It’s a busy time. We are packing everything up to move from Barbados to Miami. A new life.

I have no idea what that life will be like but the move feels right. The actual decision took us less than five minutes to make.

All I know is that it will be great. I will continue doing what I do. Maybe it will be different maybe it won’t.

I’m taking a little break from the blog for the next couple of weeks, as I like to focus fully on each thing I do. Now it’s time to focus on the move.

If you wish you can like the page Awaken to Awareness on Facebook. I might continue to post thoughts and ideas there all summer. I also post links to all blog entries there.

I wish you all a wonderful summer wherever you are in the world. Thank you for following my blog. May all hearts flower, now and always.

Blessings

At the center of you there is always peace. No matter how confusing, depressing or frightening the world may seem, peace is always with you.

When you react to the world you give your peace away. Don’t forget to take it back.

When you are offended you give your peace away.

When you are annoyed you give your peace away.

I am not ashamed of my appearances
I am not ashamed of my eternity
I am not ashamed of being no one
I am not ashamed of being everyone
I am not ashamed of all that I was given
I am not ashamed of losing everything
I am not ashamed of being banished
I am not ashamed of wanting comfort
I am no ashamed of being broken
I am not ashamed of being holy
I am not ashamed of being wrong
I am not ashamed of being right
I am not ashamed of the light I carry
I am not ashamed of being what I am
In this fire all the bonds are broken

Some of the most painful experiences in life often seem to be caused by “other people.” Simply put, others don’t do what we want them to do.

How annoying!

They don’t like us enough, they don’t say the right things, they have the wrong opinions, interest, wishes, they act selfishly, recklessly or they don’t act at all… The list goes on.

Sometimes they have really and seriously hurt us. That’s a tough one.

We already know that we can’t change others. As much as we want it, we can’t. But that doesn’t stop us from trying. Make a quick ­–and honest– estimate of how much effort you have wasted in trying to change, convince or even force others into doing, being, saying, thinking etc what you want them to. (I know, we’d rather not be reminded.)

Now make a quick estimate of how many people have tried to make you change into something they wanted you to be. Did they succeed?

So there we are with the sadness, anger, worry, frustration that others seem to be so good at creating in us. I don’t know of any area that creates so much emotion as “others”.

Feelings are emotional reactions to a situation. We have the reactions we have because of how we are conditioned. (By culture, time period, society, parents, education, inclinations, peers etc).

If you were to peel away all conditioning, what would be left? What feelings would you have?

You can find out by paying attention to what you feel and when. You won’t learn anything by refusing certain feelings, by blaming others, by complaining about them or hating them­­­­ – as tempting as it may be…

A more fruitful approach would be gratefulness. But that’s for the advanced class.

So when a feeling like sadness knocks on your door, what do you do? You feel it! When anger knocks on your door? You feel it! Hate, fear, worry? You FEEL it, without judging yourself or others, without blaming. Just feel the feeling.

Your feelings are showing you something and it isn’t what seems obvious. It isn’t, for example, showing you that others are wrong and you are right or vice versa. 

You don’t even need to find a cause for your feelings, you just need to feel them, and not hold on to them. Don’t make them stay. Don’t make them go away. Invite them all. Accept the gift but don’t hold on to it.

Your feelings are perfect. You couldn’t have any other feelings than the ones you have in any given moment. By feeling your feelings and embracing them you learn about yourself and others.

By blaming others and making them the problem you only get stuck in an endless spiral of who’s right and who’s wrong. Don’t give others power over your emotions. That’s giving up your freedom. You are perfect the way you are. You are your own.

One love, many disguises.

If there is something that’s taken for granted in life, it’s breathing. We do it all the time but never think of it. We do it while reading, sleeping, eating, having sex. Rarely do we pay it any attention.

But think about it. Our breath is what keeps us in constant contact with the Earth. Not once are we suspended from this planet. We believe that we move about quite independently but it’s not true. Through our breathing we are attached to the Earth in the same way a baby is attached to its mother by the umbilical cord.

You can be without food for a month, without water for a week but without breathing you will only last a few minutes. That’s how important it is. But since it doesn’t give us the obvious pleasure that eating or drinking does we don’t appreciate it.

Breathing is a bridge between the inner and the outer. As soon as we experience any kind of turmoil it is immediately reflected in our breathing. Stress, worry and fear can affect our breathing permanently.

What usually happens is that the breath becomes more and more shallow. Eventually only the top of the chest moves. The result is that we don’t get enough oxygen and that the air taken in is never fully expressed from the lungs.

If you look at a breathing baby or an animal you will see that their chest is rather still and only the abdominal area expands and contracts with the flow of air.

That is healthy breathing.

That is the kind of breathing that provides the body with enough oxygen and energy. It is also very pleasurable to breathe that way. If you pay close attention to the way the body takes in air when it is fully relaxed you will notice what a delicious pleasure it is.

Try this audio breathing exercise if you want help to get started. It will relax and refresh you.