Last spring I had the honor of facilitating a retreat in Boulder, Colorado at the home of one of my best friends and colleagues, Paula Langguth Ryan. It was extraordinary and at the end of each day, Paula and I would hang out and inevitably get into some deep and often hilarious conversations. In spite of knowing each other for about 15 years, I think we were both astonished to learn so much more about each other, and often one of us would say, “Oh my gosh, I never knew that about you!”
One evening, as she was reading a short story she had published many years prior, I sat there looking at her, enthralled not only by her story and her amazing skill as a writer and storyteller, but by her entire essence of being and the energy transmitted through that essence. I must have had a funny grin on my face, because suddenly, she stopped her story and said, “What? What is that look about?” I said, “I just love your who-ness.” “My whoness? What does that mean?” she asked.
I had never used the word before, probably because it isn’t one (a word), but I knew exactly what it meant. I explained that I just loved “who” she was and how she had changed and evolved over the 15 years I had known her. I loved her mind, her humor, her heart, and everything that was unique about her. Most importantly, I loved that she was freely being her “whoness,” not just with me in that moment, but during the retreat she wasn’t trying to be anything than who she was.
I reflected on the people and clients who I have come to adore and love the most over the years and what I consistently saw as a common theme was the depth of love and appreciation for their “who-nesses.”
On some level, without planning it, the retreat really began to center around everyone seeing and appreciating each other’s “whonesses” You can imagine the hilarity when, the next day we all explored the idea of being comfortable and accepting of our whoness (within self and with others) as a support of our “royal we-ness (I could go on but it all starts sounding a little inappropriate and hugely hilarious).
Do you love your whoness?
Do you? Do you even really know what that means for you? In all seriousness, on some level I think one of the greatest tragedies is when a person never really gets to know and fully express the uniqueness of their being – the who-ness that gets buried under years of conditioning, fear and self-judgment.
We’ve all been in relationships where it didn’t feel safe to be our true selves, or maybe we had a hard time accepting the “whoness” of another. Resonance and connection, two of the most transformational and influential elements to fulfillment, and two of the most profound ways our souls communicate, cannot fully exist in a dynamic of denial and rejection.
Yet, isn’t it interesting how often we deny and reject the very parts of ourselves (and others) that will, in fact, create the most opportunities to experience both resonance and connection? In the meantime, we feel as if something is “off” or missing “out there,” but, if really explored, so much of what seems to be “missing” is actually rooted in not knowing, loving, or respecting ourselves (and all of our oddities) in connection to our sacred whoness.
In a world where fitting in, hiding our true natures, or sacrificing who we are for whom we think others want or need us to be, the place of our deepest connection, truth, belonging, expression and purpose can get quite muddled. It is no wonder the numbers of people in the 40’s, 50’s and 60’s who come to me for coaching and healing work that often don’t even know who they are or why they exist, let alone devalue themselves because they can’t see themselves as unique and special beings born to a potential not yet realized.
Just like everything that exists in creation, we all have a design that is unique and supportive of the purpose we came here to fulfill and the sense of meaning that will bring us the greatest fulfillment. I’ve come to call this your “Divine Design.” Your Divine design is your core essence, sourced in your unique encoding; the aspects of your personality, talents, interests and abilities that are inherent to you.
Your life experiences are intended to reveal more of that encoding, sometimes in ways that are challenging. When taken advantage of, they can be revealing in terms of identifying many conditioned patterns of thoughts or behaviors that have hindered you from both understanding and expressing yourself in a way that supports your encoded potential, or Divine Design.
When out of alignment, we can feel as if something is missing; possibly a key awareness that would significantly alter both your sense of self and the potential that exists when you honor, acknowledge and cultivate what is inherent in your design. Aspects of your unique design have been evident since you were a young child, while other aspects may be hidden from you until the timing that is most Divine and perfect, often for reasons initially unknown.
Aligning with your Divine Design is a process of unfettering from illusionary identities and beliefs and then undergoing an exploration of what exists at your essence. Until we can truly come to appreciate and align with our Divine Design how can we even know what resonates and what doesn’t? How can we choose anything with confidence and clarity? And, how can we truly tap into the foundational worth of our existence?
To learn more about the potential that exists when we Align with Our Divine Design I encourage you to join us tomorrow, Tuesday at www.powerofmyway.com/soulsjourney.html
Each week we will engage in dynamic teachings, discussions and a healing activation or clearing. The groups that come together are so clearly orchestrated and organized by the Divine, it is humbling.
If you would love a “taste” of what we experience you can listen to two healing activations today. Due to confidentiality, I can’t share an audio of the dynamic discussions and exercises we do each week, but I can share these with you today!
Divine Pathways Healing Activation: http://powerofmyway.com/images/Divine_Pathways_Healing_Activation_with_Ani_SJ_8-11-11.mp3
Returning to Your Source Code: http://powerofmyway.com/images/Returning_to_Your_Source_Code_SJ_with_Anita_Pathik_Law.mp3
Join us at www.powerofmyway.com/soulsjourney.html
Love and Blessings, Ani
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