Lissa Rankin's Blog, page 4
January 6, 2015
Let's End The Story Of Separation In 2015
As we embark upon the journey of 2015, I am dreaming of a world in which we remember, as the indigenous people do, that our Story of Separation is only an illusion, that we are all connected, not just to other people, but to the plants, the animals, the mountains and rivers and oceans, that we cannot harm one another, we cannot violate nature, without directly harming ourselves. What would a world governed by our certainty of Oneness be like?
December 16, 2014
The Difference Between Judgment & Discernment
He cheated on his wife with a much younger employee.
She abandoned her newborn baby.
He drinks until he beats his children.
She manipulates her feminine wiles to get what she wants from men.
December 2, 2014
Are You "Spiritual But Not Religious?"
When I talk to some people about spirituality, they commonly respond with, “Oh, but I’m not religious,” to which I respond, “Yeah, me neither.” Then they look a bit puzzled. The way I see it, every religion is some human being’s interpretation of spiritual principles, and while there’s a lot of overlap in the teachings of all religions that probably points to spiritual truth, I find myself resisting any dogma that says that one way is “The Way” and everything else is hogwash.
November 18, 2014
The Cure For All Anxiety
We live in a culture that says that the only way to get what you want is to DO DO DO and then DO some more. Push. Struggle. Make it happen. Put your nose to the grindstone. Work your ass off. Try. And never ever give up.
November 4, 2014
Can You Let Go Of Your Victim Story?
Back in my twenties, I spent a lot of time writing in my journal, usually about boys. Then I had an epiphany. I realized that the quality of my relationships with men were inversely related to the amount of time I spent writing in my journal. If the relationship was healthy, I was off happily living my life, not sitting on my window seat, writing about how happy I was. But if the relationship was dysfunctional, I wrote . . . and wrote . . . and wrote. And when I look back now at those journals, I have to laugh at myself because every whining, complaining story I told had me as the heroine of my “Poor me” story. The guy was always a liar/cheater/loser/wimp/alcoholic/abuser/narcissist/jerk. They were all WRONG WRONG WRONG. But me, I was always right.
October 22, 2014
An Invitation To Peace
I recently returned from two weeks in Peru, where my friend Dennis and I trekked up to 16,000 feet in the Andes and stayed in a small village with the people of the Q’eros as part of my research for an upcoming book Sacred Medicine. What I gleaned from the trip was not what I expected. I didn’t come home with a “10 Things I Learned From the Shamans of Peru” list, though perhaps that will come in time. What I gained was something far more profound and much more difficult to translate into words.
October 8, 2014
What Is Shamanism?
I wrote this blog from Pisac, Peru, where I met with shamans as research for an upcoming book Sacred Medicine, an exploration of anomalous healing. My spiritual love affair with shamanism began on my wedding day at Post Ranch Inn in 2005. I was browsing through the posh resort’s list of activities. I read through it—yoga, group meditation . . . shamanic journey. Now that sounded interesting! With no idea what a shamanic journey actually was, I thought it would make for a good story. A shamanic journey on my wedding day? Why not?
September 29, 2014
How To Deal With Your Inner Critic
Last week, Martha Beck and I co-taught the first of eight classes in our Coming Home to Your Spirit class. We were very excited about teaching something that would give us a venue to discuss publicly the kinds of spiritual concepts we’ve been discussing privately for three years, not because we think we’ve got it all figured out yet, and not because we consider ourselves experts in spirituality, but because as wildly curious spiritual seekers attuned to the vibration of other spiritual seekers, we yearned to create a way to share, learn from each other, facilitate dialogue, do some spot coaching, lean into the edges of our own growth, push the growth edges of those who participate, and call upon the Divine to awaken us all, if such an outcome is aligned with the highest good.
September 24, 2014
Can You Keep Your Spiritual Integrity During Divorce?
A year ago, my husband and I decided to break up but try living in the same house for the love of our eight year old daughter. It worked for a while—until it didn’t work anymore. Yesterday, we filed for divorce with our mediation lawyer, and as so often happens during the divorce process, I watched two people who care about each other start volleying for position as we talked about who would get what and how we would divide up the business of me. My Small Self had an inner tantrum. The running dialogue in my head during divorce mediation went something like this (with some of the four letter words removed for the love of my ex):
September 10, 2014
Are You Involved With A Narcissist?
I was deep in the heat of a conversation with a guy friend of mine, as we sat across from each other at the dinner table. I felt fire burning inside of me. He said, “Tell me what your Small Self is saying right now?”
I glared at him and said, “My Small Self is saying there are two kinds of men.” I paused for dramatic effect. There was venom in my voice.
Lissa Rankin's Blog
- Lissa Rankin's profile
- 189 followers
