Category Archives: Trust

Message from the Universe

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I confess, I haven’t been feeling that great. I think it’s the crash that always happens at the very beginning of any break from school, from work. I’ve typically been pushing so hard, going so fast, that when the moment finally comes when I can do what I want, go my own speed, my initial response is to collapse altogether.

But that’s okay. I am trusting the wisdom of my body right now, and if that means I spend the whole afternoon on the couch, that’s perfectly fine. Good things can happen there too. Plans can be made, rest is had, time is spent noticing and contemplating. Today I watched another episode of Call the Midwife, and it made the whole day worth it, all of it leading up to this one nugget of pure truth.

There is a greater gift than the trust of others, and that is trust in oneself. Some might call it confidence, others name it faith, but if it makes us brave, the label doesn’t matter for it’s the thing that frees us to embrace life itself. ~Season 2, Episode 2

This has been the message for me recently: Trust yourself. Trust my own, innate wisdom. Have faith that my body knows, that my heart knows, that my instincts and my gut and my intuition can be trusted — that each part of me has its own intelligence if I would only listen, give it mindful attention, trust that I know what to do, and know that I won’t abandon myself.

The only meaningful relationship is the one you have with yourself. Are you in love yet? ~Byron Katie

I’m not all the way there yet, kind and gentle reader, but I’m sure working on it. What about you?

Three Truths and One Wish

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1. Truth: Ease isn’t just for special occasions. It isn’t just for when I am resting or celebrating, when all the work is done or I am on vacation. There doesn’t have to be a desperate need or national holiday. I don’t need special permission or free time. I don’t need to earn it. Ease can be how I move through the day, through my entire life if I choose–content, satisfied, free, calm, spacious, sane and awake.

2. Truth: Keeping an open heart is difficult, which is why I train to steady my mind. Having an open and porous heart, I am extra sensitive to noises, light, movement, smells, energy and emotions, and the general chaos of an environment which includes other beings and all their stuff and nonsense. I am vulnerable. I can easily get overwhelmed, which can lead to panic, depression, and other states of dis-ease.

Keeping my heart open is brave and dangerous work. As Ram Deev said in a recent blog post, “Your heart wants you to grow, to be challenged, to face difficulties that seem insurmountable. It wants to nudge you closer and closer to the edge of oblivion.” And yet, instead of hiding, running away, resisting, or denying reality, I have made the conscious choice to keep my heart open, to let it all in, to allow it to touch me, to break me even.

I hold myself steady with the help of various practices, primarily yoga, meditation, writing, self-care, walking my dogs, and loving-kindness. I do all this because an open heart allows for a life of kindness, curiosity, freedom, and joy, along with what it knows best: love, deep and enduring, unshakable.

3. Truth: I am like the sky. I am not the clouds or the weather. I am not the birds or a plane or balloons. I am not the moon or the sun. I am the clear blue spacious openness, underneath and above all other phenomenon. My basic goodness, my innate sanity is unchanged by thoughts or emotions, unaltered by the weather.

We already have everything we need. There is no need for self-improvement. All these trips that we lay on ourselves—the heavy-duty fearing that we’re bad and hoping that we’re good, the identities that we so dearly cling to, the rage, the jealousy and the addictions of all kinds—never touch our basic wealth. They are like clouds that temporarily block the sun. But all the time our warmth and brilliance are right here. This is who we really are. We are one blink of an eye away from being fully awake. ~Pema Chödrön

One Wish: That as each of us walk our path, face our own obstacles and struggles, we can so so with ease and maintain an open heart, and trust that we are basically good and sane, as spacious and clear as the vast blue sky.