It is so easy to shy away from the heart’s feelings and desires. In daily lives we tell each other what we’re up to, maybe we share some shallow feelings and then go on with our day. Sharing what is deep inside of us is rarely shared, and often even rarely felt by ourselves.
Last weekend I was at a festival in Belgium where I reconnected with Heart. In the rainy morning I took an amazing kundalini yoga class by Lauren Grusenmeyer, a yogi who’s also connected to the RaMa Institute and our classes speak the same language. We meditated in duos, looking one another in the eyes while chanting the mantra Humee Hum Brahm Hum. “We are One, We are God.” The illusion of separation is dissolved. We are all one. We are brothers and sisters.
After this start of the day I dove into a workshop on Authentic Relating. It’s a practice similar to Non-Violent Communication and helps you to communicate from the authentic self. It is interesting to reflect on something we do so often and easily: communicating with one another.
The practice of Authentic Relating distinguishes Three Levels of Communicating:
- The Informational (facts)
How did you get to this festival?
I borrowed my parents’ van, and drove down from Groningen. I had a coffee and a sandwich on the road.
- The Personal
Why did you come to the festival? How did it make you feel?
I was excited to go, meet people I haven’t seen in a while. I was looking forward to dance and let loose.
- The Personal Pt 2
Why did you come to the festival? Why are you here? (Diving Deeper)
I longed for reconnection with myself, with beautiful fellow humans, with my heart. Dance, be touched, find joy, have no timeline and let myself be surprised by serendipitous events of life. Reconnect to Magic.
- The Relational
Here, the other reflects back to me what happened when I start speaking from the Heart and what happens when going deeper.
In my workshop partner I saw relief. In her body language and in her eyes, after she shared with me what was in her heart.
In my eyes she saw a shimmer and a sense of wonder.
We can challenge one another to go deeper, we can ask each other questions and be present for each other’s vulnerability. We can practice with our kids and our partners. What a gift is the gift of language and relating. We are each other’s teachers.
Om Namah Shivaya! So much joy dancing and singing to Shiva together.
Roses, roses, roses in bloom everywhere. What a Miracle, what a Gift.
Indulge…
We live in a time where things need to be A) and they need to be B), and this and that. I’ve noticed a harshness and dogmatic approach to aspects of our life, which I believe stems from fear. The Course in Miracles states that really there are only two emotions: Love and Fear. So when things are not done out of Love, they come from fear. Do things with Love, it sounds so obvious. It’s OK to indulge in a nice cheese or a glass of wine every now and then, if we do it with love, reverence and presence. Maybe Presence is a form of Love. Because to be present means we have to be able to take in. It means we have absorb what life gives us with all our senses.
“Life is happening FOR you, not TO you.” - Oprah
Being in Europe of course lots of this indulgence is through food. All in moderation and presence right? Not gluttonously filling our bellies, but mmmm taste with fullness. On the market this morning one stall was selling just organic tomatoes. Wow. So delicious. One variety is called the nipple of Venus (le teton de Venus). We live like Goddesses and with Goddesses. What a blessing!
Surya festival, camper trips, visiting the market, friends, and making new friends with animals and others. I am so grateful, so blessed. Wahe Guru!
Do More
Life is short, life is a gift (it’s hard for a soul to incarnate), life is an opportunity for expression of YOU. The world needs the jewels you are carrying inside waiting to express. What will you take on this week to take more steps into expression?