The Power of Your Love

by Eliza Wing

Oh, the world. It’s too much sometimes isn’t it? the problems are so enormous. Who are WE to think we might be able to make a difference? A meditation teacher once said — “it’s going to be.a rough day. I am going to meditate twice as long today!” Yes, sitting on our cushions helps us with balance and fortitude. But it doesn’t make the war go away. Or the fact that a huge ice shelf just dropped off East Antarctica.

But there is a deep and true power in our capacity for love. At base, it and the connection love brings is all that we have. No matter our circumstances, love can strengthen us and support anyone we come into contact with. If you think of each of us as having a circle of influence, friendship, and, yes, love - then you can imagine how increasing the strength of your love can generate impact beyond your own small self.

Think of the widening circles of water in a pond — the ripples expanding outward.

If you are so inclined, practice this Love Meditation which is based on one by Davidji (and his is based on the ancient practice of Metta). See how actively working with your own heart allows for a beautiful expansion.

What will You Wake To?

by Eliza Wing

It’s almost spring here in Northern Ohio. We all know what a hopeful thought that is – spring! Good things, like a green leaf or a snow drop or birds collecting in trees like fractious baubles are emerging. It feels as if everything is shaking off the cold and waking up. Of course, a front will eventually bear down. The baseball team will play on opening day and snow will likely fly. Never mind. Despite the wobbles, warmer days are on their way.

When we think of spring some of us consider spring cleaning. Now, I’d like to channel the wise Annie Lamott here who points out that when you look back on your life at age 80, you probably won’t be reflecting on how clean your house was in March 2022. So, maybe we can look at spring cleaning a bit more metaphorically. It’s been a long, long winter. Lots of things conspired to make this yet another season of endurance. Maybe you picked up some habits just to “get through” that you would like to shed. Maybe you put off some dreams because it doesn’t seem right to be dreaming while others are sick or fighting for their country (regarding that latter sentiment, I would argue that sickness and war both put a very sharp focus on exactly why we should dream and live as close to the dream as we possibly can).

I went and sat by the lake this morning. It was warm and calm. Not a breath of air. Some dark little ducks bobbed in the distance. A couple of women walked along the shore searching for beach glass. My dog didn’t really know what to do. We don’t rest much on our walks. But perhaps we should. Even in this season that is bursting with sap and green, there’s a point to staying still.

What might you find in your moment of quiet? Can you stop and take a break from your to-dos? Many of us operate as if whatever is good, is almost here. Whatever is good will be just after we get this one thing done. Whatever is good will be our reward for doing this other thing first. No. Not true. Whatever is good is right here, right now. Even if it hasn’t yet come to your attention. Let’s face it. All you really have is now.

Try this. Write down something you’d really like to accomplish. Now write down three things that you have to do before you accomplish that. Now, pretend you are 80 years old and looking back. Are those three things standing in your way what you are grateful for? Or is it that other thing, the one you can’t quite get to?

Be clear that you have a choice to let everything but the truth of your situation and how you decide to be drop away right now. And then Spring forth.

Join us this Sunday for our virtual Sanctuary Sunday class as we celebrate Awakening with mindful meditation and movement.

Don’t just take our word for it!

Some kind words from our Sanctuary Sunday students: 

"Thank you both. Amazing how your teaching and messaging is always so "spot on". Don't even know I need it and then you provide such helpful words of wisdom.”

"So much today was wonderful! ... A lot of new territory. It was all wonderful. Calming and energizing.

Emergence: Beginner's Mind

It’s spring and, naturally, our minds turn to the new; the little green shoots bravely poking out from the barely thawed ground. Nature, as she often does, shows us the way.

Our theme in today’s Sanctuary Sunday class was Emergence. It seems an appropriate homage to this time of year.

How can we practice with a sense of freshness and newness, even if we are feeling dull? Even if we are feeling that practice (or life) has become routine and rote? We can practice Beginner’s Mind. This is, essentially, a willingness to look at everything with a fresh eye. As if we were newborn. What if you had never drawn a breath? How amazing to feel the rush of life into your lungs. What if you had never run cool water into a cup and taken a sip? You see? It’s all incredible. If we only let it in and let it be so.

We can practice Beginner’s Mind on our mats in this way:

Sit. Close your eyes. Now draw in your breath and really sense this breath. Just this one. See the breath as if it were the first breath ever drawn. Let the miracle of this One Breath infuse your lungs, your cells, your heart. And then, on the release, notice how the exhale is different from the inhale. How the exhale brings a different sense of expansion – outward. Perhaps as you allow your perception to rest within each breath, you will notice that there is a tiny gap at the end of the exhale and at the top of the inhale. Maybe not. Who knows? Only you. In any case, that might be another insight. Practice in this way for your next few sits. See what arises.

 Beginner’s Mind is also quite useful to bring in when you are considering change. For example, you might say, well I love the taste of this or that. Or I love being with so and so. But. If you come at a routine situation with pure Beginner’s Mind, you may notice that there are things that aren’t so wonderful that you have just “lived with.” Perhaps it is time to reexamine them. OR maybe there are things that are routine that you really don’t much like (say, doing the dishes). Try bringing Beginner’s Mind to those activities. Feel with your body – let the full experience in. You might find real pleasure in something you once busied yourself through.

Everything is fodder for Beginner’s Mind. The wonder is how your heart and mind can open with just this “simple” practice.

“In the Beginner’s Mind, there are many possibilities. In the expert’s, there are few.”

                                                                        Shunryu Suzuki

Don't be defined by your past

I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become.

                                    Carl Jung

So true. In fact, if you just close your eyes and let that sentence sink in, doesn’t it feel as if a weight has lifted? This idea of choosing our life, of choosing how we show up every day and how we get beyond whatever might be holding us back is the core of our work at Your Awakened Heart.

But, you say, I am in constant pain. I carry sorrow on my shoulders. I can’t let go of it.

Consider this. Pour a tablespoon of salt into a half-cup measure and taste. It’s undrinkable and awful, right? Take that same tablespoon and pour it into a gallon of water. Just a bit better, no? Now, imagine a pure spring-fed lake. The water reflecting the blue sky. And, you, just now with your tablespoon of salt. Go ahead and pour. Now, dip in and taste.

The capacity of your container directly relates to bitterness of your experience.

Now the question becomes, how do we grow our capacity to experience the difficulties we face?

It seems illogical since mostly we just want to turn away, get on with it, or deny but the first step is just noticing – noticing how old pains and sorrows might be rising up for you. A quick note – turning away or denying that you are experiencing something painful only works for so long. Think of that tiny seed just waiting to sprout through the crack in the pavement, or water seeping around a rock as it finds its path. It is the same with our pain. It will out.

The second is to offer yourself some compassion. It never helps to beat yourself up even if you are tired of your old song and dance (This again? Really?) The best thing you can do is offer the kind of support and sweetness that a dear friend might. In fact, if you don’t feel much like being nice to yourself, imagine that dear friend. Let them do the talking. Absorb the sweetness of their kindness and let yourself relax. You are opening up and giving yourself more space to work with your frustration/pain/sorrow.

The third is to be curious. Imagine yourself as a sort of scientist of your own mind. Here is this situation or memory or whatever it is that you are looking at. How does it come up? What triggers you? How do you feel it in your body? In your heart? Continue to observe the sensations.  Can you feel any changes? Can you note that, just as a cloud skims across the sky, so can your reactions to a situation mutate and change? If you pay careful attention to even the strongest anger, you will see that it is almost impossible to stay consistently angry.  More likely, when you observe closely, you will note that mixed in there is the softness of wanting, the vulnerability of fear, the courage of conviction. It’s just more complex and, therefore, more workable. You might discover that there is more space for you to operate in. Maybe, even in the midst of pain, you can uncover a new truth.

Finally, can you begin to see what might be a healthy way forward? Perhaps you need to step back from a situation or a relationship? Maybe you need to be clearer about your needs. Maybe you need to pull in other resources to help.

Here’s another mental exercise to help you think of how to get through. Imagine picking up a rock. Squeeze it has hard as you can. Feel the intensity of the pain and the immutability of the rock. That’s how it is with your pain and sorrow. Closing in on it and gripping as tight as you can will only create more pain. It’s time to open and really see what it is that you are not letting go of.

The Great Heart of the World

It’s easy to get wrapped in our specific trials and tribulations, to find ourselves caught in a net of worry and fear or boredom or busyness. We don’t have time to find all this so-called tranquility and calm (some) people carry on about.

The truth of our practice is that it is meant to be lived in every moment. There’s no need to set aside time for a retreat or a long, seated daily meditation (though both offer tremendous benefit). What we are learning and what the Buddha taught is that we can open our minds and our hearts through specific attention and attitude.

In David Whyte’s latest book of poems, Still Possible, he tells a story of a dying monk who says that he stopped praying many years ago. Instead, he found that his life became the prayer. Yes! That’s it. This way of being is available to all of us if we only practice the teachings and use the tools.

Loving Kindness practice can increase your capacity for love and compassion

There’s a Sufi story about the fool Nasruddin who had lost his keys and spent time looking for them under a street lamp even though he lost them many feet away – in the dark. He explained that it was easier to find the keys where there was light. There are many ways to interpret this story but, for our purposes, we will consider it in this way: we pay attention to where we direct our light. Even if what we seek is not to be found through the specific train of thoughts or beliefs – we continue to look for truth, love, confirmation, whatever, in the places we are already focused. Then, of course, we are confused and upset because we haven’t found our keys.

And in that way, we begin to build a narrow life – one that only works under the specific pool of light that we see shining directly in front of us.

But we can open up to all that is around us, even what we can’t discern just now, by paying open-hearted attention. Perhaps the greatest promise for a different way of being is to open ourselves up to love. The Buddha said that we have the capacity to be so filled with love that our minds resemble space that cannot be filled. We can experience boundless love.

Of course, because we are talking about Buddha and his approach which is always grounded in trying, experimenting, practicing and seeing what comes, there are practices to help you understand and live in this boundlessness.

These ways of being are called the Brahmaviharas (or the Divine Abodes). They are --  loving-kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy and equanimity. You might see them as steps along a path, one after another, but, in fact each works with the other and supports the other.

This week in our new Sanctuary Sunday series, we explore the 4 Brahmaviharas, beginning with Loving-Kindness. This practice is the foundation of the Brahmaviharas and offers the visceral and spiritual understanding that we are all connected. The formal phrases and practice is available on our YouTube channel.

If you are skeptical and worried that too much focus on love will turn your life into an endless Valentine’s Day – fear not! There’s so much courage to bring in. To be honest, it’s much more of a strength play. The practice takes you from wishing well and expressing love and kindness for yourself – already a true leap for many of us, to directing our wishes to friends, benefactors and neutral beings (those we don’t much notice) to those we have real difficulty with and finally to all beings.

In this way, we recognize that all beings truly wish to be happy – just as we do – and we find ourselves more deeply connected to humanity. In a world where more and more people describe themselves as lonely and without close friendships or support, learning to befriend ourselves and all others is the key to more happiness and, yes, tranquility.  It just takes a little practice.

Letting Go of Negative Emotions - Let it RAIN

Letting Go

 The Buddha taught that all life is suffering. Only he didn’t really say that. True, all life is “dukkha” is the first of his four Noble Truths. Dukkha is translated as suffering but there are deeper meanings behind the word. Meanings such as insubstantiality and impermanence. The more complex meaning and the one we have no exact word for is that life is always changing – there is nothing fixed to “hold” onto. And if we cannot live in that flux, if we cannot immerse ourselves in that fluid river coursing who knows where, then we suffer.

You must know people (perhaps you are this person) who declare their lives difficult, who insist they want change and yet who remain fixed in their ideas and concepts about their condition. Thus, staying in exactly the same place they are complaining about. This is not to say that there aren’t very real and difficult conditions that we face day in and day out. But, if a prisoner who has no hope of parole can find peace and understanding, (and there are many examples of this) then can’t we try for the same in our much less constrained and abject life?

 There’s an often told story about two ex POWS from Vietnam meeting each other again after many years. The one says to the other, “How are you? Have you been able to move on from that time?” And the other replies, “No, I have not forgiven my captors.” The first man says. “then you are still in prison.”

 Ultimately, any negative emotion that we experience again and again is one that has us on its hook. We are trapped.

 So, how can we find release?  

The RAIN meditation technique is a great way to approach this. RAIN stands for:

Recognize, Accept, Investigate, Nurture

First, we have to actually notice that we are having the negative emotion. This sounds obvious, but some of these feelings are so familiar, they are like the pair of socks we still put on even though there’s a hole in the sole. Not so nice – but we are used to them. So, we go ahead and use them. In any case, holey socks aside, the point is to see the negative emotion arising. And, rather than rejecting it, we allow it to present itself. Again, you really can’t do much about something if you keep shoving it aside. In fact, one of my favorite ways to approach a familiar, unwanted and, frankly, dreary response to something is to say “hello, old friend. I know you.” Granted, I don’t usually say this aloud (!) but I do say it to myself and it helps deflate the whole thing. This moves the response from Letting Go, which can have a negative connotation to more of a Letting Be. We aren’t trying to get rid of the thought, we are just giving it enough space so that we can actively work with it.

Next up? Investigation. This is the curious, open mind that is encouraged in meditation practice. Rather than pushing the thought/emotion away, we spend some time considering how it feels in our body, what other thoughts follow on the first thought. Maybe we look at what it is a common pattern for us. The point is not to add to the negative thought by dumping on ourselves (why am I like this?) or others (they are so irritating!) – that sort of response just doubles down on the negative thought.

Then, we nurture. Not the thought itself, but ourselves or perhaps, if the thought arises from a situation between yourself and other (s) you can bring compassion to the situation. Really expressing compassion for yourself in the moment helps deflate the situation.

“But, this thought is real and the situation is not good, I will never change it if I don’t experience it,” you say. Maybe. Maybe not. You don’t know how sticky and intractable a situation is until you have taken a quiet, patient and compassionate look at it.

Give it a try. Let it RAIN.

Compassionate Change – Why it Matters and Why it Works

 Living wisely is the art of learning how you will wish to have lived. A kind of resolution in reverse. Maria Popova

We know that most resolutions fail by February and yet, we continue to make them. We buy fancy planners and make lists and say to ourselves, “this year will be different, I definitely will do (or not do) x, y or z.”

 Turns out it’s really not the resolution or goal that matters but how we approach making change.

 Pema Chodron points out that most any change we wish to make is a form of aggression against ourselves. What she means is that we are already perfect. We just need to understand how to open ourselves up to living without fear and to being in love with life as it presents itself to us.

 Life is not fair nor is it easy. But it is ours to live. To directly face our own circumstances with an openness, to allow life to just be and then to proceed from that place, that is the real beginning of a commitment to living in happiness and peace.

 The practice of meditation is an exercise in accepting the present moment over and over again. Our work on the cushion then extends to our daily life – so that we can directly observe what is happening for us now and we can act in accordance with our moral compass.

 Following upon that act of noticing and acceptance is the necessary added component of compassion – for yourself and for all of the rest of us inhabiting this great spinning, blue world.

 Take a moment right now to reflect kindly on yourself. Love your hands as they move, love your eyes as they gaze around, love your ears as they attune to the sounds around you. Love your breath filling your chest and nourishing your cells. Love your body and your heart and your mind. Feel how that simple act of dropping the critical thinking and of resting in settled kindness towards yourself, creates a sense of largeness and grace.

 Any meaningful change you make will stem from this two-pronged approach – awareness and compassion.

 Go ahead and repeat your resolutions and ask yourself what is behind them? Are you, at base, dissatisfied with your life, with yourself? Get on that. Be wide eyed and new as the new year unfolds. How might you be kinder and more open?

 One of our favorite introductory exercises that we do with students and clients is a retrospective letter: You are 90 years old. You have lived a long and beautiful life. Describe it in as full detail as you wish.

 Many people find that what they describe is not what they are living. Is that you? There’s no time like the present to face life directly and make loving choices.

Joy to the World

Tis the season. Time to celebrate with loved ones, to feast, to give. It can feel a little like a forced march, though. We may be missing those who have passed or those we can’t be with this year. We may be struggling emotionally, financially, physically. The pandemic rages on. The world continues to be an uncertain, sad place.

 We want to feel joy (who doesn’t?) but how can we in the face of all that we are surrounded by?

 Let’s start by acknowledging that we want to feel happiness and joy and that it is ok to both see pain and sorrow around us while at the same time understanding that we can and should experience true happiness. It’s ok! And it doesn’t mean that you can’t attend to those who suffer or work to ameliorate insufferable conditions. In fact, actively practicing Joy can give you more capacity to give to others.

 Pure joy, joy without the desire to hold on to the experience forever, without a sense of entitlement or the need to keep the joy all to yourself is really just another name for boundless love.

 This meditation, which I like to call the Love Machine, is a wonderful way to generate and experience the Joy of manifesting love – for yourself and for all beings. EnJOY!

Meditations and other practices to increase your resilience

By Eliza Wing

Resilience is a key theme at Your Awakened Heart and for good reason – life likes to throw gut punches your way from time to time and having a set of practices you know you can turn to when things get rough is incredibly helpful.

 A great practice you can return to again and again is a good grounding meditation, like the Mountain Meditation or the Earthing Practice. Practice these regularly to give yourself a solid connection to life and for increased emotional, mental and spiritual strength.

 Here’s another simple and accessible meditation – it is one that I often bring into my daily morning meditation:

 Sit in a comfortable position with your eyes closed and breathe naturally. Allow a sense of calm to descend – either through letting your exhale be longer than your inhale, or by imagining a soothing warm stream of water flowing down your back, then your front and finally through your center.

 Next, bring to mind people in your life who you know have your back – these could be good friends, family members, a beloved teacher, someone from your past. Begin to visualize each one and then imagine them literally placing their hands on your upper back. Feel the support and love emanating from these people and know that you are loved, accepted and supported. Sit with this sense of connection and love for as long as you like. Feeling this in your heart and body and really allowing it to sink in gives you a visceral and mental framework that you can call up when you need it most.

 Unfortunately, for some of us the exercise above can be difficult. We may feel that there really is no one there for us. In that case, you can bring to mind an historical figure (or figures) whose qualities you admire and who you would like to bring into your meditation. You can think of them as guides who are there to support you and to show you the way. You can even think of a small benediction that you might say when bringing them to mind – something like, “may I feel the presence, patience and passion of Gandhi in this moment.”

 No matter, whether these people are present in your life or are admired beings – the connection and the balm of their existence is what can help you along your path.

Mirror, mirror

There is learning in every daily task we do, we just need to remember to STOP what we are doing and observe our body, mind, emotions in the midst of the everyday. This is called Beginner’s Mind in mindfulness circles. With Beginner’s Mind, we bring a fresh and curious approach to the mundane.

 Sometimes it takes a shock to wake us up to the importance, even the pleasures of our daily routines. I remember the sudden death of an acquaintance when he was in his early 40’s. He was the father of one of my son’s friends and just a tall, nice smiling guy who clearly loved life and his family. Then, one day, he dropped dead in the shower. That evening, as I did the dishes, the noise of my own family moving around me. I thought – I GET TO DO THE DISHES. And   --I get, to take this step, feel this water, touch this surface. The dishes became a tribute to this man and a gift to me as well.

 There’s not a routine more normal and fraught than the daily glance in the mirror. We wake, head to the sink for a round of tooth brushing and general, non-specific mirror gazing. Thoughts play through our minds. They might be…. I look tired, I need to remember to make a hair appointment, is that a new chin hair? And so on.

 We already know that whatever we think over and over again, becomes hardwired. On the flip side, we also know that we can retrain our brains and forge new neural pathways through regular changes and practices.

 What if, each morning when we awoke we practiced some intentional gratitude and compassion for ourselves instead of succumbing to a familiar, critical inner voice? Think of it as if you had a dear old friend whom you haven’t seen in a bit staying with you. How would you greet her? What kind words would you say to her? What if instead of the critical glance, we are able to bring some genuine friendship and appreciation to our familiar face?

 Maybe instead of directing a bleary, critical gaze across your features, you can learn to look into your own eyes with care and appreciation for the moment right as it is and for yourself, blessed to be alive, chin hairs and all.

 If you want to delve deeper, you can practice this Mirror Gazing exercise to work with your reactions and thoughts as you experience your reflection. People report surprising and moving insights into their self-perception as they do this exercise.

The practice is quite simple: Find a mirror and find a space where you know you won’t be distracted or disturbed. You can begin by closing your eyes and just coming into the moment, focusing on your natural breath. Then open your eyes and gaze into the mirror. Note what your thoughts and feelings are as you look at your face. Continue gazing into the mirror and note the ways in which your perception changes and what thoughts and emotions come to mind. Practice for at least five minutes. After, you can write down any insights that you had. Practicing this for several days in a row is particularly interesting — the experience builds on itself.

The more you look, the more you uncover.

Falling Away

By Eliza Wing

It’s the season of letting go. The days are getting shorter and cooler. The leaves are turning. Soon, they will fall  -- the trees readying themselves for another winter.

We, too, can use this time to release ourselves from things that no longer serve us. But we can and should take care in this. We should not be too quick to drop what we identify as troubling or unnecessary.

Before a tree releases its leaves, it takes in the nutrients, especially chlorophyll. This is why trees lose their green (chlorophyll) color and change colors. The tree pulls in what it needs before letting go. The process of leaves falling to the ground follows an active intake of what is good, important and needed. Only then does the tree perform an abscission (cutting) of the leaf, releasing it to the ground where it can provide nutrients in the spring.

The trees are not submitting in passivity. Think about it. Despite our impression of the wind rushing through waving branches and ripping the leaves away, that same wind pounded your maple tree in August during that crazy thunderstorm. How many leaves were lost then?

In our case, we shouldn’t assume that just because a thought dances around darkly in the back of our mind that we should immediately reject it.

So, how do we go about letting go in a way that is healthy, useful and lasting?

No surprise here, it begins with clear seeing. As Pema Chodron puts it in The Wisdom of No Escape:

“If we see our so-called limitations with clarity, precision, gentleness, goodheartedness, and kindness and, having seen them fully, then let go, open further, we begin to find that our world is more vast and more refreshing and fascinating than we had realized before. In other words, the key to feeling more whole and less shut off and shut down is to be able to see clearly who we are and what we’re doing.”

We can get a strong taste of arising thoughts (maybe the sort we want to eventually let go of) by just sitting quietly and stilling the mind. Close your eyes and just marvel at all that comes up! Stay quiet and gentle with yourself. Imagine if someone told you that there was a rare wild animal who came out to drink at a nearby stream and that if you just sat still and waited, it would show itself. Chances are, you would find a good rock to perch on and sit quietly waiting for the wonderful beast to emerge. You can have this same approach with your thoughts. Sit still. Watch. Wait.

When the thoughts emerge at first, it’s more like a herd of gazelles trampling the grass – almost impossible to sort one from the other. But after some time and practice, you can notice one thought and then another. After a time, you can even notice that a thought arises and passes. You may notice that the kinder and gentler your attention is, the sooner the thought moves on.

Meanwhile, you recognize that there are some thoughts that are probably not the healthiest or most productive. These are the ones you are probably thinking about letting go of. The impulse is to push them away, tamp them down. Not so fast!

In general, a thought that we want to let go of, comes with accompanying emotions and it is usually the emotion that provides the signal to us that we might want to drop this way of thinking.

When I find myself caught up in emotions, strong emotions, invariably, there is a pattern of thinking that pre-dated those emotions. The thoughts may arise from a past experience and if the emotions are very strong, it is almost impossible to separate the feelings from the thoughts. In fact, it feels in the moment like a terrible murky torrent, a fast-moving storm. Too much swirling about to understand.

Get used to finding the source. You can avoid a lot of pain by observing thoughts as they arise – when they might not be so loaded. And, when you are in observation mode, a little dispassionate about the whole thing, curious, in fact, you can see that there might be some value in keeping aspects of your thoughts.

Practice this guided meditation: Letting Go with Love and Awareness

Consider this example. My grown children live nearby and we enjoy each other’s company. I would love to see them more but recognize that they are leading busy, happy lives. So, when I think about wanting to see them, I rest in the energy of loving them and appreciating them. When the thinking starts to head down a generally unhelpful narrative (they don’t enjoy spending time with me as much as I like to be with them, they don’t appreciate the incredible great luck of being in close proximity, etc) I can choose to stay with the love and appreciation. I can keep what is nourishing for me and my relationship with them and let the rest fall away.

Transitions (seasons) are always good times to take stock. Difficult thoughts are almost always opportunities to take a quiet and closer look. Wait, watch. See the beauty in your observation. Take note and let the rare, wild thing emerge, take its quiet drink and then move on.

Warming Adaptogen Tea

By Linda Barberic

As the evenings start to get cooler and the days begin to shorten, some of us may experience this seasonal transition into autumn and winter a bit difficult for our body’s physical and emotional energy. We watch the downward movement of energy back to the earth, as the trees and plants move their energy to their roots for the winter.  We too may feel the need to move our energy inward to a place of grounding and nurturing. These decreased daylight hours and the fluctuating temperatures can make us feel unbalanced which is when illness can rise. So taking the time to sit with ourselves, slowing down and supporting our immune system is crucial. I look at this time of year as the perfect opportunity to incorporate some new life practices to help balance the energetic body. One of my favorite ways to replenish my roots and move inward is to bring in the ritual of a warm healing cup of adaptogen tea, as I start my day.

I am sharing my recipe for my favorite tea of medicinal roots, herbs, fruits and botanicals. This tea warms and nourishes the body from the winter ailments that seem to be lurking around every corner these days. This warming adaptogen tea not only keeps me warm as the days turn cool its also supports the immune system and adrenals during the cold and flu season to help fend off illness. 

Adaptogens are found in herbs and roots; they are said to help the body’s resilience in dealing with serious health conditions.  Adaptogens are also said to play a huge role in the aging process, so many adaptogens are considered to have anti-aging properties. They also alleviate stress and promote vitality for the whole body. 

This powerful blend of adaptogen combines rich superfoods: reishi and chaga mushrooms, deep cocoa, antioxidant elderberries and calming ginger. Mushrooms have long been known for their medicinal properties in Eastern medicine, mushroom wellness benefits have been praised for 4,000 years in herbal medicine traditions. Chaga and reishi mushroom calm the central nervous system by moderating its response to cortisol, the stress hormone. They are also ideal for daily wellness support and have therapeutic potential in supporting the immune system to help keep the body in perfect balance. Mushrooms also contain phytochemicals, which are believed to protect cells from damage.

This delicious  Tea is a fantastic alternative to coffee, as you get all the plant power energy.

Directions:

Combine all ingredients and add half  to 8 cups of water in a pot. 

Bring to a gentle simmer for 15-20 minutes, so the ingredients can release their healing compounds.

Strain herbs and serve with honey or maple syrup, to taste if desired. 

Refrigerate unused portion and reheat later. Drink up to 3-4 cups throughout the day.

•  1 Teaspoon chaga mushroom  

• 1 Teaspoon reishi mushroom powder

• 1 Tablespoon dried elderberries

• 1/2 Teaspoon ginger root

• 1/4 Teaspoon of cinnamon

• 1 Tablespoon cocoa

• ½ Teaspoon rose hip

• 1 Teaspoon of dried orange peel

• 1 Teaspoon of astragalus root

• 1 Teaspoon eleuthero

• 1 Teaspoon of ashwaganda

• 1 Teaspoon of burdock root

• 1 Tablespoon each of green and red rooibos. 

This makes about 16 servings.

If this sounds like to much to make on your own, I invite you to visit Soma Tea and pick up a tin of this tea.

Stay well everyone.

 Statements have not been evaluated by the food and drug administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

More Than This

 By Eliza Wing

We feel the yearning for more, understand in our very bones that we are greater than this sack of flesh, blood and skin. We sense the subtle shift of energy in a room when we walk in – maybe without even speaking to someone, we intuit their emotions. A loved one dies in the middle of the night, my lamp crashes to the floor – at that moment. Unbidden.

 Can we learn to connect with this wider energy? Can we experience the subtle (or not so subtle as in the lamp experience) movement and flow of all beings? Can we live in this energetic “body” of ours that is larger than our physical presence?

 Rumi says:

 Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
there is a field. I’ll meet you there.

When the soul lies down in that grass,
the world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase ‘each other’
doesn’t make any sense.

It is this attentive stillness that brings us to our knees and to our senses beyond sense. To get there, we must quiet the mind and heart.

 Here is how philosopher and poet David Whyte expresses it:

 “The object in meditation and all of our contemplative disciplines is silence. But… that silence is in order for you to perceive something other than yourself — what you’ve arranged as yourself to actually perceive this frontier between what you call your self and what you call other than your self”

 Follow this guided meditation based on the Qi Gong principle of Grounding to access your Greater Self – your Energetic Body.

 This is the great work of The Awakened Heart – to stop the doing, rest in the being and expand beyond the small self into the possibility of living with Heart and Presence, connecting with the world and others at this true and loving level.

 Follow your meditation with this excerpt of David Whyte’s poem, Sometimes:

 Sometimes

 Sometimes
if you move carefully
through the forest,
breathing
like the ones
in the old stories,
who could cross
a shimmering bed of leaves
without a sound,
you come to a place
whose only task
is to trouble you
with tiny
but frightening requests,
conceived out of nowhere
but in this place
beginning to lead everywhere.

It is this Everywhere that is you, more than you, that is calling upon you to embark on this beautiful journey.

 Our work at Your Awakened Heart is to attune our community members to mind/body/emotions/energy so that we are open and present to both the here and now as well as to the possibility of a greater way of being in the world – we live with Hearts open to Presence.

Accessing True Awareness

A Glimpse of the Possible.

We operate in the land of the doing. In this place, there are lists and emails and phone calls and a dog asking, no begging, for a walk. There are people we love and tend. Dirt accumulates and we wipe. Leaves fall and we check the weather – how long until we have to clean them and drag them to the curb?

What happens when we stop? Or can we stop? Is our definition of “stopping” putting down the grocery list – just for a moment – and picking up the phone? Is our definition of taking a break and stopping really just another way of looking for escape from NOW?

What happens when we stop and open? What if we drop the sleep walk of the busy person?

Here is Thoreau, our historical champion of observation on letting go of the distraction:

Why do you flee so soon… to the theaters, lecture-rooms, and museums of the city? If you will stay here awhile I will promise you strange sights.

What strange sights might we find if we only let ourselves full stop, go inward and then connect to what is greater than us?

For centuries, contemplatives have sequestered themselves from the demands of the world so that they could get closer to the inexpressible, to “truth”, to “awareness”, to what many ultimately call God.

Teachers and masters and monks and shaman promise to take us on a journey to find this knowing. Thousands follow them to faraway places and days of silence, leaving the worldly behind.

Here’s the secret. Peace and Awareness is already right here and has been all along. Perhaps you have glimpsed incandescent, transcendent beauty in nature, in a deep, sweet glance from a loved one, in the smell of a wild rose. These external moments providing a leap into the mystery of connectedness and Awareness.

It’s a paradox. The only way that we can experience the world of the Spirit is through these human bodies and senses. The paradox being that in order to truly wake up to the power of the Spirit, we need to claim our physical forms as they are right now and learn how to connect to the energy (using our bodies/hearts/minds) to experience the deepest of all Meaning.

If this sounds daunting it doesn’t have to be.

You can experience the ever-presence of Awareness at any time. The trick is (as with all of these practices) to remember that true Awareness is there and available even in times of deep distraction, even pain.

Loch Kelly in his book book “The Way of Effortless Mindfulness” provides his readers with a series of what he calls glimpses – simple and direct teachings on how to access the True Awareness that is our birthright. You can follow along with my meditative instructions based on Kelly’s teaching.

As Linda and I continue our practice and learnings, we are focused on providing our students with access to a deeper connection with both themselves and to Awareness.

Join us in our weekly Sanctuary Sunday virtual classes and become part of our community.

Finding Your Center

by Eliza Wing

Anyone feeling a little off-kilter? I thought so. It’s hard not to feel out of sorts these days. Never mind global events, public health, worsening storms, heat and so on…. many of us spent the summer busily having fun, traveling, seeing family and friends. It can be a little much.

So, now feels like the opportune time to revisit our centers, to reacquaint ourselves with what we know to be true about ourselves.

Living from your center is powerful and affirming but it is not a specific place to cling to. When I think about my center, I consider it as an energetic, fluid space from which to operate/emanate. I don’t think of it as a solid, immoveable structure. Your power is in the fluidity and sense of spaciousness that is in your true center.

Your center is not… that voice that declares itself right or hurt or justified. Your center is not that pang in your heart when you feel disconnected.

You can explore the energy of the center with this terrific Centering exercise from the Strozzi Institute. You can see my demo of it on our YouTube channel (and while you are there, please consider subscribing! We regularly post new guided meditations and exercises for your well-being there).

What helps you find your center? What do you know to be true about your center?

Learning From Your Routines

By Eliza Wing

How we proceed through the often repeated, routine aspects of our lives can offer insight into the whole of our life. After all, our lives are made up of these daily moments played out in one sequence or another again and again. Instead of being cause for alarm or despair, we can use this understanding to become more aware of our habits.

So, we may find that we are impatient during a process as simple as brushing our teeth. Thoughts like “let me just be done with this so I can get my coffee, or put on a warmer sweater.”

Or maybe we simply can’t just be brushing our teeth. Instead, we weigh ourselves, we glance skeptically in the mirror, we look around the bathroom and see that we need to pick up those dirty socks.

Anything but really brushing our teeth.

This is natural and human and…. It’s also an opportunity to pay attention to where our mind goes when we are performing routine tasks. Are we always impatient? Worried? Angry? Take note of your thoughts and then begin to explore them for themselves. What is at the root of impatience? Or worry?

Attend to the in between moments — toothbrushing, tying a child’s shoelaces, cracking an egg into a small white bowl. These are the things your life is made of. When you attend to them with patience and presence you learn to be patient with what is, right now. And you open yourself up to the miracle of a sunrise, dew on the grass, a dove perched on a telephone wire. You open to the true miracle that life presents in its own time. Which is also your own time.

The beauty of not knowing

Look up. Hold out one hand, palm up. Know that you are made of stardust. We see our bodies as solid, yet our cells turn over completely every seven years. We are never the same body.

There’s more space between things (couches, trees, books) than solid matter.

Scientists speculate on many dimensions operating simultaneously. And yet we exist here, together, in a common agreement that the world we live in is the one we perceive with our senses.

What opens when we let that go? Does it feel okay to accept that what we perceive is, on some deep level, not necessarily so?

We can certainly agree that our perception is not another’s – just look at the clear and terrible examples of discord and hatred all around us.

But even without going “there”, opening to the fact that there is always another perspective when we are in relation to others, can we begin to dissolve our own hard edges?

Can we think of ourselves (and others) as in process, as human becomings?

Holding this attitude is very helpful if you feel some sadness or hurt in a relationship. Let’s say someone hurt you in the past – you felt unappreciated or rejected. What if the other person never perceived that, doesn’t remember it that way? Who is right? And what, by the way, does “being right” in this case do for anyone?

If we can see that we are each living in a story of one sort or another, perhaps we can begin to loosen the bonds of the narrative.

Maybe we can dwell in not knowing anything for sure. That’s unsettling, yes. But it is also where change happens, where great shifts can begin to take place. And, you, star struck being, can shine in the expansiveness of possibility.

A New Practice: Setting A Daily Intention

For some time now, I have had what I would call a regular and satisfying morning ritual, which I wrote about for yogiapproved.com.

 But when I heard author, mindfulness teacher and therapist Tara Brach describe her morning/daily ritual, I realized that I have been missing two key elements: setting an intention and bookending.

 After Brach has meditated and exercised, she takes a moment to declare an intention for the day. Then, at the end of the day, she revisits her intention to see if she actually fulfilled it.

 This morning I decided to give Brach’s practice a try. Following my usual meditation, I set the following intention: “May I be loving and open with everyone I encounter today.”

 And then I went about my day. I stopped in to the post office to mail a copy of my book out and, in the course of chatting with the postal worker, said something jokey and somewhat disparaging about someone (who shall remain nameless). In the instant that I said it, I realized that I was not living my intention.

 Here’s the thing. Not only would I not have caught my misstep if I hadn’t intentionally declared that I wanted to be loving to all today BUT if I also wasn’t looking forward to revisiting the intention to see if I had lived it (i.e. bookending), I am pretty sure I wouldn’t have been as aware of my behavior.

 It’s a simple, effective shift – and a new addition to my days.

 Tomorrow’s intention? To be kind (including to myself if/when I slip up).

Building Your Resilience

When things invariably become challenging because that is what life is… bumps and swerves, we need to have reserves built up. We need to have a way to both navigate whatever difficulty has come up and we need to have a sense of confidence and resilience. A knowing that, whatever lies ahead, we can and will get through.

We can build our resilience up with two simple practices. The first practice allows us to see that there is space to operate from. That we do not have to get carried away or caught up. That our next thought or action is not inevitable.

We can learn to provide space within our difficult emotions, a gap within our seemingly endless mind stream.

How can we create this gap? By inserting a conscious gap within your day as a matter of routine.

In Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village community, a bell rings every fifteen minutes. At that moment, everyone and everything comes to a stop.  It is a moment to practice conscious awareness.

You probably don’t have a bell ringer handy but you can follow a similar practice.  The Three Breaths Practice gives you a small, regular opportunity to create a gap in your experience. And to help regulate your mood.

Before you practice Three Breaths, you can take a quick scan of your current state.

Simply stop whatever it is you are doing at the moment.

The breath is a simple and very powerful tool that you can use whenever you need more space or awareness. When you practice the Three Breaths, you can also take note of what sort of breath you need in this moment. Maybe you are feeling stressed – make your exhale longer than your inhale. If you are feeling fear, deepening the inhale can be helpful. Or maybe you are feeling balanced and want to keep inhalations and exhalations of equal length.

You can close your eyes or not. And inhale quietly, paying complete attention to the breath as it begins in the lower body and rises up through the belly, the chest and into the throat. And then quietly exhale, allowing the breath to move out of the body.

By creating this gap in our experience again and again throughout the day, we can begin to see that there is more freedom and space available to us, even in difficult times.

How else might we strengthen our resilience?

By looking no further than within.

Consider the story of Theseus and the Minotaur.

The Minotaur as we remember, was the terrible bull monster buried deep below ground in a dark labyrinth. He demanded a human sacrifice of seven men and seven women each year. One year, the king’s son, Theseus, volunteered to go below ground as one of the sacrifices with the intent to kill the Minotaur.

Before embarking on his journey, Theseus met Princess Ariadne and they fell in love. The Princess decided she would help Theseus and gave him a thread with the instruction to unspool the thread as he made his way through the labyrinth so that he could return home safely.

We can think of this story in relationship to what allows us to face our fears and keeps us going in our darkest times. When we are lost and confused and don’t know what lurks around that dark corner, we can hold onto our thread.

Take a moment now to consider your strengths. In the past when you have faced difficulties what qualities have you brought to bear; what core beliefs and values have carried you through? You can articulate these strengths for yourself.

Now imagine those words becoming your thread and spin them into a beautiful golden thread. You can bring this golden thread up from the souls of your feet through your legs up into your center. Allow the golden thread to rise up your spine all the way to the back of your skull.

This powerful, unbreakable thread runs through you.

And rest in the understanding that you have this tool within you. It is always there. It is an integral part of you.

5 Simple Steps to Boost Your 6th Sense: Intuition

We are sense creatures, most of us reacting to our environment through the input of all five senses – seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, smelling. Each of these senses combines to provide us with our perception of the world around us. From this perceptive “reality”, we make decisions and choices.

But there’s a sixth sense, what we call intuition – that immediate understanding of something that lies beyond the sense world.

Think of the last time you had a “gut” feeling about something or someone. You were reacting beyond the realm of what you could see/hear – there was an understanding that just seemed to arise, without conscious thought or action.

Intuition is powerful and useful. It allows individuals to steer through life more effectively; it allows for big, inventive insights; it sets you apart.

How can you boost your intuition? With practice and intentionality and following the simple steps below.

1.     Listen closely

You can’t heighten something that you aren’t aware of. The process of building your intuitive skills begins with careful attention to what is going on around you. You can gather a felt sense from all sort of cues around you – the undercurrent behind the words someone says; or a small movement they make as they speak.

We are all processing this kind of information throughout the day. Bring out your Sherlock – notice as much as you can. It can even help to make notes after an interaction. What did you note? What thoughts/feelings came up?

2.     Locate your signals

Once you have started to sharpen your observational skills, begin to note where you most locate your intuitive or felt sense of something. For many people, the sense is located in the solar plexus, or lower, in the belly. Hence the term “gut” feeling.

3.     Get In tune

Wherever it is for you that you notice these unconscious reactions, learn to attune to that center. Pretty soon it will be as natural as your sense of touch or sight. As you get more in tune with your intuitive self, you will begin to notice even the slightest shifts – picking up a felt sense even earlier than before.

4.     Ground yourself

It can be a little unnerving to be honest – always in tune with your intuition about people and situations. Where you might once have brushed off a semi-conscious reaction, now you are attuning to it. In order to give yourself the strength to listen to and live in this field of awareness, it’s important to remain grounded. You can do this by literally focusing on the grounding of your feet on the floor, or the sense of your seat in a chair, really experiencing your body as solid and rooted. Another method for grounding can be to orient yourself to three things in your surroundings. You can note an object that you see, a sound you hear, something that you can touch. Again, you are placing your body in direct physical relation to your surroundings.

5.     Practice Querying

Now that you are better attuned to your intuition you can begin to actively use it. Instead of only turning to your thinking self in order to find answers you can begin to work with your felt sense.

Try this heart centered meditation (this is also available here https://youtu.be/hmcX3r3lzs4 available as a guided meditation in case you’d rather have guidance through the meditation).

Sit in a quiet, comfortable place where you know you will be undisturbed for a few minutes.

Do the following with eyes closed.

Bring your attention to your body, notice its groundedness. Take note of where your body is touching the floor, your seat. Feel yourself grounded and secure. Scan your body and note where there might be any tension. On an out breath, release any tense, tight spots. You can take a moment to notice these areas and take care of each one with a gentle out breath.

And now, drop your attention to your heart center. Allow the sense of the heart to open and expand. Feel the sweetness of the heart. Know that you are held in this loving heart that is yours.

And, staying in this heart center, ask yourself “what is my deepest knowing right now?”

Stay quiet, alert and open. The heart will answer.

Practice this query regularly and you will find that you become quite in tune with your heart and with an intuition that can lead you in ways that will be surprising and exquisite.