Healer To Healer™

When is it OK to have a "day" job?

So you're a healer, and you know it.  Deep inside, you know you're here to serve others, to help, to support, to change life on this planet... even if you don't mention it very often to your "normal" friends.  Maybe you even have a specific dream -- art, music, massage therapy, counseling, teaching, or preaching -- but for now you "need a regular income".  Maybe to save up for nursing school, or to rent that office space on the corner, or another lofty goal.  

The big question is: Are you still fulfilling your life purpose?  Are you still in spiritual integrity with who you are?  Are you still in harmony with the Universe?  (Ok, that was three questions, but you get the idea.)

Splitting your intent or your energy, actively going both towards who you are and away from it, can be one of the most painful, detrimental, and un-healing things you can do to yourself, period. 

So how can you stay in integrity with your heart when you feel the need to hold a "day" job unrelated to the reason you came to this planet?  I'd suggest you answer "yes" to both of these questions:

(1) Is your job compatible with who you are becoming?  Is it harmonious or at least neutral with your spiritual faith, the way you see the world, your goals and your dreams?  Then it's not inherently anti-you, and such a job is most likely temporarily OK. 

The end of my own corporate day job in financial marketing began one soul-searching day after I had to publish a report that I didn't believe in, highly recommending a company that I knew used unfair labor tactics and environmentally abused the planet.  It was the last straw in a job that was draining me anyway because (I see now) it went against my spiritual ideals.  My heart had been out of integrity, and my mind finally clued in and said: "I REFUSE."  What a relief.

(2) Are you taking action towards expressing your life purpose in the long run, even while you temporarily hold another job?  Are you honoring who you are by supporting it outside of this job?  If yes, then again, a day job is fine as a temporary or semipermanent option.  And by "taking action" I mean actively doing something along the lines of what you will do.  If you are an artist, do art for at least 30-45 minutes a day, even if you have to draw on a napkin at a party.  If you are an energy healer or intuitive, meditate, practice, or write marketing matkerials for a time several days a week.  If you're here to serve, volunteer at a retirement home, animal shelter, or hospital.  If you want to uplift, join toastmasters and practice your inspirational speeches.  If you're a writer, write. 

For a long time when my children were small and I worked full time, I had one or two healing clients per week, that's all.  I also studied, worked on my family and friends, and played with energy often.  It was the seemingly small activities towards my goal that kept my eyes on the prize and the momentum going to where I am today.

The bottom line is your intent.  Are you genuinely supporting yourself in becoming the healer you really are?  ...Or are you still trying to squirm away with seemingly-related distractions and seemingly reasonable excuses?  Only you and your heart can know for sure.

If you have any questions about this issue, ask in the comments link below.  I love you.  Go heal.

"To finish first, first you must finish."

                    --Terri O'Connell, NASCAR driver

So often when we are afraid, we sabotage our own efforts so we can stay "safe"... in the failure zone.  It can get mighty comfy here, but there is an element of pain, too, because we are not being ourselves, particularly if we are avoiding our own calling to heal and help others.  C'mon healer.  If you are drawn to it with your heart, you can do it.  That's a promise.  It's your calling.  Exactly the task that you and only you can handle so well.  By definition.

What are you putting off?  Practice completion by choosing a small unfinished project that will enrich your spiritual life or move you closer to being the healer you are.  Finish it today, or take another huge step towards completion.  Think of that last portion as a small, easier project in itself.  Report back here and let me know what you did.

And don't forget: we teach best what we're here to learn.  ;)  I'll do this too.

The secret of addictions, part II: bypassing them

We already know that those of us truly addicted to certain experiences don't get any satisfaction from them.  That's because they are not what we are really craving.  The use of addictions is either to numb us out to our longings, or an attempt to recreate them with the next-best thing. 

We are creatures of pleasure.  Pleasure, love and connection is our natural state.  We are spiritual beings of infinite love, the pleasure of God, yet we find ourselves imprisoned in a challenging physical existence and locked into the progress of time... at least that's how it feels.  So we long to be who we really are, majestic cocreators of infinite power and wisdom.  And we long to be connected to everything like we are at the level of our infinite true nature.

So we seek pleasure and love.  But empty pleasure doesn't work.  What we really want is this deep spiritual connection, not cheap imitations!

Go for the real thing.  The next time you feel the urge for your favorite crutch, give yourself 5 or 10 minutes for this exercise.  Sit quietly where you are safe and comfortable.  Let your body relax and ask yourself how you want to feel.  Comforted? Safe? Secure? What are you seeking in the substance or experience you just considered having?  You want to be truly loved as you are?  Respected?  Recognized?  Blessed?  Not hungry?  Wealthy?  Lucky?  Admired?  Loved?  And loved by whom or how exactly?

Then close your eyes and imagine it, fantasize it.  There are no restrictions in your imagination.  The mother who hated you can now love you tenderly and unconditionally.  The absent father is back home and just the way you want.  You can have anything you want.  Crawl up into the Hand of God and be safe, nurse on your mother's lap again, reunite with your dead friend or relative, create a different outcome, invent the romantic partner of your dreams.  But whatever you do, don't reinforce and strengthen your habitual turning towards your addiction.  Break that habit and soar beyond it. 

When I did this exercise years ago, it took me several tries before I realized I wanted to crawl up in my mommy's lap and nurse and be loved unconditionally.  After a couple more times, I was surprised to realize it was more than that: I just wanted to BE everything around me, that my connection to mother only reminded me of my connection to everything.  Interestingly, nursing puts both mother and child into an altered state, a state of connectivity with The All.  So I created my ideal mommy, crawled up into her adult-sized lap with her arms around me, and visualized blending with the entire Universe. 

It feels good to be whole again.  This is what you are seeking, and this is what you deserve and should have.  I recommend trying this exercise several times, and keep asking yourself "What's behind that? What do I really truly deeply crave?" until you get to the core.  If you do it enough (or add in snapping a rubberband on your wrist every time you think of indulging in your addiction), you can completely break your addictive thought habits. 

Let me know how this exercise goes for you.  I admire you for caring enough about yourself to try it.