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What is your Body Telling You?

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girl_smell_flower

What we feel in our physical bodies and our emotions, memories and experiences is inextricably wound together in ways that we can only begin to imagine. The connection between what we think and how we feel is becoming more and more well documented and well considered, but I believe that the room for exploration of this connection is still in its infancy. I also know that this connection can be exploited for the purposes of bringing people relief in a more profound and complete way. While you … [Read more...]

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Exploring the relationship between our bodies and our emotions

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man_graffiti

What we feel in our physical bodies and our emotions, memories and experiences are inextricably wound together in ways that we can only begin to imagine. The connection between what we think and how we feel is becoming more and more well documented and well considered, but I believe that the room for exploration of this connection is still in its infancy. I also know that this connection can be exploited for the purposes of bringing people relief in a more profound and complete way. While … [Read more...]

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Immersed in the Sea of the World

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Sciandra

There is a yearning we have as humans: to join with the flow and essence of the world around us. It creates a nostalgia for something we know we've experienced, yet cannot put a name to. There is a longing to be part of the greater whole. It is nearly impossible to walk to the edge of the ocean and not to kick off your shoes, wade in and let the waves lick against your ankles, to find a path in the woods and not take it, to come to a hill and not climb it. I grew up near Niagara Falls, and no … [Read more...]

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Right speech: Look at the intent behind your words

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children_school

If you regularly read my column, you probably know that all of my columns are, in some aspect, very personal. One of the trickiest parts of writing these personal stories is that so often, it is not just my story. If it involves someone else, I am always cautious, as it is not only my story to tell. In C.S. Lewis' A Horse and His Boy, as the great lion Aslan reveals his role in the unfolding of events to each person, each character has questions arise regarding things that have happened to … [Read more...]

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Becoming Habitually Present

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sciandra

I want to be more present. I really do, but I find myself slipping into states of mindlessness more often than I'm comfortable with. I, of course, have no idea that I am checked out until something occurs to snap me back, and I realize that "Elvis has left the building" (as I have dubbed it). I have explored the virtues of mindfulness many times in my writing, so you know that it is something I place great importance on, so these occurrences are a regular wake-up call to me of how far I have … [Read more...]

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Life now, and in transition

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sciandra

We live in a world that lives by the rule of impermanence and I find myself fascinated by it. It is that fascination of those things we both fear and awe. For example, I am unreasonably bothered by the idea that our sun will burn out to the point where it will no longer be able sustain life on earth in about a half a billion years (for perspective, about 2,500 times the amount of time that humans have been on earth), and yet I am also completely fascinated by the ephemeral nature of things. I am … [Read more...]

Category: Spirituality Tags:

Making Room for Kindness

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woman_smile2

Sometimes, there are things you know and understand. Intellectually, you grasp the validity and value of these ideas, and practices; you are able to see their truth and wisdom, but don't feel that you have any sort of relationship with them. Suddenly, you have some sort of visceral experience, make a physical connection, or maybe just an "aha" moment, and you have an insight into this thing you've known and understood in a pure, theoretical way, and you get it on a whole different level. You … [Read more...]

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Clarity of each moment, for only that moment

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sciandra

In the pre-dawn light of early morning, I stood at my post, observing as the doshi bowed, bowing just as he always does and as he has done more than a thousand times before. Suddenly, I was struck by a sensation of ease and opening within myself as I experienced a sense of profound clarity. I could see completely, and simply how the bow was merely itself, without significance or import; I saw how each movement was unremarkable, not representative of anything. Yet, in the moment, the act was … [Read more...]

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Adjusting Your Response is Healing

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costumes

Charles Schultz once said, "I love humanity; it's people I can't stand." And truly, one of the great challenges of being human is encountering other humans. It is an unavoidable truth that interacting with people usually results in some kind of reaction, often strongly emotional. There are interactions that can provoke a great amount of frustration, irritation, or impatience. Sometimes they fuel our weaknesses and shortcomings, or push our hot-buttons. Aren't there times that you just wish … [Read more...]

Category: Health

Being Mindful is how to Live Fully

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sciandra

We spend much time in our lives failing to live fully, going through the motions. Being mindfully present allows not only clarity, but also invokes a state of peaceful oneness, providing the opportunity to be of benefit to all others. We are constantly lured away from this state by enticements that are powerful, insidious and almost irresistible. About 2,500 years ago, the Buddha sat down under a tree and made the commitment to sit in that very spot until he became enlightened. After a while, … [Read more...]

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Acceptance and learning the lesson

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bell_hands

It was one of those months. Death in the family, complicated hospitalizations, interrupted meditation retreat, equipment failures, delivery of damaged goods, dental infections and car accidents, not to mention the general chaos associated with the holidays. Every time some sort of major event happened, I thought to myself, "There's a lesson to be learned here." And each time I thought I knew what the lesson was, something else would happen to shift the gaze, sharpen the focus. It sure seems … [Read more...]

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Caring for others need not be a stranglehold

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sciandra

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, and I believe it. In fact, I'm pretty sure that I have earned my own hard hat and orange safety vest. Many sensitive, lovely people are genuinely committed in their hearts to making the world a better place. Unfortunately, this noblest of goals can set up them up for a nasty trap. The messes that can be made by stepping in to resolve a problem are often far greater than might result from being hands-off. The drive to care for others … [Read more...]

Category: Life

A compassionate presence: A more authentic response

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sciandra

Several years ago I read the following: "It's not a hot flash, it's a power surge." Now at the time, I had never had a hot flash. I wasn't even sure I knew anyone who had hot flashes, but instinctively, I took offense at this. There was something about the relentless optimism I saw being expressed that sounded like utter crap to me. What little I'd heard told me that these were unpleasant experiences and pretending they weren't was disingenuous, as well as shaming to anyone who didn't share the … [Read more...]

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Giving and receiving: We all share the healing

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sciandra

For a week I've hardly been able to go anywhere or have a conversation with anyone without the encountering the subject of giving. It began when I met a friend for dinner in Downtown St. Paul near her workplace. We were returning to our cars when a woman approached us asking for the location of a battered women's shelter. What it turned out she was really looking for was bus fare to Minneapolis, which I ended up giving her. As I drove home, I realized I was feeling resentment; I felt … [Read more...]

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Immersed in the Sea of the World

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Sciandra

There is a yearning we have as humans, to join with the flow and essence of the world around us. It creates a nostalgia for something we know we've experienced, yet cannot put a name to. There is a longing to be part of the greater whole. It is nearly impossible to walk to the edge of the ocean and not to kick off your shoes in order to wade in and let the waves lick against your ankles, to find a path in the woods and not take it, to come to a hill and not climb it. I grew up near Niagara … [Read more...]

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