When I allow for space, I allow awareness and awareness is everything. Because with awareness comes wisdom, and with wisdom comes liberation. And where you’ve achieved liberation, you’ll find peace.
Not never, just not now
I once told my friend Marna that I would never do a podcast. (Doing a podcast was only one circle of hell removed from doing video.) When I told her of my plan to do a podcast, she said I needed to warn her and give her a chance to sit down before making such proclamations!
So why a podcast now?
Although I am a lifelong writer both by nature and vocation and express myself best in writing, I knew I needed to start using my voice. I know that my expansion, both personal and professional, depends on me using my voice.
Befriending your fear
Befriending your fear—acknowledging its existence and listening to what it has to say—is far more effective in calming your nervous system and allowing you to move forward with confidence than when you resist it, pretend it doesn’t exist, or push through it. Those strategies only fuel fear and amplify it. Ignoring your fear only succeeds in keeping you stuck where you are.
Surrendering to the magic of what wants to be
Tend the body first
In our culture, we do an abysmal job of respecting our bodies. We treat them like servants when in fact they’re benevolent sages. Unfortunately, we rarely take the time to listen to and heed their wisdom.
I know why. Because doing so often means doing the opposite of how we’ve been conditioned. And that scares the shit out of us because we fear “falling behind.”
Making peace with judgment
Learning to live a deliberate life
Our always-on, 24x7 culture leaves little room for actually living. Doing the things that fill your soul, make your heart sing, and connect you with your essential self—who you are underneath all the social expectations and cultural conditioning. In other words, doing the things that not only bring you to life but also give you life.
Wintering the soul—a season of self-love
Loving yourself should not be an afterthought, something you do after you’ve taken care of everyone else, or something you have to earn. The truth is that when you are filled up with your own love, you have more of it to give. And there’s no better time to practice the art of self-love than winter. It is the perfect season for turning inward and tending the space within.
Ring in the true
The last month or two of 2021 had me feeling very scattered and manic energetically. Poor sleep, an overactive mind (even more so than usual), relentless hot flashes, and a recurring rash told me my nervous system needed a break. I wanted—I needed—some quiet to calm my system so I could once again hear the whispers of my soul.
A blessing for the new year
For some days now, I feel like there has been much I want to say. It’s been percolating beneath the surface. Try as I might, though, I can’t put the words together. They’re just not there … yet.
Instead, I’m sharing this passage about endings from John O’Donohue’s To Bless the Space Between Us. It feels particularly relevant given the year that’s been.