In the Present Moment

We have been looking at our deep longing to awaken to life – to know those moments where our minds, our bodies and our hearts are all in the same place at the same time. We have also explored that, instead of being truly alive, most of the time we are caught up in a story in our heads, a story that struggles with life rather than being with life. Our internal story tries to make life (and ourselves) be a particular way rather than learning how to dance with life.

It is our challenges that show us our particular brand of struggle, the way we repeatedly react to life. And as we gain more awareness of our habitual patterns of struggle, we cultivate the ability to choose something new when we are challenged, and this is the doorway to freedom. We then discover that everything we’ve longed for is found right here, right now, in the present moment.

How do we get out of the story of struggle so that we know a deep connection with ourselves and with our lives – a connection where we trust ourselves and trust our lives? It doesn’t happen by changing ourselves. We have all done that endlessly, and while that is an important part of life, it doesn’t bring about lasting healing. Imagine a messy house. Fixing and changing are all about cleaning up the house and that is good to do. But what we want to do is go outside and play! The skills of going outside are different than the skills that we have been using to manage our lives. True freedom comes when you learn how to be curious about what is happening in a spacious and kind way.

My own life is a great example of this. I was so lost by the time I was in my twenties that I didn’t want to live.  And from the age of 10 until 26 everybody tried to fix me. Their view was that there was something wrong which made me feel like I was wrong. So I went to doctors, counselors, hospitals, therapists, psychiatrists and hypnotherapists. I tried everything to make myself and my life “better” which only made things worse.

Trying to make myself better was based on the fact that I wasn’t okay and so I would dance between those two poles – “not okay” and “try to be better” – never experiencing the healing that I longed for. Then I met a wonderful teacher who taught me how to be curious. Instead of reacting to what I was experiencing, I began to watch it and explore it with curiosity. Slowly and surely, I came out of the endless game of struggle and became alive again.

The skills that we are exploring are the skills of curiosity and compassion. They are not for or against anything. They are simply a passionate and compassionate interest in whatever is happening right now. As you become more curious and less reactive about what is happening in your life – both inside and outside of you – and as you begin to learn how to observe your experiences with curiosity and compassion, your old patterns of struggling with life will dissolve, opening you again to the joy of being truly alive.

If this resonated with you, and you’d like to explore this more, then I invite you to listen to my podcast on Dreamvisions 7 Radio: Freedom. It will air on Thursday, January 15th at 5am and 5pm HERE. After the 15th, it will be available on demand, along with every other podcast I’ve ever done HERE. Please feel free to explore my catalog and listen to topics that call to you.

Offerings:

DATE CHANGED Free Live Call with Mary: My Good Friend Cancer, Really???

Thank you again for a wonderful free night! I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. We will be meeting on March 3rd, now March 17th at 5:30pm PT as usual. Here’s the topic:

Mary has been working for 6 years with a rare form of blood cancer. While it has had its challenges, it has also healed her in ways she couldn’t imagine before her diagnosis. Join her in exploring all of the gifts this cancer has brought into her life and how you can access all the gifts that come with the challenges of life.

As always, even if you can’t make it at that time, if you are registered, you will receive a recording of the event for you to listen to at your leisure. Registration is now open! Click HERE to learn more and register.