Transformation

A CoCreative Path begins with Authenticity, a personal journey to connect and align with our most authentic sense of self. As in most contemplative paths of spirituality, cultivating alignment with our heart is how we drop our ego driven identity to embrace the essence of our authentic self. It is the foundation for connecting authentically with others, the earth, and with All that is beyond.

We often struggle with our mood, decisions, life direction, or relationships, wondering if we should follow the intuition from our heart or the logic and practicality of our head. We know intuitively that our heart offers answers that are not always compatible with what seems to be our best interests. We are often afraid of letting our heart lead. 

There are many misconceptions about the heart, and we certainly aren’t taught to cultivate the empowerment that comes from heart alignment. Many people connect the heart to unstable emotion, and tend to give predominance to the logic of our brain. Most of us understand little about the function of the heart / brain connection, or how to cultivate and harness its energy.

In western culture, we are taught to make decisions based on fear, competition, and scarcity. We are taught to measure success by our position and wealth. We are not given the education or tools to understand the working of our brain, and certainly not the connection of our heart

We live mostly in an illusion, the story in our head shaped by the perceptions, judgments and beliefs formed through family and cultural conditioning. Neuroscience has now provided much insight to how the various parts of our brain interact, and how neural pathways become well worn ruts from our experiences and conditioned reactions to life..

In addition, the study of heart intelligence has brought insight into the path to personal and collective coherence, connecting our mind with the energetic field of the heart through a focus on heart values like gratitude and compassion. It has qualified what contemplative religions have taught through the ages, connecting us to a path of personal, relational, and social transformation.

We need practices that increase our awareness of the filters that shape our perspective and the limiting beliefs that hold us back from hearing and following our heart. We need commitment to radical responsibility, to creating a new story, and to clear intention for the life we wish to create. 

Mindfulness and Heartfulness practices help us to increase our emotional and social intelligence, and physically change our brain patterns. Contemplative spiritual practices focus our mindfulness on the qualities of the heart. Together, these practices help facilitate the empowerment of heart alignment. In the uthenticity of heart alignment, we are empowered to embrace Purpose, Connection, and CoCreation.

With the empowerment that begins in the cultivation of Authenticity, we are able to pursue the direction of Purpose that arises from an ever deepening sense of self and passion rather than the conditioning of our family and culture.

As our identity and sense of security is greatly influenced by family values and social pressure, we too often make choices related to our life direction based on ego satisfaction, social acceptance, and/or financial considerations. Passion and creativity is often ignored, or a secondary consideration at best.

As a young man, I decided I could live for weekends and retirement or follow the direction of my heart. With little understanding of what that meant or where that might lead, I pursued evolving interests in creative and healthy home building, holistic sustainability, spirituality, emotional healing, conscious relationships and community building. 

I have looked at major life events and new decades as a crossroads, and an opportunity to evaluate where I have been and where I want to head. Along the way, I have learned some of the keys to living from the heart, aligned with authenticity and the “calling” that comes out or the pain and joy of life. 

The satisfaction of being directed from the heart involves risk and uncertainty, a willingness to find and go with the flow of life. It involves pursuing the wisdom of intuition and clarifying intention. It requires growing awareness of the filters and blocks that hold us back. It also requires evolving awareness of our strengths, gifts, needs, and longings.

Our Purpose solidifies and expands as we deepen our sense of “why” or mission, pursuing opportunities that comes from an evolving vision. It continues toward connection, as we embrace our gifts in service to the need for others and the planet.

Our longing for Connection drives our relationships, consciously or subconsciously. The authenticity and depth of our connection and intimacy with others is correlated to the authenticity and depth of our connection with ourselves. From an authentic place of Be-ing, we are able to relate to the Be-ing of another. 

There are many ways to pursue Connection, but in essence it is holding space, sacred space where respect and honor is held with mutual intention and commitment. It is relating to the feelings, needs, and values of others. It is where we support and encourage others.

Connection starts and ends with communication, and communication starts with listening. Compassionate Listening, with understanding and empathy, then empowers us to speak our truth with authenticity and compassion.

In authentic and empathic relationships, we are then empowered to deepen our connection with ourselves, letting go of our ego identity and defense mechanisms to further grow into the authenticity of our true self, a purpose-full direction for our life, and deeper connection with others.

As a starting place to pursue deeper Connection, ask yourself the following questions.

Are you approachable? Do you express vulnerability? Do you invite authenticity? 

How do you listen? Do you hear with the intention of understanding what is said and meant, or are you quick to interpret and make up our own story? Do you hear beyond the words to the feelings, needs, and values that are being expressed? Do you listen from the heart?

How do you speak? Do you say what you mean or couch your words in socially acceptable terms? Do you speak with care and compassion or are you harsh and judgemental? Do you speak from the heart?

“One who sees himself as everything
is fit to be guardian of the world.
One who loves himself as everyone
is fit to be teacher of the world.” Tao Te Ching

We are all co-creators on the stage of life. On one hand, we are trapped in the drama of the planet, and participate in the dysfunction and despair that surrounds us. On the other hand, in our best expression of ourselves, we each uniquely reflect and express the creativity and love at the Source of creation. Free from the entanglement of the drama in our minds, relationships, and culture, we contribute to the wonder and beauty of the canvas we call Life. One way or the other, we participate in the co-creation of an evolving universe.

A Co-Creative Path is a path toward personal, relational, and cultural transformation. Our cultural deficit of community has created the conditions where personal identity and relational needs are primarily shaped by damaged egos and disconnected social conditioning. Rather than being supported to pursue a conscious and heart centered life, we are mostly driven by unconscious and unmet needs that strengthen a false self and false sense of security.

A CoCreative Path is a path of transformation and empowerment at the intersection of Authenticity, Purpose, and Connection. It is about the human condition and our foundational needs. It is a path that starts within, a path of healing and growth through the steps of awareness, transformation, and intention.

A CoCreative Path is a path of empowerment to let go of our attachment to our obvious and nuanced ego identity. It is a path of personal, relational, and cultural transformation as we pursue greater alignment with heart based authenticity, a deepening connection in relationship with others, and a clarity and intention related to a purpose-full direction in our current stage of life.

A CoCreative Path is a path of radical responsibility. It is a road less traveled, a scenic byway that takes us off the highway of the Drama Triangle to shift our focus from victim, judge, and rescuer to co-creator on the stage of Life. It is about shifting our World View from separate to connected, from competitive to cooperative, from scarcity to abundance, from fear to love. 

A CoCreative Path is path of conscious relationship and co-creation, getting clear about our struggle as well as our need for each other. It is about unraveling our story, healing our hurts, removing our blocks, and co•creating a new story of hope and faith and love…