What I've Learned About True Union from My Love, Amanda Lee, Texas, and Chris Stapleton

For 10 months I have been in Texas committed to healing the last ripples of imbalanced energies, that up until now at 47 years old, have held me back from loving union.\

There is a healthy masculine family-driven energy here in Austin, Texas, along with grounded male friendships that have been very healing as I grew up without a father who was schizophrenic and homeless at times.

Generally, I have found more mirrors of healthy union here in Texas that I did not find in my 20 years in New York City (more on that another day...).

My challenges with partnership began growing up as an only child in the suburbs of Mississauga, Ontario Canada, without a father and a single mother who worked so hard to keep us off welfare.

I didn't grow up in an environment to learn what true union was. But it was the perfect environment to catalyze decades of trauma bonds.

There is a Chris Stapleton song called FIRE AWAY that has hit me recently and is perfectly timed as we witnessed Chris's brilliance last night at his concert in Austin, TX.

This song is about how Chris had to be a strong grounded husband to the rock and a safe space for his wife to express her deepest pains without being triggered or passing judgment.

To be her safe masculine presence for her feminine creative force to effortlessly expand.

Holding space for my love Amanda-Lee in a safe and loving union means I have to embody a safe and grounded masculine presence.

Growing up with a schizophrenic violent father as my mirror, you can understand how I may not have always embodied safety for a woman.

This path has not been easy for me. It has taken me 47 years to BEGIN to embody a healthy grounded masculine presence with a partner. I now fully understand what it means to hold a grounded masculine, stable, loving space for my partner working through my own triggers and conditioning.

(Little me - With all my pent-up energy best to have an outlet...)

I have had to consciously commit for many years to release the ripple of anger, hate, judgments, and inner violence toward my upbringing, which has at once empowered me to teach what I teach, yet has brought me great suffering.

I only share in oneness with what is, no judgment toward myself as I can now alchemize the intelligence of my patterns to transmute my DNA, so I can continue to commit to union with my love Amanda-Lee.

She has patiently and powerfully held space for me to grow into my own power as my demons have expressed. Her clear sight and embodiment are a mirror for us all to witness within ourselves.

Amanda-Lee not only inspires my work, but my work is also to teach what she naturally embodies.

She's also a rebel rouser monkey.

I have learned the hard way, that true union is deeper than compatibility, chemistry, attraction, lifestyle, and being there for each other.

True union means committing to holding space for the other to embody their power even as you witness their trauma conditioning trigger your trauma conditioning.

Amanda-Lee, and I are ready and committed to each other in true union, as we prepare to launch our Academy in 2024 and leave a legacy of embodied truth for generations to come.