I broke my heart a little when I read and helped edit Jake’s last blog post about this upcoming retreat in Playa Viva being the last Live Conscious Lab for the foreseeable future. I inspired myself to write this article, in which I use the word “saloon” as part of the title because for me that was my solution for years to my problems. Since I began attending labs in 2013, I’ve found a new elixir to soothe my anxiety and help me with what I perceive to be my problems.
What I got when I started going to labs was nothing short of a transformation of perception. And not only did my perception of the world change, my relationship to everything changed. My relationship to my past which used to haunt me, my relationship with my family which was corrosive and my relationship with myself which was unloving—all of that changed because of what I learned and continue to practice from attending a Live Conscious Lab.
The difference between an elixir and a cocktail
The elixir is made of several parts—much like a complicated bar drink that is guaranteed to change feelings, desires, hopes, behaviors, outlooks and beliefs. Back in my saloon days, a few drinks would cause a huge alteration in all of those aspects of my life, until the next morning. The difference between an elixir and a cocktail is vast. When I drink the elixir, I wake myself up, by shifting my perception and practicing new skills and I don’t need to drink again the next day. But I do have a part to play in maintaining my new perceptions and relationships, and that is the other gift of a lab—I not only get the elixir, I learn how to maintain its effects.
Here are the parts:
1 Part Responsibility: I take complete responsibility for myself. I do this by learning a new language at the labs—a language which invites me to take full responsibility for my feelings, actions, reactions, and state of being.
1 Part No Praise No Blame: As I take responsibility I stop blaming my family, history, the current political mess, Global Warming, my inconsistent work and my cat for my state of being. Nor do I praise anyone, including me or expect anyone to save me. It’s my life now, how do I want to live?
3 Parts Conscious Elevation: I learn about different levels or degrees of consciousness and I practice moving fluidly through all of them—this ability allows me to make choices about how I respond, relate, and communicate with myself, my fellow humans, other living beings and the planet.
4 Parts Giving Back: I am so very aware at this stage in my life that what I really want to do is make a difference—give back, create more peace, love more, help more, be of service, leave a lasting footprint I am proud of and clean up any messes that I’ve left undone.
1 Part Humility: Being aware that my tiniest of actions is helpful and does make a difference. When I am kind to the ticket taker at the subway, smile at passersby, make eye contact with as many people as possible, and when I am kind to myself, I create an energetic force around me that draws people, animals and yes, even plants to me, and we heal. We heal ourselves, we create love that others use to heal themselves and we can and must find a way to heal this beautiful earth of ours who for so long has suffered our disrespect.
If you mix all these ingredients, bake for 8 days at 80 degrees on a beach in Mexico, you end up with something that will not only change your life, but change the world around you. Click here to learn more.
I was born in the ’50s, I have seen some amazing changes take place in my life. I was protesting the Viet Nam War before I was menstruating, and I have voted in every election since I was 18. And now I vote as a dual citizen in Canada and the US. But it is not enough. My protesting and my voting are actions toward change, yet I now experience a deeper sense of purpose and a higher calling, and I know I am not alone. If you want to give back, contribute to our global harmony and evolution, and learn to love more deeply, join me in Playa Viva, for one last shot at the LC Saloon.
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