|
Creatively Expressing the True Nature of Your Being, Your Belonging & Your Becoming
who are you? how might you come to know yourself ever more deeply and fully express the "true nature" of your being? Coming to know yourself is a creative path of intimacy and expression of your being, belonging and becoming.
I AM
Being relates to life itself, to know LIFE as it is expressed in your aliveness. Only you can say, "I am" in reference to yourself. As soon as another says, "I am" it is in reference to that person's unique being.
I BELONG
Belonging reflects just how it is you know yourself as a part of all that is alive and speaks of your inter-being, interrelatedness, and interdependece with life. Belonging is an invitation to know and express LOVE. Love is expressed within you, between you and all other forms of life, and all around you in that which may be unseen, mysterious and yet is both you and more than you. When we experience a sense of our belonging, it is because we truly know and love, welcome and accept, invite and allow who we are to be, just as we are. We sense and celebrate the whole and our unique part in it. Belonging recognizes and includes the gifts of difference and diversity as significant contributions to the whole, as essential parts that are needed for the whole to be united in the oneness of a vast and cosmic community of life.
I AM BECOMING
Becoming relates to an ongoing process of growth and transformation that is moving in and through you, in the course of your life's blossoming and fruitfulness. Becoming is an invitation to know and reflect LIGHT, radiating and revealing the wisdom and spark of your spirit and calling forth your unique and creative expression of life.
Authentic Expression
how might you express yourself--more honestly, authentically, uniquely--as only you can do?
This can be a humorous question on one hand, because, after all, we can only be who we are and at any given moment we cannot be other than who we are. So, the question is more about noticing when it is you may be less yourself, when you might be compromised or turned away from all that you are because you may be living in fear or conforming when that is what the norm is in your workplace or church or family or in organizations you belong to? And when and what circumstances both externally and internally contribute to you relaxing into who you are and yet stretching yourself always to be the best you you can be in the moment? "Best" is not a reference to perfect, but rather to most present, most true and perhaps, most intentionally expressive of revealing who you are by the words and actions you share with the world.
For me, authenticity reflects a self-compassion and deep acceptance, a shamelessness about who I am. "Here I am," no apologies for my behavior, simply an awareness that in this moment I am doing the best I can.
how might you reveal your heartful being through the expressions of your life? what is being imprinted upon the pages in your book of life?
Whether one has ever known a spiritual tradition or not, the creativity of each and every one of us reveals what matters to us, what abides in our hearts and souls, and the spiritual qualities of our character that are reflections of the Source of Life as it lives, breathes and expresses itself uniquely in each of us. Every day of our life is like a book being written and the things recorded in the chapters of our lives call us to growth and the wonder and awe of creativity. A walk in nature to pause and see one single flower, a glistening blue dragonfly, and a breathtaking sunrise reveal the beauty and creativity of nature's wonders. Even more compelling may be the delight of gazing into the face of another human being. The form of our beings, physical expressions of "something more," also reflect something unseen and yet able to be felt and known as our true selves, particularly, when we are open and transparent and willing to be seen and known by another.
The act of creating invites us to show up and to offer our presence to the activity of our expressions. What I create will never be the same as what you create. That is the beauty of our unique selves as expressed creatively in the words and deeds of our lives.
Heartwisdom offerings invite a participation in the processes of centering, connecting and creating. Awareness of how all three of these weave in and out of the seasons of our spirits, the rhythms of our souls and the cycles of our bodies will renew body and soul and expand the revelation of the spirit shining within and between us.
Conscious & Compassionate Practices: The Mindfulness of Reverence
Mindfulness is a quality of focus. Reverence is an energy of love evoking awe and deep respect. Practice the mindfulness of reverence as you bring acts of creativity to your mind. Notice and delight in the creativity of your words and your actions. For the next three days, pause to bring reverence to your expressions, whether they be the cooking of a meal for yourself and others, the facilitation of a meeting with a friend or group of coworkers, the route you take to work that invites inner expression of gratitude for what you see, or the writing of an email you compose to a friend or working associate. Perhaps you set aside time for a particular creative activity like painting or photography, writing poetry or scultping. Be aware of the entering into and the moving out of creative expression. How might you bring a quality of reverence to your unique way of expressing Life moving in and through you?
The Warmth of Love
Warmth is a sensation. Love is an energy of life and an expression of the heart. Practice the warmth of love as you connect with the intentions you hold in your heart for your words and actions. What might you need to "do" to "be love" in the ways that you express yourself? How is love conveyed by creative thoughts, words and deeds through the processes and products that flow out of them? If you choose to, create something that represents your idea of Love, a symbol for the way it is revealed in the uniqueness of you and of your life. Perhaps your symbol will reflect how you experience Love in the world around you, as well. Will it be abstract and illustrate a movement or color that speaks of Love? Will is be a reflection from nature that is a metaphor reflecting something of your loving nature? If you choose to, send a photo of what you create and I will post some of these on this webpage. I would then also value knowing your name and where you are from, so include that if you send anything to me (see contact page for my email address).
The Intentionality of Connection
Intention is a direction for your actions, a conscious focus for the will. Connection is a meeting between yourself and others, or between various parts of yourself. Practice the intentionality of connection as you engage in creative activity with various parts of yourself. Pause to connect with your thoughts and ideas related to the creative intention. Do you have a vision, an image, a word, a mind map that helps you flow into the activity of creating? What does it feel like in your heart? What feelings rise up as you connect with an image in your mind that speaks of your heart's aliveness? Moving into the connection with your hands, eyes, senses...what parts of your body are engaged in the willful creation of expressing yourself?
If you choose to, create a symbol for love and be aware of who it is you might like to share this image with and engage in a process that reveals and expresses your authentic self as you share. Always connect with what is alive in you as you are creating and as you are sharing what you create with another. Where is it alive in your body when you share vulnerably and transparently who you are? What do you notice about the way that you are received, listened to and understood in the moments of your offering and engagement with another? How does your sharing stimulate a response in the other? Is awareness expanded between both of you about the creative expressions of your day, your week, your life? How does this awareness affect the connection between you?
Heart-Centered Communication
Communicating from your heart is an active way of responding to self with the warmth of a compassionate heart and the wisdom of conscious awareness. It is an intentional practice of bringing the compassionate presence and energy of empathy abiding within you to every meeting. Practice communicating in this way the next time that you are aware of some resistance present in you about an activity you are about to engage in. Be present to the location of this resistance in your body, in your thoughts, and being expressed in the feelings that rise up to help name it. Be with the resistance in a welcoming way, with the innocence of a child curious about what this phenomenon is, without any judgment, but with warmth and attention to what is occurring. What do you discover?
|