Why Non?

For the past 18 months or so, I have been sharing the 4Nons.  Not until last Sunday did I realize that, for some, the 4Nons were negative.  So, why the 4Nons?

I have always been intrigued by the concept of non-attachment.  It was easy to understand what being attached meant and how detached was the opposite.  Non-attachment was an opportunity to be with all the stuff in my life in a different way.  I could be an objective observer.  Not attached, not detached — just aware and noticing.

For me, the same is true of the other 3Nons.  Non-judgment requires that I am aware of my judgments while not reacting from my assumptions and judgments.  Instead, of reacting from my judgments, I respond from my compassionate heart.

Even when I am non-defensive, my mind might still run amuck with a thousand reasons justifying why I did something and why those actions were okay.  Being non-defensive asks me to access how my behavior is loving, gentle, and kind without defending my actions. Again, I am called to respond from a compassionate heart instead of reacting from fear.

Our internal monologue may not be rampant with violent thoughts, yet non-violence asks that we be aware of anything that remotely holds a kernel of violence.  With this awareness, we reframe any thoughts that hold the energy of violence and re-script them in ways that make our words and actions vehicles of peace.

So, the 4Nons are not meant to be negative; they do not focus on “what not to do.”  Rather, the 4Nons guide us to rise above our fears, our illusions, and the mundane while living extraordinarily.

Being an Objective Observer,

Vanessa

Vanessa is a Intuitive Healer, Community Builder, and Compassionista, and Author of Engaging Compassion Through Intent & Action

www.intentandaction.com

Compassion: The Peace Warrior's Way

Peace…we all yearn for it…inner peace, peace in relationship, world peace.  If we start with the hypothesis that compassion is the root of peace, how can compassion impel us to be warriors of peace?  The answer to this question is found, I believe, in the seeds we plant in the ground of our being.  These seeds contain the energy of the words of Gandhi, “be the change we wish to see in the world.” We choose our seeds with both our intent and action.

As we choose our seeds, we do not ignore the hard truths or the cruelty in the world.  In fact, the essences of these realities may serve as compost to nurture a compassionate response.  With awareness we are called to alleviate all suffering — not just the most convenient or those moments of suffering and those who suffer we deem the most deserving.  We, as peace warriors, agree to be compassionate presence whenever, wherever, and to whomever needs the light of compassion.

Being a warrior of peace invites us to be a compassion responder.  Living in the present moment, we choose to respond with love and gentleness instead of reacting to fear.  We rise above the mundane and actively search for the extraordinary only found in common ground.

Compassion calls warriors of peace to live fully and deeply in community while realizing that all in our life begins with the self.  Our acts of self compassion form the foundation of the stance of a warrior of peace.  Warriors of peace join together to form the base of peace-filled presence in a group.  When these groups join together, they bring the energy of peace into the community.  Communities of peace, linked, trigger societal change.  Transformed societies link to one another bringing global change.

Never underestimate the power of one compassionate act to bring peace to the world.

Looking forward with peace, Vanessa

Vanessa is a Community Builder, Intuitive Healer, and Compassionista Author of Engaging Compassion Through Intent & Action

www.intentandaction.com

Leaping Forward With Intent

We are two weeks into the New Year.  If I had to guess, some of our resolutions have faded into hopelessness.  This year I decided to have no resolutions; instead, I decided to fill my year with intent.  Soon after the first of the year I created a short phrase that invites me into the moment while reminding me how I want to respond to the world in 2016. 

My phrase?  Curious Daring and Courage.

Curious daring requires that I not be defined by my perceived limitations.  I find ways to embrace the challenges presented instead of giving up.  In each moment, I continue to look for possibilities.  And, I celebrate in the exploration…especially when I find more than dust bunnies in the corners of my world! 

With an open heart and an open mind, who knows what I will discover when I am filled with curious daring and courage.

Curious daring, for me, is only possible when accompanied by her twin, Courage.  In those moments where I only see impossibilities, I allow my friend Courage to wrap me in his gentle embrace.  Within the hug, he reminds me that I’ve got this…I see the possibilities and the strength and energy to follow them through. 

In my toughest moments, I feel the palm of Courage on the small of my back and my hand clasped firmly by that of Curious Daring.  I discover that with curious daring and courage, I do have this, and that…I can live in the challenges and life lessons.

As we edge into the middle of January, how are you framing 2015? What is the phrase that energizes you and brings you into a new way of being?  What phrase holds your hand and has your back as you leap forward with your heart?

With Curious Daring and Courage,

Vanessa

Vanessa is a Community Builder, Intuitive Healer, and Compassionista Author of Engaging Compassion Through Intent & Action

www.intentandaction.com

Clothed in Compassion's Armor

Fear. Anger. Sorrow — so much suffering and darkness rampant in the world.  How do we, the warriors of compassion, battle against the dark as it creeps into the edges of our world? What do we do as it threatens to overwhelm?  We enter the fray clothed in the armor of compassion.

Energy healers refer to this armor as a shield of protection and the process to of donning the armor shielding.  But, shielding has the potential of being more than a method of protection.   It is also a way of sharing compassion and minimizing suffering in the world. 

Shielding is best accomplished early in the morning so that we can go into the day aware of the power of our healing presence.  We can touch up our shields throughout the day through visualizing repairs.

To Shield:

• Get into a quiet place and focus on your breathing.  Envision your breath as it is drawn through your crown on each inhale.  
• With each successive inhale, your breath burrows deeper into your body.  The energy of the breath fills your every nook and cranny.
• You may feel a slight tingling as your body, now filled, begins to release this air.  It flows from your palms, the soles of your feet, your eyes, your pores.  
• The air then pools around your body creating a second skin, your armor.
• As this membrane inflates, you are creating your armor.
• With your next breath, feel your armor being energized with compassion.  The compassion flows into the armor and then back to you as it alleviates your own personal suffering. 
• Intend that every thought, action, and word, directed toward others, are tinged with compassion.
• Intend that any action or word direct toward you, no matter how hurtful, is enveloped by compassion when it touches your armor.  The energy of the hurt is transformed into compassionate presence.  
• The essence of compassion burrows deeply into you alleviating any suffering caused by the actions or words of another. 
• Another part of this essence ricochets off your armor and goes back to the other as compassion.  You share compassion with the intent to alleviate their suffering.
• Throughout the day, your armor creates a continuous loop of sharing compassion with whomever you touch. 

We are part of the grace filled community of compassion.  When we realize that hurt is not about us, but about the suffering of another, we can become warriors clothed in the armor of compassion.  And, as our ranks grow we become compassion’s tipping point.

Clothed in Compassion’s Armor

Vanessa

Vanessa is a Community Builder, Intuitive Healer, and Compassionista Author of Engaging Compassion Through Intent & Action

www.intentandaction.com