Metaphysical Freedom

Psychotherapy/Counseling, Metaphysical Coaching (Life and Business), Counselor Consultation and Supervision, Mindfulness-Based Energy Work

Monthly Archives: July 2014


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Who Has Defined You?

Typical introductions in the United States begin with two questions:  1) What is your name?   2) What do you do?

I Am for Blog

Complete this statement.

Somewhere in our evolvement, we forged a false belief that our jobs, positions, and titles define who we are. We have come to believe that our income-based work defines our existence. Do not get me wrong…I appreciate the pleasures of a consistent cash flow. However, if I did work that I do not love, yet earned millions of dollars doing the work, then I would not be happy. The essence of who I am, and my purpose are far more important to me than society’s views of financial wealth. Without a doubt, I do feel very grateful because I earn an income while also doing an action that is in alignment with the core of who I am—A loving, giving, healing Being.

As a therapist, I am required to obtain continuing education credits to stay on top of latest theories, techniques, and trends. I recently went to an out-of-town training and met a very interesting person. He was an “elderly” man, approximately in his late 60’s. He told me that he was a part of the original movement in the psychology field. He talked at length, sharing his views about the ways the field has changed. He blatantly told me that it has transformed from men using scientific techniques into “housewives needing a hobby”. He expressed that he felt like “touchy-feely” stuff was just a fad and the mental health field must return to “hard science and assessments”. This gentleman also shared that he had read all the latest books, had the latest information, and he essentially came to the workshop in order to correct the presenter. He even said that he was known for his extra knowledge and challenging questions at trainings. I noticed that his conversations with everyone revolved around the profession. Even the guys he called long-time personal friends appeared to only be able to acknowledge the profession with him, but they talked about their personal lives as well. It was interesting and insightful at the same time.

I took no offense to anything that he said. I actually sat and began thinking about the positives of my contact with him. He was definitely passionate about the field and clearly had decades of experience, but I kept getting an underlying sense of emptiness from him. He seemed like he had to work so hard just to maintain an image. Many questions came to my mind such as: Who is he other than this work? Does he have anyone he calls family or loved ones? What does he do for fun? What was his life like during the generation that he grew up in? What is he telling me about myself?

Honestly, in some ways I could relate to him. In the past, I felt like I had to make straight A’s in school and that everyone had to like me. When I tried to share advice with friends, I was perceived as a know-it-all, even when it was not my intention. I also felt like I had to be one step ahead just so I could fit in.
These perceptions were all false. Being truthful to myself, I can admit that:
1) I like work that is challenging and rewarding, yet I don’t care for grades.
2) I know that some people will not like me, no matter how I act, and that is okay.
3) I only express my opinion when my heart leads me to do so, and I allow the words to come out however they come–which usually is with conviction.
4) I honestly like being laid-back and might even seem lazy or uncaring at times because stressing out is overrated to me.
5) These traits are part of who I Am, and I am okay with them.

Seeing this man helped me to see how much I have grown. I empathized with him as well, and desired for him to see his value no matter how much he knows about the profession.

I wonder if that older gentleman would be able to say that he is okay with who he is…even if no one else ever said anything.
Would you?

Who and what have you allowed to define you?

Know this Truth:

You are Not what you do. You Are valuable and unique as You Are. You Are a Powerful and Divine Spirit that expresses Itself through you–simply because You Exist.

 

Live Freely as Yourself.
Intuitive Dana
http://www.metaphysicalfreedom.com


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Music: The Universal Healer

What would this world be like without music? I cannot imagine. I grew up with a passion for music. My earliest memory of it is when I was approximately 2 years old, hands held high for my mother to pick me up, but she wasn’t able to because she was hand- washing dishes. She looked down at me and said, “Not yet, wait one moment honey.” She began humming and singing a soothing song as she cleaned. I recall slowly putting my arms to my side and listening to her while feeling peace in my heart.
During my early childhood, my two oldest siblings took piano lessons. They would come home and play the songs that they learned. I would ask them to play the songs, laugh contentedly, and then ask them to play the songs over and over again. Eventually, they became annoyed or exhausted and stopped. There came a time when I asked them to play a song again (for the one hundredth time I’m sure), and they declined, walking away from the piano. Instead of being upset, I remember being curious and determined. I desired to hear the song, and could almost feel it within me. I timidly walked over to the piano, hummed the tune loudly to myself, and began playing notes. I played the song! This was how I started playing by ear. I felt overjoyed because I now had the opportunity to play the song as much as I wanted to. I used this same technique to play some of my favorite radio tunes as well.

The piano was my first instrument, and soon my voice became my second one. I grew up listening to artists such as Whitney Houston, Patti LaBelle and Mariah Carey. I sang often (at home) and performed mini talent shows for my family members. I freestyled, made mix tapes, and created my own songs, too.

My teenage years were the most challenging times for me. I was socially awkward and self-conscious. I became extremely introverted, almost reclusive. I mostly listened to Rap, R&B, and alternative music. When I felt upset, I locked myself in my room and sang and cried until my heart seemed to burst with relief. I also played saxophone and percussion in the marching band, and continued playing piano by ear. Some days, I remember sitting at the piano for several hours, getting lost in the melodies and harmonies, becoming one with the myriad of vibrational tones. Music helped me to express myself, to cope with challenges, and essentially to heal.

Currently teaching myself to play guitar 🙂

In regards to healing—-right now I work as a licensed psychotherapist in a facility. I am integrative in my approach, meaning that I incorporate various techniques to support my clients’ wellness. I believe in holistic health, so I address the mental, physical, and spiritual aspects of recovery. I have worked with clients with ‘severe’ mental health issues such as Schizophrenia. I have found that music can bring forth miraculous results. One day, I led a group on coping skills and chose to incorporate music into the material. During this group I witnessed an almost non-responsive schizophrenic client go from being completely detached to being very lively, smiling, laughing, and even dancing with the other group members. All I did was play a song that he recognized.

It never ceases to amaze me to see how my “severely mentally ill” clients respond to music. Most of them smile, their eyes light up, and many of them begin having lucid conversations with me. It is as if they are brought back to the present moment, revived from the abyss of their psychoses. Other therapists have expressed similar experiences. Many are using music to revive those who suffer from the symptoms of dementia, Alzheimer’s, and even Autism. Researchers have found that musical memory is stored in a different area of the brain than other types of memories; it is believed to be tied to emotion, thus making it easier to access.

Music is ageless. I listen to artists such as Donny Hathaway, The Beatles, Bob Marley, and Earth, Wind, & Fire. These artists are from generations before mine, yet their music will continue to live on.
Music is amazing. As a healing force, it can be used to tone chakras, aid in meditations, and call in the angels. Not only is it a healer, but it is also Universal. Think about this: There are thousands of concerts held worldwide where people from different nations attend in order to experience the music–even if they do not speak the same language.

Music is a Universal Language. Dare I say, it is inter-universal. Music touches the vibrational frequencies of peace, love, and harmony. It is a Divine Language that the hearing impaired, “mentally ill”, and young children alike can all understand.

Let’s add more positive music to this world and see how easily we remove the barriers that create wars.

 

What does music mean to you?

Check out this story: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QX-xToQI34I

 

In Harmony,
Intuitive Dana
http://www.metaphysicalfreedom.com


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Seeking and Allowing

There are times when you want something so eagerly that you become obsessed with seeing it come to fruition. You might even pray and replay this desire over in your mind until it seems to be an automatic thought embedded into your subconscious. You might even begin to feel the ‘If I could just do this, then this will happen’ syndrome forming. But wait.

It is true that visualization, feelingization, visioning, and intentional focus are key elements for bringing your desires forth. However, when these tools go from being exciting and inspiring to routine and monotonous habits, then you have switched gears. It means that you have gone from the openness of allowing into the muddy waters of controlling. And frankly, trying to control just doesn’t work.
When you attempt to control something, it is the perfect formula for progress in the opposite direction of what you desire. Controlling behavior is on a lower level vibration of consciousness; it is based out of fear. Unfortunately, when you focus on your desire from this point of view, you bring the fear into reality.

How can you overcome the desire to control? Remember to seek and allow.

Seeking is the active pursuit to gain knowledge and understanding of something, or to literally search for something. When a person seeks something, he or she does not always know what the exact outcome will be because there is a subtle openness to allow the information to flow in.
Allowing is being open and receptive, removing attention away from the desire, and knowing that the desire will occur as it is meant to.

Many people mistake allowing for passivity. It is not passivity. It is the active application of faith. Allowing occurs when we remove the need to control and actually step out on “blind faith”, into the unknown.

I went through my college undergraduate years without having a car. I really wanted a car, but the opportunity for a reliable and inexpensive one didn’t present itself during that time. Right before I graduated college, I began searching and applying for jobs. By the time I graduated, I was jobless, car-less, and had moved back home to live with one of my brothers. I continued with the job search, but also took breaks and focused my energy on other activities. A few months passed. One day I got a call from a director of a program at the university that I graduated from. The director said, “I was told that you are an excellent worker. We need someone to come and work in our department. Can you do a phone interview at the end of next week?” I said yes.

I spent most of that week searching for a new car. I found one that I liked, but the dealer told me that I had to at least show proof of income since I had no type of credit. (I graduated debt free.) I left the dealership with a knowingness that I would get that car. I just knew it was meant for me, but I didn’t know how I would get it. My parents couldn’t afford to buy it at the time, and besides, I wanted to do it on my own.

The night before the interview, I contacted my oldest sister and told her about the job and the car. I asked her to pray with me. I vaguely remember everything that was said in the prayer, but I know that she declared the job and the car were mine. What I remember the most is how I felt during and after the prayer. I was calm, yet excitedly expectant. I just knew that something good was coming.

The interview happened the next day. It was going well and coming to a close when the panel asked me one last question: “Will you have a reliable car to travel in?” Without hesitation I said, “Yes.” They thanked me and told me that they would notify me of their decision.

A few weeks later I found out that I got the job, and they mailed me an offer letter. I took that letter down to the car dealership. I got the new car that I wanted.

Several other events similar to this have occurred in my life and continue to occur. I have become more conscious of my role and I use this awareness to allow more expansive opportunities to come forth. I have learned that part of receiving what I truly desire starts with seeing it, feeling it, knowing it is mine, and letting go of the way it happens.

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I leave this message for you:
“Do not look for something that is already yours. Expect it. Do you look for your lungs while you breathe? Do you search for your eyes as you read? No. You know that they are there.
Do Not search for what is already yours. Know it is yours and expect it. Do not expect it within a certain time frame, but expect it with certainty. Allow it to be. It Is already yours.”

Dana D. Robinson

 

Peace and blessings,
Intuitive Dana
http://www.metaphysicalfreedom.com


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We are All One Race

I grew up in a small town in south Georgia (United States of America). Some of my experiences in this town helped to shape my perception of people. I will give you a brief overview of the history of the area that I grew up in.
Just a few hundred years ago, the Southeast itself was a hub for slavery and agriculture. The slaves came from the continent of Africa and were stripped of their culture and identity by European settlers. Many slave-owners viewed slaves as cattle, items, and a means to an end; but not as humans. (Not all people thought this way. There were some abolitionists who saw that slaves were human.) In 1865 slavery was abolished, but its existence still impacts many of us today. Although this was hundreds of years ago, the mentality remains prevalent among several descendants of slaves and slave-owners.

My parents were born in the middle and late 1940’s and they grew up in the 1950’s and 60’s. They lived in a time where they used segregated restrooms, attended racially divided school districts, feared for their lives due to radical racists groups, and were made to feel inferior because of the color of their skin. As a child, I remember hearing my father instruct me to take heed and to be weary of the evils of “The White Man”. In my teens, I remember my mother telling me, “I’d rather you date your own kind.” I even had some experiences with racism myself. I was called racist names, got spit on for being different, was stereotyped several times at stores and in restaurants, and I was told that I was not good enough– just because of my ‘race’.

In spite of all of this, I couldn’t fully understand what the problem was. I didn’t see my skin color as a wrong, an evil, or a challenge. I saw my complexion as being simply beautiful as it was.

Thanks to my mother’s strenuous efforts, I had the opportunity to go to unique elementary and middle schools. These schools were called ‘magnet schools’ and they were like free private schools filled with diverse students from all over the world. I learned so much from the diversity at the magnet schools. I met kids from other countries such as Mexico, India, and Africa. I also learned a lot about other cultures and languages. It was like I went to school in a miniature, more peaceful version of the world.
I had very supportive teachers who encouraged me to excel and learn. I felt appreciated for being a gifted person, instead of feeling judged by my skin. I had a diverse set of friends, and loved them for who they were. It was a life-changing experience for me. The one thing that stood out for me was the realization that we all have basic human needs, no matter what we look like.

We all want to be loved, accepted as we are, feel valued, know that our lives matter, and feel safe. We all desire some level of companionship or community, benefit from some type of belief system, and need to know that our existence means something to someone somewhere.

Yes. You, me, and the person who is hundreds of thousands of miles away reading this same message…We Are All One Race.

We are all one race, but many colors. One race, but many cultures. One race, yet many expressions. We Are All Human.

Intuitive Dana
http://www.metaphysicalfreedom.com


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Forgiving and Moving Forward

I have done a number of workshops on forgiveness. I came up with these workshop ideas because I noticed that across the board, many of my clients had underlying resentments. These issues were preventing them from receiving what they really desired. I chose to do these workshops also because I did some extensive forgiveness work with my father. I experienced some amazing and mind-blowing results. (I will share the story with you about my father in a later post.) In this post, I am addressing forgiveness because once again I was put in the place of doing so.

Many people will admit that it can be hard to forgive a former romantic partner. I definitely can.
I was in a long-term relationship with someone who, in the end, realized that he did not want the relationship, noting that he was not ready for it. I became upset with him because I felt that he should have known this before we had been together for as long as we had been. I also was upset because, based on some of his behaviors, he seemed like he already knew that he didn’t want the relationship well before he spoke up about it. When he ended the relationship, he expressed to me that we should be friends, but I was just not ready to hear those words. This was disappointing to hear because I was expecting more to develop in the relationship itself at that time.

We had a set of mutual friends who had a habit of asking me where he was whenever they saw me. I became angry, defensive, and would fight back glaring looks as I haughtily remarked, “You know we’re not together right?” They would look at me and gently say, “But you two are friends.” I thought they were insane. This type of pattern went on for several months. I grew angrier because he seemed to be nowhere around to deal with the mess he had made.

One day I decided to seek a neutral spiritualist perspective, so I spoke with a Tarot reader about the situation. She looked at the cards and said, “You’re holding a grudge against him. You two can’t be friends if you are holding a grudge.” I was a little surprised that she said that to me (being that I am a Healer and could heal myself and others), but I knew it was true. The surprise was moreso that the grudge itself was upset because it could no longer hide in the shadows of my subconscious. I reflected on her words and the nature of the grudge.
Every time that I looked at him post-breakup, I viewed him with eyes of criticism, judgment, anger, and hurt; looking for all his faults. Before the breakup, I saw him with more clarity. I saw his spirit, appreciated his compassion, his kindness, enjoyed his talents, and admired his quest to bless many by shining his own Light. That is what I loved about him. It was not his behaviors that I loved, but him as he is. It was time to let go.

Thus, I had to begin the journey of forgiveness again. I thought to myself, “If I can forgive my dad for the abuse growing up and for not being there for me the way that I needed him to be, then I can truly forgive a guy that I have only known for a few years.” Yet I struggled. I felt as if I didn’t have to forgive him because he was the one that did something wrong. In reality, we both played a part in what happened between us. (More on that later in this post.)

What does it take to forgive? One of the most important things is the willingness to do so. Before I could get to the place of saying that I forgive him for his behaviors, I had to at least say, “I am willing to forgive you for them.”
From the willingness, grew the readiness to forgive. Once I was ready to forgive, I was able to look at the entire situation from the lenses of Love. This was not human, conditional love, but unconditional Divine Love.

I sat down, took out a sheet of paper, and wrote out all of the wrongs that I felt happened in the relationship. I wrote them vigorously with serious intention to let go. I then took out another sheet of paper and wrote out all of the things that I loved about him. Holding that loving feeling in my conscious awareness, I went back to the list of wrongs. I drew a line under them, and wrote the sentence, ‘I forgive you for…’ as I went through each item. I tore that paper up, saying out loud, “I set myself free.”
I looked back at the list of things that I loved about him. When I looked at those things again, I saw that they weren’t conditional at all; they were the Essence of who He Is. I chose to appreciate his presence in my life, even though it wasn’t in the way that I desired. He played a role that sparked me to grow as a person.

Then, a deeper knowing struck me–I needed to forgive myself for allowing things to continue in a way that I did not desire or deserve. I needed to forgive myself because I love me as well. I did the same ritual that I did for him, but for myself this time. It was insightful, yet freeing. All of those things that happened between us began to seem so small. I knew that none of it really mattered. I could see that Ultimate Love remained present through it all.

This is what I hope you take away from reading this post:
Although forgiveness may be challenging at times, it is extremely powerful when done from a place of Love. Forgiveness empowers you, sets you free, and releases the old energy tied into something that really has no power in your present life. It opens up the doorway to live more beautiful and desirable lives.

Now that I have chosen to forgive, I am ecstatic to see the beauty that is allowed to grow because of the loving space that I have created. You may do the same for yourself as well.
And so it isLily Pad Pink Lotus Flower.