In one of my earlier posts I talked about the tension that arises when change is afoot http://wp.me/p1KRax-3S, and referenced Sanaya Roman’s exquisite ‘Living with joy’ (see link below).  I would like to revisit this with an extract of a couple of the thoughts expressed in Chapter 16 – Embracing the new that are particularly relevant to enduring these turbulent times.

‘Embracing the new means being open to having more in your life. Many of you think that what you have created up until now is the best you can do … Opening to new things means trusting and having faith in yourself and others. It means believing that the future holds joy and promise. It means believing in your growth and direction …

Opening to the new means open­ing your heart. Be willing to step outside of your nor­mal limits and viewpoints and see the world in different ways. Trust that the world is safe and know that you are the director and the producer of what oc­curs in your life.

Opening to the new takes a willingness to view the old not with hate or anger or disgust, but with compassion. Many of you leave a relationship in anger, or you buy a new car when you are mad at your old one. That is one way to leave the old and embrace the new. As you follow the path of joy you can learn to open to new things while you are in a state of acceptance and peace with the old.

When things are not going well in your life, some­times you gather the motivation and energy to change them by becoming angry or choosing pain. It need not be difficult to leave the old and embrace the new. If you start thinking of what you want, how you would like your life to be, you begin easily and automatically to draw the new to yourself. If you want something and it can only come when another person changes or acts differently, then you do not have power or control over that. The only power or control you have is over your own emotions and reactions.

If you want something new, be open to having it come from anywhere, any place, any person. Be open to surprises and new things. Keep your heart open.’

This book speaks to me of the courage and vision we require when we dare to imagine a new way forward, and it reminds me that the way forward can often appear somewhat fearsome and solitary. Sanaya Roman speaks of the tension that precedes change, and just like the arrow that sits quietly in the fold of the bow, its potential flight is entirely linked to the tension that is required.

‘What you call tension or anxiety before an event can be viewed instead as focusing your energy to prepare you for something new. It is a change in your vibration to prepare you for something that is finer and higher in your life.

 You may feel that you must first conquer fear and anxiety before you step out and accomplish something. But everyone has that inner feeling of tension to some degree before attempting new things; it la a period of gathering energy to make the shift into a higher vibration.

Every single thing that happens to you happens to assist you in bringing yourself to a higher level of evolu­tion. Even those things you call negative or bad are there to show you new ways of responding so that you may be more powerful in the future.’

If we are not living the life we were meant to live, my experience is that life gives us a massive ‘broadside’ that calls us to make change. We can cling to what we have known, and try to use familiar outmoded strategies, or we step outside of all that we have known to this point, and dare to imagine a great new way forward.

So breathe consciously, create a calm space. and imagine how your ideal future looks. Invite this reality into the now and change your thoughts and actions to reflect this new reality.

Make authentic life choices  for you, and embrace your future with joy and courage.

One more treasure I found when I chased up Stephanie Dowrick’s site … I have always loved her writing … was this little piece on staying calm and taking charge.

We can’t change what’s happening, but we can choose how we respond http://www.stephaniedowrick.com/frontpage/take-charge-stay-calm/

Living with Joy: Keys to Personal Power and Spiritual Transformation (Roman S. (1986) Living with joy – Keys to personal power and spiritual transformation H.J Kramer Tiburon Cal.) http://www.amazon.com/Living-Joy-Personal-Spiritual-Transformation/dp/0915811030.
See also http://orin_meditation2.webs.com/embracethenew.htm

Currently I find myself in a somewhat quiet space of contemplating life and living. In considering the most authentic and resonant way forward for me, I have been brought back to the now. Back to me.

As I breathe gratefully in the space that this spiritual season has provided, I’m thinking deeply about how easily we can get caught up in our perceived priorities, in powering towards whatever goal we have set ourselves … and how easily we can lose sight of, and connection to, our truth.

Over the holiday weekend, I’ve been sifting through some of the treasures that come through to me on Twitter, reflecting on the messages they bring.  And what they bring me is food for my soul … so I thought I’d share a few of them with you:

Soul Seeds have been an amazing discovery for me, insightfully identifying and responding to the complexities of the human condition.

• Today’s inspiration linked me to an article on Burnout by the author Joan Borysenko,  who reminds me to remember to say no to the ‘things’ in life that threaten to exhaust,  derail and dilute my strength and purpose.
  http://www.soulseeds.com/seed-exchange/2011/10/unplug-and-recharge-when-burnout-fries-your-motivation-by-joan-borysenko/#.T4IXgHFAPMw.twitter

• In one of their postings I am encouraged to know that just as I am, I am enough, but can still choose to continue the journey to self:

“You are perfect as you are, and you could use a little work.”

http://www.soulseeds.com/grapevine/2011/08/know-yourself-self-awareness-and-change/

• And through their social media branch Soulseeds Media ‏ @Soulseedsmedia, Victoria Holt’s call to honour every experience of my life:

“Never regret. If it’s good, it’s wonderful. If it’s bad, it’s experience.”

In ‘Meditation, then and now’ http://youtu.be/xRMf4z8Cs8s, a delightful little snippet has reminded me of how simply I can source the answers to the questions and challenges that plague me. It’s as simple as going within.

Joseph Campbell (through UniverslSpirituality ‏ @unvrslsprtlty) inspires me to never be afraid of facing my fears: “The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek.” Again, as simple as holding onto love, and going within.

And finally, two thoughts that link to my passions around storytelling and perspective transformation:

• “Change the story you tell yourself. Let go, move on and thrive.”
  Article http://tinyurl.com/8xlslh3
• And from Deepak Chopra – “Freedom lies in separating yourself from your story.” http://www.deepakchopra.com/video/view/170/to_change_your_life_change_your_story

I’ve remembered that the time is always right to stop whatever terribly important thing we are doing, to go within, and to reconnect to our higher wisdom. It is only through going within that we can recalibrate our guidance and find our ‘True North’ to move forward most authentically. What a simple truth.

So for now I will sit quietly and reflect on words brought to me by Sherry Gillam ‏ @grapechick :

 “How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then to rest afterward.” ~Spanish Proverb

Swami Satyananda Saraswati

I am an invisible child of a thousand faces of love,
That floats over the swirling sea of life,
Surrounded by the meadows of the winged shepherds,
Where divine love and beauty,
The stillness of midnight summer’s warmth pervades.

Life often cuts at my body and mind
And though blood may be seen passing,
And a cry might be heard,
Do not be deceived that sorrow could dwell within my being
Or suffering within my soul.
There will never be a storm
That can wash the path from my feet,
The direction from my heart,
The light from my eyes,
Or the purpose from this life.

I know that I am untouchable to the forces
As long as I have a direction, an aim, a goal:
To serve, to love, and to give.
Strength lies in the magnification of the secret qualities
Of my own personality, my own character
And though I am only a messenger,
I am me.

Let me decorate many hearts
And paint a thousand faces with colours of inspiration
And soft, silent sounds of value.
Let me be like a child,
Run barefoot through the forest
Of laughing and crying people,
Giving flowers of imagination and wonder,
That God gives free.
Shall I fall on bended knees,
And wait for someone to bless me
With happiness and a life of golden dreams?

No, I shall run into the desert of life with my arms open,
Sometimes falling, sometimes stumbling,
But always picking myself up,
A thousand times if necessary,
Sometimes happy.
Often life will burn me,
Often life will caress me tenderly
And many of my days will be haunted
With complications and obstacles,
And there will be moments so beautiful
That my soul will weep in ecstasy.

I shall be a witness,
But never shall I run
Or turn from life, from me.

Never shall I forsake myself
Or the timeless lessons I have taught myself,
Nor shall I let the value
Of divine inspiration and being be lost.
My rainbow-covered bubble will carry me
Further than beyond the horizon’s settings,
Forever to serve, to love, and to live
As a sannyasin.

~Swami Satyananda Saraswati (Saraswati, S., 1993, p.29)

Freedom Tree

Today is Sunday, and I am grateful for the luxurious space it provides me. As I am currently undertaking a Yoga diploma (more about this in a later post), I decided to use this space to log on and complete some of the online components. The homepage on my desktop and laptop is the Greater Good Network’s ‘Hungersite’ and associated tabbed pages. http://www.thehungersite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=1, so whenever I open up either of my computers, my first task for the day is to ‘Click here to give – it’s free’ buttons on each of these eight pages … it takes only a minute or two.

While navigating through them this morning I noticed an included quote from Maria Montessori, known for her pioneering work in early childhood education.

Free the child’s potential, and you will transform him into the world.

As often happens, this little thought took me on a journey of the mind through some of the associations the concept evoked. If you’ve read any of my blog, and followed some of the links included, you’ll know how passionate I am about education for freedom. For all.

I’m not a great supporter of the notion of ‘training’ or ‘instructing’ individuals with the aim of ensuring they have the necessary skills to perform a task or a job. I have no appreciation of the ‘transmission’ style of education – ‘filling their bucket’ of knowledge so they can carry out the requirements of a job role. Learning should be so much more than that.

My notion of education has been inspired by people like Maria Montessori http://www.montessori.org.au/ … people who are passionately engaged in transformative learning … supporting each and every individual on their journey to becoming most fully who they can become. The greatest version of themselves.

People like Paulo Freire, Ira Shor, Carl Rogers, Jack Mezirow, Stephen Brookfield, Patricia Cranton http://jenniferkmiles.com/inspirations/  … Maria Montessori. Regular people doing incredible work, supporting regular people doing incredible work. Through the transformative process of learning about ourselves, learning about the world, and learning about the power we have to make a difference, we are able to become the greatest version of ourselves.

It starts with the freedom to learn, and the freedom to be, and we have the opportunity to live this every day as educators. Whether as formal educators, as employers, managers, parents, friends … any relationship between humans … we are constantly provided with opportunities to learn about ourselves, and to provide others the freedom to learn about themselves.

My knowing is that at any age, at any stage, no matter what, we are at a point where we can choose … and support each other … to step into ourselves, claiming our power and potential, and realising our dreams. Give yourself and others the freedom to dream and become!

To aid life … leaving it free however … that is the basic task of the educator.

Maria Montessori

Just came across this powerful YouTube and felt it needed to be shared as widely as possible. This young man has been touched deeply by suicide, and has had the wisdom and courage to share his story. Please be warned it contains explicit language.

My curiosity was activated through an online discussion (in LinkedIn) about the validity/currency of theories of learning preferences and styles. I followed a link into YouTube to look at work being done around learning, personality and brain activity: Authors@Google: Dario Nardi – Neuroscience of Personality.  Dario Nardi has discovered that people of different personality types don’t merely rely on different brain regions — they use their brains in fundamentally different ways http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MGfhQTbcqmA

This led me to another on the brain and emotion The Neuroscience of Emotions by Dr. Phillippe Goldin. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tShDYA3NFVs&feature=related, from a  Google series Search inside yourself (SIY), Google’s Mindfulness-based emotional intelligence course. It begins with a background on emotions, and then examines the neural bases of emotion, emotion regulation, emotional reactivity and emotional intelligence. His talk includes the increasing interest neuroscience has with emotional intelligence, cognitive behavioural therapy and practitioners of mindfulness meditation as they study the impact each has on emotional reactivity and behaviour in individuals. The questions and answers at the end of his presentation contain fabulous reflections on the value of compassion and stillness in life – work, personal and family. Living consciously as we engage with life. For more information about Dr Goldin’s work on meditation, see Cognitive Neuroscience of Mindfulness Meditation at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sf6Q0G1iHBI

Transform Your Mind, Change Your Brain. Richard J. Davidson explores recent scientific research on the neuroscience of positive human qualities and how they can be cultivated through contemplative practice. The evolving field of contemplative neuroscience http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tRdDqXgsJ0&feature=relmfu

My final treasure was from a biologist turned Buddhist monk, author and photographer Matthieu Ricard (interestingly, referred to in the previous YouTube), who speaks about the inner state of happiness – Change your Mind Change your Brain: The Inner Conditions… http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=peA6vy0D5Bg&feature=relmfu

 My hope is that one of these contains a treasure for you

We were speaking about the challenges of living an authentic life; of living our truth as we go about the daily business of work; of making each moment of each day count. Michael, one of my wonderful colleagues, reminded me to make the personal count … that through making it personal, all things are possible. In the midst of business targets and action plans, KPIs and seemingly incompatible physical, mental and emotional demands on our time and energy, our higher selves call us to live authentically.

Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements (http://www.miguelruiz.com) frame this rather beautifully I think, and encourage us to consider the simplicity of authentic living, both personally and professionally:

You’ll notice the second Agreement speaks of ‘Don’t take anything personally’, and yet my colleague Michael and I are discussing the truth of making it personal.

But it makes perfect sense to me. The way people respond to us is more to do with them than us, and the way we choose to respond to them is everything to do with us, our humanity and our higher self.

As those we come in contact with each day deal with the complexities and challenges of their own internal and external environments, we can give them a serve of our disapproval when they ‘collide’ with us, or we can choose not to take it personally.

And then we can make another choice. We can choose to make a difference, and to make it personal between us and them. We can choose to speak and act from an open heart.

So my ‘note to self’ at the moment is

 Don’t take it personally … but do make it personal

Because then all things are possible!

]]> http://jenniferkmiles.com/2012/02/16/dont-take-it-personally-but-do-make-it-personal/feed/ 0 jenniferkmiles lotus flower http://jenniferkmiles.com/2012/02/05/photos-for-freedom/ http://jenniferkmiles.com/2012/02/05/photos-for-freedom/#comments Sun, 05 Feb 2012 11:41:55 +0000 Jennifer K Miles http://jenniferkmiles.com/?p=268 Continue reading →]]> From the good folk at YGAP, an invitation to come to their exhibition in Grey St, St Kilda:

YGAP (Y-Generation Against Poverty)
People of Facebook we are calling on you. The PHOTO FOR FREEDOM exhibition is NOW OPEN. Help us reach and connect with as many people as possible by posting this video on your wall. This small gesture can lead to big change.

http://vimeo.com/34558139

https://www.facebook.com/YGAP.main

This 2011 YGAP Photo for Freedom project is a photographic study of daily life and work around the remote Lake Volta region in Ghana. The project aim is to raise public awareness of child slavery and raise funds to contribute to anti-trafficking work. Children as young as three years old are being sold by their relatives into the world of slavery.

See award-winning images created by Melbourne based Australian photographer, Tom Goldner. Proceeds raised will go directly to the communities affected.

Gallery: YGAP
Gallery Address: 12-14 Grey St, St Kilda
Exhibition Name: Photo For Freedom
Exhibition Opening hours: Wednesday – Sunday 12PM-7PM
Exhibition Opening date: 3 February – 16 February 2012
Entry: FREE – Open to general public

w w w . p h o t o f o r f r e e d o m . c o m

“The human capacity to care for others isn’t something trivial or something to be taken for granted. Rather, it is something we should cherish. Compassion is a marvel of human nature, a precious inner resource, and the foundation of our well-being and the harmony of our societies. If we seek happiness for ourselves, we should practice compassion: and if we seek happiness for others, we should also practice compassion.”

https://www.facebook.com/DalaiLama

For years I have been enjoying the writings of Sanaya Roman, a spiritual writer, and a chapter with which I am particularly enamoured  is ‘Embracing the new’ from the magnificent ‘Living with Joy: Keys to Personal Power and Spiritual Transformation‘

http://www.amazon.com/Living-Joy-Personal-Spiritual-Transformation/dp/0915811030. See also http://orin_meditation2.webs.com/embracethenew.htm

It speaks to me of the courage and vision we require when we dare to imagine a new way forward, and it reminds me that the way forward can often appear somewhat fearsome and solitary. Sanaya Roman speaks of the tension that precedes change, and just like the arrow that sits quietly in the fold of the bow, its potential flight is entirely linked to the tension that is required.

“What you call tension or anxiety before an event can be viewed instead as focusing your energy to prepare you for something new. It is a change in your vibration to prepare you for something that is finer and higher in your life. You may feel that you must first conquer fear and anxiety before you step out and accomplish something. But everyone has that inner feeling of tension to some degree before attempting new things; it is a period of gathering energy to make the shift into a higher vibration.”

So it is with our life choices and the ability we have to project ourselves powerfully into our imagined future. There are those along the path of our journey who may question the wisdom of our decisions, but we can steel ourselves with the knowledge that we are ultimately making our authentic life choices.

Dare to imagine a great new way forward, and embrace your future with joy and courage.