Ahhhh.... the beauty of Spring. Earth unfolding, flowers blooming, birds making their way back to create nests of goodness. Even the squirrels seem no worse for their wear over the long, harsh winter. Embracing the sunshine and the fresh air, life is good!
As I walk in my backyard, I notice so many buds emerging. Daffodils, tulips, forsythia, Snuffy (my willow tree), and of course the vibrant green grass peaking out past last year's residue. Life is expanding and beginning a new exploration. I find my inner nature matching that of our great Mother's; bringing creativity to my mindfulness practice, developing new offerings, and approaching the standard with new eyes. The new energy of Spring is unfolding into my day and my outlook as I'm noticing potentials I hadn't seen before in the frozen tundra of winter. So happy the melt is on!
As life expands, I'm noticing a lot of seeds inside emerging, ones that have been dormant for quite some time. Connection, love, creativity, risk-taking, and patience. These are seeds I would like to water so they may bloom more vibrantly in my life. I also notice seeds I'd prefer not to water such as feeling scattered, spending time in dream-states, and the tension of being caught by a habit. These may happily wither away.
Each one of us has seeds - seeds of every emotion and style of being. Out of habit we water our seeds, which then govern what we think, feel, say, and act. We are aware of many of these seeds but, without a healthy mindfulness and reflective practice, many more are not in the realm of our awareness. They lie underneath, deep in our unconscious, yet impact much of our day to day living. My teacher Thich Nhat Hanh talks about these seeds as Mind Consciousness and Store Consciousness, Mind residing in the realm of awareness and Store sitting below ready to blossom any time they are watered.
Feeling empowered to create change in our life takes effort and is done so by consciously watering only the seeds that transform with benefit. For those that we wish to wither, we let them go and don't water them. This means that we don't pluck them, try to move them, or shine a light of attention on them, even if that attention is meant to reduce their impact such as "Stop doing that" or "Go away". We gently place them down and turn to watering the seeds that are beneficial.
While this might sound pretty clear cut, our habit energies make change challenging and not so easy. If we've watered the seed of anger since we were a child, for instance, that seed has deep roots and a good foothold in both our Mind and Store consciousness. It will take a greater amount of effort and diligence to wither that seed with lots of beneficial watering of patience, ease, and presence. When anger rises, instead of offering it the water of even more anger with added criticism ("Why are you still doing that", "I hate it when I'm mad!"), we offer our anger compassion and understanding. With mindfulness in our moments (especially our habit trigger moments), we are more able to slow our reactions, notice the anger rising, see the roots being watered, and switch to a response of love and understanding. With this type of attention, changing our relationship to our anger and the circumstances that water it are possible. Transformation is possible.
As you notice the buds blossoming outside and around you, notice as well the buds blossoming inside. Take special care to water the beneficial seeds, allowing the less beneficial ones to provide compost for a healthier soil. And to learn more on how you can transform your seeds to goodness, please reach out for a free consultation.
Peace,
Shanti
Shanti Douglas
Mindfulness & Stress Management Coach
Certified Eden Energy Medicine Practitioner
8 limbs Holistic Health, LLC
As I walk in my backyard, I notice so many buds emerging. Daffodils, tulips, forsythia, Snuffy (my willow tree), and of course the vibrant green grass peaking out past last year's residue. Life is expanding and beginning a new exploration. I find my inner nature matching that of our great Mother's; bringing creativity to my mindfulness practice, developing new offerings, and approaching the standard with new eyes. The new energy of Spring is unfolding into my day and my outlook as I'm noticing potentials I hadn't seen before in the frozen tundra of winter. So happy the melt is on!
As life expands, I'm noticing a lot of seeds inside emerging, ones that have been dormant for quite some time. Connection, love, creativity, risk-taking, and patience. These are seeds I would like to water so they may bloom more vibrantly in my life. I also notice seeds I'd prefer not to water such as feeling scattered, spending time in dream-states, and the tension of being caught by a habit. These may happily wither away.
Each one of us has seeds - seeds of every emotion and style of being. Out of habit we water our seeds, which then govern what we think, feel, say, and act. We are aware of many of these seeds but, without a healthy mindfulness and reflective practice, many more are not in the realm of our awareness. They lie underneath, deep in our unconscious, yet impact much of our day to day living. My teacher Thich Nhat Hanh talks about these seeds as Mind Consciousness and Store Consciousness, Mind residing in the realm of awareness and Store sitting below ready to blossom any time they are watered.
Feeling empowered to create change in our life takes effort and is done so by consciously watering only the seeds that transform with benefit. For those that we wish to wither, we let them go and don't water them. This means that we don't pluck them, try to move them, or shine a light of attention on them, even if that attention is meant to reduce their impact such as "Stop doing that" or "Go away". We gently place them down and turn to watering the seeds that are beneficial.
While this might sound pretty clear cut, our habit energies make change challenging and not so easy. If we've watered the seed of anger since we were a child, for instance, that seed has deep roots and a good foothold in both our Mind and Store consciousness. It will take a greater amount of effort and diligence to wither that seed with lots of beneficial watering of patience, ease, and presence. When anger rises, instead of offering it the water of even more anger with added criticism ("Why are you still doing that", "I hate it when I'm mad!"), we offer our anger compassion and understanding. With mindfulness in our moments (especially our habit trigger moments), we are more able to slow our reactions, notice the anger rising, see the roots being watered, and switch to a response of love and understanding. With this type of attention, changing our relationship to our anger and the circumstances that water it are possible. Transformation is possible.
As you notice the buds blossoming outside and around you, notice as well the buds blossoming inside. Take special care to water the beneficial seeds, allowing the less beneficial ones to provide compost for a healthier soil. And to learn more on how you can transform your seeds to goodness, please reach out for a free consultation.
Peace,
Shanti
Shanti Douglas
Mindfulness & Stress Management Coach
Certified Eden Energy Medicine Practitioner
8 limbs Holistic Health, LLC
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