This is for you, Boston.
And you, Syria.
And the detainees in Guantanamo Bay detention camp on hunger strike.
This is for anyone pulled to retreat into themselves when darkness snaps at their heels.
Anyone who feels alone because fate has dealt them an unfair hand.
Or anyone starting to buckle under the oppression that surrounds them.
I want you to let the shell of the hurt, the logical, and the political to fall away for a moment.
Stretch your wings, and reach into possibility, the miraculous. Breathe in with your incredible lungs. Flood your body with this breath.
Inhale. Exhale. Awaken your spirit. Say hello to your inner light.
Keep breathing with your mighty lungs. Feel the eternal that is always within you. Don’t grasp for the answers, or for your faults. But allow yourself to experience the shuddering brilliance of the truth that will free you.
Breathe.
Remember: there is another you.
Bigger. Brighter. Luminous.
So today, if the travails of life challenge you, or the news cycles claw through your neurons do this:
Stop.
Close your eyes.
Take a deep breath. And another. And another still, until your adrenaline slows, and you are quiet.
Connect to the unquenchable light in your body.
Fill your mind with its pulse. Feel the effulgence ease into the darkest spaces in you. Bathe even the most shadowy corners with clean brightness.
Now imagine extending this light like a brilliant sun – out into the world, all the way to the stars.
Breathe. Extend. Expand.
Repeat this process as many times as you need to come into alignment with yourself.
Now, open your eyes, shining, brave heart.
You are brilliant.
Keep this exercise in mind as you move through your day, and ride along with life’s peaks and valleys.
Do not forget: your most luminous, wise self is always waiting for you. All you have to do is reach out for the light.
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Our thoughts are powerful.
Our actions are needed.
Our light is the fastest emissary of all.
It is time to use all of our capacities, and be the heart of humanity.
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Too often, we pour all of our focus, thoughts, and energies into examining our flaws. Frequent dives into this darkness can make us forget the true beauty that lies within and all around us.
I recently came across this ad by Dove. It’s a remarkable illustration of the way we view ourselves, versus how others see us. Take a look. It’s worth your time.
In the commercial, a former forensic artist meets a series of women, and asks each of them to describe their appearance. He never sees the subjects, and stays hidden behind a curtain as each one gives as many details as she can about her hair length, facial structure, most prominent features, etc. From that description, he creates a sketch.
Before the study, each woman was asked to get to know one of the other participants. So, after they finished describing themselves, the artist prompts each woman to describe her fellow subject’s face.
The results are incredibly moving.