The Amazing Temple Website

I will be posting more stories on this in the next few days, but this is the amazing place that I continue to write about, the Shipibo healing center where I work in the Peruvian Amazon...

More soon! L

the thing that is in the way IS the way

One of the most important teachings of all that i've gotten in the jungle, and the most difficult to integrate: “The thing that is in the way IS the way.” In mediation and conflict resolution work we tell people that there are not actually “conflicts” but only “opportunities”. Time and again I have seen in my own life experience and with all of the people that I am working with, that the thing that seems to be our greatest hindrance is actually our greatest teacher, the stepping stone to our deepest transformation. This means that there is no need to reject any of our life experience, because ALL of it is perfectly placed in our paths to help us to grow. This sounds good on paper but it takes some time put to practice when the “obstacles” arise. The good news is that we will never run out of opportunities to practice.
We can struggle unnecessarily by resisting a certain “obstacle” in our lives and the things that we do not want to look at. When I do recognize myself struggling or resisting, I open myself up to the process by asking myself questions, such as “What am I not accepting here?” o “What am I not wanting to see?" I recommend strongly having someone to accompany you on this process, such as a coach, as they can help us to gain perspective and see our own “blind spots”.
Upon first attempt this may not seem easy, but when the obstacle is great, the freedom that comes from overcoming the obstacle is equally great. It is as though we have created our lives as an entire obstacle course, in order to see what we are truly made of. And what fun it is to discover! If you have ever faced something that you thought you were afraid of and felt how free you were afterwards, you know what I am talking about. For example, I recently told people that the thing that I was most terrified in the world was the free-fall sensation. Within 3 weeks some beautiful friends appeared and offered me the opportunity to go sky-diving in Arizona. The perfect opportunity to look my fear dead in the eye! The feeling of flying from 13,000 feet in the sky is thrilling on its own, but once I had jumped the realization that I had nothing left to be afraid of is utterly exhilarating. With practice going inward and facing our fears, we begin to trust the process more and more and to flow with the current of life, “obstacles” and all.
I find myself more and more surrounded by people who are choosing to look head on at the obstacles that they have been resisting for most of their lives. Since I know how empowering this has been in my own life, there is nothing that inspires me more than helping other people to go inward and reclaim their power from the things that they have felt powerless in the face of. Once we have taken this step, we open ourselves up to entirely new ways of being, and we must integrate these new ways of being into our lives. For this reason I have developed my new Integration Coaching program. I am opening up the pilot phase of this program to people who are going through (or wanting to go through) a process of transformation and integration in their lives, to begin coaching at very low, or even no cost to them. If you feel that this applies to you, or someone that you love, speak with me directly and I will give you the details of how to begin.
Until then, I am off to find the next airplane to jump out of!