Quotable Monday

Allowing the truth of who you are–your spiritual self–to rule your life means you stop the struggle and learn to move with the flow of your life.

-Oprah Winfrey

 

Your Inner Purpose: A New Earth Webcast Chapter 9

As soon as you rise above mere survival, the question of meaning and purpose becomes of paramount importance in your life.

What is our inner purpose?  Why are we here and what are we supposed to do?  Isn’t that the ultimate question that we frequently ask?  From the time we are old enough to think about what we want to do with our lives, we ask this question. 

Eckhart believes each person has two purposes in life: an outer purpose and an inner purpose.  The outer purpose is the DOING of our lives; thinking about the future, where we’re going and what we’re doing.  The inner purpose is BEING; the aligning of our lives, where we are right now, with the present moment.

When we realize our inner purpose, our being in the present moment and being aligned with life, then our outer purpose will be fulfilled.  And it begins with awakening.

Throughout The New Earth Eckhart talks about awakening, of becoming conscious and dropping the ego, and how if we learn to quiet our minds, to take a breath (or many breaths), and focus on the present moment, that we will discover our inner purpose.  He also stresses that this is not some miraculous transformation that happens over night.  (Sorry, I haven’t found the Fairy Godmother of Awakening with her magic wand…yet.)  This is a process.

Eckhart describes awakening as a shift in consciousness; a time when we are not lost in our thinking or where thinking runs our lives. 

That doesn’t mean we stop thinking or stop having that voice that pops into our heads.  That voice shows up almost every morning when I get in the shower.  It reminds me about an email I need to send or a phone call to make.  Sometimes a problem gets solved or a creative idea is born.

Yet what is different is that as I become more aware of this voice in my head (remember, I once named her Esther), I remind myself to get quiet and focus on the present moment.  To feel the warmth of the bathroom floor (we splurged and installed radiant heat.)  To listen to the birds chirping.  To listen to Pippin purr as he settles in on the rug.

When we awaken, we become aware.  And when we become aware, we can make a conscious choice to be present rather than let the useless thinking take over.

And what does that have to do with inner purpose?  It means that we need to connect whatever we are currently doing now, our outer purpose, with our inner purpose.  By connecting the current activity with inner purpose, we bring deeper meaning into what we do.

So, for example, when you have to cook dinner after a long day, and you really don’t feel like it but you need to do it, you can piss and moan about it and resist it, which does not make it a fulfilling task for your or your family OR you can accept it and say “Okay, I have to fix dinner now.  This is what I need to do and I need to bring my full attention to it.”

The next thing you know, you find that you actually like cooking and maybe discover a long forgotten cookbook or a recipe you haven’t fixed in a long time.

Another cool thing about increased awareness is synchronicity.  As you become more aware, more present, the universe begins to bring things to you.  You might notice “coincidences.”  The wholesale order you hoped for arrives in your email.  You get accepted into an important show.  You win an award.  Perhaps unexpected money comes to you or that car you wanted to buy is on sale. 

Would some of these things happened anyways?  Perhaps.  Would you have noticed them?  Maybe.  Would you have struggled to make some of it happen?  Possibly.  But there may be no joy in it.

Our outer purpose will change over time and varies from person to person.  Our inner purpose is to awaken.  Finding and living in alignment with the inner purpose is the foundation for fulfilling our outer purpose.

Koto Inspiration

This figurative sculpture was inspired by a wax figure/doll created by the Koto people in Chad.  The original wax doll reflected changes brought about by the introduction of Islam.  Islam does not allow figurative representation, even in children’s dolls.  The Koto peoples responded by creating abstract images in wax.

Original inspiration Koto Peoples doll
Source: Isn’t S/He a Doll? Play and Ritual in African Sculpture, Elisabeth L. Cameron

If Two Heads Are Better Than One…

Then 10 must be loads of fun!

After quite some time, after waiting for inspiration to strike, after waiting for an idea to come, I started sculpting heads last week.  I’ve decided to work on a series.  In this case all the doll heads were created using the same technique, yet each one has a distinct look or formation of a personality. 

These are the heads after sculpting but before going into the oven.

They’re all jostling for attention here.

An overhead view brings everyone into focus.

Nervously awaiting placement in the oven.

Here we are, out of the oven, lightly sanded, antiqued, and buffed.

I’m putting together their bodies this week and will post results when they’re ready.

Quotable Monday

Whatever you have forgotten, you can remember.
Whatever you have buried you can unearth.
If you are willing to look deep into your own nature,
if you are willing to peel away the layers of not-self you have adopted in making your way through the tribulations of life,
you will find that your true self is not as far removed as you think.

– Meredith Jordan

 

 

Discovering Inner Space: A New Earth Webcast Chapter 8

Our minds are full of internal thoughts
and our external lives are filled with things to do.
There is no space in our lives.

And so began the discussion on discovering our inner space.  And how true it is.  We get up in the morning and we start thinking about what to make for dinner.  We run from place to place; meeting to meeting, the soccer game, the little league game, the book club meeting.  No wonder we want to stop the world and get off.

What is inner space?  It is that part of you that allows you to step back from yourself and witness what is happening to you and around you; you witness your own behavior, actions, or words.

And how does one come to find his/her inner space?  Through awareness and presence.  When you bring awareness to a situation, an urge, a pattern or habit, consistently as it happens, you begin to develop inner space.  This awareness may not always succeed, especially when the desire, the long-ingrained pattern, is strong.  So don’t expect perfection the first time around or maybe not even the 5oth time around.  However, the more you apply awareness to a situation, a pattern, a habit, it will gradually lessen.

In a previous post I referred to this as my “oh crap” moment.  The moment when you’re talking about something with someone and you say a word or phrase that may hurt their feelings and as soon as the words are out of your mouth you realize the hurt you may have caused.  Sometimes this realization happens immediately after the fact and sometimes it happens way after the fact.

Lately I’ve noticed myself becoming more aware of an emotion or reaction that wants to emerge during certain situations or conversations.  Instead of allowing the reaction to emerge, I find myself pausing.  I take a breath during that moment of silence and then speak.  And this is hard because we are conditioned to fear moments of silence.  Yet it is in the silence where we find stillness, awareness, and presence.  I am learning to be comfortable with periods of silence.

I’m also reminded of phrases I heard as a child: “bite your tongue,” “silence is golden,” and “think before you speak.”  Perhaps those who spoke these phrases to me were demonstrating some level of awareness that I was, well, not aware of at the time.

It is also important to remember when you step into this inner space that you not judge yourself.  You need to simply observe.  If you begin to judge yourself, then you clog your mind with those thoughts again (hello inner voice).

This too, shall pass  This too, will pass

Oh how I hated this phrase as a kid.  Why on earth would I want something to pass?  Why would I want it to end?  Remember how hard it could be to leave a friend’s house after playing all day?

This too, shall pass tells us that we should not cling to situations or objects.  It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t enjoy ourselves or perhaps find comfort in these words.  Rather it means that we need to become aware of the fleetingness of situations and that should help us enjoy life even more. 

If we are aware of the nonpermanence of people, objects, and situations, we will enjoy them more.  If we cling out of fear of loss, if we expect people and things to be as they always have, we become trapped inside the events of our lives.  Through nonattachment we will also find inner space.

Discover your inner space by bringing little gaps into your daily life.  Take a breath.  Listen and allow the silence.  Practice nonattachment, nonjudgement, and nonresistance.  Don’t be too harsh on yourself if it doesn’t happen right away.  Space opens gradually and when it does, be sure to step in.

 

Blessings Icon

It took a few days before I finished this icon which I started in Laurie Mika’s workshop in March.  First, I had to walk away from it.  It needed to sit and I needed to return to it with fresh eyes.  Then when I attempted to photograph it, the icon fell over and some tiles popped off.  Sigh.  It just wasn’t ready for its “debut.”

Now, however, it is ready.  Here is my Blessings Icon.

  Close up of the centerpiece

  Lower right corner

  Lower left corner

 
Top portion

Finding Who You Truly Are: A New Earth Webcast Chapter 7

Periodically while reading A New Earth I found myself pausing and asking “what does he mean?”  Usually I would have to read and re-read the particular sentence or passage before the words sunk in.  I found this happening with more frequency when reading the last few chapters of A New Earth.

Eckhart begins with the phrase Gnothi Seauton which means “Know Thyself.”  These words are posted at the entrance of the temple of Apollo at Delphi, site of the sacred Oracle.  History tells us that people would visit the Oracle to learn what destiny had in store for them.  However, before asking what destiny has in store for us, Eckhart reminds us that we must first ask “Who am I?”

As has been discussed in previous chapters, we often identify ourselves by our names, jobs, positions, physical attributes, and so forth.  These are external attributes and roles and attachment to our roles can impede our ability to live in the present moment.  In other words, it is okay to identify ourselves by our roles but we shouldn’t become so attached to the role that when that role ends (e.g. such as leaving a long term job position) we don’t know who we are or what else to do.

According to Eckhart, when you realize who you are NOT, then who you ARE will be revealed.

Hmm, okay; big pause here. 

This realization may occur when something we identified with is gone.  This loss could be through death, disaster, or even loss of social position.  When this happens we have two choices: resist or accept.  When we resist, we fight the present situation; we are reactive and confrontational.  When we accept the situation, we go through the suffering and increase our awareness.  We accept the present moment.

Another way to understand who you truly are is through abundance or acknowledging the good that is already in your life.  Too often we think that WHO we are is how we see ourselves treated by others.  We aren’t respected.  We don’t receive recognition.  We aren’t loved.  Our needs are not being met.  We believe we have nothing to give or that people are withholding what we need.  “Poor me.”  Instead of acknowledging the good already in our lives all we see is lack.  And acknowledging the good in our life is the basis of abundance.

This is where gratitude comes into play.  This was an “a ha” moment for me because “gratitude” was the word I chose for myself this year.  And these words in A New Earth really hit home:

Whatever you think the world is withholding from you,
you are withholding from the world. 
You are withholding it because deep down you think you are small
and that you have nothing to give.

In other words, if you don’t let flow whatever it is that you think the world is withholding, you won’t know that you have it already within you.  Outflow determines Inflow.  Or “what you give, you get.” Tell people you appreciate them.  Praise someone for a job well done.  Say thank you more often.  Smile at a stranger.

When you acknowledge abundance, when you express gratitude, when you see the fullness in life, you send out positive energy, you begin to live in the present moment and in that moment you may find who you truly are.

My Ever Changing Moods Paper Doll

In another assignment from the online workshop, The Transformative Nature of Art Dolls, we were tasked with creating a two-sided paper doll that reflected both our good days and bad days; the bright and dark sides.  The idea was to depict these bright and dark sides through images and colors with as few words as possible.  As I was putting mine together The Style Council’s “My Ever Changing Moods” began playing in my head.

My good day or bright side has cheery colors, lots of smiles, and an overall great feeling.

    

  
This image pretty much describes how I feel on a good day.

On those dark days, I feel trapped, chained down by my feelings, and want life to go away.  Sometimes I’m in a “fighting” mood.

Quotable Monday

Authentic spirituality awakens the soul, reconnects us with the sacred, and fills us with the passion of life.  Spiritual development is not about religious rituals and practices; it is about waking up to the wonder of life.

 -David N. Elkins