Motivated to Act Jonathan Bender, founder of The Perfor- mance of Your Life, a public speaking and personal development business, has been on a lifelong quest of fos- tering personal growth and societal transformation. His therapeutic classes and workshops demonstrate how to connect, honor and deeply resonate with others, even if they have different worldviews, and how to listen and hear in the same way we want to be heard. Acknowledging the adrenalin rush
that’s a common response to fear of conflict, Bender says, “When we learn to be mindful and speak from our entire body, rather than just from our head, we notice that the voice resonates and originates from a much bigger place. This teaches us to cultivate greater awareness of our emotions and how we express them. “Begin by acknowledging an emotion, and then reduce its intensity through slow, deep breaths, paying at- tention to the correlating physical sensa- tion. Shifting our focus back to the heart allows us to recognize parts of ourselves in the stories of others and come to understand that our personal history is
the filter through which we ‘enemyfy’,” says Bender, who speaks and presents publicly, educating audiences and clients about the universally challenging performances of everyday life. According to Robert Atkinson,
Ph.D., author of The Story of Our Time: From Duality to Interconnect- edness to Oneness, today’s rugged in- dividualism amid conflicts comprises a crisis of consciousness. “No longer can we settle only on seeing things in opposition to one another; we need to shift our consciousness to be able to see the parts coming together in a new whole. Accepting the oneness of humanity as a biological fact, a social necessity and a spiritual reality will lead us further along our journey toward lasting world peace.” His observation fits with what
Intense emotions can become sources of
invincible energy with the collective power to build the world we want.
Joanna Macy, author and scholar of Buddhism and deep ecology, believes is the call of our time: “As planetary citizens, we are being called to wake up together.”
Linda Sechrist is a senior staff writer for Natural Awakenings who blogs at
LindaSechrist.com.
Creativity & Healthy Bloom Within Your Core Star Enigmatic
Over 30 years’ experience in energy healing
Advanced energy medicine for soul integration!
Healing Caroleen Thompson
512-466-4341
EnigmaticHealing.com
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