UPDATE ON THE WAVE!

This headline was in the news today:  "U.S. Deaths Surpass 2.5 Million For The First Time."

Not coincidentally (because there are no coincidences), I'd been expecting that headline, was just wondering yesterday, in fact, if there were any stats on the subject. And there it was this morning. Yes, people are dropping like flies these days. Every week, I hear another story of someone who's suddenly left the planet or developed some fatal, or near-fatal disease, or had some calamity occur.

The Wave that I've been writing about regularly for the last two years is in full force and still accelerating as we head down the home stretch of 2012. What is The Wave? It is the surge of energy that has been sweeping change across the planet more and more, brought about by a collective intention that has been in place for quite a long time, as we think of it, to make the great transition (as the Pathwork Guide lecture refers to it HERE) from a 3rd dimensional level of consciousness to 4th and 5th dimensional consciousness.

In other words, from the deeper levels of our being, we have all agreed to change the "game" we've been playing for much of what we think of as our history, and now play a new game, one in which we awaken more fully to who and what we really are. In this game, we become conscious creators of our reality, rather than the unconscious creators we've been up until now.

What determines the ways in which one experiences the Wave is directly proportional to the level of openness to change and movement in each person. Where the Wave is meeting a closed system, it's taking its toll through hardships, generally. Where the Wave is experienced as a welcomed shift by the individual, abundance, vibrance in the body, higher love and creative expression are generally the rule. We can think of these two different places in dimensional terms. At the 3rd dimensional vibration, where ego, will and intellect rule, the political and financial systems are rife with corruption and collapsing out from under us, the environment is getting wantonly assaulted beyond repair, nature feels dangerous to our well-being, and competition, greed and violence are taken as endemic to being human. In the Third Dimension, shit happens. And it happens to you!

In the Fourth Dimension, shit never just happens. All "coincidences" are meaningful. Serendipity, deja vu, intuitions, one's sixth sense, are all understood as natural aspects of creativity and of creating reality. In fourth dimensional consciousness, all events are addressed by asking the same questions: "Why did I create this?" "Why did I attract this?" "What message is coming to me through these events" Is this what I prefer and choose to create? In Fourth Dimension reality, there are no victims, only creators, and instead of competition, greed and violence, there is collaboration, abundance and oneness.

So, back to the lead story on this post, why all these deaths? Well, because we are all one, because we operate both individually and collectively, and collectively, we've agreed to make this change, those who are not prepared or not willing to make the shift at this time while still here on planet Earth in physical form have chosen to leave. Or go into serious crisis mode.

This particular moment "in time" represents the opening of a significant window in our continuum, a moment when there is a great deal of energy available to make the transition. But the 2012 train is heading out of the station, and it will not be as "easy" to catch The Wave soon. Can you eventually catch another train? Absolutely. Ultimately, every being must evolve and continue to raise their vibrational frequencies on their way to full conscious oneness. Everyone "makes it," in other words. But how and when is always up to us.

All aboard!! 

"MOM" COMMENTS ON PL'S POST ABOUT "MILK AND COOKIES!" PL RESPONDS!

In a post entitled "TODAY'S BEST MIXED MESSAGE AD PICTURE!" I put up the picture below, finding it to be a clash of sensibilities to have one of the most natural and healthy forms of nourishment (breast milk) juxtaposed with one of the least (an Oreo cookie). 

 A mom recently wrote in with the following comment:

"I think this is interesting for a number of reasons. Amongst the shocking, bizarre, and quite frankly downright unacceptable stuff we see in movies, including kiddies movies (we walked out of Ice Age 4), I find this tame (my 6 year old would get it) even and worthy of a giggle because if you've ever nursed a child you will KNOW, yes PL "KNOW", that 1. No nursing mother's breasts look like THAT (unless its a Korean standard - which even then I doubt), secondly that if you put a camera in the face of a nursing child (not infant of course) they are likely to look at you in exactly the same way. they frown, they frown when they're nursing anyway, it takes concentration, and YOU'RE a distraction. 3. No nursing child is going to have ANY interest in an Oreo. Promise. Now call me crazy, but THAT is the simplicity with which i view this image. With all the taboos we are bombarded with daily, I really think its a good shot at getting attention, and from an advertisers point of view is likely to sell Oreos (to sleep deprived Moms and Dads maybe?). Why, please explain, is this controversial? with all the taboos we are exposed to that so few appear to flinch at. I see a lot of frighteningly off center stuff come out of Penguins of Madagascar and can think of far worthier violations to demonstrate against and create laws to prevent. So, if we stopped making this controversial it wouldn't be, but for now remains a good ad, because its up for discussion, if it wasn't controversial, it would be sweet and heartwarming. I think it is, but then I guess people prefer pics of cuddly pups and kittens to this, or worse images of war death and destruction that we see n the news everyday. Perhaps the rest of the values supported and espoused by advertisers are so savory and sound? or any other content we're exposed to on a daily basis. Surely images of nursing mothers with their infants should remind us of who we are. I don't see photographers blacking out images of the nipples of nursing tigers or any other animal for that matter. Oh dear. I hope this is put into stark perspective soon.
Hope everyone can just relax about the nursing mother - bared breast dilemma, its no biggie really, get over yourselves. Its not a trauma, its reality. One of the more reassuring ones in an ocean of ever more warped ones.
Mom - ex- USA resident, SA 

Here's PL:

Thanks for writing in, "Mom from SA"! I definitely appreciate what you are saying in your comment, and agree with most of it, I think, though I'm not sure if your notes actually apply to the intention in my my post. I was commenting on the ironic visual juxtaposition - mentioned above - of healthy and unhealthy, not on the exposure of a breast, nor even the use of the breast and baby for commercial purposes. I also agree with you that it is a clever ad, and many are much more insidious. Some readers of my "attachment parenting" posts have also misunderstood my criticism of Jamie Lynne Grumet and her exploitive misuse of the AP theory as reflective of some judgment about public breast-feeding or breast-feeding in general. Not at all. Nothing, in fact, could be further from the truth. My concerns about over-involved parenting are not translatable into a repressive attitude against nature and inhibition. This is Full Permission Living, remember? But not "full permission" to act out un-worked on negative impulses or unmet childhood needs on others.

Thanks again!

TODAY'S BASHAR QUOTE!

"Our Higher Self arranges time in such a way that we do not get what we want when we initially want it, only because it wants us to first accumulate certain experiences, certain skills, certain appreciations, connections with other people, certain awarenesses first so that when we do get to experience this thing we want, we will then be appreciating it and enjoying it on a much deeper and more profound level."
Bashar

GREAT GRAPHIC ON "HELICOPTER PARENTING" BY AN FPL READER!

An FPL reader, Allison Morris, contacted me to share a very relevant (and cool) graphic she helped create about the issues that arise when parents are over-involved in their offspring's lives, in this case with a focus on career. Allison read some of the FPL posts on the "Attachment Parenting" debate, and correctly thought I'd be interested in her statistics and take on the subject. Indeed, I am most appreciative, Allison, and you illustrate very cleverly how today's 20-somethings are actually falling behind previous generations in key areas of life as a result of what I (less tactfully than you, for sure) refer to as the narcissistic, vicarious acting out of parents through their children in a vain attempt to undo their own childhood injuries. 

The only words in your presentation I might split hairs about and take issue with are these: "Being friends with your parents is great..."

In my many years of practicing therapy, the most difficult cases are the ones in which a patients starts out the sharing of their history in a first session by saying that one or both of their parents were their "best friend." Whenever I hear that, now, I know it's going to be a long haul.

Thanks so much, Allison!

PL

Here's Allison's note to me, and her graphic below:

Hi Peter,
 
I’m reaching out to connect with you about a graphic I helped create which provides stats on how parents’ actions can impact students today and how the effects of “helicopter parenting” can be seen in college and even in the workplace.I came across this post on your site: http://fullpermissionliving.blogspot.com/2012/03/thoughtful-exchange-for-change-on.html – and given that you might have an interest.

Please Include Attribution to OnlineCollege.org With This Graphic

THE BEATLES, BOND AND BEYOND!

It was fifty years ago today. 

The world was introduced to the first Beatles single and the first James Bond movie on the same day. Both “Love Me Do” and "Dr. No" debuted Oct. 5, 1962. The world was in the early stages of  a major transition, though few knew on that particular October day how momentous the changes would be. 

Both The Beatles and Bond in 2012 have stood the test of time, but while the Bond films barely changed the formula of Dr. No in the subsequent 21-going-on-22 feature films, the Beatles instigated change and innovation continuously throughout their catalogue of over 300 songs. Even 5 decades after Love Me Do and 4 decades since their break-up as a band, and the subsequent premature deaths of John Lennon and George Harrison, the Beatles' influence and popularity are still huge. 

I can still remember sitting on the livingroom floor, barely 2 feet from the TV screen, mesmerized, on February 9, 1964, as Ed Sullivan introduced the "lads from Liverpool" to a screaming crowd of young fans in America for the first time. I was nine-and-a-half years old and I was personally changed forever. I knew something extraordinary was happening, and not just to me, but to the whole world. Without knowing why, really, I felt thoroughly exhilarated listening to the exuberant renditions of "All My Loving," "'Till There Was You," and "She Loves You." My optimism about life as a human being soared. Music and love, love and music... I began taking piano lessons in earnest and had my first infatuation with a girl named "Judy" shortly thereafter.

Meanwhile, somehow, with my father and best friend, "Cookie," in tow, I was able to see Dr. No in a movie theater, even though for 1962 (I was eight), the movie was pretty sexy and scary (Remember Ursula Andress in that bikini and that damn tarantula crawling up Bond's naked chest?! I don't remember if there was even a rating system as such back then.) But as fascinated as I was by this unflappable, irresistible, and invincible British spy on the big screen, played flawlessly by Sean Connery (There never was any other James Bond to me.), it turned out to be the James Bond novels by Ian Fleming that really captured my adolescent mind and developing sensibilities during the heart of the Sixties.

The Bond in the books was flawed, at times actually shaken (not stirred). He sometimes needed the help of others, and he made mistakes. He was human, in other words. James Bond also was an expert on body language (a pre-saging of what would become a professional calling in adulthood for me), and he was an intensely sensate being, enjoying the pleasures of fine food and drink, and of course, of love, Eros and sex (And unlike in the movies, James Bond in the novels fell in love and had his heart broken a few times.). The enjoyment and indulgence of those sensory pleasures also become a permanent part of my personality ongoing, and here's something I discovered in recently re-reading the novels decades later - it turns out that James Bond, in "Thunderball," actually even went to a spa and did a Dr. Schulze-like cleanse, including a vegan diet, body work and hot-and-cold-showers, all regular parts of my health maintenance process today!

So, The Beatles and James Bond, one a group whose musical message was "All You Need Is Love", the other a secret agent with a license to kill who loved all things physical and sensory - not at first blush a likely combination to become harmonizing influences on the same individual. 

Yet, here I am.

You see, we create our own reality from our inner intentions and state of being, and from whatever beliefs we may still be holding onto, as well. I know that "love is all you need" and that there's "nowhere you can be that isn't where you're meant to be." I also love fine dining, great sex and a good, extra dry martini.  

Cheers!

TODAY'S QUOTE!

"Everything will be all right in the end. So if it is not all right, it is not yet the end."
("Sonny Kapoor" in "The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel")

TODAY'S QUOTE!

He may have survived the Borg, but it appears that Time Warner Cable has assimilated Sir Patrick Stewart's life-force. Or at least that's what the actor, who just moved to Park Slope, and is best known for his portrayal of Captain Picard on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," tweeted at the cable and Internet service provider Thursday:

"All I wanted to do was set up a new account with Time Warner Cable, but thirty-six hours later, I've lost the will to live!"

"LORDS OF THE PLAYGROUND!"

MUST SEE videos on modern fatherhood! Go HERE and have a good laugh!

STILL CELEBRATING CHILD ABUSE, THIS TIME ON THE COVER OF "PATHWAYS TO FAMILY WELLNESS?!!?"

Here she goes again. This narcissistic, exhibitionistic person, Jamie Lynne Grumet, masquerading as a mother, demonstrating child abuse for all to see on the cover of - wait for it! - "PATHWAYS TO FAMILY WELLNESS!"

"Attachment Parenting" is an oxymoron. The disturbed and distorted "theory," at least as manipulated by the likes of Grumet, does not foster healthy attachment (which would be naturally followed by healthy autonomy and individuation at around age 1 1/2), nor does it constitute parenting by any measure. What it is is child abuse, most insidiously in the form of the narcissistic exploitation of a young child for the ego-gratification of a disturbed adult.

Here are the actual founders of "Attachment Parenting," psychologists Mary Ainsworth and John Bowlby, on the subject: "Questions like whether to breast-feed or bottle-feed, or at what age to introduce solid foods, though still important, no longer carry the same urgency. Attachment theory suggests that babies thrive emotionally because of the overall quality of the care they've experienced, not because of specific techniques. A bottle-fed baby whose mother is sensitively attuned will do better than a breastfed baby whose mother is mechanical and distant."

You can read more by PL HERE on the subject. Below is my original post on Grumet and her exploitation of children for her own ego gratification.

This is not a joke.

Time magazine’s controversial cover features actual mother, Jamie Lynne Grumet, standing, and her 3-year-old son, unnamed, perched on a chair, nursing from his mother the way she and he actually do it.

As FPL readers know, I'm no prude when it comes to the human body, sex or breast feeding, for that matter. In fact, I strongly advocate for all of the above in healthy doses in genuinely self-actualized situations. 

But as readers also know, I deplore what passes for parenting in our culture. Ms. Grumet, unfortunately for her son, is one of the reasons why I say that parents are the least qualified of all adults to raise children.

Let me be sure that my position is not ambivalent: 

"Attachment Parenting" is an oxymoron. 

The disturbed and distorted "theory" (as least as it's been interpreted and put into practice) does not foster healthy attachment (which would be naturally followed by healthy autonomy and individuation at around age 1 1/2), nor does it constitute parenting by any measure or stretch of the imagination. What it is is child abuse, most insidiously in the form of the narcissistic exploitation of a young child for the ego-gratification of a disturbed adult. And all of that has come into vogue, perhaps thanks to Dr. William Sears, who wrote the book on this corrupted pseudo-parenting concept, disguised as enlightened parenting.

You can read some of my thoughts on this subject HERE.

ANOTHER ROUND WITH "ISABEL" ON ATTACHMENT PARENTING! PL RESPONDS!

Here's Isabel:

"Ok, I see. I don't know this Ms Grumet and I understood that you were criticizing breastfeeding after 1.5 years and Attachment Theory in general. Then, I agree with you - self-actualization is key. Most people should go to therapy before becoming parents or, at least, once they become parents. I do. I know everything I don't have worked out is a heavy weight on my children. It is very sad how adults put our needs before our offspring and the dramatic results for them. And usually parents say it is for their children. There is an alarming lack of awareness. I'll continue reading the blog, I would have continued anyway, I like your boldness."

Here's PL:

I really like your boldness, as well, Isabel! If more parents were like you, willing to spend some quality time in therapy before or during parenthood, our children would have a much better chance of becoming self-actualized.
On the 1 1/2 year mark for beginning the individualization process, you know, nature doesn't screw up. A child becomes able to walk, and starts growing teeth, at exactly the age they would naturally, without parental ego involved, stop breastfeeding. It's brilliantly orchestrated by nature that way. But you see, parents who desperately want to be "liked" by their children think that if the little toddler protests the weaning process, it's a bad thing. It's not. Every child protests at the beginning of the next developmental stage. These short-lived upsets are just normal growing pains. Parents who don't help their child wean themselves at the age nature intended are acting out of their own insecurities, not for the best interest of their child.
Again, thank you, Isabel. I applaud you!
PL

"ISABEL" COMMENTS ON PL'S TAKE DOWN OF JAMIE GRUMET AND HER EXPLOITATION OF ATTACHMENT PARENTING!

"Isabel" wrote into FPL to comment on PL's response to the latest cover story featuring so-called "Attachment Parenting" advocate Jamie Grumet.

Here's Isabel:

"I like almost everything you write and I think it makes a lot of sense, except on this subject. I think you haven't researched enough, just look at some anthropological facts on breastfeeding around the world. By the way, mothers and fathers can be narcissistic both breastfeeding and bottlefeeding, I don't see your point here. And parents can put their needs before either with attachment parenting or using Ferber. Breasts are meant to breastfeed and children are not automous at 1,5 years, they start their autonomy and, of course, parents need to encourage that, but they need to return to a secure base for a very long time after that."

Here's PL:

Thank you very much for commenting, Isabel. I am glad that you like "almost everything" I write. Given the feathers that I often try and ruffle on the FPL blog, that is quite a compliment! 

In this particular case, that of Ms. Grumet and her exploitation of the "Attachment Parenting" paradigm, you may be misreading what I wrote. I am not at all criticizing breastfeeding. Quite the contrary. Check my post again. Here's an excerpt: 

"As FPL readers know, I'm no prude when it comes to the human body, sex or breast feeding, for that matter. In fact, I strongly advocate for all of the above in healthy doses in genuinely self-actualized situations."

What I am very much concerned about, Isabel, is that narcissistic, exhibitionistic, enmeshed and over-involved parents like Ms. Grumet are using the Attachment Parenting theory to justify their vicarious acting out and abuse of their children, a very insidious and serious epidemic in our time, no less harmful that overt physical abuse.

I do hope you continue to follow the FPL blog and again, I thank you for your thoughtful comments.

PL

TODAY'S QUOTE!

"All the world's major religions, with their emphasis on love, compassion, patience, tolerance, and forgiveness can and do promote inner values. But the reality of the world today is that grounding ethics in religion is no longer adequate. This is why I am increasingly convinced that the time has come to find a way of thinking about spirituality and ethics beyond religion altogether."

Dalai Lama

NARCISSISM IS BAD FOR YOUR HEALTH!

Yep. That most intransigent of states so rampant in our culture for the last 30-40 years, narcissism, may not just be bad for your social life; it may also hamper your health. That's what a piece in the Huffington Post said few weeks ago.

A new study, entitled "Expensive Egos: Narcissistic Males Have Higher Cortisol," published in a scientific journal, PLoS One, suggests that individuals with certain narcissistic personality traits may have elevated levels of cortisol - the primary stress hormone - putting them at greater risk for longterm health problems, particularly cardiovascular events.

Dr. Patrick Kelly, director of consultation liaison service and pediatric psychosomatic medicine at Johns Hopkins says, "It gives a biological correlation to a psychiatric phenomenon. There is a mind body connection. There are real physical ramifications to your mental state, particularly if you have something like a personality disorder, which can be treated."

Hello!

You can read more on the subject on FPL HERE and HERE and HERE.

MORE ON THE PLACEBO EFFECT: THE LIE OF ANTIDEPRESSANTS!

Well-known psychologist, Irving Kirsch, P.h.D, featured on "60 Minutes" earlier this year, wrote an important book entitled "Antidepressants: The Emperor's New Drugs?"

I've written about this subject (HERE and HERE), taught about it, and even featured it in the first of my podcasts, "CREATING REALITY," on the right side of the FPL blog.

Why so much attention? Because what the placebo effect demonstrates irrefutably, and even doctors acknowledge the existence of it, is that our beliefs create our reality.

Our beliefs create our reality!

This lays so much bare in our daily living and in our social structure, doesn't it? It mean that first and foremost, to lead happier healthier lives, we should be working to uncover and address our inner beliefs. In other words, a full spectrum self-work process that helps do that would work wonders for our well-being, yet, mainstream medicine, pharmaceutical companies and insurance companies not only ignore the evidence, they eschew it, hide it, because... in their current paradigm... it's not profitable!

But it could be. Psychiatrists and other medical professionals could retool and learn how to work with patients inner lives, and have greater success. Oh, but wait, that would require that said practitioners do some serious self-work on their own inner lives, and that's no where near as gratifying (for the ego of a psychopathic character structure) as writing a prescription for drugs.

Right.

Well, that leaves you, then, dear FPL readers - you have to take charge of your own healing and seek out the guidance you need to uncover your beliefs, connect to your feelings and go on to have a great life. It's actually not just easier than taking drugs, but it actually works.

WHY I CONTINUE TO SLAM PARENTS AND DOCTORS!

THIS excerpt is from an article from last March, entitled "RITALIN GONE WRONG," by L. ALAN SROUFE, in the NY Times:

"As a psychologist who has been studying the development of troubled children for more than 40 years, I believe we should be asking why we rely so heavily on these drugs [like Ritalin]. Attention-deficit drugs increase concentration in the short term, which is why they work so well for college students cramming for exams. But when given to children over long periods of time, they neither improve school achievement nor reduce behavior problems. The drugs can also have serious side effects, including stunting growth. Sadly, few physicians and parents seem to be aware of what we have been learning about the lack of effectiveness of these drugs."

Here's PL:

WHY NOT?!

Sorry.

REPOST: YOUR PERFECT SWING!

This is from a most beautiful book and movie, “The Legend of Baggar Vance,” by Steven Pressfield, who also wrote “The War of Art”:

“There's a perfect shot out there tryin' to find each and every one of us... Now it's somewhere... in the harmony... of All That Is... All That Was... All That Will Be... All we got to do is get ourselves out of its way, to let it choose us.”

Exactly. The Zone is that place we enter when we “get ourselves out of the way,” or more specifically, when we get our ego, self-will and Resistance out of the way.


Here’s a little more Baggar Vance:

“Inside each and every one of us is our one, true authentic swing. Something we was born with. Something that's ours and ours alone. Something that can't be learned... something that's got to be remembered. You got to seek that place with your soul... Seek it with your hands.. Don't think about it... Feel it... Your hands is wiser than your head ever gonna be...”

People ask me all the time, “What does it mean to let go of your ego?” My answer is a variation of what Baggar Vance is saying here, which is to get out of your head, out of your obsessive thinking mind, and follow your body, follow your five senses, your gut instincts, your first impulses. We all have them, but we have trained ourselves to ignore them, to hesitate, second guess, over-think, and so, we falter.

There is a great gift inside each of us waiting to come out. No one is without it. Some souls have chosen to give us a demonstration in one particular area or another, but examples are all around us... and within us. Seek them and you will find them.

Try this: walk around and pay attention to what you see, hear, smell, taste and feel, not to what you’re thinking, which is usually what you’re always doing. Go ahead. Go out. It’s a beautiful day. Walk. Give yourself, and the world, your gift. We’re waiting for you!

THE FEAR OF HAPPINESS! DON'T GET CAUGHT TEBOWING! HAVE SEX NOW!!

In honor of those who care that football season is starting up again, I am reposting this post (which actually has nothing to do with football).

THIS is from an issue the Sunday New York Times:

"According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders now affect 18 percent of the adult population of the United States, or about 40 million people. The anti-anxiety drug alprazolam — better known by its brand name, Xanax — was the top psychiatric drug on the list, clocking in at 46.3 million prescriptions in 2010."

THIS is from the Pathwork Guide Lecture, "THE LONGING FOR AND THE FEAR OF HAPPINESS":

"All truly great human experience comes from the inner, non-volitional self. It can never come from the outer ego, unless the ego is already integrated with the inner self. All acts of creation in art and science, all great inventions, all truly enriching and lasting values emanate from the inner being, as do all spiritual experiences, the experience of the ecstasy of love between the sexes, and finally the great experience of physical death itself which human beings erroneously assume to be sad or horrible. This is no more true of death than of the other two experiences, which are almost equally feared although the fear is not as conscious. Human beings fear a great spiritual experience. They fear the great act of total love and the letting go of the little self during the ecstasy of union. People are afraid to muster the courage required for letting the inner self manifest with its wisdom and truth. You are less aware of these last two fears, while the fear of death has been exaggerated and made into a big and seemingly rational fear."

This is from a book by Barbara Marciniak, entitled "PATH OF EMPOWERMENT:"

"If sex were considered a sacred act, the world would not be in the turmoil it is today. This was known long ago. A neighborhood with strong bonds based on love and good sex is going to make a better community. When sexual expression is honored as a doorway to the creative energy of existence, the whole world will vibrate with a much greater awareness of the spiritual purpose of life. Sex is vibrant creative energy, and used wisely, it can change the world."

Here's PL:

So, what do we have here in these three excerpts? Well, first, a statistical depiction of the incredible amount of anxiety and rampant drug-taking in our human population (the drugging considered as another symptom, not a remedy), and then two passages describing the potent antidotes to what ails us: letting go of the "outer ego" and "little self," and engaging in vibrant, loving sexual and creative expression.

On the FPL blog, I have written extensively about these subjects, about the damage done by sexual repression and the refusal to let go of the childish ego, and of course, on the nefarious numbing of ourselves through so-called medications, meant merely to keep our higher consciousness hidden from us so that we are more easily manipulated by those profiting from our unconsciousness.

It's Sunday, folks. Before you pop your Xanax and load up on chicken wings for your relaxing day, have some passionate sex with somebody you love, do something creative that inspires you, or go out and walk, breath and get some sun into you. Ideally, you should do all three. Then, you won't need the drugs or the wings, and you won't care about the fact that a religious throw-back joined the NY Jets.

FIND YOUR TRUE VOICE BLOG!

"The answer will come with a very small soft voice that will come not by pushing or pressing. It does not shout; it is a quiet, almost impersonal voice with out any force behind it, contrary to what so often comes from the subconscious”

Check out this evolving new blog created by Christina Giordano, fusing the principles of Full Permission Living, eastern mysticism, metaphysics, vocal training and more HERE.

"GABRIELLA" APPRECIATES FPL!/PL RESPONDS!

Here's Gabriella:
"Wow! Thank you for making this blog, and sharing your knowledge, and believing in yoga meditation. You are a role model for those like us who need encouragement."

Here's PL:
You're welcome, Gabriella. We all need encouragement, and we all need to share our knowledge and live our lives as examples to others. That's the only true way to help.
Best to you,
PL

FIND YOUR TRUE VOICE!

Occasionally on FPL, I will recommend a particular healing process or body of information that I have found can facilitate living with full inner permission. Reading Eva Broch's "Pathwork Guide Lectures" or Joya Pope's "Soul Age" material, or doing the herbal cleanses of Richard Schulze, for instance.

Well, here's another recommendation - the "Find Your True Voice" vocal training process offered by one Christina Giordano (website to follow). Much more than just singing lessons, (though if you secretly have been longing to belt out some tunes, Christina's your girl) these toning sessions help you access the full-throttled inner sounds that have been suppressed since early childhood.

Here's a write-up by Christina on the FYTV process:

"Our voice is a way to connect to our True Selves. Tones and toning have been used throughout history to call forth the powerful energy of the Universe. Religions use hymns to joyously connect to their deities. Songs are a way to break through global barriers. Music is said to be the language of the soul.

"Since the dawning of the new millennium, there has been an increased global awareness of how the human body and mind work as one. Such practices as therapy, yoga, meditation, cleansing, and healings have taken this nation by force.

"How does vocal healing fit into this New Age movement? From birth we have the ability to create sound and call to ourselves what we need and desire in order to thrive. No one can easily ignore the earth-shaking vocal abilities that nature provided infants with. Unfortunately, as we grow, we are given the message that our sounds are not acceptable. “Don’t cry!” “Stop that noise!” “Your too loud!” We begin believing that we must constrict our voice in order to get what we need, even though we still feel the misalignment that constriction causes.

"The good news is that it is possible to reconnect to your full voice - the voice you were born with! Vocal Therapy can allow you to first see how you have limited your vocalizing abilities, and then provide the techniques to once again joyfully hear how you truly resonate in your own body. Vocal Therapy allows you to become more in touch with your True Voice, your True Self.

"Whether singing is your passion, or you just like to belt out a tune on a happy day, your true voice is calling. It has always been there, and will continue to burn it’s dim light of truth. Your time is now to re-connect with who you truly are, and to declare what you desire to manifest through your voice. After all, that is what it is meant for.

"Love Light Music,

Christina Giordano

Find Your True Voice

findyourtruevoice@gmail.com

516-458-5904"

Enjoy!

TODAY'S QUOTE!

THE ALGONQUIN!

Well, I did it!

For the first time in a decade, I took a month's "vacation." (I put the word in quotes because I worked a half-time schedule, either by phone or twice commuting into Brooklyn for 2-day work stints in the flesh. Still, living and working out of a rented beach house for four weeks was a marvelous break from an otherwise marvelous life in the city.)

The ocean waters off the coast of Fire Island were spectacular this July. In fact, the guy who managed our rental, and is the head lifeguard out in Ocean Beach, said the sea in this area has really revived, bringing not only clean, clear, warm waves to body surf in, but also new levels of thriving aquatic life. We actually saw a pod of wild dolphins one day frolicking and jumping out of the water in playful delight. What? Swimming with dolphins off the coast of Long Island?! Yep. (And for those inclined to be metaphysical, I will tell you that just before the dolphins appeared, a group of us were out in the waves holding hands in a "circle of love" and chanting the "OM" sound. I guess we were speaking the dolphins' language.)

And maybe, collectively, enough people in this area are shifting their consciousness, and through those efforts, cleaning up the ocean here. 
Nicely done, everyone!

There were many moments of meditating and channeling at the beach, especially out by the surf in the morning, a great place, by the way, to send forth intentions and receive information.

Many messages were, in fact, received. One of the earliest pertained to the location of the house we were renting for the first time. Not only was the house on a walkway that we'd been creating an energy vortex on for several years, but this particular house was on a sacred burial site of the Algonquin Indians from many centuries ago. 

Now, understand, I had no prior knowledge of this, nor any particular interest in Algonquin Indians. But when I got this message and looked it up on the internet, it turned out that indeed the area of Fire Island we were on, and Bayshore and East Islip on Long Island right across the Great South Bay, were home to Algonquins centuries before. 


(I believe this Native American connection explains why I greatly enjoyed smoking some tobacco - cigars - and eating grilled meats during the month there, but had no such inclination on my trips back to Brooklyn.)

At one point, we had some spiritual friends over, and during a group session, one of the Algonquins "spoke" to us, expressing gratitude for the energy we were bringing back to the site, and informing me of something I was feeling intuitively - that I had long ago "died" (or been "born" into spirit, as the Algonquin described it) on the site where the house now stood. Apparently, in this particular "past life," I was a white child, raised  and schooled in the ways of the Algonquins, only to die in youth of a white man's disease - the plague. I felt a very powerful well of emotions in connection to this information.

The month was also a time of letting go of attachments. Right off the bat, when we arrived to Ocean Beach during the heat wave right after July 4th,  my beloved MacBook Air collapsed from "heat stroke." Yow! I had imagined I'd be enjoying long hours writing in bliss on my sleek, fast, light MB Air, including writing some music on my Logic program, which no one else's computer on the trip had. 

Okay, then. I surrendered as best as I could to the guidance and spent more time in playful meditation on the beach. And just in case I missed the point, said computer suddenly started working again when I took one of my trips back to Brooklyn! Clearly, my Higher Self was calling for me, through technology, to let go of an attachment.

Another attachment I worked on letting go of, one even more challenging than the one to my MB Air, was my attachment to my love partner. This is, of course, a big one for all of us.

Here's Mark Epstein, Buddhist psychotherapist, on the subject:

"Clinging is as much of a problem in lovemaking as in the rest of life. In order for sexual relations to be deeply satisfying, there must be a yielding of this clinging in a manner that actually affirms the unknowability and separateness of the loved partner. It is the peculiar convergence of awe and appreciation with pleasure and release that characterizes the best sexual experiences. Separate and together cease to be mutually exclusive and instead become reciprocally enhancing and mutually informative. There is wisdom in this state, not just raw instinct."

Indeed. My partner and I have understood this wisdom for a while, but it becomes so easy, especially when you're in love, to "forget about it," to become "lazy" about including healthy separation in a relationship. So, we used my trips off the beach and back to the city, including one that I made without having the agenda of work, to experience separateness. I enjoyed the solitude at home in Brooklyn, and my partner celebrated life at the beach with an old friend. And indeed, as Epstein says above, the separation created an excited feeling between us, reminiscent of first falling in love.

I've written about the importance of vacation over the years, folks, with an emphasis on the reality that vacations are meant to remind us how to properly live our lives all year long. It's really a great way to practice 4th dimensional consciousness, because while on vacation, we allow ourselves to take a time-out from the grind and routine of what we erroneously think of as "real life." We let go of time, of obligation, of repetitive and habitual behaviors, and yet, if we would let ourselves notice it, we'd see that when we return from vacation, our lives have not only not fallen apart from the detaching, but in fact, everything is clearer, calmer and less intense. That is 4D, creating reality from a relaxed, un-stressed, non-linear, quantum place, making room for the Universe, for our Higher Selves to do its work. You see, that's it - when we work, plan, struggle to control, our Higher Selves take a back seat. But when we lay back, our Higher Selves can take over. 

It's really a pretty good deal!