“Your body is like a guest house” ~Yogi Turtle
Inspired by Rumi’s beautiful poem “The Guest House” Attend to your feelings like precious guests. Listen to the messages they try to bring you: Sadness may be telling you: you need to stop, cry and let it out. You may have been trying to be strong for too long. Let go, let it out, it’s okay to cry. It’s just old, normal energy that has been stuck in you for too long, that is trying to come out. It longs to be welcomed and honoured. Loneliness might be telling you, you need to connect with someone, call someone, or stop and connect with yourself or with your source. Pray, meditate, give yourself love and attention. Shame might be telling you, you need to forgive yourself for something. Stop and investigate what is causing shame gently. find the story behind the feeling. Journal about it. Put the story on paper of what is causing this emotion. Give yourself compassion and don’t judge yourself for feeling that feeling. Stress might be telling you that your attention is too much absorbed by thoughts about the future and that’s okay. Stop and look at what is causing the stress. Slow down, for a moment, breathe and come back to the present moment. You may be stressing about something that may never happen. That’s okay. No matter what it is, be gentle with yourself. Validate the emotion, journal about it, thank the emotions for what it is trying to tell you. It is asking you to be gentle with yourself at that moment. Maybe it is trying to tell you you are in danger when actually you are not. That is okay, be grateful for the anxiety for trying to keep you safe and send it lovingly on its way. You can say: “thank you “anxiety” for trying to keep me safe, but I am fine right now, I am grateful that you try to protect me but I am fine right now. Thank you, go on your way.“ Once you attend to your feelings, everything is embraced in love. YOU embrace yourself in love. You embrace every part of yourself in love. You are not at war with yourself but at peace with yourself at that moment. All those little parts of yourself have been suppressed for so long they long to be accepted and loved without judgment. Here is Rumi’s beautiful Poem: The Guest House This being human is a guest house. Every morning a new arrival. A joy, a depression, a meanness, some momentary awareness comes as an unexpected visitor. Welcome and entertain them all! Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows, who violently sweep your house empty of its furniture, still, treat each guest honorably. He may be clearing you out for some new delight. The dark thought, the shame, the malice, meet them at the door laughing, and invite them in. Be grateful for whoever comes, because each has been sent as a guide from beyond. Rumi
