Blessings as A Way of Being

Yesterday, I picked up a phenomenal book by one of my favorite authors, Irish poet and theologian John O’Donohue. The book, To Bless the Space Between Us: A Book of Blessings, is filled with spiritual insight and offers blessings that can be used for ceremonies (“For a New Home”, “For Marriage”, “On The Death of the Beloved”) and also blessings for things we see, feel, and experience each day, such as “On Meeting a Stranger” and “For Light”.

“O’Donohue looks at life’s thresholds—getting married, having children, starting a new job—and offers invaluable guidelines for making the transition from a known, familiar world into a new, unmapped territory. Most profoundly, however, O’Donohue explains ‘blessing’ as a way of life, a lens through which the whole world is transformed.”

I can’t wait to read each poem and to savor the blessing each offers.

I started this morning with “On Waking”, before going for a beautiful walk as the sun emerged from behind the fog.

On Waking

I give thanks for arriving
Safely in a new dawn,
For the gift of eyes
To see the world,
The gift of mind
To feel at home
In my life.
The waves of possibility
Breaking on the shore of dawn,
The harvest of the past
That awaits my hunger,
And all the furtherings
This new day will bring.
~ John O’Donohue

(C)John O'Donohue. All rights reserved.
For more information on the work of John O'Donohue, please visit his Web site at http://www.johnodonohue.com, or to order books directly, visit http://www.johnodonohue.com/books/.

How can you bless what comes your way today? Can you bless the stranger on your path?

Can you bless the fire inside yourself, the silence you enjoy while having a cup of tea?

Can you bless the mystery of what the day has yet to offer?

Who Are You?

Who I am

I am the sunlight dancing on water
I am the wind running through the trees
This is who I am

look inside
find the place
where for a moment
your breath stops
and
nothing but the beauty
of this one moment
unfolding

I am thankful for
This life
for children running and playing
for the feeling of cold water on my skin
for my teachers

I am thankful
for this life
I am falling
in love again
with myself

~ Elizabeth Anne Rightor
3.5.09

Healing from Within

On Friday, I was lucky to attend the Healing from Within workshop put on by the Pujari Center. Two of Seattle's most renowned doctors in alternative health, Dr. Astrid Pujari, MD and Dr. Tanmeet Sethi, offered tips on using breath work, meditation, and journaling to access our inner wisdom.

I learned so much! It was inspiring to be around so many others who have seen firsthand the incredible benefits of looking within. Both Dr. Pujari and Dr. Sethi believe that pain, although specific in its presentation, is part of the universal human experience and can be something that is used for personal transformation.

I felt inspired hearing Dr. Pujari speak of the beauty of seeing the room overflowing with people--that something so difficult could unite so many in community. "You can't talk about healing without talking about pain," says Pujari. "The fact that something so dark could bring so much light is a miracle. It's a demonstration of hope, of beauty, of the power of light."

Pain is difficult. It is ugly. When we experience pain and discomfort, we think we are all alone--that no one could possibly understand what we are going through. But feelings of loneliness, of sadness, of fear, even feelings of rage touch all of our lives at one point or another.

We may ask ourselves questions that speak to our feelings of isolation.

"Why me?"
"What am I doing this for?"
"Why is this happening to me?"

Dr. Pujari and Sethi shared that in all their years of watching patients, family members, and loved ones going though pain, there were three simple things that helped people navigate through painful circumstances and move forward.

While it is not always possible to make pain go away, there is hope. These steps provide tools for entering into a different relationship with our pain.

1. Be aware of your pain--It takes courage to admit that we are hurt, that we don't have it together all the time. It requires honesty with self and vulnerability. Notice your pain. Where does it live in your body? In your spirit?
   
2. Be willing to explore your pain--Listen to your pain. Talk to it. Get to know it as you would get to know a dear friend. In our culture, we are taught to run away from our emotions, to run away from conflict, but this only results in disconnection from ourselves and others. Treat your emotions as friends, lovers, teachers, and beloved children. Be kind to them.
   
3. Be willing to allow love to flow into your pain--All pain is universal. The triggers may be different (the loss of a spouse or an illness such as Cancer), but the end result is the same. Allow love to move through you, to touch your pain, and listen to what it has to teach you.
   

I took away several tools that I can use with my clients. And, for myself personally, I learned some innovative and transformative tools, such as "Shaking Meditation" (to free all the areas that get stuck--emotionally, spiritually, and mentally) and a journaling process called "Dialogue with a Symptom."

At first, I found the symptom I chose to work with to be sarcastic and mean. But by the end of the conversation, his tone had changed. He offered warm, gentle advice like an old friend. He nudged me instead of yelling at me.

Maybe what changed was not the voice of my pain at all. Maybe what changed was my ability to hear my own inner wisdom.

What a beautiful gift!

What does your pain have to show you?

Move over reptilian brain, there's a new brain in town!

Let’s start with an apology. I am sorry I haven’t written lately. I apologize to all of you and, most importantly, I apologize to myself. Writing makes me happy; writing keeps me healthy. It is how I move energy and process all of thoughts and emotions that get stored in my body from the work I do.

Put simply, writing helps me make sense of the world and my place in it.

Over the last few months, I have been struggling with some rather large health issues. While I don’t feel it’s appropriate to go into great detail here, I will say that my body has been rejecting anything and everything I have put into it.

After weeks of searching, working with an extremely gifted naturopath, getting blood work done (not once, but twice), and being advised by many wonderful energy healers, I realize there are no easy answers.

I admit I have felt scared by what has been happening, but I am now aware that I have been reacting with only a small and very old part of my brain; I have been seeing the world through what neuroscientists call the reptilian brain.

According to author, therapist, and NLP master Yvonne Oswald, relying on this part of the brain might have ensured the safety of our ancestors, but can no longer meet our current needs. The reptilian brain protects us when our lives are in danger, when we don’t have even a second to think. Put your hand next to a hot stove and this automatic brain function helps you to react quickly. In more dangerous situations, it can save your life.

However, living in this day and time while moving between states of “fight or flight” and merely trying to survive is like getting a job as a McDonald’s cashier when you have a PhD in astrophysics —it’s not taking advantage of the resources you have or the possibilities before you.

According to the Triune Brain Theory, two other parts of the brain—the limbic system and the neocortex—offer us the ability to operate in the world in more productive and fruitful ways.

The limbic system, also referred to as the “middle brain,” governs emotions (especially those other than fear and anger), parts of our personal identity, rules around social interaction, and communication. It helps us navigate our lives, because of the order it offers.

In her book, Every Word Has Power: Switch on Your Language and Turn on Your Life, Oswald calls the limbic system the “family brain,” because of its role in creating and sustaining social norms. While this part of the brain helps individuals live harmoniously with others through strong boundaries surrounding family, tribe, and community, its main drawback lies in the fact that it only allows the world to be viewed in black and white. Oswald summarizes the limbic system by saying, “Its goals are short-term and focus primarily on good/bad, right/wrong, and yours/mine. It’s habitual, hierarchical, and simplistic. It does not have a capacity to visualize or grow because it thinks in terms of polarities.”

How can we see beyond such polarities and make efforts toward self-actualization?

The answer lies in the last part of the triune brain, called the cerebral cortex or neocortex. The word neocortex comes from Latin, meaning “new bark”. It is the most recently developed part of the brain and is responsible for higher brain function, such as initiative, reason, and imagination. It is also what makes our love of art, literature, and philosophy possible.

Although this part of our brain governs speech, Oswald suggests that the language we use today fails to accurately reflect or capitalize on our potential as human beings. Many ideas and concepts became entrenched in language when we only saw two choices before us: good and bad. With tools such as NLP (neuro-linguistic programming) and conscious language, we have the power for our language to be creative rather than merely descriptive.

Oswald asks readers to notice how their use of language affects their lives.

When you consciously weed out fear-based language and nonsupportive beliefs, you open yourself up to new possibilities. Oswald says:

This higher brain function is where your magic formula for happiness begins as you connect with the higher consciousness. Use of the higher brain produces consistent success in your everyday life. You can now plan your goals and visualize wonderful possibilities with this magical tool.

Rather than use the higher brain to rescue yourself when you feel less than happy, it’s time to utilize it and live in it by “spring cleaning” your language
…going beyond what you ever thought possible to achieve.

So, I am taking a page from Oswald’s book and paying attention to how I speak and think about my health.

I’m telling my reptilian brain to take a hike, letting go of long-held beliefs about my body, and sitting in silence more.

And, I’m writing again.

I can feel the possibilities unfolding…even before I can see them.