Breathe in the Dark, Breathe out the Light
Most of us run from pain, do all kinds of things to avoid it and sometimes the cure for the pain is worse than pain itself in the end. How can we truly feel joy if we never experience pain? I am learning to breathe in those dark, emotional, and sometimes intense feelings and breathe out the release of joy. I do not stay in either place, I just breathe. Life must have contrast, it must have decision, but it is our choice how we will approach that contrast and make those decisions. With resistance, anger, resentment, we can power our way past the pain, or gently, lovingly, with grace, we feel the pain and release joy.
“Today I will breathe in the pain and breathe out the joy, taking in the pain for myself and others and releasing joy for myself and others. This is my gift to myself and the world.”
We Have the Key
One of the first and most astounding realizations in my journey of self awareness was the moment I understood that I had the key to my awakening. It was not outside myself, nor was I at the mercy of someone else who had power over me. The key was my own mind, the thoughts I […]
Justified Anger, Who’s Pain is it Anyway?
We have become a world of justified anger and outrage. Our reaction to events of the day permeates all aspects of our lives, it lives just under the surface and colors all of our perceptions. Don’t get me wrong, anger is better than depression or self deprecation, but the philosophy of “Love First” asks us […]
What is Your Mindset?
Many of us go through life never evaluating our “mindset”. We learn behaviors, usually by the age of 8 years old, which set our neural pathways, and like a thermostat set to your particular comfort level, we “set it and forget it”. This mindset then colors everything we observe and experience. It robs us of […]
Keep Silent
Today in my reading of “Becoming Bodhisattvas” by Pema Chodron, I read this: Mindful speech can be a difficult practice, speaking honestly is hard, but but to speak with MODERATION is an even greater challenge. It can be embarrassing to see how much prejudice we convey with words. Without blame, guilt, or justification, If we […]