I wept last night…again.

As I’ve sat with the events surrounding the Connecticut shooting, I’ve plunged from one end of the emotional spectrum to another.

I feel

anger.

helpless.

shocked.

grief.

And.

I feel

compassion.

concern.

understanding.

empathy.

Part of me wants to use the tragedy as evidence of the danger in the world & welcomes the reason to shrink back and live in fear.

Another part wants to use this horror as fuel to grow the burning fire of my purpose and to contribute in a meaningful way. This is the part I choose to act on.

Over the weekend, I was at a beach side mastermind retreat in San Francisco with a powerful group of business women.

(Here we are with our superpower green pudding smoothies.)

While we boldly visioned and planned for 2013, I felt raw emotion right beneath the surface.

The awareness of what had occurred in Connecticut was with me.

I kept asking Spirit to guide me to a higher ground with it. Where could I put this? How could I hold it?

I felt the spirits of the deceased. They reminded me to choose with great care where I place my energy in 2013.

My visioning and planning took on new meaning as my heart cracked open through grief.

I went to the ocean and called on her powers of cleansing and release.

The message was clear.

Rather than become hardened. Rather than becoming consumed by rage. Rather than placing blame.

There is another choice.

Let us rise to the call that their spirits have for us. Let us allow the shock to reverberate through our body and wake us up to the truth. Let us listen more deeply to and live by what matters.

Please read on if you are interested in moving “Beyond Tragedy” and into becoming who you could be through the wake up call before us.

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There’s a deep cry that will likely go unheard and get lost in the reactions to the shooting.

It’s the cry of the shooter. As horrid as his actions were, to not look to the cause of such actions is irresponsible and, frankly, a disgrace to the lives that were lost.

It’s imperative to recognize that what transpired is an outcome of a systemic problem. The awful outcry is a demonstration of fear based beliefs gone totally out of control.

How do we move forward? How can we create meaning from this?

It begins with accepting responsibility for how we each play a part in creating our world.

This means…

• Take full responsibility for being an empowered, whole, at-choice member of our human family.
• No longer tolerate the kinds of choices and behaviors, even on a small scale, that lead to such eruptions.
• Raise your standards.

It starts with you.

1) Eradicate the violence toward yourself.

The truth is that most of us commit acts of violence toward our selves almost every day.

• You talk negatively, even violently, to yourself.
• You judge yourself.
• You tolerate less than the ideal.
• You put up with stress & anxiety.
• You engage depleting habits.
• You ignore your soul’s desires.
• You dismiss your dreams.
• You eat processed & non-nutrient dense food.
• You abuse your body.
• You resign to relationships that aren’t an honorable match.
• You live in fear.

Commit to be a co-creator of peace by stopping any and all acts of violence toward yourself!

First, GET REAL about how you are violent within yourself.

What acts of violence do you carry out toward yourself each day?

What critical, condemning thoughts do you repeat about yourself?

What habits do you allow that are less than loving (if not abusive) to your body?

What choices to you make that suck the life from your soul?

Then, DECIDE you are worth more.

Lastly, CHOOSE to replace the old beliefs & habits with loving and peaceful ones. Nothing less will do!

2) Integrate Your Shadow.

We all have parts.

I am devoted, on purpose and generous.

I am also self-serving, lazy and protective.

Our complexity and dimensions are vast. Yet we all walk around pretending to be “perfect”, keeping up the persona we believe we need to keep in order to belong.

When parts of you that you deem as being unworthy go unacknowledged or unexpressed, they go “underground”.

(These can be parts of you that you are embarrassed or ashamed of.)

What happens is that they become unconscious, shadow aspects. And rather than going away (which you are trying to make them do), they end up running you.

What you run from runs you.

My appeal to you is to get radically honest about your shadow parts and learn to accept and integrate them. As Debbie Ford says, shadows teach us that there is gold to be mined in every experience.

3) Make It Sacred To Feel.

The oppression of emotion DOES NOT WORK. Our emotional intelligence system has been relegated to a weak place. We’ve collectively dismissed emotions, resulting in unconscious and destructive behaviors. (The Shadow)

It’s natural to feel. Yet every day we deny feelings exist.

My invitation to you is to make it sacred to feel. Choose to hold emotions with reverence and respect.

This is what I’ve done. And in the last 5 days I’ve allowed a spectrum of emotions to move through me. Without this, I would go crazy. I would be boiling just beneath the surface, vulnerable to burst at any unpredictable moment.

I surrender to my feelings and let them inform me of a richer reality that does not exist when I pretend and numb out.

After you choose to make your feelings sacred, learn how to be with, express and manage them in a healthy and constructive way.

4) Own Your Projections.

Here’s the “not-so–pretty” way of getting to the point here. People are barfing their stuff on each other all the time.

Mostly we believe it’s “justified” because we feel hurt or victimized by what another says or does. But really, it’s time to grow up and recognize that NO ONE is responsible for our reality.

The truth is that you are powerful and you are the creator.

So stop making others‘ responsible for how you feel and what results you get and take charge of reality.

5) Forgive.

It’s time.

Built up resentment and anger is toxic.

The wounds. The betrayal. What he did. What she didn’t do. How you were wronged. The love you didn’t get. The hurts that happened 10, 20, 30 years ago.

Let it go.

Receive the lesson.

And let it go.

6) Love More.

It all comes down to love.

The challenges I pose to you above are ultimately acts of self-love.

And in loving yourself, you will naturally and readily extend the unconditional and heart-centered attention that our people and planet are in such desperate need of right now.