I have blogged about Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor in the past but I wanted a little inspiration today! It is amazing what can happen when we neurologically align our Brain with our heart!! Consciousness: The way we perceive ourselves and others in the world. Here’s her most exquisite sharing at the TED Talks!
The last few weeks I have shared with you a couple of amazing thinkers and radical peace activists. Today I would like to share the next one with you… Pema Chodron. Now I am certain many of you know her for her teachings and pod casts already so that said I’d like to share a YouTube clip of her with you. A Brief note on her history:
“Pema Chödrön was born Deirdre Blomfield-Brown in 1936, in New York City. She attended Miss Porter’s School in Connecticut and graduated from the University of California at Berkeley. She taught as an elementary school teacher for many years in both New Mexico and California. Pema has two children and three grandchildren.
While in her mid-thirties, Pema traveled to the French Alps and encountered Lama Chime Rinpoche, with whom she studied for several years. She became a novice nun in 1974 while studying with Lama Chime in London. His Holiness the Sixteenth Karmapa came to England at that time, and Pema received her ordination from him.
Pema first met her root teacher, Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, in 1972. Lama Chime encouraged her to work with Rinpoche, and it was with him that she ultimately made her most profound connection, studying with him from 1974 until his death in 1987. At the request of the Sixteenth Karmapa, she received the full monastic ordination in the Chinese lineage of Buddhism in 1981 in Hong Kong.” The Pema Chodron Foundation. I highly encourage you to study her teachings. Her sense of humor is wonderful!
Sending Love,
~Sarah
We all have some sort of limiting belief system in our make up. Often this is created from how our past has formed us. Our past has taught us to anticipate the future, whether it is either healthy or not and the painful episodes create limiting beliefs, assumptions and/or obstacles. Just because something has happened in the past doesn’t mean it will happen again. The healthiest thing for us to do is to reframe the situation or experience in a way that is supportive.
As I wrote last week I am introducing you to remarkable humans who have helped frame me and my thought processes throughout the decades. This week it’s Tara Brach, a remarkable human who I thank on a regular basis. She often talks about the release of limiting beliefs and where they come from. I invite you to take a look at this YouTube clip when you have the time.
Sending warm loving thoughts,
~Sarah
I just returned from a spectacularly restful and warm vacation! I was warmed by the sun for 10 whole days, which I didn’t realized just how much I needed it until I was down there. It’s been unprecedentedly cold here in New England and I was in desperate need of some natural vitamin D. Though that said something was going through my head while I was down in sunny southern Florida.
“Wherever you go there you are”: I have been in love with the writings of Jon Kabat-Zin since the mid 90’s and his book Wherever You Go, There You Are is something that I think of often. We take ourselves with us everywhere we go. All of what we are is with us all the time. And I was reminded of this. Everyone leaves for their vacation with either hopes, expectations or intentions for their time away from home. And sometimes while away our time doesn’t live up to what we were hoping for. So a shift in expectation is needed. A thought reframe is needed (or in my case a reframing of my thoughts about returning home to the cold 🙂 was needed). Then there are the thoughts we have about our vacation, I’ll be more…. peaceful, active whatever your thoughts are and then you’re attached to those expectations. What would happen if we let go of that? Allowed ourselves to be exactly as we are the way we are?
“You might be tempted to avoid the messiness of daily living for the tranquility of stillness and peacefulness. This of course would be an attachment to stillness, and like any strong attachment, it leads to delusion. It arrests development and short-circuits the cultivation of wisdom.”
In the next few weeks I thought I’d introduce you to some of my favorite people who have guided me on the road to awareness and today it’s Jon Kabat-Zinn.
Energetically,
~Sarah
My birthday just passed and I was thinking about celebrating and what that means to me…. We are all so use to celebrating the big things like momentous birthdays, graduations, births and so on. But what do you so for the smaller, the less acknowledged road markers? What do you do to honor or celebrate the small things? I believe that if we give ourselves permission to celebrate the small things (and who’s to say that they are even really small) we will have more to celebrate. And then there will be more big things to celebrate.
Today I do not have a headache, which for me is something to celebrate. So how am I going about celebrating. I am listening to records as I work! Which I am normally unable to do when there is pain in my head due to an inability to concentrate. How you celebrate is really irrelevant. What is relevant is that you acknowledge the moment. Give it its just dessert. Ohhh and I think I will have some dessert to celebrate! In all seriousness, acknowledging the good in ones life is as important as acknowledging any feeling.
In all my years of coaching I see people focus more on the bad feelings and gloss over the good. Those two words are italicized because they are only as weighted as we make them. Everything is impermanent so why not acknowledge more of the good! Celebrate! Celebrate! Because if you choose to focus on the juicy things you’ll have more yummy things to celebrate!
Happy Celebration!
~Sarah
Since today is groundhog day I think it only apropos that I confess about winter. Every year when it rears its head I feel the need to hibernate. To crawl into bed and stay there until spring. To metaphorically plug up my but like a bear and not climb out of my cave. But in all seriousness I have a harder time being productive, or at least I think I do. I start to feel guilty the moment the cold weather sets in because I feel like I “should” be doing things differently. But this winter I’m doing things a bit differently… I’m allowing myself to be exactly as I am. Leaving myself alone. Allowing the slowness. the needing more sleep and wanting to keep warm.
I’m from a family of “workers” if we are not busy we are not being productive and when I am not… I feel guilty. So I have asked myself what would happen if I left myself alone? Allowed myself the comfort of the warmth. Although in my mind I thing that the world would fall apart but in reality I still get up meditate, exercise and get to work. So what’s the worst thing that could happen? ….Nothing that make my world fall apart . How much more productive would I be by allowing myself a little extra sleep, a nap or a day here and there where I stick to my heating pad? Well for myself I’m more productive with the time I have since I am releasing the guilt. Why waste my time with that catabolic thought process which immediately takes me out of the moment and into feelings which don’t support me. Somehow I seem to be enjoying the winter a bit more. I will admit I enjoy it so much more since I work from home and I don’t have to drive anywhere. What a spectacular thing! So this winter I am learning to rephrase the way I look at it.
So I guess, how gentle are you with the things that you think you “should” do? How do you keep from piling a lot of “should” on yourself? How do you handle to winter?
Energetically, albeit with a heating pad
~Sarah
It never ceases to amaze me how what we need is right in front of our eyes if we are simply open to it. So I thought I’d re-post an older blog post since it is always relevent. #LOVE ~Sarah
The other day I was putting away things that I had brought back to my apartment from my parents. They were moving out of they’re home after 40 years. Now what I’d you like you to know is that this is my childhood home and most of my things are long gone. Also this is such a wonderful thing that they are finally moving out of this enormous converted dairy barn. But That said I still have some wistful mourning to do.
Now, I was moving and shoving things that I had brought back into place as best I could…. Feeling feelings when I opened my eyes to see a box that I was shoving under my bed (which at the time made me so sad because under my bed was neat and tidy and empty) and What did I see….?
Not sometimes, but all the time when we open out eyes we see exactly what we are meant to know at that exact time if you are open to it… I am constantly saying look up and look out. This is an absolute example of that! I was being told to choose another thought! This is a happy moment of change! An opportunity to not let the past define who I am! I have been asked soooooo often through out my life if I could bottle my happiness. So when I read this it was such a beautiful reminder of choosing another thought I literally started to laugh out loud all by my self in my apartment!
So Look up and look out you just might “Bottle some Happiness today”!!
Love and Pink Light
Sarah
Time for my yearly blogging holiday tradition… “Twas the Night Before Christmas”. So enjoy and hold your loved ones a little closer this Holiday! I know I will!
Happy Holidays!
~Sarah
Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.
The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.
When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.
The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.
With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!
“Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!”
As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.
And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.
He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.
His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.
The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, ‘ere he drove out of sight,
“Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!”
The holiday season tends to make one reflect on what is important to them. I grew up listening to Johnny Mathis, Dean Martin, and Bing Crosby at Christmas. Somehow this song always, no matter when I hear it throughout the year… I reflect. What are you reflecting upon this day?
Love and Light
~Sarah
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