Tending to our Inner Light

It has been a while since I last wrote to you. And now, we are already in the midst of the darkest days of the year. It is again time to tend to our inner light. Till the soil of our being, do some "weeding" and plant the seeds we would like to see sprout and bloom in the next year of our lives.

How can we do this?

I find it helpful to look back on the year and remember moments of happiness, of fulfilment and joy. Moments, when I felt completely in the present, when my thoughts about the future, any worries I had, simply stopped churning in my mind. When I felt my heart break wide open, when I smiled and laughed for no apparent reason. Then, as I reminisce and relive these moments, I allow them to pervade every cell of my body - I even imagine the cells reverberating and shimmering with light and joy!

Many years ago, I translated for scientist Rick Hanson at a conference he held in Germany. His book: Buddha's Brain, was quite a revelation to me. He speaks about our brains having a negative bias, stemming from our ancestral instinct of survival. It is said that the brain, if you visualise something, does not distinguish, if you are actually living this situation at the moment or whether it is a fantasy. We live, therefore, what we think, we are what we think. It sounds so simple...

And in fact it is, all we need is to create a practice, and from a practice we create a habit, and habits can frame our lives in a wonderfully affirmative way. They can help us maintain our inner light and peace of mind, whatever situation we may find ourselves in. Of course this does not mean we stuff down our negative emotions, or suppress our rage, rather we look at our emotions from the viewpoint of our inner guardian and try to see what part of us is unhappy, or what aspect of us is feeling attacked, or why are we angry - we disassociate our being from our emotions.

Here is a practice that you might want to do on one of these dark winter evenings...

Take a journal and start writing down, what wonderful moments you experienced. You can start with whatever comes up for you first, or you can go through the year in a linear fashion, starting with January and reflecting all the way up to the present moment. And once you have done so, you can imagine you are preparing yourself for a new adventure, an adventure into the new year, new inner landscapes.

You can ask yourself:
What makes me happy?
What fulfils me and makes me content?
Which persons make me happy?
Whose company do I cherish?

And then you can declutter your mind by reflecting on:

What do I no longer need in my life?
What experiences are completed, do I no longer need to live?
What persons and relationships have I learnt from and can I let go of now?
What worries do I have about the future that I cannot control anyway?
What thoughts do I have about the past of remorse, or shame or disappointment?

Maybe also declutter your physical environment...
What things do I not need and can I give to someone else to enjoy?
What things do I need to clear out and recycle?
Where in my house, apartment or room do I need to create order?

And then once you have created order in your outside and in your inside, you will notice a sense of clarity. This in turn gives you a sense of empowerment, of freedom to chose how to respond to what is happening in your life.

❣️I am presently recording meditations in a friend's studio. I have the first test meditation out, if you would like to listen to it, please click here. I would so appreciate your critical feedback, if possible before next Wednesday, 11th December❣️