Just jump...

Jaya, our teacher from the Open Dharma meditation retreat this past weekend at The Stone House, shared a beautiful and poignant visual that brilliantly described this experience of expanding consciousness, what it feels like. She said it's as if we are living in a fishbowl floating within the ocean.

Hit me right between the eyes and got me thinking...

We swim around in this fishbowl thinking that the limitations of the bowl - our stories, our fears, our judgments - are all there is to life. Many of us are happy living out our entire lives in the fishbowl; but some of us are driven by a persistent, mysterious impulse toward liberation for ourselves and for others and to have our work in the world come from this deeper, more empowered & open-hearted space.

I've felt this persistent impulse or ache in my soul for as long as I can remember but didn't understand or have the language for it. Now I do.

Through committment to deepening spiritual practice (reading, meditation, prayer, service, etc.), our awareness of the ocean around us expands and we realize that all we have to do is swim out of this fishbowl to experience true freedom.

And what does that freedom feel like?

For me it feels like dropping into an unlimited capacity for love, compassion, joy, forgiveness. There's a flow and ease to life that is independent of circumstances. I feel connected to everyone and everything with an insatiable desire to serve others in a deep and meaningful way.

It also at times feels scary, exhausting, vulnerable and insecure because the ocean is so vast and uncontrollable...until I remember what enlightened masters like Jesus and Buddha have always taught - that the unseen Power that governs universal life (God, Spirit, etc.) is not separate from us. It is me, it is you, and we are that. I am the ocean and the ocean is me. So what is there to fear?

Sometimes I'm spacious, centered and courageous enough to swim out into the ocean and rest in that freedom of being; sometimes I swim around in the fishbowl I know so well. I'm learning there's nothing right or wrong about hanging out in the bowl, but it is my choice now. That's the journey, the path. If I had to describe my ultimate reason for being on this planet at this time I'd say it is to be part of and contribute to this momentum toward liberation...for all.

I love roller coasters and swimming out of the fishbowl into the ocean feels kinda like I'm on the biggest, baddest coaster...scared and exhilarated at the same time. I guess I'll just throw my arms in the air and yell weeeeeeeeee!

What a wild ride man.

Be still my heart...

"Once the heart is still, we can meet our deepest beliefs by practicing openness. Consider how a flower knows when it's time to bloom. Rather than preparing itself for a particular moment, it seems that a flower stays true to a life of leaning toward the light and to a life of continually opening in the presence of light. The way to our deepest beliefs is the same. For the life of the soul opens like an unseeable flower we carry within that is always leaning toward the light, whether we want to or not. Though we have the choice whether to open ourselves to that light or not."

- Mark Nepo

Working with the monkey that is our mind

Our busy minds often disturb that feeling of Oneness just like kids might disturb a parent who is trying to meditate. There is nothing wrong with the kids (your mind)...the practice is to purify and discipline OUR minds so we are less inclined to feel disturbed and can rest in that feeling of Oneness anytime, anywhere...even when kids want to just play.

Our mind is not the enemy...it's just doing what it is designed to do. Practices like reading spiritual books, prayer, selfless service and meditation help us to continuously calm and cleanse the mind so that it can serve our awakening to our true Self. Then we give ourSelves away for the benefit of others.

"Every one of you is a Buddha. I cannot make you a Buddha. You have to awaken the Buddha within you" - Buddha

"The kingdom of heaven is within" - Jesus

Idk

"It is not until we have fully come to understand the impossibility of knowing anything for sure, that we can let go, stop working so hard at knowing, and allow the truth to come into our lives as a gift. At some point, the sage stops seeking knowledge and gains wisdom.” -- a wise sage

Pieces

We are God's love broken into many living, breathing pieces to be given away, over and over again...

Breaking through illusion

Taking a break, contemplating the nature of life...

There's really NO separation, NO duality...there is only my true Self as manifestation of the One Spirit or God - as is everything and everyone else. That is the one TRUTH, the mystery that never changes no matter what language you use to try and describe it...although I love the way Jesus and Buddha break it down :-)

But I've learned to appreciate my humanity, my ego self. And I'm learning to appreciate the humanity in others. The ideas and concepts in the books I read are really just ways to play with my humanness with more freedom, more joy, more love... and give that away. When they no longer are needed and I can rest in the truth, I set them aside...again and again.

At least until I get completely annoyed by the guy snoring next to me at Barnes & Noble...really?? I guess this is called "compassion practice"...

Peace.

Somaila...

At yesterday's Meetup I met a beautiful Ethiopian woman who was recently a relief worker in Somalia. She described the beauty, compassion, love, resilience she witnessed in the midst of such unimaginable suffering. SHE was surprised and encouraged that many of us deeply care about what is happening there and WE were reminded that, like she said, even a flower can grow through concrete.

It's not my business to understand why things like this happen, that's God's or Source business; my business is to do my best to bring MY light wherever I go and when the world's suffering becomes overwhelming to contemplate I remember... "just when a caterpillar thought the world was ending it turned into a butterfly"...

Peace.

When willpower is trumped by bad habits

Thanks Leo...another great post!

Beating old habits isn’t a matter of having a mountain of willpower. It’s a matter of paying attention, doing a small new habit in its place, and using some easy tricks to overcome the forces that work against us.

There are several steps to beating a bad habit...

1. Figure out what your trigger is.

2. Find a replacement habit.

3. Engineer positive & negative feedback.

4. Do the new habit immediately after the trigger, consistently.

5. Beat the urge to do the old habit.

Read the entire post here --> http://zenhabits.net/will/

You. Do. You.

Recent coaching conversation with a client...

Me: "So why do you think you care so much about what others think?"

Client: "I just like that feeling of being loved, respected, validated I guess."

Me: "Got it. Just so I'm clear...is it the validation that makes you a lovable, respectable, worthy person OR are they validating what you already know to be true and that just feels good?"

Silence...

Client: "When I think about it that way I guess their approval is nice but not so important, that I am worrying so much about what really doesn't matter..."

Me: "I invite you to consider that what others think of you is none of your business; your business is remembering you are inherently a beautiful, unique, loved manifestation of divine grace. Get a crush on yourself! Enjoy the validation or approval when it comes to you, but don't let it determine how you feel about yourself. Do you."

Let's BLOW UP that old, outdated story line and get on with what we are here to do...love ourselves and extend that out to others.

Loving what is.

I remember reading years ago in a book about spirituality that the "clouds" or difficult times in life were just passing phenomenon, something not ultimately real...that the beauty, brilliance and perfection of the sun was the true nature of life.

Fast forward to today...

During my run today I glanced up at the sky and realized that the clouds are just as beautiful as the sun, just as important and necessary. True freedom is the ability to embrace and appreciate both...to "love what is" as Byron Katie would say.

I'm such a sucker for metaphor...

Get turned on! WOOOHOOO

"You cannot get sick enough to help sick people get better. You cannot get poor enough to help poor people thrive. It is only in your thriving that you have anything to offer anyone. If you're wanting to be of an advantage to others, be as tapped in, turned in, turned on as you can possibly be." ~ Abraham-Hicks

Master just ONE skill...

"The most valuable skill or talent that you could ever develop is that of directing your thoughts toward what you want—to be adept at quickly evaluating all situations and then quickly coming to the conclusion of what you most want—and then giving your undivided attention to that." ~ Abraham-Hicks

Faith...

"Faith is "having the courage to live as if everything that happens is for our highest good and learning." ~ Dan Millman

Personal development is for wimps!?

I LOVE personal development work...for both myself and my clients. For me there is no option. This blog post describes why...

Excerpt from http://succcess.org/tag/flexibility/ ...

It’s hilarious to me that many people can’t wrap their head around PD (personal development) as though there’s a sort of stigma attached to it which likely originated from the designation of the “Self-Help” category publishers are so fond of using. What’s ‘funny’ about it of course is these are the same people who think they are perfect (the problem is everyone else) and yet, for some reason they’re not sure why they don’t have more ’success’ in life.

Who knows? All I know is that without the constant pursuit of personal development/improvement to outpace the compounding effects of change along with the mindset to embrace and accept the challenges said change brings about, my life would be very different...

Read the entire article at http://succcess.org/tag/flexibility/.

With love.

Ebb and flow...

"Life has its ebb and flow. It builds up, and then it clears out. You need this rhythm, just as you need to breathe in and breathe out. Like your body, your soul gets filled with pollutants. Dark moments are part of the rhythm by which you fill up and empty out. Too many writers emphasize incessant growth....We should also speak for being still and not getting anywhere. The entire cycle is crucial." ~ Thomas Moore

Closure?

I'll never have closure on losing my ex-husband Courtney, but I don't need closure. I'm not even sure what that means. What I have is a safe, protected, untouchable place in my heart that holds all the deep love, incredible memories and the eventual healing that defines our enduring connection.

I'm not "celebrating" the death of bin laden; I'm remembering & reflecting on the man Courtney was and so grateful for the time I had with him.