Many of us here in the U.S. were shocked and disappointed by the results of yesterday’s Presidential election. It seems as though hatred has won the battle against love. But Gia and Karen present a new mindset to adopt as we look at this event to help us rise above it and make the best of what feels like a very bad situation. They talk about the positive outcomes that arise from starting over again after a destructive experience and why we must remember to keep loving and not descend into fear or hatred.
In this episode Karen shares Something Positive: the story of Israeli and Palestinian women marching together for peace! They stated, “We cannot count on men to create peace. We have to do it ourselves.” Read the story here.
Gia and Karen discuss the term “nasty woman”, which was used against Hillary Clinton in a recent presidential debate, but has been embraced by women across the country. The word nasty derives from a Dutch word that means “dirty, like a bird’s nest.” This is reminiscent of the Divine Feminine energy, which is wild, creative, nurturing and even “dirty.”
This “nasty” comment represents the fact that the Shadow side of humanity is being exposed and is no longer tolerated. Abuse of women and children is being brought to light and abusers are being punished. The comment is helping to galvanize women and bring them together to champion for their rights.
Karen reflects on being rejected for being feminine during her medical training and having to hide her feminine qualities. Early feminism seemed to be masculine in presentation and power-seeking. But the Divine Feminine is totally different and is now finally arising.
Feminine medicine is heart-based with love, compassion, relationship, and deep listening utilized as aspects of healing. Now slowly some doctors of both genders are adopting a more heart-based approach to medicine.
Women need to become empowered in a feminine way such as uniting, building bridges, embracing others, caring, and drumming, singing and dancing together as the women in Israel did on their peace march. Feminine power expresses itself through vulnerability (see Podcast #17for a further discussion on this.)
Let’s embrace all the negative terms used to describe women and own them as signs of our power! We can help men embrace their own feminine essence through relationship, emotion, unconditional love.
In this episode Gia begins by sharing Something Positive: a program in an elementary school in Baltimore that teaches children breath work and meditation instead of sending them to detention. They send a misbehaving child to a “Mindful Moment” room for reflection and some calming meditation. This program has yielded very positive results for the school – well done!
Next Gia and Karen talk about how to regain trust after you’ve been betrayed by another person or by life itself. It’s important to learn some recovery skills so that betrayals don’t cause us to spiral down into victimhood or fear. The conversation includes:
betrayal is a normal part of life – everyone is just human, trying to do the best they can
ultimately our trust should be in ourselves and our own Divinity rather than in people or things outside of ourselves
if we truly trust ourselves and our higher power then we don’t need anyone else in our lives to be totally trustworthy
betrayal can cause us to contract in fear and make ourselves small for self-protection if we don’t learn how to cope with it
even if we’ve healed the past we have to be open to betrayal happening again – have equanimity and compassion for others who are just being human
be able to take the Galaxy view and recognize that life has no guarantees and offers us many different opportunities to learn our lessons
betrayal is one of the biggest lessons we each must learn – so accept from the outset that life is going to bring this experience
we can allow others to be who they are when we place our trust within – we don’t require others to be perfect for us
we can become bitter if we expect our God to always prevent “bad” things from happening to us – this is a misunderstanding of what life is all about
Tips for regaining trust:
turn to prayer and meditation when you feel hurt or betrayed
accept your feelings rather than judging them
trace your own life journey and recognize all of the unexpected things that have happened, both surprises and disappointments; look for patterns in the ups and downs and recognize how life is teaching you certain lessons
consider that your current betrayals may be pointing you toward old wounds that still need to be healed
focus on loving yourself even more, especially when you feel fear
know that you have the power to take care of yourself and to make the highest choices for yourself
Remember: It’s Just Life! with all its crazy ups and downs – the more your emotions rise to the surface the faster you are growing and evolving! Be a Spirit Warrior and a Change Pioneer – join our community and help us forge new territory in life!
As always we love you and send you tons of joy! Thanks for sharing this journey with us! Leave us your comments and go to iTunes to post reviews for this podcast. See you next time!
This episode begins with a discussion of what’s going on professionally for Gia and Karen:
Gia will be playing music for a Grief Workshop on Sunday September 11, 2016 in Encinitas, CA; find out more at www.soulofyoga.com; she will also be playing for a Full Moon Painting Workshop on September 16th at the Lazy Hummingbird in Ocean Beach.
Karen’s new ebook The Tao of Death is on sale this weekend on Amazon.com at this linkand the print version will be available next week; she is currently putting together Death Expo a 4-day online interview series about end-of-life issues, November 10-13, 2016. Find out more at eoluniversity.com.
Something Positive is the story of a young man who traveled to Panama for one month with only the clothes on his back and his passport. He found people everywhere willing to help him out with food, shelter, work, transportation, and photography. He wants to tell everyone that the world is a friendly place!
Today’s discussion covers:
why some newly-awakened spiritual seekers can feel guilty when they first become aware of the suffering in the rest of the world
some people wonder how there can be a benevolent God when there is so much pain in the world
how higher consciousness (Galaxy view) can transcend the polarity of this world
why you should not compare your path with others
that you can still have abundant joy and love even in the midst of suffering
why you should face the world with open eyes and heart, without fear, and bring as much love as possible
if you focus on light and love you will find it wherever you go
God is in everything – there is no place that is without God
the “Sunrise Practice”: watch the sun rise every morning and recognize that you are surrounded by light and love, always!
In today’s episode Gia and Karen welcome their first guest, Dr. Larry George, who is Gia’s Dad and Karen’s husband. Dr. George is a family physician who recently retired from practice and is a student of Integral Theory, particularly the work of Ken Wilber. The trio discusses masculine and feminine energies, what happens when they are out of balance, and some ideas for getting into balance. The conversation includes:
The difference between male/female designations and masculine/feminine and why it’s important to understand
How patriarchy began for practical, survival reasons
That testosterone is the driver of primitive male behaviors for procreation and protection (“f*** it or kill it”)
How societal violence leads to fear and more violence
Why there is currently a clash of civilizations on the planet due to the existence of many different levels of socio-cultural evolution at the same time
Tips for helping male consciousness evolve and controlling testosterone-driven behaviors:
education
spiritual practice
nurturing relationships
Why higher consciousness is needed to help quell violence on the planet
Why compassion and forgiveness are important as we all seek to evolve (rather than blame and judgement)
The importance of finding our own inner balance of masculine and feminine energies
As always we love you and support you in your own process of spiritual growth! Send us your questions and concerns. Visit iTunes to write a review if you feel inspired and share our podcasts with others who might benefit from them!
Join Gia and Karen as they talk about mistakes and the purpose they play in our own lives and on a global scale. They’ll get into a serious discussion about recent tragic events and how to look at them from the Galaxy view. The conversation includes:
Why mistakes are necessary to allow synchronicity to occur
How to have compassion for our own mistakes that arise from being human
Why we should not judge others because as human beings we are all capable of any negative behavior
Some tragedies happen to call forth more love and compassion on the planet
“Things are not getting worse but they are being uncovered” so that we can heal the Shadow
Offering support to one group within our society (like Black Lives Matter) does not mean that we are excluding others from that support
We can all come together in our grief over all lives that have been lost
We are one creation and can accomplish anything if we work together and appreciate diversity
We are at a turning point in humanity where we can choose love or fear as we move into the future. Love will help us transcend while fear will lead to falling apart.
The Universe is neutral and desires to manifest as much diversity as possible – there is no good or bad according to the Universe
Healing and integrating the Shadow as we attempt to grow is the best way to become whole
We must each shine our light on our own Shadow first
Ho’oponopono is a perfect way to transform the energy around a tragedy:
I love you.
I’m sorry.
Please forgive me.
Thank you.
You can increase the awareness of the whole by being willing to make mistakes
We love you and support you through any and every mistake you may make! Be sure to tune in every Friday and leave a review for us on iTunes by clicking here.
In this episode Gia and Karen explore the pain experienced by those who unintentionally harm others, through accidents or mistakes. This conversation is an offshoot from last week’s podcast, Episode 5 and you may want to listen to it if you haven’t heard it already. We talk about the challenge of forgiving others who have hurt us and the even greater challenge of forgiving ourselves when we’ve screwed up. This episode covers:
How good things can arise from the midst of tragedy
The remarkable story of Matthew Shephard, whose parents forgave his murderers and went on to found the Matthew Shephard Foundation for the purpose of erasing hatred
Why it’s hard for people to forgive others
The “Galaxy View” of tragedy and how it helps us to be more compassionate with ourselves and others
How practicing forgiveness helps us but doesn’t let the perpetrator “off the hook”
Steps for finding our way to forgiveness and compassion for others
We are sending tons of love to all who have been harmed by others and may struggle with whether or not forgiveness is a good idea. Know that you must find your own path to peace and joy but we’re here to cheer you on as you seek to live with compassion and forgiveness.
In this episode Gia and Karen discuss an article about grief we recently read that was titled “Everything Doesn’t Happen for a Reason” by Tim Lawrence. We dissect the article and find plenty of statements to disagree with, to validate, and to further explain. The conversation covers these interesting points:
What “everything happens for a reason” means and doesn’t mean
Suffering is not a requirement for growth but can be a catalyst
Grief is a process and may look different to us at different stages in the process
We have to hold both perspectives: (1) Suffering is terrible AND (2) it is possible to grow and transform as a result of our suffering
Deep love makes us vulnerable to suffering and loss and can break our hearts open
How finding meaning in our suffering helps us carry the pain
Self-compassion is necessary to get through time of suffering
Why saying nothing can be the best thing to do during times of grief
We know that grief is an individual process, unique to each person who experiences it. But it is also a universal experience–something we all share as part of life here on Planet Earth. We hope you find comfort and peace in knowing that we feel the pain of life, too, right along with you. Send us your comments! We are sending you our love!!
It's Just Life! 