“Why do you stay in prison
when the door is so wide open?
Move outside the tangle of fear-thinking.
Live in silence.
Flow down and down
in always widening rings of being.”
~Rumi
Here’s a powerful question for you: what are you devoted to?
What we’re devoted to is what we intentionally focus our time, energy, and interest on. We take a stand and go all in. We stay, even when it’s hard.
Take a moment to reflect: what are you devoting your time, energy, and interest to? It’s important to know because what we’re devoted to is what’s alive for us and gives energy to our life’s momentum. It determines how we show up in the moments of our lives.
Pay attention to drama and upset, and what happens? You’ll be ruled by emotions and find relationships unsatisfying.
Pay attention to everything with fresh eyes and an open heart, and your way of being in your life will reflect the sacredness of all.
So what do you really want? Go inward and let the answer reveal itself to you.
If what you really want is release from the prison of separation…if you long to consciously know the freedom that comes by knowing your true nature…then you are being called to devote yourself fully to that.
That’s why we need practice as a way of life. We need to learn how to recognize and meet the familiar habits that so easily overtake us. And we need support to be present and aware in our culture that denies stillness, silence, and the vulnerability that comes with an open heart.
The opportunities to practice are everywhere:
- Deepening in presence to see things as they actually are;
- Questioning any ideas we believe that keep us feeling separate and lacking;
- Staying with our direct experience rather than reinforcing the mind’s commentary.
Eventually, practice as a way of life is pure joy. And the ripple effects are profound.
Slowing down and turning inward at many points during your day becomes non-negotiable—because you know the freedom that’s possible by staying connected to your inner experience.
Feeling triggered in relationship becomes an invitation to deeply explore the feelings and beliefs that keep you stuck—and you take the time for this exploration.
You catch yourself ruminating and take a breath that brings your attention to the spaciousness beyond the mind.
You notice a painful feeling and flood it with a loving embrace.
And you remind yourself to forget thinking altogether and immerse fully in the richness of your present moment experience.
Practice as a way of life brings us into a whole new relationship with our experience. This is a relationship that is loving, attentive, kind, and present. We feel the familiar movement within to hide from ourselves—and from life—and instead turn toward ourselves with openness and curiosity.
How can you bring practice into your life? Love what you love fully and put the power of intention behind it.
- Sit quietly in meditation for five or more minutes each day.
- Set your phone alarm to ring hourly as a signal to slow down and take a conscious breath.
- Take a mind-free walk. Spend some time outside being with what you experience without the mind’s involvement.
- Before going to sleep, take a short time to write about a trigger so you understand it better.
- When you’re challenged, take your time to contemplate, “What is the wise and loving response?”
- Bring compassion to the difficult places when they appear.
- Notice naturally arising moments of silence, gratitude, heartfelt connection, uncaused joy, and peace.
Choose a way to practice and make it a way of life…every day. Dedicate your time, energy, and interest wholeheartedly to what you love. Sometimes you won’t want to, and that’s the time to recommit to your deepest desire and keep going.
Because here’s the truth: every moment of practice is infused with sacredness and love. And it matters for the healing of our fractured world.
Keep returning home, over and over, and the moments of your life become a living testament to expanding freedom, grounded wisdom, and peace beyond peace.