Inspiring Leadership The Spirit of Love by Dr - Inspiration Journal ...

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16 Mind It has been called the reflection of the soul, the barometer of emotion, a dynamic canvas that is constantly in movement. The human face speaks a language far more complex and expressive than any verbal communication. For the newborn child, the mother’s face is the first mirror it sees of its own self. What’s contained in that face – love, joy, anxiety, disinterest – will have a profound effect on the infant and on the adult it will become. Through our faces we reveal important truths about ourselves, including those that we’d prefer to hide. We believe our faces give us our identity and we tend to judge ourselves - and others - by physical appearance. Many young people compare their facial features to those of film and pop stars or the models in the glossy advertisements and invariably they come up short. We look in the mirror and believe this is ‘who I am.’ Instead of seeing the beauty that is inherent in all our faces – and allowing the face to reflect our inner beauty – we focus primarily on the so-called flaws. These observed defects, coupled with the defences we create to protect us from our childhood wounds, have a huge influence on how we see the world and how we believe the world sees us. And it shows in our faces. The eastern understanding of the face is based on karma – memories and ‘habits’ or tendencies from earlier lifetimes that the soul carries into the current life. To an experienced eye, key karmic themes are revealed in the face. How much of this is genetic, how much is shaped by the soul’s own karma – and the big question, of course, is how do we shape our own faces and our own destiny through our learning, commitment to growth and intention to be whole? From a spiritual perspective, the family, social circumstances and even the time in human history in which we find ourselves provide the perfect setting for the soul to discover all the ways it has limited itself and limited life. They also mirror all the healing and growth that has already happened. So genetics and karma go hand-in-hand to serve the soul’s development. In the deprived areas of many cities, several generations may have grown up experiencing I N S P I R A T I O N J O u R N A L Facing up to the challenges of life by Barbara Brennan, PhD .....the defences we create to protect us from our childhood wounds, have a huge influence on how we see the world and how we believe the world sees us. hardship. The consequent lack of aspiration and opportunity shows in their faces: resentment and disappointment, despair and rage. Of course, our faces also illustrate our positive feelings of kindness, love and humor. From the perspective of Brennan Healing Science and Core Energetics, the face reveals where we fully access our life-energy and where and how we block its flow. Here is a brief exploration of the five major character defenses that the ego creates to protect us from the inevitable wounds of childhood and how they appear facially. Schizoid – where the wounding begins with the infant perceiving maternal coldness, aggression or hostility before or at birth. In adult life, this person will not want to be in the body. There might be chronic tension behind the eyes as she constantly negotiates her needs between being present and dissociating. There is a characteristic tilt of the head to one side and often a vague look in the eyes. Oral – where the child feels deprivation or abandonment. It grows up with the belief that there will never be enough, that he or she is not enough. A frequent characteristic is the small compressed mouth as the person struggles to express needs in a healthy way. That is often accompanied by a weak jaw reflecting deep disappointment and sadness. Masochistic – where the wounding is overcontrol by the mother. The child grows to have a terror of humiliation yet humiliates and shames her/himself. In adult life, there is often an accumulation of fat around cheeks and jaw and a lot of stagnant energy collecting in pockets. Psychopathic – in which the child suffers betrayal by a parent and, as an adult, has a fierce need to be in control of others because of the underlying fear of that betrayal being repeated. A square jaw can be a feature here. Stalin would be an extreme example. His jaw – and those of most grand or petty dictators – indicates the pushing of that person’s will onto the world. Rigid - The essence of the child was never recognized and it was rewarded only for achievement and perfection. As an adult, there is the constant striving for a perfection that can never be reached. Here there is tension throughout the face, lines between eyebrows, rigidity at back of the jaw, chronic stress in the neck area – all speaking of suppressed rage. As we seek healing and deepen our connection to ourselves and to spirit, our faces begin to reflect our uniqueness and our pleasure in life. Note the ageless quality to the faces of many sages. There seems to be a luminous glow to the skin. Released from chronic inner battles and the holding down of our own life force, we experience a profound relaxation in the eyes, which may appear softer, brighter and larger. Release of tension in the neck and jaw reverses the disappointed droop of the mouth. There is more to laugh about and the face may speak of the capacity for laughter. Self-acceptance and self-love relax the whole face in an unmistakable way. Of course, this comes with a great deal of inner work. But it’s possible to use your face as a doorway to better self-awareness. Spend ten minutes a day doing the following meditation. Sit with your feet firmly on the floor, follow the breath and, as you relax, bring your awareness to your face. If there’s a sensation that draws your attention, follow it. It could be tension in the forehead or a stiffness in the jaw – or just numbness. Feel the sensation fully. Don’t try to figure it out, just allow it to be there. Usually, something will come up. It might be sadness or a thought like ‘I never get what I want,’ or an old memory. Relax and wait, rather than chase. Do it without judgement and open your heart to everything that’s there. In this way, you will begin a new process, an integration into consciousness of what lies behind the sensation. And it will mark another step in your journey. Barbara Brennan, PhD, is a world-renowned spiritual leader, healer, educator, and the best-selling author of Hands of Light, ® Light Emerging, and the inspirational Seeds of the Spirit ® series of poetic channelings. She is the founder of the Barbara Brennan School of Healing ® , the Barbara Brennan School of Healing Europe ® , and the Barbara Brennan School of Healing Japan ®. The schools are global healing institutes where students from around the world study her unique modality of healing through the human energy field. For more information, please visit www.barbarabrennan.com. © 2007 Barbara Brennan, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Re-Localization: Transitioning in a Time of Uncertainty by Andrea Brower Over the past century we have become dependent on cheap, abundant and convenient energy to fuel economic growth. It is likely that we have reached the inevitable decline of cheap oil. Although there is controversy about the date of Peak Oil, there is virtually no doubt or dispute that it will occur, and we are undeniably facing challenges related to energy and climate uncertainty. Kauaì will ultimately be pushed towards economic diversification and greater self-reliance. We are at a critical juncture. If wise, we will ask the question: how do we significantly increase resilience (to mitigate the effects of energy instability) and drastically reduce carbon emissions (to mitigate the effects of climate change)? The “re-localization” of Kauaì is an opportunity to unite around the common goal of a sustainable Kauaì where the àina is healthy, people enjoy a high quality of life, the sense of community is strong, and culture is respected and perpetuated. Re-localization is “a strategy to build societies based on the local production of food, energy and goods, and the local development of currency, governance and culture.” (Relocalize.net) Communities across the globe are making decisions to re-localize, joining what has become a worldwide movement to reclaim control over resources and the decisions that most affect the community. The main goals of re-localization are to increase energy security, to strengthen local economies and to dramatically improve environmental conditions and social equity. Re-localization begins with knowing our community and where the goods we consume are coming from. What is the basis of our economy? Where is our food and electricity coming from? What was Kauaì like 100 years ago? Where are we headed? By mapping Kauai’s economic, social, ecological and cultural characteristics, we will be able to identify opportunities and constraints to re-localization. This is a process that can only be done well with broad, open community participation. Plugging the Leaks Every time we import a good or service that we can produce onisland, it “leaks” dollars and subjects us to the risks of economic and environmental uncertainty. We can start by taking a look at some of the biggest leaks in our economy. Food. Perhaps our greatest vulnerability is that we currently import around 90% of our food, as well as fertilizers, seeds and other necessary inputs. We need to begin by immediately supporting the farmers we do have, and then create opportunities for others to make a living providing our community with food. Agricultural re-localization on Kauaì will include: more farmers markets, community kitchens in every town, community gardens, preservation and restoration of critical water systems, seed banks, preservation of diverse crop species, eliminating reliance on imported fertilizers and other inputs, adjusting our diets to be based on what can be grown locally, solutions for affordable farm worker housing, programs that provide farmers with access to affordable land, training and education programs, coordinated marketing and distribution, and consumer education about the importance of buying local. We are lucky enough on Kauaì to have the growing conditions for a wide range of foods. With investment in processing facilities, we could produce a delicious variety including starch staples like kalo (taro) and ulu (breadfruit), dairy, fish, meat, eggs, sweeteners like honey and agave, oils from macadamia nuts and coconut, and of course fresh produce. Transportation. Even as gas prices near $5 a gallon, we continue to drive our cars because we depend on them to get to work and the grocery store. A local transportation strategy must simultaneously increase W W W . I N S P I R A T I O N J O u R N A L . C O m Mind public transit availability and reduce the need for transport by rethinking land-use planning. By working closer to home, creating walkable communities, and regionalizing goods and services, we can drastically cut our dependence on cars. Carpooling, car-sharing cooperatives, riding the bus and cycling are all immediate solutions. Energy. Currently, $6500 leaves Hawaii’s economy every minute to pay for imported energy. At the Kauaì Renewable Energy Conference in September one thing became clear--urgency. We must proceed wisely, choosing to utilize technologies that are truly sustainable and renewable. Re-localization means not simply replacing a dependence on Chevronsupplied oil with Chevron-supplied solar. It means local, decentralized control and ownership of energy resources that keep money in our economy and create green job opportunities. Local Business. A key to community prosperity is a network of locally owned businesses and cooperatives that serve primarily local markets. Locally owned businesses generally contribute more to the “economic multiplier” than non-local businesses – which translates into more income, wealth, jobs and tax payments – because the former spend more money locally. A growing body of evidence also suggests that local-business economies appear to have greater social stability, lower levels of welfare and more political participation. Production and Manufacturing. Our current level of production and consumption will not be possible in an energy constrained world that is reliant on alternative renewable energy sources. We can start by assessing what was manufactured locally in the past. Some traditional tools, machinery and agricultural methods will have to be re-learned. We will also need to start utilizing the resources that we currently consider “waste.” What were people making and using two generations ago, before the development of mass production, globalization and the service industry? Re-skilling. If we are going to re-localize our community, we are going to need many of the skills that the generations before us took for granted. Research among the kupuna is instructive—after all, they lived on Kauaì when it was still self-sufficient, before the throwaway society took hold. Malama Kauaì is holding a series of “Do-It-Yourself ” Skills Workshops, including basic gardening, cooking, home energy efficiency, building solar water heaters, raising chickens, bicycle maintenance, coconuts uses, installing grey water systems, sewing, laàu lapaàu (Hawaiian medicinal plants), creating zero waste homes and more. Re-localization does not mean creating industries to produce everything we currently consume. This is impossible. It does mean substituting much of what we import for things we can produce locally, as well as reassessing our “needs” and consuming less. Ten Immediate Steps to Re-Localization for the Individual: 1. Understand 2. Plan 3. Reduce 4. Share 5. Participate 6. Re-skill 7. Reinvest 8. Generate 9. Grow 10. Monitor Broad community participation in re-localization is the key to transitioning. We need to set our future together. If we can define a cohesive vision that takes into account quality of life, prosperity, aloha àina and respect for culture, we can identify the most important immediate priorities to moving towards our shared goals. Visit MalamaKauai.Org for more information and to find out about upcoming “Do-It-Yourself ” workshops. 17
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