September 2007
Into the Light
Intuition
Has your inner guidance been pulling at you lately, trying to get your attention? What is it telling you? What kind of a warning are you receiving from your inner intelligence?
Intuition can be defined as the ability to sense, understand or know something immediately without reasoning. It is further defined by Wikipedia as a knowledge or understanding without apparent effort, quick and ready insight seemingly independent of previous experiences or empirical knowledge.
The human mind is a very complex network of conscious and unconscious thoughts, actions and reactions that may be related to the past, present and even future events to come in your life. These gut feelings are difficult to explain. They act much like a seeing-eye dog or an inner voice that sometimes seems to be screaming at you to take action or to avoid a certain something or someone in your life. It is never wise to ignore these feelings or shrug them off without considering them as trustworthy messages.
Sometimes these feelings are in the form of dreams charged with very profound emotions and symbolism. Pay careful attention to these urges or feelings. Treat them with the same respect you would give to a respected teacher. Your heart may be guiding you away from danger or to a better place or state of mind. These repetitive voices deserve careful attention from you. How often do we not take the advice of our inner guide and express regret later for not doing so?
Some people are known to have exceptional abilities to sense things that have not yet happened or to identify things that are happening that someone may be trying to conceal or misrepresent. Are these feelings just intuition or are they feelings based on knowledge or intellect? Could it just be a sharpened sense of recognition to certain things, based on past experiences? Perhaps even past experiences in another life? Should we and can we scientifically rule out reincarnation?
The human race has progressed in all areas to levels that were unimaginable only a few years ago, but how much do we understand about the human mind? If it is true we use only one third of our brains, what can we assume possible with the other two thirds or do we use it at all?
I have long been intrigued by these questions and what is known, and what is yet unknown, about the human mind. I personally believe that nothing is impossible for the human mind; that within each of us exists the abilities and answers to all of life’s questions. We only need to learn how to utilize these powers that already exist, but they do need development.
So, back to our opening question. What has your inner guidance been telling you lately? Have consistent inconsistencies in your partner or other significant people in your life sparked your intuition to assume something is not as it appears and someone is not being honest with you? Are these doubts leaving you feeling empty or alone. If so, the time has come to act upon them. Confront the source. If you do not get satisfactory answers or explanations for their erratic behavior, then do not accept their excuses. Be true to yourself. Respect yourself and demand that others treat you with the same respect. It may be time to let go.
If someone is using you for whatever reasons or personal gain, set them free and free yourself in the process. Though you may appear to be a ‘fill-in’ or doormat to this person, while they scheme their next event, someone else may be waiting to step into the position that they took for granted and at least two of the people involved can be very happy. Look inside yourself for the answers to your questions and for the happiness you deserve!
Make the following affirmations right now: I have great beauty and light inside of me right now. I tap in to all of the knowledge of the Universe.
Into the light is a weekly column dedicated to rational discussion of legislative pursuit, moral proposition and the general quest for equality of the LGBT Community.
Jim Lawson
webcowboy42@aol.com
When life deals us some negative cards and there is pain involved, physically or emotionally, it is all about how we handle it. I recommend a good belly laugh with friends.
Into the Light
Healing Hands
There is nothing more therapeutic than spending time with good friends. Nothing is better for treating depression than Laughter Therapy. Laughter strengthens your immune system and it actually increases your intellectual performance and boosts information retention.
Some say if you are not laughing that you are not living. Laughter raises your frequency to help the healing process. Any situation becomes better after looking at it from a humorous approach.
Effects of Laughter:
Laughter therapy boosts the interferon levels of the immune system which helps the system's ability to fight illness and escalates healing.
Laughter decreases stress hormones that constrict blood vessels and suppress immune activity.
Muscle Relaxation - Belly laugh results in muscle relaxation. While you laugh, the muscles that do not participate in the belly laugh, relaxes. After you finish laughing those muscles involved in the laughter start to relax. So, the action takes place in two stages.
Reduction of Stress Hormones - Laughter reduces at least four of neuroendocrine hormones associated with stress response. These are epinephrine, cortisol, dopac, and growth hormone.
Immune System Enhancement - Clinical studies have shown that humor strengthens the immune system.
Pain Reduction - Humor allows a person to "forget" about pains such as aches, arthritis, etc.
Cardiac Exercise - A belly laugh is equivalent to "an internal jogging." Laughter can provide good cardiac conditioning especially for those who are unable to perform physical exercises.
Blood Pressure - Women seem to benefit more than men in preventing hypertension.
Respiration - Frequent belly laughter empties your lungs of more air than it takes in resulting in a cleansing effect - similar to deep breathing. Especially beneficial for patient's who are suffering from emphysema and other respiratory ailments.
Muscle Relaxation - Belly laugh results in muscle relaxation. While you laugh, the muscles that do not participate in the belly laugh, relaxes. After you finish laughing those muscles involved in the laughter start to relax. So, the action takes place in two stages.
Reduction of Stress Hormones - Laughter reduces at least four of neuroendocrine hormones associated with stress response. These are epinephrine, cortisol, dopac, and growth hormone.
Immune System Enhancement - Clinical studies have shown that humor strengthens the immune system.
Pain Reduction - Humor allows a person to "forget" about pains such as aches, arthritis, etc.
Cardiac Exercise - A belly laugh is equivalent to "an internal jogging." Laughter can provide good cardiac conditioning especially for those who are unable to perform physical exercises.
Blood Pressure - Women seem to benefit more than men in preventing hypertension.
Respiration - Frequent belly laughter empties your lungs of more air than it takes in resulting in a cleansing effect - similar to deep breathing. Especially beneficial for patient's who are suffering from emphysema and other respiratory ailments.
I am a cancer survivor and I laughed my way through two and a half years of chemotherapy and radiation treatments by watching reruns of I love Lucy and Absolutely Fabulous. I would take the tapes with me to treatment and just slip them in the VCR and before you knew it, it was contagious; everyone around me, including the staff was also laughing.
When life deals us some negative cards and there is pain involved, physically or emotionally, it is all about how we handle it. I recommend a good belly laugh with friends.
Many people have come and gone in my life, but I have to say I am incredibly fortunate for the high standard of quality of those chosen to remain. Being a gay man definitely comes with some handicaps, both socially and emotionally. The quest to find a friend or mate can literally become a circus show. You need a full-time psychotherapist as a travel companion to help you recognize the red flags.
Friends add so much color to our lives. They help us to know that we truly are not alone and they recognize and remind us of our worth when we tend to forget or some life event or malice person has dimmed our light.
Into the light is a weekly column dedicated to rational discussion of legislative pursuit, moral proposition and the general quest for equality of the LGBT Community.
Jim Lawson
webcowboy42@aol.com
-LGBT adults tend to project their own experiences onto today's young people, when in fact the lives of today's young people are often quite different.
-Adults tend to focus on the suffering and isolation of LGBT youth, even though many LGBT teens are actually doing well.
-Young LGBT people sometimes complain that no one is doing anything about discrimination, apparently unaware of decades of prior activism by LGBT adults.
-Young people often provide a fresh perspective on issues that is both less constrained by past strategies for problem solving and less reliant on older-and perhaps incorrect-assumptions about the degree of homophobia.
-Adults have greater experience and resources and are more familiar with the historical roots of the LGBT movement.
Into the Light
Bridging the Gap
At what age do we actually become “older” gay men? If you have visited gay.com or other popular Internet chats for gay men in recent months, then you are well aware of a Gay generation gap that seems to be widening literally as we chat. Making the transition from twink to daddy is not really that long of a process. Life moves at a light speed pace and for gay men who are notorious for trying to preserve the fountain of youth, this process can seem even quicker.
I remember growing facial hair in my twenties and even early thirties to look more mature and not appear quite so youthful. A beard could add five or more years to our appearance. For those of us who never liked the word twink and were younger dudes in a more mature environment, we grew the hair to disguise our boyish features at the time. Now we keep the hair more trim or clean shaven to reclaim those years.
I was in my early thirties when someone first called me Daddy. It was a turn on at the time and the persona that went with it was one I sought. As the years pass, terms such as Daddy, Sir and mature take on a whole different and not so glamorous new meaning. I still prefer them to boy or twink, but I am becoming more aware of a generation gap between men in their early 40's and gay men in their early twenties. So, I decided to do some research and shed some light on the topic of gay men and the apparent gap between twenty-something and forty-something.
In late 2005 a study was conducted by the Institute for Gay and Lesbian Strategic Studies. The test results revealed what many of us already felt and knew. Younger generations of gay men do not relate to or understand older gay men and the time period that divides them can be as little as five years. Dr Glenda Russell co-authored these findings and offers the following major factors for this apparent gap as follows:
-LGBT adults tend to project their own experiences onto today's young people, when in fact the lives of today's young people are often quite different.
-Adults tend to focus on the suffering and isolation of LGBT youth, even though many LGBT teens are actually doing well.
-Young LGBT people sometimes complain that no one is doing anything about discrimination, apparently unaware of decades of prior activism by LGBT adults.
-Young people often provide a fresh perspective on issues that is both less constrained by past strategies for problem solving and less reliant on older-and perhaps incorrect-assumptions about the degree of homophobia.
-Adults have greater experience and resources and are more familiar with the historical roots of the LGBT movement.
The LGBT community often refers to itself as “family”. Within this family there are younger family members and older family members (adults and youth); forming a generational divide. Relationships between the older and younger family members can be very similar to that of a parent/teenager relationship in a traditional family. There is often a gap separating them and unless an effort is made to bridge this gap, it tends to expand over time due to broad and rapid cultural changes.
How do we bridge or tighten this gap? This can only be accomplished through social change and cross-generation communication, combined with commitment and compassion. There is an old saying that nature has a way of breaking that which does not bend. This can metaphorically be applied in this situation. Unless an effort is made to “bend” toward the other, the gap will eventually cause a break within the community.
Respect plays a prominent role in bridging the generation gap between "youth" and "mature" in gay men. We can learn from each other. Diversity has always been a friend to the gay community. Diversity in age is no different.
Into the light is a weekly column dedicated to rational discussion of legislative pursuit, moral proposition and the general quest for equality of the LGBT Community.
Jim Lawson
webcowboy42@aol.com
Life in the GLBT community sure has changed in recent years in so many unprecedented ways. The war on culture has shifted in favor of equality. Although there are constant setbacks and snags on the way, we are headed towards the finish line of a race that no one in history could truly envision winning; yet we endured and kept the fight alive.
I have found there is nothing more rewarding than the truth. Why do we misrepresent ourselves so much? What are we afraid of? Rejection? We live our lives like an audition for a part in a play. The truth is that we were born with that role and do not need to audition for anyone.
Into the Light
Truth Wins
Life in the GLBT community sure has changed in recent years in so many unprecedented ways. The war on culture has shifted in favor of equality. Although there are constant setbacks and snags on the way, we are headed towards the finish line of a race that no one in history could truly envision winning; yet we endured and kept the fight alive.
In the end, the only real thing that matters is the truth. No outdated religious philosophies and fear based ignorance can challenge the truth. We have become a nation of individual’s that are no longer tolerant of government and church dictating what is best for us. We are a nation of freethinkers. Out trust is in our own evaluations.
This is not just the scenario of the “Big Picture”, it is applicable to our personal lives as well. Gay men and women have grown accustomed to disguising their true identity. Is this charade really still necessary?
I was talking with a friend today about my own personal experience. When I started writing for WVQN only a few short months ago, I was pretty worried how I would be perceived by the community of readers and fellow writers. As I began to write and received positive encouragement and feedback from you, the readers, I began to open my mind and heart up to strangers who were reading my articles. It became very therapeutic for me and has helped resolve many issues in my personal life.
I have shared with you the naked truth of my mind and heart. It was not always an easy thing to do. I cannot describe in any words the rewards of being accepted as my true self–warts and all!
I have found there is nothing more rewarding than the truth. Why do we misrepresent ourselves so much? What are we afraid of? Rejection? We live our lives like an audition for a part in a play. The truth is that we were born with that role and do not need to audition for anyone.
Revealing the secrets of your true identity can be scary and there will be criticism. However, there is no greater feeling than to be accepted and even admired for who you really are. As a society in general, we bathe in material possessions to offset our inner insecurities. We literally try to buy peace of mind and acceptance into a shallow-minded society; a society that we really don’t want to fit into at heart.
I have watched people from a distance who never trust anyone with the truth. Nothing in their lives is as it appears. No one gets into the secrets of their hearts. How sad.
Discover your natural identity, including your true sense of humor, interests, passions and desires. It is like a cloud being lifted from your minds and hearts. Quit trying to fit into other people’s lives and discover your own. Begin building a solid foundation based on truth and be your authentic self and discover how perfect you are.
National Coming Out Day is October 13th. Come out of there! Move Into the Light.
Into the light is a weekly column dedicated to rational discussion of legislative pursuit, moral proposition and the general quest for equality of the LGBT Community.
Jim Lawson
bravenet.com