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It is February.

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In January, fourteen blog-posts rolled on to the page, inspired, with sparkling newness, a fresh resolve. Then twenty days sneaked past, and nothing appeared. Wonder why? What is it we can trust?

The body?

One of the most fragile things around, it aches and creaks, often deceiving itself with imagined abilities and fantastical visions. It morphs every day in its special small way, without a clue what happens next. Can we depend on its trustworthiness?

The mind?

It doubts to the point of debilitation, endlessly compares un-comparables, guards its ideas like a dog, but softens and changes its opinions when presented another point of view. Every now and then it simply loses itself, out of the blue. What can we do?

The Universe?

Sounds great. But what does that relationship look like? Seems rather theoretical.

So, what is constant? What can we trust?

The thing that is not a thing and yet, can be called everything. The thing that is nowhere but can be thought of as everywhere. The thing that appears as me but is in fact invisible. The thing that is localised in each of us but is colourless, featureless, unbound. The thing that is beyond stillness and movement, beyond light and dark.

Awareness. The one that knows. Not as a person but as an intelligence. A presence. An eternity in this moment. Here. That always was, is, and always will be. That can be trusted, not to get things done, but to know. Know every experience of being in this body, having this mind, perceiving the world through these eyes. This is how it is.  That knowing. Beyond sounds and beyond silence.

Who’s the boss?

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Did you know there’s an organisation that brings science and spirituality together? Its mission is to create a kinder, heart-centered world where we care for one another and live harmoniously. It’s called the HeartMath Institute and offers many free resources.

They have found that the heart is not just a mechanical pump. It contains thousands of nerve cells. That is probably the reason our memories and trauma are stored in various parts of our body, mainly the brain and heart.

We were taught in school that the brain is a master-organ but it’s the heart that tells it what to do. The intelligence of creativity, innovation and intuition resides in the cells of the heart. Brain neurons are the antennae that follow the heart’s desires. For example, I want to speak and understand Spanish says the heart. The brain follows.

We humans have a stunning ability to self-regulate. Our biology is engineered as a soft technology. Our fundamental physiology is made up of ion-potentials across membranes. We’re the only form of life that can harmonise its two major neural organs through Heart-Brain Coherence. We can alter the chemistry in our bodies. Once this coherence occurs, we can heal and be healthy. The immune system is strengthened, longevity enzymes rise and stress is reduced at a molecular level. Three minutes of this shift can produce beneficial effects for 6 hours.

3 steps:

  1. Shift in focus – into the heart
  2. Shift in breath – slow it so the exhalation is longer than the inhalation
  3. Shift in feeling – a positive feeling – initiate Gratitude on demand.

We are powerful self-regulators. It is a God-like ability that we have, to heal ourselves. We’re conditioned to feel helpless and think we need external help. Sometimes we do need interventions, but we can honour the gift of this body to heal ourselves.

Let there be joy, peace and colour!

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Mandalas draw me into their whorls. A casual glance is never enough. My gaze gets fixated on each one and I lose myself in the movement and the stillness in that form. The patterns seem to be spontaneous and well thought through, calm and dynamic, chaotic and yet, organised. The literal meaning of the word is, a sacred circle and it feels like one.

A random advert on YouTube and I was at the local stationery shop buying a geometry box. I needed a compass and a protractor for the Mandala Workshop I had signed up for. I was excited at the prospect of making one but also worried about making a mess of it. My artistic abilities are fairly limited but I am a good doodler. Many a lengthy-phone-call have produced intricate henna-esque patterns on the handiest bit of paper loitering on my table.

The first thing the facilitator said was, today you will draw your Universe. Don’t erase anything. There are no mistakes. You will see, everything has a place, even the so called ‘mistakes’. So, erase nothing. It’s not about producing a beautiful piece of art. It’s about the process. After making the grid, she had us light a candle and guided us through a grounding exercise. Then she played a mellow piano tune and asked us to start from the centre of the circle and work outwards with a black uniball pen. No rules. No meaning. No right. No wrong. No special colours or materials. Just allow whatever wants to appear on the page to appear.

She said this practice can heal us as it opens the heart, takes place in the moment and is non-judgemental. Watch your inner critic coming at you pointing its index finger. Ignore it and carry on. Smile 🙂