Posts Tagged ‘Peace’
Leave the Nest of Certainty
Thursday, November 3rd, 2016
I’d rather live my dreams scared than look back and say I did nothing afraid. ~Mary Anne Flanagan
In Pema Chödrön’s book, The Places That Scare You, she writes about the experience of leaving the nest. In an excerpt from the book Pema Chödrön’s writes, “All too frequently we relate like timid birds who don’t dare to leave the nest. Here we sit in a nest that’s getting pretty smelly and that hasn’t served its function for a very long time. No one is arriving to feed us. No one is protecting us and keeping us warm. And yet we keep hoping mother bird will arrive.
We could do ourselves the ultimate favor and finally get out of that nest. That this takes courage is obvious. That we could use some helpful hints is also clear. We may doubt that we’re up to being a warrior-in-training. But we can ask ourselves this question: “Do I prefer to grow up and relate to life directly, or do I choose to live and die in fear?”
I sat in meditation to listen to the message of leaving the nest:
Leave the nest of the past. Continue to remove the covering around your heart and fly farther out into the world. You have experienced tremendous heart expansion and have gifted it to others as well. You have chosen a path of self-love and awareness. Spread your wings to more people. Soar higher and trust that you have everything you need. Leave the nest – it’s time to leave the comfortable and fly into uncertainty. Continue to fly with vulnerability and engage the world with your whole heart – your wild, cosmic heart. Some may think you are crazy. You are – with love. You love so deeply, you want others to experience that within themselves. Show the world your deep laughter, your love of nature, and your willingness to do it afraid. Leave the nest of certainty. For what awaits is far more delightful.
Amen.
What Does It Mean to Be Peace?
Tuesday, May 28th, 2013
How are you being peace in the world?
I recently launched a website, triZENbe (Zen Tribes). triZENbe is a global movement and community of people who want to bring (more) peace into their lives, into their homes, into their schools, into their communities, and into the World.
As I began to listen for my inner voice of peace, I became curious about when people experience peace. I had conversations with folks about what peace means to them.
What is your voice of peace? On the triZENbe website, there is a section called Zen Voices. I am looking to add ideas of what it means to be peace in the world. If you would be willing to add your voice to this page and share your thoughts about peace, please email me at maflanagan@toningtheom.com to listen for my inner voice of peace. I had conversations with folks about what peace means to them. I am curious about how and when people experience peace.
My hope is that by creating more peace within ourselves, we extend that to our “tribes” – whether our tribe is our family, friends, co-workers, community, and/or the world.
What does peace mean to you?
We are one thought away from peace. ~Mary Anne Flanagan
True Refuge of the Heart
Wednesday, May 15th, 2013
“We can find our true refuge within our our hearts and minds —right here, right now, in the midst of our moment-to-moment lives. We find true refuge whenever we recognize the silent space of awareness behind our busy doing and striving. We find refuge whenever our hearts open with tenderness and love. We find refuge whenever we connect with the innate clarity and intelligence of our true nature.”
—Tara Brach, True Refuge: Finding Peace and Freedom in Your Own Awakened Heart
What say you?
Where and how do you find your true refuge of the heart?
Forgiveness Brings Peace to All
Thursday, October 21st, 2010
“I want to forgive my father for kicking me out of the house, hating and rejecting me. And I want to forgive myself for believing him.” ~Email from a teenager
How has forgiveness brought peace to your life and your heart?
According to Positive Psychology founder, Martin Seligman, forgiveness can actually increase our overall health and well-being. As Seligman says, “People who are forgiving have less anger, less depression, less hostility, and are less neurotic and less vengeful. Forgiveness increases your own happiness.”
When asked if he has forgiven China, the Dalai Lama said (paraphrased): “They’ve stolen my land and country. I’m not going to let them steal my mind.”
To deepen your experiences of forgiveness, register for the upcoming 4-week course on radical forgiveness:
Resting in Radical Forgiveness 4-Week Telecourse
In this 4-week telecourse we will deeply examine forgiveness from many points of view. We will see where we are carrying the pain of not forgiving and why it is important to be free. We will spend time looking at the 4 levels of forgiveness.
You will leave the course with a deeper understanding of resting in radical forgiveness and the impact it has on your daily life. Guided meditation/imagery, deep listening, examining world views, and inspired writing are all a part of this course.
Mon., November 1, 8, 15, & 22, 2010. 8:00PM – 9:00PM(EST)
Investment: $99 (Limited to 10 participants).
Location: On the phone. The teleconference number will be given upon registration.
Pre-Registration Required: Email Mary Anne Flanagan at maflanagan@toningtheom.com
Peace Is Here and Now
Thursday, October 14th, 2010
In their new book, Peace in the Present Moment, Eckhart Tolle and Byron Katie remind us that stillness and peace exists in the present moment.
The most import, the primordial relationship in your life is your relationship with the Now, or rather with whatever form the Now takes, that is to say, what is or what happens. If your relationship with the Now is dysfunctional, that dysfunctional will be reflected in every relationship and every situation you encounter. –Eckhart Tolle
I don’t know what’s best for me or you or the world. I don’t try to impose my will on you or on anyone else. I don’t want to change you or improve you or convert you or help you or heal you. I just welcome things as they come and go. That’s true love. The best way of leading people is to let them find their own way. –Byron Katie
Yes, Peace is Now.
Mary Anne
The photograph was taken by Michael Penn. To see more of his brilliant photography go to: http://michaelpennphotography.com/
What Is The Cost of Intolerance? Lives.
Friday, October 1st, 2010
As I read the reports of the tragic suicide of Tyler Clementi who leapt to his death from the George Washington Bridge after allegedly having his sex life broadcast all over the web, I am saddened by the disregard for basic humanity and dignity. More information will come out about this story, but the invasion of privacy and the bullying that takes every day is unacceptable. In the meantime, I send my thoughts and prayers to Tyler’s family as they mourn their loss.
According to the Associated Press, there have been at least 12 cases in the U.S. since 2003 in which children and young adults between 11 and 18 killed themselves after falling victim to some form of “cyberbullying” — teasing, harassing or intimidating with pictures or words distributed online or via text message. And according to statistics, gay and lesbian youth are four times more likely to attempt suicide.
I personally know the pain of wanting to hide my sexuality and even having suicide as an option as a teenager. Luckily for me, I was never humiliated or harassed. I didn’t experience the hate and intimidation that so many of our gay youth face.
Every time we destroy another human being in any way, we destroy something far greater than one individual or group.
What is the cost of intolerance? Lives.
Mary Anne
Why Meditate?
Wednesday, September 8th, 2010
What’s the point? I am often asked this question after people have tried to meditate. Many people say that they can’t meditate. There is the misconception that meditation is about shutting down or shutting off the mind. In fact, it is the opposite. The whole point of meditation is to allow the mind to feel free. The best meditations happen when we can acknowledge our thoughts flowing through us without judgment. And like anything we want to cultivate, meditation is a practice.
Meditation is about cultivating the mind. The very word “meditation” in Sanskrit means “to cultivate.” In Tibetan, the word meditation translates into gom, which means, “to become familiar with.” Meditation is about becoming familiar with ourselves over and over again. It allows us to cultivate the chatter and draw out what we have kept stuffed inside.
Cultivating our mind is essential if we want to develop our emotional well-being, create inner peace, and our service to others. The more we attempt to block thoughts during meditation, the louder they will be. The whole purpose of meditation is to show us what we need—to allow our thoughts to arise and dissolve into mindfulness. This might mean allowing ourselves to set a course that is most desirable for our experiencing peace.
Imagine the benefit of giving ourselves a new experience of the world with each passing breath. All it takes to start is ten to twenty minutes daily to get to know our mind.
Why do you meditate?
Mary Anne
OM Meditations & Contemplations
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010
Let’s celebrate the summer with some sweet thoughts and questions and allow them to enter your heart. Gift yourself a few moments of going inside and listening to stillness. Watch your thoughts flow and become waves in the ocean. Just be.
As an invitation, feel free to close your eyes, sit with your spine straight, and take a few soft breaths. Then inhale a little deeper through your nose, and on the exhale, repeat the mantra OM (AUM). Do this three times. Allow yourself to really feel everything and become the observer of your thoughts. Feel free to focus on one question or statement below and just allow your experience to unfold.
The kinder I am to myself, the more kindness I attract.
If it is not love, then it is an illusion.
How much am I carrying around with me as a form of comfort or because I want to hold onto it to feel more secure? What am I willing to let go of?
What is something that teaches you to hurry up and wait?
The answers appear as the question of the heart.
How are you growing the garden of you?
Each person will have their own experience so the invitation is to be open for whatever thoughts flow through you. Allow your mind and body to expand into the experience (without judgment). Feel free to start with whatever mantra calls to you.
We are all one.
Mary Anne
Honoring the Sacred
Wednesday, May 19th, 2010
Honor the sacred.
Honor the earth, our mother.
Honor the elders.
Honor all whom we share the earth.
Four-leggeds, two-leggeds, winged ones,
Swimmers, crawlers, plant and rock people.
Walk in balance and beauty.
—Native American Elder
How do you honor the sacred?
In beauty,
Mary Anne
Stillness in 20-Zen
Friday, January 1st, 2010
As we start the New Year, may it begin with stillness. In the quiet places of our hearts, may we take a moment each day to breathe slowly and deeply, and then step into our day from a sense of peacefulness. I am not one to make resolutions, however, I do look at my year and set goals with clear action steps, and time for reflection. I am also starting a new accountability project with a friend that will allow us to share where we are at with our goals, express our learning, and any roadblocks. I am holding myself accountable to writing more and slowing down the pace. This might mean attending less events and an emptier calendar and it feels the perfect way to start 2010 (aka 20-Zen). In an effort to take this Zen approach this year, I offer some of my meditations as a way to explore stillness in 20-Zen.
“We are all just a thought away from stillness.”
“Do it afraid. Do it despite yourself. Do it anyway.”
“You hold the Master key to the prison of your mind.”
“Bring love to all your work and inspired action will follow.”
“Rest in the place of great love.”
“I smile. You smile. The world smiles.”
“Life is full of music. What song are you singing?”
“Forgiveness is the window of the soul through which only light shines.”
“When stressful thoughts arise, breathe them, bless them, and blow them away with love.”
“Saying a prayer is expressing a big part of you to a bigger part of YOU.”
“How you breathe and how you feel are related. Breathe love.”
“Begin a resting practice of noticing the space between the words.”
May 2010 bring you a love-filled year with unshakable peace. Happy 20-Zen!
— Mary Anne