I Don't Understand Hate by Don Shetterly

This video is one that I created on May 25, 2017.  Normally I don't show my song creation process on camera because it is just too difficult to create and not get nervous about being recorded.  However, this song is an exception.

The song in this video is called, "I Don't Understand Hate". (created 5/25/17)

After the week I had, seeing hate front and center, I almost gave up on humanity and said, "I don't want another thing to do with anyone."  Call me a drama queen if you want, it doesn't really matter at this point because I'm still livid over what took place.

Too many out there preach love and acceptance and tolerance, but it stops at the point when someone else does not hold the same view.  I don't care which side of an issue someone is on, it happens from both ends.  I'm so tired of this behavior.  It is not what humans are.  It is not what our civilization is about in my view.

If I post certain topics, people get all up in arms.  Some just blow me away, because instead of seeing how it applies in their life, it is like - "HOW DARE YOU POST THIS"!  I've seen this in full display this week (well at least when I am writing this).

I try to learn from all people.  Yes, some irritate the daylights out of me more than others, but I try to learn.  I try to see what it is in them that I cannot stand or I have difficulty hearing.  Some things are just plain hateful and evil.  Some give no value to humanity.

I wish I had all the answers.  I wish I understood why people can preach love, and hate others at the same time.  It makes no sense to me.

I wish I understood why some preach tolerance, but yet hate anyone that does not agree with them.  Do we all have to walk to the same drum?  Do we all have to think alike, talk alike, and believe alike?  Can we not bring what we have to the table and together enhance all of our lives more?

I watch no TV news.  I read very few news articles.  I try to avoid most of the hot and heated discussions, because they offer nothing good for life in my view.  They are just a bunch of opinionated people screaming.  I'm sorry, but if no one is really listening, how is the screaming going to help?

We're all standing opposed to one another and if we continue this, our civilization will not make it.  Our planet will not endure.  Yes, there are things that make your blood boil, but if love and tolerance are your ideals in life, then engage those.  Don't engage the hate.  Don't spread the hate.  Don't be part of the hate.

The fear is so great right now that no one is seeing with a rational, consciously connected mind.  We see through the eyes of fear and we react with fear.  If not, we go to the default of numbness.

There needs to be balance.  It does not start with our leaders.  It starts with each one of us individually.  We are the collective civilization.  We can practice love and tolerance for others, not just make it a mantra we hold high.

The song in this video is my conversation with music about how "I Don't Understand Hate".  It seems confusing to me.  It seems less than human.  I don't get the insults or the attitude of "my way or the highway".  I don't get how we cannot even come together as human beings and beings of light with a soul that is pure, but we can stand opposed to anyone that thinks differently than we do.

May our souls find awareness and consciousness.  May we expel the hate in this world through the actions of love we portray.

Listen to the sounds in this YouTube video of Don Shetterly playing on his piano.

---

Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

---

I Help Lift Others Up

If I see through the eyes of acceptance, I help lift others up.

Far too often, we want to force people into our way of thoughts and beliefs.  We do more harm than if we accept others as they are and see them through the eyes of acceptance.

When you accept others for who they are, not your judgment of who they should be, it is then that you are lifting them up to heights they never could have imagined. 

---

Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

---

The Trauma of Accepting Our Trauma

It can literally take five minutes of trauma to permanently affect a child’s life. It does not necessarily matter what the trauma is or if it happened only once or multiple times, the underlying damage can physically alter the development of certain areas of the brain thereby altering the development of personality. This is particularly true in cases of childhood sexual abuse.

During the trauma we simply do not have the capabilities to cope with the situation, so the natural instinct of the brain kicks in and the emotional center is quickly replaced by the instinctual (reptilian) portion of the brain. The mind does what it needs to survive the trauma at the time, which is basically to shut down and kick into survival mode, since our brains are entirely unable to process what has happened.

Fast forward an undetermined period of time and our brains are as developed as they are going to be and are now better equipped to cope with our childhood traumas and despite our desperate attempts to keep these memories repressed, they slowly start to exit their domain of safety and creep their way towards the front of our brains.

Those seemingly unexplainable actions and behaviors, the bad habits and negative coping skills and the diagnoses of whatever mental illness, all really do have an underlying reason. The emotional outbursts were not displays for show and the random and often harmful acts were not cries for attention. The lack of ability to fully bond and trust was in no way meant to be malicious. The darkness that you have carried in your heart and soul has cast a shadow that has dimmed your entire perspective of life.

Once the memory is at the forefront, we can either spend a tremendous amount of emotional energy trying to repress it again, or we can try to ignore it, but somehow it always seems to rear its ugly head. The process of accepting these memories as truths is not only the first and perhaps most difficult step in the healing process but is also multi-faceted.

To believe these atrocities happened to us brings about intense feelings of shame, confusion and anger. We question why this happened to us, or what we did to deserve it. We can’t accept that it isn’t our fault and self-blame torments us for years. Even our adult brain has trouble comprehending that these memories are actually real. We cannot understand how someone we knew or trusted or even loved could violate us in such a traumatic manner that it forever changed our views of the world, and of ourselves. It marred our ability to trust, set boundaries and have healthy relationships. The feelings of shame have weighed us down and burdened us throughout our lives and the emotional weight of the trauma that has held us captive for years finally breaks our back.

What alternative do we have aside from accepting these new truths that are not only completely overwhelming but seemingly impossible? We are almost forced by our minds to deal with our trauma whether we believe we are ready or not. We are guided directly through the middle of it as there seems to be no true detour.

Acceptance involves challenging the only values and beliefs we know, and puts into question our already fragile sense of self. It requires setting new emotional boundaries and learning to place the blame where it rightly belongs. It often means we will have to emotionally and sometimes physically remove ourselves from the lives of certain family or friends. It means taking a step back from life in order to get a different viewpoint.

Acceptance forces us to look deep inside at the shame we have been unnecessarily carrying around for a lifetime and realize it is actually not our burden to carry. It means opening up wounds that we have already formed scars over in order to heal properly. Accepting our abuse, however hard and trying it may be is the beginning to the end goal of healing.

---

Blog Post And Images (c) 2017 by Don Shetterly and Jody

• Permission required before any part of this blog post is reprinted, reworded or used in any form. 
• You are welcomed to share the LINK to this blog post.  

---

Acceptance In Life

One blog I have been following lately has some very good insights.  The name of this blog is Soul Seeds and the writer of it is very talented in sharing insights to life.  The blog entry that I am sharing a link to here is on Acceptance And Change.

In life we encounter many moments where we grow as individuals.  Of course, these are often in the form of difficult times in life also known as change.  However, when we become aware of the change that we need, then we are able to accept it and move forward.  Not being aware of what it is that brings us difficulty in life holds us back from acceptance and change.

I really liked the way he talked about how we view acceptance as the opposite of change, when in reality it is not.  Resistance is the opposite of change.  It is when we go into accepting what is before us, that we empower our life and find our solution.  When we resist what it is before us, it is then that we are drained of the energy we need to live life to the fullest.

Reiki Attunement

Purples, green, bright white light.

Mixing and fading into pure peace, love and stillness.

Going from moments of wondering and questioning into discovery and connectedness.

Seeing more possibility of what there is, of what could be and that this is a part of the path.

Feeling the love, feeling the pureness and wholesomeness of the moment supported by the love.

Feeling full of gratitude for something so simple, yet so profound.

Just in this moment today, with nothing else but being here, connected to all that is present.

No need to strive to touch it, as it is just part of all that is here.

Through the breath, being filled with pure love, pure acceptance and pure energy, may awareness open into a new consciousness.



Blog Post & Images (c) 3/10/11 Don Shetterly - use by permission only
http://www.donshetterly.com

Prayer: I Send Out Love

I send out love to those that upset me with their constant criticism of everything in this world.

I send out love to those who speak only to hear themselves make conversation and sounds.

I sent out love to those who only are able to see part of the big picture but in their mind, they see it all.

I send out love to those who feel that what they have to say is far more important than what someone else is saying.

I send out love to those who are lost in teachings that they regurgitate upon request.

I send out love to those who fear and cast out others who are different than themselves.

I send out love to those who follow blindly what is expected of them.

I send out love to those who choose to just exist in life while ignoring their true potential.

I send out love to those who feel they can control or manipulate others, regardless if it is an adult, a child or an animal.

I send out love to those who attack others for personal gain.

I send out love to those who have experienced deep pain in their lives.

I send out love to those who do not understand what it means to be loved or that it is possible to be loved.

I send out love to mother earth for being raped and abused by the inhabitants.

I send out love to all who have experienced the horrors or evils of life, at the hands of others.

I send out love to those who have been harmed by war as well as those who have inflicted war upon others.

I send out love to those whose only motivation in life is control, power and money.

I send out love to those who are weighed under by circumstances that seem to be holding them back and weighing them down.

I send out love to my own body, spirit and mind so that I am able to be there for others with purity, humbleness and strength.

I send out love to the hearts of all people who see more of the differences in others rather than the similarities.

I send out love to the world in hopes that through my actions, others will pass love along.

I send out love to all that is created each day knowing that hope and possibility exist in each of our moments.

As I think about sending out love, may I truly and fully love and accept myself. May I realize that love begins with what I hold in my heart. For if I don't fully understand how to love myself, it will be difficult to love all that is around me. Let love being with me.


(Above Picture taken in my backyard, FL - (c) 09/18/10)

*Read other articles on Mind Body Thoughts Blog

From Intolerance To Acceptance

We stopped at a Christian thrift store the other day. While inside the store, I heard a very loud and boisterous man talking about his view of God and religion. It is a free country and he is perfectly allowed to do this. However, he was very rude in making sure everyone in the store heard what he had to say. It was like forced religious babble.

As he continued speaking loudly, he began to talk about a group of people that to him were evil and a threat to our way of life. The hatred, intolerance, and bigotry spewing forth from his mouth infuriated and disgusted me. The things he was saying were so vile and so full of hate that I could barely stomach any of the words he was speaking.

I finally had to leave because I could not take one more minute of what he was saying. I felt sad for the group of people he was degrading. I felt even more sad for this guy's intolerance. I am sure this man most likely never met the ones he was degrading.

He was hating this group of people out of not truly knowing them. His hatred seemed to arise from his fears. To be honest, I'm not sure where in "HIS" Bible, it shows that Jesus hated others and would talk this way. Yet, the man that purported to love Jesus and follow him must have missed the lesson Jesus taught where he said "Love One Another."

My ears had heard enough and to keep myself from reacting in a way that I would have regretted, I left the store. It took me awhile to let go of the anger I had at hearing these things. Every button from my past had been pushed.

It was not until we walked into another thrift store that the lady said, "welcome to our store," with a smile on her face, that I felt love and compassion for others shine through. This was not another Christian thrift store but one that valued all people as humans. In that moment, her smile of love and compassion connected with my heart. That one simple act meant the world to me in that moment. It was at that moment that I was able to let this go and change my thoughts from anger to acceptance of this intolerant man.



(Above Picture taken at Dandelion Communitea Cafe, Orlando, FL - (c) 09/17/10) Listening to the band, Dreamcatcher, perform on 9/17/10


*Read other articles on Mind Body Thoughts Blog

Surrender Into Acceptance

Acceptance of all things in life is not always easy. In fact, for me, it is often difficult. I can easily give lip service that I do accept and allow all things but in reality, it isn't that easy. It sometimes is difficult to match words with actions.

I tend to worry a lot and so badly want to be the one that makes everything happen. It may be a throwback when my life seemed like it was not under my control. In fact, I'm sure my life was controlled by others, not by me for a very long time. So now, I have learned to compensate for this in my life by trying to control many aspects of my day.

The only thing is that I give myself a false illusion that I am really controlling all these parts of my life. it robs me of so much precious energy. It keeps a protective distance to the unfamiliar. It gives me an imbalance that I rarely take note of. it is like the magician doing his magic act where one event occurs while the eyes are being tricked to see something else.

Yet, life has tied to teach me in many ways to accept things. It has shown me that worry gets me nowhere. Even though these lessons have been numerous in my life, I still forget them. They are my teachers that I have long forgotten. Of course, I have made progress in this area but I still desire to control everything about my life. It is a beloved and hated twin that I desire to flee from.

Now, I'm left to wonder how it is that I can change my current mode of worry into acceptance of what is. I know it has to be more than saying to myself that I'm going to do this. I know that acknowledging it is a helpful step but again how do I spot the lion before it is at the moment of attack. These are million dollar questions. Just like in one movie, an actor states that the secret to life is this one thing. Of course for each person, it is different and each person has to figure it out for themselves.

Maybe one step I could take is by giving myself the option of noticing when I am worrying and trying to control everything in my life. That may be a very tall order but in order to change something, one has to recognize it exists. Until there is recognition, one remains in the dark.

Maybe another step I could take is that when I recognize that I am doing this, I could state the word "accept" to my mind's ear. If my ears heard this, hopefully my brain and subconscious mind would listen to it. At a minimum, a different option would be available that could provide a different experience to me.

Just recognizing the fears I feel and the connections to past moments of my life may help allow me to surrender into acceptance. For if I run from these parts of my life, I know that it is as if I'm running in place. My legs may be moving, but I'm not going anywhere.

Asking the angels (or the universe or my higher self) to help and assist in this, may offer significant strength in my endeavor. It may be the catalyst of source energy that will transcend any effort I could put forth.

In the end, surrender is the key. How I get there is my journey. Each part of it may be difficult at times, but it is full of value to my life. To not experience all of this would be robbing my life of so much. For all these things are who I am. They are my teachers. They are my freedom, my awareness and my growth.


*For more articles, check out the Mind Body Thoughts Blog

Dear Angels

Dear Angels,
Help me replace my
negative thoughts,
doubts and worries
with love and
acceptance for
myself.

Self Compassion

Observe And Know

Observe all that is around you

Observe all that is within you

And know that right now in this moment

You are everything you need to be.

Breathe it in.

Pins And Needles

For a licensed print ready version, download on LuLu.com

You’ve probably had one of those moments where you were reading something or you heard something and it about dropped you dead in your tracks. One such event did that for me and before I could even begin to finish what I had started reading, my heart was pounding as if I were running for my life. In some ways I was running for my life, but the event had occurred many years earlier.

In 1991, when I was going through all the hospital tests trying to determine the cause of my paralysis, there was one test that just about did me in. I had not thought about it much until I read an account by an online blogger friend of mine. As I read her detailed account of a very similar test she went through, it was all I could do to keep reading what she wrote. I wanted to read it but the fears, the horrors and the emotions of a lifetime came rushing up. Even as I write this, I can feel my heart racing and so while I feel I need to record this, it is not easy.

The doctors had tried many tests on me trying to determine the cause of my paralysis. At first it had been proclaimed that I had Multiple Sclerosis. At age 26, that seemed like a death sentence for me. I wasn’t prepared to hear these words and I had no way to know how to react to them. As the days wore on though, that diagnosis began to prove itself wrong. My symptoms weren’t common and so specialist after specialist did every test under the sun.

The latest test they did was where I believe they were checking my muscle and nerve reflexes. I’m not 100% certain if that is exactly what it was they were doing, and someone with a medical background may be able to shed more light on this than I can. I remember being taken into this room from my hospital bed and placed upon an exam table. There were instruments and electrical-looking machines and a lady in a lab coat that I don’t even think introduced herself. Most of the time during the test, she was facing my legs and some electrical machine with her back to my face. It was almost as if she didn’t want to see me as a person but that’s just my perception.

Realize that during this time, my movements were almost nonexistent and speech was extremely slow and labored. To get a word out every few minutes that made coherent sense was quite an accomplishment for me during this time. So communication for me was almost impossible, and trying to communicate really zapped the energy from me. At that time, my energy was in a very limited supply and I did not want to waste it. So as I laid there on the exam table seeing these machines around me, with this person who I didn’t know sitting there as if I didn’t exist, I was frightened beyond belief. I had no idea what was going to be done to me, and I felt as if I had no say in it anyway.

She began her test and I felt these little pricks of what must have been a needle. You see, needles were not something good to me. You could show me a needle and I would pass out, and in fact had passed out many times for stuff like that and more. So I was doing all I could and using every ounce of energy I had to make it through this test, for this might have been the one that told the doctors what was wrong with me, I thought.

As I felt these little pricks on my legs, I would feel a little electric type jolt through them. It didn’t seem to be a large jolt of electricity, only a little buzz. The pain of the needle pricking my skin along with the uncomfortable feeling of the electricity I felt, made this very difficult to endure. Prick by prick, little buzz by little buzz, the lady in the white lab coat continued her testing procedure. It seemed like an eternity which would never end. With each prick of the needle, the pain would intensify.

I could feel the tears want to well up within my eyes, but of course my eyes had cried so much there were no tears. I could feel my voice wanting to scream out, “STOP”, but the words and the voice were lost in the void. I could feel my arms wanting to grab the lady in the white lab coat to make her stop, but my arms had no ability or energy to move. My mind knew there was nothing to do but take what was being done to me, while my body just wanted to run out of the room.

Even though I could barely speak, I do remember trying to say to the lady in the white lab coat, “please stop for a minute, please stop. Please stop.” She never heard the faint and few words of my dull voice. She only continued on, one needle prick at a time. There was no stopping her. My mind thought of a million things I would call this lady if only I could speak, and these things weren’t pretty.

The next thing I knew, I saw these doctors working around me on the table. I’m not sure where I was, but the room was full of people in white coats and much more equipment than when I initially came into the room. Seeing all of this, I didn’t really feel any pain in that moment, and actually it felt more freeing and nice than when I was on the table. The one thing I couldn’t understand, though, was why all of these people were so concerned about me and why I was watching all of this.

As my eyes began to open again, I saw the doctor with the little shock paddles and heard the words “clear” as he brought the paddles close to my bare chest and stomach. They had pulled my hospital gown down to expose my chest and abdomen. As I opened my eyes, I remember seeing such a bright light that it almost hurt my eyes to look at it. It was one of the clearest, brightest white lights I had ever seen. At first I chalked it up to the lights in the room, thinking that was obviously the source. It wasn’t until many years later, when I experienced this same bright white light in a healing session from a lady in South Florida, that I put together what the white light was all about.

As my eyes began to focus on the room, I could hear the people giving out the blood pressure readings and the pulse. Everyone seemed to breathe a sigh of relief as they began to leave the room. One nurse who stayed in there with me commented that they had thought they lost me. That’s about all that was ever said or all that I remember being said. Again, this didn’t quite connect with my brain for many years of what really transpired on this day.

While you may be reading and feeling sad for all of what I went through, this is ok. However, there is a much broader reason why I share this. You see, the body is like an electrical box full of circuits. If we overload the circuits with many devices or stresses in our lives, sooner or later the circuits will overload and trip the individual breakers. If you overload too many circuits at the same time, than the entire circuit box begins to trip and shut down.

This is exactly what was happening in my body. My body had endured a lifetime of stresses, events, pains and abuses. I had ignored these for years and thought I was being a strong man by just handling things. After all, everyone I knew understood just how together I had life. There was nothing that could stop me. I was invincible. I was all powerful, not the weak person that was lying in a hospital bed. There was also what I had been taught every day of my life, that you just handled your problems on your own. You didn’t go to others for help because that was not only a sign of weakness, but these people would then use your problems to their advantage in future dealings with you. You could not trust these people from that point forward. I so remember one whipping in the middle of the night to bring this point home in a very clear way.

As Peter Levine talks about in his book, “Waking The Tiger”, our bodies will react to all that we experience. We can try to run from it, hide it, analyze it or mold it into some sort of religion, but if we don’t deal with that which we have endured, it will deal with us. We may go years, like I did, before it begins to rear its ugly head but it has our days numbered.

Many of us go through life having all types of experiences throughout our years. Some of these are horrendous and are further cemented in the experience by strong emotional components, or by our young age of not knowing and understanding what is going on. We then find ways to compensate for these experiences, sometimes not even consciously knowing that we are doing this. We continue to live our lives adding more events, and more stress during each day.

Our body and our mind tries to get our attention with its many warning system lights such as headaches, pains, stiffness, sickness, disease, and other health conditions. We run to the doctors out of fear, wanting to be fixed and wanting some medication, surgery or therapy to fix us. So the doctor in their vast knowledge gives us something that will help. They often give us a name of the condition we are experiencing, and at last we know that we can wear our badge of what we have with pride. We know what it is and we can be cared for. It gives us a spring to our feet and a bounce to our step.

However, the condition does not necessarily disappear. It might be suppressed or it might give way to other conditions. Medications and surgeries with all their side effects may welcome other unwanted and undesired guests into our bodies and our minds. All the while, we’re still not cured. The condition is still there. It is just masked and covered up.

Please don’t get me wrong here, as I’m not saying all medication and all surgery and all medical intervention is a bad thing. We sometimes need this to stabilize our lives so that we can move to the point of healing. However, so many of us stay in this mode and never move on to the healing part. Masking the pain or the condition is never healing. It’s like using a band aid to cover a blood-gushing wound. While it may help temporarily, the wound needs further attention to heal.

While this may sound unreal and difficult to even contemplate, going into the pain and all the fears that may come up will ultimately release what is beneath that which you are sensing. By doing this, we are able to take the power that the fear possesses in the condition, or the pain, and use it to move us forward through this point in our lives. Otherwise, the fear and the pain of the condition remain as stored energy, locked within our cells, holding us back from realizing our true potential. The fears can be strong but the rewards of doing this are much greater.

We should not view pain as something that we must fix, but something that we need to accept. Through acceptance we take the power back from it, so that we more fully integrate ourselves into a complete person. The greatest gift we can give ourselves is to know our self in the fullest possible way. For the more we have fully integrated ourselves as one mind, body and spirit, the more we are human.