21 Days of Turning Inward: Day Eleven
Here's the link to the retreat: H I B E R N A T E
And I would love to hear how you've decided to bring the experience of your second word into your life! You can share in the comments below, or email me at innerlightasheville@gmail.com.
Quiet friend who has come so far
Quiet friend who has come so far,
feel how your breathing makes more space around you.
Let this darkness be a bell tower
and you the bell. As you ring,
what batters you becomes your strength.
Move back and forth into the change.
What is it like, such intensity of pain?
If the drink is bitter, turn yourself to sweetness.
In this uncontainable night,
be the mystery at the crossroads of your senses,
the meaning discovered there.
And if the world has ceased to hear you,
say to the silent Earth: I flow.
To the rushing water, speak: I am.
~R M Rilke
See you tomorrow!
21 Days of Turning Inward: Day Ten
East: What is fresh and new in you? What is tender and emerging?
South: What are you deeply passionate about? What brings you alive?
West: What do you offer your community? What are you giving back?
North: What is your wisdom? Where is your mastery?
“One regret, dear world, that I am determined not to have when I am lying on my deathbed, is that I did not kiss you enough.” — Hafiz
I hope that these reflections bring you some clarity and a sense of pride in what you have accomplished.
Wishing you a day of clear direction and purpose!
21 Days of Turning Inward: Day Nine
L A N D S C A P E
Isn't it plain the sheets of moss, except that
they have no tongues, could lecture
all day if they wanted about
spiritual patience? Isn't it clear
the black oaks along the path are standing
as though they were the most fragile of flowers?
Every morning I walk like this around
the pond, thinking: if the doors of my heart
ever close, I am as good as dead.
Every morning, so far, I'm alive. And now
the crows break off from the rest of the darkness
and burst up into the sky--as though
all night they had thought of what they would like
their lives to be, and imagined
their strong, thick wings.
~ Mary Oliver
Would you like to offer a sense of spaciousness to someone you love, or create the opportunity for them to connect with their own sacred interiority?
We are offering two upcoming chances to dive deeper on this inward journey, a guided 6-week meditation experience and a winter retreat. If either of those call to you, you can learn more here.
I love the respect that Mary Oliver has for the dreaming time, the inward time, the fertile darkness of turning inward. The crows can fly, she suggests, because they spent all night dreaming of how they would like their lives to be.
We value action so highly in this culture that it can be difficult to allow ourselves this very necessary inward time. Thank you for taking this time for yourself. Thank you for taking the time to listen, and reflect, and dream. I believe this inward, reflective time is when we create soul, and I believe this world is hungry for soul. I know that I am. So, again, thank you!
"As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being. Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart ...
Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.
The dream is the small hidden door in the deepest and most intimate sanctum of the soul, which opens to that primeval cosmic night that was soul long before there was conscious ego and will be soul far beyond what a conscious ego could ever reach."
~ C.G. Jung
21 Days of Turning Inward: Day Eight
Breathing in, I calm my body
Breathing out, I smile.
Dwelling fully in this moment
I know this is a wonderful moment.
If you enjoyed the meditation we did today, you may want to look into the work of Thich Nhat Hanh. His beautiful books have deepened my understanding of meditation and my relationship to the more-than-human world.
I've been delighting in the music of Aine Minogue lately, and her ethereal voice and harp unintentionally accompany the audio this morning since I was playing her album in my office while I recorded!
As always, I would love to hear what you came up with in your written reflection. You can share in the comments below if you are feeling brave.
"In all the great spiritual traditions, at their heart is tenderness--just to be kind inside, and then everything rights itself. Fear rests. Confusion rests." Pamela Wilson
Wishing you a day of soft open spaces and deep rest!
21 Days of Turning Inward: Day Seven
A few years back when I was attending an Expressive Arts conference, someone drew my attention to the word 'anaesthetic'. If an anaesthetic is something that numbs you, that dulls you to experience and takes you out of presence, what is the opposite of that?
Aesthetic.
As you choose your action for today, be aware of the power of beauty. Taking the time to arrange your breakfast on a tray with a branch of pine needles might seem superfluous or silly, but it might be exactly the touch of kosmetikos necessary to bring your inner and outer aesthetic into alignment. Allowing yourself to walk home the long way around, and more slowly, may create a relationship to the moments of the day that changes your perspective. Aesthetic brings us alive, wakes us up. Where do you allow yourself to walk in beauty?
If you are inspired to offer yourself the gift of sacred, slow rejuvenation, you may want to look into the retreat we are offering this February. $50 reserves your spot and there are less than 10 places left! Learn more here.
For a New Beginning
In out-of-the-way places of the heart,
Where your thoughts never think to wander,
This beginning has been quietly forming,
Waiting until you were ready to emerge.
For a long time it has watched your desire,
Feeling the emptiness growing inside you,
Noticing how you willed yourself on,
Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.
It watched you play with the seduction of safety
And the gray promises that sameness whispered,
Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,
Wondered would you always live like this.
Then the delight, when your courage kindled,
And out you stepped onto new ground,
Your eyes young again with energy and dream,
A path of plenitude opening before you.
Though your destination is not yet clear
You can trust the promise of this opening;
Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning
That is at one with your life’s desire.
Awaken your spirit to adventure;
Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;
Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,
For your soul senses the world that awaits you.
-John O’Donohue
I'd love to hear in the comments what you chose to do for yourself! All of us are creative in unique ways, so the action you share could be the spark that inspires someone else to follow through in taking action.
May the rest of your day be filled with radical self-love. See you tomorrow!
