[Chapter_Fourteen] Zone Zero

[Lindsey Goldberg]

Thank you Rachel for your comment. I can relate with struggling to cultivate
balance, especially as a student, when much of what is asked of you is
intellectual.
For many adults in our culture, both students and professionals alike,
making time for movement, creativity, play, meditation, time in nature can
be challenging. For some reason, it doesn't seem to make the top of our
"to-do list," and thus it doesn't happen. In that vain, I invite you to work
"Zone Zero" into the "to-do list." It may seem silly, and maybe it is, but I
can say from experience that as someone who lives an incredibly rich and
dynamic life, sometimes my practice doesn't feel so intuitive and it really
helps to write it into my daily and weekly schedule. When I do, I make sure
*it* happens. Give it a try.

The idea of cultivating a personal practice, ritual or *sadhana*, is unique
to each individual, what is nourishing for me, may not serve you. In
exploring the idea of Stewardship of Self, I encourage you to listen and
discover what you need to be taken care of. The opportunities are vast,
whatever it happens to be, slowing down with a cup of tea or coffee, or
sitting quietly in a sunny spot in your house for five minutes, it can offer
a lot of relief, peace and grounding. Though if you've never tried it, I
recommend pausing, sitting quietly, or writing freely for five
minutes...this is where meditation begins. See how it feels for you.

Through my practice, I've discovered how to live in the world wholly and
fully from my heart.

One of my teachers, Jack Kornfield writes,
*"When we ask, "Am I following a path with heart?" we discover that no one
can define for us exactly what our path should be. Instead, we must allow
the mystery and beauty of this question to resonate within our being. Then
somewhere within us an answer will come and understanding will arise. If we
are still and listen deeply, even for a moment, we will know if we are
following a path with heart.*
*It is possible to speak with our heart directly. Most ancient cultures know
this. We can actually converse with our heart as if it were a good friend.
In modern life we have become so busy with our daily affairs and thoughts
that we have forgotten this essential art of taking time to converse with
our heart. When we ask it about our current path, we must look at the values
we have chosen to live by. Where do we put our time, our strength, our
creativity, our love? Does what we are choosing reflect what we most deeply
value?"*

How does living a path with heart inform stewardship?

I hope your day sparkles,
Lindsey

On Wed, Feb 9, 2011 at 10:31 AM, Rachel A. Buddeberg <rachel at rabe.org>wrote:

> Zone Zero.  That's really where it all starts, isn't it?  If we don't
> nourish ourselves, it'll be difficult to nourish anything else...
>
> I think for me the biggest challenge is to find balance.  I am back in
> school, so i read a ton of stuff and write a lot but moving my body happens
> only in the cracks of time left over.   It seems like most of mainstream
> culture is designed toward imbalance - a semester is crammed full with
> assignments - and then you have a month or more off.  If we want to create
> more balance in our own lives, it is a big challenge because it often
> requires not doing something that is expected of us.  It is easy to get
> caught up in the swirl of busyness and forget that there are so many more
> important things... Slowing down is part of a change toward a more
> sustainable life - both for our selves as well as for the planet.  Again
> showing how important Zone Zero is...
>
> So, do i take care of myself?  I try to.  But i often sacrifice self-care
> for that paper i need to finish reading or that email i still need
> answering.  I am getting better, though, of noticing and letting go "black
> energy holes."
>
> Rachel
>
> On Feb 7, 2011, at 10:15 AM, Lindsey Goldberg wrote:
>
> [...]
>
> I intend to hold space for a dialogue to unfold centered on the question of
> how do you steward Self? In what ways do you take care of your body? How do
> you stimulate your intellect? Harmonize your emotions? Enliven your spirit?
> Do you make time for play? Creativity? Imagination? Dreams? Do you have a
> wild place that you go to, to let go? To feel free?
>  [...]
>
>
>
> _______________________________________________
> chapter_fourteen-beforebefore.net mailing list
> chapter_fourteen-beforebefore.net at lists.beforebefore.net
>
> http://lists.beforebefore.net/listinfo.cgi/chapter_fourteen-beforebefore.net
>
>


-- 
*Lindsey Goldberg, M.Ed, RYT*
Education.Environment.Art.Community.
www.livelearnengagetransform.blogspot.com
415.250.2352

Hayes Valley Farm
www.hayesvalleyfarm.com
Graze The Roof
http://grazetheroof.blogspot.com/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.beforebefore.net/pipermail/chapter_fourteen-beforebefore.net/attachments/20110211/cd45ae0b/attachment-0002.htm>