Reflections from the Heart
“Do not close your eyes before suffering. Find ways to be with those who are suffering by all means, including personal contacts and visits, images and sounds. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world.”
—Thich Nhat Hahn
With all our best intentions and rich resources, why is it so hard to slow down, simplify, and care for ourselves? Why do most clearing efforts fall short? Why are we so afraid to let go? Our drive to attain and succeed comes at a great cost to the soul. We are malnourished, if not starved, when it comes to compassionate self-acceptance, awareness, and care. We yearn for simplicity but struggle to find it. We ache for balance but can't sustain it. There is no time to juggle it all, let alone clear the things and thoughts that have caused us to feel so overwhelmed in the first place.
After years of study, deep inquiry, and personal experience, here's what I know for sure:
For clearing to last you need to put yourself first. You won't make a dent in reducing the stress and stuff until you've healed the the patterns that created it. If you don't feel safe, you won't let go. Clearing is an inside job that begins and ends with you. For clearing to last you need to change your mindset. Clearing is not something you "do" or squeeze into your life. It's a way of life - a journey - that doesn't always add up, make sense, or go in a straight line. Clearing is not about "getting rid of." It's about letting go of the things and thoughts that get in the way of realizing your true nature and best life. For clearing to last you need to slow down. Clearing old habits and resisting behaviors is not possible until you slow it ...way ...down. In a world that is all about speed, this requires awareness.
LET'S GET STARTED!
It seems we spend half our lives winding ourselves up, like mechanical wind-up toys, and the other half unwinding, or trying to unwind. If we've learned to live well, our unwinding will be even and steady. If we've wound up our "toy" too tightly or too fast over the years, we'll either find ourselves stuck in a lock jam that keeps us spinning in circles, or we'll unwind so fast that we will careen off the table, hit the wall, and fall flat. This is about how to unwind the slow and steady way. But it is also about this little mind-bender... You are not the wind-up toy.
—Thich Nhat Hahn
With all our best intentions and rich resources, why is it so hard to slow down, simplify, and care for ourselves? Why do most clearing efforts fall short? Why are we so afraid to let go? Our drive to attain and succeed comes at a great cost to the soul. We are malnourished, if not starved, when it comes to compassionate self-acceptance, awareness, and care. We yearn for simplicity but struggle to find it. We ache for balance but can't sustain it. There is no time to juggle it all, let alone clear the things and thoughts that have caused us to feel so overwhelmed in the first place.
After years of study, deep inquiry, and personal experience, here's what I know for sure:
For clearing to last you need to put yourself first. You won't make a dent in reducing the stress and stuff until you've healed the the patterns that created it. If you don't feel safe, you won't let go. Clearing is an inside job that begins and ends with you. For clearing to last you need to change your mindset. Clearing is not something you "do" or squeeze into your life. It's a way of life - a journey - that doesn't always add up, make sense, or go in a straight line. Clearing is not about "getting rid of." It's about letting go of the things and thoughts that get in the way of realizing your true nature and best life. For clearing to last you need to slow down. Clearing old habits and resisting behaviors is not possible until you slow it ...way ...down. In a world that is all about speed, this requires awareness.
LET'S GET STARTED!
It seems we spend half our lives winding ourselves up, like mechanical wind-up toys, and the other half unwinding, or trying to unwind. If we've learned to live well, our unwinding will be even and steady. If we've wound up our "toy" too tightly or too fast over the years, we'll either find ourselves stuck in a lock jam that keeps us spinning in circles, or we'll unwind so fast that we will careen off the table, hit the wall, and fall flat. This is about how to unwind the slow and steady way. But it is also about this little mind-bender... You are not the wind-up toy.
|
Heartstrings, "Where the spiritually aligned female collective gathers" is a Women's Empowerment Collective organization project focused on workshops and one on one training to provide education and support to the local community of female caregivers. We also welcome men since it would be a wonderful addition for them to join in this healing. However, our focus is to empower and embrace the gifts we women have and to re balance ourselves while caring for others.
Focused on the contemplative way of self-care to provide the opportunity for people to recharge, re balance and be more available and present in the day to day functions of life. |
Just like JoAN OF ARC
|
|