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Joseph Marshall III: Wisdom of a Lakota Elder
Joseph M. Marshall III is a teacher, historian, writer, storyteller, and a Lakota craftsman. Joseph’s expansive body of work includes nine nonfiction books, three novels, and numerous essays, stories, and screenplays. With Sounds True, he has produced the audio programs Quiet Thunder and Keep Going, as well as the book The Lakota Way of Strength and Courage. In this episode, Tami talks with Joseph about the inheritance of wisdom he received from his grandparents, the central teachings of the Lakota people, the sense of guilt and shame that many Euro-Americans feel when reflecting on the tragedies of American history, and a story about the power of awareness and looking back. (48 minutes)
How to Be Seen, Really Seen, in Front of a Camera
Feeling vulnerable, exposed, or uncomfortable in front of a camera is perfectly normal. While we might pose confidently, it isn’t uncommon to be wondering what others will see about us. Why are we so frightened?
Underneath our fear of being criticized, we are afraid of truly emanating from our cores—of sharing our brilliant and unique essence.
The problem is that we don’t know how to be seen.
WHAT ARE YOU HIDING?
The first thought that comes to my mind when considering this question is the well-known passage from Marianne Williamson entitled, “Our Deepest Fear.”’
“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It is not just in some; it is in everyone. And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
—Marianne Williamson
Here’s what I take from this: When we let our own unique light shine, we can begin to understand our own truth.
The act of expression gives others permission to release their own inhibitions. Whether I’m in a session with someone, or out in the world, I am constantly reminded of this.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE SEEN?
Whether we’re pointing it at a person, a landscape or a building, a camera can reveal the truth. So—isn’t it time that you allow the camera to be your friend? What if the camera’s deepest desire is for you to be fully seen as the magnificent, radiant, talented and perfect person that you really are?
Perhaps you’d begin to regard the camera as an opportunity to be seen. Whether it’s by an intimate partner, our boss or the checkout person at the supermarket, being seen can make an entire day brighter. We all wish to be authentically recognized for our uniqueness; we all wish to be loved, just the way that we are.
Imagine how fearless you’d feel if, in every moment and throughout every situation in your life, you knew without a shadow of a doubt that every person you met fully saw your unique gifts, saw your wholeness. The floodgates would open and you’d be unstoppable. There would be no limiting thoughts in your awareness because you’d know that everyone truly sees and supports your grandest expression!
When we are present in our true spirit, nothing can break it. And what better way to practice that than by doing so in front of a camera? Stare at the lens and imagine it’s reflecting love, praise and devotion back to you. Imagine it’s the inside of your heart, winking at you. That may sound like a stretch, but it sure beats resisting the process every time. Take the exciting opportunity to be seen—really seen—in front of the camera.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: CARL STUDNA
Carl Studna is a world-renowned photographer and videographer, inspirational
speaker, teacher and multi-award-winning author of the books CLICK! Choosing Love…One Frame at a Time and Evolution of Loving.
Over the past 30 years, Carl has been assigned all over the world to shoot CD and album covers, book covers, and other publicity platforms for musicians, teachers and authors such as Paul McCartney, George Harrison, James Brown, Jefferson Airplane, Eric Clapton, Elton John, Genesis, Kenny Loggins, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra, Tom Robbins, Ram Dass, Marianne Williamson and John Bradshaw, and his work has appeared in many prominent magazines, including Rolling Stone, Musician, Time and USA Today.
Carl received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Expressive Arts from Sonoma State University and his Masters degree in Spiritual Psychology from the University of Santa Monica, and is also a member of the esteemed Transformational Leadership Council, a group of leaders of personal and organizational transformation who support one another in their contributions to the world.
Click here to join a free video event with Carl Studna!
Meet Your Subtle Body: Discover Cyndi Dale’s 12-Chak...
“I think [the 12-chakra system] is a good compilation to get us going so that we can be the entirety of the human that we are—the human divine being that we are.”
—Cyndi Dale
As seekers, instead of following set rules, we may set out to discover routes that feel uniquely true and right for us.
Cyndi Dale, a luminary writer on the subtle body and its connection to the physical world, works with a unique 12-chakra system in her healing practice.
Cyndi’s 12-chakra vision helps her pinpoint feelings and where wounds are emanating from the invisible, spiritual self.
WHAT IS THE SUBTLE BODY?
Each of us have both a physical body and a subtle body. The physical is what we think of normally: our shape, our volume, and that which we can touch. The subtle body arises from a different place: the intuition.
The subtle body seems to be some sort of underground pathway for our physical one. It is invisible not because it doesn’t exist, but because it’s sub-observable to the five senses we normally use. I might even argue that she sees the intuition as the 6th sense, and that the creative nature of our spirits gives us the ability to wield this power for healing.
Just like quantum physicists are starting to say, our world (or, at least, some dimension of our world) is not physical at all, but actually consists of “immaterial energy waves.” These waves somehow come together and entangle to create the material world.
As I listened to Cyndi’s interview with Tami, I was struck by the idea that healers like her use the subtle body every day. In the interview, she really helps you comprehend how that’s possible by guiding you through an exercise that’s less about understanding and way more about feeling. (It made me whisper, “whoa!” out loud.)
Here’s an exercise from that part of the interview if you want to try it:
Rub your hands together until you create some friction, and then put your hands palms facing each other about three or four inches apart. You’ll feel that there’s still an energy in between those hands—because there’s chakras in the hands and because there’s fields of energy emanating from the hands.
If you start patting your hands, not touching them, but kind of patting that energy ball. Again, you can bring your consciousness into your hands and pour more energy into that ball that’s being created. All of a sudden, you’re going to feel like your hands are moving farther away from each other. If you turn the spigot down, your hands—in order to feel that friction or the energy between them—are going to move closer together. Then a really fun thing to do is imagine or turn that energy red—it’s not clear anymore; it’s red—and get a sense of how that red energy field can have a certain reaction to red, especially in comparison to blue . . . as we’re now going to turn that energy blue. It’s really different, isn’t it?
About energy workers and healers she says: “They’re consciously kind of deciding what type of energy might be useful, what might be helpful for them, for somebody else, and they’re sending that.”
THE 12-CHAKRA SYSTEM
According to Cyndi, the western tradition of the 7-chakra system is based on a book by Sir Arthur Avalon.
Chakras are eddies of light and sound. They interact, dance, rotate and orbit us like our very own planets.
from MindBodyGreen
THE 12 CHAKRAS
1. Root
The root chakra is about spirituality, purpose and connection, as well as our relationship to Mother Nature and the Earth. It is associated with the underlying structures (both intuitive and ordered) of our minds. It is associated with pheremones and our sense of smell
2. Sacral
This is a chakra of motion and flow, representing the water element in the body. It bears a relationship to reproduction and fertility, joy and desire, and the kind of rest that encourages immune system recovery. It is associated with our sense of taste.
3. Solar Plexus
The solar plexus is a fiery center for our unique powers and gifts. When it’s in balance, we can feel like our lives are autonomous and in harmony with our value system. It helps define the energy that guides our motivations, disposition and mood, and it expands our idea of what’s possible when we are inspired by it.
4. Heart
The heart chakra is related to our personal and romantic relationships. When it is in balance, we might be immersed in feelings of joy and real freedom. It is strengthened through trust, non-manipulative communication, and authentic respect for ourselves and others. It is also strengthened by the exploration and implementation of personal boundaries. With the heart, we send and receive our gifts.
5. Throat
Here is our center for speaking and listening. The throat enables expression and facilitates spiritual dawnings of both rational and emotional understanding. Balancing the throat chakra can help prevent burnout. If you have writer’s block, it can be helpful to check with this chakra.
6. Third Eye
The third eye is associated with the pineal gland and rules telepathic ability. A vortex of sublimation, it is empowered by critical thinking, especially when we seek to release fear and guilt. Through the third eye, we can become more lucid, deepening our understanding that duality is an illusion. Opening it helps us to understand symbols and receive messages in both dreams and waking life.
7. Crown
The crown chakra is related to your nervous system and brain. Tap into its power by becoming present in the body through meditation, visualization and relaxation. It can look like a circle of light around your head, and is an expansion into space where you connect with the rest of the universe. It is related to transcendence & wisdom.
8. Soul/Shaman
Located a few inches above the head, this chakra encompasses past lives and your memories of other dimensions. From Cyndi’s description, it is a beautiful, mysterious chakra that connects our physical body to our soul’s experience in its totality. It empowers our ability to transcend spacetime and engage with “the sphere of potentialities in the making.” When it’s in harmony, it becomes easier to communicate with beings in other realms, like your spirit guides.
9. Luminary
This chakra is about an arm’s length above the top of your head. Lift your hand all the way up to connect with where it is. Cyndi sees this chakra as gold, related to our connection to the divine. It is the space of the greater spirit, the “seat of the soul,” which can act as a doorway into your divine self and your archetypal patternings.
10. Earth
This chakra blooms from beneath your feet. It is how your body connects to the earth, a cord that goes through the legs and feet into the ground. It is associated with nature and the cosmos in their simple essence, and the memories that arise from it can be related to ancestral lessons and inherited traumas. Substantial healing can arise from relationship with this chakra.
11. Supernatural
This chakra is “actually around the body. It’s like this lovely rose film, like way out in our energy field, but it’s collected around the hands and the feet.” Through this chakra, you can discover your inherent connection with both natural and supernatural forces. In this part of the interview, Cyndi mentions that chakras are located in multiple dimensions, existing in different places at the same time. She observes this chakra, which is responsible for our ability to move energy, as energy balls around the hands and feet.
12. Auric
This chakra surrounds the auric field of the body like a halo. Cyndi says, “I think of [it] as the outer bounds of our own unique essence or our own spirit.” She emphasizes the uniqueness of this chakra—its defining characteristic is you, and your individual purpose as a spiritual being. There is a connection between this chakra and the ability to envision, create and become, alongside the truth of universal unity.
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Listen to Tami’s full interview with Cyndi Dale here on Insights at the Edge.
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ABOUT CYNDI
Cyndi Dale is an internationally renowned author, speaker, intuitive healer, and visionary who has taught thousands of students to access their spiritual gifts through her books and workshops. She has authored several groundbreaking books and audio programs on energy healing and the chakras, including The Subtle Body, The Subtle Body Practice Manual, Advanced Chakra Healing, Energy Clearing, Attracting Prosperity Through the Chakras, and New Chakra Healing. Her work has been translated into nine languages.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
When she isn’t writing poetry or music, Dani Ferrara blogs for Sounds True and seeks to learn more about healing alchemy. Learn more about her art at daniferrarapoet.com.
Customer Favorites
Elena Brower: Following Your Homing Intuition
Elena Brower is a yoga instructor, artist, and designer who is devoted to cultivating meditation as our most healing habit. With Sounds True and coauthor Erica Jago, Elena has published Art of Attention: A Yoga Practice Workbook for Movement as Meditation. In this episode of Insights at the Edge, Tami Simon speaks with Elena about her upcoming audio offering, The Return Home: Essential Meditation Training for a Vital, Centered Life. Elena talks about the “home frequency” that each of us possesses, as well as how the return to that frequency requires a breaking of compulsive habits and addictions. They discuss the necessity of prayer and forgiveness, and consider the foundational principles of returning to one’s home frequency. Finally, Elena offers a practice for calming and returning to one’s center in the face of stress and overwhelm. (67 minutes)
Moshe Gersht: Standing in Certainty During an Uncertai...
Responding to an undeniable inner impulse for deeper understanding and purpose, Moshe Gersht left behind a successful career as a musician to study the Torah in Jerusalem. Today, he writes and teaches about the connections between Judaism, mystical wisdom, the mind, and our collective human struggles. In this compelling conversation with Sounds True founder Tami Simon, Moshe discusses his new book, The Three Conditions: How Intention, Joy, and Certainty Will Supercharge Your Life.
Give a listen to this inspiring podcast exploring: trusting that things will get better; holding space for peace and joy amidst chaotic situations; the underlying current of the oneness of infinity; being with our pain instead of fighting it; the search for success versus the search for meaning; finding language for our inner experience through the Torah and Jewish mysticism; the opportunity to connect with God in every moment; the analogy of the seed bursting with potential; the movement of life, of which we are all a part; stepping into “the infinite patience”; the qualities of a supercharged life; choosing the level on which you will experience life; the psychological and spiritual shifts we initiate through the three conditions of intention, joy, and certainty; why “what you focus on, you feel”; building momentum on the path to healing; the fallacy of “finished”; realigning with our essential purpose and our inherent goodness; the anatomy of transition and having faith in yourself; being a spiritual antenna; the two directions challenges can take us; and more.
Note: This episode originally aired on Sounds True One, where these special episodes of Insights at the Edge are available to watch live on video and with exclusive access to Q&As with our guests. Learn more at join.soundstrue.com.
Do you really know whether your partner understands wh...
Human communication, even on a good day, is really terrible. It really is. We misunderstand each other much of the time.
Do you really know whether your partner understands what you are saying? Does your partner get the nuances or understand the purpose of the words you are using? Do you think they know exactly how you feel about your words or the meaning of the words? When you’re listening to someone, do you think you really understand them? Do you understand their mind? Their context? More often than not, you are approximating each other. You’re getting close.
Most of our communication is implicit, nonverbal. Our verbal communication, which we all love and adore and depend on, is really the culprit. It gets us into a lot of trouble.
When you were dating, I’m sure you were much more careful about the words you used. How careful are you now? Many couples grow sloppy with each other in terms of their verbal communication. They take shortcuts because they think they know each other.
You’re probably taking a lot of shortcuts, assuming your partner understands the meaning of your words, and you’re getting into trouble. Do you even have each other’s attention when you are communicating? Many times, you don’t. You both are busy, you are moving, and your lives are only getting busier. And then you find yourselves saying, as many couples do, “Oh, it’s my partner’s problem. They’re not listening.” Right?
When it comes to communication, you both must take responsibility for making sure that your speech is clear and understood by the other person. As you will read in this section, just because you say something, doesn’t mean your partner is translating it as you intend.
Here’s an example:
Partner A: I want more intimacy in our relationship.
Partner B: I want that, too!
The problem here is that to Partner A intimacy means “more sex.” Partner B, on the other hand, thinks that agreeing to intimacy will mean more interpersonal talk. What is more is that sex actually means “only intercourse,” and interpersonal talk specifically means “more questions about how I’m doing.” That is how we talk to each other—as if the other person knows exactly what we mean. Much of the time, we don’t even know exactly what we mean.
Remember the good old days (of course you don’t) when speech was simpler? We would just say, “Duck!” or “Eat!” or “Sleep!” or “Run!” or “Lion!” Fast forward to today’s linguistic complexities and consider for a moment all the nuances in our talk, all the lingo, all the changing meanings for regular words. Take the word sick, for example. Today it could mean physically ill, mentally ill, disgusting, or amazing. And the language couples use with each other can seem even more confusing. “I want to know you deeply” could mean many different things. “I want you to show me your soul” could make a person’s head spin. “I want you to say what you really feel” can, for some, seem like a trick or an insurmountable task. We use a great many words and phrases that mean a great many things, none of which partners clarify with each other. This is a terrific error.
The human brain is always trying to conserve energy; it does as little as possible until it must. Most people, particularly partners, will treat clarification as unnecessary and, in fact, frustrating. “You should know what I mean,” a partner might say. “My meaning is obvious.” Or, “Everyone knows what that means.” Both speaker and listener feel persecuted by the chasm between meaning and understanding. Minds misattune, which leads to heightened arousal (faster heartbeat, higher blood pressure), which leads to threat perception, which leads to fight, flight, or freeze.
Rinse and repeat.
Check and Recheck
This common and frankly annoying error is easily avoidable by returning to the formality likely present at the beginning of the relationship. Check in with simple, nonthreatening questions or requests:
- “Are you saying . . . ?”
- “I want your eyes because this is important . . .”
- “Let me make sure I understand . . .”
- “Say back what you heard . . .”
- “Let me repeat that.”
- “What do you think I meant by . . . ?”
- “We may not be talking about the same thing. Are you saying . . . ?”
Checking and rechecking is vital to daily governance and the proper running of a two-person system. If you were two astronauts communicating out in space while tethered to the mothership, would you be incredibly careful with your communication? You bet you would. Your lives would be at stake. If you were two generals deciding a war plan, would you talk in shorthand or assume you were on the same page? If you did, people would die. You are no different. If you and your partner continue to use shoddy communication to share information, your relationship will suffer badly.
These errors, if repeated again and again, go right into your respective personal narratives about what’s wrong with the other partner and why you’re unhappy. Remember, our personal narratives form to protect our interests only and are almost always based on faulty data—like errors in communication!
Be orderly. Be precise. Be responsible. Be a two-person system.
This excerpt is adapted from In Each Other’s Care: A Guide to the Most Common Relationship Conflicts and How to Work Through Them by Stan Taktin, PsyD, MFT.
Stan Tatkin, PsyD, MFT, is a clinician, researcher, teacher, and developer of A Psychobiological Approach to Couple Therapy® (PACT). He has a clinical practice in Calabasas, California, and with his wife, Dr. Tracey Tatkin, cofounded the PACT Institute for the purpose of training other psychotherapists to use this method in their clinical practices. For more information, visit thepactinstitute.com.
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