YOU BE YOU & I’LL BE ME--LIGHT REQUEST FOR THE PEOPLE OF OUR NATION
“Where is the Love” by the Black Eyed Peas is a song that has been in my awareness since last week when major decisions by the Supreme Court were made in our country. I am including the YouTube video of the song and lyrics. Each one of you possesses and expresses an abundance of Love; the Love is in us and all around us, and we are being called to Love no matter what.
“You Be You & I’ll Be Me” is a phrase I’ve spoken and used in setting the perimeters for every class series and retreat over the years. The first time I heard these words was from a friend in the Love Tribe who was going through the Empty Nest experience at the same time I was. We were learning how to be parents of adult children. When I heard it, I was reminded of Our Agreement that we make in our groups about not Shoulding on ourselves or others, allowing each person to be right where he/she/they need to be in this life experience in Earth School.
One of the many thoughts that have come to me in the wake of the massive changes taking place in our nation is what if we used this simply stated but incredibly deep guideline—
You Be You & I’ll Be Me.
If a person isn’t comfortable with same sex marriage, then they don’t have to marry someone of the same sex. If someone doesn’t believe in abortion, then she doesn’t have to get an abortion. If someone feels that they were born into the body that fits who he or she is, then that person need not go through the process of transitioning to the gender that is who he or she is. If someone wants children, then have children. If someone doesn’t want children, then don’t have children. What if in situations such as these that hurt no one (unlike semi-automatic weapons), we simply allow people to live their lives and we live ours? What if, like Jesus, we stay clear of judgment and instead accept and love one another? I don’t understand why some are so afraid of people being different than they are.
You Be You & I’ll Be Me
As I have shared with all of you over the years, my greatest challenge in living from a place of Acceptance, Love and Non-Judgment is judging those who are judgmental. It is something I have worked on and overcome in many ways, and at times such as these, it is so easy to slip into old patterns. But when I do and when we do, it only deadens us on the inside, and we are left incapacitated to contribute in ways that truly make a difference.
know it is hard to stand forward in your Truth, and reside in your Loving while practicing Loving Self-Forgiveness when situations are as extreme as they have been lately. But I encourage you to do just that. I have been reminded of our studies from the book The Fifth Agreement by Don Miguel Ruiz and his son when they wrote about how each one of us is in our own movie theater seeing our lives projected on the screen from our perspective as the main character of our movie. Others are in their own movie theaters seeing themselves and their lives from their own perspective. We may be secondary characters in their movie, and we may be observing the same scenarios, but it is their movie/life and they see it the way they see it; we see it the way we see it. This doesn’t mean we aren’t open to looking at situations in new and different ways; it just means we realize that others may see things completely differently than we do.
Last week, after the Supreme Court decisions that happened two days in a row, I was in prayer and meditation, asking God for guidance about how to be a teacher, life guide, and person at a time such as this. That night, I had a dream that I was being given special goggles that fit over my eyes like the virtual goggles people wear to have alternative reality experiences. The experience felt ceremonial, and I was reminded of the movie theater analogy. I continue to pray for the vision to see, the ears to hear, the mouth to speak, the mind to think, the heart to Love, and the Soul/Higher Self to lead the way. I invite you to pray for this as well if it resonates with you.
You may be wondering how to work with Loving Self-Forgiveness of our judgments so that you are able to speak your Truth, remain in your Loving, stay open at the top, be as healthy on every level (judgment can cause all kinds of issues in the physical body, as well as on the Emotional, Mental and Spiritual levels), and make a difference in the world.
One example of Loving Self-Forgiveness (L S-F) of our judgments could be the following:
“I forgive myself for judging people as awful human beings who believe differently than I do. The Truth is if I do this, I am doing what they do when deeming people different than them as awful people who are doing life wrong. The Truth is these people are in their own movie theaters, seeing a perspective that I may not see. The Truth is when I judge others as wrong, I move into the Right/Wrong Mentality, my energy is drained, and it becomes harder for me to take action steps for change. The Truth is I can have beliefs and opinions and discern how I want to live my life and how I want to support others, but I do not have to make other people monsters in the process. The Truth is each person is experiencing their own Spiritual curriculum whether they realize it or not.”
Doing L S-F allows us to stay in the Oneness and frees us of the chains of judgment, helping us to be as strong as we can be. As the Buddha said, "Anger is like picking up a hot coal to throw it at another; it is you who gets burned."
Another example of L S-F is:
“I forgive myself for judging myself as a failure on my Spiritual Journey because I am in upset at what is going on in the world. The Truth is I am having a human experience and there is a lot of upheaval currently. The Truth is I have been conditioned throughout life to be in the Right/Wrong Mentality, and I am learning a new way. The Truth is at high stress times such as this, it is important that I be compassionate with and Loving to myself because if I beat myself up, things only get worse within me and around me.”
A belief of mine is that each person has the right to live in a way that is in alignment for her/him/them, which includes those who see the projection of their movies from an entirely different viewpoint. While I might not agree, I believe in each one of us having a choice in how we choose to experience life.
One of the greatest ways we serve ourselves, others, our country, and the world is by continuing to bring as much Light and Love to the planet as possible. In these times, I invite you to be Light-Bearers any time of the day or night that works for you. And if you choose to, do this Spiritual practice at our group times of 1:23 pm and 8 pm, joining in the effort of bringing as much Peace, Love, and Oneness to the planet as possible.
Taking other action steps in the world can also be important. I know many of you are involved in positive ways to increase Loving kindness and acceptance on the planet. One way that you can make a difference is by voting. It may seem insignificant at times, but even the energy behind your vote can create change. In the past two presidential elections, I recently learned that the number of people who are eligible to vote who did not vote was greater than the number of people who did vote from both major parties combined. The statistic I read was 170 million people did not vote, and the majority was the youngest of our population with many saying they don’t agree with either party.
One action step I am taking, and I encourage you to take if it feels in alignment to you, is to encourage every young person you know to look at what laws they agree with the most, to register to vote, and to vote. Even though this is part of our dualistic world—voting for a certain party or issue—it is the system we have at this time in history here in the Earth School. If voting isn’t for you, that is your choice. I was touched deeply by this statistic of how many of our citizens did not vote and felt it important to mention it to you in case you weren’t aware of it.
As you can tell, even though I have been silent the past week about these and other issues, a lot has been moving in prayer and meditation. I do not have all the answers, but I have been hearing to share a few ways of how we might move through these times, honoring our human experience while being dedicated to our Soul’s awakening.
Our Agreement in the Love Tribe is a sacred one—You be You & I’ll Be Me. I wonder how the world would be different if Spiritual beings having a human experience could agree to this statement. Please help us, God.
As Rumi wrote, “Out beyond ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing, there is a field. I will meet you there.”
I hope you will meet me in that field.
Love and Light to All!
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