Tell the Truth

What’s to be done when the world is not treating you right? When the day is full of bumps and bruises, impediments to reaching the goal, the result, the state of being you are after?

Pushing forward seems to be the expected way – buck up, pull yourself up by your bootstraps, carry on. Oh, and hide your feelings while you’re at it ‘cause no one likes a crybaby, a loser who can’t keep their stuff together. Do you ever notice these programs running you when wrestling with struggle? I find them so ingrained in me that even though I know better they are still the initial inner voice I hear, the big brother of society’s sub-conscious sitting on my shoulder whispering to keep me safe and approved of.

What if, instead of hiding and pretending, what if we said, “It’s been a rough morning. For some reason I woke up every two hours in the night and then found my car broken into and my new I Pod stolen. I’m really feeling violated and bummed out.” I tried this approach the other morning. I told the truth amongst colleagues and clients, other career women at a monthly networking meeting. I let my heart be seen and felt and told the truth.

At first I was afraid of being judged or glossed over – of getting a cheer up girlie sort of response that usually side-swipes my feelings and ticks me off. But I did not. Instead I received many genuine ears to listen to my succinct, honest response to How are you? acknowledging the bummer of my morning. I was greeted with compassion and some great hugs too. Unfortunately, many of us know what it is like to be violated, in one form or another, and it can be freeing for the person sharing and listening, both, to exchange that open truth-telling. I’m not recommending a joint therapy session in the midst of networking, rather the simple honest facts of events and primary feelings.

What if we let ourselves do this, to tell the truth and receive compassion from others? What if we were not hooked in the loop of the façade of perfection? What if we trusted others to listen and have empathy rather than judgment? What if we really understood that we all have our up and down days and moments and that accepting this turns the peaks and valleys into rolling hills? What if?

I believe there would be a lot less stress and illness – cancer, heart disease, obesity, alcoholism, drug and sex addiction, anxiety, depression, etc. I believe we could become a more cooperative community again, the kind that could be depended upon. I believe social responsibility and creative solutions, on behalf of our selves, others and our planet, would flourish.

We need each other. Not to be the perfect image of those we see in the movies and on TV, in magazines. We need each other to be real, to be all of who we are in this beautiful human imperfection. We need the connection, the love, the listening, the honoring. We are feeling human beings – we have feelings for a reason – and we need to live in the safe space of honesty, recognizing them, responsibly expressing them, and allowing ourselves to be empowered through them.

Try it. Try being honest – whether elated or infuriated. The next time someone says How are you? tell the truth.

to Living Sensual! 
Live in Love with Life
xo Piper

Magic Horses

Just Trust.  What I want from you is to trust me. Words from my inner self to me, spoken into the open air of the horse arena.

As if heard by Life, by Spirit itself, Rohan then nuzzled me with his large, soft nose in a repeated, gentle up and down motion while my eyes were closed, deeply engaged with that discontented part of me that was speaking its need. He followed with a sweet tickling of my face, grassy-breathed, big, warm-winded sigh, an intimate gift of release as if to say, Yes, just let it go. Let all your worries go. Yes, you can trust.

All throughout my guided exploration in the arena I could feel Rohan’s conscious, strong presence. I so appreciated this four-legged creature of wisdom who leads his herd from his intuitive, male power. His example, his clear reassurance helped me let it all down, all the strife, and I did so with small tears of deep appreciation cleansing my vision.  Thank you Rohan!  You are the reminder I needed.

All weekend long each of the horses lovingly participated in synch with our energy, guiding and moving us to greater awareness, to our next best steps, individually and as a group.

Earlier in the morning, in the midst of calling in the directions, creating sacred space, Jewel lay her body down to the earth of the arena while the other horses stood protective watch – the ultimate act of submission to Spirit, to the work we all were about to adventure into. 

Later on in the day, one of us was trying to release a pain carried in his left lower arm, a pain that had appeared in connection to his fear of rejection, opposing his longing to belong. During his work in the arena, Dijon, the oldest of the geldings, tall and white, kindly sidled up on this man’s left side, rubbing his arm with his neck in a slow, soft, long bowing motion, committed to helping him release his pain, shedding his long white coat, a beautiful leave-behind that made us all giggle.

How do these amazing horses know exactly what to do and when to do it? How do they connect with such gentleness and care? How do they hold the heart of each individual and move it toward its purpose?

It truly is Real Life Magic! The horses, these special therapy horses, they are the wise, unspoken tending to exactly what you need. This is their work, and they are so gifted at it.
 

Feeling so supported, we stepped richly into the desire of our heart, the vulnerability, the excitement, the fear, the hope, and were met with encouragement, with answers to our questions, with compassion, and with opening. Healing was alive in us, Life was showing up in all amazing ways through the farm, each other and the horses.

As we closed the workshop, Grace, lead mare, gorgeous red presence of female stature and nurturing, having just finished championing one of us to step in and feel the presence of her feminine power, trotted with focus to advance to the front of the herd, ahead of Rohan, the lead gelding, to receive her hay-dinner. There was no fight, simply a bit of super-charge to take the point home. Grace was a stand for what was called forth, that it was now time for this person to allow and trust the feminine to take the lead. 

Just Trust.  What I want from you is to trust me. I think we all had a bit of that message running through our explorations at Red Tail Farm. And I believe I got it this time.

Taking my cue from the sage Jewel at the start of our magical weekend, I am choosing to surrender and follow as I am called. Jewel made sure I got this message with a pleasant grazing of my face, her cheek against mine, as I sat in our human circle sharing my big take-away from our time together –

Lay Down (my ego) and Do What’s Next.

Can’t wait to offer this wonderful experience in the future.  Watch for its next offering in our Upcoming Events.

to Living Sensual! 
Live in Love with Life
xo Piper

What Is Success?

In a moment of relaxation, glorious sun warming, cheer of birdsong playing, and then the whrrr of the large snaking freeways pushing, pushing themselves into my productive mind.  No longer able to just read and appreciate the last day of vacation, the cars keep poking at me as if to say: Where do You need to be going?  What do You need to be getting done?  Time to get off your lazy butt and make something happen.  Replies the inner whine, But I’m on vacation!  Can I not just relax?!

Relax.  Relax.  Can I really let myself when the list of things to accomplish is so long? Unrelentingly long.  And who made this list?  Me.  And why?  Why are all these items on my unending list?  Why are they each so bloody important that they have to be obstructing my moments of peace?

Because I want to be Successful!  At everything it seems.  And even though I know this is not a reality, the ability to be successful at everything, my socialized brain has this annoying habit of insisting on the importance.

In my well-trained mind success equals:
 
1. You come to my home and think it lovely, clean, organized, inviting = I am a Good Designer, Impressive Host, someone you’re comfortable with, you trust because I keep a nice home – “Cleanliness is next to Godliness” after all. There is some actual truth to this, peace of mind related, but we’re not talking about that right now, we’re talking about how I can sometimes care too much about what you and what others think.

2. You meet my child and notice how well taken care of she is, how kind and astute, the respect and love between us witnessed in our communication style with one and other = I am a Good Mom.

3. You see my companies growing, my awesome employees, images of my creative work, marketing for new classes, graphics savvy, writings on target, quotes from clients who have learned and grown so much through our work together = I am an Empowered Business Owner.

4. You meet my partner, handsome, well-dressed, great smile, kind heart, wise disposition, you notice how openly and lovingly we relate, the way we touch each other, look at each other, the classes we teach together, and the healthy boundaries we keep = I am a Wise, Enlightened Human, to have such a partnership.  Please know I really am exposing my backside, my vulnerabilities here.

5. You see me speak, powerful, eloquent, expressive, authentic, connected to you and the creative force that is leading me, presenting in stylish clothes – professional with a personal flair – just the right shoes, just the right words spoken, at the right time = I have so Got My Shit Together, am so connected to Life = Oy! How the ego can get caught and run amok, even in the most divine of territories.

And even if all of the above were true at times, and definitely not at others, my ego mind still gets hooked in search of the next tick on my measuring stick: How many followers do I have on Facebook and Twitter, on Instagram and Pinterest?  How many are coming to my classes, are knocking on my door begging me to work with them?  A good amount maybe… but not enough, according to the social media success-o-meter that equals whether or not a publisher will even look at my work, whether or not I am a super-magnet for more, whether I have created a viral impact stealing your attention from another focus, providing the magic potion for your own happiness and success, that you think I have the answer. 

And now I feel like crying.  Because, really, from this perspective, it’s all just too much.  Too much pressure.  Too much external placed on my happiness, my well-being.  Too much façade.  Not enough heart.  Not… enough… heart.

How to get myself out of this place, this rat race, this mind-mess I’ve swirled myself into?

Stop moving.  Slow the thinking. Pause. Breathe. Take in a moment of quiet to connect with Life. Move my attention away from this world of juggling mental craziness, away from the anaconda of freeways going here and there to accomplish this and that. Move my attention to one deep breath – breathe in to the count of five, hold for five and out for five.  And do it again.  Breathe down into my belly.  Breathe into my heart.  The space naturally gracing me with the focus on my breath.

No matter where I am, (car, office, home or bathroom stall), my breath begins to dissolve the grip of my whirling mind and helps me rejoin my body, the keeper of my feelings that I have been avoiding with all this action to keep me “looking good.”  Once reconnected with my body, with my heart, with my self, I usually have a good cry, letting all the build-up fall away from me, cleansing from the inside out, until the moment of stress dissolves into a hundred breaths and tears running through my heart into the rivers of the earth.  

Now my heart can start to drive again. Now I can get back to my thankful awareness of this magical pulse in the world.  Back to leading my life according to my intuition, back to trust, back to the clear “what’s next” that guides me through my greater purpose, to the bigger vision I am holding; all my actions getting me there in perfect time.

My heart cares nothing for the pressures I have created in my mind.  My heart cares only about this moment, cares about being with it, and being with you, right here, right now. 

So what is success?  On the freeways of life leading us in so many different directions it still feels good to check things of my list, but in a way where my connection to self, others and the planet stays intact, where my heart leads my mind and body.  It is my great desire that our collective success is a series of caring, valued, authentic partnerships where what we do and say is an honest contribution for the betterment of each other and our world.

To Our Success! 
to Living Sensual! 

Live in Love with Life
xo Piper

Why Do We Have Desire?

To me this is like asking, "Why am I living?"  "Why am I breathing?"  

A friend and colleague, Michael Bogar, recently shared with me, Desire comes from the root Desiderare, "to long for, wish for, await what the stars will bring" and the phrase De sidere means "of the stars." 

Contrary to many old beliefs, our desires are not a sin, they are not selfish. Our desires are connected to our soul purpose, our passions, our expressions of self and our relationships as human beings on this planet earth. For an average of 78.74 years we get the gift, the opportunity, to experience all that Life has to offer, to grow it within us, to create it outside of us. Our desires give Life the direction to make this happen in a way that is uniquely fulfilling to us.

How many of Life's choices do you think you might be presented with in just one day? How many choices about what you want to experience, what you want to have, eat, hold, read, accomplish, how you would like to care for yourself, care for others, who you want to spend your time with, what you want to say, to express, how you would like to interact? How many of these choices do you think you are presented in just one day? Twenty, fifty, one-hundred, or more? And how do you discern, do you make all of these decisions? What is motivating you, leading you? I say it is your desires. The outcomes you wish to materialize.

And when you have a moment of floundering, as we all can and do, of not knowing what you want, what happens? Someone else's want is fulfilled, the person or people who knew what they wanted. Yes?  

If you want your desires to materialize for you, you need to know what they are. You need to voice them, visualize them, believe that you can have and be them, feel yourself changed by them before they have even arrived. You need to put a stake in the ground and act toward them.

And being the beautifully complicated humans we all are, this path to wanting and receiving is not always clean and tidy. Often our past fears come into play. These fears need and want to be acknowledged and nurtured and worked through in a way that continues to keep you focused on your desire and heading in the direction of its receipt.

This is what we do at the Living Sensual Institute. We step into desire, your desire. We support you to claim it, feel it, work through the resistances to having it, being it, and we support you to conjure it, attract it to you. We believe in you and the heart of your desires.

If you have a desire, one that keeps calling you, and has felt continually out of reach, come work with it, move toward it, feel the nature of its gift entering into your life at our Summer Empowerment Camp this month.

Coming you will be part of an intimate group of 12 enjoying and expressing from the heart of yourselves and your desires. Supported by 3 top-notch coaches and mentors and 6 wise and well-trained therapy horses, this weekend camp is all about your breakthroughs, your clear next steps that will lead you to realize your desire, it is all about your empowerment. The many prolific life-changing processes used in the Living Sensual Way have been successful for millions, and they can be successful for you too.  

to Living Sensual! 
Live in Love with Life
xo Piper

Confirmation

We are here.
Do you feel us?
We are here.
Do you hear us?
We are here.
The energies
of breath
fire, flow,
growth.
We are here
in the hum
with your body,
for your speech
of your mind
through your heart.
We are here
when you call,
from the feeling
place within:
earnest, open,
wanting Life.
We are here.

to Living Sensual! 
Live in Love with Life
xo Piper