The following is a comment I shared for the audio message within Peter Sage’s “Ultimate Self Mastery” course, “Week 2 – Raising Your Standards”:
Image by 1980supra from Pixabay
This brief, intro paragraph of this long-@$$ comment may not seem related to Peter’s audio message, but it is. This morning, I had vivid, symbolic dreams of a huge tiger next to a silver boar, and seeing many wild, brown horses running uphill (along with alternate reality dreams). And after receiving insights from within, as well as checking out various dream interpretations and animal spirit guide/power animal messages within the web (that felt right/light/true to my Heart), I revised this comment from yesterday.
Thank you Peter for sharing some helpful information within this audio message, along with your personal stories of achievements on all energetic levels (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual).
Granted, your extreme, physical ones can seem unattainable to many (to include myself), since it sounds like an overload of FORCED effort (rather than FUN effort that’s effortless). But I do get that we all have our own fiery passions, which are all valid, and like you mentioned, we can further learn about our potential.
However, I no longer have a desire for achieving anymore extreme, physical challenges (since it’s exhausting, especially as I get older), though I’m definitely interested in maintaining good health, being a good listener to my body’s communication, as well as having a harmonious relationship with my other energy bodies (mental, emotional, and spiritual).
To be honest with you—and hopefully this comes off tactful rather than blunt—though your marathon journey story had certain, empowering aspects to it, there were also parts of your story that felt really sad; yet, I’m very grateful that they shined a BRIGHT Light upon a once, dark/unknown aspect within myself (and will hopefully do so for you as well, along with anyone else that may read this message).
In a nutshell, 20 years ago, while at my first, Army AIT—Advanced Individual Training as a 98G/KP—I chose to participate in the final, longest ruck march, despite having major shin splints (from overexerting myself during daily runs).
Why was I so abusive to myself? Because I didn’t want to disappoint my head Drill Sergeant, whom I highly respected and admired for many reasons, to include his powerful, deeply HEARTFELT ability to INSPIRE many soldiers (not just through logical, “inspiring” words).
It was no ancient, Japorean secret within the military life, that there were some soldiers (and other branch members) who faked injury in order to get out of various, strenuous challenges; and I didn’t want him to possibly think that I was doing so as well.
So even though I was able to finish the ruck march while being in a lot of pain, I further paid the price afterwards, to include an experience (that I had to have) that more noticeably grabbed my attention. I ended up screaming, “AHHH!!!” when a friend accidentally, and gently, grazed my left leg in a car (during our off time).
My shin splints didn’t heal for a few months, and ironically, what my overly proud and “people pleasing” ego aspect of self initially avoided—not wanting to be judged for going to sick call to receive help, and not wanting to disappoint another leader—showed up again via the next Army school (CEWEOC) and Instructor (i.e., the core issue can’t be avoided, and will continue to show up in different forms until we learn the Life Lesson).
But I knew I needed to recover, so I did, which meant I had to take a break from participating in the daily physical exercises and runs with my peers—the thought of which was initially embarrassing to my ego—and do gentle stretches on my own in the gym (alongside other injured soldiers).
Thankfully, the second leader (my Instructor, a quiet professional) was very supportive of my healing process as well.
Knowing what I know now—the importance of Unconditional Love for self, to include SELF-CARE—I refuse to do that to myself ever again, regardless of the situation I’m in. I choose to be gentle with self, rather than try to please others (no matter how much I look up to them).
Because a TRUE leader—or even TRUE family member, friend, peer, coworker, etc.—would understand; and I now trust that even Drill Sergeant Brian Bouchard, one of the BEST leaders I’ve crossed paths with—who led by example and cared about and took care of his Soldiers—would’ve understood (had I honestly explained to him my inner truth) due to his open mind and his open, compassionate, BIG Heart.
We, within humanity—the individual and Collective EGO—often believe that looking out for the self is very selfish, and looking out for others is selfless, and even heroic.
But there’s a difference between selfishness and UNconditional self-love, and just because we choose to take care of ourselves doesn’t mean we’re less than, wrong or bad.
The better we take care of our inner world, the better we can contribute to our outer world.
Unfortunately, our world is full of many humans running around—like chickens with their heads cut off—trying to be a hero to their outer world, without even discovering the hero within; and this can cause people to DO DO DO “good deeds” (like an energizer bunny on crack)—while blowing their loud trumpets for the world to notice—for ulterior reasons that actually stem from the ego, rather than the Heart.
Our Collective EGO has been deeply conditioned by society to do what’s considered right and good, [so] it will often do whatever it thinks will get acceptance and approval by society in order to survive, and even thrive in this world.
Humanity has been strongly conditioned by our world’s society to often GIVE, GIVE and GIVE to OTHERS, while often neglecting the self, which has created, throughout human history, many unhealthy ways of being and doing, to include: religious zealots and people obsessed with changing, fixing, helping, and/or saving others in a half-@$$ way (while NOT even being able to change, fix, help, and/or save themselves).
However, I have no doubt that Unconditional/True Love—which includes self-compassion and self-care—-is a Cosmic Dance, meant to be given, not only to others, but to self as well.
Image by Sabrina Eickhoff from Pixabay
After all, we cannot fully, truly, and generously give to others from an empty or barely-filled cup; but when our inner cup [Heart] is full, it can effortlessly flow to interconnected Life within this world and way beyond.
By the way, our body does its best to communicate to us its needs—like a baby who cries in order for someone to meet his or her needs; but if we ignore these signals and signs, then it’s simply neglect, and the opposite of self-love and self-care.
I haven’t mastered Unconditional Love of self/others, to include self-care on all energetic levels—mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual—but I’ve experienced some fully present moments of Being (that felt blissful), and would love to habitually Be and live this way, starting one seemingly magical and miraculous moment/day.
And I trust that you, Peter, will be of great assistance with this soul-igniting journey—to include the mirroring of various contrasts that I can learn from—along with many other outer, Soul Teachers, and especially, from the Master Teacher within (Spirit & Soul/Goddess & God) that exists within all of us.
By the way, I actually trust that the most powerful version of Inspiration is NOT about looking outside of self—though that can happen as well—but looking deep within, and reconnecting with the sacred Heart space that it’s birthed from.
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