Lead with Your Heart Podcast

Most likely you are familiar with the phrase, "love is blind." This expression is first found in Chaucer's The Merchant's Tale, written between 1387 and 1400. The phrase did not come into common usage until William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet, in the scene where Benvolio says to Mercutio, "Blind is his love, and best befits the dark." Mercutio responds that if love is blind, then it is not real love.

In this episode, I ask us to think about why real love is not blind.

• Love is caring and affection displayed as the positive behaviors of our integrity in action;
• The truth is, our integrity cannot and should not withstand all things;
• While all relationships have challenges, affection expressed positively, as our soul's integrity, does not tolerate the dishonest or abusive actions of other people; and
• No matter if someone is a family member or a close friend, we do not have to hang in there, allowing them to dump their anger, self-centeredness, and emotional unconsciousness onto us.

Okay, I imagine you're saying to yourself, "Hey, this lasagna lady is nuts." I get it since close encounters of the third kind are highly suspect. Unless of course, you are discussing the matter with Giorgio A. Tsoukalos or Erich von Däniken. But, if you're not a fan of Ancient Aliens or have not read Chariots of the Gods, my experience will seem odd. You'd certainly have doubts if the only aliens you've encountered are in movies or on TV. If you only know the Klingons, Romulans, Vulcans, or Borg of Star Trek fame maybe you would think I'm a six-pack short of a case.

• You can imagine how surreal and strange it must be to grow up with a secret you are not able to share with anyone for fear of being labeled crazy.
• Finding others who share the same experience is comforting because you can't be crazy when someone, anyone, steps up and says, "Hey, that also happened to me."
• Each experience you and I have in life is a unique opportunity to grow our sympathy, empathy, and compassion for others.

Have you ever seen a UFO? Or been visited by little gray, not green, aliens?  I have. Which taught me there are millions of us with millions of different experiences. We cannot all have the same experiences. That’s why it’s so important we listen to one another to understand rather than simply dismiss each other […] Read more

In this Episode: Practice Makes us Proficient! Which Takes the Perfection Pressure Off. Do you like lasagna? I do, very much. Honestly and with all modesty I can say my lasagna is to die for. I don’t mean my lasagna will literally kill you. Heavens NO! The expression “it’s to die for” means something is […] Read more

Do you like lasagna? I do, very much. Honestly and with all modesty I can say my lasagna is to die for. I don't mean my lasagna will literally kill you. Heavens NO! The expression "it's to die for" means something is fantastic, incredible, magnificent, and in the case of food over the top delicious. And my lasagna should be first-rate, an award-winning stack of deliciousness because I've spent the past 45 years mastering the recipe.

• We don't get good at anything – cooking, relationships, a job, patience – without practice.
• If we want to be really good at something we must get really good at practicing that something.
• Practice will make us proficient, not perfect. Takes a lot of stress off, doesn't it?

In this Episode:   Life is filled with so much joy, satisfaction and inspiration. No matter what challenges you face you are in control of how to best deal with the ups and downs of your relationships, career and health. The goal is not to have a perfect life. The goal is to create a […] Read more

Life is filled with so much joy, satisfaction and inspiration. No matter what challenges you face you are in control of how to best deal with the ups and downs of your relationships, career and health. The goal is not to have a perfect life. The goal is to create a happy life, no matter what.

• You can get through any challenge by focusing on the positive.
• Happy is an attitude to see the blessings in every situation.
• A focus on joy brings everything into its proper perspective.

In this Episode:   You are an individual. So am I. As individuals it is only possible for us to be one half of the relationship we have with each other. Our goal in the relationship we have with each other is to be our best half. On the other hand, in the relationship we […] Read more

You are an individual. So am I. As individuals it is only possible for us to be one half of the relationship we have with each other. Our goal in the relationship we have with each other is to be our best half. On the other hand, in the relationship we have with ourselves, you and I are the entire relationship. Our goal in the relationship we have with ourselves is to be whole by loving ourselves first, so we know how to love each other well.

• Contrary to what we have been told by religion, society or our parents, it is not selfish to love ourselves first.
• Unless we care for ourselves by honoring our needs, goals and desires we cannot genuinely support others in honoring their needs, goals and desires.
• Only by filling ourselves up first do we have it within to give to others without resentment or feeling used and abused; neither of which are loving behaviors.

In this Episode:   If  I had a magic wand I’d touch it to the hearts of those who hurt others and yet claim to love. If I had a magic wand I’d touch it to the hearts of those who allow themselves to be hurt by others and yet claim they are loved. One […] Read more