In the juggling and balancing act of life, I have been claiming as “necessary & essential” more time in the stillness of my heart and awareness. These times call for a steady, open and wise-open heart. If we want to bring our multifaceted intelligence, resilience and compassion into the world, we need to be able to access an inner safe sanctuary of open presence and awareness. We can no longer ignore or tune out the darkness in the world, regardless of our truth, our path, or our service. Too many are hurting for any of us to tune out. Our children and grandchildren are being deeply impacted. For the past two months I have immersed myself in the study of deeper aspects of human evolution and the awakened mind. My ego wants to resist, but I forge on, as it is informing the next phase of my work and service being even more fully human, real and unstoppable. My bottom line is this: We have been educated out of our awakened awareness. All of us are equipped with the innate capacity for spirituality. The hard and fast science – neuroscience – proves that cultivating spirituality results in an awakened brain, leads to things like greater grit, greater optimism, greater resilience, greater hope, greater endurance and greater compassion. With nearly 25 years of study, professional service, never-ending scouring of the research, and my own lived experience, this is what I know:
Our capacity to see into the deeper nature of life where we see that we are loved, held, guided and never alone is innately hardwired in each of us. The truth will continue to reveal itself, if we pay attention we will see it, hear it, feel it, know it. Somewhere deep within we can all feel our connection, that we are interconnected. Life is showing us this truth, that we are not only interconnected but also inter-dependent. In any one thing we can see the whole and to reflect on the whole can help us with whatever we are facing. In these turbulent times there is great medicine for us if we pay attention and towards the great work of our time – PEACE, we are all a part of this. In PEACE there is prosperity and enough for all. In war there is lack, scarcity and suffering. If there is to be PEACE, then we must practice PEACE ourselves, we must evolve beyond war and violence and embody the PEACE that already lives within us. Both individually and collectively this is true. We are each a piece of the greater peace that wants to be born and if there is to be P E A C E, it is because we will create it together. There is always something we can do that affects the whole in a good way. I share the above simple and profound quote from the late Zen Master, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, ‘Thich Nhat Hanh,’ as a reminder for myself for all of us, just to practice ‘Being Peace’, whenever we can, in the quiet moments of our lives.
Let us all keep ‘Being Peace.’ How? Simply pause and breathe. R e l a x into the P a u s e created by, with and through your breath. It is a most simple and life-giving blessing – the breath. Inhale, Exhale. Slowly. Breathe slowly so the belly expands, pause, exhale. Breathe this way for 90 seconds or for 10 – 15 breaths and send love and peace to all beings, to the leaders of the world, to all beings and let your own Being receive this blessing as well.