Simple Kindness | December 2017

Ask anyone to summarize what the year of 2017 has been like for them and the first response would be; “Oh, don’t get me started on that subject!”   Personally, I just wish I could shake the events of 2017 off like my dog shakes water off his fur coat when he comes in from the rain.  In some ways it has been like a hangover and the party was not even that much fun! 

When I was in China, one of the messages that I heard several times, from Taoist Masters was; Stop trying to save the world!  Just focus on what is in this very moment, what is right in front of you, and what is in your heart in this moment.  Really?  How can I just focus all my attention on washing my dishes when we might head into World War III tomorrow?  Yep, I am a work in progress just like everyone else, putting one foot in front of the other, trying to make my way forward without getting overwhelmed by whatever “meal of news” is being served that day!

I have been doing a little experiment as one of my personal development projects.  I always seem to have some project of self-awareness that I am studying like a mad energetic scientist.  You see, because I can see energy fields, I can see what actions I do either enhance and expand energy or dampen and suppress energy.  So, I play these little energy games to see what works and what does not work. 

I think I have talked about this topic before, but for some reason, it is worth mentioning again.  This little project of “simple kindness” started out as a personal development activity to get me to speak more about what I observe.  Being a totally internal processor, very few people know what I am thinking, so I decided to get better at not just thinking the thought but speaking it out loud.  Let me give you some examples of what has happened as a result. 

A woman at the gym where I work out tended to remain in the background.  One day, I mentioned to her as we were doing our lunges, “You seem to always have the cutest workout outfits.”  That was it, no more, no less.  I said out loud what I thought inside.  The next work out, she had another cute outfit, but this time it was more colorful.  Again, I mentioned loving the bright colors and adding that I wish I was bold like her to step out in the world in such brightness!  Each week after that, she would show up, very much put together, no longer shy or standing in the back ground.  I soon witnessed her pushing her workouts to more challenging levels.  A simple act of kindness, in one moment, changed both our energies for weeks to come. 

A friend was critiquing my website and mentioned that she did not feel it was very welcoming.  So I added to the home page of the website; Welcome!  That’s it, that is the ONLY thing that I did.  My friend came back and said she loved all the changes that I made and now it was much more inviting.  I realized then that it is not just enough to be open hearted and smile, but that we must speak the words as well. A simple one-word act of kindness changed the impression of our entire website.   

Recently, we had a large weekend class of new students.  Wanting to apply my theory, I asked my class assistants to greet each person at the door and simply say, “Welcome!”  For the remainder of the weekend, the new students repeatedly mentioned that they had never felt so welcomed anywhere in their life.  A very simple act of kindness changed their weekend experience and all it took was just one word. 

My 12-year-old nephew was visiting after school.  I reached out to touch his hair saying you have the best hair, and the longest eye lashes.  I went further to say, “In fact, did you know you are one of the kindest young men that I know?”  He looked right into my eyes and genuinely wanted to know if I really believed what I was saying?  He then went on to say that he thought I was the only person in his life that felt that way because I was the only one that said it.  I was surprised that he did not simply know it because he is fortunate enough to be surrounded by a loving family.  Again, this simple kind gesture of speaking what I thought had deep meaning for him. 

My daughter is in the service profession.  We talked about this topic and she mentioned that people no longer say please and thank-you.  This really surprised me.  One day she said that a woman put down her drink and looked right into my daughter’s eyes and said, “I so appreciate you.”  Till this day my daughter can remember her face, her words, and how much it warmed her heart to experience such simple kindness. 

This season, as we wrap up our 2017 year, please join us in the kindness challenge!  Find one kind thing that you can say to another person and just say it!   You might just find it as happiness addicting as we have!

Energy Tips

Just a few tips to help get you started with the energy of kindness.  If you already have the kind vibe going, then sitting and taking a little kindness in for yourself might be just what is needed during this hectic time of year!

1. When life gets hectic, ramped up and busy, you need to challenge yourself to not just find time but make time to quiet everything down for 10 minutes.  Look at your calendar for the month and write when you will create some quiet introspective time.
2. Make a little sacred space by wearing a shawl, lighting a candle or playing music that soothes the soul.
3. Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Energetically follow your breath down to the bottom of your feet, breathing in fresh cleansing chi/energy and breathing out the stress. 
4. Imagine that you are a huge ancient grounded tree or other image that helps you feel rooted to the spot!
5. Set your intention to be in a state of kindness with yourself. Imagine opening your heart to yourself and your ability to take in kindness.  This is important because we rarely feel very kind towards ourselves. 
6. Intend to release stuck energy inside your body that could possibly block you from feeling kind or taking in kindness. Every place you feel a tension in your body is a place that blocks kindness, so just intend to drop it all right down your grounding.  Repeat until you feel the energy clear.
7. Create a large ball of cosmic energy of KINDNESS over the top of your head and intend to shower your entire body, and energy field with this abundance of kindness just for you. Allow the kindness to soak into every crack and crevasse of your being.  Notice where it flows slow or not at all, then ground more strongly and release some more!
8. Now bring in more kindness energy and shower it through the room you are in and then your entire house.
9. Open your eyes and notice how you feel.
10. Now, take that kindness out into your community and do you own study to see how others respond to simple kindness.