We have also noticed that circumstances and events will conspire to give us the opportunity to practice those things we preach the most.
We would like to share an incident that recently happened in our lives. We do not share this to get a pat on the back, or to throw anyone under the bus, but rather to share and re-enforce the principle of living our personal truths.
We will each share our parts of the story in the following paragraphs:
Bill: As you may know by now, I am a practitioner of Energy Medicine and I have written a book on forgiveness, “Shine the Light Within – 5 Steps to Lighten Your Soul Through Forgiveness” CLICK HERE to check it out.
One of the avenues I use most to share my message is going to different conferences, setting up a booth and teaching a class. I am able to connect with a lot of people at these conferences.
We were at the biggest conference we participate in each year. It was a 2-day event and I was scheduled to speak during the later part of the second day. This conference was advertised to have 3,000 attendees. We had an incredible day-and-a-half. We connected with so many wonderful people and were able to share both my book and Kris’s book, “Leadership From The Inside Out – Are You the Leader You Would Follow” CLICK HERE to check it out.
On the afternoon of the 2nd day – a crazy thing happened. We found ourselves packing up our booth and being escorted off the premises by a Police Officer and I was not able to teach my class! WHAT!!! REALLY!!! HOW DOES THAT HAPPEN???
Truth is stranger than fiction. I will admit that I went through a wide range of emotions as this scene played out. I felt embarrassment, disbelief, shock, humiliation, hurt and unsupported. I felt all those emotions and many more, but I chose not to be reactive. I instead chose to work though them as quickly as possible and not act on the negative emotions that were taking longer to process.
Whenever I sign one of my books, I write the following: ‘Forgive early, forgive often. From my heart to your heart’ Wow! This was certainly a situation where I could easily justify reacting differently from my personal truth. I tell you it was not easy, but I did my personal best to act with integrity and within my value system.
Here is what we did… We were removed from the conference at about 2:30 pm, so instead of living in the drama of an unfair situation, we checked out the local theatre and realized we could enjoy an unexpected bonus date. We had just enough time to make it to the afternoon screening of ‘Disney’s Aladdin’.
I had been scheduled to speak at 5:00 pm. Knowing that many folks had shown up to an empty room, I put the following post on social media, after the Conference would have ended:
I apologize to those who showed up for my class at the Energy Healing Conference. I was not there, because the most bizarre 
thing happened. Mid-afternoon, I was accused of trying to steal a cell phone. The SLC police were called in and I was told that I needed to pack up my booth and leave the conference.
I was told that Kris could teach my class in my place, but that I needed to leave. That did not seem a viable or productive option for us. I am sorry to those who showed up for my class, I would’ve loved to have been there to Share the Light. I was not arrested, but a report was filed, and the owners of the company at the booth involved wanted to press full charges. I will wait and see what becomes of that.
In case you want to know the details, here is how it all happened –– During a slow period of the morning I walked over to the booth across the aisle from us, ( It was not the essential oils booth) to talk about their tuning forks. We had a pleasant conversation and as I went to leave their booth, I picked up what I thought was my cell phone and put it in my pocket. A Lady working the same booth said, “Hey, that’s my phone.” I pulled it out, looked at it and sure enough – it was her phone. I was embarrassed, I apologized and handed it back to her and went back across the aisle to my booth. I didn’t think anything of it –– until a few hours later, SLC PD showed up and let me know that a complaint had been filed against me.
So that is the story behind the reason I was gently escorted out of the conference by the policeman. I am not angry or upset at any of the parties involved, it was just a bizarre set of circumstances. After all, the subject of my class was to be on forgiveness and this was an opportunity for me to live what I did not get the chance to preach. Much love to all involved. Have a blessed day.
Do we live our truth? Even when it is hard and in your face? Are we in alignment with our core value system? Do we talk one way and walk another? There are many times in my life that I realize I am not living my truth in the moment. I am grateful for this growth opportunity where I was able to evaluate my actions and reactions to see if I would live my truth.
I invite you to reflect on your truth and notice if you are living your truth.
Kris: If you have followed us very long, or gotten to know us at all, you know that we share from the heart as well as present very raw and real. We believe that being authentic and honest in what is really happening is the best way to make it relatable, and for you to see that as people we are not perfect. We are all going to do things that perhaps were not the best choice, right? After all, are we not really all here to learn and grow?
You have obviously read Bill’s story and know of the circumstances we had just gone through. For Bill, it was extremely important to live up to his truth as he did write the book on forgiveness. But what I can tell you is that it came quite easily to him. First, because he knows just how important it is and second because he truly lives what he preaches. Yes, I teach forgiveness in some of my programs and yes, I believe this principle, but honestly it was not quite so easy for me. This situation created chaos for us. It caused slander that was untrue for what happened and we were not supported or treated how someone who accidentally picked up the wrong phone should have been treated. Seriously, escorted out of an event by the police? One you have been supporting as a vendor and speaker dozens of times? Not to mention that Bill was not allowed to teach his class or even tell people what was going on.
For me, this was tough. This was hurtful and difficult to process. Have you ever had a situation where you have been wrongly accused or the story twisted and taken out of context, and yet you get to just walk away and live with it? Yes, be the bigger person?
As I processed through this situation and really looked deep within myself, I had to look at the values that I believe. I had to face the truth that I know and the things that I teach. I had to ask myself, “Am I the Leader I would follow?” Am I going to act in a way that is in alignment with what I teach?
As Leaders, parents, friends and even co-workers, we make decisions all the time. With those decisions, we will never have everyone agree with how we have handled a situation. There will almost always be someone who does not agree or who feels pain and anguish due to our leadership. There will be children who do not like our parenting; there will be people in the community that do not agree and so on. Yet when we step back and take a look, did we indeed live up to our values and our truth when making that decision?
How I felt and what had happened was not fair or right. But I had to decide how I would handle it. Would I create a big stink, let the world know how it affected me and how unfair it was or was this the time to stand a little taller, be a little better and do what I know would be more valuable all around?
My question for you is this: Do you live your truth? Are you consistent in living what you believe, what you know to be true and perhaps what you say or teach? Are you in alignment with your values and are you living up to your best self?
Even though we NEVER want to go through situations like this one we just experienced, I am grateful to have been able to process a difficult situation and know that I was true to myself. I was true to what I teach and am extremely proud of Bill for the example he set in being in alignment with who he is and what he is about.
Watch our episode and evaluate yourself and see, “Do You Live Your Truth?”