Gulf Spill/Crime and Punishment/Addiction/Empathy

Today, I wanted to get an update on
BP's latest clean-up attempt, "Top Kill."

One line gave me pause:
"BP will release updates when appropriate."

Right then and there,
it struck me that is what happens
when we blame, point the finger,
and accuse anyone of causing anything
on this round planet...

We lose our own power
and ability to respond.

We actually give away our own power and respond-ability...
Whe I am responsible for everything,
then I get to ask myself:
"How are my actions responsible for this?
How did I contribute to this issue?"

And then I get to find a path to taking some action in the world,
instead of sitting powerless behind a pointed finger...

(as my mom always pointed out, that when I point a finger,
three fingers are always pointing right back at me!)

We all pointed our fingers at BP from the very beginning...
"this your mess to clean up..."
We spent so much time spent in courtrooms and
in front of tv sets and computers...
this is how we responded to disaster...

by first assigning blame.

Wow.

Now, we all have one target
for our frustration and anger,
at the planetary devastation we have all created.

BP.

How does that serve this situation at all?

Honestly, this question and inquiry
started for me within my own being...
as I watched the trials,
watched myself get really into blaming,
anger,
finger pointing...
not only with BP and this oil gush crisis,
but also in other areas of my life...

I begin to notice more and more places
where blame shows up:
blame I assign,
and blame others assign me...

I noticed that in my relationships,
I had a real lack of empathy...
coming out of me
as well as coming to me...
not giving or receiving...

I have only recently even begun
to comprehend compassion and
empathy,
even though I've read about it,
and spoken about it as a basic human need in my yoga classes...

Reading about Non-Violent Communication over the years,
and then actually attending workshops and other gatherings
with Catherine Cadden and Jesse Wiens,
www.zenvc.org
has really helped me to begin to give this
"idea"of empathy, of compassion,
some feet and legs, hands and arms...
some practical use-ability in my own life...

Now I want all my relationships to have empathy as
the foundation.

So, I get to practice it, minute by minute.

Self-empathy and empathy for others.

As I practice compassion,
I'm actually noticing an increase in my intimacy,
my ability to really connect with myself,
to heal,
within myself and with "other" people and form lasting,
deeply connected relationships.

What would it be like to offer BP empathy...

(This is just a first shot...
I'm actually pretty new to empathy, myself,
but I've had some amazing results from it in my personal life...)

"Wow, BP. I bet you're feeling pretty scared and freaked out
that one of your oil rigs is totally devastating the waters as we speak.
I'm guessing that you are needing some support in figuring all this out.
Would you be willing to join forces with our government with our scientists and
help us to clean up our world?"

Just a shot..

At the very least,
it creates space
within my own heart right now.

I find it to be a very interesting result
of all this blaming and fault finding that
now we, as a planet, get to wait
to get updates about "Operation Top Kill,"
from BP,
a company,
about the state of things...
on our planet, in our waters.

Like a child, afraid of further punishment,
BP will manipulate the truth
so as to avoid punishment...
this is what happens in "power over" models and paradigms...

This is all one big "power" play...

All of us,
who fuel this fuel industry,
who drive the demand
with our addiction to oil,
point the finger at the drug dealers
when catastrophe surfaces...
after we sought them out in the first place...

and the we create this
large scale dysfunctional parent/child relationship.

It reminds me of my own childhood.

There was such an atmosphere of crime and punishment
set up in my household,
and all my parents knew was this paradigm,
so they did the best they could...
and I thank them from the bottom of my heart for
giving me life,
and loving me so much that I am still alive and thriving now,
And
In that paradigm,
especially as a teenager,
I was afraid to mention when
anything happened that would cause a stir,
let alone something big...
s0 I never really gave my parents the
full truth about anything,
which kept us both from the intimacy
that comes from honesty that we could have shared.

After spending my adult years working
through the pain of that paradigm,
and even marrying a man who
spent 10 years of his life in prison,
I see the devastating effects of crime and punishment.

This fuels my daily search for new ways of living,
new paradigms to learn,
to be able to create a whole new reality for myself
and for future generations on this planet.

I am learning to operate, at least in my household, my friendships,
and in my yoga classes,
from a power-with paradigm.

Co-creation.

I am practicing living from a place of:

"I am 100% responsible for the creation of my experience."
"I am a beautiful, wonderful woman, worthy of all good things."
"I can't be bad, no matter what."

These are new and radical thoughts for me,
that take daily, hourly practice,
and as I work with these and other
abundant and expansive thought forms,
I began to un-wind and shift the blame,
resentment, criticism into more spaciousness, openness and love.

In writing this blog post,
my intention is to expand my
awareness of empathy in my household,
to include the whole world.

I want to highlight the macrocosm that the world stage presents,
reflecting back on the microcosm of self-empathy,
and empathy within our households...

Creating intimacy and authentic relationships
in our families and the entire world
and creating clear, tangible solutions to big world issues
is actually possible by releasing our
old pattern of blame and seeking to connect.

I think it takes believing in each other's inherent goodness and beauty.

I honestly believe that it is possible to see world peace in my lifetime,
and I will work and play for peace until I take my last breath.

Blessings of the Full Moon

Hello Beautiful and Wonderful People,

Whether you were there in physical form and/or in Spirit,
thank you so much for gathering by the fire with me last night,
as the frogs in the pond provided a symphony of tones to accompany us as we
supported and witnessed each other unpeel
the layers we keep wrapped around our hearts and our bodies.

Last night, although the depth of what each woman chose to release was private,
it is my deep Knowing that we all share the same basic forms of dis-ease:
resentment, self-criticism, judgment of self and others, blame, shame, self-doubt and fear...

As we thank these so-called "negative things" for the gifts they give us,
(compassion and empathy for ourselves and others,
being a couple gifts we can receive, if we are open to them)
we become more ready for these dis-ease states to truly release.

As we release tensions in the mind,
we release tensions in the body...
freeing up more space to create beauty, love and peace
on this plane of existence.

Let's support each other in continuing
to be more and more who really are: happy, joyous and free women,
capable of real and amazing transformation on the planet.

We are the "backbone"of our families,
so let's create that backbone
with strong love that comes
from our own core of ourselves, and radiates outward,
for all to see and receive inspiration.

I love you all and thank you for walking with me on this beautiful Life Path!

blessings~
Jaime

Creative Courageous Genius

919-265-4246
"Loving myself one breath at a time; encouraging others to do the same."
www.jaimepowell.net

So Long, Jealousy!

Inspired by a thread of communication between beautiful, wonderful women,
and my
Women's Poetry Circle:


Women United!

I thank the old and ragged shreds of the
Jealousy dress that I used to wear often,
and occasionally try on again,
to see how it fits...
never feeling as good as it used to,
or did it ever really feel good?

The dress reminds me of how I only ever
felt numbness and shades of pain...until recently...

Through noticing the beauty and depth of other women,
many different women,
I began to notice my own beauty as a woman,
in this soft feminine body, so awake, so sensitive,
so deeply feeling...and instead of trying
to change it, force it into different lines and rigid patterns,;
to simply feel my body, to simply appreciate the wisdom within,
the movement that undulates
from the pulses of my ancestors...

I opened myself up to the pleasure that is within me,
and the beauty that I radiate,
I know there is more than enough room
for every woman and
every man's beauty to shine forth...
there is no competition or comparison
when beauty is streaming from my eyes,
there is nothing to see in others but beauty and love...

You are a beautiful woman,
worthy of all good things,
including a strong group of friends
inspired by your beauty, uplifting to your spirit,
and encouraging you to shine your light ever brighter,
all the while your friends
are courageously affirming their Own Beauty,
wisdom, intelligence, compassion, plenty and Divinity,
creating space for endless evolution
and full flowering of beauty for us All!

My wish is for all of us to gather soon,
and bring other women, too...
spreading this energy into our concentric circles!

I am deeply in love with each of you!

And just so you know,
I welcome all shades of you in my heart,
the light and those in the shadows...

All Light!

Deep Gratitude!
♥
Jaime

Taught by a Mother

Mardi transmitted softness
through her hands
last Summer
when I thought it was all over
crumbling out of my control~

And there
was a soft, gentle Presence
in her hands
that said,
"Just Love, Just Love, Be Love..."

I went home that night and
put my hands to his face

again

Soft and Gentle, this time

Taught by a Mother, a woman
without words
How to Love
this man, myself

And He melted

His doubt and confusion
momentarily increased

Who is This Woman?
What is This Touch?

And then, He settled in
allowing me to gently caress His body

Old Grooves
have me choose
Violence, Harshness, Hardness
and I'm in a Stew of Regret and
Lonlier Still...
Egomaniacal Low Self Worth
on a Broken Record

But...
A Ray of Light Shines Forth
When I choose a New Groove

The record scratches for a moment, shifting
And the Grace Unfolds
A New Symphony is Available

the space between stimulus and response
hold Infinite Doorways and Choices...

There is Hope in the Breath,
The Pause...

The Alligator-Wrangling of my mouth, my hands, my legs...

Allowing Our Hearts to Heal.
~Jaime Powell

Stretched to the Point of Rigidity

There comes a Time
When Stretching Is Not The Remedy.

When~
to stretch anymore passes the point of tensegrity and
the Rubber Ban becomes
FLACID
LIFELESS
USELESS
Ineffective for its original purpose~

Sooo loooose...
it is now rigid.
It is incapable of holding anything together,
not even itself.

It can only be limp and lifeless.

I've tried on so many ways of being
that I lost for a moment that sacred deep kernel essence
of who I am.

Who am I at the Center of My Being?

I am here to make a difference on the planet
by the radical way I love myself
and to have that love radiate out
to you, and the Universe.

I am a student, a teacher, in a New Paradigm!
I am an Equal Conscious Partner with You in
Learning and Growing...
I am a beautiful soul, complete in myself~
And it is OK to Rest...
The Journey Is Infinite and Endless
~Jaime Powell

inspired by this quote:
"Rest into the Wideness of it all..."
~Jaya Ashmore, on her 8 day silent retreat last year ar Stone House, Mebane, NC
(on a silent retreat, all it takes are a few well-placed words to rock my soul!)
after an experience that was quite the opposite.

Broken Agreements

Broken Agreement litter the floor
And I am here, wishing for more

More money, more time
an unconscious whirl
I think it's time to grow up the girl

And step fully in to the life that I've caused
It's a bit messy for now, but there's hope if I pause

To take in the magnitude of what Life can be
When I regather my power and focus on me

In one week I can tear down what took years to create
So what can I create when doubt and fear immancipate

And I am Bold and Free
Taking actions that Liberate
Create A burst of Energy
by Moving My
body

And Wake Up my Power to GENERATE!!!
~Jaime Powell

Last night, I was a mermaid...

I was a mermaid, beautiful turquoise tail...
swimming through the beams of light filtering through the water...
schools of dolphins and magical fish
playing in the columns of light streaming down
from the water's surface.
An intense and beautiful energy of love,
passion, delight streaming through my body...
grateful for my life.
I swam away to attend to some underwater business.
After a while I began to swam back to the area
where the light was streaming in and in the distance
I saw long, oily dark fingers reaching through the water,
wrapping around my friends, who were very confused.
As I swam further, I could see the fingers getting thicker,
turning into a large, thickly muscled arm and
then just a formless, endless watery, oily horizon.
Bodies of my playmates began to lose life-force,
and I realized I was being coated as well...
Wailing. Devastation.
Ear splitting cries of terror and devastation.
My heart breaks wide open.
Unable to be separate,
unable to even desire to be separate from my beautiful world.
Our mother is bleeding.
Our greed and never-enoughness has wounded her,
and the bleeding hasn't stopped.
Her blood is purifying our hearts...if we let it.
Go ahead, let this uncomfortable feeling settle in.
just take a moment, and let the tears come.
Allow yourself to wail, to weep and mourn for this Present Moment
in our Planet's story.
Let it tear you apart. So often we won't allow the tears, our heart shuts down,
afraid it will never open again.
This is a time to allow the flow of tears...
our own healing waters given freely to our oceans...
each tear drop a symbol of purification.
Call a friend, we don't have to weep alone.
Although that is healing, too.

What more will it take to bring us together, my sisters and my brothers?

A round planet has no sides.

Not in the workplace, not in the family,
not between self-imposed boundaries.
Separation is just an illusion.

We are all on this boat together.

I pray for all of our hearts to
awaken and bring us closer and closer...
allowing peace to enter this planet
in such a healing and powerful way:
for humanity,
for all the other beings that make up the majority of life on our planet.

For the plant-beings without the ego-sense that we have,
posessing the wisdom of being on this planet for ages before we arrived,
I am open and ready to receive the lessons you have to offer us.

Awakening the memory in our cells that water is the connection between
our very own bodies and every living being...
there is no separation...
we are water, surrounded by water in its gas form,
completely connected to the Gulf,
no matter where we are on this planet,
from the water that we are to the water-form that we breathe...
no separation.
All One!
With Love,
J