Power Matters As We Search For Truth; Christian de la Huerta

Christian de la Huerta is a personal transformation coach, spiritual teacher, TEDx speaker, and award-winning author of Awakening the Soul of Power, described by music icon Gloria Estefan as “a balm for the soul of anyone searching for truth and answers to life’s difficult questions” and has received a Nautilus Book Award and a Nonfiction Book Award. He has traveled the world offering inspiring and transformational retreats combining psychological and spiritual teachings with lasting and life-changing effects. Power Matters 

• Website: www.soulfulpower.com/
• Book: Awakening the Soul of Power: How to Live Heroically and Set Yourself Free (Calling All Heroes)

• Spirit Rock Retreat Center

• Mindfulness, that ability to be present and to observe me, makes it a lot easier to not react and for most of us, when we meditate, it's gonna be boring. Once in a while, we have a great moment of no mind or bliss or belonging. But the benefit of doing that practice, even when it's just boring, counting our breath or repeating a mantra, whatever it is, that's the practice. So
• That's sort of learning how to dribble so we can play at the basketball finals or learning the piano chords so that we can do a concert delivery because it's that ability.
• But the mantra it's that boring practice that comes in helpful when we get triggered. And all we need is that moment, that moment of presence, that moment of mindfulness. Oh, whoa, that one hurt. Ooh, that triggered me. And then that brings choice back into the equation. Like then how do I want to respond to this, rather than just that old boring, react, and then regret? Power Matters 

• It's all about the breath. The breath is at the core of every meditation practice and most spiritual traditions. Let's just think about this example. We're in a conversation that's starting to escalate and kind of about to go south into an argument. That's the moment to use the breath. That's the moment for their Swamis in India that have that much control over their bodies that they can tell their hearts to slow down and they will. So
• Most of us are never going to get there. But every one of us can slow down our breathing. So when we slow down the breath, the heart has no choice but to relax. It has to. And when the heart begins to relax, then the body begins to quiet down. And then the nervous system begins to quiet down as well. Power So Matters 
• And then we can make a choice again about how we show up because we're talking about empowerment. So we're not talking about suppressing our emotions, we're not talking about becoming a doormat, we're talking about bringing choice. And using our being able to communicate our emotions responsibly. So
• The emotions aren't good, they're not bad, they're neutral. They're energy. What used to be spiritual teaching, is that everything is energy. Now we know, from quantum physics, it's all energy, including the body, and the emotions. And the problem that we have with suppressing emotions is that they don't go away.  So

• Book: Awakening the Soul of Power: How to Live Heroically and Set Yourself Free (Calling All Heroes)
• Book: The Universe Is a Green Dragon: A Cosmic Creation Story by Brian Swimme 
• App: Insight Timer
• App: Breathwrk

• I talked about the US as an example that after 911 we had the goodwill of the entire world on our side. Because this was such a shocking, unimaginable affront. And so we had a choice point, like how do we express power? And what do we do? We abused it, we bullied, and nobody likes a bully. And we went and invaded a country that we had no business invading, and we're still paying the price for doing that. So
• 20 years later, or 30 years later, however long it's been, I guess 20-something years later. From a personal perspective, I share a story about when I was in 10th grade and I just started a new school that was all boys and it was a Catholic school, a Jesuit school.
• So I was going through the difficult times the kids go through; not feeling accepted. Who am I? All that kind of stuff. And there was a kid in my class that everybody bullied and not in a mean way. I mean not in a bad way it wasn't like physical bullying, but it was like mind games. So
• I learned about bullying and that there was a part of me that didn't feel accepted, that didn't feel good about myself. Because I was struggling with issues of deep existential questions, the questions of who am I and do I belong in this religion in which I was raised, where I had this part of me that I wanted to serve the sacred. I wanted to serve God as I understood it then. And yet in a religion that told me that I was gonna burn in hell for eternity, for being who I am. And so, rather than deal with those difficult, painful emotions, it was easier to focus on somebody else. So
• I think that's what a lot of bullying has to do with. It is sort of a displacement of negative feelings for ourselves and then finding somebody who's weaker. I'm hoping that in telling the story, I'm helping other people. So

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