Live What You Know

Waking up is more than it seems. You KNOW more than you've ever been "taught"! You chose to be here now. Make yourTRUEself proud!

Tag: stillness

December 18, 2013

Just Right — Letting Go of the Ups and Downs

Years ago when I began watching my thoughts and making the connections between my mind and my life, I noticed all sorts of interesting things.  The work itself is in not becoming attached to the myriad of thoughts that are constantly coming our way; it’s noticing the thoughts floating by like clouds trying to get our attention and being okay with letting them pass…not resisting them, just choosing well which ones we allow in.  When we do give certain thoughts our attention, they come down right in front of our face and grow and seem to hold us captive in their aura until we can release them.  We are left sort of under the influence of whatever thoughts we have allowed to grow and take hold.  I love this work and I understand the practice it is to remember it fresh in every moment.  What about the emotions…what do we do with them?

As I continued working with the thoughts and in-a-sense changing my mental habits or taking responsibility for the thoughts and energy I bring to all things, I noticed a lot of things about happiness in general.  I was devouring books like crazy, trying new practices, praying for guidance and in general just working towards a joyful, purpose filled and meaningful life.  Often, I would pack my babies up in the car and head out to start our day feeling like I could take on the world and remain in bliss all day.  The mornings always felt fresh and ripe with possibilities for using all my new tools and truly living all I was learning.  I distinctly remember the day I was driving in my car feeling like I was so very happy.  I was thinking, “I am soooooo happy” over and over again.  It was great, completely exhilarating!  It wasn’t the first time I had done this of course, but I remember the day that the help for this condition came.  The happy thoughts were followed by a clear voice (my own voice from a deeper place) saying something along the lines of, “Wait, relax, don’t do that, just be here, just be okay with here.”  I found myself breathing and grounding myself in something deeper behind the “happy” feeling.

I knew instantly that I didn’t want to jump on that happy train anymore.  I could feel the knowing that if I did, I would inevitably find myself in the opposite direction later.  It is no fun to come down from the happy and find yourself on the other side.  I was growing very tired of that.  I could see the rhythm and pattern emerging out of the clouds for me.  I wanted out of the thoughts about how I feel and into the practice of living in the middle way.  Living — just right.  It was a strange feeling to know that I didn’t want to achieve that “happy” feeling anymore.  I was sure though.  I wanted to dwell in the real peace and joy that can sustain all things.  I felt ready to release myself from the ups and downs.  I caught myself that day and grounded myself in the joy that lives in the moment without over thinking it and labeling it or my mood.  The real joy and peace isn’t in the extremes.

It makes sense.  If I go around attached to the idea that “I am so happy”, then anything that challenges that idea or brings me back down to dealing with life’s little challenges, choices and behaviors creates massive resistance.  I would be so attached to my “happy” that anything threatening it would be most unwelcome and incite all kinds of reactions I don’t want to succumb to.  The “happy” brings resistance and struggle, making it very difficult to live each moment joyfully the way we are meant to live.  The peace behind the happy that is “just right” allows all things to be as they are and isn’t dependent on what happens.  Whatever happens is just right.  Whew!

I continue the work to this day of course…chipping away at it as I go, grateful for all the progress, as well as all the work ahead.  The joy is in the journey.  I fall often, dust myself off, and get back into the stream of life that I know is always there waiting for me.

Sending you love and joy and wishing you a day full of all things just right!

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December 8, 2013

Swimming in The Deeper Currents of Life

Every single moment of our lives is trying to tell us something.  Life itself is the moment.  We must make room to allow enough listening to hear what the true message of the moment is.  We must bring honor and sacredness to the art that is listening.  Every encounter with any being or even just in stillness is an opportunity for deeper listening.  More than just a portion of our attention while we multi-task is required for the type of listening we’re talking about here.  How do you hear well enough to truly receive a smile?  What could be worth skipping a smile meant for you or missing the sound of laughter?  Why have we allowed so much noise to creep in and take us from the deeper currents of life?

In a recent Eckhart Tolle talk, he was discussing his teachings and he said, “The person got out-of-the-way enough for the teaching to come through.”  I love this idea.  If we allow our personalities and all our distractions in life to dominate our experience each day, we don’t leave any room for the sacred to come through.  We all know about intuition and we can feel the pull that comes from our “gut” telling us something.  We choose if we take the time to practice really listening to life and following where it is leading us.  We have the stillness inside that has all the answers we seek.  We often cover it up with one distraction after another or we let others tell us what we should do.  Perhaps we fear our own authentic power.  There is nothing to fear; only love to be found.  We are meant to hear the messages, they will get louder if we stay focused on noise and reside in distractions.

“We are evolving
from five-sensory humans into multisensory humans….
The perceptions of the multi-sensory human
extend beyond physical reality
to the larger dynamical systems of which our physical reality is a part.”

~ Gary Zukav ~

Our perceptions are everything.  They create our entire world.  How we choose to look at the world determines what we will see.  How we listen to the world determines who we will be, what we will create and how we will live.  It must be noted that our thoughts aren’t always worth listening to.  In fact, most often, they are not.  We aren’t talking about listening to our thoughts and acting from them.  We must go deeper and let the thoughts be what they are — only thoughts.  They will pass.  We don’t want to make choices because we are under the influence of our thoughts that crept in.  We want to listen deeply and use more than just the five senses as we expand and live more fully as our essential being.  There is more to listen to.

A simple act of slowing down can help on the path to listening to more of life.  I know deeply that the more we can listen to life, the more we can live.  I also cannot emphasize enough the importance of clearing the mind and touching the stillness as we slow down.  Watch those thoughts and lean back into the space that hears them.  There is much more to you than the thoughts.  Be the space behind them.  Resist jumping on the thoughts and allowing them to grow.  Choose your thoughts and choose your life.

Another great practice to bring more listening is accepting what is.  Even if someone is being rude, speaking with a harsh tone, interrupting you constantly, saying something you don’t want to hear, acting stressed out…whatever it is, there are reasons why these things are happening.  Being the space of loving listening can help ease the suffering of others in so many ways.  Accepting what is brings more love into the world.  We can love all the great things we encounter quite easily.  We can also love the not-so-pleasant things we see as well.  There is truly only love and fear.  As you see love, of course, love it and spread it.  As you see all other things, remember — it is only fear.  Give it love too and you can ease suffering and bring more love to the world that way.  Even the most dreadful behaviors come from a place of fear.  It sounds simple, but it is true.  Just love the love and accept the fear as you provide a non judgmental place for it to transform.  Any energy spent resisting what is will bring suffering to you and those around you.  Resisting what is doesn’t allow you to see and hear what life is telling you.  Accept it all as you listen deeply to whatever you are supposed to hear.

Simply put:

  • slow down
  • choose your thoughts wisely, letting the others pass like clouds
  • accept what is no matter what form it comes in
  • waste no energy resisting what already is…hear the message instead
  • listen with all your senses – the five and the multi-sensory ones beyond
  • spread love, by celebrating the love you encounter and accepting the fear you encounter…your acceptance just may allow it to turn towards love
  • courageously swim in the deeper currents of life; trust your knowing…treat life like one big doing meditation…it is.

One more thing, it is a great hint in life to follow the beauty…true beauty that is.  God/Life/Universe/All is in the beauty.  See that, hear that, be that and you’re on to something.  Hopefully you have time to follow the beauty in this lovely poem below by Mark Nepo.  He has gifted the world with amazing work on listening.  His latest book is called Seven Thousand Ways To Listen, it is definitely worth the read.  Enjoy this gift from those pages.

The Appointment
by Mark Nepo

What if, on the first sunny day,
on your way to work, a colorful bird
sweeps in front of you down a
street you’ve never heard of.

You might pause and smile,
a sweet beginning to your day.

Or you might step into that street
and realize there are many ways to work.

You might sense the bird knows some-
thing you don’t and wander after.

You might hesitate when the bird
turns down an alley. For now
there is a tension: Is what the
bird knows worth being late?

You might go another block or two,
thinking you can have it both ways.
But soon you arrive at the edge
of all your plans.

The bird circles back for you
and you must decide which
appointment you were
born to keep.

Wishing you the courage to swim in the deeper currents of life as you spread love by truly listening to everything!  Sending you love and joy!

 

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November 4, 2013

A Clear Mind

My new morning mantra…

Today, I go out into the world with a clear mind.  I leave all thoughts behind.

I spotted a great quote recently that inspired it…

When I walk out into the world, I take no thoughts with me.  That’s not easy, but you can learn to do it.  An empty mind is hungry, so you can look at everything longer, and closer.  Don’t hum!  When you listen with empty ears, you hear more.  And this is the core of the secret:  Attention is the beginning of devotion.”  –Mary Oliver

Last Monday morning, I was driving the children to an activity and I paraphrased Mary Oliver’s lovely words above sharing where I had seen them.  I then naturally turned them into my new mantra.  I kept saying, “Today, I go out into the world with a clear mind.  I leave all thoughts behind.”  Next thing I knew I was looking at things fresh and clear and miracles were appearing before my eyes.  Simply from looking at them with a clear mind.  The miracles are always there and God and the Divine are always ready for us to show up and see them, experience them, and BE them.

On that Monday morning before I had used my mantra, I did have things on my mind that seemed to need my attention.  I even had a few things I thought needed fixing or my own interference really.  After using my mantra and then truly entering the day’s activities with fresh eyes, open ears, and a clear mind with pointed attention…nothing needed my “fixing” anymore.  I was simply left grateful and alive.

This weekend someone asked me, “Where do you fellowship?”  I said, “Everywhere.  I love looking for the Sacred in Everything.”  This is my devotion.

Mary Oliver was right…It isn’t easy to take no thoughts with you.  She was also right when she said you can learn to do it.  It begins with watching the thoughts and then finding your way to quieting them.  The joy is in the still, open, attention.

This morning and always, I wish you a clear and open mind to experience the miracles that are ready for you.  You don’t have to take expectations with you anywhere you go or into anything you do.  Sending you love and joy!

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October 29, 2013

Reaction vs. Action

A life of reaction is a life of slavery, intellectually and spiritually.  One must fight for a life of action, not reaction.  –Rita Mae Brown

True answers come from within.  We cannot listen to the voice inside while constantly navigating what is going on outside.  Reacting to everything that comes our way, trying to please others, wallowing in emotions resulting from others’ actions, defending ourselves and trying to convince others…these are all reactions.  We are here to do something.  Deep inside we already know how to BE something.  We can quiet our minds and live our life.  Life is a beautiful dance between quiet-being and conscious-doing.  We don’t have to be constantly swayed this way or that depending on the way the world is blowing us.  We can connect deeply to our true self and allow more of it to show up in the world.

True questions come from within.  We can listen.  We can get comfortable with the questions.  We can lead lives of meaning and purpose by doing the work within.  We can stay with the questions and act out of our truest intention and desire.  We don’t have to react to others’ actions.  We can choose.  We can hear what we are meant to hear and allow the rest to pass through.

We can be compassionate loving people who listen well to others while still keeping enough space around our spark inside to stay the course of our own choices and our own conscious actions.  If we choose to react, it can come from a deeper place and we can know it was meant to be.  We can move slower and deeper.

The perfect questions and answers for each of us come at the perfect moment.   We must listen.  To give our joy away, even for a moment, for a reaction, is a waste of energy and an abandonment of our soul.  Wishing us all the ability to stay in the joy and nurture our soul today and always!

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October 15, 2013

Perseverance…Just Keep Going…

It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer.  ~Albert Einstein

If we are facing in the right direction, all we have to do is keep on walking.  ~Buddhist Saying

Our greatest glory is not in never failing, but in rising up every time we fail.  ~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Difficult things take a long time, impossible things a little longer. ~André A. Jackson

At our house, we love Super Soul Sunday on Own, it is a spiritual practice for us.  We quit watching TV several years ago and made an exception for this wonderful program…it has proven to be a great choice.  It is a lovely way to see God in a variety of forms and ideas…a beautiful tribute to the Universal Oneness we can all benefit from understanding.  We get excited for new episodes.  Recently we watched endurance swimmer Diana Nyad talk about her life, her journey, her beliefs, her determination, her recent swim from Cuba to Florida and more.  She shared a piece of herself with Oprah and her audience in a very moving way.  Oprah enjoyed it so much that she made it a two-part episode that continued this past Sunday.  I must admit that when I first saw the topic the week prior to it airing, I wasn’t as excited as usual…I just didn’t feel connected to it and it didn’t seem like I would relate to it so much.  Well, I was wrong.  Very wrong.  It was relatable to me in a deep way.

I had seen the headlines of Diana’s swim from Cuba to Florida and never really bothered to read the story or details of it.  Now I know the story and I am a better person for having heard it and a grateful person for having heard it straight from her.  Long long story really short – she swam 110 miles in 53 hours straight at age 64 on her fourth attempt.  After hearing all the specifics of the challenges of swimming in the ocean (like jellyfish stings) and trying to wrap my mind around doing anything for 53 hours straight (even lying on my bed), the whole idea just seemed a bit crazy and kind of like a strange dream to chase for a lifetime.  That feeling didn’t last long.

Diana has an intense personality.  She is a force.  You can feel her when she talks and in my experience, something deep inside me connected to that spirit that showed so clearly in her.  It really is hard to put into words, but I felt it big time.  I was riveted and deeply moved.  My whole family was.  There is something beautiful about people who are trying to be the best version of themselves and willing to work really really hard to do it.

Afterwards, my eight-year-old daughter and I were talking about her dream and her perseverance.  We were walking through the house gathering laundry as we casually discussed what it meant to us.  We were talking about the swimming part of it and all she encountered, it seemed really really scary to my daughter.  I tried to explain that you take that example of perseverance and you put it in a form that relates to your life.  Without thinking of it, I blurted out what my Cuba/Florida swim equivalent is.  I explained that for me, what I am the most passionate and feel the most drawn towards and consider to be the most important thing in my existence is living in consciousness as a permanent state.  That is, transcending egoic states of mind and truly existing deeply in the present moment.  This may sound strange to some people but this is my truth.  Living in this way is the most important thing and will transcend and bring harmony to life and relationships all around me.

I have been on this journey of trying to live what I know for quite some time.  I fall down all the time.  I react.  I take things personally.  I resist what already is.  I fall below thought and just check-out with mind numbing distractions of various sorts, knowing this doesn’t bring real joy.  I always get back up and keep going.  I can admit that I failed and I don’t have to be mean to myself about it.  I can apologize to those I may have hurt or annoyed and tell them I know I can do better and I am not those choices.  Learning to be kind to yourself in your failure is a gift.  Still learning to receive that gift.  Getting better.

It is strange that watching a swimmer with a completely different type of dream and experience could connect to me so deeply.  I know why it did — It is the same story we all have.  I am grateful to Diana to have shared her story in a way that allows me to be able to consider those 53 hours and what it took to keep going.  I will think of it often as I keep going.  Many times this week, I caught myself right before I may have fallen into an old reaction or thought pattern and I felt deeply that now was the moment to choose to live all that I know.  I was able to sit in whatever was causing discomfort and not let it become me.  I could observe and stay true to who I am and what kind of person I want to be.  In life there are countless opportunities to continue to make that choice.  I am that choice, not the other things that sometimes interfere with my deeper self.  Maybe someday soon  I can live 53 hours straight without any thought chatter or egoic reasoning or reacting…just simply BEING.  The only time to do it is now.  I AM that choice.

Find a way.  ~Diana Nyad

There is an evolutionary impulse that wants to assist us in our growth and towards what we are meant to do.  It takes a lot of stillness and spaciousness to access that place that can guide us.  It doesn’t have to be difficult to persevere.  It can seem incredibly hard when we fall away from the impulse of the flow of life, but the flow is always waiting for us to return to it.  We can choose it at any moment.  It is true that we aren’t really headed to a destination…it is the journey and it is full of millions of opportunities to continue to persevere.

Wishing us all the space to embrace perseverance towards whatever we may feel drawn to.  Sending love!

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September 11, 2013

Staying Home

Once we understand that the best place to BE at home is within ourselves and that we can be at home whenever and wherever we are, we just need to practice actually doing it.  For today, I want to share a quick tip for staying at home within when distractions arise.

The term being at home is really about inner peace.  Somehow “being at home” sounds a bit more attainable than inner peace, kind of like a stepping stone to the real deal.  Plenty of being at home within will take us toward inner peace…where else would it lead?!  The path toward peace begins with quieting the mind.  There are many stages and paths and practices that help with quieting the mind.  Different things work for different people.  I want to just give a quick tip today that might help us all stay home well this week.

Let’s identify a few of the many things that take us from our true home and fill our mind with noise:

  • Worrying
  • Rushing
  • Resisting situations, wishing things were different
  • Thinking about the future and what may happen
  • Wishing something hadn’t happened
  • Being annoyed
  • Stress in general

To be clear, we are meant to live a peaceful life and feel at home within ourselves all the time.  So, anytime we are not experiencing utter peace, we have left our rightful home and chosen fear instead.  Most people live in constant stress, so they may be surprised to hear that what many consider to be “normal” stress is actually not living at all and a complete waste of energy.

Knowing our home is within we can use our bodies to anchor us there.  A little thing I like to do throughout the day when I feel my mind stray or stress begin to take hold is to simply shift my attention towards some part of my body.  If I am walking when I notice the mind activity, I simply change the thought to “I am home” and feel my foot hit the ground or floor with my fullest attention, then I keep my attention there for my next steps.  Repeating the “I am home” thought again, I then notice more of my body.  I soon notice my heart feel good and a smile always comes to my face; when you stop to notice your heart feel good, it is impossible not to smile (try it).  As you keep walking, you find the quiet mind and peace again.  If I were doing the dishes or writing when my mind went towards noise, I would bring my attention to my hands and do the same thought replacement and feel my heart relax and inevitably feel a smile on my face.  It really works and can bring you right to where you are most at home…in joy.  You can use an arm movement, notice your fingers, stretch your neck or simply stand still…anchor yourself anywhere in your body and out of your mind…it will bring the peace of being at home within.

On this wonderful Wednesday, I just have to say…I wouldn’t wish happiness on anyone.  That may sound strange, let me explain.  To me, happiness means something has happened that brought it and inevitably it swings to the opposite at some point.  What I wish for everyone is true peace that comes from within.  I wish it for you with all my heart!  Try this little tip to anchor your attention in your body and you will love how it feels to quickly and effectively quiet the mind and all the trouble it likes to create.  When I first started watching my thoughts years ago, I remember I would often find myself counting my steps.  It was as if my mind was so used to constant noise that it couldn’t just be quiet, it had to count.  It was okay, I just went around counting steps and stairs…it passed.  The quiet is where life is at…I am so grateful for the quiet.

I hope this little tip helps you enjoy the quiet.  I am sending you love and peace!

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September 9, 2013

Being At Home

What better place to truly be at home than anywhere in the world?!  When we can be our true self no matter where we are, who we are with or what the circumstances are, then we are really living and we are at home within.  Figuring out how to find this space and dwell within it is the most important achievement we can ever accomplish in our lifetime.  That space is in there waiting for us…we need simply follow the path to it.  There is no fear there and none of its many disguises.  There is unwavering comfort.  There is only love for all that is and ever was and ever will be.  There is peace.

Live What You Know is all about figuring out how to stay in this place.  I have peeked in the door and even stopped in for a bit…only to allow myself to be pulled back to all the things of this world that can pull us out of peace if we let them (and only if we let them).  How lovely it would be to take us residence there.  I would have that peace and I could bring it to everyone I meet.  I could show them my space and share with them that they have the same space within them awaiting their arrival.  They would be able to see it and recognize it as their own as well.  Oh, how lovely that would be.

We will get there.  There is no way we can’t.  The timing is fine, it all works out as it should.  We will find our way within.

Now is the only time there ever is.

Today, as I walk, talk, breathe and be I will remember that I am at home.  I will be in that space today because my soul is ready to be there today.  That is the prayer today.  I pray the same for you.  Whether you peek in the door, stop in for a visit or are ready to live there always, I pray you see home in you today and always.

———————————————————–

Today, our family is starting a stay-cation at home for the week.  We thought about traveling this week, but we all just really want to be at home enjoying family time.  As I was pondering staying at home this morning and truly making it the best it can be for my husband and children, the knowing that we are always at home within came through me.  I think there is a powerful connection to the actual living space we abide in.  I am grateful I had this awareness this morning and I can use this week as a time to honor our sacred space that we share.  I pray to use this time to bring more peace and love to my husband and children.  Making our living space more like the space we have within can only help us in finding that space, staying there and inviting others to join us.  Taking all actions from my home within is the only way to bring this peace to my loved ones.  I am so grateful to be at home!

Sending so much love!

 

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September 6, 2013

Life

The River of Life

It’s not enough to live from day to day
Keeping yourself warm, well-fed and safe
Satisfying desires, chasing after fun
Hiding from the strange and dangerous
Dazed with distractions and daydreams.

Life shouldn’t be a tepid pond
But a river flowing fast and furious
Full of struggles and adventures
That open up new depths
And awaken higher selves.

The same river that has brought you here
Through billions of years of unfolding
An ever-widening stream, from a trickle to a torrent –
Not to rest, but to keep cutting through
Until your being is ocean deep and wide.

— Steve Taylor

Wishing you the courage to make brave choices and follow the song of your soul towards the life you are meant to be living.  Whatever tune you hear your soul singing, follow it to wherever it may take you.  If you can’t hear it, get quiet and embrace the stillness and you will.  Wishing you The Flow of Life!  Pure Life!  Real Life!

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August 30, 2013

The Way It Is

Love is always the answer.  No matter what.

Whatever you’re doing, if it doesn’t feel good, it’s not working.

Love is available to access in every single moment.

 

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August 25, 2013

The Universe Went To A Lot of Trouble To Create This Exact Moment For You…Come To The Party

The Universe (God, Life, Love, All, Everything…) went to a lot of trouble to create this exact moment that you are experiencing.  It has been arranging millions of things and designing perfection for you.  It has then invited you to come.  That is the case in every moment.  Always.  Each moment is perfectly created for exactly the right circumstances for you and the evolution of your soul.  All we need to do is simply be there in the moment fully to experience the perfection we are meant to have.  Unfortunately, we often skip the moment entirely by bringing past issues or experiences and future worries or stress with us in our minds that keeps us preoccupied and unable to BE where we are at fully.  The moment that the Universe worked so hard for us to have is completely lost on us, we just can’t feel it.  We are more blessed and loved than we can imagine because the Universe (God) loves us so much that at the very  moment we miss yet another of its precious gifts it had picked out for us, it is already working hard to create another one to invite us to that is just as perfect.  It lines up infinite details to create divine experiences for us and no matter how many moments we miss, it continues to invite us to the next one.  Continuous understanding, compassion and invitations.  Amazing!

Imagine if a loved one had decided to throw you a special party…they organized every last detail to make it the best celebration of your lifetime and you just didn’t show up.  You just never went.  When we live with constant distractions, mind chatter and stress, we just aren’t showing up at the party the Universe has planned for us.  Lucky for us, the Universe will go on planning, arranging and coordinating the perfect experience for us…but, our soul longs to skip the detours and delays.  It will all work out just as it should, but perhaps by understanding what we are missing we can truly focus on figuring out how we can show up at the party now.  Let’s do everything we can to go to the party the Universe has planned for us…the joy.

Wishing you joy today and always!  I know you can get to the party and feel the joy; my faith in you helps me feel I can dwell in the joy more often myself.  Let’s Live It!  We have people to meet, things to see, stories to hear, love to create, adventures to encounter…the joy is always waiting for us.

 

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