Being Your Unique Self

Every Wednesday night is amateur night at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. On one of these nights in 1934, a seventeen-year-old girl took the stage planning to dance, but the act before her was a dance duo that was so good that she felt she couldn’t follow it. So, while standing onstage, she decided to sing. It didn’t bother this girl that she had never sung in public, in fact, she didn’t even know if she could sing! That girl was jazz great Ella Fitzgerald. As soon as she stepped onstage, the core of her life awakened, and she sang the rest of her life. I had the good fortune to hear Ella Fitzgerald live in New York. Anyone who has ever listened to her understands that hers was a natural and unique gift coming from the depths of her soul.

To become your unique self-requires a struggle against the tide of sameness and false security of simply fitting in – that is a fight worth having.

To become oneself by finding a way to contribute one’s God-given talents and natural genius to this troubled world – that is a job worth applying for.

The goal in this life is not simply to succeed and “become somebody”; the real goal is to become one’s intended self.

The most revered figures throughout history became memorable because they were uniquely themselves. Nelson Mandela. Mother Teresa. Albert Einstein. Each had to first awaken to a vision seeded within them. People remember them because they managed to manifest a unique inner vision that had meaning in the world around them.

Each soul is rare. And uniqueness has boldness in it and a core of imagination intended to transcend the common attitudes and collective patterns. That is self-evident in great literature and wherever unique imagination has had a chance to flourish. It is also a key to understanding how mass culture has gotten things mass backward. When someone’s inner uniqueness is recognized and encouraged they will demonstrate something exceptional and unusual. They will bring a unique vision to contemporary issues and bring innovation where others would simply rather be complacent. Being unique is the spirit that is already there in each person, the inner intention, primary style and way of being that makes a true individual regardless of the pressure to conform to temporary social patterns and contemporary cultural fashions. At the individual level, each person is here to give something that is not just unusual, not only exceptional, but that is distinctive and valuable by its very nature.

The inner uniqueness for life aspires to meaningful work and genuine purpose. It would have us undertake the seemingly impossible tasks of transforming culture and helping to heal the world. Not because the world can be saved or redeemed in a hurry, but because it is the impossibility of the great problems and projects of life that awakens the sleeping uniqueness within and changes work from a simple job to a life-long, life-enhancing project. And that serves the dignity and nobility of one’s soul as well as the well being of one’s community.

At the end of life, the question isn’t whether people obeyed certain rules or avoided certain vices. In the end, the question is whether or not they found the thread of their inner life often enough to learn the destiny that brought them to this life, to begin with. To understand and embrace the qualities and talents that makes them exceptional and distinctive.

An old Chinese proverb says, “A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a unique song.” Exactly what Ella Fitzgerald taught us on that fateful Wednesday night 70 years ago.

Hope Makes all the Difference

“Never lose hope, my dear heart, miracles dwell in the invisible.” ~ Rumi

Hope is a universal concept, a renewable energy source and it never runs out. We can tap into it whenever it is needed. From poets to presidents to box office hits, hope has captured thousands of generations and helped each of us endure the heartache and suffering that is life.

Scott Russell Sanders, an American novelist, and essayist explains that the Latin word for hope, sperare, comes from the Indo-European root spei, which means to expand. “To be hopeful is not only to feel expansive but to count on an ever-flowing bounty while to feel despair is to feel constrained, to fear that the springs are drying up.”

From the view of the soul, facing an overwhelming array of troubles is an old story. Throughout history in times of great uncertainty, we have told stories and myths which seem to provide us a meaningful path through life and give us what we all need the most–the touch of the eternal. These myths continue to remain relevant because we continue to endure the same challenges of our ancestors. And myths continue to captivate and help by reinforcing the concept of connecting to the old soul within each of us.

The story of Pandora’s Box is an origin myth made up to explain how all the evils came about in the world. It was written by Hesiod in an epic poem called “Theogeny” about 800 BC.

Zeus gives a wedding present, a box, to Pandora, the first mortal woman on earth. Zeus does not tell Pandora what is in the box but gives her strict instructions not to open it. Pandora waits a year, at which point her curiosity gets the best of her and she opens the box. The lid flies open and all the evils and miseries of the world bolt out: Hate, Violence, Sorrow, Ignorance, Jealousy, and Sadness. Pandora manages to shut the box, leaving only Hope, who is hiding under the lid. This old myth teaches us that all the ills and ailments, all the scandals and betrayals and the rampant dishonesty must be faced before the hidden hope of life can be found again. It’s as if things must become hopeless before a deeper sense of hope can return from the depths of the human heart. This level of hope includes a darker knowledge of the world and a sharper insight into one’s own soul.

Hope is found, not by clinging to old dreams or by denying despair, but by surviving it. When life becomes darkest, the eye of the soul begins to see. “Hope springs eternal” is when people begin to see beyond the parade of facts and the litanies of ideologies and learn to trust the deeper values of individual life, as well as, the underlying truths of human culture. Great crises are not solved by simply conserving assets but by finding inner resources that were hidden from sight.

The sense of connecting to the underlying spirit of life and the hidden resiliency of the individual human soul is the source of genuine hope. This level of hope is based on creative imagination that appears when people honestly stay in the tension of opposing ideas long enough to lean into their despair. This intensity and deeper meaning of hope depends upon the profound power of the human soul to imagine and therefore to create, renew and innovate. When all hope is lost and all seems headed for disaster, it is genuine meaning that is missing and needs to be found again.

In the end, Pandora hears a faint voice in the box. When she lifts the lid, she finds hope, releasing it into the world. Everywhere evil goes hope goes too. And all that is touched by evil – so to is touched by hope. So hope continues to make all the difference in the world.

Discovering Sex and Spirit Between the Sheets

For centuries, mystics have advocated that sex, can be a powerful tool for spiritual growth. The act of lovemaking can be a viable path to higher states of consciousness and just as effective as meditation, prayer and other traditional religious or spiritual rituals. Can I get an Amen?!

From the beginning of the human race, sexuality and spirituality have always been linked. The Babylonian goddess Ishtar seduced a mortal man, Gilgamesh. In Canaan, the chief God El has sex with the goddess Asherah. In Egyptian religions, the god Osiris has sex with this sister the great goddess Isis. The Hindu god Krishna has sex with countless women, often at the same time. Annual pre-Christian rituals in Europe often involved sexual rites among the peasants that promoted the fertility of the land and celebrated the sacred marriage between god and goddess.

Only in the last 2000 years of Western civilization have sexuality and spirituality been forcibly separated and made to appear as enemies. Most scholars believe the separation was solidified with the rise of monotheistic, male-dominated traditions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam). Religious leaders taught that sex should be reserved for marriage, and, even then, only for procreation.

The West is not the only part of this crazy world with far too many sexual-spiritual hang-ups. Many Hindu and Buddhist traditions believe the body and physical desire are roadblocks to enlightenment and therefore need to be transcended. But the East had much more libidinous fun than the West, not to mention far fewer restrictions when it comes to sexuality.

Perhaps the most famous example of the East’s openness to sexuality is the Kama Sutra. This intensely detailed, carefully diagrammed erotic love guide originated in India around the third century, B.C.E, well over 2000 years ago. Although Western versions of the Kama Sutra have been diluted (pop culture has reduced this complex, exquisite sutra to a simplistic book of sexual positions), the original is far more elaborate than you might imagine. The original Kama Sutra not only includes tantalizing descriptions of the sixty-four sexual positions but offers advice such as how to handle yourself in a relationship, it provides detailed grooming hints designed to make you an attractive, it also covers topics like beading necklaces, tattooing, archery, writing poetry, dancing, magic, chemistry, and architecture, etc. I studied the Kama Sutra in Tibet and learned if you place the tip of the tongue at the back of your front teeth when you reach an orgasm you stimulate all of your chakras for a more intense experience.

The Kama Sutra is one of the most well-known sex guides but the world’s earliest sex manual came from China. These poignant works, many based in Taoism, not only prescribe having sex as much as possible but also advocating prolonging the sex act as long as possible. Both men and women must achieve an orgasm so that the dual energies of yin-yang (yin is the feminine, yang is the masculine) can be brought into harmony. Sexual intercourse was believed to be one of the main roads to heaven.

Sexuality is an organic, natural part of being human, of being alive. And when we aren’t conscious about it, or when we deny it, or when we are ashamed of it or unhealthy with it, we miss out on an incredibly viable piece of life, an intimate experience and expression of who we are, and a powerful way to experience divinity.

To cultivate an empowering sexual consciousness start by setting your intention. Try holding your present moment and awareness. Treat your body as divine. Treat your lover as divine. Be aware of the divine energy swirling around you as you have sex. Sexuality is not just the act of sex; it’s a passionate attitude, an exchange of living energy, and a way of engaging the world on a fully appreciative deeply sensual level.

What Do Your Dreams Mean?

Have you ever wondered what your dreams mean? Have you had a nightmare and don’t understand why you are so afraid? Join our conversation as we talk to Fabio Macchioni about what our dreams mean.

Fabio is a student of Carl Jung who studied Jung who believed that when it comes to dream interpretation there are no rules to follow. As an engineer, a scientist, Fabio felt that was a simpler way to interpret dreams so he began to enter every dream he analyzed into a database. Ten years later this database reveals extraordinary patterns and rules that promise to change the way we understand our inner voice. The language of dreams is finally decoded!

Call in with a dream and we will figure out the meaning!

Feng Shui Color Suggestions and Their Meanings

Spring is this finally here!! Don’t you love all the colors spring brings?

I decided to paint my front door to welcome the new season. In Feng Shui, our front door is “the mouth of Chi” where energy enters. Each color has its own important aspect and its own vibration. What do you want this season? More love? Money? Career success?

Here are some color suggestions and their meaning:

Red — means welcome in Feng Shui. Red doors are an early American tradition in that tired travelers by horse and buggy would know they would be able to spend the night behind that red door. A recent study found that people who live behind red doors are the happiest. Red is a wonderful color for transformation.

Orange — is an optimistic energy color and social.

Yellow — behind a yellow door you will find a giving and community-oriented homeowner who are making a difference in the world. The energy of yellow is expansive and uplifting.

Purple — the most social of all colors, this color brings with it the energy of friendship, nobility, and dignity.

Green — behind the color green you will find health, harmony, safety, and abundance.

Blue — a calming energy, behind this color you will find a relaxing and serene home.

Black — black door owners are the most successful in their careers. This color brings in the energy of strength, sophistication, power, and authority.

And finally Pink — those of us bold enough to have a pink front door bring in a daring energy. We are said to have the most friends and perhaps are full of mischief. Pink is the color of love and romance.

What do you want this spring?

Michelle Cromer