Thank You Very Much – Turning Problems Into Gifts

I am a martial artist and black belt in aikido, a practice that continues to teach me about life, both on and off the mat. For example, at the end of each aikido practice, I express gratitude to my partners by bowing and saying: "Thank you very much." I've found over the years that sometimes I have obvious reasons to say thank you - working with that person was exhilarating and fun. However, sometimes the reasons are not so obvious - my partner was stiff, rough, unconscious, or generally difficult to work with.

Still, I say thank you, because we're supposed to. Over the years, because I like to be congruent, I have learned to look for something to be grateful for. With my stiff partner, I find I have learned to be more flexible. With the rough opponent, I learned to take care of myself by speaking up or falling more carefully. In each case, I look for the gift. It's become fun to do this, and fun to apply this learning off the mat as well.

How might you incorporate this simple but effective practice in your daily life? Who are your attackers, and where are the unexpected gifts? After an encounter with the pokey driver ahead, if you had to say, "Thank you very much," what would you see as the gift? With a dismissive coworker or boss, if you had to look for the gift, what would it be? In each "difficult" relationship, where's the gift?

There are certain times of the year when we are more aware of being grateful for all of our blessings. My hope is that you might be grateful all year round, and not only for the obvious gifts but for the unexpected ones as well. Wishing you many of both kinds . . .

Being the Mountain

As I hiked up the path to the Peaceful Valley Chapel, I relished the quiet of my early morning solitude. After many years as a participant and assistant instructor at Thomas Crum's Journey To Center Program, this beautiful and energizing ten-minute hike had become a personal ritual. Each morning of each Journey to Center week, before our breathing and meditation session at 7, I always hike to the top of this small mountain to be inspired by the view of a much higher mountain range in the distance.

I stare at the 14,000-foot peaks, open my arms and breathe, inviting their energy, power, beauty and peace into my being. I contrast their stability and their "just there-ness" with my own approval-seeking energy, their effortless poise with my striving to do the right thing, and their natural and graceful essence with my desire to appear knowledgeable and beautiful and centered.

Could I possibly just BE? Like the mountain? There.

That turned out to be my practice this year - and I let the mountain be my teacher. Each time (well, most times) that I found myself in striving or approval-seeking mode, I stopped, breathed, and thought about the mountain. Thought about just BEING - like the mountain.

Each time I practiced, I felt my body come back to a relaxed stance, mind clear, my being at rest. It was as if I had been leaning forward - out of myself - looking for something, someone, to be okay. As I thought of the mountain, I came back to center.

Is there a place that helps you return to your own powerful presence? Your needs are met, you are okay just the way you are. Find it now - in your office, your home, your cubicle. Bring your mountain back into view. And have a great journey to center.

A Place of Sanctuary - Creating Sacred Space

The World Health Organization (WHO) describes health as “the condition of perfect bodily, spiritual, and social well-being and not solely the absence of illness and injury.”   As described by the WHO, how many of us feel emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually healthy on a daily basis?  We work in structures called ‘sick-buildings;’ we go home to care for families so tired we are almost unable to function; and we increasingly lose our connection with any sense of our place in the universe.  How do we reclaim our life and start to think that our life matters and that we are important in the overall scheme of things? One way of doing this is to create our own sanctuary/sacred space. 

Creating our own sacred space restores our peace of mind and enables us to stand back from the turmoil in our lives in order to provide a place where we can reconnect with our sense of self and reclaim our power.  Exploration of sanctuary is to create a link to the Divine as our soul asks us to love, accept, and provide hospitality to ourselves when we are spiritually hungry.   Spirituality is more than a psychological and emotional need: it is an inherent biological need as our energy, our spirit, and our personal power is all one and the same force. We need daily sanctuary as our heart and soul depends on it.  When we give ourselves the gift of sacred time in a special place, we are feeding our spirit.  Theodore Roszak writes, “We can now recognise that the fate of the soul is the fate of the social order; that if the spirit within us withers, so too will all the world we build about us.” 

Creating Sacred Space in your Home, Workplace, and Garden

The first consideration in creating a sacred space in your home, workplace, or garden is defining the purpose in doing so.  Some of the questions for consideration include:

1.  What is it that you want your sacred space to provide for you? 

2.  Where will your sanctuary be located?

3.  What feelings do you want? 

4.  What attracts you to your sanctuary?

5.  What features do you want? 

6.  What colours do you want?

7.  What sounds do you want?

Ideas and Options for Creating Sacred Space in your Home, Workplace, and Garden

In your place of sanctuary, some of the items you could include are:

·  Candles – you can use candles to provide colour and when burning provide a point of focus for meditation.  Scented candles can add a touch of fragrance to your environment.

·  Plants – your plants will require care, and not only will make the air more healthy, but will encourage you to attend your place of sanctuary.  Plants can also be used to enhance particular colours and fragrances you wish to add to your well-being.

·  Water – adding desktop water fountains to your place of sacredness will not only provide the soothing sounds of water, but will also block out other noises in your environment.

·  Music – music as my Dad used to say, “feeds the soul.”  Use music you like, such as, sounds of nature or instrumental music, to provide a place of soothing for your soul.

·  Aquariums – live fish and the sounds of water provide healing energy for your sacred space.  In the Chinese culture, live fish are thought to be ‘good energy.’

·  Rocks and stones – are considered in many cultures to be sacred.  Use in your place of sanctuary and, when you are tired or stressed-out, re-arrange your ‘rock garden.’

·  Walls – walls can be used to act as, or hang notice boards on, where you can post favourite pictures, quotes, and ideas.

·  Spend at least 10 minutes a day (20 is better) in refreshing and renewing your spiritual self.

Finally, in creating your sacred space, remember you are unique.  There will never be anyone on the planet like you and you have a right to spend time caring for yourself.  As Richard Bolles in his book What Colour Is Your Parachute says, “You are God’s gift to the planet and your uniqueness is the gift to the rest of us.”