“Regardless of what you feel about the physical form that you stand in, your body is a joy and it is a significant one. It is what allows you to have your experience on the physical plane.” — Paul Selig, Book of Love and Creation
A friend was describing her book club to me. She said they called it a book club but it was actually an organ recital because they spent more time complaining about what was going wrong with their internal organs than they did reading the book. Funny — and completely relatable.
Let’s face it, pain in the body takes all our attention. Recognizing physical limitations can take an emotional toll on us, feeling frustration, loss of control and a deep sense of grief when we lose the physical abilities we once had. We are called to reach in and expand our compassion for ourselves. Sometimes we are much more tolerant of our friends and loved ones than we are for ourselves. Take the time to be gentle and understanding with yourself. Speak words of kindness and understanding to your body.
Remember that whatever we put our attention on increases. As we complain about what is not working, we notice more of what is not working. It’s like a car speeding down a steep hill: If you don’t stop it in the beginning, it will just pick up momentum and speed out of control. Before you know it, our aches and pains have completely taken over our thought process.
Martha Graham, dancer and choreographer, says, “The body is a sacred garment. It is your first and last garment; It is what you enter life in and what you depart life with, and it should be treated with honor.” I acknowledge my flexibility, strength and energy—even on those days where it feels like I don’t have any. I appreciate the parts of that are in good working order and send love to those parts that are aching and in pain.
I bless my body temple which houses my living Spirit within me. My voice is an instrument for peace, my hands a medium for service. My feet and legs transport me so that I may be vehicle to express Divine Love in the world.
I invite you to use this attunement from Paul Selig in the Book of Love and Creation as part of your daily practice:
“I am now realigning my knowing to become newly aware of my responsibility to heal my body as is required by my choices to feed myself, care for myself, and inhabit my surroundings in wellness. I am now coming to know my body is a joyful vehicle and I am celebrating it in Divine Love and thanking it for being with me on this remarkable journey in consciousness.”
Breathe. Move. Give thanks. And bless your body temple.
Affirmation: I praise my body. I raise my body. In the name of Love.
“All our emotions are meant to be felt. Even the hard ones. It’s okay to feel what you need to feel.” – Inside Out 2
I gathered together a few friends and we saw the Disney Pixar movie, Insight Out 2. One of the many brilliant lines in the movie comes from the emotion, anxiety: “While fear protects Riley from the things she can see, my job is to protect her from the things she can’t see. I plan for the future.” This is demonstrated by showing video clips of endless possibilities of all that can go wrong in Riley’s life.
Sound familiar? We have all experienced those 3 am wake up sessions when anxiety moves in and creates chaos and worry. Once anxiety takes charge, all other emotions are suppressed and we are put on high alert, preparing and planning for the worst.
There are times in life when we develop such an attachment to wanting to look good, be popular, win the game, that it becomes almost an obsession. We lose all sense of self. We forget our values and what is important to us. The more attached we are, the more restricted life seems to be. Feeling restricted can make us feel incomplete and that somehow we have failed.
Engaging in spiritual practices like meditation, journaling and expressing gratitude, we are empowered to free ourselves from anxiety and the constant chatter about what isn’t working. We are then open to discover other possibilities in store for us. When we tap into our inner wisdom and intuition, we let go of the suffering from the past, and the neediness of the future. Learning to live in the moment helps us stay centered in love.
We realign to what is important and allow love’s healing power to take charge when we live in the now moment. Taking time in the silence, we return to a place of peace and harmony. Instead of planning, changing, controlling, and fixing, we allow ourselves to just be and connect with the flow.
Take a breath and live in the flow. Give a gift to yourself and see this entertaining and uplifting movie.
“As I become conscious of my Oneness with God, I am filled with enthusiasm and a sense of energy and vitality.” – Ernest Holmes
Feeling tired lately? You are not alone! Vitality seems to be in short supply these days. There are so many challenges that drain our energy and can leave us sleepless and exhausted.
Vitality Is defined an exuberance; living with purpose. But some days it can be quite a feat to move from exhausted to vitality. It takes practice to take a breath, take a pause, and let go of our self-imposed demands. It often takes courage to ask for help and compassion to release our need for perfection. When we practice letting go we open the heart to more love, and we naturally feel more enthusiasm and vitality for life.
I feel vitality when I am in nature. Whether I am at the ocean, forest, or desert, I feel a newness and freshness. My friend feels it when she is with her granddaughter. The world seems to stop and she is completely in the moment and in a state of unconditional love. Another friend feels exactly the same way when playing with her dog, feeling immense love and joy.
When we tap into vitality we are tapping into our connection with the divine and we vibrate the life force energy. We feel an aliveness and appreciation for life itself. Eric Butterworth describes vitality as “All the the attributes of the Infinite are in focus as you, flowing forth through you. You are this flow.”
Pay attention to what makes you feel energized. You may not feel it every day and that’s okay. If we are willing to recognize vitality and pay attention, it happens more frequently. To some it may show up as an abundance of energy and to others it may be a quiet sense of purpose and gratitude. Wherever we are, we are connecting with the frequency of love.
I would love to hear from you. Let me know what energizes you and renews your vitality?
“Mindfulness is about love and loving life. When you cultivate this love, it gives you clarity and compassion for life, and your actions happen in accordance with that.” – Jon Kabat-Zinn
Before you even get out of bed in the morning do you ever find yourself getting ready to fight in the battlefield? When we’ve been offended, misunderstood, dismissed, unrecognized, we often wake up ready to go out to the battlefield, prepared to fight the enemy. You know them—Boss, coworker, spouse, friend. There’s a need to fight and make things right. There’s a need to be understood, to right the world that is spiraling out of control.
However, if we are disciplined enough to make it over to our meditation chair to sit in the stillness and quiet the mind, we can tap into peace. Then we can assess the situation and find our voice. I appreciate author Sam Horn’s A.N.G.E.R. Method of taking a step back to find a conscious, peaceful way to take action.
Imagine what would happen if we put aside the battlefield and instead went out to work in the garden? What if we allowed the warrior weapons to morph into garden gloves and channeled the emotions of battle into energetic vitality? We could use this newfound clarity of the situation to nurture and till the soil, feeding the precious seedlings (thoughts) with love, peace, wholeness, harmony. Take time to smell the flowers and take in the beauty of nature’s bounty.
If we are willing to stop and assess the situation, we have clarity and can lay down our weapons. The challenges of the world can be transformed by the presence of peace. It takes mindful intention and a willingness to let go. Buddha reminds us that “Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.”
Practicing mindfulness can give us the resources to face the difficulty of the day. It can help us find words to heal, thoughts to soothe, acts of kindness to share.
Affirmation: I am willing to lay down thoughts of separation and practice the radiant oneness of love.
“It’s hard to let go of anything we love. We live in a world which teaches us to clutch. But when we clutch, we’re left with a fistful of ashes.” – Madeleine L’Engle
Is there something you are hanging on to? Afraid to let go? Worried about what might happen?
Perception plays a big part in attachment. We perceive a specific outcome or result that may or may not be realistic. Because our emotions are tied in with the attachment, we are absolutely positive that the outcome we want is the only outcome there is. When we don’t get what we want, we feel disappointed.
The difference between expectancy and expectation is attachment. Expectation comes from the mind and expectancy comes from the heart. If I let go of attachment, I open up the realm of opportunity. The more attached I am, the more restricted life seems to be. Feeling restricted can make us feel incomplete and that somehow we have failed.
In surrendering, we free ourselves from the constant chatter about what isn’t working. We are then open to discover other possibilities in store for us. We tap into our inner wisdom when we let go of the suffering from the past, and the neediness of the future. Learning to live in the moment helps us stay centered in love.
When I live in the moment, I allow love’s healing power to take charge. If I can take time in the silence, I return to the extraordinary place of peace and harmony. Instead of planning, changing and fixing, I allow myself to just be and connect with the flow.
Affirm: I am willing to release and ready to receive.
