Huge apologies for this late posting. I have the greatest excuse though - was finishing my Big Peace book and pinged it off to Hay House on Monday. I spent day and night at the weekend writing and editing and even worked through the night on sunday and it occurred to me - as I got that 2am despair 'this is rubbish' who will want to read this' to a 4am high 'I'm nearly there' 'this is really good' - what a rollercoaster this writing business is.
And how wonderful it is to have our writing tribe to support and cheer us on. So a big thank you to all of you for taking this Artist's Way journey with me. I'm not sure if I would have hit deadline without this process as a backdrop to my writing. It has kept me sane. And thank you for all the magnifcent and inspirational quotes that you sent me. It really lifted the book to another level. thank you.
We're on week 9, this week. And it's all about compassion. Compassion is a massive theme in my book - it's actually THE best route to your Big Peace. Compassion for ourselves and others has been scientifically proven to light up the left prefrontal lobe of our brains - the part of our brain that hosts our positive emotions. When brain imaging techniques were used to observe the brains of meditating monks - the bleepers went off the scale when the monks started to meditate with compassion.
I suppose it's about being kind to ourselves and others. Sometimes we can be so rough on ourselves and others. All that does us keep us seperate and disconnected. This week, let's be very, very kind to ourselves. Here is a loving kindness meditation that is in my Big Peace book:
Here is the compassion
meditation exercise from Happiness,
A Guide
to Developing Life's Most Important Skill by Matthieu Ricard.
"Begin by
generating a powerful feeling of warmth, loving-kindness, and compassion for
all beings. Then imagine those who are enduring suffering similar to or worse
than your own. As you breathe out, visualise that you are sending them all your
happiness, vitality, good fortune, health, and so on, on your breath in the
form of cool, white, luminous nectar. Picture them fully absorbing the nectar,
which soothes their pain and fulfils their aspirations. If their life is in
danger of being cut short, imagine that it has been prolonged; if they are
sick, imagine that they are healed; if they are poor and helpless, imagine that
they have obtained what they need; if they are unhappy, that they have become
full of joy.
When you
inhale, visualise your heart as bright luminous sphere. Imagine that you are
taking upon yourself, in the form of a gray cloud, the disease, confusion, and
mental toxins of these people, which disappears into the white light of your
heart without leaving any trace. This will transform both your own suffering
and that of others. There is no sense that you are being burdened by them. When
you are taking upon yourself and dissolving their sufferings, feel a great
happiness, without attachment or clinging.
You can
imagine that your body is duplicating itself in countless forms that travel
throughout the universe, transforming itself into clothing for those who are
cold, food for the famished, or shelter for the homeless.
“This
visualisation is a powerful means to develop benevolence and compassion. It can
be carried out anytime and during your day to day activities. It does not
require you to neglect your own well being; instead it allows you to adjust
your reaction to unavoidable suffering by assigning new value to it. In fact,
identifying clearly your own aspiration to well being is the first step towards
feeling genuine empathy for others’ suffering. Furthermore, this attitude
significantly increases your enthusiasm and readiness to work for the good of
others,” says Ricard.
Homework this week:
Oh my goodness, we get to read our morning pages back! always an interesting exercise.
Take stock, says Cameron, take heart and acknowlege.
Do the exercises this week that feel good and the ones you most resist.
and keep up with the morning pages.
xxxx
P.S I'm going to The London Writers Club tomorrow in London - I will be celebrating getting my book in. It's at the Hub in London from 6.30pm - come if you can. xxx
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