Acknowledging what is already gone is part of courage and clear seeing.

Letting go of what is not possible opens space for what might be. Letting go of shaming ourself for not manifesting earlier dreams opens up our hearts.

What do I need to let go of to make room for the new?

What does my heart know? What do I grieve? What do I long for?

How would I know I deserve protection if I wasn’t protected? 

How would I know I need to protect my children from emotional hurt if I wasn’t protected as a child? 

Does my body know I can count on protection from parents and teachers if they have not protected me in the past?

We have all experienced feeling and acting with courage

We have all experienced backing down or being disappointed in ourselves

What gets in the way of being more consistently courageous?

Mindful listening is a beautiful offering to ourselves and others. It is a deep and advanced practice that can lead to experiences of authentic connection within ourselves and with others.

I can take the risk to fully know myself and let myself be known by others, to live with vulnerability and authenticity, and to speak up and "tell all of my heart".

I am listening with the intent to get to know someone

I am listening somatically to more deeply know myself

I listen to understand, not in preparation to respond

I will remain aware of where I am on the polyvagal ladder and come back

Do you cycle between thinking “it’s not so bad” and “this isn’t working, I need to go”? Maybe you are pretending to yourself that they can and want to change. Just because you treat people with respect and try to be kind, does not mean everyone has that value or the capacity.

We learn to read our parents because our survival depends on it. Codependency is emotional. I’m very worried about what you’re feeling. I take responsibility for your feelings and try to cajole you into a better mood because my survival depends on your good will towards me and I need your protection.

People who are not emotionally regulated are less likely to respect boundaries. When we are not emotionally well regulated, we are less likely to respect the boundaries other people set, and are less able to set and maintain our own boundaries.

Who gains when we hate our bodies and believe we are broken? People who make money from our self-hatred. Seeing the roots of this pervasive conditioning more clearly, we can take steps to heal.

My nervous system is not convinced it is okay for me to “be here”.

We can sharpen our neuroception and we can build strength and resilience. We can continue to bring compassion and kindness to our relationship with ourselves. From this strong foundation, we can act.

Most troubling thoughts are generated by the nervous system trying to keep us safe.

The main practice of working with witnessing thoughts is to increase the accuracy of our perception of the safety and danger in our present moment situation. We learn about how thought works generally and our own patterns specifically.

Somatic Mindfulness works with our body as it signals danger through sensation. We listen to our body to learn:

When did I tighten up and why?

What specifically was happening at the time that I perceived as a threat and that activated hypervigilance?

Can I stay present in my body and with my breath?

Can I stay connected with myself, maintain self-regulation, and awareness of my adult self?

What are you signaling to your nervous system through your body, breath and brain?

As you move through your day, keep some attention on your body and breath. Tension in your muscles or holding your breath will alert you to your nervous system signals, and you can use grounding and orienting practices to come back.

What part of my wild heart do I hide from myself? Where do I put on the brakes and not let myself know and have what I really want?

What part of my wild heart do I hide from others? Where am I trading authenticity for inclusion? Why? Is this as necessary as it once was?

Our trauma history has taught us that vulnerability is dangerous.

In the face of violence and oppression, our soft front can be a liability. We struggle to find a place emotionally and physically safe enough to be vulnerable.

Our armor is keeping us from growing and being authentically ourselves. Vulnerability involves uncertainty, risk, and emotional exposure.

I can tolerate disappointing people

What happened in your body as you read these words? I felt a heaviness in my chest. I took a deep in breath and a long exhale and softened my neck and shoulders.

Two months ago I made a big decision. I had been thinking about it for awhile.

We can spend our entire live betraying ourself and choosing fitting in over standing alone. But once we’ve stood up for ourself and our beliefs, the bar is higher. A wild heart fights fitting in and grieves betrayal.” Brené Brown

I find this to be an ongoing process and sometimes a lot of memories and judgements come up. We feel grief and regret for what we did and didn’t do in the past and for what we’ve lost. This takes time to process and to feel. Kindness and compassion are the only antidote to shame. We need to welcome ourselves back into our own open heart.

If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher. We can use our difficulties and problems to awaken our hearts.”

When we feel threatened and go into a survival response, we strike out for protection. We don’t actually want to make it worse, but this is a hard pattern to avoid.

Pema has a suggestion. “We wonder how other people are doing and reflect on how our actions affect other people’s hearts.”