A Butterfly Connection

(This week’s topic is one I could delve into for hours...there is so much to explore and share. The enclosed is a stab at presenting a thesis topic in one small blog, and written with love.)

 As human beings, we yearn for connection. I would even assert after sustenance of food and water, connection is our next priority. Not surprisingly, there is significant supporting scientific evidence that we have a fundamental need to be connected to those around us.  However, we often struggle with the “how-to.”

Armand Dimele argues that “when people go within and connect with themselves, they realize they are connected to the universe and they are connected to all living things.”

So as I inquired last week, what are those moments for you?

Did you discover where or when you are most grounded and/or connected? 

My anchors are my practice, meditation, authentic connection with another being and time in nature.

I do not profess that the moment I step onto the mat or sit in my chair (or the great outdoors) I am automatically grounded or connected. 

It takes time to get “there,” to be more deeply connected to myself and ultimately connected to more. Each serves as a portal, an opening. As I connect to myself in that space, I am, with time, connected to - and present to - something greater.  As I lay under the starts in the sky, I am not separate, but rather somehow a part of it. 

I am only one, a singular individual living my singular life. However, through my limited scope, I’ve experienced and been exposed to enough to know more than I did 10 years ago.  And as I nourish and explore my own “knowing,” I’ve watched my world expand. And each time I allow that expansion, its as though I myself expand… As I connect more with myself, I realize how we are all connected to the universe and all living things.

So again, the invitation is to connect. Not to create a separateness, which we all at one time or another have accustomed ourselves to, but to find something greater, something beyond the limited periphery of just ourselves.

As Albert Einstein said, we as a human being are “part of a whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space.” As such, he continues, it is our task “to free ourselves from this prison [of separateness] by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”

My immediate desire for you, is not that you feel connected to each and every living thing that comes before you (though that can be beautiful), but to be open to new connections. To be open to seeing and knowing how others, living in their own very real world, might intertwine and connect with yours on a bigger plane and on a greater scale.  No matter where you are, who you encounter or whether you think the person you come into acquaintance with is from a different world to your own, there is always a connection to be had. 

Are you willing to be open to more? To seek that which seeks you? And when we speak of these unexpected connections, that rare moment when a butterfly rests on your shoulder can you know that in that moment you are connected to the world’s beauty as well?

Some things to ponder. Would love to hear what you discover.

With love and light,

Rachel

The Most Natural Way to Your Heart

“Breath is the most natural way to your heart.” 

An anatomical and metaphorical truth, breath truly is the most direct vehicle to the heart.  Our breath enters our body through our noses or mouths, travels down into our lungs and is then transported into our heart. And, while the breath is literally and metaphorically the most accessible tool to self-care and self-love, we easily, without thought, withhold it from ourselves.

When we get stressed, anxious, angry, upset, we hold tight, nearly closing our larynx and trachea, the pathway to the lungs.  We unconsciously restrain our access to calm.  Amit Ray said, “If you want to conquer the anxiety of life, live in the moment, live in the breath.”

Can you live in the breath? Can you take a moment to sit with your breath? Notice how it feels when you breathe into your heart – and into your belly.  Notice how your breath moves your body as you inhale, and again as you exhale.  Let your breath move you, notice what changes in your mind and body with a few conscious breaths.

It requires thought and intention to take a deep inhale, to feel the breath and allow it into the heart (and belly) to subdue our overactive minds and relax our often tense bodies. As stated Mind, Body, Spirit, it takes courage. So breathe.

With love and light,

Rachel                                                                                                                                            P.S.  Neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin along with other endorphins are produced in the belly.  When you breathe into the belly the production of those neurotransmitters increases, allowing us to calm down and feel more relaxed and at ease.  I’m a nerd for the amazing science behind what otherwise seems so mystical.

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Pooh's Perspective

“What day is it?"
"It's today," squeaked Piglet.
"My favorite day," said Pooh.

Every time you ask my cousin how his day is – his response is, “Best day ever!”  On the rare occasion, you might hear…”Awful! Terrible! Horrible! But it was the best day, best trip, ever.”  He’s a stereotypical New Yorker on almost every level: quick thinker, faster talker, well-read, dynamic, semi ;) cultured and extremely sarcastic. But he’s also an enigma (and I can say this after having lived in ‘The City’ for eight years): he truly cherishes all that he has and manages to find the merit in the moment.  It’s said, “Stress occurs when we forget how beautiful the present moment is.”[1] And while I am not sure we can eliminate all stress in our lives, would it be possible to start with eliminating some? What would it be to live in the present moment?

So what’s the reality in THIS moment? What is actually happening right now? What can you hear in this moment? What can you see? (likely in this moment, it’s a screen :D) What can you feel and touch? Smell?  Five minutes ago no longer exists unless you bring it into the present moment. What’s truly here, now?

After sending last week’s blog to a friend, she replied with further insight: the reason year toddlers do not get hung up in the past, in their hundreds and thousands of falls and are always ready to take their next step, is because they are indeed living in the moment. That might explain why they are quick to cry – and then quick to forget. They feel the pain in that moment and rather than continuing to live in that space and latching onto that experience for the rest of the day, they remain engaged with whatever else is directly in front of them.

So this week, can we continue to learn from the two-year-old toddler within? Can you remain present? Can you find the beauty as my cousin does each and every day in every moment possible? Granted not every moment is beautiful, but what if you found just five, three or even one moment to enjoy each and every day? How might that enhance your day? Your life?

Victoria Erickson said, “to be present might be exactly what we’ve needed all along. To feel a place while we are fully in it. To be fully with people while sharing time. To know this moment and this moment only may actually be the closest thing to ecstatic living we’ll experience…So wherever you are, be there. In your body. One foot in front of the next.”

As you step into 2017, can you start with this moment? Notice what’s here. Notice the beauty. And like Pooh or my cousin, can you have more “best days,” or “favorite days”?

With love and gratitude,

Rachel (Sign up below to receive these weekly!)

[1] www.wisdom-ink.com and www.facebook.com/conciouslivingnetwork

A Toddler Try

As toddlers, the second we gather our strength to stand, we almost immediately fall (sometimes flat on our face), AND we get right back up. We try again, and again, and again until we master standing up, walking, and soon find ourselves running much to our delight.

Decades later, however, when we attempt a new practice, learn a new skill, or begin a new endeavor, so often we find ourselves giving up before we’ve even begun (especially if our lives or salaries are not on the line). We might even go through the motions, convincing ourselves we are truly making a concerted effort, but scarcely do we give that two-year-old toddler try.

It is said that “the reason most people give up so fast is that they look at how far the have to go, rather than how far they’ve already come.” We often neglect to ever honor ourselves for how far we’ve come: no matter the distance, it’s not far enough.

Last week I found myself staring straight at (or away from!) two skills I’ve wanted to hone: Patience and Compassion.  After what felt like tireless test of these two traits, I criticized myself for not having done more: I should have been kinder, more patient, more compassionate.  But how far had I actually come?

When we slip, we are so quick to condemn ourselves for those moments which “evidence” lack of growth.  The truth is, however, it’s in those moments, those moments where we feel we are not as strong, and not as patient that true growth occurs.

We learn just as much from our failures as we do from our successes, if not more.  In taking this to the mat, or to your desired skill, how far have you come? Using the mat as either your literal or symbolic analogy, have you made it to the mat? If so, that’s huge; in many ways, the biggest step. If it’s your seventh or tenth time, you’ve gained at the least a small insight into what a practice looks like, feels like. If it’s your twentieth or thirtieth time you are building your practice; a hundredth or thousandth, the practice looks wholly different. It may not be perfect, but can it ever be? What is perfection? Alfred Aiken said, “drop the idea of “success”—know that Perfection is Perfect Now.”

With that, what’s “perfect now”? And when you find yourself in moments that are not as strong, not as balanced or you are not as flexible (in your mind OR body), can you get excited and know that THAT’S when the growth occurs? If we get excited about the moments we stand or walk, just as we did decades ago, we might find ourselves running sooner than we think.

With love,

Rachel (if you want these weekly to your inbox, subscribe below!)

Today's struggle, tomorrow's success

“The struggle you are in today is developing the strength you need for tomorrow”

— Robert Tew

Today's struggle not only develops tomorrow's strength but also engenders tomorrow's success.

 If we allow it.

Whenever a struggle arises, whenever "failure" presents itself, there is a choice. 

We can self-flagellate and feel sorry for ourselves, or we can choose to celebrate those moments, learning from them and pivoting in ways that catapult our work and lives to the next level.

From Steve Jobs to Elon Musk, these individuals have harnessed innumerable failures, each ultimately informing their future successes.

So when you look at your life and what YOU want, where do you struggle?

Rather than retreat from those moments, can you celebrate them? 

Because when you do, you are building strength and power. 

But how? How do we shift into celebration and a growth mindset?

It requires curiosity and compassion: compassion for ourselves when our habituated ways creep in, to self-condemning ways creep in, muddying our ability to see clearly.

Compassion so that we can engage with curiosity and discernment. Only with interest and insight can we avail ourselves of the moment's gifts and exercise that inherent power. Because each time you do, you are building, growing, and creating your future success. 

One of the greatest ways to harness that compassion and curiosity is through cultivating new levels of conscious awareness, conscious leadership, and the unparalleled tools of Mindfulness.

Want to learn more? Let’s connect.

With love,

Rachel Tenenbaum
I AM (Intentional Abundant Mindful) Living.