Meet Me In The Field
By Rachel Levy
“Out beyond ideas of wrong doing and rightdoing, there is a field. I’ll meet you there.” – Rumi
I believe this field that Rumi, the great Persian poet is presencing, is Love.
A client once called me a sherpa–the sherpa knows the story and the wisdom of the mountain’s terrain and can get you to the top safely. As a relationship therapist and guide, each day, whether the relationship is between myself and an other or myself and a couple, I get invited into the most sacred space there exists between two people : the intimate space, or in-to-me-see space–a space within and between.
There is no greater privilege than to be welcomed into another’s world and to share in their experience. My mentor and teacher, Hedy Schleifer, who trained me as an Imago Therapist (see TedxTalk) calls this encounter “the visit”. We visit each other by building the bridge of empathy. Empathic connection allows us to receive, understand and reflect the essence of another. Empathy allows us to be truly present and to witness with love the unfolding story of another’s life.
Relationships are the laboratory for our development. Each one of us has our individual struggle to keep becoming our healthiest, most authentic and fulfilled selves. Whenever we are struggling with another, we are struggling with a part of ourselves that is in need of love and understanding.
Developing the skills and language of empathy–which seeks to understand and has no need to make another’s experience wrong or right–not only allows us to connect and relate with genuine care, but it allows us to retrieve, through our acceptance of another, the disowned parts of ourselves.
Love connects and unifies us. Love feels safe. Love embraces our differences.
Each one of us is experimenting with Love.
This issue of Red Flag is the place for us to share in our experiments to gather and offer as resources.
This is our place to offer up our Love Stories.
This is our place to commit to Love.
When we choose empathy and love we choose to live in that field of Rumi’s vision.
Love gets me up in the morning. With love as my practice I look forward to each encounter with another, beginning with my beloved who sleeps next to me, looking myself in the mirror and dressing myself with Love; greeting my neighbors in the elevator with a smile in the energy of Love as I make my way to my office where I sit in practice as an Imago Relationship Therapist and Love Coach.
Love and its divine purpose brought Nicole, the editor of Red Flag into my life as a young girl, and gave me the opportunity to witness, support and guide her as she grew into an extraordinary woman and heart-warrior devoted to “Inspired Activism”.
It feels so perfect that she would invite me to hold, in relationship with her, the sacred space for her readers and community to experiment with love.
My commitment to partnering for Issue Number #9, is both very personal and very global.
My promise to Nicole is for this issue of Love to be the journey to the altar for her.
My promise to our global community is to help build a resource center accessible to all devoted to healthy love.
My promise to myself is to renew my vow every day to serve as a Sacred-space-holder, curator of relational wisdom and teacher of Love.
The Love Issue is now open for all of us to share our stories and wisdom. Meet us in the field.
Receiving you with Love,
Rachel Levy, LMHC
Guest Editor, Issue No 9: Love
Founder, Healthy Love Program, Prayerdanse and The Love Lab Experiment