I don't know about you, but I have grown weary of the
self-improvement project. The endless quest to uncover
and slay the host of inner demons who have been messing up
my plans for enlightenment, which I have imagined as some
pure land of perfect equanimity in which I hover over my
worldly concerns like a cartoon yogi, forever free from
narcissism and other embarrassing inclinations, reliably
dispensing compassion to the vulnerable, wisdom to the
ignorant, and a kind of sexy psychic luminescence to
anyone who comes into proximity with my purified and
perfect (no)self.
self-improvement project. The endless quest to uncover
and slay the host of inner demons who have been messing up
my plans for enlightenment, which I have imagined as some
pure land of perfect equanimity in which I hover over my
worldly concerns like a cartoon yogi, forever free from
narcissism and other embarrassing inclinations, reliably
dispensing compassion to the vulnerable, wisdom to the
ignorant, and a kind of sexy psychic luminescence to
anyone who comes into proximity with my purified and
perfect (no)self.
Matt Licata's compassionate book, A Healing Space...affirms
that each of us has access to 'the outrageous intelligence and
bravery of the broken human heart' and the heart's ability to
return home.
that each of us has access to 'the outrageous intelligence and
bravery of the broken human heart' and the heart's ability to
return home.
This homecoming, as Matt shows us, is probably not what we
thought it would be when we signed up for the enlightenment
track. We have been conditioned by our spiritual communities -
whether traditional religious institutions or alternative practice
spaces - to conquer certain feeling states in favor of some
idealized realm where we are unmoved by these "lower
vibrations"... Instead, he encourages us to share the truth of
our shattering so that we can become our own alchemists -
and learn to love reality however it is appearing in this
moment.
thought it would be when we signed up for the enlightenment
track. We have been conditioned by our spiritual communities -
whether traditional religious institutions or alternative practice
spaces - to conquer certain feeling states in favor of some
idealized realm where we are unmoved by these "lower
vibrations"... Instead, he encourages us to share the truth of
our shattering so that we can become our own alchemists -
and learn to love reality however it is appearing in this
moment.
The ancient alchemists did not view the "base material" - as
Matt calls our difficulties, our thoughts, our darker feelings
and emotions - to be transcended, but as 'the substance of the
gods' - Sacred, Beautiful and Loveable... Matt's invitation is
to enter and inhabit those abandoned parts of ourselves and
our unlived lives as holy ground.
Matt calls our difficulties, our thoughts, our darker feelings
and emotions - to be transcended, but as 'the substance of the
gods' - Sacred, Beautiful and Loveable... Matt's invitation is
to enter and inhabit those abandoned parts of ourselves and
our unlived lives as holy ground.
It's a revolutionary approach. Rather than muscle our way
through spiritual disciplines, and therapeutic interventions,
we fall in love with our brokenness and welcome all the
orphaned parts of ourselves home.
through spiritual disciplines, and therapeutic interventions,
we fall in love with our brokenness and welcome all the
orphaned parts of ourselves home.
Mirabai Starr
from the Forward to
A Healing Space:Befriending Ourselves in Difficult Times
from the Forward to
A Healing Space:Befriending Ourselves in Difficult Times
~
Photo from the Internet
Beautiful blog
ReplyDelete