Notice sacred space

I can’t name the feeling I’m feeling. It’s a resistance of some kind. A tightness or pressure. Something trying to rise to the surface.

Something ready to be let go of? Perhaps. Could I be holding on too tightly? Likely. Am I try-try-trying to control my intended outcome? Mmmm Hmmm…

Last week, I swam in the ocean. For over a year, I have been consumed with a magnetic draw to the water, and so as I gazed at the endless blue meeting the soft shore, I dove right in. This is notable because I’m usually more of a Young Adult novel-on-a-beach chair kind of gal, but not this time.

I floated freely, swam against the current, body-surfed a few waves, and totally submerged. Hair, hat, and all. The feeling of the cool, salt-brimmed water enveloped me to the depths of my being. I felt refreshed to the core of myself.

It was glorious.

And a particular favorite segment of my time amongst the waves was when I’d duck down to avoid the wild Jersey Shore tides from knocking me over. Rather than dig into the sand below to brace myself and let it pass over me, I’d surrender to the gentle upward pull as the powerful water washed over top of me. And as the wave passed by, it would lightly and easily lift me up. I felt weightless, like angels fluttered beside me + carefully carried me through the crash such that I was left un-impacted, carefree, and happy. It was such a tender feeling amidst the power + might of the Atlantic tides.

Maybe that’s what letting go is really all about. Rather than digging in to our illusion of control amidst the tides of life, we surrender and we trust. And, oh my gosh, maybe we even enjoy it!?

I hold such significant aspirations for my writing journey. I long to publish a book. My sister would guide me to affirm my dream in the present tense, so I’ll practice doing that with you here:

I publish a book that is a New York Times Bestseller and helps millions of people shine their light. (Ahhhhhhhhh!!!!!)

Sometimes when I sit down to write, I allow the self-created pressure of my dreams to weigh on my experience, digging my toes into the process + timeline I assume my journey should take. But what if I let go and let the experience lightly and easily carry me along?

You are supported and guided constantly, Dear One.

What if I actually trusted and surrendered? Let whatever is to be written flood from my pen and what is not yet ready to arrive linger in the inkwell?

What if I took just one step and then another?

And what if I allowed some space to settle around my dream so that divine intelligence has room to arrive, guide, and help a girl out?

What do we mean when we talk of “space?” Not outer space. Not physical space. But the space that we create when we lift open a window in early March to let the freshness of spring in. The space that we feel when an appointment gets cancelled + removed from our calendar. The space that we hear in the late of the evening when the whole house is asleep + still.

I’ve been meditating recently with the intention of creating space. I breathe in, my belly expands, and space arrives around + embraces my heart. I pause for a moment, a split second, just long enough to notice that there is a gap between my inhale + my exhale. Then I release my breath, my body lightens, and space remains where tightness once was. I begin to repeat the phrase “Thank You” as an appreciation-centered affirmation in my mind’s eye and allow my attention to linger between the two words.

Thank —> pause <— You

Thank —> pause <— You

Thank —> pause <— You

Wayne Dyer calls this practice “getting in the gap;” noticing the space between breaths + between words and in turn welcoming more space into your being + into your life.

To me, space is sacred.

I believe when we consciously make room in our beings and in our lives, this is where the divine can enter. We open a window, just a crack, and welcome in the divine. We begin to trust. We loosen our grip. And we take one more step towards surrendering.

Even as I share these gorgeous concepts with you, my own journey continues.

In a virtual retreat I attended during quarantine, I asked the question: “but what if we have fully surrendered?” The facilitator smiled, then paralleled the concept of “surrendering” with the blossoming of the thousand petaled lotus. We are never “done” surrendering. But each + every step we take towards surrender, we open a bit more to let the divine in, and we softly bloom a bit more beautifully.

So be kind to you - wherever you are on your journey of surrendering and welcoming a tiny petal’s worth of intentional, sacred space into your days.

Let’s conclude practically by consciously breathing together for a bit, shall we?

Space-creating breathing practice:

Breathe in through the nose, feeling your belly expand + your ribs rise. Welcome sweet space into your core + around your heart center.

Pause for a smidge of a moment - just long enough to notice the gap between your inhale + your exhale.

Softly release as you breathe out. Loosen your grip on any lingering resistance, allowing your hands + toes to wiggle freely. Welcome a teeny petal’s worth of space into your moment.

Inhale —> pause <— Exhale

Inhale —> pause <— Exhale

Thank —> pause <— You

For being —> pause <— right here

Right —> pause <— now ♥️