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Monday, August 03 2009
Breathing Spaciousness
There are times when it's important to follow
instructions precisely. This is not one of them.
Last week, I invited you to connect affirmations
to the in-breath and out-breath. I'll be doing
the same again this week.
Perhaps the practice works just right
for you as prescribed.
If you'd like to change it in some way,
please feel free to do so.
Make room for you.
The breathing love practice flows naturally
into breathing spaciousness.
Here's the entire sequence
as it originally came to me:
Breathing Love
Inhale: "I am connected."
Exhale: "I am loved."
Inhale: "I am loved."
Exhale: "I am love."
Inhale: "I am love."
Exhale: "All is love."
Breathing Spaciousness
Inhale: "All is love."
Exhale: "I am love."
Inhale: "I am love."
Exhale: "I am."
Inhale: "I"
Exhale: "Am"
Gently, let the affirmation grow quieter and quieter
until, effortlessly and unpredictably,
all self-consciousness disappears
into the spaciousness of deep quiet.
Timelessness in sacred silence
is a healing grace that occurs naturally -
and often briefly, especially at first.
It can be invited, but not forced.
It's a gift, not a goal.
Enjoy!
Sunday, July 26 2009
Breathing Love
In my personal cosmology,
connection is an antidote to human suffering.
And love is what heals.
On a recent morning jog,
I began playing with a breathing practice
that builds on the consciousness of connection
and the remembrance of love.
It starts with a self-healing warm-up
and moves toward universal healing.
If you decide to try it,
let one set of affirmations take root,
before moving on to the next.
Enjoy!
Self Healing
On the inhale, affirm: "I am connected."
On the exhale, affirm: "I am loved."
Toward Universal Healing
Inhale the affirmation: "I am loved."
Exhale the affirmation: "I am love."
Then inhale: "I am love."
And exhale: "All is love."
Stay tuned next week for Breathing Spaciousness.
Sunday, July 19 2009
Disguised Gifts
You know those stubborn, knotty,
recurring issues we face in life?
I find it helpful to think of them
as well-disguised gifts --
teachers inviting us
to deepen,
to grow,
to become more conscious,
more spacious, perhaps.
"No problem can be solved
from the same level of consciousness
that created it." Albert Einstein
Sunday, July 12 2009
Bliss Tolerance
I impress (and depress) myself with how adept
I can be at imagining the worst --
preparing for disappointment,
waiting for the other shoe to drop,
practicing for possible adversity.
I wonder about a kinder, gentler inner environment:
one that readies me for joy,
stretches my capacity for happiness,
raises my tolerance for bliss.
Making eye contact with the guy in the mirror, I ask:
"HOW GOOD CAN YOU STAND IT, TODAY?"
(By the way, if you'd like to hear the Four Wisdoms audio broadcast, go to the SofteningtoLove home page and click on What's New.)
Tuesday, July 07 2009
About God
The mystery of God is not to be unraveled -- at least not in writing.
Here are some quotes pointing us in the general direction:
"The nature of God is a circle, of which the center is everywhere
and the circumference is nowhere"
Empedocles (Greek philosopher)
"There is nothing in all creation so like God as stillness."
Meister Eckhart (Christian mystic)
"There is no place to which we could flee from God
which is outside God."
Paul Tillich (Theologian)
"Whether invoked or not, God will be present."
Carl Jung (Psychologist)
"We find God in our own being, which is the mirror of God."
Thomas Merton (Trappist monk)
"God is Love."
St. John (Apostle)
Tuesday, June 30 2009
A Healing Breath Walk
There are many ways that breath can be used for healing self and others. Here's one that presented itself on the five-day wilderness backpacking trip I returned from late last night.
While walking in the gorgeous setting of the Superior Hiking Trail, I noticed how clogged I was with mind chatter -- judgments about my heavy pack and the steep terrain (not to mention my physical condition), regrets about what I did and did not bring, worries about my daughter, Marisa, who is in the midst of an arduous and challenging wilderness adventure that makes my hike seem like a stroll in the park.
Looking for another way to live in that moment, I invited attention to my feet and to my connection with Mother Earth. On the in-breath, I opened to her loving presence and drew in her healing energy. On the exhale, I released the density of judgments and worries into the transformational "compost heap" of the universe.
As the clogs began to clear, I found myself exhaling and sending forth the same nourishing energy I was receiving. It's a bit like the way water clears, after it runs for a while through rusty pipes.
Sunday, June 21 2009
Another Thought Experiment
What if, underneath all our goofiness,
we are magnificent beings of light -
connected to, and in love with,
each other and all that is -
masquerading as separate and small,
creating comedy, drama and tragedy
in the theater we call life,
learning much from our experiences
and from remembering, eventually,
who we really are.
Monday, June 15 2009
Seeking
This one came to me while running one morning.
I suspect it's been said before.
Whatever you seek in relationship
is usually something you need to find
within yourself.
And it's there already.
Seek relationship anyway.
Monday, June 08 2009
This Is It
Here is a quote from spiritual teacher, Tony Parsons,
from his book, As It Is.
"This is it, and that's the end of it. Give up the search
for something to happen and fall in love,
fall intimately in love with the gift of presence in What Is.
Here, right now, is the seat of all that you will ever long for.
It is simple and ordinary and magnificent.
You see, you are already home."
Thanks to Rich Schons for uncovering this gem.
Saturday, May 30 2009
A Thought Experiment
It's a dark, cloudless, moonless night.
You're outside, lying on your back,
gazing into a blazing, star-filled sky.
Imagine that Mother Earth
is gently holding you to her body
as she journeys through the cosmos.
Imagine, also, that you are looking, not up,
but down into the stars.
You and Mother Earth are moving downward
at breakneck speed
into the vast spaciousness,
with you leading the way
like the hood ornament
on an old Packard.
Can you feel yourself grin?
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