For many of us, the world is simply not safe.
Today’s stressful political climate is volatile, the weather is unpredictable and often extreme, and we are still dealing with Covid. As much as global communication is useful, it can also be detrimental by keeping us more disconnected and isolated from each other.
Inner peace creates inner safety and it is what we long for.
Spiritual teachers throughout time have repeatedly told us that we have the innate ability to come to rest within any circumstance. Try telling that to the mother whose child was born with a fatal disease or to a father whose family was just annihilated by a natural disaster. Life doesn’t seem fair and to even hint at finding peace within at times like this can seem cruel.
Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.
Buddhist saying
Coming to rest within does not mean that external events are acceptable or even okay. It simply means we can find safety and inner peace regardless of life’s events. This recharges our batteries, giving the clarity to make decisions to release ourselves from suffering.
Yes, we do indeed possess the ability to come to rest within the storm. Finding this inner peace requires awareness, determination and tenacity. This process demands that we take responsibility for our own feelings.
When growing a garden, we don’t just toss out seeds and sit back and expect flowers to bloom. We work the soil, preparing it, getting it ready to receive the seeds. Then we tend to our garden by nourishing the plants with water and love. We take time to remove the weeds that want to strangle and take over. It takes time, diligence and a commitment to create a beautiful garden. It requires trusting the process, which grows self-trust and blooms with self-esteem.
Trust gives birth to courage allowing us to take a deep breath and dive, heart first, into the vast unknown.
Lee Byrd
We are creatures of habit. Over the years we have programmed our brain to feel and react in certain ways. If our habit is to allow fear to permeate our thoughts, what we get is fear. Our brain doesn’t judge any emotion as bad or good, it simply moves from habit. If we say, I’m tired (or sick, or angry or whatever feeling arises), our brain responds to that, producing both emotional and even physical reactions.
We may fall victim to these emotional habits by not believing we have the power to change the way we respond. We sit on the outside of our potential garden, indulging in feelings of fear, strangled by the thoughts of not being good enough, not being worthy enough. Ultimately, we want things to be different. We want our garden to be beautiful. We want to feel good, enjoy life and feel safe.
Let’s do this! You, me, everyone has the power to change our thoughts, we’ve always had the power to create a magnificent garden.
What Are We Waiting For?
Ask yourself: What do I truly want? And am I willing to weed out the suffocating thoughts, habits and patterns that keep me in suffering?
Becoming aware of and examining our habits is the first step in creating the garden of our dreams. We empower ourselves by knowing we are the only ones who decide how we feel in this moment. We learn to trust ourselves to create true inner safety. From here we are capable of creating the most magnificent garden imaginable.
This is powerful, intimately personal work—the most beautiful, loving thing we can do for ourselves and ultimately for the world.
In order to live free and happily you must sacrifice boredom. It is not always an easy sacrifice.
Richard Bach
So, what do you say? Let’s roll up our sleeves and pull out the weeds, disabling those old beliefs that have enslaved us for way too long.
A Practice for Weeding Out Strangling Fears:
Place yourself in a comfortable place with little or no distraction with your journal and writing instrument nearby.
Consider lighting a candle and perhaps diffusing some pure essential oil (I suggest Believe, a Young Living blend that has been formulated to calm and ground the spirit allowing us to believe in our own limitless potential).
Now, do three or more rounds of conscious breathing: (https://www.leebyrdmystic.com/breath-work-beginner-embodiment-exercise/).
Plant the seeds of love and trust by setting an intention to let go of what no longer supports the life you truly want.
Body awareness meditation (https://www.leebyrdmystic.com/about/meditation/4237-2/)
Take out your journal and write. Don’t edit, don’t hold back. Even if right now you cannot see what all is possible, plant the seeds. (https://www.leebyrdmystic.com/self-inquiry-journaling/)
Here is the question: What do I really want?
When we regularly nourish our garden, it flourishes, yielding exquisitely vibrant flowers. A daily practice of weeding out the old fears, letting go of what isn’t working and envisioning the life we want, nourishes and supports our Soul. This good effort is important, life-altering work. This is emotional freedom and it is available to everyone.