Before I begin in earnest I want to share briefly what my practice of extending love to my thoughts looks like. I learned how to extend love to my thoughts when I became an ordained Voice for Love minister. Essentially this is a practice of stillness and noticing my thoughts without judgment then simply extending a color or facet of love to the thoughts that I notice. The big AHA for me was thinking about Love in terms of qualities, colors or facets (kindness, acceptance, stillness; pouring out light as if it were honey; welcoming my thoughts with a hug or a deep bow). I knew that I couldn’t love my thoughts exactly but I could extend a quality or facet of love to them. This seemed safe enough. This is an incredibly powerful practice. Like all practices it takes a lot of, well, practice. This is really why I am writing this blog, so I can keep up the both my practice of the awareness of Love’s presence through extending love to my thoughts and the record to effect it has on my daily life.
Now I really have to begin. Right now. Right now my guts are in my throat and I can hardly hear the Holy Spirit (HS). Here, in no particular order are the thoughts marching forth into my awareness around my fear of committing myself to a project (or to leadership of a team, or to ownership of a business or responsibility………….I am noticing these are all facets power)
When I extend love really on purpose in my journal I write the quality of love in red. This allows me to really NOTICE “I am extending love to this thought.” I note my thoughts, the quality of love I choose to extend to them and then I write down the message Holy Spirit gives to me which allows the thought enough space to be. This writing down of the the conversation i am having with my Holy Spirit IS what frees me and results in the Awareness of Love’s Presence.
Extending Love Daily Practice Cards
Me: I will flake. I extend thanks to this thought.
HS: Thank you soft flakiness; thank you for your easily crumbled constitution. Thank you for you willingness to notice discomfort and pain. When you feel flaky, give thanks. It is a reminder, a gentle, easy reminder to Love. That is all.
Me: It’s too hard. I extend healing to this thought.
HS: Hard is what happens without the pliancy of life—the juiciness of flow and ease. When you feel it is HARD. Stop. Breathe and ask for a healing perspective. Allow the juice of flow to permeate the HARD, right where it is, where YOU are. Hard is a reminder for love.
Me: It’s not worth it. I extend blessing to this thought.
HS: The blessing is no task, no project, or creation is worth losing yourself over. When “this isn’t worth it” crops up, stop and feel into your worth. This is both blessing and benediction to yourself.
Me: I don’t have to.
HS: You are correct. You don’t HAVE TO. The question is, do you desire to? What is truth here? Do you want to create in this particular way? Let your truth guide and gird you. It is your guidance and strength. Trust the truth.
Me: I have better & more important things to do. (my husband & business partner just brought in a proposal for me to proofread to confirm this one)
Even though I have better and more important things to do, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.
Me: I can’t do it, I can’t go the distance. I extend joy to this thought.
I can’t go the distance. I can however, BE the distance. I am whatever distance is required for the moment. The eternal always holds the temporal—Being holds doing in the palm of its hand.
Me: No one will read it anyway. I extend healing to this thought.
HS: I am reading this as I am writing as I am being. Is anything more needed?
Me: This is not a valuable use of my time. I extend truth to this thought.
HS: I can derive value in any moment. Value is in the valuer. The truth is always valuable and it is always present.
I’m hungry already—no, not really, but I sense a “want” of some kind, an unmet need.. . I extend wisdom to this thought.
HS: Wisdom includes all wants and needs. Meet your need with your heart’s wisdom. Fear not asking: “Holy One, what do I need right now?”
I want to extend love to the cost of my new patio umbrella. Lovely navy-and-cream-striped umbrella, sturdy stand and base, two chairs with matching cushions. Retail: $200ish. After assembly of said pieces, inability to move without excruciating pain…add in costs of emergency room visit, prescriptions for muscle relaxants, pain meds, second urgent care visit, more prescriptions, and a visit to the chiropractor. Total cost in dollars, not adding time of lost work/life/ease of movement: $280, bringing total cost of the whole charade to nearly $500. Hmmm. I believe the flavor of love needed is appreciation: as I slowly shuffle my sciatica-ridden body to the window, pain meds in hand, I look out at the patio and smile at its fabulousness.
Oh Jody, I LOVE that you are extending appreciation to all that ensued with your desire for fresh patio! Extend some kindness to to your sweet and funny self;)