Recently I decided that I would look at what was working in my life and that I would do more of it. It felt like overnight my life started moving rapidly forward in a positive direction. By now most of us are familiar with the concept that what we put our attention on is magnified and grows. When we see the world in a negative light, we quickly find evidence that things are not going well. However, when we choose to focus on the positive, we just as rapidly find evidence that there is much good in the world.
I have often thought of the Pareto principle, which is also known as the 80-20 rule, which explains that for many events, 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. Joseph M. Juran, a 20th century management consultant, named this principle after the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto, who noticed that 80% of the peas in his garden came from 20% of the pea pods. Pareto further discovered that 80% of the wealth from many countries was owned by just 20% of its population. Juran applied this principle to business, suggesting that 80% of your sales come from 20% of your clients.
Many other applications of this powerful principle have since been found. Richard Koch, author of “The 80/20 Principle: The Secret to Success by Achieving More with Less”, notes that hundreds of thousands of people have found this principle to be useful, not only in their work and careers, but also in the whole of their lives.
As Wayne Dyer notes, “When you change the way you look at things, the things that you look at change.” By deliberately choosing to focus on and be grateful for all that is going well in our lives, our lives can become an upward spiral of joy and fulfillment. I hope you, too, will choose to focus on the 20% of your efforts that are accounting for 80% of your success in all aspects of your life and that your life will become all that you are hoping it can be.
From that first experience with Anneli and Michael, I have danced with them time and time again, and each time I do, into their open arms I begin to drop in to greet myself, that familiar face at the window of my soul who often becomes a stranger to me between dances. They keep me safe while I run into the darkness of the secrets that my body has been holding, creating a space where I can be receptive to all that arises without binding me with rules, or tutus, or barre pliés. That darkness, they say, “is just one part of us, and the more we can embrace those parts of ourselves, the more we can be fully self-expressed.” Through their own study of 5Rhythms and Soul Motion practices, they invite us into a seemingly endless repertoire of exercises that evoke transformation and healing, and it would be difficult, if not impossible, to articulate the ones that have impacted me the most. So I’ll just share the one that I’ll never forget.
During one of our five-day retreats at Esalen, Anneli and Michael led us through a wave of music that was long and deep. I came to the end of it feeling especially open, and my mind intensely quiet. They invited us to make what they called “soul cards”. Around the room they had placed groupings of magazines, picture books, glue, scissors, X-acto knives, and stacks of five by eight-inch boards made from heavy cardstock. Their guidance was to begin by flipping through the magazines and books, and tear out anything that spoke to us – words, images, colors. They asked us not to intellectualize the experience, or try to analyze why we were attracted to certain things. Instead they gave us permission to let our creativity be expressed in the cards.
I was eventually inspired to move to the center of the circle with my soul card. The shape that my body took on was similar to a child’s pose in yoga, hips at the heels, forehead on the floor, shoulders rounded forward, arms draped at my sides, hands near my feet, and palms facing upwards. Michael called several dancers to come out on the floor and take the same shape. Slowly my body began to uncurl, and I started to stand up on my knees with my arms hanging by my side. Out of my mouth came, “I am the one who was left behind.” I stood up a little taller on my knees and my arms raised up over my head, and I screamed, “I am the one who knows that if I’m not perfect, you’ll leave me!” With that, Michael cued the other dancers around me to begin to chant, “I AM NOT PERFECT. I AM NOT PERFECT. I AM NOT PERFECT.” And from there, he said, “Liz, I want you to dance imperfection.” My heart was pounding out of my chest in gripping fear, yet in that instant, I was crisply aware that it was the time to face this demon, to dispel the story that the only way to be worthy was to be perfect. So I let go, in a way that I hadn’t let go before. I stumbled. I was off beat. I didn’t care what it looked like. I let myself be seen by the other dancers and most importantly, by my teachers, the ones who I was certain would disapprove. I allowed the fear of being left behind to move my body and my breath. I loved myself inside this feeling of imperfection. At the end of the dance, I stood at the back of the circle and looked at the other dancers. They stopped chanting. Michael said, “Take a look around. You are not perfect, and they are still here.” I stood there as long as I needed to stand there, and I wept. Too tall to be a dancer? I think not.
Your guide to wellness. Holistic Networker is published four times a year on the first of January, April, July, and October. We distribute 28,000 copies throughout North Texas, another 28,000 visitors download the digital copy. Our website is visited by over 8,000 people each month.
Welcome spring with exciting new growth and purposeful action. Winter is over or on its final glacial gusts. We are on time to break out of heavy layers, and shake ourselves free. Nature bursts out of dormant branches into buds. She has to push out of buds into blooms. Finally she calls the bees and butterflies to pollinate and set fruit. It all happens in a few months. There is nothing quite as tenacious and determined as a chick pecking its way out of the egg: Or as patient as a butterfly emerging from its chrysalis. Slow down and watch. Prepare to do what is needed to transform your own life. We are one of Earth’s creatures and like the rest, we are compelled in one way or another to break free and embrace the gift of birth. Perhaps the powerful Mars transits are the push you need to start pecking free. Perhaps you are waiting for the kiss of sunshine to emerge and stretch your wings. There is no guarantee except that the process is part of us. It will be a mix of pain, joy, struggle and ease. It is filled with opportunity. Some will fall into change, while many more are compelled to move out of the womb into action. Just like the beginning of all life, it is natural. No matter how you emerge; You are right on time.
Millions of Americans report that they cannot perform simple everyday tasks such as tying a tie or opening a jar, because of the debilitating pain of arthritis. Twenty percent of all Americans say that their arthritis symptoms are so severe that it has affected their job performance and their general ability to enjoy life. Despite what one may think, arthritis is not just an “old persons” disease. In fact, almost two-thirds of those with some form of arthritis are younger than age 65. There are two main forms of arthritis: rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis. In recent studies, acupuncture has been shown to be effective in reducing the symptoms of both.
