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What is mine to give?

Brilliance

I don’t often share another’s work in its entirety, but this poem was shared in sacred circle yesterday, and it touched me deeply:

Clearing by Martha Postlewaite

Do not try to save
the whole world
or do anything grandiose.
instead, create
a clearing
in the dense forest
of your life
and wait there
patiently,
until the song
that is your life
falls into your own cupped hands
and you recognize and greet it.
Only then will you know
how to give yourself
to this world
so worthy of rescue.

Many of us desire to have positive, powerful impact in our world. We see all that needs attention and we want to do our part. Martha’s words remind us of the importance of discernment.

What is mine to give?

We cannot do it all – we don’t have to! But we will never know what is truly our gift to offer if we don’t create the time and space to listen to our inner voice, our heart and soul.

Today and every day, give yourself the gift of listening through meditation, journaling or just the pause to take 3 deep breaths. In the space you create, be open and listen. You may hear the song for the moment; you may receive the song for your life. With your song on your lips, give yourself to Life as only you can.

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Meditate … why?

meditate

Yes, I meditate. But it doesn’t look like that! It has never looked like that. Yet, how I “sit”, how I “let go and be”, is meditation for me. And I know that you have your own “method” or “way of being” that is meditation for you.

Today’s short message is meant as an invitation especially if you have never tried – or have tried and think you have failed at – meditation. There is no such thing as failing at it, by the way! Though I did … I “failed” … over and over and over again! Once I let go of doing it “their way” and trusted my being to meditate in a way that honors me, lets me “let go and just be”, I have found immense value on the journey.

Why do I meditate? Here are just a few reasons:

  • It relaxes my mental grip on life
  • It helps me widen my perspective
  • It calms my emotional and physical beings
  • It helps me feel connected to other humans and other life forms
  • It helps me love freely, less conditionally
  • It saves me from myself

If you have never tried it or tried and “failed”, consider trying again. Meditation is a practice, a journey, for everyone. There are many sources of guidance available – spiritual communities, the Internet, retreat centers – to name a few. My current inspiration comes from Adyashanti and Mukti. You can find their library of recordings here:

Cafe Dharma

What have you got to lose?
What might you gain?
Why not?

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Let Down, Let Be, Be Still

Today’s simple thought was inspired by the guided meditation, Let Down and Let Be, offered by the sacred teacher, Mukti. You can read about her at Adyashanti.org.

Still

Let down, let be, be still.

The energy, the substance, the source of all life simply is. It is ever-present, ever-available and is that from which all visible life manifests. Stilling ourselves – body, will, mind, thought, emotion – and resting in pure awareness of substance, of life, is gentle power. Here , when we let down our defenses, let be all else, and be still, all is well. There is nowhere to go, nothing to do, no need to figure anything out. Just be. Just notice any forms of energy, block, holding on and allow each to pass through as you return to stillness.

If you have never allowed yourself the gift of deep stillness, perhaps now is your moment. The only way to know how it will impact you, personally, is to experience it.

What do you notice in the stillness?
What do you notice on the way to stillness?
What does this gentle power offer you?

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When I pause …

… I listen within. Sometimes I listen to the teachings of others also. My current pause is filled with some rich, expansive awareness from the teacher, Adyashanti. His dharma talks at:

Dharma Cafe

are resonating deeply for me. I share this with you in the event that you are at a place where you desire input. If, on the other hand, you are currently called to listen to your heart and soul, please return to that very vital and sacred work.

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Do Less

I have written before about listening to intuitive wisdom – that inner, personal guidance that each one of us has access to, but which we so often miss.

Intuitive Wisdom

It takes practice to learn to hear our intuition and courage to follow it. Today, consider making a commitment to practice listening. To make it possible, try these practical and simple ideas for making space in your days by doing less:

  • Cook extra so tomorrow’s meal is easier with planned leftovers
  • Reuse bath towels so laundry is less
  • Don’t pick that fight with your spouse or children, let it go and go listen within instead
  • Stop rehashing yesterday in your mind
  • Stop planning for tomorrow and listen to what is present today

Know that when we begin a practice of listening, we might only hear what we’ve always heard! Be gentle with yourself. This is a practice! Let go again and listen:

What do you hear in the silence?
What message is in your breath?
What does your body say?
What is your heart’s truth?