Equilibrium Revisited

The Summer holiday is over and we're at that in between season where the weather is still mostly fine.  In the Pacific North West we have misty mornings and mellow sunshine afternoons, with spectacular sunsets.

Let's take a moment to reflect.  I invite you to take a breath with me and  bring your awareness into your body. 

What is the very first thing you notice? 

Is it a sensation, or a pain, or an emotion?  Or are you deeply relaxed?

Acknowledge what you're feeling and then take a deep, full, relaxed breath.

So how was your Summer?  Was it restful?  Was it busy?  Did you have some fun?  Take a few moments to breath in the scents and memories of what Summer means to you.

And now come fully into the present moment.  How does that feel?  What sensations are you feeling in your body, when your awareness is fully in this present moment?  Is it different than when you were reflecting upon your memory of Summer?  And if so, in what way?

That short exercise was meant to bring you into an awareness of your Experience of Yourself.  How did you do?  Did you get any insights?  Were you made aware of anything you may not have been noticing?  If nothing else, you just meditated for a few minutes…and that in itself is very rejuvenating.

During this Season consider taking the opportunity to realign yourself.  To come into balance and find center.  Equilibrium.  Stability.

In Chinese Medicine, the Summer season is affiliated with the Fire Element and the Earth Element is aligned with this in-between season.  The season known as Late Summer.  This season of harvest, and abundance.  Still productive. Not quite Autumn.  This allows the opportunity to Earth the energy of the Fire Element, storing it to see you through the colder seasons.

This is a great time to align yourself seasonally with the Earth, and follow Her example as She comes into balance.  To Ground the Creative Fire Energy and bring it to Earth within yourself.  So you may be productive and create a state of balance and stability within yourself.

In that state of Balance you have clarity.  You have breathing space.  You have deep reserves from which to draw upon.  There you will find wisdom and peace.

Enjoy Your Quest. 

Creating Space

Garden of Awakening Orchids in Portland OR.

I've talked about this before in an earlier post called Breathing Space and I want to say a little more about it in this post.

Today I noticed that I was putting off making a decision to change an aspect of my life.  It takes real courage to do that.  Other people may be affected.  I might regret making that change.  What will I lose?  What will I gain?

But putting off the decision was actually causing a lot of tension in my personal energy field, which affects body, mind, spirit and the immediate environment --i.e. space I occupy.

When I finally got off the fence and took a course of action, it freed up the space that was being held in limbo by all the tension required to keep myself static in that place of indecision.

By way of illustration, picture yourself in a room so full of stuff that you literally can not make a move.  You are packed in like a sardine and you are frozen in this state.  Your space is static.

But suddenly you see that you are close to a door, and you are able to reach out, with your arm, just barely...almost there...and now your fingers are reaching the doorknob and you take a deep breath and exhale and reach a little further, and suddenly you turn the knob, the door opens and all the stuff goes tumbling out the door.

In fact, so much stuff is removed that was holding you in place, that you are now free to move in any direction you want to.

When you stop holding that place of tension, it frees up space in your life.  

When that filled up room empties out, you have room for something else to move in.  What will fill your space now?

Pure potential.

Stress Reduction

Here is a little exercise I use for stress reduction.  If it seems familiar to you, it's from a post I wrote earlier entitled Neutralizing Stress.

Take a deep breath and bring your awareness into you body.  And just notice for a moment being present with your body.  What are you feeling within? What are you noticing? Notice the contact with the surface you're sitting or standing on.  Notice your clothes against  your skin.  Notice the air temperature, etc. But also notice your inner sensations, like any aches or subtle sensations, and how you're feeling emotionally.

You can take as long as you like with this.  And when you're ready, shift your focus to your heart field, which is the electromagnetic field generated by your heart. 

Just spend a little time focusing your awareness on your heart field.  Don't think about it, but feel it, if you can.  Just noticing it, is enough. 

I picture it as warm soft golden light radiating out from my heart.  I allow my focus to be as soft and diffused as the golden light I am seeing.  Just a soft awareness mingling with my heart field.  Just allowing myself to be present with that energy.

I invite you to practice doing this at least twice a day.  It only takes a few minutes.  You can do it as often as you think of it.

The reason this is important is because when you have trained your awareness to go automatically and easily into your heart field, you have amazing medicine at your disposal, you have an amazing tool for changing your experience and you have powerful protection from negative influence which you may feel are threatening your well being.

Neutralizing Stress

We live in a very high stress environment, and most people feel the affects of that.  There is so much going on in the world to divide attention and to distract.  A divided attention adds mental and emotional stress.

Add to that the physical stress caused to the body either from trauma or environmental factors as your immune system is taxed and your digestion is asked to compensate for processed foods and toxins.

And to top it off, there is the stress caused by trying to figure it all out.

This is the prescription I try always to remember to use.  When I feel overwhelmed, I have learned to remind myself  to stay in my heart field.  To stay present with my heart.

But how to do this?  I admit it takes practice and focus, but like any discipline it becomes automatic the more this practice is engaged in.

This is the exercise I use:

1.  Take a deep breath and bring full awareness into your body.  Just notice for a moment being present with your body.  What are you feeling within? What are you noticing? Notice the contact with the surface you're sitting or standing on.  Notice your clothes against  your skin.  Notice the air temperature, etc. But also notice your inner sensations, like any aches or subtle sensations, and how you're feeling emotionally.

2.  You can take as long as you like with this.  And when you're ready, shift your focus to your heart field, which is the electromagnetic field generated by your heart. 

Just spend a little time focusing your awareness on your heart field.  Don't think about it, but feel it, if you can.  Just noticing it, is enough. 

I picture it as warm soft golden light radiating out from my heart.  I  allow my focus to be as soft and diffused as the golden light I am seeing.  Just a soft awareness mingling with my heart field.  Just allowing myself to be present with that energy.

I invite you to practice doing this at least twice a day.  It only takes a few minutes.  You can do it as often as you think of it.

The reason this is important is because when you have trained your awareness to go automatically and easily into your heart field, you have amazing medicine at your disposal.   You have an amazing tool for changing your experience.  You have powerful protection from negative influences which you may feel are threatening your well being.  Because this excericise changes your perception of your experience.

Here are some variations on this exercise which may benefit and serve you.

1.     The next time you are reading an article, or you are watching or listening to a program which causes you to become agitated or angry or sad or overwhelmed or any emotion which does not feel good to you, take a moment to notice how it is making you feel.  Then allow your awareness to shift to your heart field.  Keep your attention there.  Now how are you feeling?  Which would you rather experience?  Which do you think is doing more harm to you?  And which is healing you?

For people who want to stay informed, without experiencing the negative effects of doing so…(remember the information we get is not coming to us first hand, but being reported through the perspective of the person writing or speaking the information)…being present in your heart field will keep you from dwelling in the perspective which would have a negative impact on your body, mind and spirit.

2.     The next time you are having an angry interaction with another person, rather than letting it escalate into a barrage of hostility with toxic words and feelings, go immediately to your heart field.  Stay there and watch the encounter change miraculously before your eyes.

This exercise takes a lot of practice and the ability to remain calm and focused when faced with hostile emotions. It also requires a willingness to surrender your investment in needing to be "right" or "win" an argument.

Anger is a natural emotion, and expressed in a healthy, non toxic way, can move you forward.  Interacting with people while being present in your heart field allows you to maintain your emotional equilibrium, keeping emotions non toxic.

3.     Being fearful, can also keep us in a state of overwhelm and keep us frozen and stuck.  In that state we are not fully living.  We are not realizing our potential.  We are instead, using up our precious internal energy resources dealing with distractions not worthy of us.

So what are some of the things that cause you fear or cause you worry?  Sit with one of your worst fears for a moment and tune into what that does to your body.  How does it feel --in your body?

Now put your awareness on your heart field.  How does that change your perception of that thing you fear?  Are you getting any insights about it?  Is that fear maybe softening it's hold on you a little bit?

Try using these exercises to engage your heart field awareness with your daily life.  Allow yourself to find ways to stay present in your heart field as much as you can.

When ever you are noticing anything which doesn’t make you feel good, go to your heart field.  See if it makes a difference for you.

Equilibrium

The Summer holiday is over and we're at that in between season where the weather is still mostly fine.  In the Pacific North West we have misty mornings and mellow sunshine afternoons, with spectacular sunsets.

Let's take a moment to reflect.  I invite you to take a breath with me and  bring your awareness into your body. 

What is the very first thing you notice? 

Is it a sensation, or a pain, or an emotion?  Or are you deeply relaxed?

Acknowledge what you're feeling and then take a deep, full, relaxed breath.

So how was your Summer?  Was it restful?  Was it busy?  Did you have some fun?  Take a few moments to breath in the scents and memories of what Summer means to you.

And now come fully into the present moment.  How does that feel?  What sensations are you feeling in your body, when your awareness is fully in this present moment?  Is it different than when you were reflecting upon your memory of Summer?  And if so, in what way?

That short exercise was meant to bring you into an awareness of your Experience of Yourself.  How did you do?  Did you get any insights?  Were you made aware of anything you may not have been noticing?  If nothing else, you just meditated for a few minutes…and that in itself is very rejuvenating.

During this Season consider taking the opportunity to realign yourself.  To come into balance and find center.  Equilibrium.  Stability.

In Chinese Medicine, the Summer season is affiliated with the Fire Element and the Earth Element is aligned with this in-between season.  The season known as Late Summer.  This season of harvest, and abundance.  Still productive. Not quite Autumn.  This allows the opportunity to Earth the energy of the Fire Element, storing it to see you through the colder seasons.

This is a great time to align yourself seasonally with the Earth, and follow Her example as She comes into balance.  To Ground the Creative Fire Energy and bring it to Earth within yourself.  So you may be productive and create a state of balance and stability within yourself.

In that state of Balance you have clarity.  You have breathing space.  You have deep reserves from which to draw upon.  There you will find wisdom and peace.

Enjoy Your Quest. 

You're On the Brink of a Discovery

You came into the world with special gifts and talents. You came all lit up inside like a white hot star. You came to do something important. But now, you feel like you've lost track of that dream. You feel like you've gotten off course. 

Sometimes, when you take a course of action, you think it will be just temporary. You take a job you don't really like, because it's convenient and you need the money. You put off pursuing the career you know you're right for, because you don't see how you could possibly make it happen at the time.  

You keep pushing your dream into the future because you think that the timing isn't quite right.  

You keep pushing that dream into the "Some day". Some day I'll … and then I'll be happy. Some day I'll… and then I will really shine, and make a difference. 

And then one day you begin to wonder, "How did so much time pass?" And suddenly you're in despair. Suddenly you're overwhelmed with the thought of your unfulfilled potential. And you can feel your dissatisfaction grow with every day that passes, while you are not living your purpose. 

You're not alone. And it's not too late. It's never too late. Did you know that? 

This is your amazing life, and everything you've experienced up to now, has been part of your education. You haven't been wasting your time. You've been living your life, and doing just fine. You've been evolving and growing, and now maybe you're thinking that you're ready to pick up the threads of that dream again to weave it into the fabric of your reality, making it solid and real. 

You're not stuck. You're on the brink of a discovery. Think about that for a moment. How does it feel? Does it make you feel excited? Does it make you feel anxious? Does it seem down right frightening? Or are you so ready for this?  

Or is it all of the above? 

The door is opening for you. The opportunities to step through are lining up. What will it take for you to feel that you're ready to step into that other life?  

Think about it.  

What would you need - to feel that you're ready to reclaim your dream and live your purpose?

Here's an exercise for you to try…

• Take a breath.
• Draw your attention into your body and just notice what that feels like.
• Now ask yourself "What would it take for me to feel ready to take that step into my true purpose and live my dream?"
• Your Gut will tell you.  Get out of your head.  You're not looking for an answer from your logical thinking process.  Pay attention to what your Body is telling you.  You only need to do this for a minute or two before you know the answer. 

If you weren't able to understand what your Body was telling you the first time, try the exercise again later.  Maybe you're just not used to this type of communication, but you Can do this.  It just takes a little practice.  Try it a few times in the next day or so.  

As you begin to tune in, you will find it easier to interpret the wisdom you know instinctively, and which your body is trying to communicate. 

I have helped others just like you who were ready to step into that new life, but felt like they were stuck in old patterns.  Some times it helps to have someone on your side who sees from a different perspective to help you break through those old cycles.  The perspective I bring is the ability to work with energies.   

Using a combination of energy techniques and practical exercises to set a new course of action in your life, you will begin to shift out of the pattern you feel trapped in and into your new life which you've been wanting to live all along.

Have Fun with the exercise. 

Using a combination of energy techniques and practical exercises to set a new course of action in your life.