I have counseled individuals, couples, families and business partners for the past 35 years and authored eight published books. All this experience has resulted in the development of a profound healing process, called Inner Bonding, which anyone can learn and use throughout the day (free course available - see resource box at the end of the article). The first step of this process is willingness.
We cannot begin a journey without our willingness to do so. Without our willingness to do whatever it takes to heal, we will not begin the journey of healing and evolving our soul. Doing whatever it takes means that we are ready and willing to feel, learn about and take full responsibility for our own feelings - our own pain, fear, anger, hurt, aloneness, loneliness, disappointment, depression, sense of safety, worth, lovability and joy. Willingness means that we are ready to become aware of creating our own feelings with our thoughts, beliefs and actions. It means we are willing to face whatever it is we fear in order to heal the beliefs causing the fear.
Willingness means that we choose to be courageous and face our demons - the shadow side of ourselves about which we do not want anyone to know. It means that we are ready to move out of denial about the pain we are in, ready to stop hiding from ourselves. Willingness means that we are ready to become aware of how much we want control over our pain, over others, and over the outcome of things. Until we are ready to see, without judgment, how deeply we want to control everything, and all the overt and subtle ways we try to have control, we cannot choose to open.
Willingness means that we are ready to ask for help from a spiritual source of strength, and from others who can bring us love to help us heal. It means that we are ready to acknowledge that we cannot find our safety without spiritual guidance - that we are ready to invite Spirit into our heart to nurture and guide us. It means that we have embraced the journey, the sacred privilege of learning about love upon this planet.
We cannot move into the next step of the Inner Bonding process, the intent to learn about what we are thinking or doing to cause our pain until we are willing to move out of denial regarding our inner distress. As long as we are in denial about our pain, we will not recognize that we have inner pain and may not be motivated to learn about it. Our denial is one of the ways we are protecting against pain. We may not be willing to move out of denial until loving ourselves and others is more important than avoiding our pain.
Willingness means that you pay attention to the physical sensations within your body. You cannot know if you are believing or behaving in ways that are hurting you if you are unwilling to feel what is going on within your body. Feelings of pain, anger, anxiety, hurt, fear, and loneliness are physical sensations that occur within the body. When you numb your body with substances or shut out your inner experience with manipulations and activities, you cannot know what you are feeling.
We put ourselves on a new path toward our own wholeness when we become willing to feel our pain and learn from it.
Tampilkan postingan dengan label spiritual growth. Tampilkan semua postingan
Tampilkan postingan dengan label spiritual growth. Tampilkan semua postingan
Sabtu, 04 Agustus 2012
Selasa, 27 Desember 2011
Three Words to Unlock the Cheerfulness of the Present Moment
Copyright 2006 Tom Russell
Has a ray of happiness ever reached you at an unexpected moment? Haven’t you longed for these rays to break through more often, and with greater intensity?
The present moment can be compared to an island in the middle of the sea. It appears to be isolated but beneath the surface the island is one with the entire globe. Like the island, you appear to be separate from the whole of life; however, at a deeper level you are one with God/Truth/Reality and no storm has the power to disturb this connection.
Awareness is a secret known for countless centuries. It is like the letter that was well concealed by placing it out in the open in the center of the table. Its beautiful simplicity often caused it to be overlooked and unappreciated. For example:
* “The Buddha was asked, ‘What do you and your disciples practice?’ He replied, ‘We sit, we walk and we eat.’ The questioner continued, ‘But sir, everyone sits, walks and eats.’ The Buddha told him, ‘When we sit, we know we are sitting. When we walk, we know we are walking. When we eat, we know we are eating.’”
* P.D. Ouspensky, author of In Search of the Miraculous writes:
“Trying to remember yourself is always right. Whatever you are doing, just try to realize that you are doing that. Effort to remember yourself is the chief thing, because without it nothing else has any value; it must be the basis of everything. Only in this way can you pass from the mechanical to a more conscious state.”
Awareness flourishes when you remember what a deeper part of you already knows, and does so in all kinds of circumstances and events, both pleasurable and challenging, simple and complex.
There are three simple words you can use to unlock the cheerfulness of the present moment. They are: “I am Here.” These three words instantly release you from rambling thinking and return you to the pleasantness of the present moment. They can be used many times a day, either silently or audibly, to teach the mind the supreme value of now.
Voice the words “I am Here” and let them remind you to notice as much about your environment as possible, including colors, the breeze, your posture, your voice, the room and the objects, the car you’re driving and the passing scene. Awaken to the subtle! No other place is richer than now.
“I am here” unlocks the power to keep your mind where your body is. Your body is always in the present moment, so why not join it? This is a classic tool for growth taught by history’s greatest teachers, including moderns like Vernon Howard, J. Krishnamurti and Idries Shah.
It is nothing short of amazing how much “I am here” opens you to the cheerful breeze that circulates through NOW. There is no force or hard effort in these words, just simple recognition. The wise increasingly understand, “Now is happiness -- now is intelligence – now is where I really want to be.”
Has a ray of happiness ever reached you at an unexpected moment? Haven’t you longed for these rays to break through more often, and with greater intensity?
The present moment can be compared to an island in the middle of the sea. It appears to be isolated but beneath the surface the island is one with the entire globe. Like the island, you appear to be separate from the whole of life; however, at a deeper level you are one with God/Truth/Reality and no storm has the power to disturb this connection.
Awareness is a secret known for countless centuries. It is like the letter that was well concealed by placing it out in the open in the center of the table. Its beautiful simplicity often caused it to be overlooked and unappreciated. For example:
* “The Buddha was asked, ‘What do you and your disciples practice?’ He replied, ‘We sit, we walk and we eat.’ The questioner continued, ‘But sir, everyone sits, walks and eats.’ The Buddha told him, ‘When we sit, we know we are sitting. When we walk, we know we are walking. When we eat, we know we are eating.’”
* P.D. Ouspensky, author of In Search of the Miraculous writes:
“Trying to remember yourself is always right. Whatever you are doing, just try to realize that you are doing that. Effort to remember yourself is the chief thing, because without it nothing else has any value; it must be the basis of everything. Only in this way can you pass from the mechanical to a more conscious state.”
Awareness flourishes when you remember what a deeper part of you already knows, and does so in all kinds of circumstances and events, both pleasurable and challenging, simple and complex.
There are three simple words you can use to unlock the cheerfulness of the present moment. They are: “I am Here.” These three words instantly release you from rambling thinking and return you to the pleasantness of the present moment. They can be used many times a day, either silently or audibly, to teach the mind the supreme value of now.
Voice the words “I am Here” and let them remind you to notice as much about your environment as possible, including colors, the breeze, your posture, your voice, the room and the objects, the car you’re driving and the passing scene. Awaken to the subtle! No other place is richer than now.
“I am here” unlocks the power to keep your mind where your body is. Your body is always in the present moment, so why not join it? This is a classic tool for growth taught by history’s greatest teachers, including moderns like Vernon Howard, J. Krishnamurti and Idries Shah.
It is nothing short of amazing how much “I am here” opens you to the cheerful breeze that circulates through NOW. There is no force or hard effort in these words, just simple recognition. The wise increasingly understand, “Now is happiness -- now is intelligence – now is where I really want to be.”
Sabtu, 27 Maret 2010
An Old Message For A New Age
Do you consider yourself a seeker? I have a feeling if you’re reading this article, you do.
If so, how exactly do you define it? What does it mean to you to be a “seeker?”
For me, the definition is constantly in process of clarifying itself, shifting in and out of focus as I ask, “What is it that I’m seeking?” There have been times – days, weeks, months, dare I say years – that it felt like wandering, lost and lonely, in search of a nameless, faceless something that seemed forever before me, but like a mirage, moving farther away the closer I drew. I could not grasp it, but I knew that when found it would make all the pieces of my life click together. Instant happiness and abundance, perfect peace and love. Most of all, everything would finally make sense. I’d know my purpose; I’d be brave enough to live it; I’d have no question that I couldn’t readily answer.
I can tell you, after so much time in the desert, I have found no such “something.” But that doesn’t mean the journey has not been fruitful.
In its finest moments the search has been a pilgrimage. One with the hue of holiness. And in those rare instances I know clearly what it is I seek. I’d like to share a story.
Several years ago my husband’s company sponsored a celebrity golf tournament. We attended, and I surprised myself at how star-struck I was! Especially since the stars were sports figures with whom I was barely familiar. Of all of them, the kindest was David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs. Walking next to him, my head came only to his elbow, but I found him to be a gentle giant. Late in the day I, along with many others, asked for his autograph. When he gave me back the piece of paper it had on it his name and the letters and numbers “Matthew 6:33.” I overheard someone explain that he always places a verse from the Bible on his autographs – a different one for each person.
Well, I am someone who does not take things in vain – I believe that everything that happens is a perfect set-up for our growth and learning. So, I went home and looked up the verse. Upon reading it I had one of those “pilgrim” moments.
Matthew 6:33Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you as well.
The perfect message for a true seeker. But, of course, the question follows…what does it mean? I know that some will have a very clear-cut answer, but for me it has taken years of touching upon, moving away from, and coming back to the message…to find for myself the meaning. The day I received the verse I typed it up and put it in my meditation space, where I have looked upon it every day since. But lately it has begun to call for my attention more fervently, demanding from me a clearer understanding.
Ultimately, I have come to realize this one sentence as the most basic ingredient for living, and the word that has always stood out to me is “first.” Here, the order of things. In our society we are driven by the desire to obtain - material possessions, personal achievement, physical perfection…we strive first and we strive hard. But in this verse we are asked not to “do” first, but to seek. We are told where to begin.
I would like to go slowly, go back and explore this simple message, piece by piece…
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God…
Is this the answer to the interminable question, “What do I seek?”? If so, then I ask, “What exactly is this ‘Kingdom of God’ that I am after?” My mind immediately travels to another verse – Luke 17:21, which says, “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.”
And so, it is not something beyond my grasp that constantly beckons me. It is not a place, or thing, a job or person, a philosophy, idea or fragment of knowledge. It is not to be found in books or buildings. That which is sought is the Divine reflection within my own being, that same reflection alive within yours and in everything else. The dwelling place of the holy lives no farther than the beat of our own hearts.
For those of us who have been on this quest for a while, this idea is nothing new. I realize that. We read books about getting to know and love and be ourselves. We take classes and workshops in the hopes of prying open the door to that illusive hallowed ground we’re after. At the end of every yoga class we say, “Namaste,” the Hindu recognition of the Divine spark within us all. I, like you, know where I’m supposed to look; I can think and speak about it; but it is the experience that I am after – that which cannot be spoken of or written about in whole. That which absolutely cannot be taught or bought. That which is secret and private and can only be known in the silent places of one’s own soul.
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God…Seek first the Divine within…Seek first, your own truth.
And then we read on…
…and His Righteousness…
Now, here is a phrase for contemplation. For some it is instantly understood and revered; for others, it will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. It is a loaded word; one that can scare with its asking.
If it is the knowing of our highest selves, a re-union with our own Divinity and, I suspect, with the greater Divinity of all life that we seek, and if we hold faith that the source of Divinity is indwelling, then how do we define this righteousness? I believe that the answer will lie in your own definition, image and knowing of God.
If so, how exactly do you define it? What does it mean to you to be a “seeker?”
For me, the definition is constantly in process of clarifying itself, shifting in and out of focus as I ask, “What is it that I’m seeking?” There have been times – days, weeks, months, dare I say years – that it felt like wandering, lost and lonely, in search of a nameless, faceless something that seemed forever before me, but like a mirage, moving farther away the closer I drew. I could not grasp it, but I knew that when found it would make all the pieces of my life click together. Instant happiness and abundance, perfect peace and love. Most of all, everything would finally make sense. I’d know my purpose; I’d be brave enough to live it; I’d have no question that I couldn’t readily answer.
I can tell you, after so much time in the desert, I have found no such “something.” But that doesn’t mean the journey has not been fruitful.
In its finest moments the search has been a pilgrimage. One with the hue of holiness. And in those rare instances I know clearly what it is I seek. I’d like to share a story.
Several years ago my husband’s company sponsored a celebrity golf tournament. We attended, and I surprised myself at how star-struck I was! Especially since the stars were sports figures with whom I was barely familiar. Of all of them, the kindest was David Robinson of the San Antonio Spurs. Walking next to him, my head came only to his elbow, but I found him to be a gentle giant. Late in the day I, along with many others, asked for his autograph. When he gave me back the piece of paper it had on it his name and the letters and numbers “Matthew 6:33.” I overheard someone explain that he always places a verse from the Bible on his autographs – a different one for each person.
Well, I am someone who does not take things in vain – I believe that everything that happens is a perfect set-up for our growth and learning. So, I went home and looked up the verse. Upon reading it I had one of those “pilgrim” moments.
Matthew 6:33Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you as well.
The perfect message for a true seeker. But, of course, the question follows…what does it mean? I know that some will have a very clear-cut answer, but for me it has taken years of touching upon, moving away from, and coming back to the message…to find for myself the meaning. The day I received the verse I typed it up and put it in my meditation space, where I have looked upon it every day since. But lately it has begun to call for my attention more fervently, demanding from me a clearer understanding.
Ultimately, I have come to realize this one sentence as the most basic ingredient for living, and the word that has always stood out to me is “first.” Here, the order of things. In our society we are driven by the desire to obtain - material possessions, personal achievement, physical perfection…we strive first and we strive hard. But in this verse we are asked not to “do” first, but to seek. We are told where to begin.
I would like to go slowly, go back and explore this simple message, piece by piece…
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God…
Is this the answer to the interminable question, “What do I seek?”? If so, then I ask, “What exactly is this ‘Kingdom of God’ that I am after?” My mind immediately travels to another verse – Luke 17:21, which says, “Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.”
And so, it is not something beyond my grasp that constantly beckons me. It is not a place, or thing, a job or person, a philosophy, idea or fragment of knowledge. It is not to be found in books or buildings. That which is sought is the Divine reflection within my own being, that same reflection alive within yours and in everything else. The dwelling place of the holy lives no farther than the beat of our own hearts.
For those of us who have been on this quest for a while, this idea is nothing new. I realize that. We read books about getting to know and love and be ourselves. We take classes and workshops in the hopes of prying open the door to that illusive hallowed ground we’re after. At the end of every yoga class we say, “Namaste,” the Hindu recognition of the Divine spark within us all. I, like you, know where I’m supposed to look; I can think and speak about it; but it is the experience that I am after – that which cannot be spoken of or written about in whole. That which absolutely cannot be taught or bought. That which is secret and private and can only be known in the silent places of one’s own soul.
Seek ye first the Kingdom of God…Seek first the Divine within…Seek first, your own truth.
And then we read on…
…and His Righteousness…
Now, here is a phrase for contemplation. For some it is instantly understood and revered; for others, it will make the hair on the back of your neck stand up. It is a loaded word; one that can scare with its asking.
If it is the knowing of our highest selves, a re-union with our own Divinity and, I suspect, with the greater Divinity of all life that we seek, and if we hold faith that the source of Divinity is indwelling, then how do we define this righteousness? I believe that the answer will lie in your own definition, image and knowing of God.
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