I am learning how to press the pause button before I react and embody the energy of a keyboard warrior.

One of the things I’ve come to accept and appreciate in this life is the teaching from one of my dearest friends, a Shaman, that everything has a purpose, and that yes, even the stuff that we don’t like is part of that experience. He calls them unorthodox blessings. I could probably write a book on this subject alone. Perhaps I should.
 

I know many don’t believe this. I also know, many would go so far as to say they vehemently disagree with it. That’s okay too. Because that’s none of my business.

What is my business, is speaking my truth, and reflecting out to the world the healing that occurs when I allow myself to explore what has left an imprint on me, and how I choose to share, or not share, that with the world.

My upbringing was such that you kept your wounds, issues and problems to yourself.

This created depression, anxiety and addiction in my life. It also created suicidal thoughts, hopelessness and angst that I cannot articulate.

I am acutely aware of what it was like to feel those things during those times, and in the blink of an eye, I can bring back the depth of those emotions.

My life path, however, disagrees with that teaching of keeping the wounding, issues and problems to myself. Because when the time is right, every single time I share, it helps, which in turn helps another person.

This is the true essence of my existence. To help myself first, and then in turn allow that healing to help other people. I might not know how, or have all the specifics down yet and maybe not ever, but I know one thing with absolute undeniable certainty, I know why I am here.

Last week, my cage got rattled. Rattled like, steam from my ears, and burning tears from my eyes rattled.

Someone (who I don’t know) had shared that Louise Hay (and people like her…) along with the ‘new age’ movement, caused and continue to cause damage. They went on to share more about their situation and that’s all on them, they did what they needed to do for themselves and their followers.

In short, this person’s experience from what I can gather, is that they personally felt that the teachings they experienced were inappropriate, spiritually by-passing and a version of gaslighting yourself.


* * *

Let’s rewind to about 13 years ago, when I was clinging to Louise Hay’s book “You Can Heal Your Life”.  A book I’ve since read at least twice since that initial read and use at least weekly for a point of reference.

When I was laying in my bed, not knowing whether I wanted to live or die, this book gave me hope. It gave me another perspective, it gave me another way to experience the world through the lens of someone who had, healed their life.

This book and a variety of new age teachings have helped heal my life.

If it wasn’t for Louise bringing that book forward and doing the work she did with people in her years of service, who knows how many people, myself included, wouldn’t be where they are today.

But let’s get back to ‘new age’ for a minute. Since I’m not writing a specific essay or graduate level thesis on the subject, I’ll put my stamp on it by saying this: I see it as another bastardized term that is used to group people together with a particular stereotypical slant.

A definition (thank you google) a broad movement characterized by alternative approaches to traditional Western culture, with an interest in spirituality, mysticism, holism, and environmentalism. 

I’m not a scholar, but that’s 4 very different categories, I think?

Mindfulness and care with how we frame things, and the language we use is vital. Understanding terminology and what’s commonplace use of a word might be easy, but it would go further if it were articulated in a way that true by definition and not just thrown into a pigeonhole without deeper explanation.

Cancel culture is rampant right now. As someone who brings textbook coaching, university educated counselling, 20 years of corporate experience, a decade of Spirit guided ‘new age’ mysticism, psychic work, intuition and energy healing into every experience in life, am I next?

If I share that my take is such that I don’t see Ms. Hay’s work as the way this other person experienced it, but that it was shared by people I respect and appreciate, that if I disagree, I’ll get cancelled?

These were my initial thoughts. I was preparing myself to be exiled from another community and network of friends because of my experience.

Louise’s work is not for everyone. She’s also probably the first person to say you can’t be all things to all people, so that works out nicely.

In studying her teachings, which by the way she also says were simply taught to her, and she didn’t own these teachings, I slowly began to learn about how to be self-accountable, work through much of my codependency, my addictions and my overall perspective in life.

It all brought me to a place where it gave me the strength to keep going, and to find deeper ways to work on myself, with practitioners of both the traditional models as well as the holistic, new-age approach ways.

My overall take on this is that there is a teaching in everything. There is truth and purpose in everything as necessary for my individual life experience.

I also know that I’ve had more damage done to me by doctors, psychiatrists, and psychologists than any new age person by whichever random definition we want to throw at that for this context.

If having a gratitude practice, praying my way through feelings, and visualizing myself as healthy, and seeing my dreams and goals as manifested through how I carry myself and my energy that I show up with day after day, groups me in a way that is going to be the next cancelled or bastardized thing?  Good thing I’m continuing to work on not trying to impress a following or figure out my place or where I might belong. 
 

Fitting in has the same impact on me as the word ‘normal’, you know, the setting on the laundry machine? Who needs more of that?

Oh well, none of my business. 

I’m unapologetically confident that a lot of what’s circling right now, is circling the drain. It’ll get washed away just like everything else, when the next new thing rolls into town.

The only place a bandwagon takes you to is mob mentality. Your soul truth is the only vehicle you need.

H.?