Being compassionate toward others doesn’t require us to engage in any unhealthy physical or emotional experiences a person may be having. In fact, compassion requires that we remove ourselves from their physical process, and instead support from a place where we feel stable and empowered. We can communicate that we love a person while still refusing to play a part in their drama. For instance, when someone wants to vent about a particular issue, we can listen with an open heart but still refrain from taking on their negativity, giving unsolicited advice, or trying to fix the situation. This allows us to provide loving support yet remain calm, … [Read more...]
Let Go of Fear and Trust
Letting go is one of the most important, yet most difficult spiritual principles that we need to incorporate into our lives. Too often we brace ourselves for change instead of letting go and embracing change as an opportunity for our personal transformation. When we resist change, we actually generate more energy around our deepest insecurities, drawing toward us what we fear most. Letting go takes an open heart, expanded awareness, a grand sense of humor and a conscious practice to move through fear. It also requires surrounding ourselves with loving people and environments that support us releasing what is necessary in a healthy and … [Read more...]
Cultivate Lightheartedness for More Joy and Inner Peace
“Love is not something that just happens to you: it is a certain special way of being alive." ~ Thomas Merton In cultivating lightheartedness, we ensure our capacity to create and sustain joy, find peace in times of turmoil, and respond rather than react to life's challenges. When we exhibit the qualities of lightheartedness—such as playfulness, humor, flexibility, and spontaneity—our lives seem brighter, and we increase our desire and ability to uplift the lives of others. This occurs because these ebullient qualities are expressions of a soul-hearted life. Children are our best teachers for cultivating love and lightheartedness because … [Read more...]
Anxiety Can Be Your Friend
Until we allow ourselves time alone to lean into our anxiety and release our pain, we may not even realize that our bodies, especially our autonomic nervous systems, hold on to pain. For example, we may have parts of our body that are numb, shallow breathing, or a nervous system in a constant state of anxiety. Leaning in to our anxiety loosens the vice grip our brains have on our thoughts. In order to heal, we have to expose those negative thoughts, worries, and wounds to the light, and reveal all the ways we’ve been striving to protect them and keep them hidden from sight. Our physical and emotional reactions are flags which alert us to … [Read more...]
