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Truce

By Cyndi Myers


Has anyone else noticed that everywhere you turn these days there seems to be anger, frustration, angst or some sort of war going on, whether it be on a global scale or on your social media feed or even in your community? I’ve always wondered why, more often than not, humans tend to gravitate to the negative, to hate and vitriol versus love, acceptance and togetherness. Why is it easier to lash out than to love? The more I ponder this, and the more I dive inward, the more I’m beginning to understand why we’re not only FEELING this great divide, but increasingly FEEDING into it.


It wasn’t that long ago that in order to connect with your family and friends we had to pick up a phone that was attached to our walls, dial a number and hope your intended connectee was available. There was even a time when, if no one answered the phone - or if you got the dreaded busy signal (GASP!) - you couldn’t even leave a message (DOUBLE GASP!!). Fast forward (and I mean FAST!) to today and we’re not only available 24/7, but we make ourselves available in about a hundred different ways (cell phone, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc, etc, etc). In my opinion we’re moving at lightning speed toward fully contactless communication with one another, which human beings were never designed to do. I believe there’s a very strong, positive physiological component to in-person human interaction, and while you may be a member of hundreds of Facebook communities, you’ll never get the true human experience through your phone or your computer.


What I’m also noticing is that, as a collective, we are growing increasingly unwell. As I work toward wholeness in my own body, I can’t even quantify the number of practitioners, supplements and diet protocols I’ve come across in my searches. While I believe there are a fair share of snake oil sales people out there, there are equal numbers of legitimate products and services designed to fix our broken bodies and minds. That tells me the path we’re speeding along may not be the right path for us after all.


Back when we spent time playing outside as kids, gathering without a device attached to us, taking long walks or just sitting on our stoops chatting with neighbors and passersby, we didn’t need all the fixes. We were far more aligned with our bodies, our minds and our true purposes. We felt a little less stressed because we weren't always worried about FOMO or keeping up with not only the Joneses but the rest of the world. You know, all of the “everyone elses” who always seem to have it all?


So, what IS the right path for humankind? I believe it begins with you. It begins with me. It begins with calling a truce with ourselves in order to call a truce with others - and the world - around us.


Be The Change


While I understand we live in a highly and ever-growing tech-based world now (and there’s really no going back), I firmly believe we can weave human interaction and kindness and understanding back into our lives. But it requires us to actively create space in our lives, to spend time listening to our inner voice and to pay attention and acknowledge our feelings. It requires us to be thoughtful and forgiving, non judgemental and selfless; to call a truce with ourselves to start. And it requires us to LISTEN; listen to and open ourselves up to the world around us and, more importantly, to our own intuition. We’re constantly being bombarded by messages of others telling us what we should and shouldn’t be doing with our bodies and with our lives. But by tapping into our own intuition and truly listening to what it’s telling us, we open up to learning and understanding ourselves and others. And when we understand better we can create a path where we all flow in unison, like a school of fish bobbing and weaving, always finding the groove of the group and making it to their final destination TOGETHER. We don’t all need to be on the very same path, but rather we need to let ourselves - and let others - flow freely and in sync with our own selves and the world around us.


I have to believe that we all want peace in our lives. But it’s not enough to simply think about or hope for change; we must become the things we want to see in our world. We must make choices that sometimes benefit the group rather than just ourselves, and in order to be able to do that, we need to look inward and shift the lens we’ve been looking through.



The Truce Challenge


Change starts within. Join me in calling a truce with yourself so you can better align yourself with the world around you. When we’re in alignment we feel internal freedom, which in turn means less stress, more energy and more of all the good feelings.


Try these 3 simple “challenges” to create internal alignment:


  1. Try Earthing/Grounding! According to Science Direct, “earthing (also known as grounding) refers to the discovery that bodily contact with the Earth's natural electric charge stabilizes the physiology at the deepest levels, reduces inflammation, pain, and stress, improves blood flow, energy, and sleep, and generates greater well-being. Such effects are profound, systemic, and foundational, and often develop rapidly. Earthing is as simple as routinely walking barefoot outdoors and/or using inexpensive grounding systems indoors while sleeping or sitting, practices that restore a lost and needed electric connection with the Earth.” I purchased a grounding mat for the winter months when I’m not so inclined to walk barefoot outdoors. A simple internet search for “grounding mat” will yield a number of options you can purchase (there are even grounding sheets and pillows!). Earthing.com has a great products here.

  2. Give yourself a loving hug! Ok, this may seem awkward, but it really does work! Simply stand in front of a mirror, close your eyes and wrap your arms around yourself and say “I love you” like you truly believe it. Keep repeating those words and really FEEL the love. Then, open your eyes and look yourself in the eyes and keep saying “I love you”. It feels strange when you begin, but if you say it to yourself like you’re saying it to another loved one, you’ll truly feel it and feel the internal shift. We rarely, if ever, show ourselves the loving kindness we so often show to our family and friends (and pets!), so this exercise may take time to cultivate. But keep at it! It’s SO worth it!

  3. Take pause and notice what happens! Close your eyes and take 3 deep breaths, taking double the counts on your exhale (breathe in for 4 seconds, breathe out for 8). Keeping your eyes closed, bring to mind someone or someplace that makes you smile, makes your heart “smile”. Notice and appreciate that inner joy, and after a few minutes, open your eyes and maybe even write down what you experienced. Feel free to share it on our FB page if you’ve had an experience that continues to sit with you; we all love a happy experience! And, if you’re so compelled, share your experience with the person who brought you such joy (if it was a person, that is!). I bet you’ll not only make that person’s day, but you’ll make yours even better as well!


I feel very strongly that we, collectively, have the power to change the current wave of negativity. But that change starts with each of us individually. We all need to stop blaming everyone and everything else on our woes and take a look inward. Just like the oxygen mask on an airplane, we have to take care of ourselves - LOVE OURSELVES - first if we want to truly love and help others. You have to truly FEEL the love before you can spread the love. It’s long past time to come together and raise the vibration of this planet we call home.


As Gregg Braden, a New York Times best-selling author, scientist and international educator says, “When you paddle into a current, you’re swept up in that current. When we align ourselves with the current, then we become part of the current of that world. So when that world evolves, we evolve with it.”


Take the Truce Challenge and challenge your family and friends to do it as well! Be the change you want to see in the world!


With love and light,

The Transcend Team



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