Saturday, January 12, 2008

I Love Daily OMs

I was going to link a Daily OM on Thursday. It was so wonderful, about deciding what we want and change. It was so spot on for our family right now and even relevant to the last few years of our life. Well, I decided not to, thinking I'd done that enough. ;)

Then.. this morning, I'm over at Heidi's blog and saw yesterday's OM, Wow! How could I have missed that, I guess I was still reveling from Thursday's that I missed Friday's and it totally addressed what we were living with on Friday.

It's wonderful:

Inner Hierarchy
Listening With Your Heart

Most of us were born and raised in cultures that value the head over the heart and, as a result, we place our own hearts below our heads in a sort of inner hierarchy of which we may not be conscious. What this means is that we tend to listen and respond from the neck up, often leaving the rest of our bodies with little or no say in most matters. This is a physical habit, which sometimes feels as ingrained as the way we breathe or walk. However, with effort and awareness, we can shift the energy into our hearts, listening and responding from this much deeper, more resonant place.

The brain has a masterful way of imposing structure and order on the world, creating divisions and categories, devising plans and strategies. In many ways, we have our brains to thank for our survival on this planet. However, as is so clear at this time, we also need the wisdom of our hearts if we wish to continue surviving in a viable way. When we listen from our heart, the logical grid of the brain tends to soften and melt, which enables us to perceive the interconnectedness beneath the divisions and categories we use to organize the world. We begin to understand that just as the heart underlies the brain, this interconnectedness underlies everything.

Many agree that this is the most important work we can do at this time in history, and there are many practices at our disposal. For a simple start, try sitting with a friend and asking him to tell you about his life at this moment. For 10 minutes or more, try to listen without responding verbally, offering suggestions, or brainstorming solutions. Instead, breathe into your heart and your belly, listening and feeling instead of thinking. When you do this, you may find that it’s much more difficult to offer advice and much easier to identify with the feelings your friend is sharing. You may also find that your friend opens up more, goes deeper, and feels he has really been heard. If you also feel great warmth and compassion, almost as if you are seeing your friend for the first time, then you will know that you have begun to tap the power of listening with your heart.

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I know I need to always remember these words. Whether it's when I'm talking and experiencing others or when I'm sorting through my own brain.

5 comments:

Joanne said...

Hi Kelli...
Yes, I love that site also. I've been getting their e-mails for a while now but I also love just browsing their site. :-)

Stephanie said...

Wow! I needed that, Thanks!

Heidi Snavley said...

I've been reading Power of the Soul this last week. He talks about the "synchronicities" in our lives, those "coincidences" that aren't really coincidences so he prefers to call them synchronicities. To try and develop a stronger intuition I've been journaling about these synchronicities so I can be more aware of the messages that the Universe is giving me. Ironically, the other day I was on half.com buying some books and before I checked out they give you the list of "if you liked that, you might like this too..." and Eat, Pray, Love popped up. How many people (including you), and how many times have I been told to read this book? Too many to count!! I bought it and am axiously awaiting it's arrival. The messages are there, we have all the answers, we just have to listen!!!

piscesgrrl said...

I love the DailyOM too, and often keep particular ones to share at my women's group gatherings.

Also, I keep meaning to tell you - I LOVE your new blog banner! Is that artwork by your kids? I still haven't learned how to do that - haven't taken the time, that is.

It's lovely. I want it for my walls! (Seriously!)

kelli said...

I'm glad you all liked the OM :)

Laura, that's a painting that everyone did after Jon Kream's talk at last year's Live and Learn.

I talked about it here :)

http://ourjoyfullife.blogspot.com/2008/01/new-header.html

I'm probably going to make some prints of it, I'll let you know, they'd be for sale on my etsy!