Look to the Light

The light of mindfulness can be beautiful, exhilarating, healing, and empowering, but there are so many distractions in life. It’s easy to get caught up in the shadows of self-doubt, worry, or criticism, dwelling on something that someone did or said to us or perhaps something we regret that we did or said. We might even feel we have good reason to be upset. But that “good reason” can pull us away from our awareness of the source, out of the sunlight into the shadows.

This summer I’ve been practicing mindfulness in earnest, meditating each morning and evening. Remarkably, I’ve stopped obsessing about some painful patterns from the past. Instead, I’ve been feeling an expansive sense of light in my life, a greater awareness of beauty in the world around me—the small miracles in my garden as white blossoms transform into tiny green beans, my little dog sleeping in the golden sunlight, gratitude for the cup of tea beside me. It’s almost like falling in love, falling deeply into the present moment.
The Medieval Franciscan St. Bonaventura used to return to the source by meditating on the Book of Nature, the beauty of the natural world. Recent reports by a British mental health consortium recommend “ecotherapy”—walking in natural settings, gardening, and other forms of active interaction with nature—as an effective treatment for anxiety and depression with minimal cost and no adverse side effects. And for most of us, nature is nearby, as close as walking outside and looking at the sky.
Try Bonaventuran meditation to return to the source:

• Center yourself by taking a deep breath, then slowly releasing it.
• Now look at something natural, something beautiful—perhaps a tree, the landscape, your dog or cat, or the sky above your head.
• Focus your attention on this small part of Nature’s masterpiece, becoming more aware of the subtle, ever changing patterns of life.
• Breathe in this beauty–into your heart.
• Smile as you feel one with it.

Remember, you always have a choice: either to stand in your own shadow or to look toward the light, recognizing your oneness with the infinite source of beauty and goodness.

Paz y alegria,

Diane

Where are you going?

Life is a journey. Yet with all the demands of daily life, it's easy to get thrown off course.

I’ll admit I’ve been overwhelmed by demands from all directions, pushing my creative writing to the side. I’d had lots of reasons--excuses really—classes, committees, research deadlines, and a morass of mundane chores.

A few days ago, my university hosted two creative writers from Nebraska, Bud Shaw and Rebecca Rotert-Shaw, whose compelling readings and insights lit a fire in my heart. I still have that same pile of excuses. But now I see that as long as I keep telling myself that I “don’t have time to write,” I'll stay stuck in excuses and won’t have time to write.

We have a choice. In graduate school, I loved studying Renaissance writers, inspired by their  empowering affirmation of free will: we have a choice. We always have a choice. Our actions in life follow our attention. If we focus our attention on all the reasons we can’t:  write, create, follow our dreams, then we’re stuck in the world of can’t.

We shift into a dynamic new paradigm when we turn from feeling victimized by externals to ask, “What can I do?” Then the door starts to open, a shaft of light enters, illuminating our choices, lighting the way.

To make this paradigm shift for yourself, take a few moments now to:

• Center yourself by mindfully breathing in and out.
• Let yourself watch the procession of thoughts and feelings swirling by.
• If you get hooked by one, take a deep breath.
• Return to mindful breathing.
• Ask yourself, “What can I do?”
• At the end of your meditation, write in your journal. Without thinking, let the words flow. Follow the deep, authentic voice within you, casting light on new choices, revealing the next step on your journey.
• You always have a choice.

Namaste,

Diane

Whose Journey is This?

“Midway through the journey of my life,
I found myself lost in a dark wood.”
                                                   Dante Alighieri

I began my career inspired by the world’s greatest literature, determined to teach, write, and contribute to what Francis Bacon called “the advancement of knowledge.” Yet today I often find myself wrestling with shadows, rushing off to meetings, dealing with endless barrages of  e-mail, spending more time on mundane chores than the ideals that once inspired me.

Does this sound familiar? Overwhelmed by demands and distractions, many of us feel lost on a journey that is not our own.

In the opening lines of the Divine Comedy, Dante writes that midway through the journey of his life he had lost his way. This realization led him on a pilgrimage through the depths of hell and finally to a vision of Paradise with “the love that lights the sun and the other stars.”

If you’ve been lost in a maze of demands, deadlines, and “shoulds,” you can find your way by practicing what St. Ignatius Loyola called Discernment. Beneath the surface noise of childhood conditioning, peer pressure, popular culture, and external demands is the quiet wisdom we can find by listening to our hearts.

Before making a choice, take time to listen. Often the first feeling you’ll notice is fear– fear of failure, fear of risk, rejection, loss, of not meeting others’ expectations, along with repressed emotions of hurt, defensiveness, anger, resentment—dark emotions Ignatius called “Desolation.” Yet beyond these painful emotions is “Consolation”–your deepest desires, guiding values, and feelings of love, joy, insight, understanding, gratitude, trust, openness, enthusiasm, creativity, inspiration, and peace. Consolation and Desolation are the two settings on your inner compass. As you move forward in life, they can help you find the right direction.

To practice Discernment now:

• Center yourself by breathing slowly and deeply.
• Think of a decision you need to make.
• Standing at the crossroads, see yourself making one choice, then the other.
• As you do so, listen to your heart. Which path leads to Consolation? Desolation?
• Take a deep breath and release it.
• Your inner guidance will come through–either now or later, as you go about your daily activities.

Namaste,
Diane