Sunday, March 31, 2013

Love in Action

"Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do... but how much love we put in that action." ~Mother Teresa

I was inspired to talk about love by a few things that happened this week. Even though I do it with hesitation. I am such a learner in this arena. I was inspired by a conversation I had with a friend who went to a conference on love (particularly self-love) and heard an "On Being" episode Krista Tippet talking about the civil rights movement with Rep. John Lewis.

From the On Being transcript:
Rep. Lewis: Well, I think in our culture, I think sometimes people are afraid to say I love you. But we're afraid to say, especially in public life, many elected officials or worldly elected officials, are afraid to talk about love. Maybe people tend to think something is so emotional about it. Maybe it's a sign of weakness. And we're not supposed to cry. We're supposed to be strong, but love is strong. Love is powerful.

The movement created what I like to call a nonviolent revolution. It was love at its best. It's one of the highest form of love. That you beat me, you arrest me, you take me to jail, you almost kill me, but in spite of that, I'm going to still love you. I know Dr. King used to joke sometime and say things like, "Just love the hell outta everybody. Just love 'em."

Rep Jon Lewis references an African proverb – “when you pray move your feet”

What are the different ways we can show love in action:

• How we listen
• Empathy
• Attend or remembering what is important to others
• Hospitality
• Acceptance of the whole person (shadow)
• Forgiveness
• Self Care

Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love. ~Mother Teresa

And the best smile starts on the inside or as Mother Teresa said,… “love begins at home.”

What is the source of our love in action? Is what people think? Is it to make others think you are a nice person? The most powerful love in action is because you are so full of love it overflows; where you love, forgive, and are kind to yourself.

What would love in action look like for you?

Friday, March 1, 2013

The less effort, the faster and more powerful you will be.
~Bruce Lee
Planning for our trip to New Zealand, I thought I should schedule a personal retreat for myself; it would be helpful to be on the other side of the process once again. I started searching for options. I kept coming back to one that had both bodywork and the enneagram. Perfect! But after several email exchanges, I did not get information I wanted. How did she work? How to get there without a car? With no more information, I felt dis-ease about going. Still I thought I should commit and submit myself to the process. Only when I asked to sign up did she tell me that getting there was very difficult (2 buses and a ferry). I had limited time and more importantly, I felt she was not forthcoming to a question I had to ask 4 times "how would I get there". I asked myself, "was I afraid to go?" No, it felt right to let go of this option. I did not sign up.

Around the same time, my sister told me I could stay at the retreat center in Auckland for free. My flight there was less than 1 night’s lodging in Christchurch. So, I followed the path that was opening. The Auckland retreat would be self-managed. I still wanted to learn from someone too. It turned out what I needed was just over the fence in Kaikoura (where we are spending most of our time). The first day, our host offered to set up a massage for us with the woman literally over the fence. Sure. It turned out she is not only a massage therapist, she is an “Integrated Breath Therapist” and wasn’t I just saying I wanted to learn more and work more with my breath? After all of my effort, what I needed showed up. It is helpful to be reminded; I don’t always have to make it happen.

And I did learn from my earlier efforts to book a retreat in Christchurch:
1. I need to put more on my website to let folks know who I am and how I work so they can assess the fit.
2. I need to describe the structure of retreats. The structure provides a bridge to enter into relationship and build trust. Then allow for what emerges to guide us.
3. AND, I need to let potential retreaters know how to get to Lutsen.



Put your heart, mind, intellect and soul even to your smallest acts. This is the secret of success. ~Swami Sivananda