Feelings

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It Ain’t All About Those Feelings…

Transcipt Of Video:

“Listen…

Feelings are really important to what we do as artists…

Because they give us the capability of accessing that full color wheel of the human condition within us…

However…

Feelings are really a result…

The result of needs being met or not…

So a lot of the time when I hear a specific actor saying…

‘I am not feeling it! I’m not feeling it!’

The first thing I’m thinking about is because you’re too contained in ‘self awareness’ OF feeling bringing you to the next moment…

And what you don’t realize is what’s bringing you to the next moment is your pursuit of NEEDS…

And those FEELINGS will be a result of those needs being met or not…

But if were so focused on our feeling life…

Then all our attention is on ourselves…

And not on the pursuit…

And not on the relationship…

And ALL feeling becomes a result of IF those needs are being met through those relationships…”


Even Though Others May Have Hurt You…

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I will never forget when I was in the first grade, a close friend of mine, (let’s call him He-who-will-not-be-named), said “I hate you!” and proceeded to attack the hair on my head like his life depended on it.

He didn’t let go until my playground guardian angel, which in this case was a teacher’s aid, came over to dissect He-who-will-not-be-named’s little claws out of my carefully sculpted bowl cut.

It was the cat fight of the era according to the popular playground posse.

And when one goes to Bellville Number 5 Elementary School in New Jersey, that holds some weight.

We were both sent to the very terrifying principle’s office, which reeked of Parliaments, and suffered some kind of ridiculous but loud scolding.

Looking back now, the principle’s ferocious yelling did not really address anything but instill fear which had no chance of remedying a broken sacred friendship.

However, I was not really bothered by the hollow consequences of scholastic authority.

The real suffering for me was that I could not shake from my consciousness that someone intentionally sought out to hurt someone else’s which unfortunately was me in this situation.

As a very sensitive ‘artsy’ kid, I just could not let it go.

A week earlier, we were such good friends, talking about putting on a play in my basement called The Beast And The Servant (I think my mother still has a copy of this thirty three year old timeless masterpiece somewhere).

The next minute, I was his nemesis…his target.

It hurt.

My heart hurt which I did not even understand at that age.

I just knew something in my chest felt different than it did the day before and that change did not feel good.

What happened?

What did I do?

Was I a bad friend?



Was I a bad person?

How could someone that I once played, laughed, and talked with about some deep seven year old stuff hate me so much that there was the desire to hurt me?

Thirty three years later I still do not know why He-who-will-not-be-named lashed out like he had. 

We never had the discussion and no one at that time really addressed the issue other than what we did was bad and not to do it again.

I even think we were given detention in separate rooms and never encouraged to talk it out.

There was no communication between me and He-who-will-not-be-named ever again after that.

I guess this was my first introduction to the now common act of ghosting.

I never really received any actual answers to some of those questions which haunted me as a child.

But at forty years old and many gray hairs later, I have done some extensive homework trying to understand why humans behave the way they do for my line of work and is the basis for the way I teach.

I have come to the conclusion that those in pain have received pain, and unconsciously cause pain when triggered.

Even when those things that trigger another are not known by the triggee.

Well, a lot of time has passed and I am lucky to say, that I have not been in any kind of physical altercation since that first grade trauma.

However, I have experienced many other ways that we go about hurting each other.

There are, of course, the global issues which are reprehensible and heart breaking.

But there is also a silent epidemic in which we have allowed ourselves to become complacent.

Our silence is a weapon that can cause a lot of damage.

Our inability or unwillingness to communicate can equally be injurious.

Hiding behind screens allows for miscommunication that could literally destroy relationships.

Even something as simple as a conscious choice to not be supportive or even celebratory for another’s accomplishments can be wounding.

There are so many weapons we use, consciously or unconsciously, that are just as damaging emotionally and spiritually, as He-who-will-not-be-named’s infamous hair pull is physically.

Despite what we may think or even remember, we all have one thing in common…our desire to live a happy, healthy, peaceful life.

We are all doing the best we can with what we have and are always trying to improve our circumstances.

These circumstances shaped the world in which we perceive and cause us to react based on how we are triggered.

However we go about doing that is based on the accumulation of our life experiences and, at the very core, how we received or did not receive love.

This becomes deleterious when these triggers remain unconscious, taking control of our psyche and therefore our actions, allowing us to repeat patterns that are not necessarily in the best interest for ourself or our relationships.

So we never take a moment to look at the full spectrum of relationships to understand how we can truly be affecting another.

We become so one-sided in our needs, that our actions become the very thing that keeps compounding the very cause of why we began responding the way we do.

We get into a viscous cycle of our unconscious pain-body and forget that we are the very thing that keeps it alive.

If it sounds complicated, it is and it isn’t.

It is complicated because we are addicted to our wounds.

It isn’t complicated because our wounds are only trapped energy that can be released and healed through the power of magnetic intention.

But in order to have the intention, there needs to be the awareness and then the will to change.

And in my case, as would be the case for any of us, that awareness and will to change has to start with me.

No matter how much it can hurt at times, I HAVE to keep my heart open without the expectation of someone else’s heart being open.

I HAVE to forgive without the expectation of being forgiven.

I HAVE to find a way to know that my interpretation of events may not be the only truth of what those events are or what caused them.

I HAVE to allow myself a compassionate understanding of circumstances, even when they hurt, without the expectation of compassion from another.

I HAVE to keep inspiring, encouraging, and supporting, without the expectation of being inspired, encouraged, or supported.

I HAVE to find a way to keep loving without the expectation of being loved.

I HAVE to take responsibility and accountability for my experience in this life.

Maybe others will take a similar path.

I hope so but I cannot expect that result.

We have free will within our mind about our experience and the choice is individual based on that chosen perception.

Looking back now, I know He-who-will-not-be-named must have been in pain that day. 

Maybe something happened at home.

Maybe he was going through something treacherous and did not know how to cope.

Maybe he lashed out at me because he knew I loved him as a friend and it would be ok.

Maybe he lashed out because he needed me and had no idea how to ask.

Maybe he just needed a freakin’ hug!

Maybe had we understood these simple yet complex issues…

Maybe if we had a chance to open up a dialogue addressing the root of the pain…

Maybe He-who-will-not-be-named and I would still be amazing friends thirty three years later.

But that did not happen and unfortunately history cannot be rewritten.

So to my friend in first grade…as the Ho’oponopono prayer goes…

I Am Sorry.

Please Forgive Me.

I Love You.

Thank You.

Thirty three years later, I am thankful for that confusing incident.

It has been an amazing on going learning lesson.

He-who-will-not-be-named was never really an enemy.

He was a teacher.
And so we all keep on going and learning along the way…

PS, I never forgot your name, my friend.


Creative Healing: Breaking The Structure Of What Imprisons Us

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It is said that doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome is the definition of insanity.

When we really take a moment to contemplate the depths of this, it is absolutely true.

Who wants to live the same thing over and over?

Staying in that kind of set structure without the desire to expand and grow creates utter stagnation and deprives us all of the gifts of evolution that Life has in store for each of us.

As artists…

As co-creators…

As human beings..

It is in our genetic makeup to crave growth and expansion and then contribute all we can to the world through our chosen mediums in order to continue that expansion process for the greater good.

However, when something new challenges our set belief system and daily routine, defense mechanisms kick in.

Fear seizes us and causes us to lock down on the familiar convincing us that some imaginary net is keeping us safe from the unpredictable tightrope of Life.

But that is false.

It is actually staying in the familiar that is causing our own demise because it deprives us of the growth that can only happen by experiencing the newness Life has to offer.

We MUST be open to change.

We MUST be willing to break the structure in order to experience a higher level of consciousness.

However, growth and expansion cannot happen unless there is a willingness to sit with the discomfort that often accompanies change.

Whether we are aware of it or not…

Whether we like it or not…

There is no escape from this simply because by the laws of nature itself, each and every moment requires a physical, mental, emotional, and yes, even spiritual shift within us.

As we consciously begin to accept this, we can begin the process of truly activating it in our everyday Life.

Along the way, there will be many twists and turns challenging our belief system all the while adjusting it.

Trust that all has been set in place so that our soul can discover and experience the greatest possible evolution contracted for its journey.

As we go deeper into dismantling stagnation, it can feel somewhat overwhelming due to the restructuring of Life from a colloquial essence to that of an acute awareness.

This is the beginning of change in and of itself.

This is the healing and metamorphosis process.

And this process may not always be experienced as what may be labelled as ‘positive’.

It may have taken an enormous accumulation of traumatic and emotional toxins to result in a present state of stagnation.

As these stored poisons energetically release from Life, there might possibly be an unpleasant cleanse mirroring the cause.

We must not be surprised if there are even moments during which we feel ‘locked’ in our head, ‘paralyzed’ in our body, or even uncomfortable and unpredictable emotional/physical pains emerging.

Very often this is the ego trying to desperately avoid change and hold onto its ‘safe identity’ while a cleansing/recalibration process takes place.

Be what it may, trust in the light within the process.

Do not resist it.

The only thing that is holding us back from the gifts of the unknown is our fear of the unknown.

Resistance is fear’s energetic way of brainwashing …and we have come way too far to be at the mercy of it.

When we are able to dissolve all useless fear and its resistance through our conscious awareness of it, and seek refuge within, all the blocks that we feel imprison us begin to dissolve and we can experience the change we seek.

And we grow…

And we expand…

And we share…

And we expand…

And we grow…

There awaits not only personal and creative freedom, but also a delicious sense of peace and wellbeing to be enjoyed within daily Life…to continue to share…to grow…and to expand.

 


Problems…We All Got ‘Em!

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We live in a day and age of “problems”.

Yes problems!

We all have them and we all want to get rid of them.

And our problems are definitely worse than that guy’s petty issues over there.

On our initial quest to overcoming these roadblocks, we usually search for that quick fix that will make it instantaneously ok.

If that doesn’t work, then “Maybe it is all in your head, my dear. Have you tried Prozac?”.

Frustration builds, muscles tighten, and we start to blame everything and everyone that we know to loosen our own responsibilty of this present Life we are surviving.

So here we are, alone, stuck in a world of dilemma, as if it were the quicksand of our soul.

We suffocate with emotions of discouragement, despair, depression, anxiety, fear, anger, resentment, and unfortunately in many cases, the danger of hopelessness.

Our problems are the bondage that keep us from our greatest potential.

Ugh, how do we get out of this mess?

Let’s face it, Life is a complicated puzzle that requires a dive into the unknown.

Even when one part of the equation is so-called “solved”, another storm comes to shake things up.

We fight for survival.

We fight for stability.

We fight for that idea of what we believe our Life should or at the very least could be.

So now we experience all those moments of frustration and fatigue from the continual process of searching for answers to unanswerable questions.

We taste painful moments of gutteral tears because the desire to live Life’s fullness feels so limited.

Then there is the inexplicable isolation as we get swallowed by our own labyrinth of journeying to salvation.

What is happening? OMG!  How did this happen? WTF?!

Eventually things become so complicated, so terrifying, so chaotic, that finally everything short circuits…

Everything stops.

All of the sudden there is foreign silence.

There is a strange peace.

There is unfamiliar perspective.

We begin to breathe.

We begin to surrender.

We begin to connect to a divine intelligence within us that changes the channel from “Why me?” to “OK, I’m listening.”

Our problems have not shown up in our Life as a punishment.

In fact, it is quite the opposite.

All this time we have spent running from the thing that we have labeled as torture when it has actually been the spark that ignites our transmutation.

When we finally let go, we realize that our problems are a gift of profound transformation.

They require us to ask questions of ourself that we would not normally do so.

They make it possible to release things and relationships that no longer serve our best and highest good.

They strengthen our will.

They deepen our faith.

They ignite our perseverance.

They hold us accountable.

The force us into the NOW.

They plant the seed for creativity which far exceeds what we ever thought possible.

They open us mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.

The truth of the matter is that the real miracle of all our obstacles is that they leads us to a journey home.

They stimulate the journey of self love.

They make us warriors for our own well being.

They turn us into seekers of truth and authenticity.

When we are truly able to connect with and trust that place within ourself, things start shifting.

All of the sudden the answers start showing up easily and accurately .

Health, peace, bliss, joy, happiness, creativity, realized dreams,  abundance, and love become the byproducts of everything we once resisted.

So when all Life’s problems begin to overwhelm and we ask ourself , “What the hell does it take to get out of this mess?”

The answer is and always has been YOU.

YOU.

Yes, YOU.

It is all YOU.

YOU have it all within you.

And it is greater than you have ever been led to believe.


Your Divine Cell Tower

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“Stop creating stories in your mind to protect circumstances from being what they are. You were given feelings and instincts as a divine cell tower connecting you to the Truth. Don’t be afraid to trust that internal guardian.”~#MarioCampanaro ©


Your Life’s Purpose

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“There is absolutely no mistaking when you are connected to your life’s purpose. Your heart will feel blissful and ache at the same time. That is the language of how love claims its presence.”~#MarioCampanaro ©


Trusting Your Gut

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“The danger of overthinking is that it can easily become an addiction preventing you from trusting your gut instincts.”~#MarioCampanaro ©


Letting Go

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“Dear Human Being,
Sometimes you simply have to put yourself first…for everyone’s sake.
And sometimes you have to let go of everyone…for your own sake.
And sometimes you have to let go of your Self…for God’s sake!”~#MarioCampanaro ©


Reconnecting To Your Messengers

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We all posses energetic reactions that occur as messengers to our present circumstances.

They can manifest in a myriad of ways but mostly noticed as the physical or emotional feeling life.

Yet we have gotten caught up in criticizing and second guessing these messengers that very often we lose our way and endlessly search for answers that innately exist within our own being.

Our lack of faith in our feeling life condemns us into a cerebral world shutting down our instinctual fire.

It does not take Jung or Freud to understand that this probably comes from years of being told what’s appropriate about how to feel and then react based on those feelings.

The truth is we are not encouraged to feel our feelings and trust our instincts.

We are taught to listen and believe what the ‘adults’ or ‘educators’ say is THE way.

Unfortunately for the artist, this conditioning can deprive us the opportunity to discover our own flow in a healthy creative manner.

How many times as children have we had our feelings surrounding a particular experience only to be shut down because it threatens the comfort zone of what is normal?

As a result, we reluctantly begin to adjust our feelings and hush our inner guide.

We develop habits in order to cope with our feeling life and manipulate our experience to go the way it is ‘suppose to go’.

We become a puppet pulled by the strings of our own avoidance.

Maybe we laugh, joke, sigh, hold our breathe, excessively clean, overwork, become sexually compulsive, drink, smoke, use drugs, etc just to hide from these physical and emotional messengers.

However when we allow ourself the opportunity to truly dip into and flow from this place of our own inner truth, our instincts open the floodgates for our own individual wisdom, guidance, and knowledge.

We begin to dissolve our own limitations, disintegrate our conditioning, and follow through with what we know is good and true for our best and highest purpose.

Being attuned, willing to trust, and allowing ourself to get back to this natural state gets us off the detour and on the right path for our individual needs.

That’s the gift of our feelings and the job of our instincts.

These are our own special little messengers.