The Polarity of Holy Love

By Dr. Avon Manney

It was the height of the pandemic with another shelter in place order in California in June of 2020. There were the protests of the murders of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and George Floyd in full swing around the Bay Area. I began going for walks in the neighborhood. Sometimes, my walk was dedicated for peace, love, and healing. 

One day my husband had the news on and as I walked into the room there was a glimpse of footage of the officer with his knee on George Floyd’s neck. Unexpectantly, I felt the oncoming rage of type 9. I had dinner on the stove and stopped cooking because this was not energy that I wanted to go into the food. So, I told my husband that I had to go outside for a minute. The tears came gushing forth as I sank to the ground shaking. I asked the Earth permission to release this energy into her. Permission was granted and I allowed the energy to flow into the ground from my system. In return, I became more embodied again feeling myself upon the earth. I knew that this was an invitation to explore this rage with responsibility. It was clear that I was to watch the George Floyd video. Within the next couple of days, I watched the video in its entirety.

The next day on a Saturday in July, it was warm and sunny. It was customary for me to go walking early in the morning to avoid the soaring temperatures of the late morning and afternoon. A part of me wanted to try a different way home which simply would have put me on the other side of the street on the way back. Fortunately, I decided to listen to the part that said go the way you usually go.

I noticed a man walking on the other side of the street. There wasn’t anything unusual about him. He wore a hat, some hiking shorts, just another person on a walk. As we came into proximity on either side of the street, he began to shout at me. He slowed down and turned towards me continuing to shout angrily and calling me derogatory names with racial slurs. We were now on paralleled to each other.

Then things began to go into slow motion. We seemed to be the only two people on the Earth. I could feel his energy pushing on mine but there was no breach of my energetic boundaries. In the midst of the assault of hate, I was cocooned in love. I felt calm and safe yet alert. Alert in a way that I recall the position of the sun, the moon, the temperature, the color of the sky. I was a part of it all and it was a part of me. There was no separation only connection. Unity. Undeniable unity with all of creation and with my heart. The center of centers was with me and unexpectantly, I sensed it was there for the man as well. We were a part of the same swing in the pendulum, just different polarities. The love that surrounded me also surrounded him. It was unconditional and knew no distinction between either of our actions.

We began to pass one another. The event had climaxed and was beginning to wane. I never stopped walking although my body was quite alert. There was no registry of fear just wariness. It reminded me some years ago of another walk at a nearby park. There were some dogs leashed by their owners barking at coyote in the distance. I noticed how the coyote continued on its way. It seemed relaxed in its body and the pace at which it trotted. Yet, every now and then it would take a quick glance at the dogs. It continued on its course without any sign of menace or threat directed towards the dogs or the people. In comparison to the dogs, it seemed focused with no sign of perceiving any distraction from its purpose at the time. I was now in the position of the coyote. There was alignment with the instinctual center and wisdom of the ancestors which were guiding my actions. There was clarity with the head center tuning in to Universal knowledge bringing me into understanding with was within as well as around. And the heart. It was the junction which seemed to hold everything together with self-acceptance and compassion.

How could I have ever seen myself as alone in the world? As a castaway. I know now something very different from how things once seemed. That when we swing from the polarity of love in the other direction, there is still and always will be connection with Holy Love. We will never be forgotten or cast out because we are always a part of Holy Love and it is always a part of you, me, and all of us.

May you be with Love as a companion on your journey. Come what may.

Dr. Avon Manney

Avon Manney, DO, MS, uses the Enneagram as a spiritual map for transformational work and alignment with Divine will both personally and professionally. Currently, she works with marine engineers, declaring them fit for duty at sea. She also gives Enneagram consultations and helps others access their embodied intelligence, emotions, and sensations while navigating daily life transitions. She has come to know the Enneagram as a tool for healing on many levels from the body to the soul.

Avon has been shaped by life experiences including her spiritual connection to nature, her ancestors and guides, the passing of a loved one, and facilitating Divine life force for healing. The demands of medical training, as well as providing medical care in unprecedented times, has given her firsthand experience with how stress and emotional trauma can affect the body. As a physician, Enneagram consultant, and more recently a co-facilitator of group circles, she has helped others be in healthier relationships with the self while striving for balance energetically, mentally, emotionally, and physically.

Avon sees the importance of bringing presence, empathy, and intuition to medicine and healthcare. The Enneagram continues to be a powerful means of bridging spirituality and awareness with medicine and healing. She has received a bachelor's degree in psychology from U.C. Berkeley, a master's degree in counseling, and a medical degree with a specialty in physical medicine and osteopathy. She has also integrated into her practice energy medicine, Reiki (Usui and Angelic) and shamanic healing. On the horizon, she will be working with disabled veterans who have sustained traumatic brain injuries.