by Susan Grace on September 3, 2010
This is my newest favorite bumper sticker. It says in so few words what I often take longer to articulate.
I’m in the midst of a radical home remodel now. My home is a haven for me, under normal circumstances, and the intention of the project is to make it MORE of a haven. Or maybe a heaven. But in the meantime….it’s feeling more like a hell, with pounding and sawing while I’m living and seeing clients in the Oasis. They seem to feel it as an oasis from their lives, but I’ve been having some trouble experiencing that.
Except when I remember where my home REALLY is. And sometimes it takes a bumper sticker. When I live (and work) from my heart, I’m already home. And from that place, the sounds are the sounds of change, of possibility. Of heaven.
by Susan Grace on June 30, 2010
I’ve spent a whole lot of my life in a search for truth, beauty, goodness, The Way. Much of what has motivated me has been from that deep longing that propels each of us to connect with the sacred in life.
No regrets. But lately I’ve been thinking of calling off the search. Because it feels like peace. (What better reason would there be?) When I’m craving something to eat, drink or do that will fill a hole, I’m usually believing that my current state isn’t okay.
Take yesterday. I’d just returned home from an event where I had a lot of responsibility. I was tired and still needed to meet commitments here. So what did I do? What any insane person with a penchant for sweets would do. I kept walking to the fridge looking for something sweet that would keep me from experiencing my fatigue. I kept searching, just as I’ve searched for the magic answer in my life.
Awakening this morning in a more rested mind, I notice there wasn’t anything to search for. Birds are being birds. Clouds are clouding. Trees are leafing. And I’m simply here. The seeking is blessedly ceased.
So I’m committing to hospitality for me here. How will I greet my cravings, here at The Cafe at the End of the Search?
I’m curious.
by Susan Grace on June 22, 2010
I’m about to head off for a 5-day retreat at my favorite hot springs. (Here in Oregon at this time of year, hot springs are perfect because we’re still in our long spring season). I’m preparing the materials, going to the Farmer’s Market for local flowers, flowing from here in the valley to there in the mountains.
Peaceful. As long as I remember to notice when beliefs would pull me out of the flow. (“I’m in charge and something will go wrong,” leading to “I’m not good enough,” or “I’ll make a ton of mistakes.”
Sometimes just noticing is enough, sometimes I need to sit down with a pen and write it out. Which is what I just did after my morning meditation. I dumped them all out on the page, did some inquiry, and at this moment I truly understand why I’m doing this. I’m in the peace beyond belief.
Not all my friends and clients can be there in the mountains with us, of course, but each of us can choose to move to the land beyond belief when we remember to pause, slow down the mind, ask a few questions, find the flow of reality, which is peace. Join us in finding (and re-finding) the Peace Beyond Belief.
by Susan Grace on June 16, 2010
I’ve become more and more aware of how change shows up in the last few years, working with dozens of clients and mentoring many of them over an extended period of time.
What one principle emerges from this work? This: Change happens on unseen levels first. I learned early on that focusing on a problem (say, weight loss or clutter clearing) as a first focus just doesn’t usually work. Yes, there may be improvement out front, but it usually doesn’t last. That’s the not-so good news.
The great news is that there is a path to lasting change. It starts out as a secret that only you know. You begin to get curious about what keeps you enslaved in thoughts and habits that don’t work any more. You commit to checking it out, to getting “under the hood” by watching your schtick in a friendly way, curious to discover what’s true for your essential self. It’s a quiet process that gains momentum and gradually begins to show up in your outer world. An inner process of self-discovery that ripples into all parts of your life.
But it really is a secret that only you (and maybe a trusted friend or two) knows for a while. Then your body, your environment shows the result. Can you live into this secret?
