I have three house guests I'd like to introduce. They've been with me...well...forever.
Say hello to Mind, Body and Spirit
On a daily basis, Mind gets most of my attention - Mind helps me at work. Mind is often my companion when I read, which I love to do. Mind likes clever puns and learning. I'm most comfortable with Mind. If I had a picture of Mind, it would be that of a young student with a slightly furrowed brow, one who is somewhat distracted except for whatever has her focus at the moment.
Spirit visits me every day, roaming around the house unless I insist that she sit for tea. Spirit knows how to expand my thoughts and patterns. Spirit helps me reach out to others and connect. Spirit's power to open me up can be a little intense sometimes. Her full attention is best savored in smaller doses of consumption. Spirit is hard to look at directly; her embodiment is of a brightly lit, yet ephemeral, being.
Poor Body. She's the most neglected houseguest. She's not enchanting like Spirit and not as interesting as Mind. She's the scullery maid of the three. She does her essential work of keeping me on this earth, connecting me with human experience. She provides her intuitive knowing as well as the mechanics of survival. I've been ignoring her. I haven't given her credit for years. Last year at about this time she'd had enough and went on strike.
Mind, Spirit and I realized we couldn't cope without her or at least not as well.
This year Body's getting the attention she deserves and needs. Mind is learning to give up some of her time and learning that when Body feels better, Mind works better. Mind is getting inspired by Leo Babauta at Zen Habits to make small changes and grow into them so that Body can take her rightful place in the house guest triad. Spirit is giving Body the honoring and nurturing she desperately needs by taking care of her in daily and weekly rituals.
Me? I'm working at listening.
How do you treat your "house guests"?
Majeeda Rosa
Just Be
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Thursday, August 4, 2011
The Cart before the Horse
I've been integrating healthy habits into my morning routine, one of which is a walk along the levy nearby. It's a beautiful walk that runs along a creek beside fields of horses and cows. I'm always rewarded...when I'm not caught up in my head.
Sometimes I have trouble living outside of my mind. I have to work at maintaining a proper balance of seeing the world "as it is" versus distorting it with my imagination. I catch myself ruminating over perceived lacks and building negative scenarios. I get angry at those I love, or myself, or the media, or anything else that contributes to my belief that I don't have enough...whatever.
Today on my walk I didn't see anything. Yes, my feet trod the path and I noticed little backyard gardens in a glance, but I was focused on building a future in my head of living without this or that...forever. I was angry at someone I love because of my expectations not being met. I could feel myself scowling, my lips set tight and shoulders tense.
In retrospect, there are a few things I could address about what was happening, but at that moment out on the levy only one thought occurred to me.
"Geez, Majeeda, you're creating your own reality right now. X isn't making you angry, YOU are, right here, right now."
Whether the scenarios I was building were true or not, I was making myself angry. This was something I could control. I was placing myself in this state of mind by my behavior. The moment I realized this, I let it go. Three minutes later I was grinching and getting angry again...and again, I stopped myself from being angry. I cycled through this a few times as I walked home. Hmmm...a habit. Not good.
I can't imagine life without emotion, but am I confusing emotion with a state of being? Are they perhaps different? Something new to explore. I think I'll begin to change this habit of my emotions controlling me.
How do you control your emotions? I'd love to hear in the comments below.
Majeeda Rosa
Sometimes I have trouble living outside of my mind. I have to work at maintaining a proper balance of seeing the world "as it is" versus distorting it with my imagination. I catch myself ruminating over perceived lacks and building negative scenarios. I get angry at those I love, or myself, or the media, or anything else that contributes to my belief that I don't have enough...whatever.
Today on my walk I didn't see anything. Yes, my feet trod the path and I noticed little backyard gardens in a glance, but I was focused on building a future in my head of living without this or that...forever. I was angry at someone I love because of my expectations not being met. I could feel myself scowling, my lips set tight and shoulders tense.
In retrospect, there are a few things I could address about what was happening, but at that moment out on the levy only one thought occurred to me.
"Geez, Majeeda, you're creating your own reality right now. X isn't making you angry, YOU are, right here, right now."
Whether the scenarios I was building were true or not, I was making myself angry. This was something I could control. I was placing myself in this state of mind by my behavior. The moment I realized this, I let it go. Three minutes later I was grinching and getting angry again...and again, I stopped myself from being angry. I cycled through this a few times as I walked home. Hmmm...a habit. Not good.
I can't imagine life without emotion, but am I confusing emotion with a state of being? Are they perhaps different? Something new to explore. I think I'll begin to change this habit of my emotions controlling me.
How do you control your emotions? I'd love to hear in the comments below.
Just Be
Majeeda Rosa
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