Do You Love Everyone?

(While a bit out of our usual format, I think you will understand why this moment it is presented without editing!)

I remember the first time I met Bill – A smile, blue overalls, and a suit coat .. and a question. A question I ponder often and re-visit …

Do you love everyone?

It was January 2010 – in New York City – in the first weekend of a transformative coaching program … and Bill had just asked that question to the room.

Yes, I do love everyone, and some people behave such that I do not like their behavior. And I have learned through life that I can love everyone as human beings in their spiritual experience, and I believe we all have lessons to learn in life.

For me, loving everyone is a reflection of my ability to love and acceptance of myself. AND, that is my on-going lesson and moment of mindfulness.

I reflect as I write.

Self Love and Self Acceptance – the places and spaces I do not love myself, that is where I do not love another. When I see a lack of love, whether expressed as upset, anger; this is the mirror for me to see where love is absent. And these places are when the lessons for growth live. And, for me, they provide moments of mindfulness. When I deeply look into these places of growth, I create the space for deeper self acceptance and growth.

You see, it is my experience that facing these places and spaces I do not love myself, I understand my humanity a little more. Then I can understand such that I learn a lesson, and in the learning of that lesson, I can not only accept myself, I can accept the differences which create “out-of-love” thoughts. And in this acceptance, I return to self-love and acceptance. And then I understand and return to the space of loving everyone.

Do I love everyone … yes, Bill, I do. Thank you!

Much Love, my friend!

Love,

Jim

Blessings from and gratitude to!

Jim Pehkonen – Life Archetect, Adventurer, Lover of Life

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Posted on July 31, 2011, 3:16 pm By The Boothby Institute

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Constant awareness of how I approach others, and how I hold them when I approach them, has been a really revelatory concept for me. In some respects, it has given words to something I had always been doing, and in others it has significantly increased my ability and willingness to do this all the time.
Erin Kilbride | Portland, ME

For me this is probably the most “radical” change in my life.
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[This course] is one of only a few that had real life applications that helped prepare me to teach
Gina Martin | Springfield, MA

Thinking about standards boundaries, things I tolerate and things that excite me are all very powerful and things we should but likely would not do unless prompted like this!
Maureen Clancy | Portland, ME

Through this course I began “living” the beliefs. I demonstrated them more naturally and comfortably. Instead of having to remind myself, I began innately “becoming” that inspired teacher I always had in me but only called upon at certain times. I changed. I am complete in every area of my life.
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With each session, the conversation became easer and easier to grasp and experience. This was primarily resulting from the mounting proof that the conversation was real and true…it is the holistic nature of the conversation, as one conversation, that makes the process so satisfyingly effective.
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