"...and the (leg) lamp blazed forth in unparalleled glory...."

A few nights ago I had a little meltdown. I lost an expensive battery pack that attaches to my ski boot and warms my foot when I'm on the mountain playing in the white stuff. The timing of the missing hot pack was terrible, as we had received three feet of fresh powder the day before, and I was gearing up to go skiing in the morning. No big deal, you might say, but for my previously frost bitten foot, skiing in the powder with temperatures in the teens wasn't an option. As soon as I noticed the battery missing, I knew when it had happened--my boot had taken a tumble in the parking lot a few days prior as I had hurried from the slopes to work.  I immediately went to self-blame, I should have taken better care and not been in such a mindless hurry. My mood turned sour, self-blame coloring my perception, literally making me deaf to my husband's problem solving consolation attempts.

After about thirty minutes of stomping my cold feet like the baby I was, it hit me to stop the insanity I was creating and shed some light on what was going on inside versus everything wrong on the outside. Why was my self-blame so consuming? I sat down, began to tap and literally envisioned light illuminating the situation. Like Ralphie enthralled with his father's strange but compelling "major award," I got as curious as I was capable of becoming and began exploring the most telling part of the experience--my reaction. It took about five minutes of conscious body work to bring my internal distress down and in turn become more resourceful.

When I woke in the morning and looked out at the blessings still falling from the sky, I was reminded of this season of unparalleled light as the days become longer and sunshine lengthens across the land. I was reminded that I always have the choice to change my perception, consciously stop and turn the light of understanding toward my Inner Constellation, to become curious and enthralled rather than blinded by the outside evidence as I point my finger in blame. May the lamp blaze forth in unparalleled glory....for all to see and be curiously drawn! Merry Christmas.

Volunteers for Connecticut Community

Since my last post on the importance of alleviating suffering for those affected by the Sandy Hook Elementary school shootings, I've received an amazing email. Nick Ortner is a leader in the Meridian Tapping community and lives in Newtown, CT where the shootings occurred. He is organizing a major fund-raising event and has mobilized a team of Meridian Therapy practitioners to provide support to people affected by the tragedy. So far, he has raised over $30,000 to go toward providing Meridian Tapping to ease the grief of those suffering. The team will be lead by Lori Leyden, a woman who used Meridian Tapping with Rwanda genocide survivors and founded Project Light: Rwanda. You might remember my blog article about Lori after I had the pleasure of meeting her.

Here are the details of the fundraiser for Newtown and how you can personally help--a few years ago, Nick produced, The Tapping Solution film, an excellent documentary exploring the effectiveness of Meridian Tapping. He's presently offering the film at half price ($14.97) and one hundred percent of sales will go to The Tapping Solution for Newtown: Stress and Trauma Relief Project. If you want to find out more, please read Nick's blog article. I own a copy of the film and highly recommend it. Please join me in donating to Nick's Newtown trauma relief project. Here is one way to help alleviate the suffering of the Newtown community and further your knowledge and skill of Meridian Tapping--a most important tool in the Inner Constellation toolbox. 

Connecticut Shootings

There is no fitting response to the mass shootings of 28 people last Friday, 20 of them ages six and seven. If you all are like me, after the immediate sorrow and shock, there's an impulse to try to make sense of the senseless so we can prevent reoccurrences in the future. Gun control is the recent hot topic of debate, and it's most curious to me that "restriction" is the go to emotion. It seems audacious to think that killing can be prevented simply by taking away weapons. For me, everything goes back to the Inner Constellation--violence within, becomes violence without.

I firmly believe prevention of violence toward another demands the exact opposite of "restriction"--expansion. Expansion of our abilities to identify the marginalized among us and those who are at risk of striking out. Every time a mass murderer is described, I've noticed a personality theme: isolated, kept to themselves and didn't interact with others. When we notice such a troubled soul, it's an automatic response to pull away or retract. The only exception I've seen to this is the response of children, who seem to respond with curiosity and wanting to know more. What if we took it upon ourselves to reach out to individuals who isolate themselves?

The next argument to reaching out might be, what if I'm not equipped to deal with the troubled person? Today, news channels are reporting this is most certainly the case, therefore more money is needed for mental health services. Ironically, most people who receive mental health services report that family and friends provide more support than professional counselors. The genuine love and care of a community of people is incredibly powerful. Don't doubt for a minute the human potential to alleviate the pain of another--we have a heart and an impetus for life--these are our tools for reaching out rather than pulling away. Now to the all important question--what if someone is a whack job, how can I possibly make a difference? A person who guns down innocent children is most certainly a whack job! However, this is where the IC Truths come in:

1) Everything is Energy - the good, the bad, and the ugly
2) Energy never dies it just changes form - the good the bad and the ugly are all powerful agents of influence
3) Everything, no matter how challenging, can be transformed - the good, the bad, and the ugly can  always be transformed

We have great ability to alleviate suffering, and ultimately another person's suffering becomes our suffering, as is evident in the tragedy of the Connecticut shootings. We have a human responsibility to alleviate the suffering of others around us. Dawn Hochsprung and Mary Sherlach understood this as they charged toward the sound of gunfire erupting inside the classroom, as did Victoria Soto and other women who heroically shielded their children from gunfire. For me, alleviating suffering is the lesson of the Connecticut shootings and the key to preventing more tragic expressions of "insanity." May all people affected in any way by the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School be comforted and supported by their community during this time of loss.


For a beautifully written article and video footage honoring the victims of the Connecticut shootings, please click here.


 

Preciousness of Life

Life is precious. Experiencing the loss of Life drives this truth home and presents our mortality in a way that can't be escaped. One of my dad's favorite verses says, "Why, you don't know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? You are but a vapor, that appears for a little while and then vanishes away." 

Precious Life (consciously capitalized, for it is holy), demands immediacy, requires active participation in this moment, right NOW, for tomorrow is never promised. NOW because this moment is pure creation--this thought, this action, this feeling. How am I expressing my precious Life? Am I adding to or taking away from other precious Lives? I feel a poem coming on, when sentences fail, I go to imagery....

All Hail!
©Karla Johnston, InnerConstellation.com

Holy Ones, who understand the pull of this life,
stand on the shore, hailing the waves in the sea,
trying so desperately to get our attention,
but we see only our own momentum—

how the tide recedes.

Wake up
to precious Life!

Shout and join the supplication
before rising from fallen knees.
What is your imprint,
on those walking by,
before it’s washed out to sea?

Here's the IC challenge--Precious, Precious Life, smile to at least one person today. Notice their imprint and bring encouragement. Tell me about it, I want to hear how you are spreading the love and joining the Holy Ones.