“Knowing others is Wisdom, knowing yourself is Enlightenment.” — Lao Tzu
No matter your political beliefs, this is a super stressful time for every one of us. Now more than ever is the time to become rooted in our self care practices and focus on health and strength.
The rhetoric of the election and the emotions of desperation surrounding them shed light on how fractured we have become and how vulnerable we are. Fractured but not broken.
The symbol of the Phoenix in Chinese represents YIN and is shown together with the Dragon that represents Yang. It is not Yin OR Yang, it is Yin AND Yang. They are inseparable. There can be no Yin without Yang. There can be no light without dark.
A beautiful exchange of energy passes to and from each and every one of us. Our thoughts, words and deeds create vibrations that resonate out to those around us. We must elevate our vibration to that of compassion, love and gratitude.
Nourish our mind, body, spirit and soul; to heal ourselves and our community.
Fear is one of the strongest emotions. It is of the lowest vibration; it causes us to act from a place of survival. Fear stimulates our nervous system and triggers the reptilian brain; survival, attack or hide, aggression, paranoia, fear, revenge, us versus them.
When we are in a place of fear it is nearly impossible to see a clear path.
The ancients believed that our individual selves reflect out into our community. We are ONE, interconnected with the Universe. We participate in our destiny.
Our mind, body, spirit, thoughts, emotions, deeds and energies are part of a system, part of a whole. We are a part of all that is.
I chose the symbol of the Phoenix because it embodies re-birth and transformation.
The burning away of what no longer serves us, the limited paradigms of perception, rising above the falsehoods that we tell ourselves, rising above our fear. Fire is also the symbol of Heart energy, the love and compassion needed to balance the fear.
We are afraid of what we do not know. We imagine and project from our shadow self, our dark side. The focus has been on being victims of circumstance, focusing on all the things we cannot change and that has clouded our reality.
We need to heal ourselves, spiritually, holistically.
This means taking responsibility for our thoughts and actions. Challenge the illusions of fear, lies, false beliefs and judgments that cause suffering and unhappiness.
An opportunity for rebirth, to rise again, like the Phoenix.
This is the big Truth that has been hiding in the shadows: where there is fear, there is no room for compassion and understanding.
We must combat our fear, by expanding our awareness and understanding.
What other assumptions or actions come from our fear? How does that impact our health choices? Are we so stuck on how we operate that we cannot change?
Originally published at www.integrativehealingarts.com.
Originally published at medium.com