Well of Light
Attention, Awareness & Intention
When we learn to cultivate our capacity for being aware,
the quality of our life and the strength of our mind are enhanced.
Dr. Dan Siegel
Dear Ones,
Recently I had an amazing Tarot reading by Louise Dollin, a French woman living in Australia. It was such a brilliant reading that I had to have her on my radio show, Conversations. She wanted to tell me the season I was in right now, and I thought she would say fall, or winter, but instead she said you are in Hurricane season. You got that right sister! So many amazing opportunities and possibilities arising right now!
Recently I had an amazing Tarot reading by Louise Dollin, a French woman living in Australia. It was such a brilliant reading that I had to have her on my radio show, Conversations. She wanted to tell me the season I was in right now, and I thought she would say fall, or winter, but instead she said you are in Hurricane season. You got that right sister! So many amazing opportunities and possibilities arising right now!
I’ve just started doing the interviews for my yearly Shamanism Global Summit, which I produce for the Shift Network. It will air in July. Our new consulting firm, Quantum Consulting Group is starting to take off. Then there’s my weekly radio show (don’t miss this week’s interview with Dr. Dan Siegel and the amazing life altering new frontiers that are opening up in interpersonal neurobiology). My conversation with Dan led me heading to the amazing Timely Wisdom, Timely Action workshop in LA next weekend, which I will be reporting on. We also have a new workshop on Transforming Stress, Anxiety and Overwhelm in Vancouver May 4-5 coming up.
So, how am I, at 73 years young, going to do all this and much more, including the relational transition that Meriel and I are going through? Well, this may sound counter intuitive, but I couldn’t do it without the 90 minutes of meditation I do every morning. That’s what I want to share about with you this month. How to do more with less? Read on my friends...
In these rapidly changing and challenging times it is madness not to have some kind of meditation practice to ground, center and focus ourselves on what’s really important. It could be walking, sitting, or dancing meditation - there are many forms - I do all three of these, and what they give me is the spaciousness, awareness and peace of mind to accomplish more than I ever thought possible! There are 3 central practices of Mindfulness work that I want to share about in this newsletter; Attention, Awareness and Intention. I consider these the most important gifts of having a mindfulness practice.
Attention
The quality of one's life depends on the quality of attention. Whatever you
pay attention to will grow more important in your life.
Deepak Chopra
The quality of one's life depends on the quality of attention. Whatever you
pay attention to will grow more important in your life.
Deepak Chopra
Currently there is an epidemic of what we call Attention Deficit Disorder. We are constantly bombarded with news, information, social media tweets and opinions that distract, divide and fragment us. If we, and the rest of life on earth are to survive, we must learn how to focus our attention and concentrate on one thing at a time, and not be swept away by the plethora of distractions that constantly arise. This is how we cultivate the power of effective action, which is so needed in our world right now.
Awareness
Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things,
they are transformed.
Thich Nhat Hanh
Awareness is like the sun. When it shines on things,
they are transformed.
Thich Nhat Hanh
To still the mind we must first open to the terminal busyness of the “chat room” and how it affects our mental, physical and emotional health. By becoming more aware of the thoughts, emotions and sensations that keep us spinning in circles of repetition and doubt we can make conscious choices to focus on that which is truly important to us and life. When we are receptive to the thoughts, sensations and feelings which arise, without getting attached to them we actually create more space to choose actions which are consistent with our soul’s calling.
The Intention of Loving Kindness
With mindfulness, loving kindness, and self-compassion, we can begin to let go of our expectations about how life and those we love should be.
Sharon Salzberg
With mindfulness, loving kindness, and self-compassion, we can begin to let go of our expectations about how life and those we love should be.
Sharon Salzberg
Can we just love and accept all that arises within us? Holding the intention to be kind to ourselves and others, to actually embrace those parts of ourself that we deny and try to suppress, we open the door to wholeness. Resistance causes persistence. Acceptance of “what is” creates the opening and conditions for effective action. When we embrace our own pain and suffering we cultivate compassion towards ourselves and others. In doing this we recognize how truly interconnected we are with each other and all of life...
We have been acting as though we are separate; separate from our own bodies, emotions and impact on the world, separate from each other and separate from the natural world and all that has gone into our evolution. We are all at the same crossroads. We either accept our deep interconnection with all of humanity and the web of life, or we all perish together and end this human experiment. What will we choose?
By choosing focused attention, open awareness and loving kindness we vote for life! In separation we choose and escalate the divisiveness, doom and destruction towards which we are heading. Our ancestors and descendants are watching and wondering, will we make the evolutionary leap into inter-being or follow the path of righteous indignation and separation? What is the world that we envision - a world of possibility or probability - the choice is ours. We at the Well of Light are calling forth and living into the possibility of a true awakening of the global heart and value your partnership in bringing forth a world of love, peace and compassion. We are here to support you in any way we can. May we all be peaceful, at ease and kind towards ourselves and all of life...
With Love and Gratitude,
Michael
Michael
In the end, just three things matter:
How well we have lived
How well we have loved
How well we have learned to let go
Jack Kornfield
How well we have lived
How well we have loved
How well we have learned to let go
Jack Kornfield