Day 20: Sending self-love

If we are trying to stay present, and we are "just" there,
just now,
just experiencing, awaring, nowing
the now of now

and all that
it's a quiet place

looking at a tree doesn't
come with a voice narration,
unless we are talking inside,

going about our business
doesn't come with voice narrations
on "I didn't do this well enough,"
or
"I wonder what so and so thinks
about this and that I did or said."
and the old bugaboo:
"I wonder if so and so even likes
me"

So: being present, we
just "are" with what is
("just")

and other times, the voice takes
over
and we have our interpretation
of reality
our narration
our inner yap yap

and then we aren't present

many, many times to not be present
is to suffer
to feel discomfort
or worse

good,
we can be present to our discomfort
and feel the voice inside has something to do with it

today's game:

coming to the arms and legs and spine present
and sending a little "I love you"
"I approve of you"
to ourselves,
and then returning to as much silence
as we can find

not affirmation
not over and over,
just a shot of love
a shot of approval
for our thinking, our feeling, our awaring ,
our forgetting to aware,
whatever we are at that moment,
loving it

and then moving on

all restlessness
unhappiness
worry
doubt

all that converted into
self love

and then back to arms and fingers, legs and toes, spine and pelvis
head,

grounded in the bones
add on the breathing if you wish

and listen for the happiness in
the silence

and when the unsilence comes:
"I love you"
"I approve"
"You are wonderful"

Just a little whisper of self love

that's all

"Just" a whisper

and hey: let's add a Thich Nhat Hahn thing:
a hint of a smile on the outbreath as and after
we sent the whisper

"just" a hint of a smile

good

Heartbreak and Slowing down

TAKE IT OUT OF TIME
 If you are in "heartbreak" land.
If your world has crumbled.

 [ A huge amount of suffering comes from the friction and “resistance” caused by trying to instantly “get rid” of it]

 Give yourself 40 days.
Not to wallow.
Not necessarily to feel awful.

But if you feel awful, give yourself some time to “go there,” as they say. “

Go there” can mean the prior two lessons. There will be lots more offered.

 And here’s the idea: LET CURIOSITY AND NOW-CENTERED AWARENESS be the bedrock.

As, oh, I thought such and such and now I feel this and that.

Or, this feeling bad is mainly in my throat. I wonder where specifically it is in my throat. What do I want to say?

Today, my feeling bad is keeping me from getting this done…. I wonder what would happen if I did my tasks anyway.

 (We’ll have several lessons on all the above).

The point is: treat it like a child that needs patience and curiosity: what’s going on with you? What is it like to be you? And leave time out of it. Give yourself 40 days. After all the goal is to get very close to enlightenment in this time, and that seems worth at least 40 days, don’t you think?

Learning by Going "Slow"

Slow
Sonoma
dot
com

the idea:
go slowly
and life will be more available to us
in its everyday
miracle:

yes,
this miracle:
We are alive.

It sounds so corny
or
so obvious

and as Moshe Feldenkrais
said,
it's the elusive obvious
that is
so useful and powerful
in our lives.

and say
we are teaching Feldenkrais
or
taking lessons
and want to
keep improving
each
and
every
day

what's the best
way to do that?

Give ourselves
time
at least twenty minutes a
day

Find a nice firm surface
to lie down on,
grass,
the floor,
sand,
a firm, really firm couch
( I have one made from plywood with
some packing mats and a carpet over it)

Lie down
move
easy,
but with awareness

Not the discharge
wiggle moving

but exploring
how does
this
relate
to that

in ourselves

what can we discover
re-cover
explore
re-explore
examine
re-examine

how much can we love
going
within
going slowly
and trying
out some new, old,
easy, a little less than easy
combinations

how much
fun
can we
have
exploring
and learning

this is a nice
way
to
spend some time

each
day

Life is Good

Life is good.

In the present.

And if that's so,
we might ask:
How can we be more present?

Ah? To wake up to our being asleep,
that's the first step.

And then:
not to fall into beating
ourselves up
with the "Oh, damn. I feel asleep again."

And then:
to really
enjoy
the sensations
of being right now.

There is a lot
in the now
and it's fine
wonderful
okay
recommended
and great
to be in a mode
of pleasure
and joy
and gratitude
when we come here.

Love,
Chris


(Note. The essays are rotating through the three blogs, more or less one per day.
So you might want to check:

Tai Chi Yoga Health Weight Loss Joy
and
Life on Earth ::: Slow Sonoma
for the last two essays.)