Unspeakable Kindness

Bestselling American author Geneen 
Roth tells us that whenever we feel an upsetting explosion of emotion that arrives unexpectedly and without invitation, it is a holy moment.  Sacred information is being revealed to us and it is our being triggered that opens this fascinating door to our awareness.

This triggering is not an easy moment for any of us.  It is messy and confusing and unpredictable...but it is real.  We can feel it in our bodies and now we can no longer pretend that nothing is wrong.  It is here and it is running the show.

Yikes, we think.  This is not how I want to express myself.  But the intensity of the moment has revealed our truth... something is very wrong and disturbing us and it wants to...it demands...to be heard.

How do we deal with this maelstrom

of emotional turbulence?

We WELCOME the messengers.

But who are these strangers who have burst into the middle of our lives?

Geneen Roth has chosen a mysterious and compelling image to describe these characters who are presenting the epiphanies  to us.  She calls them Ghost Children.  And we all have a cache of them waiting in line to be recognized and heard.

I think Roth calls these characters ghosts because they are the couriers of unresolved pain and she calls them children because they represent our innocence as we enter the world and also because they are persistent as all children are in wanting to be heard and acknowledged.

And what are we to do with these internuncios...these  emissaries of the soul longing for acknowledgment and release?  Roth has a remedy to suggest.  She instructs us to welcome, love and question our ghost children.

Further, she passionately advises us to be unspeakably kind to them 

for they represent our unhealed hearts and, left unattended, they will affect the way we view life and ourselves and how we interact with others.

This may seem a very challenging way to deal with our own storm surges  and the emotional explosions of others because the very act of being triggered or of triggering others is fraught with grave tension and anxiety and the survival protection of defensiveness.

But, when a triggering occurs,  it is unhealed hurt that has gathered the courage to speak and it needs to be honored.  Hence, the unspeakable kindness Roth proposes for when our tears, metaphorical or otherwise, are attempting to show themselves for release and resolution, we will always do this more easily when we have been met with loving kindness.  When an open heart responds to our pain, we are gently encouraged to examine the circumstances that have inspired it.

When moments of Intense and disturbing gravitas are met with beautiful  tenderness, love and “unspeakable kindness” we move together through an incredible 

transmutation and healing. 

This vision of Geneen Roth is beautiful and  inspiring.  We have the ability to dream it and, having dreamt it, we can more easily manage to make this a hallmark of our lives.

                            Marie Helena

Image from pinterest 

Image from pinterest 

Island Metaphor

Imagine you have been selected to appear on the newest reality show which will be taking place on an amazing island where everything you might possibly need has already been provided.  No matter what you decide to do...design something, construct something, invent something…ALL resources are available.  But, and here is the sticking point, they are hidden within the topography of the island.  They are most certainly there, but they are not easy to see.  And they emerge into your view only when you are truly ready for them and not a moment before.

The challenge then becomes how does one get ready to receive these resources?  And this cannot be done through manipulation, force or trickery. Only authentic responses ensure their accessibility.

Welcome to the reality show of your life!  And it is simultaneously amazing and magical while confusing and challenging, too.


And this is because we perceive that we live in linear time but, in fact, there is only the NOW.  The past and the future are only an illusion but we are so convinced of them that we can only recognize things within the context of logical progression.  And so we fail to see that the opportunities… the resources… are ALWAYS available but, because of our programming, they are hidden in plain sight.

Wondrously, it appears the Divine Universe is designed to accompany us on our journey and offer us support precisely at the moment we are ready to receive it.


        Isn't it amazing how so many of the things we need arrive 
              at just the opportune moment.
       Almost like magic or a miracle.  
       But it can't be a miracle if it is already there.  
       It just must be something in us has let us see what we need.

                                               Paradigm Shift


In the reality show of our life we move through a series of challenges designed by our soul to learn lessons and help us develop character traits. If we authentically embrace whatever is being presented to us and offer no resistance, we are "ready" and the Universe  makes accessible to us whatever ideas or resources are necessary to navigate our path.


What so often appears to be a coincidence or good fortune that has just occurred, in reality, has been residing in the eternal NOW, awaiting our awareness and receptivity.
.

If, indeed, everything we ever need to grow and evolve is available to us whenever we are ready to "see" it, could we possibly live in a more loving and compassionate Universe?  Cerebral, provocative, emotionally rich and intelligent.  Profound in conception.   Home.

                                                              Marie Helena



image from pinterest.com
Caribbean islands and island life

Inchworms, Turtles and the Finishing Line

We all know about the tortoise who won the race. And the inchworm who edged his way to success.

Something in their “stories” gave them the persistence and tenacity to complete the tasks they set out to do.
Perhaps the tortoise and inchworm had an innate impulse to go the distance.


Perhaps they very wisely balanced their lives and conserved their energy so they could call upon their reserves of wellness and vitality when this was most needed.


And perhaps they were so fortunate as many of us are to have a very special inspiration figuring predominantly in our lives…the masculine energy that is holding so strongly the image of our success…despite all odds.


That kind of special faith and support is often personalized in our father or father figure or someone close who is inhabiting that role for us…sending us light and energy to help us stay the course…to dig deep inside us to find the reserves of strength we need.


Mr. Miyagi in the Karate Kid did that for Daniel-san. 

Miyagi always held a knowingness of the power and goodness of Daniel-san. He instilled a strong sense of honor in the young man and taught him that it is the way he conducts himself that determines whether he has successfully run (and completed) the race.


On the occasion of Father’s Day this June 20 let us take a moment to thank all of our real life and symbolic fathers in appreciation for their precious gift of faith in our goodness and strength and in our ability to navigate life with courage and honor.


And a special shout out for the very masculine preference for lightness and humor in this very challenging work. As Mr. Miyagi tells Daniel-san,

Man who catch fly with chopstick accomplish anything. 

                                                              Marie Helena

Fierce

Fierce...a robust and often frightening word in our language.

What images arise for you as you think of this word?

Powerful, intimidating, formidable, daunting?  This has always been my perception of that alarming term, conjuring images of lions, tigers, snakes hiding in the grass.

Scary stuff.  Someone else’s stuff.  Not me.
I am not into voice raising, feet stomping, king-of-the-jungle fever.


Until...someone told me I was fierce.  


Wait just a moment...Did I get that right?  Someone was describing me with THAT word?

This unexpected depiction of me as fierce did not make sense to me UNTIL I pondered the objective I had achieved in the “conversation” in which I had participated with this individual...AND, most importantly, in the way I had achieved it.   


Something different from the ordinary had happened for me in this surprising interaction.    Instead of using my beloved intellectual approach of giving the many “reasons” favoring my position on the question at hand, I had unexpectedly defaulted to my heart.  

And, while responding from that new source of perception, I had naturally leveled my gaze, giving prolonged eye contact that was clearly broadcasting an impending heart message and then ever so softlywhispered these simple words with power and compassion:  “This isn’t working for me.”

Fierce.. .in its intensity...though whisper soft in  its presentation.  The message gently introduced with the grace and clarity of soft eyes heralding an imminent and important memo from the heart.  Fiercely powerful.

The result of this prima volta that had entered my life?

The “fierceness” resting tranquil in the gentle softness of my open heart had delivered my message in a way that no amount of persuasion could have accomplished.


Definitely worth pondering...


After some moments of quiet contemplation I decided I liked this new personal characterization of me as “fierce”.  The beautiful heart connection I had defaulted to had delivered my message with effortless elegance and great success and it had proceeded naturally with no interference from my sometimes impatient intellect.  And so I began to practice this new intention easily finding the perfect moments for it revealing themselves to me with gracious invitation.


What a lovely awakening for my personal evolution!

THIS precious unfolding is how the heart communicates...with loving and gentle intention, profound impact, stunning success.

So quietly and beautifully FIERCE.


                                                 Marie Helena



image from pinterest

The Unfolding

One of the most beautiful gifts we have in our lives is experiencing the natural flow of things.

The Unfolding. 

The rhythm and music and pace of whatever it is that we are witnessing...experiencing...enjoying...and, most importantly, learning from.

This unfolding, if left untouched, is a work of art unto itself.  It carries the truths of the universe, some easy to embrace, some more challenging.  If we interrupt  the unfolding, we lose our chance to take in the special meaning.  If our egos try to influence the flow to move in our direction, we miss what is being presented to us.

A good reason to be an observer and a witness to life and, thereby, a receiver of information about the absolute perfection of the Divine Universe!

   

                                                Marie Helena

Message of the Moment

Love the moment
and the energy of that moment
will spread beyond all boundaries.  

Corita Kent

It was June of 2011 and I found myself standing on a precipice at the American side of Niagra Falls. 

The roar of the falls was mesmerizing. I stepped closer and invited the strapping mist to bless me with its beauty and strength as it danced and swayed with the mighty wind on this clear and cloudless day. This was a moment to be remembered; everything else disappeared into it. TheENERGY was awesome and powerful and I was missing none of it.

The trip to the falls was something I had felt drawn to make. I had experienced such a strong desire to stand at this wonder of nature and feel its breathtaking intensity. It was worth all of the trouble encountered with the traffic that day.

I had journeyed with clear intention to a place of beauty and it had welcomed and rewarded me with its natural warmth and majesty

…as does all of nature…as do all of our experiences…and all of our interactions…as do our moments of solitude…as does all of life.

There is a generous fullness and spirit to all of life’s moments

…if we tap into them, if we are present to their gifts, if we recognize the many energetic strands at work producing them, if we open ourselves up to their FLOW.  

The Niagra Falls moment came with a journey but thisbeautiful JOY is so easily accessible.

Every moment in life is full of invitation and allure and beingness. Every moment is a connection and when we love each moment and connect with it, we accept our sacred invitation to interface with the universe.

The astonishing Messsage of the Moment inspires and propels us to seek more moments of this CONNECTION. And once we experience it, we are captivated and we view everything around us…and in us…with new eyes and from another place of joy in our souls.  

Yet another gift to humanity. The natural high of being truly alive and in touch with all that is!

Remembrance: Why We Should Forgive Ourselves

FORGIVE YOURSELF. 

The supreme act of forgiveness is when you can forgive yourself for all the wounds you've created in your own life. Forgiveness is an act of self-love. When you forgive yourself, self-acceptance begins and self-love grows,
 
Don Miguel Ruiz

As we write the story of our life, our learning occurs in a myriad of ways.  Sometimes the path is straight and clear.  We take action that feels instinctively right...it works beautifully...we benefit and all is well.
 
Sometimes our learning takes a different path.  

Sometimes we are influenced by unhealed pain, hurt, unmet needs, etc. and we choose a path that is not in our best interest.  But, at that time, the choice we made felt like the only way we could go.

And so we went there.  And it was not what we expected. 

All was not well.  And we ultimately JUDGED ourselves for the choice and stayed mired in sadness and regret. 

Writing the story of our life is not usually a black and white endeavor.  Sometimes we are drawn to whatSEEMS like a solution but ultimately does not deliver on that (false) promise. 

 

However, our learning can occur quite brilliantly when we can view our actions with some objectivity...

perhaps uncover what has moved us in that direction...

love ourselves through the pain of self-confrontation,,,

and emerge with a stronger, braver view of what we want to do with our lives.

Judging ourselves (or anyone or anything) is not productive. 

It delays our process of learning.  

What is needed is an open, accepting heart that understands we were trying to navigate some difficulty...a heart which knows that LOVE is always expressing itself the best way it knows how.

What we did is what we knew.  When we know better, we do better.  

And, as we reflect on our choices and their consequences, we begin to know better and we do better.  We pass by judgment, embracing instead our humanity and moving forward with new wisdom and insight.

 

Perhaps the forgiveness which Don Miguel Ruiz is talking about can really be called the simple act of KNOWING that we are on a journey with some distracting side paths which ultimately can lead us to our true destination...a REMEMBERING of the glorious perfection of Who We Truly Are and an acceptance of how learning can occur in a dualistic world.

                                                     Marie Helena

image from salliesart.blogspot.com