Can I open my mind without thoughts rushing in? Can I clear the path and feel expansive and light when all my thoughts and feelings seem so dense and heavy? I focus on my breath — its softness, its calm and gentle assertiveness as it moves through my body — and I begin to notice the light, to feel the freedom, to be the quiet…to know the peace of just being. On my breath, the fog lifts and I expand beyond.
Practice peace, love, and joy…not just in the ability to restrain exterior actions, but in every word, every thought, non-harming. Love, truly love, within and let the peace begin.
Sitting in stillness…waves come crashing in…loud, powerful, ferocious. Yet, in the stillness, I know only their beauty, their strength, and their humble gifts of positive change.
Stand in the forest and just listen. You will hear the trees singing. It’s a quiet song that floats on the breeze as they gently sway in the currents of the air. Their song says “I love you…for all that is you…no matter what comes with you into the forest.” The trees welcome you, happy to have you there, just as you are.
Carry the kindness of the trees with you as you move through the jungle of life. Welcome all, just as it is. Then, feel the joy rise up in you that comes from this unconditional love. Feel the joy of being a tree swaying in the breeze, singing songs of love.
There is just one of me – one body, one mind, one world.
Yet, when I am in the left side of my mind, my world is lined up in neat little rows of describers and stories that define all of my experiences, forming memories of the past and predictions for the future, a space of story-telling, label-making, and structure.
In the right side of my mind, I am larger, brighter, made of colors, shapes, and lacking concrete boundaries. When I step to the right, I feel free and open, joyful and full of peace. My world is expansive, allowing, and in so many ways limitless. In the right side of my mind, I am present and full of wonder, curiosity, and enjoyment.
I move back and forth from side to side, creating the dance that is me…but I do think I would be better off if I took a step to the right more often.