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Health Resiliency(returning to strength and health after the heart procedures)– Blog 3-14-16 by Patricia Flasch

3/14/2016

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“I feel sure that whatever happens to this battered old cage of mine, the tiny bird inside will be all right.”  George Meredith
 
Kind Readers,
 
As I began 2016, I chose two primary intentions for this coming year.  The first was health resiliency and the second was voluntary simplicity. In the February newsletter, I'll speak more about simplicity.
 
In this blog, I'm going to share what's happening in the health department.  In gathering together my resources so that I could get clear about my initial direction, I saw that “heart health”, because rapid heartbeat is affecting every single aspect of my vitality and life force, was the place to start. 
 
I began asking the question, what measures could I take to address this 3-year struggle with my heart.  I found a well-known heart surgeon in Albuquerque who specializes in the kind of heart issues I've been having.  He suggested I get a cartia oblation which would likely stop the a-fib.  The surgery itself was successful and my sweet heart is now in a regular rhythm. There is a new calmness flowing through my body.  The physical rebound after the surgery is going well.  In 6-8 weeks I will know if the oblation is likely to hold (so far so good!)
 
On the emotional/spiritual plane things have been rugged.  The old familiar refrain that “I've done something wrong” or “something is wrong with me” has resurfaced and has been holding on for dear life.  None of the tools I use to move through my process has worked at all.  It has felt a bit like slogging around in quicksand. 
 
I have not been resilient or resourceful at all.  And I so judge myself for this.  It's hard to make room to be just a regular human being, afraid of dying, sitting in pain, feeling disconnected from the personal God of my understanding.  I'm a hot mess and I may be for some time.  Perhaps you've been there – in that place where self-acceptance seems to be a remote possibility.
 
My dear friend suggested I just let myself fall apart.  I laid on the couch in fetal position for a while crying and moaning.  Giving myself room to feel broken brought a great sense of relief. You can see that the anger/denial stage of my recovery began slowly moving towards acceptance just by virtue of allowing myself to fall apart.
 
I asked myself “what if I were to love, even cherish, the parts of me who are insisting that “there's something wrong with me”?  What if  you were to do the same?  I believe there is a spark inside, that is not touched by my human condition, which remains vibrant even though I can't see it with the naked eye.
 
Admitting that I'm not resilient nor resourceful and sinking into that IS the start of self acceptance.
 
Here's a summary of the steps indicated in my personal example above!
STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TOWARDS MANIFESTING YOUR 2016 GOAL
  1. Name and claim your intention like it's living in you in NEON LIGHTS.
  2. Break your intention into steps doing one action to support your intention at a time.
  3. Take an action and notice how it lands physically, emotionally and spiritually
  4. Celebrate the successes while working through your resistance.
  5. Take the next right action.
  6. Forgive yourself along the way for being less than perfect!
I would be delighted if these steps were to enhance your journey towards what matters most to you in your life this year...
 
Thanks for listening,
Patricia
​
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TWIN THEMES FOR 2016(Resiliency and Simplicity) by patricia flasch (December blog)

1/3/2016

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Kind Reader:

I've done some soul searching to see what it is I'd really like to place in the heart of 2016.  Perhaps you'd like to do the same.  When we focus on the heart of the matter, my experience is all else falls into place.  One way to find the heart is to notice what it is in your life that has not been feeling so fulfilling anymore.  Another way is to look at what you truly long for.  Way deep down, past the noise, the clutter and the “to do” list, what is it that you genuinely desire?
 
Perhaps these questions are not easy, but they certainly do offer a way to give more meaning to your life. I've come upon my themes organically.  The last two-three years I have been experiencing a variety of health concerns.  Prior to this time, my health was robust and I identified myself as “woman who has great health”.  Since this is no longer true, I've begun identifying myself as “woman who has poor health.”  These two identifications and dualities have caused much unrest and self- criticism.  Even the so-called positive identification sets up failure by making great health better than not-so-great-health.  I am, and you are, so much more than whatever is going on with the body.
 
I can see I am not really either of these women, the one with the “great” health, or the one with the “poor” health; who I truly am is a Sweet Old Soul.  My true self is the One who holds the space for my heartbreaking humanity and my divinity.  And, so are you, whether you know it or not.  Either way, what my body is or isn't does not detract from my Presence.
 
So, my first theme this year is resiliency.  I'd like to create this way of looking at my health that includes a deep desire to take care of myself on every level.  I'd like to stop orienting around the “poor health” theme and step into the creativity of being with my body as a part of “The Beloved.”  I'm excited about all the ideas I've come up with to hold HEALTH RESILIENCY in the heart of my life this year.
 
Resiliency is defined as ability to recover readily from illness, depression, adversity or the like; returning to the original form.  My own personal definition of health resiliency isn't really that I return to the woman I was before the health issues, but rather that I take every step imaginable to recover while at the same time being entirely willing to live alongside physical challenges.  I want to meet them with courage and compassion and then allow healing to take place spiritually and emotionally.  Whether my physical body improves or heals is in the hands of the Great Mystery.
 
The second theme that's made itself clear in me is “voluntary simplicity.”  While I don't want to retire, as I love the soul work I do with folks, I do want to simplify. I want to keep my hours easy and the time I spend with clients to be rich with depth, laughter and tears.  I want the hours I spend in my life's work to be a sanctuary for me and for each person I work with as we effortlessly move into a more deliberate and conscious way of living all aspects of our lives.  
 
I want to live even more from my essence or core and I want to pass that on to those I touch.  I want to be more intimately connected to the people, places and things that matter most to me.  I want to pause frequently to ask the question, "what is it that I want to do with the remaining wild and precious days of my life?”
 
“Voluntary Simplicity” by Duane Elgin says that simplicity is choosing to moderate material wants and redirect activities so that we live with an ever-increasing lightness of being.  I want to do what I can to move busyness to beingness.  I'm looking forward to de-cluttering the closets, simplifying our finances, and looking for ways to make my life smaller but more connected.
 
We leave tomorrow for Arizona to spend the last days of the year with a dear friend and pick up our new puppy from his “Doggie Boot Camp Training.”  While we travel, we'll be listening to some tapes called “Your Money or Your Life,” by Joe Dominguez.  Joe's primary message was to make the quality of your life, your values and your relationships more important than accumulating more stuff or climbing any more ladders. This will be a great way to get the themes off the ground.
 
In the first quarter of 2016, I'm intending to use both blogs and newsletters to reflect further on resiliency and simplicity.  I hope these themes are meaningful to you, dear reader, or that it's easy enough to plug in your own themes and get value out of the material I offer.
 
Thank you for your sweet listening hearts this past year,
Patricia
 
“I want to live deep and suck all the marrow out of life.”
Henry David Thoreau
 
 ​

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Loving my body is caring for the temple

11/23/2015

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Picture
Credit: Carolyn Lake
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit?”
 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 New International Version

Dear Sweet Listeners:
I remember back in the day when I was a little catholic girl, hearing the message that the body is the “temple of the Holy Spirit.”  I certainly didn't know what that meant, but a seed was planted.  Today, at 67, I am really integrating that idea.  For most of my life, it felt as if “I” was my mind or my will or that I was married to success.  The body was just something I was dragging around behind me taking care of it when it broke down. 

Even though all these years I've been getting body work, taking regular yoga classes, swimming, hiking, etc., my body wasn't a priority but rather more of a nuisance and sometimes a casual friend that I occasionally met when it cried out for attention.  On the outside I was taking care of my body but deeper inside I was living from a position of “benign neglect.”
It really wasn't my intention to ignore my body, it was just that there were so many more important things.  

Today, as I age, and as my body requires so much more attention, I'm learning that it is no longer the background music, but rather the foreground; the place of homecoming.  It's often been said that when we have our health, we tend to take if for granted.  When we do not have our health, it colors every aspect of our lives and moves towards center stage.

A PERSONAL EXAMPLE:  My own health is definetly center stage right now.  A few years ago, I had a heart condition called takotsubo which was a weakening of a heart muscle. The heart muscle mended but I have since been taking heart and stroke prevention medication.  My body doesn't accept the medication easily, so the symptoms have been crazy-making.

About 3 months ago I discovered a world-renowned acupuncturist here in Santa Fe.  He diagnosed my condition as adrenal fatigue.  The hospital misdiagnosed the heart condition and thus gave me meds for high blood pressure.  I actually have low blood pressure so the meds were causing fainting and dizzy spells and 4 trips to the ER.

Now a whole new perspective on my health has been opening up. Adrenal fatigue is often the cause of many chronic illnesses including depression, anxiety, insomnia, allergies, heart problems, respiratory infections, etc.,  Most people with adrenal fatigue do not look ill, but do function at a much lower energetic level, have grayed out feelings and have trouble getting off the couch.  All of these symptoms have been a part of my journey.  If you'd like to pursue this topic further, James Wilson's groundbreaking book “Adrenal Fatigue – The 21st century Stress Syndrome” is a great resource.

It's actually been both a treasure and a pleasure to get the new diagnosis and begin loving my body by offering it as many healing resources as I can. I truly am now treating my body as a “temple of the Holy Spirit.”  I've been waking up each morning saying “hello adrenals.  I'm so sorry for ignoring you for so many years.  I'm here now.  I'm at your service.  I didn't know how important you are and now that I do, I'm on a path for your recovery.” 
Acupuncture, the new nutritional program, herbs and rest have already improved my heath considerably.  Six weeks ago, I was operating at about 25% of my usual life force, energy patterns.  Today I am already up to 45%.  

I'm grateful and I wanted to pass on the bigger message that your body is a Temple of the Holy Spirit – so please treasure your beloved body,  dear ones, and, the side message is that you may be suffering from adrenal fatigue as well.  If you want to find out you would contact a naturopath to take a saliva test for levels of cortisol.  That would tell you if you have adrenal fatigue and at what level you may have it.

As I close this blog for today, I wanted to thank you for listening and invite you to consider befriending your own sweet body on a whole new level.  Who knows what could happen if our bodies were held as sacred and we treated them with reverence.

“The purpose of your adrenal glads is to help your body cope with stresses.  Your resiliency, energy, endurance and your very life all depend on their proper functioning.”  James Wilson, “Adrenal Fatigue”

All honor to you,
   Patricia


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The Connection Between a Broken Heart and an Open Heart

10/30/2015

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Picture
Credit: Carolyn Lake
Kind Readers:I was at a Silent Retreat a few weeks back.  It was a sweet, deep, completely nourishing experience.  The staff and facilitators cradled us so beautifully that it was like resting in the arms of GRACE herself.  The meals served were both moderate and exquisite.  Within the quiet tribe at the retreat, I experienced a true communion.  The yoga classes were the gentlest I've ever received.

One of the wise women at the retreat was sharing about a practice she uses where at the end of each day that she has made progress on her path and taken action in her own behalf, she places a star on the calendar.  When she has a day full of mistakes and self criticisms, she puts a heart on that day to symbolize self- compassion.  I love her metaphor.  Stars or hearts – they both work for me.

When my heart is broken and I'm acting out of my wounding and then I cannot remember how to be kind to myself, what I most need is my own compassion.  That compassion is the direct path to returning to my own open heart.  I believe that the broken heart lives within the open heart.  A poem popped out at the retreat about mercy.


Mercy” by Patricia Flasch  (Oct. 19, 2015)


Sometimes mercy recedes into the background –NO MERCY LIVES HERE!
Something is surely “wrong” with this aging body.
The chronic old belief “Something is wrong with me” REIGNS...

Most every feeling that is anything less than “positive” -
fear, worry, helplessness, neediness or anger
ARE NOT WELCOME HERE!

Then somehow Mercy makes herself known.Perhaps she arises from this desperate call for help.
Maybe she is an answer to a prayer.
Perhaps she was there all along, like the sun behind the clouds.

She says:  “Every part of this aging body and
every single emotion is HOLY
A blessing not a curse.

This heartbreaking humanity IS the link that connects us;
It is our intimacy dance.
Aging bodies and vulnerable emotions bring us Home
to MERCY herself!



What I most long for this lifetime is an inner marriage between MERCY (the broken heart) and CONNECTION (the open heart).  When that inner marriage is happening, I am wholly present with you, kind reader, with my husband, with my students, my friends and all sentient beings.  Perhaps you have also noticed how your own tenderness towards yourself spreads out into your world.

When I look back at the losses that became dark nights of the soul in my own life, every single place of broken-heartedness has been followed by a period of grace and heart.  My life, after integrating a loss, opens like a lotus flower.  If you'd like, you could make a list of your own losses.   In the next column you could write about what you learned from each loss.  Then you could write a last column on how that loss opened your heart.  As you write, you may discover  more about how loss and brokenness lead to learning and opening.

As I've been growing my ideas about who is part of the personal God of my understanding, I've added Quan Yin.  In the East, she is one of the most beloved Goddesses.  She is the One who sees and hears the cries of the human world.

Bowing towards each of you and Quan Yin, Goddess of Mercy,   

Patricia


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Letting Go and Letting G O D (Good Orderly Direction)

10/20/2015

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Picture
Credit: Carolyn Lake
“I have an unshakeable faith in the perfect outcome of every situation in my life!”(author unknown)

“I'm LEARNING TO HAVE an unshakeable faith in the perfect outcome of every situation in my life.”  (Patricia's adapted quote)


Kind Reader:

Well, the virtual retreat that I've been building and promoting the last few months FLOPPED!

Those of you who have been reading these blogs and newsletters know that I had been launching my first virtual retreat and putting my whole self in.   Those who are new to this newsletter will find out the story now.  Here's what happened.  In the past two weeks, every time we tried to work with the technology to support the retreat, something broke down.  First the video was a problem, then later this newsletter itself wouldn't fit centered on the page no matter what we did to fix it.  Few people were signing up – another sign that something was “off center”.  For a while I doubled my efforts.

Maybe you have had this kind of experience when you are trying to bring forward a cherished dream or project.  It's expected when bringing out something new, that challenges will emerge that are part of the learning curve.  Maybe you have felt like giving up hundreds of times, but pursued your goal anyway.  Maybe you have given up.  There is a difference between “giving up” and “letting go.”  The difference is whether or not you are listening to the deepest voice inside or just the voice of fear.  The difference is whether or not you can open your heart to God's plan even if it turns out to be the opposite of what you had in mind.

In my career, hundreds of babies have been born and a few have not made it out into the world.  My babies are workshops, seminars and retreats.  As I began to take stock of the situation, I could see that if I wanted to try “to make the baby pop out”, I could use some of the old style marketing tools – like making personal phone calls maybe convincing students to join me, continuing to picture the way I WANTED IT TO TURN OUT!  The “don't spare the torpedoes, full speed ahead” approach. Or, I could let go.  While partnering with my web master and social media man, PAUL ZELIZER OF PAUL ZELIZER CONSULTING,  we agreed to let go. The process of birthing the retreat was also taking countless extra hours and raising his stress level right along side mine. We listened to our inner voices.
We partnered beautifully.  There was no blame and no shame on either part.  We looked at what the spiritual messages behind the technical and enrollment challenges might be.  I learned SO MUCH. I could see that when the newsletter WOULD NOT CENTER on the page, that I have been a bit off center myself.  This virtual retreat was a wonderful idea, but it wasn't coming from the bottom of my soul.  I could also see that I'm between the old world way of offering seminars and the more millenial new world way.  I'm in the middle, and can't move myself any faster to the new way.  Don't really want to “push” myself out into the world either.
We came up with a wonderful way that I could continue my newsletter, blogs and social media presence at a more moderate pace.  When I finally made the decision to let go, I had a few days of grief, despair, frustration, etc.,  These feelings, while they haven't remained with me, were so necessary for my growth – falling apart is ALWAYS key to my transformation.  I am so grateful for all the support I received as I walked through this particular dark night.

I'm encouraging each one of you who may be facing a difficult challenge in your personal or professional lives, as you attempt to bring something forth into the world – to attend to yourself with great care and awareness.  Whether you decide to keep on going, or to let go, know that you are and beautiful just as you are.  A loving God says “hey, I have room on my lap for you.  Come on up, sit close, while I hold you, sweet child of my heart.”

Now, this is a few days later and I am truly relieved.  I am so grateful for every part of the journey.  The title of the retreat was “Coming Home to Your Sweet Old Soul.”   That's what happened for me – I CAME HOME on a whole new level.  I discovered I don't want to go out in the world, at least not now in the virtual retreat type way.  It's my inner world that I am most being called towards.  Even if that changes in 2016, I trust the letting go message now.  My private practice remains deeply satisfying.

Since the retreat “flopped” in terms of worldly results, my soul has risen.  I'm quieter and I'm doing more sits each day and even in the night. Somewhere while preparing the retreat in the last few weeks, I started giving my body daily deep tissue massage.  I can actually reach most parts of my body due to my years of yoga.  This is another true COMING HOME as I have spent decades learning to love my body.  So, the shift from self loathing to self soothing is incredible.  Preparing for the retreat sent me there.

I thought I would be working with larger numbers of students once again and I could see that I didn't really have the internal emotional, spiritual boundary structure to do that without wearing myself out.  So, for the past few months, I've been studying Cindi Dale's book called “Energetic Boundaries.”  This book is nothing less than a revelation.  My boundaries are now improving in all areas of my life.  The transformation I hoped to offer was made inside me. The virtual retreat caused me to pick up the boundary book.
The Midwestern part of me has had plenty to say about the financial investment I made without the financial result.  Her basic message is you failed and it cost you a whole lot of money.  My sweet, old soul says, “no way, what we have gained in our inner life is priceless.”

Those of you who signed up for the retreat and those of you who have supported my work for so many years, I thank you.  And, those of you who did not sign up for the retreat, I thank you.

All honor to you,
Patricia

“You wander from room to room, hunting for the diamond necklace that is already around your neck!”  Rumi

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The Surprising Benefits of Integrating One's Core Beliefs

9/25/2015

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Picture
Credit: Carolyn Lake
Dear sweet listeners:

I was hanging out on my patio earlier today thinking about why I have spent these last few decades working on negative core beliefs – ideas like “I'm not good enough, I can't do it, there is something wrong with me, it's my fault or it's your fault.”  I have always been a rather deep, soul penetrating kind of gal.  (my sign is Scorpio).  I believe the reason I've been called to delve into these historical and sometimes debilitating beliefs is because if we can free ourselves from within the core, every part of our life works better.
Let's just look at one belief. If one thinks they are not good enough they might not believe they deserve a raise, a kind partner, a body they can love, time off, or wonderful work. The list is endless. I once asked in a more than one hundred person audience, “does anyone here think they are good enough?” Few hands were raised. It's a comfort to know this is our human condition. This was a workshop on “authenticity” so folks were prone to be honest.

Our egos are made up of our core beliefs. If we try to supress them, they get  stronger. Acceptance is what heals them. When forgiveness touches a core belief, they melt.

Here's what happens when one's core beliefs are integrated (not perfectly, but just layer by layer and in this particular moment.)

When I KNOW I AM GOOD ENOUGH

My interests expand. Current new interests are classical music, kayaking and bird watching. Who knew I would love these things?

My relationships expand. Every friendship is more mutual, my marriage is more fun and has more depth, it's easy to be kind to every single person I meet.I don't have to try so hard. I can work less while still producing work I am proud of and can offer enthusiastically to potential students. I am happy to be paid well for my work.

My compassion grows. I see how most humans are unconsciously stuck in their 'not good enough spell.' When I am able to step out of my own spell, I hold space for their transformation. I see others as totally good enough.

I can be happy about my body, wear what I love, go dancing without being concerned that everyone is watching me on the dance floor. I just started giving myself full body massages the other day – I hadn't thought of that before. My body loves this new idea.

The list is longer, but you get my drift. If you'd like to play more with the idea of working with and through your core beliefs, one option would be to join us at the first conference call virtual retreat on October 24.  Details follow.

Details on the Virtual Retreat.

Knowing we are ENOUGH, even if we forget it l00,000 times,

Patricia

“You wander from room to room hunting for the diamond necklace that is already around your neck.”    Rumi
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Shifting The Inner Landscape From Not Enoughness to Enoughness!

9/18/2015

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Picture
Credit: Carolyn Lake
“We withdraw from the incessant monologue and concerns within ourselves, in order for something else to come into being.”  Deena Metzger

Kind Listeners:

While I have been meditating for many years, it's only recently that my practice has truly deepened.  So, I'm familiar with the old, oft painful 'stories.' You know the ones I mean... “There is something wrong with me.  I'm not good enough.  I can't make it.  I did it wrong.  I'm bad.  I didn't do enough.”
In the late 70's while I was living at Cornucopia, a human potential school based on the “Handbook to Higher Consciousness” by Ken Keyes, we had what was called a “consciousness reprogramming room.”  So, I'd be up in the middle of the night yelling in a pillow.  It was a padded room so you couldn't wake anyone up.

Anyway, I'd yell “ I love my body the way it is, I LOVE MY BODY THE WAY IT IS,  I LOVE MY BODY THE WAY IT IS!”.   Sometimes when I came out of the room, my voice would be horse or lost entirely.  And, as I was walking down the hall after the primal scream, I'd be saying to myself, “NO I DON'T, I REALLY DON'T.  I DO NOT LOVE MY BODY THE WAY IT IS. IN FACT, I RATHER HATE MY BODY THE WAY IT IS!”

What's the point here?  Well, all my attempts to suppress, express, eradicate, eliminate, pound down or even drown the stories didn't work.  Perhaps you've had a similar experience.  In my training as coach/therapist, I learned to see these stories as the critical parent, the internalized parental critic, or the limiting beliefs, etc. I've worked with students to name their egoistic stories as a way of remembering that this critical voice is a part of us, but not all of us.  That was helpful.  THE EGO IS NOT BAD, IT'S ONLY HUMAN!

Another, more palatable and even kinder way to name the ego's dance, would be to describe these voices as unruly puppy voices.  The unruly puppy does not need to be smacked upside the head, or shamed, or ignored.  The unruly puppy needs to be loved and disciplined.  The unruly puppy needs the alpha, more soulful, more adult part of us to speak up.  That puppy needs someone inside to offer a message like “hey cutie, I love you AND I'm in charge here.  It's time to go to obedience school so that our lives work better.”

I don't hate my body so much anymore, though those thoughts do arise on occasion.  The large percentage of the time I do actually love my sweet body.  And the limiting beliefs do not run rough shod over my life.  My capacity to be aware of the belief, accept it and the accompanying emotion, forgive them, set them aside and go on with my day is large and growing.  That's what I want for you!

Our old stories, as mentioned in the first paragraph of today's blog, bring us to our knees and then drive us to the place where the Spiritual Truth can emerge.  So if we hang out in the idea that “I am not good enough or I don't do enough” long enough, feel the pain of that thought, and forgive it – we come to know the truth, which is that WE ARE BEYOND GOOD ENOUGH AND HAVE ALWAYS DONE WHAT WE CAME TO DO.  I AM AND WE ARE ENOUGH.   It's about 'remembering' and 'forgetting' throughout our lives and our soul's path.

Perhaps this blog has served as a reminder to love yourself amidst your own old stories and this reminder is  just what you needed.  If so, thanks for listening.

If you'd like more support on how to recognize, accept, forgive and set aside the stories that undermine your personal and professional life, consider joining us for the upcoming virtual retreat on October 24th.  Just imagine how your life and work might open up if your True Self (more divine self) stepped to the front burner and your False, (more human) Self stepped to the back burner.  Remember, though, it's natural and necessary that your human or egoistic self be on the stove.  I believe the ego's stories actually drive us to our True Home, our knowingness deep inside the wellspring of our beings that we are E N O U G H!

More info on Virtual Retreat
 

Bowing towards you,

Patricia

“There is a deep place within, where hidden and growing, our true spirit rises...
Each of us holds an incredible reserve of creativity and power, of unexamined and unrecorded emotion.  The place of power within us is neither white nor surface, it is dark, it is ancient, and it is deep.”  Audre Lorde

 

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The Deeply nourishing, Purely Practical and Somewhat Incandescent Power of "Retreat"!

9/11/2015

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Picture
Credit: Carolyn Lake
“A retreat is moving consciously and by my own choice into space where I can be alone with the Divine.”  Marion Woodman

Kind Listeners:

I've heard it said, I'm not sure by whom – that when we are busy it is wise to meditate at least twice a day for twenty minutes AND, when we are really busy, three times.  That seems paradoxical, but I've discovered it's both true, and it works.  When I pause for meditation, my daily mini retreats, my time and space opens up.  Because I am now centered, so much more can happen in the moment and I am more focussed on my 'dance of doing.'  Now it's a dance not a race.
In the times in my work life when I'm facing a 'highpressure deadline' (since I'm self emloyed this deadline business and the high pressure is made up by me), – by the part of me that has been walking though life with a sharp stick in her butt.)  When I retreat, even if its for 10 minutes lying in a hammock, my perspective shifts, and I can return to professoinal activity holding the outcome more lightly.

In years past, when I decided, for example that I was going to pay off the mortgage over the next three years, I was driven.  I doubled my hours with clients, wrote my first book mostly in the middle of the night, and remodeled part of our house.  My husband, while not as driven – kicked in a sizable chunk from his tax business.  We met the goal.

I'm not judging this DRIVE – it really was the ONLY way I knew how to get the task done back then.  And, I'm very grateful the mortgage has been paid for a decade.  Had I not, at that time, had some capacity to retreat, I'd probably be a dead woman today.  Taking a half a day, even once a month, to head up into the mountains or occasionally napping on the couch with a good book was also PRACTICAL.  Those simple rests, made it possible to keep going til the ink on the paid mortgage dried.  Without the retreat times, I probably would have collapsed with overwhelm and possible illness.

We can retreat for 5 minutes, 2 hours, a half day, a day, a week, a month, (and I must confess, I once retreated from my professional life for two years).  The time frame is not as important as the intentionality.  The idea that “I am choosing to give myself this pause, this deep rest” matters most.  Coming up with content is a creative adventure.  For countless creative ideas on how to structure your retreats, see Jen Louden's “Woman's Retreat Book.”

I mentioned in the title that there is an incandescent power to retreating.  By that I mean I return to work with a new spark, I might even be aflame, with an impassioned desire to return to my life's work.  I just took a 3 day weekend and now that I'm back at work, that old fire in my belly has returned.  I was replenished by the garden, by some old movies and some old friends.  I even went dancing with my husband. 

Back in the olden days, the folks who thought up the idea of Sundays being the sabbath day, were on to something.  It is so NOURISHING to know when we intend to rest and to know that rest is coming right around the bend. – When we plan our rests, both consciously (as we so choose) and consistently (we can count on its regular occurrence), our life force and capacity to contribute expands and deepens.

What your soul is calling you to do in the context of your retreat – whether that is sitting with your back against a favorite tree, coloring, dancing, journalling, watching a comedy or a romance movie, writing poems or playing jax – doesn't matter so much.  What does matter is that you are clear your activities will feed your soul and that work related things do not happen in your sacred space.  So that means, unplugging the phone. the computer, even the television.  It means letting go of child care, laundry and anything else that is shouting at you from your “to do” list.

For those of you who might like support and structure  with this idea of retreat, I just happen to be offering a 6 hour virtual retreat coming up on October 24.  We'll be meeting by conference call from around the world.  I'm attaching your invitation right now and if you are feeling sparked by the idea, please jump in.

More info on the Coming Home to Your Sweet, Old Soul Retreat.


Thanks for listening today.  It's my fondest hope that this blog will encourage you in an entirely new level of self care and that you'll leave it having set aside some sacred time for your own sweet soul,

ALL HONOR TO YOU,

PATRICIA

“That is what is strange—that friends, even passionate love, are not my real life unless there is time alone in which to explore and to discover what is happening or has happened.  Without the interruptions, nourishing and maddening, this life would become arid.  Yet I taste it fully only when I am alone here and the house and I resume the old conversations.”  May Sarton

 

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The Blog of "No Blog This Week"

8/28/2015

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Dear Sweet Listeners,

We've just recently returned from a vacation in the redwoods near the ocean.  I came back replenished, resourced, and happy to be alive.   It's been as if the redwood trees now live inside me.  What a pleasure to spend this holy time in nature with members of my tribe.
Then this last week, I've returned to a place I know well – I'm behaving like Sisyphus trying to roll the rock up the mountain, then falling down over and over again.  A little glimpse at my inside  story - “I have to get the video clip done for the virtual retreat.  I have to get the newsletter done.  I have to rewrite a sales page for the web page to promote the on-line retreat.  I have to find images on- line.  I have to get it all done by Friday and I have to learn the technology for these offers NOW.  LASTLY, I have to do this ALONE and it all has to be PERFECT!

Maybe you are hearing all the “have tos”.  This is the way I've gotten things done in the past, by pushing myself relentlessly.  Since my intention for these retreats is to come from a place of “spacious quiet knowingness,”  it's time to pause – the healing always has to start with me.  So, I've extended the date for the retreat and the newsletter and asked for way more support.  I'm slowing down.  I'm heading over to get a massage this evening.  This is my shortest blog.

I'm asking the Great Mystery to work with me and through me from here...

Thanks for listening,

Patricia

One of my favorite spiritual teachers, Susan Rush, says “Hurry hinders Holiness”-
and I'm stepping back into the sacred pause!

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The Power of “Going for It” AND the “Power of Letting Go”!

8/21/2015

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Credit: Carolyn Lake
Dear Ones Who Listen,

In my first newsletter, I discussed the idea of “going for it” - investing one's resources wholeheartedly in one's dream.  So, in my personal and professional vision right now -  attracting a world audience through soulful blogs and virtual retreats -  I am stepping all the way into the vision and I'm in a prayer that says “if this is in my Highest Good for me and all concerned,” then bring it on!  

If it turns out to be that this vision is not in my Highest Good, then I ask my Source, “please show me the steps I need to take to let it go.”  I am not trying to MAKE IT HAPPEN – I am allowing the possibility to ground in me and then preparing my offering.
Just yesterday I attended another of Mark Silver's Heart of Business Sufi on-line retreats.  Since offering virtual retreats is part of my next business steps, I'm doing research by attending 'like-minded' retreats.  Taking my time to learn this model is part of the preparation for the work I intend to do in the near future -

it is part of my “going for it.”

Another part of going for it is hiring someone who is familiar with the virtual retreat model and from his own experience, knows how to attract a Facebook audience.  I already discussed more action steps in the August Leading from the Hearts newsletter.

What I learned at the retreat is that all of the barriers, blocks and spells that are in me are part of the journey – not something separate.  Even though there are parts of me who think “I can't do it, I'll do it wrong, and maybe I should cash it in right now” - the still small voice inside does not agree with this interpretation.  The deepest part of me KNOWS I am being called to make this offering.  And even if it doesn't unfold or land or take off – it's mine to do.

So, one part of the letting go is letting go of the younger more wounded parts of me who really just need my attention. The idea isn't to smack them up side the head or try to get rid of them, but rather to say “hey – I know you have doubts, I know you are scared, I know you'd like to put the blankie over your head instead of stepping out into the world AND I LOVE YOU.  You get to be part of the plan – you don't get to drive the car, but you do get to ride along.”

The feedback I got from Mark at the retreat was that those thoughts are not going to disappear, I will not complete them.  They are what my and 'the' mind does -  I'm a thinker as we all are – what I can do, though, is detach from the power of the negative thinking.  And, I can love myself while I am in that thinking.  I needed the reminder that as long as we are here and as long as we have a body, the mind is active and the ego thrives.  The point is, how quickly do I remember the truth?  The truth is that I, and each of you, can do it, always do it 'right' in the moment, and in the wisest part of ourselves, enjoy and are fulfilled by the connection that happens when we are of service.

Mark's thought, a thought I remember and forget thousands of times, is to welcome each part of me as part of the divine – to find love even in the darkest hour.  The yearning that lives behind the old, spell-like thoughts then takes me home...

What is it you yearn for?  What does your sweet, old soul want?  If you don't know, just keep asking the question.  If you do know, what does “going for it” look like for you.  You could ask a lover, friend, colleague or coach to brainstorm what being entirely resourced would look like.  In other words, if you had ALL of the support you needed on every level, what would that be like for you?  

And, what does “letting go” look like for you.  Can you give your whole heart to the vision and take every single step towards its manifestation and still say – whatever is in the Highest Good as if you are letting the breeze carry your fondest dream?

Even if the dream gets broken, the journey of going for it brings its own wisdom and may, in fact, lead you to your next vision.    

I'd like to end with some of my favorite words by Jeff Foster...


Perhaps our dreams are there to be broken,
and our plans are there to crumble,
and our tomorrows are there to dissolve into todays,
and perhaps all of this is a giant invitation to wake up
from the dream of separation,
to awaken from the mirage of control,
and embrace wholeheartedly what is present...



Loving myself and you just as we are this very moment,

Patricia




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    Patricia Flasch

    Patricia has always been fascinated by the discovery of the Soul and she has spent a lifetime passing her message on to students and seekers all over the world.


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