Who, in your life, is your “OTHER”?

How are you with stepping outside of your comfort zone?

I’ll let you know how I make out, but I’d love some guidance!

Besides doing a “catch-up” with a Justice course offered on Edx through Harvard, I’m engaged with another program – of a spiritual nature – that began three weeks ago.

I’d been hearing/reading about Generation One, conceived and organized by Barbara Hubbard.  The program’s description stated:

Instead of being the end of something,let’s become the new beginning:

Generation One of a new era!

As GENERATION ONE, we are the first generation of humans on this Earth to be aware of ourselves as one planetary body, affecting our own evolution by everything we do, realizing we can destroy ourselves through the misuse of our new power or evolve ourselves into a universal species that is capable of more than we can currently imagine.

As Generation One, we can create a new template for society and literally BECOME the human pioneers for a new era.

In the Generation One Intensive, we will be doing advanced work in personal transformation as well as developing the ability to bring unitive consciousness forward and build the capacities to realize our vocations in cooperative actions that repattern our society.

I wanted to be a part of this program!

My Beloved Guides have been giving me that same unitive message for a long while.  I’ve shared some of that messaging with readers throughout my blog writing without knowing where the path would ultimately lead.  My Guides have taken me to the Christ energy where such profound Love is almost impossible to be explained.  They have repeatedly reminded all of us of the importance to meditate – such a small piece of time to give to such an important awakening of self.  We’ve consistently been encouraged to understand who we are so blocks to the greatest Divine experience can be removed.

It only takes a pin prick effort to release the greatest experience of Divine Love and Inclusion.  This promise has been given and is being fulfilled daily in my life.

I’ve been listening to Barbara Hubbard through several different venues.  She has my appreciation and respect for a number of reasons:  She’s seasoned.  She highly educated.  She’s helped many find their path.  She blends head, spirit and heart.  She has had personal spiritual experiences which she shares.  She’s respected by a number of people whose messages I respect.  She’s promotes Oneness and a Divinity that includes the Christ energy.

As if those weren’t enough, because I am a facilitator there is another important factor:  She’s produced a program that is not only well planned and designed, it contains the means for a high level of participatory inclusion.  Participants from around the world are heard in spite of time, distance, culture, religion, race, etc.  We are encouraged to connect with others in our areas and engage while doing our homework. Many of us have been longing for like-minded, like-souled people such as those now subscribed to GenOne.

The GenOne resource people are also established and well-respected in the realm of quality living – e.g. doctors, coaches, authors, speakers, religious teachers, etc.

I’ve been reassured to hear talk of planetary need for the feminine energy to be released and practiced – by men and women – in order to bring compassion, justice, peace and love into default.

Have I been practicing this?  Have I done my homework this week?  Here was our assignment:

Who in my life is the “OTHER” – one to whom I’m NOT naturally drawn to connect with?  What am I willing to do to connect with this person?

First, I’ve slowed down.  I take the time to really look at each person with whom I’m engaging.  My goal is to simply show they are more than someone serving me or joining me.  They are an important addition to my NOW.

Trust the Universe!  One of my “OTHERs” showed up right away.

One of my “others”?  Yes, I have a few.  This one came up and asked me to lead a small prayer at a Celebration of Life which she was MCing.  We’d been saddened by the death of one of our doctors.  A mother of 3 vital and intelligent teenagers, this doctor has been struggling with addiction for years.  In May, she overdosed on Cocaine and suffered a heart attack.

While she was not my doctor, she was a friend who even entrusted me to help in her office on occasion.

Celebrating life means accepting death. Sometimes that means death to an old self.

The Celebration was full to overflowing.  In spite of her struggle, this 50-something doctor has been of great service to so many in her 20+ years of practice.

This MCing “other” and I have history.  That history has been sitting quietly on the shelf, squealing with protest only when she walked towards me.  This time?  I looked into her eyes as she approached.  I saw her grief and my heart filled with compassion.  That shelf may have emptied…I no longer see fear sitting there creating distrust.

I stepped onto the podium, told a quick story about our doctor-friend and began the prayer.  Just then, the “other” stepped up to the microphone and began saying it with me.  I was surprised, but made room for her.  At the end, I choked back tears and quickly exited.

Thank God the “other” was there.  She covered for me.  Alone, she gave the totally overlooked “Amen”.