Find Your Middle Ground

Tag: emotions

  • Depth of Feeling

    Depth of Feeling

    “We are so unused to emotion that we mistake any depth of feeling for sadness, any sense of the unknown for fear, and any sense of peace, for boredom. We are so schooled away from the life below, that anything beneath scares us.” ~ Mark Nepo from “The Book of Awakening” It’s a scary place to start…

  • * Inspiration – Like a Giant Tree

    “Praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and sorrow come and go like the wind. To be happy, rest like a giant tree in the midst of them all.” ~ The Buddha Let the winds of change move through your branches. After all, that is what this season is about. Namaste

  • * First Step to Forgiveness

    So many of life’s experiences challenge us and give us the opportunity to learn and grow – especially in relationship to others and getting to know our authentic selves. As we grow in awareness, we take responsibility for all our experiences and our feelings. With patience and practice we stop blaming others and learn to…

  • * Making Friends with our Emotions

    I am grateful to work with clients who want to find their middle ground. A big part of this is becoming aware of what gets in the way and making friends with our emotions.  This poem by Chade Meng Tan is taken from his book Search Inside Yourself. It is inspired by Rumi’s The Guest…

  • * Paradox

    Fear and love seldom stand, shoulder to shoulder; Its rare to laugh and lie in the same breath. But strength and weakness, failure and success, faith and desolation – they are different ends of a single stick. To pick one up is to receive both poles – stark contrasts contribute to a knowledge of the…

  • * You are a Human Magnet

    We have an amazing ability to change our thinking and ourselves … but it can be tantalizingly difficult to do so! Why? Because our own thinking and beliefs get in the way. One way of looking at this is to turn to science and then think of yourself as a human magnet. You attract what…

  • * Your Breath is How you Live your Life

    Do you know how are you breathing right now? Take a moment and simply notice your breath. Perhaps place your hand on your navel and the other above your heart.  Notice the movement as you inhale and exhale. We breathe in and we breathe out. And for the most part we take it completely for…

  • * Let Yourself Have Your Experience

    Inspiring words for those of you experiencing some stormy waves today. “Just as the depth and stillness of the ocean lie hidden beneath the stormy waves on its surface, so the power of your essential nature lies concealed behind all of your turbulent feelings. Struggling against your feelings only keeps you tossing around on the…

  • * Forgive and Let Go

    “The day a child realizes that all adults are imperfect, he becomes an adolescent; the day he forgives them, he becomes an adult; the day he forgives himself, he becomes wise.” – Alden Nowlan Much has been written about forgiveness – forgiving others for an offense or hurt in the past, and forgiving ourselves for…

  • * Recycling Our Pain

    This is the first time I have come across the idea of recycling our pain. Its profoundly simple and simply profound. Val x

  • * Which Wolf are you Feeding?

    In the highs and lows of life there is often inner struggle. I first heard the tale of the two wolves some years ago, and it has appeared again twice this past week. Time to take notice for myself and share with you! I love the simplicity of  it and how it really opens up…

  • When You’re Preparing for a Task, Say “You Can Do It,” not “I Can Do It”

    When You’re Preparing for a Task, Say “You Can Do It,” not “I Can Do It”

    Who knew? You can do it! They have a point … and I personally believe that it also takes us to a space where we feel someone else is cheering us on. I recall when I was working on getting over my fear of public speaking, the best inspiration for me was picturing my nephew…

  • * What we Resist will Persist

    “What you resist persists.” Carl Jung We think that by resisting, it will go away but it won’t. Resisting what is happening is at the root of our suffering. I’m not talking here about a real life threatening situation that demands we take action to defend ourselves, I’m talking about when we want a situation, a…

  • * The seeds within

    Originally posted on Mindfulbalance: Mindfulness involves paying attention to and nurturing what is helpful, as well as evaluating,  and not allowing a footing to, those seeds which will cause confusion and distress: If we take good care of everything in us, without discrimination, we prevent our negative energies from dominating. We reduce the strength of…

  • * Rumi Inspiration for Life’s Lows

    This poem from Rumi is for everyone experiencing a challenging time. May it inspire you to be graceful in this low of life and help you find your Middle Ground. THE GUEST HOUSE This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes…

  • * Choose to Be Positive or Negative … (you can’t be both!)

    This is a Philosophers Note from Brian Johnson that resonated for me, especially as we head towards the Holidays. When we become aware of our emotions, we can change our thinking into a positive frame of mind. When we change our thinking we allow our heart to open. “The basic observation that positive emotions are somehow…