I want to be like you…

Last night after a Compassion Conversation, a woman came up to me and simply said, “I want to be like you.”

A cascade of emotions tumbled through me — a wash of fear and unworthiness that morphed into self-compassion.  As the emotions settled into the center of my being, humility filled me.  As I realized that I had touched the divine spark of another, gratitude sparked forth.

What the woman saw in me and heard in my words was the result of the glow of my divine spark.  I realized yet again that when I connect with the Sacred, my inner light shines through the veil of illusion.  I become my true, best self.  I view my human frailties not as absolute failures but as challenges to meet and overcome on the journey. 

Challenges are only met and Compassion Conversations engaged through my connection to the Sacred Source.  This reconnecting often begins with a prayer — a silent statement of my intent.  Then I envision the sacred energy swirling around me and flowing into my pores.  This immersion into the Divine tints my words with iridescent grace.

As my divine ember sparks, I am no longer sure where I end and the Sacred begins.  And, I chuckle realizing that the Sacred flows through me in constant connection.  I am not separate.  Through this connection my message is grace filled and gently touches the divine sparks of others.  We engage in a conversation beyond words.  Through this connection, I engage in communion.

I want to be like me, too.  I want to be the me that connects in communion to the Sacred found in my self, each person, and each aspect of the world. 

Namaste,

Vanessa

www.intentandaction.com

Finding the Fertile in the Chaos

Aspects of our life may remain chaotic, but if we are in balance, chaos becomes a fertile place for growth; it cannot catch us in its tumult. While we cannot rewrite the past, we can resolve past issues and regrets in the present moment. We can maintain balance in the chaos of our emotion and confusion when we live in the moment. In the present moment we perceive what is truest about our self and watch our authentic life unfold. Engaging Compassion Through Intent and Action, p. 51

Chaos…that place where there seems to be no patterns or understanding of why we are where we are.  In this place we can’t see how to move out of a place of status quo and into a place of movement.  Being aware empowers us to see possibilities and grasp opportunities.   The very act of grasping the opportunity creates waves.  Paths are cleared, and we move forward.  Clarity is ours.

How do you view chaos?

How do you move out of chaos into a different way of being?

Here’s to navigating the path with courage and clear seeing! Vanessa

www.intentandaction.com

A Day @ The Beach Traversing Life's Debris Fields

Smooth sand littered with a few shells was my first impression of the beach at St. Augustine.  We had a heyday picking up those shells that lie on the beach margin.  What a variety of shapes and sizes and colors!  Eager to get to the waves we hurried across a debris field filled with tiny, sharp shells that dug into our tender feet with each step.  I found myself slowing and then stopping…if I just stood on the shells, my feet didn’t hurt!

But, the ocean whispered to me.  I persevered and soon was walking on an expanse of sand washed smooth by the waves.  Standing at the edge the waves teased me.  Some barely caressed my toes while others crashed into my knees.  With each wave shocked me with its coolness; I felt the sand continued to shift beneath my feet.

My journey across the landscape of sand to ocean seems a metaphor for life.  At times we stand in the margins looking with eager anticipation at what lies just outside our grasp.  We are on the edge of the action and remember with joy what has come before.  Perhaps we rush forward without understanding what challenges and learning lie in the path of our destination.

But soon we realize that the journey is the destination.  And, on the path, we find our challenges…those debris fields.  We feel those sharp edges that either slow us down or paralyze us.  We may delude our self into believing that if we do not move, we won’t hurt or suffer.  At some point we realize the cost of inertia and begin to move.

With curious daring and courage we discover ways to meet our challenges.  We gain the impetus to move past the challenges of our debris field and bask in the benefits of our success.  This is the place of possibility and newness.  Within this space we embrace the dynamic, organic way of transformation.  Here we rest in the present moment while enjoying the ebb and flow of our lives.  We feel the breeze gently caress our being.  We are present, aware, and enjoying the moment while knowing this place is a respite and a reward for challenges well met.

Here’s to our companions curious daring and courage. May they always walk with us on the journey!

Looking forward with Courage,

Vanessa

P.S. Watch my interview on FirstCoast.tv

Mushroom Hunting, A Contemplative Practice

How is compassion a lived experience? I best answer this question through my understanding of the connection between contemplative practice and compassion. Contemplative practice creates the silence in which compassionate action is birthed. Compassionate action sustains the environment in which contemplative practice flourishes. The image that best represents this connection for me is a bridge. As I journey across this bridge living in a transformative way, my contemplative intent and my compassionate action are aligned. I engage in compassion. Engaging Compassion Through Intent and Action, p. 7

What is a contemplative practice?  It is a quiet activity that increases your awareness by focusing your attention on the Sacred in your life.  It may be meditation, walking the labyrinth, Tai Chi, yoga, reading sacred scripture, walking, or...  When we become more mindful through engaging these practices, we become more aware of the distractions and can choose not to react to them.

Once we create a routine of nurturing this environment of quiet, we can identify the intent of our being.  Our intent, at some level, is to alleviate suffering.  So, we begin to identify opportunities to be compassionate to both our self and others.  As we respond to the opportunities, we are able to identify where compassion is calling us to act. 

As I write about contemplative practice, I am reminded me of the one time I went hunting for wild mushrooms. I couldn’t see the mushroom until I did. When I focused my attention suddenly I saw one, and then I saw them all!  Finding the mushrooms was only possible when I focused my attention…and, yes, those mushrooms are part of what I see as Sacred.  Years later I name the hunt as a contemplative practice!

Your lived experience is truly about you. When we focus our attention, we choose to feed in to our distractions or to live a life free of reactions to our distractions.  And, in this freedom we live out our compassionate intent through each action.

Here’s to aligning your intent and action in compassion focused ways!

Discovering the many contemplative practices in which we often unknowingly engage,

Vanessa

www.intentandaction.com