When I moved, to get to know more people, I went to many mainstream and conscious living networking gatherings. Some gatherings can be tough at times because what I do can be controversial – Hypnotherapy, EFT, NLP, Astrology, Numerology and Birth Order – and I can take some negative hits every now and again.

When I get business cards, I usually go to websites and/or read any literature to get to know new people/professionals that I meet. Then I send an email about what I learned about them and where they can find more about me. One day, I got a return email that said key phrases like “detest the things you do,” “despise the techniques you specialize in,” and “believe them to be dangerous practices.” The communication ended with “you seem like a well-intentioned person… this is not personal…”

I read it a couple of times and realized I was having the same solar plexus reaction to the email that I had at this particular networking gathering. My ego was saying “Delete and ignore the email. Never go back. Run, hide and protect yourself in ‘your own’ community.” But my higher self was saying, “What can you learn from this as you continue to put yourself out into the world (and you will continue to put yourself out there with a 7th book coming out and your private practice growing)?”

I did some EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique) tapping (you can see my free video on EFT at http://www.michellepayton.com/Training-Videos.htm), and then I felt a sweeping sensation of gratitude as I recalled one of my personal and professional positions that when you understand others views, this creates more compassion as a general rule. You don’t have to like someone, but you can at least know and trust how others will react in connection with you and/or the world to keep yourself in a (emotional/physical) balanced place knowing it’s about others personalities and filters and not necessarily about you. But sometimes critique or opposite opinions create (lower chakra) “fight or flight” reactions, and you have to decide who you really are at the moment of impact.

So if this has happened to you, who do you become?  How have you reacted?  Did you feel good about your response?  Why?  Did you feel bad about your response?  Why?  How “honest” should you be with people you don’t agree with?  What types of words should you use to convey disagreement?

Visit my website if you dare at www.MichellePayton.com for more of my work. Speak to you soon.