A Love Experiment

       In the culture I grew up in, self-love was equated with the sin of pride.  Thinking highly of oneself was clearly not ok, while being rough on oneself, physically and emotionally, was considered virtuous.

       So, it's not surprising that, just two weeks ago while I was sitting with someone in my office, the idea for this experiment first came to me.  Acting on the inspiration, I suggested to my client that, once a day, she set aside time to face herself in a mirror and say the words, "I love you".  

       I've done – and written about – other mirror meditations, but not this one, so I decided to try it.

       The results have been revealing – and healing.  I encountered resistance – even cheated a few times, saying the words, but skipping the mirror part.  Early on, the words felt foreign, a bit hollow, but I determined to stick with them, as an act of faith.  Sometimes, the experience felt neutral.  At other times, a gentle peace came over me.  Once, there were tears.  

       I'm feeling a shift – a loosening, a freeing.  I'm going to stay with this experiment for a while, to see how what unfolds.

       Maybe you'd like to try it.   

       I need to face it:  Lately, Weekly Wisdoms have become Bi-Weekly Wisdoms.  After 4-plus years and over 150 postings, my energy is shifting.  As the practical parts of life have grabbed more time and attention, as I've pushed myself to keep producing on several fronts and as I find myself sometimes running on fumes,  something in me is pushing back, resisting, not flowing so freely.  I want to honor that push back.  And I want to honor the commitment I made to share something weekly.   

       A win-win solution that feels right to me is to post something most weeks, even if it is just a short quote that's come my way or a re-cycling of something I've posted before that still feels fresh to me. 

       So, here's one of the first pieces I posted – clearly relevant to my experience lately.

An Antidote for Exhaustion

       Poet, David Whyte, once asked his friend, Brother David Steindl-Rast, about a cure for exhaustion.  The reply was something like this:

       The antidote for exhaustion is not necessarily rest, though in some cases that may be true.  The antidote for exhaustion is whole heartedness.

Originally posted on May 16, 2009.

       When I honor my heart, it blossoms and energizes me.

       I've been noticing lately the choices I've been making.  Not so much the big decisions about life.  Rather, the small, moment-by-moment choices – to stay attuned in my body, to see beauty, to connect appreciatively with what is.   Presence is such an attractive alternative to the imaginary stories and interior dramas that so automatically claim center stage.

       Here's something I posted a couple years ago that recently caught my attention.  Hope you don't mind the re-run. 

New Now

Feeling bored?

Life a bit stale?

Try opening

Eyes and ears

Skin and

Taste buds

To novelty

And mystery

In this moment

Unfolding now.

Ego ho-hums,

"Same old, same old."

Not true,

Not true.

Spacious hearts

And intimate eyes

Greet and treat

Each life-moment

As unlike

Any other.

Want aliveness?

Adventures new?

All yours –

Right now.