“Real change, enduring change, happens one step at a time.” – Ruth Baer Ginsburg
I’ve been so inspired watching the determination, grit, and drive of the athletes at the Olympic games. Many of them have moved through so many physical, mental and emotional challenges to be there. To hear the stories of devotion of the athlete’s persistence and support of their families and friends is amazing.
I was especially in awe of watching Katie Ledecky swim the 1500 m freestyle. When she was previously interviewed she was asked how she stayed focused. She said she trained herself to not let any negative thoughts distract her from her goal. She monitors her self talk and has trained her inner voice to be a motivational speaker. So while she’s swimming, her only thoughts are ones to empower her to keep going, past pain, doubt, and limitation.
Wow! What a dedicated spiritual practice! Most days I can start out with a positive mindset, but my thoughts so easily revert to what’s not working or what I didn’t get done. Watching her persistence and determination was a reminder of the importance of staying focused and take one step at a time.
Disappointment, illness, financial challenges, loss are all life experiences we have at one time or another. Part of the practice is to acknowledge the pain and emotion and not bury it. Feel the feelings, talk about the pain, acknowledge the sadness. Have patience as you move through the process. Be gentle with yourself and your self talk. Reach out and talk with a friend. Know that this too shall pass.
After Katie finished her event, she told her a reporter that she let her mind wander near the end of the race. Her thoughts went to all the people who helped her achieve her success, and she was appreciating each of them. She ended the race with gratitude, humility and grace and a gold medal!
Feeling gratitude for even the smallest awareness helps to lift us up. Feeling grateful changes our vibration and allows us to be fully present. I am reminded of this quote from Melodie Beattie, “Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough and more.”
What are you grateful for today? Is there an Olympic athlete that inspires you?
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“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.
As I approached seat 6D on my flight, I smiled and told the gentleman he was sitting in my assigned window seat. He smiled back and said he was sure he was in his assigned seat. I looked again at the diagram on the overhead bin and yes, 6D was the window seat, and it was the one listed on my boarding pass. He started looking for his boarding pass. “Do you mean they gave us the same seat?” he mumbled, as he searched for his boarding pass. I did not want to hold up the long line of passengers and quickly said, “You know what, it doesn’t matter.” I hastily stowed my luggage under the seat in front of me and let the line move forward. It was no big deal.
Or was it? Was I just conned into giving away my window seat? Why was I in such a hurry to give it up? I reflected on how many times I didn’t speak up when someone got in front of me in line or ignored my request. I remembered times I felt invisible to those around me. One part of me felt that giving up my seat wasn’t an issue. It was a short flight, and I had a book to read. Another part of me was livid because I felt manipulated, controlled, disrespected. Was I just trying to be nice?
We all want to be liked, accepted, and included. As a result, we don’t always say what we’re thinking. We often hold back from telling the whole truth so we don’t hurt someone’s feelings. We go out of our way to do things for others so they will approve of us. We suppress what we really think. We hold our tongues. We were taught: Little girls are made of sugar and spice and everything nice. We are told to be seen and not heard. Don’t argue. Don’t yell. Don’t jump around so much. Don’t talk back. Don’t be greedy. Don’t get dirty. For goodness sake, just be nice!
We can learn to set boundaries and not be in such a hurry to give up our own good for the sake of others. It takes patience, as we learn to speak up for ourselves. The passenger in 6D was not the cause of my pain. If I felt empowered, I would be free to speak up and hold my ground knowing that was my seat. I would speak my truth rather than silence myself.
Are you ready to speak up, stand up, and show up for yourself?
Affirm: I am aware, alert and willing to take charge of my life.
“When conditions are sufficient there is a manifestation.” — Thich Nhat Hanh
We made wonderful joyful connections! We talked and shared, laughed and danced and even shed a tear or two.
Our Wisdom of the Heart Women’s Retreat was truly a celebration of the Spirit. Lauri Jones blessed us with her amazing voice, original music and united us in harmony. The beautiful forest at Alton Collins Retreat Center provided a sacred backdrop as we came together in love. We left uplifted, renewed, reconnected and recommitted to our spiritual practice.
Here’s what the retreat sisters had to say:
This retreat has opened up my heart to feel love again, to forgive more deeply and to further appreciate who I have become.
Connecting with other spiritually like-minded women was an enormous gift!
I call this retreat a soul tuning journey: being in the space which allows me to be completely protected while I explore the areas of my life that needs to grow.
I come alone and leave with a new tribe. The laughter, tears and very real sharing is heartfelt and I can feel it in the very core of my being.
I’ve been attending Rev Christine’s retreats for 10 years and they always take me deeper within myself.
I love the sacred, beautiful, healing container you create for us to come together and go deep into spiritual practice.
I love the mix of spirituality and fun, the peace of Alton Collins and the wonderful food that nourishes us.
I love Lauri’s voice, her style and her gentleness.
The Wisdom of the Heart retreats really do help reveal the Wisdom of one’s heart-self.
Rev Christine has a way of acknowledging each person’s experience in a way that values the person.
This was an opportunity to find time to rest and relax and deepen my spiritual awareness. I found new “sisters” and grew closer to the ones I already knew.
This deeply spiritual retreat, as always, changed my life. It moved me from anxiety to wholeness and gratitude.
I appreciate the safe and trusting environment for all participants, allowing us to connect with each other and our souls.
