We all know the expected monotony that takes place in the shower...washing, shampooing, conditioning, perhaps shaving that day. But once in a rare while, I have profound realizations about my life. They come to me out of nowhere. Literally!
I'm in the middle of rinsing my the shampoo out of my now much shorter hair and out of nowhere, I am drawn to notice the droplets of water falling off my bowed head. It was a sight I can say I've never seen and I've been in that shower who knows how many times. It was like the droplets were falling in slow motion and I could see the light reflecting out of each one, the path each one took through the air. It was surreal. The frame of my vision included my legs and feet which I noticed in different detail, set as the backdrop to these magical, beautiful droplets of water.
And while this was going on, my only thought was simply this: "this moment is your life".
I know there is a quote with this in it - Be happy for this moment. This moment is your life.
I love my shower realizations. You end up getting out of the shower, glad to be clean and refreshed, and you've gained some insight. And possibly too smooth legs.
The only explanation I have to these shower moments is that I succumb to intense relaxation of my mind and body while standing under very comforting hotter-than-it-should-be streams of water and in this moment I temporarily let myself go. Let everything go - enough to be mindful of beauty that happens in each moment.
I know it's called mindfulness, but it is something that eludes me even though I seek it. I know I can't stand in infinite showers, so the thought of a meditation practice / a sitting practice is in the workings of my mind. I also know that I can sit on an idea and it never happens so I'm committed to creating moments to have more of these realizations out of the shower. If I can get myself to several yoga classes a week of which I'm reaping the benefits of, then I know I can make time to see how meditating goes. Baby steps!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
When the truth hits you square in the soul...
The Invitation
It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain!I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it, or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own, if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, to be realistic, to remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul; if you can be faithlessand therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see beauty even when it's not pretty, every day,and if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “Yes!”
It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up, after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done to feed the children.
It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you, from the inside, when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.
by
Oriah Mountain Dreamer
copyright © 1999 by Oriah Mountain Dreamer.
I am very inspired by this and so much of it rings true. I can find applicable parts in almost every sentence, and some sentences take my breath away they are so true to my own journey, healing, and life.
I share this with you all in hopes that you find truth of your own in these words, and that you find inspiration to continue on your journey inward and out.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Opening and Surrendering to Change
"As you learn to recognize and accept the extraordinary power of change and develop the art of surrender, you'll be rewarded with an awakening of the natural alignment between body, mind, and spirit that already exists within you."
The above quote is from an article in Yoga Journal magazine. Sometimes I look to these kind of sources for inspiration and guidance. And sometimes it happens when things align just so that I am open to receive it. An external force (a person, passage in a book or magazine, an experience) jolts my awareness and if I am open to receiving the message, I do. I know that sometimes I am not open and that is when, no matter how many books or articles I read, who I talk to, or what I do, I can not make changes that I need to make. Even if I deeply want this change or transformation, it will not happen if I do not take the actions necessary to make it happen. If what I wanted in my life came to me simply because I wanted it, then there would be no problems, no issues, no struggles, no drama. I have to take the steps, the actions necessary to bring about change and transformation.
The challenge then is to remain open once you've started...to not turn back or give up. This is where I find myself again, like so many other times. But this time is different. I now have God with me, and this I am sure of.
So this journey is different, I am not alone, and I strive to stay open, keeping my heart open, open to God.
The above quote is from an article in Yoga Journal magazine. Sometimes I look to these kind of sources for inspiration and guidance. And sometimes it happens when things align just so that I am open to receive it. An external force (a person, passage in a book or magazine, an experience) jolts my awareness and if I am open to receiving the message, I do. I know that sometimes I am not open and that is when, no matter how many books or articles I read, who I talk to, or what I do, I can not make changes that I need to make. Even if I deeply want this change or transformation, it will not happen if I do not take the actions necessary to make it happen. If what I wanted in my life came to me simply because I wanted it, then there would be no problems, no issues, no struggles, no drama. I have to take the steps, the actions necessary to bring about change and transformation.
The challenge then is to remain open once you've started...to not turn back or give up. This is where I find myself again, like so many other times. But this time is different. I now have God with me, and this I am sure of.
So this journey is different, I am not alone, and I strive to stay open, keeping my heart open, open to God.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." — ~Neale Donald Walsch
I borrowed this quote from a friend's blog. It is fitting for the time of year, a beginning of new year and a chance to look back, look ahead, but most of all, live fully in each moment.
I can apply this quote to my multiple comfort zones...mental, physical, social, spiritual. Some zones I am more acquainted with, I know exactly where my area of comfort is and what it feels like to step closer and closer to the edge, and then jump over the edge and see what comes next. In some areas of my life I have yet to really challenge myself and discover where my edge is. It's funny how the parameters of a comfort zone can change...expand and retract at different times in my life.
I want to get to know my comfort zones in the different areas of my life, examine what keeps me from venturing out of them, and finally to brave the unknown.
So much is going on in my life. Changes abound...some that I created or initiated, some that I did not.
I am moving soon. Sad to leave my lil cottage in the country, but excited to see what new experiences await in a new space. It will be good to shed unnecessary belongings and create a new place for myself. The same is true for inner space as well. A new year and a new beginning, not for resolving to fix or change myself, because I am perfect just the way I am, but for a new start to living simply and simply living, taking each day for the gift that it is!
A change that I am initiating is the cutting of my hair. I am excited for a new look and the chance to donate my hair to Hairloss for Children. I am going to ask the stylist, once she sections it off in ponytails, if I can make the cuts. I would like to keep a small gathered strand and then give some hair to the birds for their nests. The thought of my part of me being up in a tree holding delicate eggs makes me smile.
I can apply this quote to my multiple comfort zones...mental, physical, social, spiritual. Some zones I am more acquainted with, I know exactly where my area of comfort is and what it feels like to step closer and closer to the edge, and then jump over the edge and see what comes next. In some areas of my life I have yet to really challenge myself and discover where my edge is. It's funny how the parameters of a comfort zone can change...expand and retract at different times in my life.
I want to get to know my comfort zones in the different areas of my life, examine what keeps me from venturing out of them, and finally to brave the unknown.
So much is going on in my life. Changes abound...some that I created or initiated, some that I did not.
I am moving soon. Sad to leave my lil cottage in the country, but excited to see what new experiences await in a new space. It will be good to shed unnecessary belongings and create a new place for myself. The same is true for inner space as well. A new year and a new beginning, not for resolving to fix or change myself, because I am perfect just the way I am, but for a new start to living simply and simply living, taking each day for the gift that it is!
A change that I am initiating is the cutting of my hair. I am excited for a new look and the chance to donate my hair to Hairloss for Children. I am going to ask the stylist, once she sections it off in ponytails, if I can make the cuts. I would like to keep a small gathered strand and then give some hair to the birds for their nests. The thought of my part of me being up in a tree holding delicate eggs makes me smile.
to start this new year...
a poem. Hafiz is one of my favorite poets. This poem sums up what I reach for in this coming year...enjoy!
All the Hemispheres
Leave the familiar for a while.
Let your senses and bodies stretch out
Like a welcomed season
Onto the meadows and shores and hills.
Open up to the Roof.
Make a new water-mark on your excitement
And love.
Like a blooming night flower,
Bestow your vital fragrance of happiness
And Giving
Upon our intimate assembly.
Change rooms in your mind for a day.
All the hemispheres in existence
Lie beside an equator
In your heart.
Greet Yourself
In your thousand other forms
As you mount the hidden tide and travel
Back Home.
All the hemispheres in heaven
Are sitting around a fire
Chatting
While stitching themselves together
Into the Great Circle inside of
You.
~Hafiz
Monday, October 18, 2010
scripture to share...
There are so many places in the Bible that speak to my heart and strengthen me. Here are but a few:
Life by the Spirit - Galatians 5:22-26
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
A Prayer for the Ephesians (and us) - Ephesians 3: 16-21
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love may have power together with all the Lord's people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever, Amen!
Instructions on Christian living - Ephesians 4:26-27
In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. And do not give the devil a foothold.
Life by the Spirit - Galatians 5:22-26
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
A Prayer for the Ephesians (and us) - Ephesians 3: 16-21
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love may have power together with all the Lord's people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever, Amen!
Instructions on Christian living - Ephesians 4:26-27
In your anger do not sin. Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry. And do not give the devil a foothold.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
do not put off for tomorrow...
what can be done today.
Simply stated yet this one is so hard for me to follow. I have always been a procrastinator and at times want so badly to break myself of this habit. It does not serve me yet why do I keep finding myself waiting until the last minute to do something or get something done.
I wouldn't be writing about this except that it is becoming a constant with me right now, I'm rushing to finish assignments by their deadline, hoping I don't get a ticket for my car inspection being expired, and all the while kicking myself for knowing better.
I know that this won't help matters, but as much as I try, I fall into the habit of procrastination. There was a nagging thought in the back of my mind that this has something to do with my state of mind and mood. It doesn't help that in the middle of writing this I darted over and did a search of procrastination help and up pops a website about depression and procrastination. Jeez...not what I wanted to read about, but instead of constantly kicking myself for putting things off, perhaps I should try to figure out WHY I am putting them off or waiting until the last minute to do things. And I know it's not because I work well under pressure. That was my story in undergrad. but now I know for certain it is not the reason I procrastinate.
My mission in the next few days is to recognize and keep track of times when I do not procrastinate, or in other words, when I don't put something off to do later. Starting...NOW!
Simply stated yet this one is so hard for me to follow. I have always been a procrastinator and at times want so badly to break myself of this habit. It does not serve me yet why do I keep finding myself waiting until the last minute to do something or get something done.
I wouldn't be writing about this except that it is becoming a constant with me right now, I'm rushing to finish assignments by their deadline, hoping I don't get a ticket for my car inspection being expired, and all the while kicking myself for knowing better.
I know that this won't help matters, but as much as I try, I fall into the habit of procrastination. There was a nagging thought in the back of my mind that this has something to do with my state of mind and mood. It doesn't help that in the middle of writing this I darted over and did a search of procrastination help and up pops a website about depression and procrastination. Jeez...not what I wanted to read about, but instead of constantly kicking myself for putting things off, perhaps I should try to figure out WHY I am putting them off or waiting until the last minute to do things. And I know it's not because I work well under pressure. That was my story in undergrad. but now I know for certain it is not the reason I procrastinate.
My mission in the next few days is to recognize and keep track of times when I do not procrastinate, or in other words, when I don't put something off to do later. Starting...NOW!
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