|
.
Tuesday, October 20 2009
De-Fault Position
We humans are naturally wired to see danger, to look for problems, to focus on what's wrong, to find fault. I like to think of this as our "de-fault" position.
With mindfulness, conscious effort and persistent practice, we can shift to a different default position - a new way of perceiving that becomes just as natural and automatic as our fear-based orientation - a way of perceiving that cultivates peace and a grateful heart.
We can re-wire to see beauty - within and about.
Monday, October 12 2009
Love's Wisdom
After 35 years of doing couple's therapy and even longer at navigating my own relationships, I continue to be struck by our deep wisdom in selecting intimate partners.
Perhaps you've noticed: we don't necessarily pick the easiest people to be with. In fact, we seem to have an uncanny knack for picking just the right person to help us grow.
Whatever lessons we need to learn, whatever wounds need healing, whatever skills we need to develop - whatever is necessary for our wholeness - we can rest assured: it will be called forth in our closest relationships. Wherever we need work - in showing up, perhaps, or in letting go - we'll get ample opportunity.
Love is wise. Surrender to its teaching. Trust its work within you. Trust relationship as a path to growth - even when you don't know where that path is leading.
Monday, October 05 2009
Vulnerably Indestructible
As life experience continues to humble and enrich me, and as a spiritual sense of connection to cosmos continues to deepen, I'm struck once again by the mystery of who we are.
Psychologically, we are vulnerable - perhaps more than we'd like to admit - sensitive to insult and injury, easily captured by fear and old stories, doing our best to stay in control.
At another level, we are indestructible - beings of light, in love with all, dancing in the flow, embracing the adventure of expansion - not the least bit inclined to hang on or close down.
Vulnerable, not fragile. Indestructible, not impervious.
Can we soften to both realities?
Can we make room for all of who we are?
Monday, September 28 2009
S.M.I.L.E.
At its core, the concept of Softening to Love is an invitation to flow with an energy that permeates all that is - an energy that creates, nourishes, heals, and ultimately defines us. Love is one name for that universal energy.
Master Chunyi Lin - an extraordinary teacher, gifted healer, and founder of Spring Forest QiGong - spoke recently to a gathering in St. Cloud about the healing power of unconditional love. At the beginning of a guided meditation to help us soften to love and become "love radiators," he invited us to smile.
Have you every noticed how the physical act of smiling affects your spirit?
Using acronym, Chunyi redefined smile as a way of setting intention, prior to meditation or any other engagement with life.
Start
My
Internal
Love
Engine
Smile. Fire up that love engine. Let it purr. Let it roar.
Monday, September 21 2009
Mystic Bumper Sticker
In The Way Things Are, Huston Smith, a preeminent scholar of world religions, concludes that humans approach the God-question in four ways. Atheists proclaim there is no God. Polytheists say there are many Gods. Monotheists contend there is one God. And mystics believe there is only God.
What if there is a loving, creative energy inherent in this universe, inseparable from all that is?
What if everything and everyone is an expression of that energy - God in disguise?
Mystic bumper sticker: Start Seeing God!
Monday, September 14 2009
Ideally Imperfect
Ideals are beautiful. They deserve to be cherished and nourished; for they are a vision of what's possible - what's possible in ourselves and what's possible in the world - a vision that propels us.
There is a challenge inherent in the gift of ideals: the challenge to forgive ourselves, to forgive others, to forgive the world, and to forgive life itself - as we, they, and it routinely fall short of what we envision.
Can we honor our ideals and soften to inevitable imperfection? Can we hang on to what we hold dear and, at the same time, nurture a forgiving heart and a compassionate spirit?
Can we make room for goofiness - within and about?
Friday, September 04 2009
Internal Boundaries
I've been working lately with a discipline I call "internal boundaries." The idea is that, just as I wouldn't invite a thug or a robber into my home, I deny entry and refuse to entertain "thug thoughts" that rob me of joy and life energy.
Helping me in this endeavor is a quote I recently read:
"What other people think of you
is none of your business."
Monday, August 24 2009
Saturday's Sunrise
A ribbon of red, crossing the blue expanses of cloudless sky and Lake Superior, signals impending sunrise. I'm perched on a beach boulder, all bundled up, facing the glow. An easterly breeze caresses and invigorates. Waves lap on the shore. Seagulls squawk. The aroma of fresh doughnuts wafts my way.
As the sun peeks over the horizon, rising more quickly than I expect, a line of color - first reddish, then orange, and finally gold - dances across the waves and appears to move directly toward me, almost as if I'm being personally greeted. I feel a connection with the dancing light.
Competing with the nourishment and tender mercies of all this beauty, a chattering mind tugs for my attention, serving a menu heavy on regrets and rehearsals - not tender, not merciful, and certainly not nourishing
Once again, I'm invited to choose: powerful and familiar old habits or the fresh beauty of what's happening now. Unless I make the choice consciously, the automatic prevails.
So, can I treat myself to this moment?
Can I really let a new day dawn?
Thursday, August 13 2009
Light Shadow
According to Carl Jung, the Shadow is that part of us which is unknown to us or disowned by us. While the name implies a darkness, something negative or not-so-nice within us, this is not always the case.
Here's a slightly edited version of a prayer composed by Benedictine author and spiritual guide, Macrina Wiederkehr, and brought to Thursday night Connecting Group by Ann Romanowsky.
O God
help me
face the truth
about myself --
no matter
how beautiful
that truth
may be.
Monday, August 10 2009
Dawn's Light
Dawn Beye, a dear friend and colleague who
practices in the Kansas City area, was
diagnosed six months ago with a
cancer considered "incurable."
I've been deeply impressed by her
courage, candor, humor and grace
in dealing with this challenging visitor
and with the wise reflections she posts
on her CaringBridge website.
Here's a sample:
"I saw a movie recently - Miracle at St. Anna -
a Spike Lee movie. It had some lines I really
liked. At the end, a character was talking
about how there is no control in life -
wherever you go or try to hide, there are
risks. And yet we expend so much energy
and resources to maintain an illusion of
control and safety. Here's the quote I liked:
'Safety is the greatest risk of all, because
safety leaves no room for miracles. And
miracles are the only sure thing in life.'
"One thing I am learning well with this
cancer is that miracles abound in all the
messiness and unpredictability of life.
Safety, as we commonly think of it on this
earth (physical safety, financial security, etc)
is impermanent and can disappear in the
blink of an eye. And yet, at the core of our
being, we are always safe. Even when 'bad'
things are happening.
"When we learn to perceive from the highest
part of ourselves, we find peace and
assurance. For me this is the miracle -
the sure thing. I'd like to be a lot better at
tuning into this. I can't say that I'm all that
skilled at it yet. But I'm willing to keep
learning. And I'm getting plenty of learning
opportunities these days. Practice makes
perfect, as they say."
|
