Being Vulnerable

Aloha,

I am Reverend Cindy Pallas and I wanted to talk about being vulnerable.

I've been involved in doing a lot of work that when I started it was men's jobs,

Being in radio,

Being a DJ.

That was usually at that time considered to be something that most men did and I was also very involved in teaching metaphysics at a young age and that was a time where there were not a lot of spiritual teacher at a young age.

It was a time where it's mostly you had to be older to do that or a man.

So I look back on my many years of doing this and I see sometimes that it takes a lot of energy to get things done and sometimes we get hurt in the process.

Oftentimes we get hurt in the process.

Being an empath especially we can be and on top of that I went through many experiences of domestic violence and rape and also abuse and when all of that happens we land up putting layers of protection around ourself.

Certainly understandable,

Certainly understandable that you want to protect yourself but what happens after time is you start to realize that being vulnerable isn't a weakness at all.

It's yes it is a risk,

It's an emotional risk but it can also be our greatest strength.

It can expose our inside and let that inside out.

You know that beautiful quote,

There's a crack.

Leonard Cohen used it in the song,

Let the light come in.

If there's a crack you don't break.

You know you let the light come in through the crack and that lets the light go out and this is a very key important thing to think about.

You know maybe we don't need to we don't need to protect ourselves so much.

Maybe we can accept that life is going to provide us with hurt and with pain and with bruises but sometimes it's surviving those bruises and still being able to be available and vulnerable and open that is the greatest gift and it's not an easy thing.

It is not an easy thing.

I know that by turning to God and going inside and meditating starting at a young age is partly because I had to to find the strength that I wasn't finding anywhere else.

And I know that that is and was and still is a great gift and I'm always still turning to that for my inner strength and my creativity and my gifts.

I wrote this poem this morning,

With each breath we receive a moment in eternity.

If we're open to being part of the heartbeat of the universe repeating the reflection leading us to seeing the blessing present in feeling the art of living as a part of the supreme creation revealing the one light in being cracked open by life so vulnerable so beautiful letting that inside out.

And so I think this is a gift that we can experience and it's not just a woman thing.

I mean I think men have been going through this because of their idea of having to be the one that's strong and supportive and successful and powerful.

They've been going through this for ages but what's different is now that women are trying to achieve that same recognition.

We fall prey to those same things.

I mean how else could we survive right and try to make it.

And I've seen this evolution in my lifetime in some way.

I've been blessed.

I've been seeing it where from where I started myself in my career where it was very rare to see women in broadcasting.

Now my gosh from that time to now we see all these wonderful women who are broadcasters and network heads and in charge of anchoring positions and on the radio more and doing podcasts and women who are successful in a lot of areas where it was not possible.

Now I don't know if we've shattered that glass ceiling but we've made some major dents in it over the last 50 years that I can think of.

But there's been a price to pay.

There's always a price to pay right.

But then there's that time where you go okay I've done this.

I've seen this accomplished and I'm ready to be my authentic self.

I saw a moment of this that really impressed me.

I have to say Lady Gaga has been quite an amazing talent in the way she was able to break in as a woman into the field of music and then go from there to acting and doing more and more and more.

And I am a member of the Grammys.

I'm a voting member and I always watch and sometimes it's like oh you know who can wear the fanciest most amazing thing the makeup the hair.

She did this amazing thing you probably saw or heard about and it wasn't at the Grammys.

It was a moment that happened at the Academy Awards.

She came dressed to the nines on the red carpet total makeup hair and everything and then when she got up to perform on stage for millions of people she went up on stage with no makeup not dressed to the nines.

She wore a pair of ripped jeans and I think it was a t-shirt like she would be wearing maybe if she was in the studio recording behind the scenes.

And she had the nerve to get up there and sing and you know what it was beautiful.

It was so authentic and her voice and her performance shined and even more because you could see it was coming from her authentic self.

Really impressed me.

It really was quite a moment and I think it said quite a bit.

These days I'm seeing women having to spend more and more money on clothes and fashion and you know women that are in the celebrity status I'd say and I understand that.

I mean it's a way of getting attention you know spending that money on clothes.

If you can afford it is going to get attention but if you really have that talent you know if you really have a gift then maybe you can get to that point where Lady Gaga got with just being yourself and being real and being open to being vulnerable is a gift that blew me away and went viral.

Yes it did because it's like wow it was a wow moment and I think that's so so beautiful.

It touched me and I was listening to an Insight Timer talk and it was just a talk about vulnerability and being open and it was so gentle and so sweet that it made me realize I missed that.

Those wonderful moments where you just could be safe and be yourself and be open and be gentle and be loving without fear and that is part of being vulnerable is living without fear,

Being without fear,

Playing your role in life as part of the art of being without fear and with that comes the opening to be yourself and to be authentic to be able to not have to put up a barrier or a wall or protection but just allowing yourself to be whole and pure and beautiful.

Can you do that?

Can we do that?

Can we get back to that?

I think the world and many people are craving that now.

I think that past proving ourselves is a beautiful spot somewhere where you don't have to prove anything and I have felt I've had to prove myself for a long long time and I know I'm not the only one.

You get tired of it after a while.

You're just like,

You know,

Let's retreat.

Let's take a step back.

Let's go inside.

Let's go inside.

Let's just allow ourselves that beautiful quiet lovely lovely space of being and we start with a breath or two or three or four of sweeping our mind with breath being comfortable and breathing in and releasing and breathing out just being with each breath here and clear allowing yourself to be full and present in each breath allowing your love to shine through from inside out breathing in holding it and breathing out breathing in and breathing out letting your light shine all the way through all of those layers of being allowing the light you are to go all the way up beyond your body into your aura into your whole soul and beyond and letting that pure light of your soul being to come back down pouring through you the wonderful nectar of your essence of being coming down through all of your chakras through your spine out down to your legs and your knees and your thighs and your feet your neck your shoulders your arms your head all full of this wonderful nectar of pure essence of being just be just be be yourself your true beautiful imperfect self and just be with that being and now feel that presence allow this presence to emanate through all of your aura feel it coming from your soul like a light from the very source of all being right down into your mind down into your heart down into your center where you feel all your feelings and your sacral chakra allowing all of it the freedom and the safety to let go of fear and to be present here feel how beautiful that feels when you allow yourself to feel authentically who you are you are a divine child of light and love you have the power of love in your heart in your soul in your soul call upon that beautiful loving essence of who you are to be present here with you now and if there's anything that needs healing go deep deep deep into that pool of healing energy and allow that energy to come all the way from your deepest heart of hearts into all of who you are and feel any pain recognize it bless it release it and allow yourself to go even deeper and deeper within ah feel how good this feels just be here in this presence and feel the beauty of being be in that stillness that place within where all is well and thank yourself for the courage it's taken for you to get here on that long and winding road and thank all of those who helped you and supported you on the way and thank your angels and guardians and thank the masters and thank God thank God for guiding you on this path that you've taken over the years to being here right now ah and slowly come back come back and just allow yourself to be grateful in this light of gratitude embrace yourself embrace the love that you are and I embrace you with my love my heart my recognition of who you are and I thank you for this wonderful time together I love you and I hope you are always blessed with this beautiful part of yourself that is vulnerable open and is allowing yourself to be who you are God bless you God bless you always