words of another friend: “Just make yourself really strong. Be successful, be beautiful, be strong.”

-The tiny voice inside my head is saying: “Do more yoga and go ride your bike!”

Ugh. That’s exactly what I am going to do….all of it.