Respecting Others' Differences Archives

The United States Defines Freedom: A Shadow Work Excerise

I realize that the price for freedom is giving up your need to be in control. If you want to be free, you have to allow for everyone else to be free too; and that can be a little bit of an inconvenience.

Now, I like to personify everything. It helps me make sense of life, it’s fun, and it’s also addictive. So I personified the United States and started thinking about how she could be feeling right now.

I wondered what she would say to us. In my mind I believe that the US is a lot like Gaia: smart, funny, sexy, sassy, and values freedom to a fault. I think that freewill is and always will be her problem because she is blindly in love with her husband Democracy. Here’s what she told me: Continue reading “The United States Defines Freedom: A Shadow Work Excerise”

Is The Woman Man’s Equal or Man’s Best Friend? And No, It Can’t Be Both

This chat is going to be all over the place. I’m struggling with my anger about how women are treated in religion and I need to vent about it. I think misogyny is a lot like slavery.

Slavery and misogyny are interesting concepts to discuss when you are a Black woman. It’s very confusing. You want to stand alongside your man and fight as a united front for equality, and then when the fight is over, you realize that you’re fighting with your man as a divided schism of inequality.

My ego will not allow me to use spiritual enlightenment to explain this away either. I tried fighting with her about this for about five minutes and then I decided to give up. My “hippiness” and zen was no match for her passion for injustice. Continue reading “Is The Woman Man’s Equal or Man’s Best Friend? And No, It Can’t Be Both”

Extremes Are Annoying, Entertaining, and Natural

I read this article by Aletheia Luna and after every sentence I said “Yes!” I was so happy that somebody finally said what I felt. I’ve encountered a great deal of rejection on my spiritual journey, and that rejection has given me a savior complex. I just want to help people become more balanced, but nobody seems to want my help. I should’ve gone to nursing school instead.

My friends hate me because I don’t fit into any of their boxes. When I play worship music, my new age friends roll their eyes; when I talk about Gaia, my Christian friends change the subject; and when I bring up astrology, my atheist friends wanna kill me. Sometimes I feel like everybody in my life is an extreme. But what did I expect? This is earth. Souls come here to experience extremes. That’s why my help is not wanted. Continue reading “Extremes Are Annoying, Entertaining, and Natural”

Peace is Possible With or Without Conversation

In the over-verbalized life of a modern (American) adult, we tend to feel the need to talk, text, and type about everything. Everything needs to be a conversation, especially in relationships. As a recovering verbal processor, I’ve often felt the need to get closure with someone I’ve had a disagreement with by talking to them. But now that my belief system has changed, I don’t look to a conversation for comfort about an ending. This article is NOT about spouses. Continue reading “Peace is Possible With or Without Conversation”

A Judgmental Empath is an Empowered Empath

“You are very judgmental!”

“Carla, please don’t judge me.”

“I don’t know about your gift of discernment Carla, you seem a little off.”

“When you say things like that, it makes me feel judged.”

“You are such a bitch.”

It bothers me that the word “empath” is not included in any of my word processor’s dictionaries. It’s not even on Dictionary.com, but anyway…I would like to propose a new perspective on judgment because the comments above (that I’ve received) from family, coworkers, and friends have always concerned me. Now mind you, I’ve been very honest about how mean I used to be, but I’ve also made it clear that I am very sensitive. So let me ask you this? How can a sensitive person be judgmental? Continue reading “A Judgmental Empath is an Empowered Empath”