On Love, my Guest Blog post on the topic “Be Love” for Gently Moving Forward

Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude.

~ Denis Waitley

When asked to explore the topic of BE LOVE from my friend Kat of Gently Moving Forward, I felt overwhelmed and still do honestly. The topic of Love is no small thing. Artists of all kinds, from fine artists to songwriters, authors, screenwriters, dancers, musicians, actors and on and on have been diving deep and pulling up expressions on Love for millennia. I am reminded of something that a good friend and mentor said to me once, ART is like LOVE, it’s not easy to define or contain, Love is endless like the ocean. So, with that, I will contribute my current musings on this call to explore “Be Love.”

My artist palette, water series.

Love is finding a soul mate and life partner in the most roundabout and curious manner… I am amazed and grateful each and every moment of this miracle.

California Adventures!

Love is Mother Nature in all of her manifestations, the vast oceans, rivers and lakes, the rich and varied earth forms, the life-giving air, and transformative fire. She is my core inspiration for most of my artistic expressions in painting. The four primal elements and our home planet Earth give Love to us so abundantly and freely without any complaints, demands or refusals. She is always giving selflessly.

The majesty of mamma ocean

Love is the joy of creativity in any medium. I create art through painting and I have also discovered the joy of cooking for others in what I call my “creative kitchen.” I believe that conceiving of and preparing a meal for a beloved and loved ones is a simple necessity that has become one of my creative expressions throughout the days… as the saying goes, “a girl’s gotta eat, right?”

Home-made meal for two!

Love is the creatures of all types—four-leggeds, winged-ones, swimming ones, creepy crawlers, buzzing bees and the humming birds…. Every day I am in awe of our co-habitants and Spirit helpers. Love exemplified.

Sweet sea soul companions

Angel and Shanti

MuBee- a few weeks old!

Love is that profound knowing and love between my family, both biological and kindred-spirits in community. Love is when we just look at each other, communicate telepathically and feel each other through the breaths of everyday living, whether near or far.

My inspiration, my sister Alisa and I at the tide pools

Love is feeling compassion and being loving to the Self and Other despite the emotions that are stirred up when seeing injustices, inequalities, imbalances, or the pain and suffering of any living being through inner or outer wars or violence of any kind. Being a highly sensitive and empathic individual has its benefits for sure, though we may feel too much sometimes. The key I am discovering through the gentle and ongoing practice of Self Love is to continue to love, accept and be at peace with all aspects of the Self and of Other. A couple of modern-day teachers who explore this perspective are Byron Katie according, author of  Loving What Is  and  the work of Matt Khan and his Love Revolution and book Whatever Arises, Love That.

Looking ahead with the drishti (or soft divine gaze of Love)

Love is “not taking it personally,” this principle being one of my key intentions for the year of 2016 and believe me, once I shot that arrow into the air and shared that intention publicly, the little tests showed up and sometimes continue. The inspiration for transformation is LOVE indeed!

And, lastly for now, Love is remembering Who I Am. After many years of awakening, of teachings from teachers, readings from astrologers channelers and the like, to meditation retreats in India, Central America, across the US and beyond, guided rituals, self-help and psychology books, volumes of personal journals and on and on… One thing I have heard and seen over and over are these wise and simple words, Know Thyself, Remember Who You Are. And this my friends, is BEING LOVE and it’s free of charge, simply requires remembering more in the game of remembering and forgetting.

I leave you with one of my favorite poems on love by Rumi.
Let us fall in love again
and scatter gold dust all over the world.
Let us become a new spring
and feel the breeze drift in the heavens’ scent.
Let us dress the earth in green,
and like the sap of a young tree
let the grace from within sustain us.
Let us carve gems out of our stony hearts
and let them light our path to Love.
The glance of Love is crystal clear
and we are blessed by its light.

~translated by Azima Melita Kolin

Thank you for reading and I invite you to share your contributions via comments and connections and would love to hear your comments here, reach out via my Facebook page, explore my Art with Lórien online classes or email me at artwork@lorieneck.com.

In love, gratitude and beauty…

Art to Awaken Your Heart, Nourish Your Spirit

www.LorienEck.com

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Living an Inspired Life, with Guest Blogger: Kathleen Nelson Troyer

Today I get to share the awe-inspired words of my close friend Kat!  We share a deep love for the ocean and for so much of what the islands offer us as pure and simple inspiration!  I look forward to being a Guest blogger on her Gently Moving Forward‘s “BE LOVE” blog series during the month of February!  Stay tuned for that in the coming weeks here!  And, now Kat’s offering…It’s so gorgeous and profound! xoox

What inspires me?  

The Ocean is my biggest inspiration.

One of the things that Lórien and I have in common is our deep love of the ocean. Being near the ocean, walking at the beach and hiking along the cliffs is medicine for my body, mind and soul.  Swimming in the water with the wild dolphins in Hawaii is top on my list of inspirational activities! I will never forget swimming with the wild humpback whales in Tonga. Just thinking about being in the water with a mama humpback and her calf gets me inspired!  When I am in need of inspiration, one of the first things I will do is head to the beach. Even just 10 minutes at the shore can shift my energy level, provide clarity, and give me a fresh new outlook.

That special place.

We all have special places that make us feel good. I am grateful to feel that way about my backyard. It is a private, “secret garden” filled with flowers, trees, birds, and a warm hot tub/spa.  A little time in my backyard every day helps me to stay grounded and inspired.  I love to drink a cup of tea and listen to the birds sing. The beautiful trees help me feel grounded and strong. Sitting or floating in the hot tub is very relaxing and can sometimes change my state of mind completely.  Do you have a special place where you go to recharge and get inspired?

 

Inspirational fuel

Seeing someone take a project from the initial idea stage to completion lights me up. Allowing that to fuel my own creativity helps to give me the courage and clarity to pursue my own dreams. That is the spiral path that I want to be on, moving upward along with others. Our dreams are possible and within our reach if we are willing to do the work. Willing to bravely nourish our dreams. Willing to put the time and energy into making them come alive. Willing to ask for help. There is much we don’t have control over, but consistently moving toward the directions of our inspired dreams is something we really can do.  Every step we take brings us closer. We may need gentle reminders sometimes.  Cultivating relationships with others who are choosing to live inspired lives can serve us tremendously. One of the things that I have learned is that it is not only OK to ask for support, it is essential!

Choose Love over Fear.

Every day we have a choice.  We can choose to move us in the direction of our inspirations or we can get stuck in fear.  Everywhere we look we can see either love or fear. One of the easiest ways to make decisions based in love is to take a few breaths and become as present as possible in the moment. Think about the choice at hand and notice how you feel when making your decision.  When we choose a love-filled choice, it will feel light. If it feels heavy, there may be some fear in your decision.  Play with this and practice it for a bit. You may find that you have your own unique experiences that will help you to make more compassionate choices. The more I practice this simple process, the easier it is for me to make choices aligned with love.  Choosing love over fear is one of the greatest contributions we can make in our lives, both personally and collectively.

Practice Ho’oponopono

Forgiveness, Love and Gratitude are my Trinity.  Through all of my years of study, the most powerful tools I have learned are Forgiveness, Love and Gratitude. When I am stuck, one of these three will help me to shift my energy to get back on the inspiration highway. The ancient Hawaiians had a practice of atonement called Ho’oponopono. This practice involved using forgiveness, love and gratitude to transform issues, relationship challenges and other things can block our creativity and access to inspiration.  The next time an issue comes up, hold it in your mind’s eye and repeat the following:  I’m sorry. Please forgive me.  I love you. Thank you.  Try not to judge yourself or others as you practice. Start with yourself and then move on to other people or situations from there.

Take time to Retreat and Realign

Busy lives with many demands make it essential to unplug every now and then. I take myself on a personal retreat quarterly. Taking time to retreat helps me to review and reconnect with my goals, dreams and desires. These retreats ensure that I make time to bring more of my inspiration forward in my life. I look at what is working in my life as well as examining what isn’t working. There is something magical about choosing to align with what is working in our lives. By focusing on what is working well, we can tap into the flow of grace and ease in our lives.  Being in flow helps us to bring more of what we want into our lives.  Knowing what is working is key to help us to shift and release what isn’t working.  In these retreats, I allow time for rest, deep contemplation, integration, fun and inspiration!

Filling Up the Well.

In our modern-day world, there are so many choices and options available to us. While it is good to have many choices, sometimes it can be challenging to make inspired and aligned decisions. Learning to say “no” helps us to say “YES!” to the important things in our lives. Inspiration, like growth, is not a straight path. It is more like a spiral, evolving and moving forward. As we seek inspiration, it is important to be patient with ourselves and to practice self-care strategies that fill us up and support our body, mind and spirit. Self-care for me may be different for you. The key is finding what works for you!

What do you do to keep inspiration alive in your life?

Gently Moving Forward,

 

 

 

 

Kathleen Nelson Troyer is the founder of  Gently Moving Forward. She works with organizations and individuals as a retreat leader, consultant, coach, trainer and mentor.

She leads intensive individual and group retreats to Hawaii and other sacred spots on our planet. She also facilitates family and systemic constellations and believes in the power of forgiveness, love and gratitude to transform our lives.

Kat lives in a seaside cottage with a magical garden 25 miles south of San Francisco with her fabulous husband John, three cats and one dog.

She loves to travel, cook and hike. She is passionate about living a peaceful, joyful and inspired life.

Kat is the author of The Gently Moving Forward Guide to Inner Wisdom that is currently available as a gift to her newsletter subscribers. You can find Kat and get a copy of her book at www.kathleennelsontroyer.com

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Loving is Tending

Fire I, close up, 3’x4′, Mixed media on canvas, ©LEAD

Love is particular.

When you love someone,

A tangible, touchable someone,

The whole world opens up.

If you want to know the universe,

Dare to love one person.

All the secret teachings are here–

Go deeper, and deeper still.

The gift of concentration

Is the spaciousness that surrounds it.

Focus illuminates immensity.

Sutra 99

The Radiance Sutras: 112 Gateways to the Yoga of Wonder and Delight

(English and Sanskrit Edition, Lorin Roche, Ph.D.)

To love is to pay attention, to give attention, to tend to the being that is YOU or the being/s in front of you.  As I read this sutra above and allow its essence to permeate my awareness, my thoughts and feelings vacillate between the Self and the “other.”  Daring to love me, to know thyself through loving, tending to my own rich tapestry of intricacies is a day to day practice of tending my lifelong journey of wonder, magic, delight and actualization.  The word attention itself is derived from the words tender, tenderness, to tend to it.  Paying attention to the soul, the Self can be as natural as breathing, and is by default, a way of loving the Self.  We love ourselves as we pay attention to our physical needs, our emotional shifts, our thoughts about ourselves and our longings and yearnings in this life.  This way of perceiving how I love myself has been a refreshing, compassionate, kind and gentle way forward as I move forward on my life path.

Self love is the foundation for all other types of love.  Through my own deepening practice of Self love, I am progressively learning to love all else in a more attentive way… from my love for others, for the planet, for what I do, what I create, and everything else that I pay attention to that is outside the boundaries of this being that is Lórien.

Isn’t this perspective an exciting, beautiful and interesting method of loving the Self ?  Since this discovery, I have been in a constantly deepening state of awe, spaciousness and curiosity in love and life.  Awakening to loving myself in this way is transforming all of my interactions with others, from drivers on my morning commute, to my art students, to my more intimate connections, like family and close friends, and of course touching the details and entirety of my life existence in a way that is immeasurable, yet tangible at the same time.

I especially enjoy this line from Lorin Roche, “Love is a state of perceiving great value in the beloved.”  Love can therefore be a practice of paying attention and appreciating the layered nuances of the Beloved Self from the first moments of awakening in the morning to the last moments of alertness before falling into sleep and dream at night.  Aaahhhhhh…

Cast aside the ten thousand things,

And love only one.

Don’t go on to another.

Engage your lively awareness

With this one focus–

One object, one thought, one symbol.

Now go inside,

Find the center.

The soul, the heart.

Right here,

In the middle of the feeling,

Attend the blossoming–

Attention vast as the sky.

Sutra 39

The Radiance Sutras, Lorin Roche, Ph.D.

Thank you for reading and I invite you to share your contributions via comments and connections and would love to hear your comments here, reach out via my facebook page, or email me at lorien@lorieneck.com.

May your days be filled with a sense of wonder, love, creativity, adventure and play!

In love, gratitude and beauty…

Personally Experienced and Recommended Resources

Gently Moving Forward

Change Your Energy, Change Your Life with Kathleen Nelson Troyer

The Radiance Sutras

Paths to Enlightenment in Everyday Life

as translated by Lorin Roche, Ph.D.

Elixir

Songs of the Radiance Sutras

Sample Track: Go There

www.lorieneck.com

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