Clarity

61 The Eyes Have It

May 29, 2021 By Shauna

Hello and Welcome, I’m Shauna Hoffman,

I have been missing in action for the last few weeks as I needed a little eye-opening surgery! And I mean this in so many ways! Just like my grandmother I have these deep-set eyes. And as we both aged the lids started to get just a little too heavy. My doctor noticed that there was a good chance that my vision was being impaired. Well, who knew? It’s so funny because for the longest time I have been sweeping my bangs away from my right eye thinking they were blocking my vision. And other times I was rubbing my eye feeling like there was a film over it. Well for someone who practices self-awareness I was an idiot! It was my eyelid! More on one side than on the other. Which of course makes perfect sense in the spiritual world. I was imbalanced! I was not looking at what was in front of me. And I was not centered on my own self-awareness. Damn!

So I thought I would investigate a little deeper… I wanted to look at what the spiritualists say about the right side of the body and what it represents. And what was it that I did not want to see?

The left side of the body is often regarded as the feminine side, the receiving side, where you take in. It represents, among other things, the mother. The right side of the body is often regarded as the masculine side, the giving-out side, where you express.

So I’m reading this thinking… I am totally in tune with my left side! My feminine side. After all I teach this to all of the people I counsel. Especially women! Receiving is good! Receiving is necessary. There is no selfishness in receiving! Well, obviously my body agreed. But I thought for sure I was absolutely expressing from the right side in my podcast and therapy work, I was giving out! I was sharing not only my insight but that of so many guests on my show. Not to mention the dog rescue work that I do.

Hmmmm…. I guess I must look a little deeper!

Next, I thought more about the eyes and what they represent. Vision, clarity, InSIGHTfulness. You know the old saying, the eyes are the window to your soul. And then I started to put the pieces together. We always take that saying to mean that others see us by looking into our eyes. When we look deeply into someone’s eyes we can see if we trust them, are they seemingly genuine, do they seem angry or are they projecting love. Oh, we see so much when we look into each other’s eyes. But I think we lose the true meaning of this saying. That is… that if we look deep within, we can see, touch and heal our own souls.

Ok, now I’m on a deep dive search for more spiritual teachings and wisdom about the eyes. Next, I turned to the American Indians and I found some of the most beautiful quotes. This one, in particular moved me. It brought back the concept that the eyes are the window to the soul. But again, for ourselves to look within.

The soul would have no rainbow if the eyes had no tears.

We know that sadness and tears of joy reveal so much about our own wisdom. What I love about this quote is it’s not about the ego learning from sadness or joy. It is about the rainbow of colors and the growth our soul experiences. And most importantly, the ability to see beauty through all of our tears.

I found this beautiful quote by Brother Spirit Lame Deer of the Lakota Tribe.

“I wanted to feel, smell, hear and see. But not see with my eyes and my mind only. I wanted to see with CANTE-ISTA, the eye of the heart.”

How beautiful is this? It is a way to see the world not through our eyes but through our hearts.

So is there something that my heart is not seeing or expressing?

The journaling begins as I look deeper at that.

I love the wisdom of so many different spiritual teachings, Buddhist, Hindu, Tao, American Indian, Jesus, Judaism, philosophers, poets and so much more.

So that brought me to The esoteric belief in what the third eye represents:

The third eye allows for clear thought, spiritual contemplation, and self-reflection. It is the highest chakra in the physical body, allowing it to provide a visionary perspective. The third eye also helps to determine one’s reality and beliefs based on what one chooses to see in the world.

OK- So the third eye is not only self-reflection, but how we present our own selves to the world based on what we feel inside. Again… it helps us determine our own reality and beliefs based on what we choose to SEE around us, in our worlds.

That said it all! It said everything that I try and share with my listeners. We can look at what the world wants from us. We can look at what family wants from us. But we have a choice. We can choose to SEE ourselves the way they do… or who we know we are in the deepest parts of our souls. It reminds us that when we look at the world around us we can decide what we believe. Not what others want us to believe. And that will determine the way, the values, and the truth of how we SEE ourselves.

OK… now back to me and this surgery!

Now I had to take all of this, go beyond the biological and see if there was a spiritual reason why my eyes were closing. So I journaled pieces of each of the wisdom I just shared with you to SEEEEEEE which resonated with me.

Hmmmmm…. Left side, feminine, receiving. Right side Masculine giving out…expressing… Well, there was a clue! it didn’t take long to realize that I just spent a year in lockdown from Covid. My relationship to how I saw the world was absolutely distorted and confused. My ability to express myself the way that warms my soul with friends, families, animals, the ocean, nature was drastically changed. No not changed… but stifled. And biggest picture between the politics of the last few years and Covid it was less the way I was living in this new world as it was what I SAW in the world around me. I had wanted to close myself in and protect myself and those I loved. My personal world had gotten so small…and so did my eyes.

Then I looked at Spirit, soul, third eye. So let me read to you again one of the definitions of the third eye.

I think the last year I was in survival mode. Spiritual self-reflection was there in the form of trying to look deeply at myself during the marches for black lives matters and how I worked to help my countries politics reflect and align more with my own beliefs. But it’s that last few words in the paragraph that brought me right back.

The third eye also helps to determine one’s reality and beliefs based on what one chooses to see in the world.

Those are some pretty heavy words… what one chooses to see in the world. And it became pretty clear to me that what I have chosen to see in the world the last year has been painful, and heartbreaking, uplifting, and controversial. The roller coaster of my thoughts and emotions and what I SAW was so overwhelming at times that I think my eyelids got heavy. It was just so hard to look at our world. It was hard to see pain and sadness and so much death. It was so hard to see violence against people who were only trying to live out their lives or speak their truth. Though my physical world had gotten so small, truly survival mode….my world vision grew exponentially. And I think I was just plain tired!

My own self-reflection…

The world is opening up now from the Covid lockdown. But the lessons that I have learned through the last year are huge. Sitting at home healing for 2 weeks has helped me sit in contemplation and really SEE more clearly how this last year has affected me. I am so tempted to just run through the fields and streets and play and laugh and hug people, jump on a cruise, go sailing, hang with a bunch of people and their dogs. And I will! But I have realized that I need to BALANCE that with my own self-reflection while I do it.

I need to balance my inner world and outer world, my feminine and masculine, my outer vision with my third eye!

You know what they say… the eyes have it! So I am hoping that this episode may give you the inclination to look back on the last year and SEE how it has affected you, mind, body, and soul. Take your time with this. Journal, meditate. And make sure to check in with your body and how it has been affected by the last year. But mostly check in with your heart.

I will leave you with this quote from the famous Sioux chief, Chief Crazy Horse.

“I salute the light within your eyes where the whole Universe dwells. For when you are at that center within you and I am at that place within me, we shall be one.”

To all my podcast listeners, please be good to yourselves! Eat nourishing foods, drink so much water, get lots of sleep, and surround yourself with loving beings! Keep your eyes open to all that your heart and soul want you to see!

Thank you for letting me into your lives today. and I look forward to popping back in again… next time!

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CONTENT DISCUSSED…

• A Journey to Awareness Podcast: All Episodes

• Shauna’s website: https://www.workingonme.com

WHEN DOES IT AIR…
MAY 29, 2021

60 Let Me Be Clear!

April 24, 2021 By Shauna

Hello and Welcome, I’m Shauna Hoffman

I hope these past few weeks have been filled with ease, peace, and love. Those of you who have followed my podcast for the last year have probably noticed that I have begun to record them every other week instead of every week. With the world opening up again, my businesses have taken off.

One of the strange blessings of these Covid times was it freed me up to record a podcast every week. I am now pivoting once again for the next few months to accommodate this new world.

The other thing you will notice is that the podcasts are now short and sweet and filled with info that you can digest fast! It’s funny, so many of my listeners have said they love to take in the short ones for inspiration and then try and use the rest of the week to assimilate what they have learned into their day. So, alas! I’m going to keep these next few month’s podcasts short and sweet!

This week I am going to dig into what I believe is one of the most powerful phrases to live by. The words, “Let me be clear”. Not only is it a message to the person you are speaking to, but it is a powerful message to yourself. Let’s break this down. When we are in the middle of a conflict with someone, we tend to let our emotions take over. We often lose sight of our own truth, or more importantly our own logic. When we let our emotions take over in an argument we can pretty much guarantee that the other person will respond with emotion and not logic, too. And the whole communication goes to hell.

When you say to yourself, “let me be clear”, you are checking in first with your logical self to try and enter the conversation with clarity over what you are trying to express. Now let ME be clear…. that doesn’t mean that your emotions are not involved. It means that you are very clear on the MESSAGE that you want to convey, versus the EMOTION you want to convey. By embracing the words… “let me be clear”, you are offering yourself a moment to truly look at what you are feeling and thinking and be able to speak your truth in the most healthy way.

“Being clear… having clarity.”

When you look up the word clarity it’s defined as being coherent and intelligible. Ok, let’s be serious how often does that happen in an argument?

So how do you do this then?

When you are wrapped up in all of the feelings in the midst of a hard conversation you need to take a few nice deep breaths and calm down your anger, fear, anxiety, or sadness to dig deep into your soul. You clear your head, calm yourself down so that you can logically decide exactly what it is you are feeling, thinking, and needing to convey to the other person. It’s not easy to do. We tend to be so caught up in either defending ourselves or just trying to win in an argument that clarity goes by the wayside. Taking a moment to find your clarity is one of the highest forms of self-awareness. Taking a deep breath, checking in with yourself, making conscious decisions about what your needs are in the moment and what you want to convey gives you the opportunity to move forward with total conviction in telling the other person what it is you want them to know. You are combining your emotions with your logic to share your absolute truth.

So, imagine yourself in an argument. Imagine how it can escalate. Now imagine you stopping. Not answering for a moment..or many moments while you actually check in with yourself to figure out what you want the other person to get LOUD AND CLEAR. Now calmly and with conviction you say…LET ME BE CLEAR… this is what I want you to know.

What does that feel like? Great isn’t it? Empowering!

Now there is another side to “let me be clear”. It can be used to ask the other person to clarify to YOU what they mean!

“Let me be clear that what you are saying is DOT DOT DOT…..”.

So often in the midst of an argument, they don’t hear us and we don’t hear them. We each hear what we want to hear. And mostly what we hear is not facts but drama, or emotion. So asking them “Let me be clear that what you are saying is…..” allows you to engage in healthy conversation based on intention and not assumptions.

I’m going to repeat that….

mostly what we hear is not facts but drama, or emotion. So asking “Let me be clear that what you are saying is…..” allows you to engage in healthy conversation based on intention and not assumptions.

In other words….

“Let me be clear so that I can understand exactly what you are trying to say to me.”

Now imagine you are the other person and you hear those words calmly being asked of you. You are actually being validated that your thoughts are important enough to be truly listened to.

Once you approach an argument or fight this way it is up to each of you to decide whether to engage in a healthy way or not.

So here’s the thing. From this moment on there is no guarantee that the person on the other side of this argument is going to hear you. Or that they are going to even care to engage in a healthy way. There is no guarantee that it will change their minds or help solve the argument. The only thing it DOES do is empower your voice! Empower you to understand that you have every right to state your feelings. Empowers you to take a stand for all that you believe in and all that you know you deserve because you have CLEARLY thought about it. Most importantly it empowers you to know that you demand respect and have given respect. Even if the other person can’t give it back to you.

But what I want you to walk away with from this podcast today is this.

“Let me be clear” is a message to yourself. A message that you want to communicate in the most mature way. And much Bigger picture…A message that you deserve to stand up to anyone in your world. A message to yourself that you CAN, SHOULD, and will forevermore claim your truth.

“Let me be clear that I have thought about this and here are my feelings and my thoughts and needs around this conversation.”

“Let me be clear that if you talk to me like that this conversation is over.”

“Let me be clear that I do not communicate with someone who is being aggressive to me in any way.”

“Let me be clear that I have needs and desires whether you like it or not.”

“Let me be clear to myself that I will never allow anyone to treat me disrespectively again”.

In podcast episode #27 “I don’t do this” I delve deeper into this topic. Please, if you haven’t listened to it, try to. You deserve to have the tools to honor your own needs.

I hope that you practice and practice the phrase “let me be clear” as often as you can so that you embrace your own clarity and feel empowered enough to share it with the world. I hope you use this phrase as a guiding force, a compass on your amazing journey to self-awareness.

I am leaving you once again with my favorite quote of all time by Audrey Lorde.

When I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.

Beautiful beings, be good to yourselves! Drink lots of water, get lots of rest, have so much fun in your life, go after your dreams, surround yourself with loving beings, and most importantly be true to your heart!

Thank you for letting me into your life this week and I look forward to popping back in again next time!

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE CONTENT DISCUSSED…

• A Journey to Awareness Podcast: All Episodes

• Shauna’s website: https://www.workingonme.com

WHEN DOES IT AIR…
APRIL 24, 2021

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