Thu 26 Aug 2010
August 26th, 2010: A Safe Harbor
Posted by Connie under Spiritual self help memoir
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August 26th, 2010: A Safe Harbor
I saw Eat, Pray, Love last weekend and thought it was amazing. Our Julia did a great job and when I realized she was in every scene, that was an amazing piece of work for her and the scenery was wonderful. It truly brought to life Elizabeth’s journey in her book.
One of the most impactful points in her book was when she decided to make her mind a safe harbor or something like that. She said that she would guard what came into her harbor with a very deep commitment. She was not going to let in any more garbage, my words and not hers. No more petty stuff, no more TV news, no more negativity. Those were not her exact words either but the seriousness with which she took her commitment and the tenderness with which she treated the subject touched me a great deal. I wept in acknowledgement when I first read it and when I tried to read it to a class of mine I got so choked up that I had to let someone else read it.
Training my mind to a more positive belief system and stepping into my own power has demanded that I take full responsibility for what I choose to observe. I watch very little TV, I don’t have contact with some of the people I used to have in my life, I choose my movies carefully that I want to go see, I redirect conversation when it starts to not feel good, I put down a book if it doesn’t feel good.
This came on slowly. I just didn’t go cold turkey one day but as I became more knowing that my feeling good was the key to whatever I wanted in my life I began to take how I was feeling much more seriously. I began noticing much more closely to how I was feeling. And, and I think this is a big “and”, I began to respect my feelings as the guidance that they are rather than just a pain in the ass that I was stuck with as a child.
You see I’ve always been especially sensitive and used to think this was just a weirdness and a cross to bear but then I began to see that I could also look at it as very sharp guidance. I could know quickly and powerfully whether something was feeling okay or not and then I can choose what to do about it. I began feeling appreciative that I was given this gift of being so connected to my Inner Being. And this is not easy to come to in a society that does not value emotions.
So, from seeing the emotional side of myself as “something is wrong with me” to seeing that side of me as just more evolved in some ways has greatly enhanced my well being as you can imagine. Wow, what I once viewed as my barrier to my happiness has become the key to my joy.
And with that key I am a good sentry for the harbor of my mind. I do take my job seriously and as a result my tolerance for not feeling good has gone way down and I will not expose myself to situations, people, whatever, that do not enhance how I’m feeling. And if I do encounter a situation that sucks, no matter. I can just use that bit of contrast to take the bounce and expand myself. Also I have a much greater awareness on just how much control I have over the way I feel!
And with these words I’m off to a women’s weekend which should be rich.
With love, Connie