Edgewalkers

Serving Those Who Walk Between the Worlds

Edgewalkers

Faith, Hope and Love

Judi Neal, Founder, Edgewalkers International

This is the first time in human history we have collectively faced significant threats to our survival. Covid-19 is the opening act. It has woken us up to our interdependency and the need to make individual sacrifices for the greater good. But we “ain’t seen nothin’ yet”! Climate change is the star of the show in challenging humanity to come together to save ourselves. One of the key factors in successfully meeting these challenges is hope. Without hope, we will not act, and we will be doomed. Hope is not enough, but it is an essential element in moving forward.

Amory Lovins wrote, “Be neither an optimist nor a pessimist. Both are different forms of fatalism. Instead, practice what I call applied hope: believe our world and the causes you care about can get better, and work to make them so.”  This is where faith comes in. These times challenge us to examine our faith. Do we have faith in humanity to do the right thing in times of crisis? Do we have faith in God, the Universe, the Transcendent, that something good will come out of these challenges? If so, then we can allow ourselves to hope for a better future and we can do what is ours to do. 

Faith is based on past experience. We can have faith in humanity by looking for and seeking out the goodness in people, and by celebrating the kindness, beauty and creativity that we see around us. We can remember that media headlines typically represent only a small proportion of things people say and do, and that negative stories get more attention. Positive stories don’t get headlines, but they do inspire us and remind us of our basic goodness. We can trust the Universe because we sense a holy presence. We know that when we have followed spiritual guidance, things work out for the best.

Hope is focused on the future. It takes courage to hope that a better world will emerge out of crises. Peter Block says, “We change the culture by changing the nature of conversation. It’s about choosing conversations that have the power to create the future.” What kinds of conversations are you having – conversations about all the things that are wrong, or conversations about possibilities? The thing that gives me the most hope for the future is the young people like Greta Thunberg and David Hogg. They think about the greater good and they know how to take action to influence decision-makers. 

“So these three things continue forever: faith, hope, and love. And the greatest of these is love” (I Corinthians 13:13 NCV). One of the definitions of love is to care selflessly about another or others. Faith, hope and love will get us through these crises to a better world that works for all. This I believe.

“Hope is hearing the music of the future. Faith is dancing to it today.” (Alvez)

Conscious Choices in Uncertain Times…

Patricia Campanile Senior Associate Edgewalkers International

Decision Making has never been one of my strong points. Even when I was younger I had difficulty deciding what I wanted. Actually, I wanted too much and the thought of choosing ONE thing meant I had to close off my other options. Life is a smorgasburg for me. I often get the sample platter when I eat Indian food so I can try everything. I realize that some of what fuels this indecision and resistance to making one choice is that I have a serious case of FOMA (Fear of Missing Out). I have learned the hard way that choosing from fear, from missing out, or in reaction to what I did not want, resulted in not always making clear and conscious choices that were best for me. The more I focused on what I did not want or the fear of loss, I kept attracting what I did not want and loss and disappointment. I did not have the commitment and focus to clearly connect with my inner desire. I had not identified what I truly wanted and needed in order to make the best decision for my life and create the results that supported my life, work and relationships.

One aspect of my spiritual journey as an Edgewalker has been discovering HOW to make conscious choices. Over time I have strengthened my intuition by trusting my gut instincts and being quiet while feeling and listening to my body. At times I am conflicted when my heart wants one thing and my mind says another. When this happens and I feel stuck or paralyzed and don’t know what to do, I co-create with the Universe and ask for CEO signs (Clear, Easy, Obvious). I am learning non-attachment and accepting that just because I have a plan, LIFE often has another path for me that is far better than I could have ever imagined.

Staying awake, curious, conscious and available to shift is required to thrive and grow. It is also necessary to recognize and allow any feelings of loss, grief, disappointment, regret, and sadness we may experience when things don’t go according to plan. Loving what is, knowing that everything that happens is happening FOR us, NOT to us, enables us to stay open to Plan B, C or whatever life presents us. Timing is everything and knowing when to choose is key in discovering and following our right path. When we make conscious choices in spite of uncertainty and the unknown, a fertile ground is laid for new ideas, opportunities, creative solutions, innovation and new beginnings. We can choose to stand in our mastery and sovereignty, knowing that we are in authentic alignment with our Highest Truth. When we do this LIFE magically organizes itself to support our intentions, dreams and desires.

Now more than ever, with so much uncertainty and unknown, plans can change in a moment. It takes courage and wisdom to adapt and be flexible. These qualities and skills are getting a lot of practice with all changes in the world. What we resist persists has new meaning. We are NOT in control is often a difficult realization that can also be a relief. If the door is not opening is not our door. Individually and collectively we are being asked to stop, breathe, let go, and see what happens. Go with the flow and more WILL be revealed in perfect time!

Music as Spiritual Practice

Judi playing bass

By Judi Neal, Founder of Edgewalkers International

When someone asks me about my spiritual practice, I answer that my spiritual practice is music. Playing an instrument and singing is one of the easiest ways for me to get out of my head and to be open to the Divine. I have other practices such as prayer, contemplation, yoga, and spending time in nature, but music is really core for me. I call it a short-cut to the soul.

Every religious tradition has spiritual practices connected to music. For example, there are Christian hymns, Jewish cantors, Buddhist chants, the Vedic kirtan practice of call and response, the songscapes of Australian aboriginals and Native American peoples. Music helps us to experience and celebrate the sacred.

During the Taliban rule in Afghanistan between 1996 and 2001, music was banned. If you want to break the spirit of a people, take away their music. Another way you can try to break the spirit of a people is you disempower their women, which seems to be happening in Afghanistan right now as the Taliban begin to rule again. 

Music can also be a part of political resistance. My friend Pedro grew up in Portugal under the Salazar dictatorships. Pedro’s parents were part of the underground resistance and his family hosted secret meetings to help organize the resistance to the authoritarian government. These meetings were always accompanied by folk music that inspired the resistors to stay strong and to have courage, much like the Civil Rights movement used songs like “We Shall Overcome.”  Pedro was told as a little boy to never sing these songs at school or in public because this could get his parents killed. That gives you some sense of the power of music to nurture the human spirit, and explains why authoritarian leaders fear it’s power.

I used to facilitate a “Spirit at Work” meeting at the University of New Haven. One month I invited everyone to bring in a recording of a piece of music that touched their soul. Each person said something about what that music meant to them and then we listened to their song. Something very tender happened in that meeting as the group connected with each other on a deeper level. It was the combination of the personal story and sitting together in appreciative silence that connected us. Some people decided that they were going to start listening to music through headphones each day. Others said they were going to go back to their teams to create playlists of music that everyone agreed upon that could be played softly in the background in their work areas. Music brought a little bit of the sacred into their workday.

Music can be healing. At the beginning of the pandemic, Yo-Yo Ma began posting Songs of Comfort and Hope on Facebook. The first song he posted was Antonin Dvorak’s “Going Home.” I burst into tears when I heard it. In the midst of isolation and fear, Yo-Yo Ma showed that he cared and that he could offer something beautiful in a time of darkness.  I can’t play anything as beautiful as “Going Home,” but playing my own music is healing nonetheless.

My primary instrument is electric bass guitar, and I feel such a powerful resonance when I play these deep sounds. I think it might be a way for me to integrate the masculine and the feminine. I have a soprano voice, and I feel the vibrations of my voice in my head. When I play the bass, I feel the vibrations in my whole body, and I feel a sense of power that I don’t experience in any other way. It feels integrative in so many ways.  Bass playing is not a solo activity, and I really feel my spirit soar when I play my instrument in my all-woman band, She’s Us. There is something about losing oneself in the co-creation of music with other people.

Writing songs is also a spiritual practice for me. When I sit down to write a song, I start by being in silence and asking Source, God, the Muse or whatever you want to call it, to allow me to be a channel for creativity. I search my heart for what wants to be expressed and I just start writing down whatever words come, or I play my guitar for whatever melody wants to be expressed.  As I play or sing, more and more details of the song become clear and I am able to turn the song into something I hope will have meaning for others. Rumi wrote about being a hollow reed for God to come through. I keep that image in mind as I create.

Music is my spiritual practice. I encourage you to think of ways you can bring more of the sacred into your life and work through music. Please feel free to share in the comments below ways in which you currently use music as a spiritual practice, or ways you could use music as a spiritual practice in the future.

“We are the Ones We’ve been Waiting for.”

Patricia Campanile Senior Associate Edgewalkers International

“I was born for these times!” Over the past year I have heard this remark consistently from my Edgewalker colleagues, community and friends. Many of us have been on our personal and professional path of discovery for some time. We have consciously committed to deepening our spiritual journey of transformation and evolution. By realizing that we cannot give what we do not have, we chose to get prepared by cultivating inner strength, intuitive wisdom, mindfulness and centeredness, and the tools and skills necessary for clarity of purpose. As a result we are more available to step into our mastery, our purpose, our WHY! If not us then who, if not now then when.

In my blog this month I am excited to share the Hopi Indian Chief White Eagle’s comments on the current global situation. It is beautiful and inspiring, timely and practical. May his words of wisdom guide and encourage you to “Be the Change You Wish to See in the World” as the great leader Gandhi once said. As a community we need one another so we may be available to boldly move forward into unknown and uncertain times. We can assist our clients, companies, communities, countries and the world by embracing innovative possibilities and opportunities. Our focus, vision and resilience will support us in walking through the door with curiosity and courage as we create a new and sustainable planet for humanity.

“Hopi Indian Chief White Eagle on the current global situation.”

“This moment that humanity is living through can be considered a door or a hole. The decision to fall into the hole or go through the door is yours.

If you consume information 24 hours a day, with negative energy, constantly nervous, with pessimism, you will fall into this hole.

 But if you take the opportunity to look at yourself, to rethink life and death, to take care of yourself and others, you will go through the door.

Take care of your home, take care of your body. Connect with your spiritual home. When you take care of yourself, you take care of others at the same time.

 Do not underestimate the spiritual dimension of this crisis. Adopt the perspective of an eagle that sees everything from above with a broader vision.

There is a social demand in this crisis, but also a spiritual demand. The two go hand in hand. Without the social dimension, we fall into fanaticism. Without the spiritual dimension, we fall into pessimism and futility. 

You are prepared to go through this crisis.

Grab your toolbox and use all the tools at your disposal. Learn to resist by the example of the Indian and African peoples: we have been and continue to be exterminated. 

* But we never stopped singing, dancing, lighting fires and having joy.

Don’t feel guilty for feeling lucky in these difficult times. Being sad and without energy doesn’t help at all. 

* Resilience is resilience through joy! 

You have the right to be strong and positive. You have to maintain a beautiful, cheerful and bright posture.

This has nothing to do with alienation (ignorance of the world). It is a strategy of resistance. 

When we walk in the door, we have a new view of the world because we have faced our fears and difficulties.

This is what you can do now: 

– Serenity in the storm, 

– Keep calm, meditate daily, 

– Make a habit of encountering the sacred every day. 

Demonstrate resilience through art, joy, trust and love.”