7.325 billion of us, unique aspects of the very same thing...

Are you Unique?! Yes, you are.
Are you Special?! Yes, you are.

Are you more unique than anyone else?! No, you are not.
Are you more special than anyone else?! No, you are not.

I've just spent the weekend sat with around twenty five deeply gifted, unique and very special individuals at a workshop with the force of nature that is Jennifer Hough. Had I gone out myself and hand picked the people to spend the weekend with, I would have chosen each individual that was present. It was a very emotive and empowering weekend. 

Now let me throw out there what is really important about this.... had I gone out on Saturday morning and walked around the Streets of London randomly selecting twenty five people to share that space with, they too would have been deeply gifted, unique and very special individuals. 

One of the phrases that Jennifer uses a lot is that we are all "pieces of the puzzle of heaven on earth" expressing that in our own individual and unique ways.

In communing with me during the weekend, Jennifer told us the story of a friend of hers who had received a reading some years previously that had royally f***ed him up. How you may ask? Well, he was told in this reading that he was, and I paraphrase, an incredibly special individual. That he had extraordinary talents. That he had the most unique gifts to share with the world that were going to make a difference to humanity as we know it.

As Jennifer was relating this story to us - I was aware just how ingrained this story had become in my own being. I had heard similar, on more than one occasion. And what do you think the effects of hearing such words were to me and to this man that Jennifer was referring to. 

paralysis

pəˈralɪsɪs/

noun

1. the loss of the ability to move (and sometimes to feel anything) in part or most of the body, typically as a result of illness, poison, or injury.

   "the fast-acting venom causes paralysis, breathing difficulties, and sometimes death"

   synonyms:

   immobility, powerlessness, lack of sensation, numbness, deadness, incapacity, debilitation; More

   • inability to act or function properly.

     "the paralysis gripping the country"

     synonyms:

     shutdown, immobilization, stoppage, halt, standstill, stopping "strike leaders claimed an almost complete paralysis of the ports"

Specifically for him and for me it had perpetuated an inability to move, to create, and indeed an inability to act or function properly in the world, as we desired to do. You see my ego had become so entangled in the labels of special and unique and gifted, that I had created a superiority complex about myself. Please don't misunderstand me - I don't show up as an arrogant or overly confident, bullish person (these traits are not necessarily negative). However, I created a sub persona of superiority, largely out of fear, so that I could judge myself so harshly on doing so that I would continue to not show up in the world. Isn't it amazing what language and the meaning that we give to it can do?!

With this realisation I also became aware that in my entanglement with judging myself, I was in a self perpetuating cycle of never being able to show up because I was always going to judge myself on thinking (albeit an ego concoction) that I was somehow better than the next person. And I was going to do everything in my power to prove that I was no more special than anyone else (this was the deeper truth that I held) by not doing anything. How has that worked out for me? Not so good in many ways. (Though I also do not like to judge anything as good or bad - rather that it is an experience to learn from). Trouble is the experiencing and learning had ceased because I was in paralysis.

So, who am I?! If I am not those things, then who am I? Well, you see - I am those things. I am unique, gifted, special. The absolutely critical piece is that I am no more unique, gifted or special than any other single human being alive on this planet. It took realising that I had created the egoic construct to stop me from showing up in the world to bust through it. What beliefs are you holding about your self that may seemingly be positive traits, that are in fact holding you back?

Let me take you back to Jennifer's words... we are all a piece of the puzzle of heaven on earth. We are all a piece of divine consciousness. And so each and every one of us no matter how we show up on this planet are deeply gifted, unique and special. There is the freedom of choice within us all as to how we manifest that in our lives. We have the choice to be a butcher, baker or candlestick maker.... an international speaker, hairdresser or county court judge. No one choice is any more valid than any other. No one role in life makes us any more 'special' than the next person. Whether we choose to use the innate gifts and talents that we have does not make us superior or inferior. It just is. For we do not stop being the 'pieces of the puzzle of heaven on earth'.

You are you and I am me.
No better, no worse.

So, what is this blog really about? I guess its about many things. Its about our use of language and being aware of the effects it can have on the self and others. Its about the constructs that we create around ourselves in order to be more or less than we are. It's about love in its truest sense.

Ultimately it is a very simple post suggesting that we are all, all 7.325 billion of us, unique aspects of the very same thing... 

With love and blessings,
Nikola xx