Surprise

I was alerted to this quote by mindfulbalance today (http://mindfulbalance.org/2016/01/07/surprising/).

“We need to practice waking up to surprise. I suggest using this simple question as a kind of alarm clock: “Isn’t this surprising?” “Yes, indeed!” will be the correct answer, no matter when and where and under what circumstances you ask this question. After all, isn’t it surprising that there is anything at all, rather than nothing? Ask yourself at least twice a day, “Isn’t this surprising?” and you will soon be more awake to the surprising world in which we live.” David Steindl-Rast, Awake, Aware and Alert

It reminded me or brought to light (and life) one of the attitudes cultivated with mindful awareness practices: the beginner’s mind.  How may we cultivate this attitude of openness and freshness in each moment of our being?  As one of our basic emotions, surprise often gets lost.  Just like in the movie Inside-Out, it didn’t make the line-up.  I found this an inspiring quote that brought freshness to that attitude of ‘beginner’s mind’ and how I may cultivate it in a conscious way.  Asking the question: Isn’t this surprising?  I may learn to expect and embrace uncertainty; decondition my wired brain that seeks out certainty at each turn. And be grateful for each moment experienced just as it is.  Time to try it and see!

 

 

Balancing

Learning from inside-out

This time of year if I listen to my body-mind, it tells me to slow down, to rest more and to offer warmth and nourishment.  If I listen!

So rather than rush about, get caught up in the whirlwind of ‘black friday’, I chose to stay home and I ventured into the garden, readying it for the winter. Sweeping away the wet leaves and fallen flowers that once were; wistful of the vivid autumnal colours replaced with 50 shades of grey skies it seems.  Thankful for the changing seasons in one moment – while not 100% authentically thankful for this particular season in and of itself just yet!

Afterwards, with a roaring fire inside, a wet and windy whirylgig of a day outside, I settled in to watch the movie Inside-Out. I know, I’m slow in getting to this than others. Tuning in to an exploration of the world of emotions and the mind in a gently way, I enjoyed some lovely mindful moments that were a source of connection, amusement and reflection!  ‘Meet the little voices in your head’ – the call to action of this movie – well we can all connect with the ‘voices in my head’ experience, right?

My top 5 reflective moments:

1. the subconscious being the place where your darkest fears are stored (like nana’s hoover,  the basement, where the troublemakers are!).  And I wondered what darkest fears am I avoiding, what are my personal troublemakers that I resist bringing out of the shadows and shining a light of awareness upon?
2. sleep as the time when we process and remember our experiences of moments past – our memories; Do I honour this crucial aspect of living and give enough time for sleeping moments?! How am I nourishing my body-mind from this perspective? 
3. the stillness, empathy and wisdom arising from the emotion of sadness.  Reminding me of accepting and allowing: noticing the ever-present resisting of unpleasant experiences and reaching for the pleasant. Holding on to fantasy while resisting the present moment realities.  So I remind myself of my intention of allowing them to simply be there, without trying to change; simply giving space to let the feeling rise and fall; 
4. our emotions are the lens through which we view or relate to our experiences and our memories of our experiences too: our personal story-telling narrative that we can repeat and revise day in day out; at the end we saw how the different characters had one emotion as the ‘leader’: Joy for Riley, Sadness for Mom, Anger for Dad …What emotion leads my body-mind control room?  Is there a core emotion that is my habitual or autopilot lens arising from my conditioned experiences and narrative on those experiences?  
5. We need all our emotions for the fullest of life experiences and they become more and more nuanced and complex over the years as we grow with our experiences and in awareness and integration. And this is our common humanity experience.  My inquiry continues – am I avoiding some emotions and reaching for others?  Can I process my emotional experience in a full way – noticing thoughts, feelings and sensations?  How can I offer kindness and self-compassion in these moments of allowing, discovering and noticing? 

Yep – still on the compassion and kindness trail. The implicit ‘befriending’ quality that was nurtured and cultivated in the adventure of Inside-Out I wondered now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The dream: Trusting

“As our trust in our basic goodness deepens, we are able to express our love and creativity more fully in the world. Rather than second-guessing ourselves, rather than being paralyzed by self-doubt, we can honor and respond to the promptings that arise from that goodness. In a similar way, when we trust the goodness in others, we become a mirror to help them trust themselves. … When we are not consumed by blaming and turning on ourselves or others, we are free to cultivate our talents and gifts together, to contribute them to the world in service. We are free to love each other, and the whole of life, without holding back”  ~ Radical Acceptance, Tara Brach