Cultivating Inner Resource

This time of year asks us to strengthen our inner resource and reserves in preparation for the colder and darker days ahead. To me, it is symbolic of the greater need that we, as humans, have to be in consistent dialogue and connection with ourselves.

Building our inner resources so as to meet our lives with steadiness, clarity, and an embodied sense of ground in the truth of who we are.

Becoming so connected to who we are at our core that we become unwavering in our responses to life.

Cultivating inner resource gives us the capacity to stay steady in the face of adversity – to not allow life to knock us around. The power to take those deep breaths into our bellies and respond to life from an integrated and aligned space remaining deeply connected to our inner world.

It is a practice of consistently turning towards ourselves.

To nourish that deep connection within and to learn how to sit with the full array of emotions, feelings, and experiences.

To remember the truth of exactly who we are so as to respond to life with poise and balance rather than knee jerk reactions.

And, it takes work...consistent inner dialogue and practice to land in this space.

Being human means to continuously fumble, fall, forget, and pick ourselves back up again. The degree to which we fall depends on the depth of our inner resource.

These are the times that are richest in opportunity for deep self-inquiry.

I will share a brief personal story. While in midst of writing this newsletter I found myself knocked around by a challenging interaction. I saw myself go right back into ways of relating to this person and all of my inner resource went out the window. For a few hours, I forgot. I forgot about the primarily loving, compassionate and solid connection that I have to my inner self and I was in full blown reaction mode. It was not pretty and, in retrospect and in honoring my humanness, felt necessary.

Sometimes we have to forget to remember.

When we experience that contrast it has the capacity to propel us back onto our path and strengthen our inner muscles of resource -- refining and clarifying who we are and who we are not.

My moments of regression always serve my process of progression in life. They are fuel for my growth and the ultimate motivator.

Cultivating our inner resource and strengthening our vessels gives us the space to breathe and move without being in constant reaction to our outer world. We develop the capacity to flow with life, to meet adversity with softness and an open heart, and to live from a place of equanimity.

And, these may only be moments in time right now. However, each moment builds to the next one and the next one. With consistent practice we have the opportunity to land in that space more regularly.

I offer you some suggestions to Cultivate Inner Resource:

• Meet your own basic needs for food, rest, and hydration: Sounds so simple, yet as caregivers our own basic needs can easily (and unconsciously) be put aside. Making sure that you are tending to yourself with good food, regular meals, adequate rest, and lots of water (add some lemon juice or apple cider vinegar for an added health boost!).

• Resource through the body: No matter what is happening for you physically – aging/pain/sickness/limitations -- making it a practice to gain access to your physical sensations, track them, and learn to breathe into them. Allow your body to reset and resource despite the discomfort. Breathe deeply and infuse your entire body with your breath. Invite in softness, unwinding, and deep compassion Repeat, repeat, repeat. You can do this while in motion or in stillness depending on what you need in the moment.

• Unplug from your devices to plug into yourself: Take breaks from the incessant input of your devices. Turn off your phone for a few hours (or even 20 minutes!) and stay away from your computer for an afternoon (or even an hour!). Gift yourself with moments of deep listening to your own Self separate from what the world wide web and social media world are saying.

• Spend time in quiet connection with yourself: Give yourself the time and space to unwind your system. We need these moments of yielding and tuning into ourselves to remember who we are.

• Meditate: Meditation is not a practice that you become good at. It is a practice of learning how to become good at being with yourself. Meditation is a platform for self-inquiry and an opportunity to truly learn how to be with yourself and work with all of the many nuances of our humanity. Meditation is the ultimate reset button and is key in cultivating and deepening in our connection to the truth of who we are and our innate inner resource.

• Retreat: Stepping away from our day-to-day responsibilities and demands is an incredible way to build inner resource. Retreating is an opportunity to remember who we are and provides a tremendous boost in our capacity to meet life's ups and downs with steadiness, compassion, clarity, and presence.

We need ourselves during this transitional time of year. We need to feel that depth of inner connection to remain steady and awake as we begin our descent.

Being able to locate ourselves and remain in connection with ourselves in midst of the swirl of life, is a skill. It is a muscle to build and nurture.

There is no question that we are living in intense times. I truly believe that it is up to us, as individuals, to continuously show up as exactly who we are, to honor our humanness with kindness and compassion, and to spread the light to shift the planet as a whole.

May it be a clear call to action for those on the path of consciousness and healing to dig even deeper into ourselves and create more stability, more connection, and more resource within.

Perhaps it is a call to take that step towards your own personal healing that has felt too overwhelming, scary, or daunting.

Wherever you are on your path, start from where you are. Be who you are, exactly how you are. Create and reinforce your inner resource one step at a time.

May we turn towards ourselves and our own hearts with love and compassion.

May we make the choice every single day to continuously build our own inner resources -- remembering who we are -- and living unapologetically from that space of truth.

May we continuously strive to create peace and well-being in our personal world, take responsibility for our lives, and show up to the best of our ability each and every day.