I recently started writing a series of short stories under the general heading "Four Million Leaky Auras", which is a term I have used about living in Melbourne to show the problems for psychics and other sensitives that go with living in cities
(based partly on my experiences recently, but also when I moved 1,000 km away from the parental home to Brisbane to attend uni in my late teens). Well, in a reply to a recent "Question of the Week" on the Spirit Rescuers website about empaths, I got to launch the expression publicly. That's not why I am writing about that now: what I
DO want to direct people's attention to, is a later reply, by someone else from Victoria, someone who writes a lot of common sense. The later reply expanded on what I had touched upon, and outlined the problems beautifully. Have a look:
(The reply I am referring to is the one by Ama - my apologies: I though the link was for that particular answer only. I've found this woman has a website; it's not bad, although too Christian-flavoured for me [although she is aware of some pagan stuff, and seems respectful], and she is wrong in her interpretation of nirvana - which is, I think, the only error I'm aware of in her website [http://www.victorianparanormalconnection.com.au/] and her many excellent answers and comments on Spirit Rescuers. Definitely someone worth contacting if you need help, and are OK with archangels :) , but also, have a look at her website - there's some excellent stuff on it, including a simple way of doing rescue. Some of her stories remind me of events from my life, actually ... such as the time I did a rescue of a spirit in a house I lived in, and had the spirit come back as an occasional visitor after some time. All the stories, such as the angry indigenous man, are worth reading [I haven't got through all of them myself yet, mind,] )
As with this person, we would like to move out of the city. Sigh ... Incidentally, I've had another melt down after a week of atmospheric pressure over 1,030 hPa: that really affects me, but there isn't much I can do to avoid living under those circumstances so I will just have to work out to cope.
(I thought I had posted on that before, but I cannot find anything, so I will state here that my theory is that I - not necessarily anyone else - seem to be more prone to stress when the atmospheric pressure exceeds around 1,020 to 1,025 hPa.) One thing that has helped me is an email I get regularly about UFOs: a lot of times this is unimpressive, particularly when it contains conspiracy theory rubbish, but the last week had some good, probably genuine
(unexciting) sightings
(along with some of the more dubious), but it gave me hope that someone "out there", someone like "The Nine" written of in
"Briefing for the Landing on Planet Earth" by
Stuart Holroyd, is looking out for this planet - to an extent. The planet is, after all, a school, so it us lot who are meant to make it a better place, although we can get the help from Higher Selves, Goddess, etc.
Now, I'd now like to write about two things I noticed/experienced recently, which appear to be unconnected, but actually are:
(1) a comment I came across that reading about negative matters affects us, and
(2) a recent workshop about safety and an anti-violence policy.
Effectively, the debate in the workshop boiled down
(in my words) to laissez-faire vs. interventionism. The workshop had been convened as I, and others, had left the committee because of health problems
(and for other reasons) brought about by the stress of dealing with situations which had led to the formulation of the anti-violence policy. Now, there is quite probably a need for greater individual responsibility, as argued by the laissez-faire mob, but this view is limited as it sees violence only when it is direct and obvious, and misses the effect of violence from other arenas
(I can't say too much more than that). It also misses the very important point that, even if one isn't directly affected, one is affected by violence elsewhere - we are all connected, and, just as the stress of city life drags down every living being on the planet, so too does the experience of all those who lack adequate food, water, shelter, and other basics of civilised life.
Furthermore, if one has one's head in the sand over such matters, that wilful blindness will adversely affect oneself, including by creating negative karma arising from acts of omission - it's a little like turning the other way when walking past someone who is drowning.
All of that argues in favour of interventionism .. so, which is correct?
Answer: both.
In much the same way that some politicians have started combining social inclusion/progressiveness with "responsible" economic policies
(rather than the old "you can manage the economy or you be socially progressive but not both" attitude), so too is it possible to combine almost any set of opposing polarities. In many cases, it is contextual - hence, for instance, the person who lacks a sense of personal responsibility needs to have that encouraged, whereas the harder-nosed person arguing for personal responsibility needs to learn a softer, gentler, more encouraging and inclusive approach. So ... to be a little tongue-in-cheek, if you've annoyed everyone on both sides of spectrum, maybe you're doing it right! :)
That is a simplification: there are, in my experience, points of dynamic balance in all such cases. Another way to look at it is, perhaps we can the equivalent of bisexual/polyamorous in other areas of life, and not have to choose between one thing or another.
Now, moving on from that little "rave", I was part of a discussion recently about life after teenagers. Having been there, done that, and survived getting young people to the stage where they move out
(and being currently involved in supporting my partner as she does the same), I can say that, yes, there is life after teenagers.
In all seriousness, it may well take a couple of years for parents to heal from the trauma that can go with trying to guide teenagers into adulthood, part of which could be - if you have not been careful to watch your ethics as you raise your
(or others) children - coming to terms with any breaches of ethical behaviour you may have "allowed yourself" to be provoked into
(sounds clear cut written like that, doesn't it? Shame that doesn't reveal the wearing grind of life, day in, day out, with an angsty young apprentice adult ... ). No-one else can help you there (especially not any remorse from the ex-teenager concerned: too little, too late, and completely irrelevant), and it has to be viewed as a growth exercise.
Also, learning to let go and adjust to can be an issue for some parents. As my partner says, parents are taught to hold on and love and nurture and cherish from the start of life ... but they aren't taught how to let go and adapt to the new circumstances of adult offspring ...
Talking about failing to let go, I have had a reluctance to join in the rush to be connected that extends back through all my adult life. When I first graduated from University and move back to Mackay, I initially refused to have a television or phone
(although I did have something to play music on - cassettes). Now, I have mobile phone that is an old clunker: it can take photos, but I only want it for texting and - radical idea - making phone calls. I also choose very deliberately not to be on social media for a range of reasons, including concerns about privacy issues, but above all, concerns about human beings:
(a) mistaking the sorts of interactions that can happen for friendship when they aren't
(although I am very aware that some connections are deep and meaningful, and some people with limited mobility find being online invaluable); and
(b) becoming addicted to updating status and sharing trivial details to an extent that consumes an inordinate amount of time, which I consider a MAJOR problem with these things.
However, a large part of the reduced physical contact for me is allowing myself to be open to communication from the world of spirit.
Finally, more reading. I would like to include another excellent article from Margot Cairnes
(see here for more about this author, who I hold in high regard) in this list, but there's no way for people to get it unless you can get
my engineering magazine, Engineers Australia (my version is from the civil engineering college). So, I'll content myself with re-posting a link to a post of mine on
competitiveness vs. competition, and suggesting you research the "Occupy" movement.
Enjoy - and think, and may the world of commerce & business be recognised to be a servant, not a master, of the lives of people.
Love, light, hugs and blessings
Gnwmythr
(pronounced "new-MYTH-ear")
Tags: about me, attitudes, empathy, family, negativity, sensitivity, society,
First published: Laugadagr, 14th April, 2012
Last edited: Wednesday, 18th April, 2012 - added explanation as to which post on Spirit Rescuers I was referring to
