(Photo credit: Peter J. Hughes)
In the month of September, I've written a series of blog posts in honor of National Suicide Prevention Month. They've covered everything from my personal story to the importance of remembering who you are (Love) to dealing with the the avoidance of emotions after a loss to taking care of yourself while grieving to daring to keep your heart open.
Now, I'm daring that we, as a collective consciousness, bust through the old paradigm of prevention and consider something else. Are you willing? Here we go.
What we focus on, expands.
"Suicide Prevention"
The focus is on "suicide" no matter what word we place before or after it. The word suicide conjures up the yuk of man-made feelings of shame and guilt. It incites fear, anger, and deep sadness. It causes people to gasp (yes, that happened to me once), to judge, and to want to stop it right away.
I understand the belief that we need to heal, fix or change something in order to prevent it from happening again. In the case of suicide, someone.
Well, what if we don't need healing, fixing or changing? What if that's a false belief that actually prolongs suffering and victim hood? What if all we need is to remember who we are?
Already whole and complete, an extension of pure Source energy, Love.
(Photo credit: Laura DiMinno)
I had forgotten who I was when I was at the end of my rope. I wanted to end the emotional pain and thought death would be the answer. What I didn't realize is that I actually wanted to live; I just didn't want to survive anymore. It was too painful. Excruciating, really.
The pain came from living a lie. I hadn't been true to myself, and I was even blind to that. I was too busy surviving, trying to be what everyone else wanted me to be, trying to fit in. I was living an inauthentic life. I wanted to end it.
This is not something that can be prevented. It is something to be illuminated
"Authentic-Self Awareness"
Now, that has a more expansive ring to it. Can you feel it?
Focusing on aligning with our authentic self starts to transcend the paradigm of "prevention" by activating Love, peace and harmony. After all, isn't that the foundation of the true desire underlying every cause?
What we focus on, expands.
"Authentic-Self Awareness"
Imagine spending our time, energy, and resources expanding on that?! There would be no cause for which to "fight," "prevent," or "battle against." "Anti-" anything rallies would become a thing of the past. The "us against them" mentality would dissipate. There would only be illuminating who we already are: Love, peace, and harmony. I'd love to participate in a walk celebrating that!
(Photo credit: Laura DiMinno)
This is an invitation to be the shift from the paradigm of suffering to that of thriving. Every cause out there to end suffering is noble, true and right. I'm proposing we step it up a notch with our awareness and transcend our focus from "ending suffering" to "authentic-self awareness" which in and of itself ends suffering. Are you willing to be the shift? Are you willing to stand for that?
Here are the requirements:
Practice being yourself every day. Your authentic self. With love and compassion.
(Photo credit: Suzy DiMinno)
Be the Love you already are.
Let's transcend this.
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If you -- or someone you know -- need help, please call 1-800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. If you are outside of the U.S., please visit the International Association for Suicide Prevention for a database of international resources.