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Excerpts from
The Little Book Of Pep Talks
by Debbie Jenae
“The Promise” © Lee Bogle, www.leebogle.com
We all have a loving place inside our being. A place to retreat to, to be nurtured by, and to feel safe: a place of inspiration, of worthiness, of love.
In fact, it’s this place that craves the wonder of a star-filled sky, a child’s laughter, a loved one’s touch. It marvels at a site that didn’t seem to grow anything, yet has now sprouted a single healthy flower. And it expands on a walk among tall trees, standing for years giving shade and protection and in their growing are the best expression of the life they are born to be – that sprouted from a single seed.
Just like us – born of a thought, a moment in time - a single ‘seed.’ This essence manifests not as an oak or a pine but feminine and masculine, not a daisy or a giant cactus, but a human being reaching heights of two feet or eight. Yet like a tree, we are our best expression unless we’re trying to be something we’re not because we’re afraid to be ourselves; afraid of being rejected; afraid of not being good enough – denying our knowing.
I know that I am not an astronaut or a bullfighter yet I have the same qualities. Courage of a bullfighter because I’ve chosen to face things I’ve been afraid of - things I’ve made more powerful than me. And the reach of an astronaut because I, too, am an explorer – searching to understand that often uncharted, unexpressed portion of our being called feelings. A place many are afraid to go for fear they will be overwhelmed, swallowed up and lost forever.
So although I am not an astronaut or a bullfighter, in a parallel universe maybe I am. Maybe if I don’t think of it so literal – in a sense I am one with them because even two oak trees are not exactly the same. And The Loving Place remembers and honors all this.
Deepak Chopra refers to the silent space between thoughts. Imagine such a place filled to bursting with possibility and potential! And that’s each space between two thoughts.
Some say the entire universe is here to support us. All we have to do is define what we want, chose a direction, make our intention clear and act according to that belief, trusting that it will happen. You think life stinks? Then many places won’t “smell” good to you. Think life is wonderful? Then you’ll experience wondrous things from a loving place.
Yet some people have been exposed to so much negative, hurtful, fear-based behavior that they’ve grown to believe they are as awful as that exposure made them feel. To survive, they covered over their loving place; adding layer upon layer, pushing it deeper and keeping it safe until - someday. But eventually they lost sight of it and came to believe that the world – their world – was a harmful place and one from which they needed continual protection. So they built a “wall” to surround them and keep all the hurtful things out without realizing that this wall, designed to protect them, also kept them isolated. It kept the hurt out and it kept the love out.
They forgot.
And every lifeline has passed uncaught out of fear of another disappointment. To reach out and fail is a chance they can no longer take. “It will hurt too much.” But it’s the very step that has to be taken to break the cycle, to break the habit of fear-based thinking. The hurt and disappointment some people try so hard to avoid is actually recreated everyday in their own lives because their behavior is being controlled by their fears, directed by those fears.
The shadow becomes greater than the person, preventing the life one longs to experience.
There’s no place like home and this home, this loving place, resides in each and every one of us. Some know it without thinking. Some have moments of remembering. And some have to quiet themselves to get there. But it IS there. Absolutely guaranteed. Don’t believe it? Then your own choice and belief system stops you from experiencing its magnificence. We are limited only by limiting thoughts and more expansive, more capable than we can imagine. All we need is the willingness to believe it exists and a door will open.
Take a moment now to relax, return and remember.
~ ~ ~
Read the following s-l-o-w-l-y and mindfully. If it helps, you might begin by closing your eyes and imagining being in a place that inspires, comforts and brings you peace (e.g. beside a river or lake, on a forest trail, in your favorite chair, under a star-filled sky, etc.). Know that, as you read, distracting thoughts may come. Simply thank them and let them pass because you do not need to think about them now. It’s just your busy mind and some fear coming in to protect you from something unfamiliar.
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~ ~ ~ A Reading Meditation ~ ~ ~
Now, as if you have the power to safely suspend all the world’s activity, creating a magical moment of peace – STOP and imagine the world gently slowing to a pause.
B r e a t h e - I n
The first breath is just a warm-up so, after the exhale, take in another slow, deep breath. Become aware of your physical processes and allow them to relax.
Inhale again, fully and completely. Picture this breath as a beautiful light-filled color spreading a loving life force throughout your body.
B r e a t h e O u t
Imagine that, in this moment, any negative thoughts and feelings are being released with each exhale.
Do it again.
B . r . e . a . t . h . e I . n . . .
slowly and deeply. Feel this loving energy nudge and caress those sleepy cells as it swirls around your heart, reaches beyond your lungs, through your legs to your toes, out your arms to your fingertips. Fill yourself with a sense of wonder, of confidence, of worthiness. Let yourself be innerwhelmed with loving abundance.
Now, in this magical moment of creation,
imagine its’ perfection radiating from your heart, your soul, your spirit.
Find contentment in it.
In this space in time you are perfectly safe.
In this moment
each cell is vibrating in perfect harmony,
resonating with the love that IS you,
waiting to follow your direction.
Breathe in the wonder of this moment, and
breathe out sharing the perfection.
Rest in this place for a while
and bathe in its’ glow of unlimited potential.
Know that this moment is always within you
and always outside of you
waiting to be captured in a thought.
Now safely start the world again and go about your day beginning with this moment. Know that next time you don’t have to stop the world to get here,
you only have to create a pause in your own.
Stop . . . breathe. . . and remember.
Return to the home that always welcomes you.
Find peace in the moment, knowing that this moment is in every moment.
The silent space between thoughts.
The possibility and potential in every seed.
Honor it.
Breathe it in and out.
THIS
is your loving place.
Welcome, visit often, and remember it well.
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