We're all familiar with the type of courage that's assertive and ballsy... but what about the courage to stay present in a time of waiting, in a time of vulnerability? How do we practice courage in these times, and what does courage look like?
Wherever there is challenge, wherever there is a chance to grow, there is a good chance that fear will show up. In this video, I'm sharing some of the best ways that I know of (and use!) for working with fear, for acting courageously in the midst of fear.
Read MoreWe often think that courage is a huge and dramatic act, performed fearlessly... but that couldn't be further from the truth. In this teaching and meditation, explore: What is courage for you today?
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One of the very best parts of my work is that I get to see people's perspectives change as they wake up to their lives... and then their lives change! Practicing mindfulness is (among other things) a way of being that is empowered, revolutionary, and deeply nourishing. Join me to hear more on this perspective and share a short restorative meditation.
Read MoreWhat do you think of when you hear the word "self-care?" A massage? A bubble-bath? I want to talk about self-care because it’s important and often misunderstood. It's time to review what it means to really care for ourselves, sourced in awareness, compassion, and discernment.
Read MoreInstead of being concerned about how long you *should* meditate, what if you focus more on the consistency?
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Picture a hiking trail running through the woods. This trail is clear and easy to follow as it winds through trees, bushes, and brush. The reason that it’s so easy to follow is because it has been trodden so very many times before…
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Years ago, my friend and I had a little debate….
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What would you do with your “moment outside of the time-bound world?” What would you do with your “space of undoing?”
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What does it mean to show up to your life? For me, it means being present, being here. Aren’t we always here? Well, yes, but sometimes we don’t know we’re here. We’re halfway here, lost in our thoughts, five steps ahead of NOW in worry or preparation. So showing up means that we’re fully here in this moment, paying attention. If you’re like me, you may have learned over time that it isn’t always easy to show up AS YOURSELF. Perhaps it doesn’t always feel safe. Am I enough? Will people approve of me?
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I have a sense of the types of practices that help me. And yet there are times when I find it really hard to keep consistency. The very times when I MOST need these practices in my life, the times when I am MOST in need of the peace, grounding, and strength that they give me, are the times when it feels like like I have no time or energy to do them. I had the thought that I would like to see what it feels like to live in my optimum state. What would it feel like to be taking care of my mind, body, and spirit in ways that are healthy and beneficial...and sustainable?
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I am drawn to (driven to?) productivity, as many of us are. It comes through our culture, this emphasis on doing, doing, doing. It feels good then, to be productive and to accomplish a lot in a day. It feels gratifying, as if all of this doing means something. If I dig way down deep, achieving seems to mean that I am enough-- good enough, hardworking enough. At the same time, this can feel like a kind of tyranny-- that I MUST accomplish a lot, and if not, it could mean that I failed in some way. But what if I’m tired? What if I’m not feeling well?
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Now I use this as a practice not just of the body, but of the mind and heart. Can I listen to my own body? Can I honor my own strengths, needs, and limitations? With back, shoulder, and knee tenderness, I am always modifying the poses, shortening them, sometimes doing a totally different pose that feels right at the moment.
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I feel their love, and I feel the loss of them, as much as I let myself. Trying to let it all in: the loss and the love, the bitter and the sweet. If there is to be healing and growth, it's in being with what is here, and offering compassion to myself.
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I feel sometimes like I have been given a ten-speed again. Opportunities come my way that are justout my my comfort zone, that I need to really stretch to meet. My emotions go all over the place-- gratitude, fear, excitement, anxiety, overwhelm, and then the guilt of feeling negative feelings at all, when clearly opportunities are GOOD!
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Indeed, why not honor our own feelings? Why does it ever occur to us to doubt ourselves and question ourselves as much as we do?
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I heard someone say recently, “Hard is different than bad.” I really love this distinction-- it helps somehow. When I am in a challenging time, sometimes I do a check-in with my needs.
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That swim seems to me like a miniature model of life. Anxiety crescendos and decrescendos; joy alights and then flies away. Grief goes on and on; overtaking me for a time and then lying low. Those anchovies are still out there somewhere in the ocean; sometimes they're all I can see, and sometimes the water is clear. Things come and then they go.
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To see my joy swinging in midair and to simply watch it, to note it and appreciate it, perhaps even appreciate it more for the knowledge that it cannot be held down.
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To ask what I should do next encourages me to use my brain and my judgement to think about what activities are valuable or desirable. But to ask what is required encourages me to be mindful of myself, inside and out. It asks me to scan the state of my mind and body and figure out my actions based on what I need at the moment.
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