This week I’m getting ready to teach in the Pathwork Transformation Program. I’m reminded that we are all the same here in this human form. We are trying to heal ourselves from the traumas we may have suffered as a child, from the traumas that our ancestors experienced and brought into our DNA, and from the separation we experienced when we left the world of the divine. And how does one heal from trauma? Certainly, not by shoving it down below the surface of our awareness. In that case, we are then destined to act out from that place of unconsciousness.

What? Could it be that I am unconscious about the affect I am having on my fellow man? Could it be that I am being hurtful by the very behavior that feels like it is keeping me safe? And, yes. That is exactly what we are doing—hurting others.

Do we know about that deep down inside? Yes, we do. And we feel shame and guilt about it. But, of course, all that is pushed down deep inside where we are unaware of it. Instead, we focus on some other less intense guilt and shame—usually that of imperfection. We think, reason, figure out about how we or someone else has been imperfect.

Have you ever gotten mad at another driver while being on the road? Or how about when you have to wait in line to talk to someone on the phone? What is your reaction? Do you take this as an opportunity to pray or allow yourself to feel loving? If you are like me, you fume inwardly or try to distract yourself with your cell phone or a hundred other ways.

What if we used this as an opportunity to breathe deeply, to notice what might be going on underground in our unawareness? What if we used that time to set an intention to open to love and look around at others and smile? I’m going to try it today.