The Heart of Relaxation

Tags

heart, relaxation, rest, self-care, slowing down

The sun is shining brightly today as I walk out on to the deck with my morning tea and sit on my perch at the top of the six steps that lead down to the grass still covered with last night’s dew. A pigeon and a cardinal are sitting on the fence, waiting patiently for me to fill the bird feeders. The younger puppy has followed me out and nuzzled against me as she watches the morning unfold with me as she wonders when I’m going to go back inside and fetch her one of her favorite treats from the pantry.

Deep breath as the breeze picks up a bit, the geese at the far end of the lake slide gently into the water with their young ones, and the top of the tall grasses and the wild-growing willows that have thrived in July’s rains start swaying slowly in the same cadence as the ripples form on the waters.

Deeper breath as I let all the inputs flow through my eyes, ears, nose and skin, and watch them all merge towards the heart, like the tributaries converge into the rivers. I am using as little effort as possible, so as to keep my mind and its adjectives disengaged from the process of observing what is unfolding before and within me.

Slowly, the veil lifts. The heaviness of the heart, such as it was, turns to lightness and seems to melt away. This is perhaps the reward for just being and allowing the streams to do their work within. It’s perhaps no different than watching the sun dance with the morning dew every day, or diffuse the fog on the lake on some heavier mornings.

It seems that I have found the heart of relaxation yet again. All I needed to do was to accept the invitation to be still and observe without qualification or classification. I have danced this dance of observation so many times now that I can actually call upon the scene even when I am away from it. It’s like nature has given me a portable conditioning tool for relaxing the heart.

The cup of tea is still sitting on the deck. The birds and the puppy are still waiting for their meal. The heat rising on my back as the Sun ascends behind me, interrupts the reverie. It’s also time to write the blog post for the week.

I imagine that it will read a bit better than before, now that I can share a bit of my direct experience with a relaxed heart. Perhaps I can even ask some questions to remind me to do a self-examination.

What are some experiences after which you find your heart fully relaxed? Do you know the ‘repeat offenders’ that tend to disrupt your heart’s condition? Are there ways that you check-in on the heart’s state “on the go” and quickly relax it if need be?

Take a few moments to observe and reflect. You may even help your heart relax into clarity, which may give you confidence to create the courage to say Yes to yourSelf.

Kumud

P.S. Join us for our weekly gathering on Twitter with the #SpiritChat community on Sunday, Aug 1 2021. We will slow down in the 9amET / 630pm India hour to relax over tea and conversation. Join us if you can. Namaste. – @AjmaniK

Different states of the heart’s core may need different levels of relaxation…

Towards Betterment – with @JonMertz

Tags

betterment, self-care, self-improvement, self-knowledge, spirituality

What is the primary goal of spiritual practice and a spiritual mind-set and heart-set towards life? We all may have different answers to this question. From personal experience, I can say that the answers to this question often change with time, with our station in life, and as our definition of life-purpose changes.

One thread that runs common through all our answers to the question of “why spirituality” is perhaps to find an answer to the question – “Who am I”? It is with this self-inquiry that our search for self-knowledge often begins. It is when we begin the journey to look within that we can begin to see the aspects of ourselves that may need “improvement”. This often leads us down the path of seeking “self-improvement”, which often brings us to the path of “self-care”, and then “spiritual care”. 

Hold that thought for a minute while I introduce you to my friend Jon Mertz. I met Jon in my early days of twitter, and we quickly became friends because he had a clarity of purpose and a transparency that was refreshing. He was very supportive of #SpiritChat during the early years, and remains so to this day. The opportunity came to meet him in Dallas, TX in January 2013, and we got together for lunch when I was visiting there for an Aerospace conference. 

Let’s bring back the thought of “self-improvement” and “spiritual care”. Over the past few weeks on twitter, Jon introduced me to his  concept of “betterment”. I was drawn to the concept because “betterment” seems to be the logical outcome of “self-knowledge” and “self-care”. It is when our spiritual practices “better” our state of awareness, “better” our state of Joy, “better” our state of Truth, that  we know that spiritual growth is happening. 

Jon Mertz has written a wonderful post to introduce the concept of Betterment as a “New Leadership Calling”. From a spiritual perspective, the “calling” is what first awakens us to the notion that we need to change something within. Regardless of our initial goal or motivation to change, it is when our efforts and practices produce tangible betterment in our lives that we are inspired to keep walking our path. 

Betterment is simple. How do our actions and interactions make others better? How do our actions and interactions make ourselves better? – Jon Mertz

The simpler an idea is, the easier it is to implement, integrate into and sustain in our daily practice of living. Betterment meets that criteria. 

Betterment is evolutionary and, sometimes, transformational. – Jon Mertz

The outcome of our spiritual practice is often transformational. Transformation of the heart, mind and spirit is the knowing that answers the question —  Who am I? How am I making myself and the world better?

Simple and Transformational. Betterment is the calling.

Will we step up and answer the calling?

Kumud 

Jon Mertz’ Bio : Jon Mertz founded Santa Fe Innovates, a social entrepreneur accelerator program and community. He also is an interdisciplinary leadership doctoral candidate at Creighton University. @JonMertz on twitter and founder of the Thin Difference community. 

Kumud’s note : I am grateful that Jon has introduced me to the concept of #betterment. I am excited that I will be hosting him in our weekly #SpiritChat  on Sunday, October 25 at 9amET / 630pm India. Come meet Jon and stay for some tea and cookies with us as we talk about #Betterment for all. Namaste – @AjmaniK

Meet Jon Mertz – author of “Betterment – A New Leadership Calling“

Be Still and Focus on Love of Self – by @llake

Tags

love, self-care, stillness

Welcome to #31daysofselfcare2018 This morning was one rough morning. It followed a rough day that was yesterday. It’s really hard to deal with a series of problems that you can’t control, especially when the outcomes are tied to decisions that other people are making. It’s really hard to control anger and frustration. I struggle with…

via Be Still and Focus on Love of Self — Lillian Lake

It is with great pleasure and excitement that I will welcome our good friend, Lillian Lake (@llake on twitter) to be our guest for our weekly #SpiritChat conversation – Sunday, January 21st 2018 at 9amET on twitter. Our topic will be “Be Still and Focus on Love of Self“. Please read Lillian’s post on the topic (linked above) , and make sure to subscribe to her wonderful blog. Thank you, Lillian, for writing about this topic, and your entire #31daysofselfcare2018 series to get us started well in 2018  – Kumud @AjmaniK

In her own words, “Lillian is a focused, compassionate speaker, fostering meaningful life connections.” You can connect with Lillian, and find out more about her and her work through the following ways:

mobile: 207-557-5196

lillianlake.com

Franklin Journal columnist

twitter.com/llake

https://www.facebook.com/humantraffickingeducation/

https://www.facebook.com/lillianlake1111/

Nurturing Wellness through Radical Self-Care

Tags

healing, self-care, spirichat, spirit, wellness

Janet Nestor (Special Guest Editor)

Every person alive is interested in the concepts of health and healing. Health determines
the quality of our lives. The word “healing,” the way we usually think of it (but not the
way we use it) indicates a positive change taking place within our mind, body, emotions,
and spirit—or within our family system. But, if we are not careful, the word “healing” can
take on negative implications. I am asking you to raise your level of awareness.

Most of us feel we have to heal our emotional and physical wounds in order to achieve
robust health. We feel that we have to draw upon outside resources in order to accomplish
overall well-being. If we are sick or injured we are interested in our speed of healing,
wanting to heal as quickly as possible. If we are anxious or depressed, we want those
feelings to disappear. When asked how we feel about our illness or injury, we reply almost
unconsciously using negative concepts that are deeply ingrained within our hearts and
minds. Often our replies sound similar to these:

• “I’m healing. I’ve been impatient, but I am gradually getting better.”
• “I never thought I’d still be healing from this illness after all these months. I’m
  ready to go back to work, but I’m not quite up to it.”
• “I’ve had better days. I’m tired all the time, and I nap a lot.”
• “Why did I have to get so sick? I’m tired of being in the house all the time and
  tired of being a burden to my family.”

Each time we think or speak the word “healing” in this way, we indicate that we are
somehow broken or impaired by events such as surgery, the flu, a car accident, an early life
trauma, a fight with a family member, or the loss of a loved one. Think about the innocent
words you and I might have spoken, completely unaware of their implications. Within
the same sentence we’ve used the word “healing” in association with words like illness,
suffering, and death to create what I refer to as a negative pairing. A negative pairing occurs
when the word “healing” is placed with words related to a weakened state of being, disease,
and suffering. Words like “illness” and “disease” are lower frequency words and perceived
as negative, therefore carrying a negative emotional–physical impact. When we habitually
pair a high-frequency, positive impact word like “healing” with low-frequency negative
impact words, we inhibit our mental–physical–spiritual ability to heal.

Negative phrases such as, “This illness has been exhausting” reinforce the fact that your
illness has lasted a long time and you’ve had to fight your way through it. “I am finally
healing” might be said to mean, “I was so sick I thought I was going to die.” Our carelessly
spoken words actually reinforce our suffering and support our current perception of
suffering. They remind us of our emotional–physical struggle with illness, feeding our
mind and body negative messages about the ability to heal. Each time you innocently
say words similar to those above, you may be slowing your recovery in any current and
all subsequent illnesses by declaring, “I’m a slow healer” and “illness threatens me.” The
more positive we are, the more we pair positive words and concepts together, the healthier we become.

Healing is not about recovery from illness, surgery, or divorce. It is about our virtues, or the
positive aspects of self: acceptance, wellness, joy, kindness, love, tenacity, vigor, tenderness,
and compassion. When we embrace our virtues and incorporate their energy into our
perception of life, we uncover our capacity for wholeness and wellness. Discovering and
embracing our inner light, our potential, is the true spirit of healing. It is the realization
of this empowered healing spirit, this limitless potential that I want to share with you.

Healing is achieved through: Turning on the light of your soul and allowing it to shine. Living from your heart center and within the awareness of your own light. Living within high frequency virtues that support and sustain a positive, robust life. Trusting in the process of life and trusting your own wisdom. Filling your mind with positive thoughts. ~ Janet Nestor

Here are some examples of how you might put your new definition and philosophy of
healing into use. Rather than say “I am finally healing from the flu,” it is much better to say
“My body is strong and getting stronger every day.” Instead of saying “The worst is behind
me now, and I continue to heal from my injury,” it is more positive to say “My body is a
miracle and very good at its job.” By changing the way you express yourself, you begin to
use positive words to define your healing and recovery. You’ll learn to do this as you use
this program to unleash your internal power and your inner peacefulness.

Food for Thought

• When I am sick or injured, I am able to be positive and nurturing with myself.
• Health, Healing, and Wholeness are spiritual concepts.
• I understand that my body is constantly repairing, healing, and balancing even when I am feeling happy and well.
• My mind-body-spirit system is “intelligent” and I can communicate with each system whenever I choose.
• My body believes every word I say and think and tries to follow my directions.
• What personal virtues, or positive attributes, do I want to incorporate more fully into my life?

Janet Nestor

I am very excited that Janet Nestor has contributed this week’s post for our weekly #SpiritChat. Janet is a published author of two books on wellness and healing. Janet “works with clients concentrating on personal empowerment and positive living via various Energy Psychology techniques, Mindful Lifestyle Training, Soul Detective work, energy healing and cognitive and insight oriented discussions”.

Janet and I invite you to join our discussion of “Nurturing Wellness through Radical Self-Care”. Please join us and the #SpiritChat community on Sunday, March 17th at 9am ET/1pm GMT on twitter. I also welcome you to leave a comment for Janet below in response to her post, or to ask any questions. Thank you. – Kumud

Connect with Janet on her blog: www.mindfulpathways.com
Connect with Janet on Facebook: www.facebook.com/Pathwaystowholeness
Connect with Janet on twitter: www.twitter.com/JanetNestor

Update: Transcripts for the live chat ~ Nurturing Wellness through Radical Self-Care ~ bit.ly/sc-tr-031713 (full) and bit.ly/sc-tr-0317-qa (QnA only) ~ share and enjoy – Thank you!

Questions asked during the chat are listed below. I invite you to answer in the comments ~ note that you can share your answers in the comments in your twitter feed. Or you can click on the link at the end of each question to answer it and engage with the community. Do try it 🙂

Ready? Q1. What image(s) or feeling(s) does “wellness” evoke for you? #SpiritChat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/313274998133510144

Q2. What area(s) of your Life feel like they need nurturing right now? #SpiritChat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/313276466701930496

Q3. If we know that self-care is important to wellness, why don’t we practice more of it? #SpiritChat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/313278475614175232

Q4. What is the connection between affirmations and healing ourselves? #SpiritChat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/313280317807017984

Q5. Negative thoughts often invade our mind. How do we minimize their impact on our wellness? #SpiritChat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/313281768675483649

Q6. How can mindfulness create a better self-care practice for us? #SpiritChat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/313283261038227456

Q7. In what practical ways can we raise our energy levels, nurture wellness? #SpiritChat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/313284922943082496

Q8. I will nurture wellness, radical self-care by – share three actions… #SpiritChat
http://twitter.com/AjmaniK/status/313286646927876096