Trust the Path: Embracing the Unexpected Journey of Healing in Community
The Transformative Power of Unplanned Connections
Peace Overtures Today is a weekly newsletter dedicated to guiding individuals on their personal quest for inner peace. Each week, I share a movie that helped me discover balance. It’s a process of awareness and healing that leads to sparks of joy. I’m sincerely grateful to have you here with me.
Being human is undoubtedly challenging, especially during these extraordinary times. As we witness the ongoing division between "us" and "them," fostering a sense of community can be increasingly difficult. Many of us may find ourselves yearning to retreat to the comfort of our routines and avoid connecting with others. While this response is understandable given the current difficulties, it also has its downsides. In truth, we rely on the connections with one another to sustain a happy and healthy life.
Yes it takes a village to help navigate these times.
But what do you do when your own personal baggage and reactivity keeps you from community? The solution is probably in the village of quirky people with problems and tendencies that help you open your heart so you can learn and grow.
This week’s post features an excerpt from our book, Taming Your Dragons: Making Peace With Your Emotions. This AMP session has become one of my beloved teachers. I’ve learned so much from this little known beautiful film. It’s only available on DVD, which I will provide a link for purchase at the bottom of this post.
At the end of the excerpt, I want to tell you what part of the movie changed my understanding of why coming together is so fulling.
Here’s the excerpt from, Taming Your Dragons: Making Peace With Your Emotions, Chapter 8: All Roads Lead To Home
Trust the Path
When we began writing Taming Your Dragons and seeking to discern where our work was going, Sue-Anne turned to one of her wise mentors, Reverend Kay Hunter, for clarification and advice. Rev Kay (as everyone calls her) was enthusiastically supportive of our expressed journey, and told us,
“It will be tough, kids, but it’s doable.”
Neither one of us knew exactly what she meant, but those words echoed over the years as we followed the twists and turns of the road we’ve been on. If we had realized the journey would unfold the way it has, we probably wouldn’t have embarked on it. As we came together, we each grew from this experience and created our own community. Coming together in this way allowed us each to heal in ways we didn’t anticipate.
Our journeys together aren’t always about us. We each have an impact on people in ways we may not see or anticipate. In the movie As it is in Heaven (2004), Daniel Daréus is an internationally renowned conductor. His touring schedule is booked years in advance, and he is at the top of his industry. Daniel’s passion in life is to open people’s heart through music. Yet somehow over the years, he lost his passion and now feels there’s something missing in his life. The constant touring is causing burnout, and it’s starting to affect his health. Daniel decides to take a sabbatical to get some rest. He returns to his childhood village in Norrland, Sweden, to regroup and be alone.
Daniel’s expectation for rest is revised when he accepts the offer to be cantor of the village choir. He rediscovers his love of music and bonds with his fellow musicians. The singers each have personal problems that affect their ability to sing together. But when they come together, their harmonies and song inspire them all, and they become their own community. They celebrate their wins and support each other through difficult circumstances. A type of healing occurs for all the members, and they’re never the same. Through his connection with these quirky choir members, Daniel finds his heart again. It’s as if he has found his own little slice of heaven. Daniel is inspired to write a song for one of the members and names it “Gabriella’s Song.” Daniel’s song inspires us to find our own heaven by living our days as we desire, knowing we’re good enough, and to embrace the happiness that comes with enjoying the gift of life.
Life is similar to learning how to ride a bike – it takes practice to stay balanced. Hopefully we have fun while learning to balance. Like riding a bike, life is easier when we allow others to show us how to get our own center, to find our own balance. We never truly know where our journey will take us or who we’ll meet along the way. Usually, others help us heal in ways we don’t expect, and this makes our journey so much more pleasurable.
Find Your Unexpected Yoke - It’s Worth The Trip
As it is in Heaven beautifully illustrates the power of people coming together with a shared goal and a mission of the heart that binds them. The choir's aspiration to compete in the competition served as a unifying force, motivating them to work collectively through struggles and conflicts. This shared purpose became their yoke, teaching them compassion, harmony, and the true essence of love within a community.
We all have these yokes in our lives and most of the time we don’t recognize the healing opportunity that’s right before us. I call these unexpected yokes. While the movie is a great example of what this looks like, you’re probably in one now and you don’t recognize it yet. For example, you are heart-connected and deeply love your spouse and so is his or her’s childhood family. That love you all have for the person yoke’s you together. So if you don’t get along, it’s a perfect opportunity to learn how to open your heart, and be willing to grow. Why are you willing to do it? Because you love the person that yokes you to this people growing dynamic. Just like the movie shows us, these experiences hold the potential for immense joy and transformation.
The Potential Beauty of Humanity
Think of the moments just before a live orchestral concert or musical begins – the tuning of individual instruments, the hum of collective conversations; it may seem chaotic, yet strangely appealing. This chaotic blend of human connection and what may sound like noise represents the hopeful beauty that emerges when we come together. Here’s an example of what I mean:
Let me share another example to illustrate this experience. During my college days, I participated in the University's performance of Leonard Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms (1965). Initially, the loud melodies and unfamiliar Hebrew language made me uncomfortable, and I struggled to appreciate it. However, everything changed during the last rehearsal when I took the time to read the English translation of the powerful final passage. I suddenly understood and felt the profound meaning behind the music. This poignant moment left a lasting impact on me.
Behold how good,
And how pleasant it is,
For brethren to dwell
Together in unity.
There is a scene at the end of As it is in Heaven that reminds me of Bernstein’s hopeful aspirations for humanity. In the final scene of the film, notice the sounds the audience makes as they await the conductor’s arrival. It’s chaotic, it’s beautiful, and it’s filled with joy. I use this example with my clients on why it’s worth the trip to feel this unity together. It’s a feeling of being alive that we could never achieve alone.
My hope for you is to discover the community you're yoked to and wholeheartedly embrace the experience that lies before you. In doing so, you might just get a taste of heaven on earth.
To get the resonance benefits from watching As it is in Heaven AMP session please do the Intention Session below and then watch the film in its entirety.
The Intention Session
Getting started on aligning with this AMP session is easy. All you have to do is review these statements and do the modality at the end. Once you’ve completed these, you’re ready to benefit from any Alignment Movie Process (AMP) movie sessions you choose. This includes any movie referred to in our books and blogs.
Say These Statements Out Loud and Then Do Modalities At The End
I allow the changes in my timing and only integrate what I’m ready to.
I have faith that I’ll receive the benefits I desire.
I’m patient with myself as I make my changes.
I let go of feeling I’m too busy to take the time to read these books and watch these movies
I let go of having to understand how these Alignment Process movie sessions work, allowing me to get the full benefits on my terms and in my timing.
Modalities:
Please do all three of the following actions to integrate this intension session. All three activities are a good habit to embrace prior to beginning an AP movie session.
Nod your head up in down as you would when saying yes.
Drink some water
Slow rhythmic breathing through your nose