Welcome to Heart Awake Mindfulness

I'm glad you have stopped by!

Through this Reflection page, I will be initiating conversations with you to invite connection. I'll be sharing my thoughts on things that inspire curiosity, feed the journey of inquiry, stir creative energies, and open my heart to love and compassion in the hopes of similar inspiration for you.

When we approach mindfulness practice, in whatever forms we choose, with these qualities of mind: curiosity, inquiry, creativity, love and compassion, we are more engaged and enlivened by the practice and are apt to return to it regularly.

The qualities can be of great help to us when we encounter that which may feel hard, raise fear or sadness, cause physical discomfort, in other words the pain and darkness which can visit us in our human existence. When we can remember these qualities in the midst of a difficult experience we are more able to allow a bit of softness, a small opening where self-compassion and kindness can find entry. This can lead us to a spaciousness where we can step back and look at the experience, see the suffering and have the option to choose to be kind and loving to ourselves, here in the immediate moment. We can find the care and tenderness we need within our own self to bring us through the darkness.

And we are social beings! We seek and desire connection with others. The health and continued growth and flexibility of our brains depend on relational interactions. Positive, supportive and healthy relationships are an integral component on our path to wholeness and well being. This includes our relationship with our self.
Some places we can find relationships with like-minded, like-hearted people include workshops and retreats, in heart-felt friendships and partnerships, and in one-to-one relationships with teachers, spiritual directors, mentors and therapists. Books, podcasts and videos are also ways to maintain a sense of connection to people and things which are supportive and help us to remember and foster our relationship with our self. They help us to remember our own innate capacity for love and compassion.

I am a strong believer and advocate of the benefits of cultivating relationships which support one's call towards whole well-being. I have an ongoing relationship with a Spiritual Director whom I have worked with for eighteen years. I regularly see a somatic therapist and I attend weekly Continuum Somanautiko classes where I explore mindfulness through body, sound and movement with others whom I consider my spiritual companions. I cherish the connection and support I both give and receive with my fellow teachers and friends. I am constantly reading, listening to podcasts, and seeking out inspiration and teachings that support my practice and remind me of my own inherent wholeness, healthfulness, and love towards myself and others.

I encourage you to follow your curiosity. To trust the voice which whispers to your heart and calls you to want to know more. I am here to support you in whatever way I can.

May your heart be enlivened by curiosity.
May you know peace and ease.
May you find safe harbor in the storm.
May you know love and joy.
Namaste