Video Summary:

The essence of bear medicine in my tradition is true strength. The bear can be the clown of the forest because it has no natural enemies. So it has nothing to defend and nothing to prove. So it can just be itself. It trusts itself at a really deep level that it can handle whatever comes along.

The secret weapon of bear medicine is security. It is secure and confident in itself. Therefore it can be purely authentic. There's no need for pretense. There's no need to try too hard or to be something it’s not.

In contrast to this, we're conditioned to perform from a young age. In school, we're taught to study, get good grades, and have the right answer. We’re encouraged to perform and compete in sports.

Then in adulthood, we go to work and we’re paid to perform. Our merit is based on how much we sell and how much value we bring to the company. In our culture, our value is largely based on our performance. This is very different than the bear. It's different than valuing ourselves and being secure in ourselves.

Effectiveness in the spiritual and emotional dimensions is not about performing and doing as much as it is about just being. Last week we talked about being in that highest level of consciousness and trusting. We have nothing to prove. We can just show up with the energy of, “I'm here. This is me. I am enough.”

We’re present and allow energy in. We listen. We say something when it needs to be said. This is very different than coming from a contrived self that is taught to be impressive and prove that we're competent. Maybe that works when we're young in our career, but as we get older, it's less attractive.

Have you ever been around someone who was trying too hard? One of the largest complaints I hear from female clients is that their date just talked about himself the whole time. Perhaps he was trying too hard to prove that he had his act together and was successful. After all, that’s what we were taught.

Suddenly it’s not as impressive. This is so ironic because we try to be in our power. But when we try to be in our power, we're less powerful. When we try to be attractive, we're less attractive. When we try to be cool, we're less cool.

But if we have nothing to prove, we can just show up with our hearts open. We show up at the highest vibration that we can muster. We listen. When we need to say something, we say it. When we need to do something, we do it. That's where the bear lives. And that's where we can live too.

It’s a matter of remembering that you have nothing to prove and nothing to defend. So if someone has an issue with you, oh well, I guess they have an issue. But it doesn't mean you need to adjust to them.

It just means that you are just being you. Apparently, they have an issue with you and what you represent to them. You can simply allow them to have it, stay true to yourself, and hang out with Brother Bear.