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Saturday, January 19 2013

Ego Dilemmas

 

 

       One of my favorite quotes from Julia Cameron (author of The Artist's Way, The Vein of Gold, and other books blending spirituality and creativity) relates to the counter-productivity of ego's efforts to embellish and protect itself.  She writes:

 

       "It's impossible to get better and look good at the same time."

 

       Lately, as I've been feeling the vulnerability of new growth, similar ego dilemmas come to mind.  Here are a few:

 

       The more I try to impress others, the less I do impress them.

 

       The more I grasp, the less I have.

 

       The more I try to control, the more powerless I feel.

 

       The more I protect and defend, the less safe I feel.

 

       The more I strive for perfection, the more unworthy I feel.

 

       The year is young.  And so is ego.  Maybe this is a good time to take that youngster gently by the hand and remind him/her that we are never alone, we are always worthy of love, and everything we need is already here. 

 

       Less is more.


Posted by: AT 11:00 pm   |  Permalink   |  Email
Monday, January 14 2013

Now's Nurture

 

       In my personal cosmology, the essence of the universe is love.  We are enfolded in its energy.  We bathe in light and bask in love – always.

 

       During challenging times of late, when plate is full and shoulders sag, stories of unease and unworthiness infiltrate my inner landscape.  Disengaged from the present moment and disconnected from the wisdom of body and heart, I get lost in my head.

 

       One route back to reality in the now involves returning to the body through sensory awareness. 

 

       Another route, one I've been following lately, involves taking my cosmology to heart – consciously opening to what I believe is happening right now and remembering that, in this moment, I am bathed in light and basking in love. 

 

       Taking time to bathe and bask in the nurture of now – what a merciful respite from old habits of rumination, review and rehearsal.

      

Posted by: AT 10:36 pm   |  Permalink   |  Email
Sunday, January 06 2013

Unconditional Love

 

       Unconditional Love:  When I saw this subject-heading on an email from Catia, a fellow teacher, I expected familiar-sounding words of encouragement nudging me toward higher love and deeper spirituality.  Unprepared for the delight that awaited me, I laughed out loud in recognition, as I read, and took great comfort in this affirmation of the human condition.

 

       According to Catia, this refreshing piece of writing was authored and shared on Facebook by Courtney A. Walsh. 

 

 

       "Dear Human:  You've got it allllll wrong.  You didn't come here to master unconditional love.  That is where you came from and where you'll return.

 

       "You came here to learn personal love.  Universal love.  Messy love.  Sweaty love.  Crazy love.  Broken love.  Whole love.  Infused with divinity.  Lived through the grace of stumbling. Demonstrated through the beauty of…messing up.  Often.

 

       "You didn't come here to be perfect.  You already are.  You came here to be gorgeously human.  Flawed and fabulous.  And then to rise again into remembering.

 

       "But unconditional love?  Stop telling that story.  Love, in truth, doesn't need ANY other adjectives.  It doesn't require modifiers.  It doesn't require the condition of perfection.  It only asks that you show up.  And do your best.  That you stay present and feel fully.

 

       "That you shine and fly and laugh and cry and hurt and heal and fall and get back up and play and work and live and die as YOU.  It's enough.  It's Plenty."

 

 

       Love, then, is not a tightrope we walk.  It's a wide and open field, in which we play – and learn.

Posted by: AT 08:06 pm   |  Permalink   |  Email

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