spam

I wonder if that stands for anything. I know I can't stand for IT, so maybe that's the point. I go onto my e-mail account and delete about 50 spams before I even read what I want to read. Once you connect with one company, they not only send you daily 'important' e-mails, but they sell your address to 100 other companies for an undetermined amount of money, and you're a public commodity. You get the phone calls with the caller ID of "toll free" and it's a sure bet it's a sales call. You tell them you are on the 'do not call' list, and they tell you it's not a sales call, it's a 'courtesy call.'

In Japan you can't even call someone on the phone without a prior invitation. To come to someone's house unannounced or uninvited is the height of rudeness. How exactly did we get to the point that we can be invaded on all ports and others think it's their right to do it? I told one phone salesperson to put us on their do not call list and she hung up on me. I immediately called that number back, and when the new salesperson answered, I told her the same thing. She hung up on me, as well. One time a salesperson called and it was a recording (the height of rudeness). When I hung on to get the LIVE person, she answered, THEN hung up on me. A salesperson hanging up on ME? AFTER SHE called ME? I don't get it. I almost cancelled our home line, then I started getting spam texts on my CELL PHONE. Unbelievable. Don't get me wrong- it does bug me, but I'm not really all that angry. I am just trying to understand why people and companies and beliefs think they can be so invasive. Yes, shadow work calls to me, and I ask myself if I've ever been invasive, if I've ever invaded someone's life or home or boundaries by my pushiness. I'm sure the answer is yes, because everyone is everything, and does everything. But then what's the next step? I rarely send out mass e-mails anymore, and all of those were to people who ASKED to be on my list. I don't take advantage of it, I don't bombard people with my life (I don't think). I don't SPAM them. Spam is defined as "unsolicited bulk e-mail" or UBE. So there you go. But I would propose to expand the definition to include phone calls, forceful ideology (you HAVE to believe what I believe, or you're stupid - here, let me tell you what to believe).

I met with a client and we spent the entire time working on self-empowerment. What do YOU believe, who are YOU, what do YOU want to do, what do YOU think. This client kept asking ME what I thought, believed, who I thought THEY were, and I refused to answer. I also refused to have another session with them for a couple of months, to allow them to do some soul self-exploration. It finally came to me - the basis of all of my work isn't to TELL anybody what to do - it's to help give them tools to discover and unfold themselves. No expert can tell you who you are, no class or training or book or workshop or tv show or movie can do that. Maybe that's why I get so irked. I know I'm passionate about my work and about what I believe, but the core of my belief system is that we are all inherently beautiful and perfect, just as we are. There is nothing that we need to improve upon, nothing that we're inferior about. When we discover our inherent wholeness, THEN we can take some steps to improve something because we WANT to, not because we think we HAVE to.

So when I get these unwanted e-mails, phone calls and conversations from people telling ME what I HAVE to do (You HAVE to vote for Obama - McCain is the only reasonable choice, this supplement is THEE best, my spiritual viewpoints are the best, so listen to me and what I've done) I want to push back. I want to say, "I'll decide for myself who I think the best next President will be, and I'm not going to tell ANYONE, I'll experiment to see which supplements (if any) my body responds well to, and I think it's important to respect and support everyone's spiritual journey, because no one's path is Universal." Having said all of that, I happen to think my spiritual views ARE correct ... for me. I think the only REAL spiritual path is the one that leads us back to ourselves, and that's a totally unique and individual experience, so don't talk about the specific ROUTE, just tell me how to get in shape for the trip, how to understand where I'm going so I'LL know how to pack and what language I need to learn. Don't tell me I'll need Spanish, because I may be heading to France. Don't tell me to pack a winter coat because I may be heading for the Caribbean. Only I know for sure, so I wish we could all be respectful and supportive and inspiring. If I'm NOT, please let me know. I'm doing the best I can, but I know I get excited sometimes, just like everybody else. I get judgmental of others, and think that I'm lily white, and I know that's not true.

But do I spam people? I hope to gosh not. I want to be that welcomed e-mail you get, that smile on your face when you pick up the phone and hear me on the other end, the relief you experience when you open your door and I'm there with a batch of warm goopy rolls in my hand. I want to be the GOOD things in your life, although for Monty Python lovers, Spam IS a good thing...