Dear Readers,
I've got another couple of posts in the works but have been so busy that there hasn't been much time to write!! In the interim, I've had a request to republish an article of mine which originally appeared in the February 2013 issue of JOYAH Magazine (Journal of Your Alternative Health). Unfortunately this great local magazine is now out of print but below is an updated edition of the article for you to enjoy here on my blog!
Awakening to Authenticity through the Heart
by Melanie Halpert, CBP
On the infamous morning of September 11th 2001, I recall being utterly unable to stop myself from watching the surreal images of death and destruction streaming steadily from the television, the gruesome scenes being played over and over again by the media, hammering in and amplifying feelings of fear, rage, grief, helplessness, and despair. At the time I was 20 years old and, upon enduring several years of mysterious chronic symptoms which doctors could not seem to relieve, I had reached the pinnacle of that experience and was physically unable to get up from the couch to turn off the news. From my place on the couch, safe in my home, I could not fathom the suffering of those who perished or of those whom had lost loved ones. I realized I should be grateful to be alive and yet, although in the literal sense I was alive, in a metaphorical sense, the external planetary reality unfolding before my very eyes mirrored what I was experiencing within. In that moment, I knew that I could not go on living like this any longer, that there had to be another way.
Little did I know that this event was to swiftly herald in a new chapter of my personal journey and to mark the beginning of more than a decade of seeking and exploration. Unbeknownst to me, I was about to embark on a wild ride, taking me from one thing to the next in hopes to find answers to an exponentially growing list of questions. From Reiki to naturopathy to homeopathy, to yoga to drumming, to philosophy to psychology, to EFT to BodyTalk to Accunect, to astrology to numerology, to crystals to oracles, to sound healing to hypnosis... to Western to Eastern, to Inca to Maya, to Paganism to Shamanism, to New Age to Occult, to conspiracy theory and to quantum theory and to everything in between… that is where I went.
I eventually came to the realization that underpinning everything, underlying all of my life experiences, was a theme of profound dissatisfaction with the status quo, and that my entire quest was driven by the unyielding desire to express myself authentically, with transparency and integrity, in the ever-increasing insanity of this three-dimensional reality. It dawned on me that that there was a common denominator - that the episodes of escapism I had once pursued through fantasy and substance abuse, my chronic health challenges, and my years rooted in seeking and self-improvement were all linked; they were all coping mechanisms to deal with the colossal anxiety of having to conform to societal ideals which truly made me feel dead inside. I could not seem to accept that from the moment we're born we are funnelled down a path, powerfully pressured by society to get an education, to get a job, to find a spouse, to buy property and vehicles and lots of insurance, to have children, to save for retirement, to draw up a will and to plan for death. I was literally revolted to be handed the linear outline of a life defined by specific criteria to qualify as a productive, responsible, sane member of society.
If you think about it, our entire life we are conditioned to believe that we start at zero and must build, add, and acquire to be good enough, that we must always strive to be better, that there is always something to improve. We are conditioned to constantly look outside of ourselves for the perfect template, technique, modality, diet, image – completely hypnotized and driven by this all-pervasive, deep-seated belief that the focus is to BECOME rather than to BE.
Even from the standpoint of “Ascension” or “Awakening”, there is so much talk about aspiring to become “more than” human, to go “beyond 3D” and “beyond the Earth”, rather than living fully INTO our experience of humanness and into our relationship WITH the Earth, the bountiful planetary body supporting our journey. What if you could bust loose from the multitude of paradigms in all their assorted packages and fanfare, to strip it all down, and to know that you – with nothing added and nothing taken away - truly came here, onto this planet, into this body, with everything you need, with so much potential... and that the key lies in BEING YOU?!
The exciting and extraordinary fact is that right here, right now, in this very body and in this very lifetime, you are totally unique, you have your very own energetic signature, you are genius in your own way and your specific genius, without a shadow of a doubt, fits synergistically into the whole. Like cells are to the body, humans are to humanity - in working together, in combining our genius while embracing our uniqueness, we have the power to co-create in ways we have only dreamed of. It is time now to realize that the key to awakening truly lies in you BEING YOU, in shining your light, and in knowing that your light is worthy. It is not about fitting in – it is about standing OUT, it is about recognizing YOURSELF and recognizing OTHERS and celebrating the complementary nature of our uniqueness, and how, when we are embracing our uniqueness and shining our light, we fit together as a whole in a way that allows each of us to express ourselves joyously, organically and authentically.
Imagine that each of us is a lighthouse with a unique design and purpose, and that the light emitted from each of us has its own specific frequency, its own specific vibration. Consider now the possibility that it is BY this unique light that we may recognize each other, and through resonance, attract the ideal people, opportunities, and experiences to support us along our journey! For years we have been led to believe that we should want our light to blend in with everybody else’s, for it to look and feel the same. For years we have been led to believe that if our light is different that it is something to fear, something to feel ashamed or even guilty about. We have been led to mute, hide, filter, retract, even to despise and to reject our light, and in many cases have been encouraged to replace it with “better” light, “stronger” light, “purer” light from outside of ourselves... HOW ABSURD!!!
The truth, is that it is WHO YOU ARE that matters - not what you do or what you've achieved - you for BEING YOU! Now is the time to turn inside out, for each of us to shine our light outwards from within. It is time for us to empower ourselves, to be authentic, to live from the heart and to know that our light is worthy. The more we connect with our core through the heart, the more we connect with our authentic self and shine our unique light, the more we are visible to others with whom our energies resonate, which will in turn allow us to co-create a new, harmonious individual and collective experience of reality.
No matter where you find yourself in life right now, no matter how "spiritual" you believe you are or aren't, connecting with self is possible for everyone. There is no magic recipe, you don’t need a fancy technique, brainwave entrainment, or have to sit in lotus position for hours with a straight spine. In fact, I encourage you to experiment with ditching all the rules, rituals, and routines you've ever been taught and to simply feel into your SELF - with eyes open or closed - to feel into that intimate “ME” feeling that nobody but you knows, no matter how close. There is a certain feeling that is yours and yours alone. Find it. Embrace it. Get excited about it. Connect with the core of yourself beyond borders, beyond chakras, beyond any system or paradigm... re-discover your core, feel that energy and appreciate yourself as a unique part of the whole. As you get more comfortable connecting with your essence, you will start to embody it, and the natural emanation of your energies, the radiance of who you are, will begin to transform your life and the world around you, from the inside out.
by Melanie Halpert, CBP
On the infamous morning of September 11th 2001, I recall being utterly unable to stop myself from watching the surreal images of death and destruction streaming steadily from the television, the gruesome scenes being played over and over again by the media, hammering in and amplifying feelings of fear, rage, grief, helplessness, and despair. At the time I was 20 years old and, upon enduring several years of mysterious chronic symptoms which doctors could not seem to relieve, I had reached the pinnacle of that experience and was physically unable to get up from the couch to turn off the news. From my place on the couch, safe in my home, I could not fathom the suffering of those who perished or of those whom had lost loved ones. I realized I should be grateful to be alive and yet, although in the literal sense I was alive, in a metaphorical sense, the external planetary reality unfolding before my very eyes mirrored what I was experiencing within. In that moment, I knew that I could not go on living like this any longer, that there had to be another way.
Little did I know that this event was to swiftly herald in a new chapter of my personal journey and to mark the beginning of more than a decade of seeking and exploration. Unbeknownst to me, I was about to embark on a wild ride, taking me from one thing to the next in hopes to find answers to an exponentially growing list of questions. From Reiki to naturopathy to homeopathy, to yoga to drumming, to philosophy to psychology, to EFT to BodyTalk to Accunect, to astrology to numerology, to crystals to oracles, to sound healing to hypnosis... to Western to Eastern, to Inca to Maya, to Paganism to Shamanism, to New Age to Occult, to conspiracy theory and to quantum theory and to everything in between… that is where I went.
I eventually came to the realization that underpinning everything, underlying all of my life experiences, was a theme of profound dissatisfaction with the status quo, and that my entire quest was driven by the unyielding desire to express myself authentically, with transparency and integrity, in the ever-increasing insanity of this three-dimensional reality. It dawned on me that that there was a common denominator - that the episodes of escapism I had once pursued through fantasy and substance abuse, my chronic health challenges, and my years rooted in seeking and self-improvement were all linked; they were all coping mechanisms to deal with the colossal anxiety of having to conform to societal ideals which truly made me feel dead inside. I could not seem to accept that from the moment we're born we are funnelled down a path, powerfully pressured by society to get an education, to get a job, to find a spouse, to buy property and vehicles and lots of insurance, to have children, to save for retirement, to draw up a will and to plan for death. I was literally revolted to be handed the linear outline of a life defined by specific criteria to qualify as a productive, responsible, sane member of society.
If you think about it, our entire life we are conditioned to believe that we start at zero and must build, add, and acquire to be good enough, that we must always strive to be better, that there is always something to improve. We are conditioned to constantly look outside of ourselves for the perfect template, technique, modality, diet, image – completely hypnotized and driven by this all-pervasive, deep-seated belief that the focus is to BECOME rather than to BE.
Even from the standpoint of “Ascension” or “Awakening”, there is so much talk about aspiring to become “more than” human, to go “beyond 3D” and “beyond the Earth”, rather than living fully INTO our experience of humanness and into our relationship WITH the Earth, the bountiful planetary body supporting our journey. What if you could bust loose from the multitude of paradigms in all their assorted packages and fanfare, to strip it all down, and to know that you – with nothing added and nothing taken away - truly came here, onto this planet, into this body, with everything you need, with so much potential... and that the key lies in BEING YOU?!
The exciting and extraordinary fact is that right here, right now, in this very body and in this very lifetime, you are totally unique, you have your very own energetic signature, you are genius in your own way and your specific genius, without a shadow of a doubt, fits synergistically into the whole. Like cells are to the body, humans are to humanity - in working together, in combining our genius while embracing our uniqueness, we have the power to co-create in ways we have only dreamed of. It is time now to realize that the key to awakening truly lies in you BEING YOU, in shining your light, and in knowing that your light is worthy. It is not about fitting in – it is about standing OUT, it is about recognizing YOURSELF and recognizing OTHERS and celebrating the complementary nature of our uniqueness, and how, when we are embracing our uniqueness and shining our light, we fit together as a whole in a way that allows each of us to express ourselves joyously, organically and authentically.
Imagine that each of us is a lighthouse with a unique design and purpose, and that the light emitted from each of us has its own specific frequency, its own specific vibration. Consider now the possibility that it is BY this unique light that we may recognize each other, and through resonance, attract the ideal people, opportunities, and experiences to support us along our journey! For years we have been led to believe that we should want our light to blend in with everybody else’s, for it to look and feel the same. For years we have been led to believe that if our light is different that it is something to fear, something to feel ashamed or even guilty about. We have been led to mute, hide, filter, retract, even to despise and to reject our light, and in many cases have been encouraged to replace it with “better” light, “stronger” light, “purer” light from outside of ourselves... HOW ABSURD!!!
The truth, is that it is WHO YOU ARE that matters - not what you do or what you've achieved - you for BEING YOU! Now is the time to turn inside out, for each of us to shine our light outwards from within. It is time for us to empower ourselves, to be authentic, to live from the heart and to know that our light is worthy. The more we connect with our core through the heart, the more we connect with our authentic self and shine our unique light, the more we are visible to others with whom our energies resonate, which will in turn allow us to co-create a new, harmonious individual and collective experience of reality.
No matter where you find yourself in life right now, no matter how "spiritual" you believe you are or aren't, connecting with self is possible for everyone. There is no magic recipe, you don’t need a fancy technique, brainwave entrainment, or have to sit in lotus position for hours with a straight spine. In fact, I encourage you to experiment with ditching all the rules, rituals, and routines you've ever been taught and to simply feel into your SELF - with eyes open or closed - to feel into that intimate “ME” feeling that nobody but you knows, no matter how close. There is a certain feeling that is yours and yours alone. Find it. Embrace it. Get excited about it. Connect with the core of yourself beyond borders, beyond chakras, beyond any system or paradigm... re-discover your core, feel that energy and appreciate yourself as a unique part of the whole. As you get more comfortable connecting with your essence, you will start to embody it, and the natural emanation of your energies, the radiance of who you are, will begin to transform your life and the world around you, from the inside out.
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