I give up. I give up trying to figure out the rules. I give up trying to figure out what is “true.” Which philosophy, which spiritual approach, which technique is “best?” Which one will tell me THE way things work and what are the clear rules to follow that are “right?” I give up. I’m sick (literally) of having an inner state of frantic reaching for something “out there” that is going to make me safe. I give up trying to know, trying to be right, trying to be “spiritual,” be “enlightened,” and even trying to be loved.
I know that Life IS. I know that Life is unstoppable. Life exists, and has an intelligence about it and it is LIFE that has given rise to all of it. ALL of it. All the expressions, all the possibilities. Human life is one blip in infinity, no matter how long we are present as a species. Life has been, life will be, always, eternally. Rolling on and on and on. As galaxies, universes, INFINITE life forms, infinite ideas expressing. Creation is bottomless, endless, the ceaseless fountain of expression.
I can’t know from my tiny blip of Christina what “the one right Truth” is. There is none. Every moment gives rise to a new way of doing things that is appropriate for each new creation arising. The “right” way of doing things depends on each life form, each moment of that life form, the needs and desires of that life form. Creation can’t be stopped in its curious expansion, evolution, and CHANGE.
I can’t know what The One Truth is, or even what Existence is and how it works. I can’t know what my “purpose” is, or what I “should” be doing.
What I CAN do is FEEL the Living Flood of Life that I am. What I can do is feel the Living Flood of Life that I am. I can feel that aliveness in me, as me. I can open myself to it and feel what is calling through me. I give up reaching outside of myself for an intellectual answer, and I return to the home of Life inside me. I feel my beingness. I feel the alive, aware Life that animates all things. It has taken care of its Expression and Existence always. It can certainly live me perfectly too. I can rest in that. I can allow myself to give up the trying and BE. In that, I can feel in my body that I am intrinsically rooted, connected to All Life. I am more than fed by it. From most angles, and from a gut-sensing standpoint, I am indistinguishable from the Infinite Ocean Itself.
Except I am also the miraculously unique form that Life has birthed along with all its infinite other unique creations. Life has given rise to this totally inimitable, incomparable “me.” I trust the Life that manages all things to “manage” me too. I trust the Life that moves through me to call itself to the next action, next idea, next word……
And I can FEEL that call. As a relaxing, an opening, an ease in every moment. Even moments when I feel like having an angry tirade! There is an ease in letting it be what it is without trying to fight it and make myself be something else.
So I give up. I surrender to the changing “rightness” of each moment. I let myself be and give up the idea that I need to improve or fix myself to be somehow better than Life has given rise to me.
More and more of the classes I offer are centered in this trust in the aliveness. This trust in our ability to FEEL that life and align with it, allowing ourselves ease. Allowing ourselves to celebrate ourselves just as we are and free ourselves to relax and expand in natural directions. We can feel our uniqueness and stop fighting it, letting the genius that we each are flow unhindered by our interference in trying to be good or right.
The practices, thoughts, philosophies, and techniques I share in sessions and classes all serve that center of FEELING, trusting and aligning with that naturalness of what we are. I hope you’ll join in for this next class I have scheduled on exploring the living truth that you are, and letting go of figuring out what “THE” truth is and what the rules of that truth are. It is my ongoing joy to spend time with you in this freeing, smile-inducing conversation about celebrating exactly what we are, in every changing moment!
https://christinabrittain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ChristinaBrittainLogo-300x61.png00chrisbhttps://christinabrittain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ChristinaBrittainLogo-300x61.pngchrisb2020-08-20 02:18:002021-12-17 20:51:09I GIVE UP! What a Relief!
Last week a dear friend facilitated a shamanic journey for me. She’s such a skilled and intuitive practitioner. The ritual of the journey was simple, powerful and grounded. The intention of the journey was to invite all the knowing and Divine connection I experience on a regular basis to really filter into my physical experience. To explore and soften the illusion of separation from that inner, Bigger Knowing. It was an amazing experience! I won’t bother telling you the visions and feelings. But here is a big part of what came through:
There is a part of me that is terrified to admit that I know my
own answers. It doesn’t want me to admit my own authority or inner guidance. To
that part of me, listening to or admitting that inner wisdom feels literally
life-threatening. There’s been so much conditioning to squelch myself and trust
only what the outside “authority“ says. What are the rules of the pack so I can
fit in and be accepted? What are my mom’s rules so I can avoid her anger, her
painful criticism and terrifying rejection of me? All of that conditioning and
rule following is built on the idea that I am not acceptable. That I am not
good and my nature cannot be trusted. All of that seeking authority and safety
from outside tells me that I am not worthy of love. It might have kept my body
safe from harm as a child. But safety does not equal the nourishment of love.
(Give a girl some conditional praise and she feels safe for the
moment. Teach her to trust and celebrate herself and life, and she lives
securely in love always.)
I share this because sharing helps me ground the wisdom that is
coming through me, the wisdom that lives AS me. I also share it because I’ve
noticed this in others too. You? Maybe part of you also fears going within for
your own wisdom, answers and authority. That universal fear that if we stop
connecting to the authority of the tribe, the consensus, the rules that we’ll
be cast out. Alone. From the survival/animal brain perspective, that makes
perfect sense. I’m not saying we don’t need our kindred animals. Here I am
soothing my own animal, letting it know that life is not the dire “either/or“
survival paradigm of its ancient brain. Light has evolved. Life has evolved.
The body is so relatively safe in this time of the world. And now we are
opening to the Source of Life Itself. Communing with that Divine Intelligence
that gives rise to it ALL. And we can FEEL it inside us. It shows up as our
own, unique guidance and authority. Each life form knowing exactly what it
needs to thrive, evolve, and grow out of the fear. Knows what it needs to open
and include so much more light, love, refinement of expression. Oh wow. The
perfect exquisite expression of the infinite variety of life! The infinite
uniqueness of the forms of Love!
That’s me and you. Unique, perfect forms of the intelligence of
life. We ARE Love in distinct celebrations and expressions of its forms. That’s
us! And as unique as we are, we are still in this together! We’re still not
alone. We’re still ALL ONE. Ironically, I am more aware of that ONE LIGHT when
I look inside and honor the prism of unique me. I can let myself know this. I
can let myself FEEL this inner connection to Everything, and access that innate
Intelligence. I won’t be kicked out for following that. Even if it looks different
than you following it. Or my Mom. Or
whoever. This is a celebration of how
that Light shines through me in a way it can only through me! As it can only through each of us. This
awareness of my own authority, animated by a Larger Knowing, lets me see and be
in awe of both me and the Life that gives rise to me! Going inside, admitting this
inner connection, I am not alone. We are still ALL ONE.
https://christinabrittain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ChristinaBrittainLogo-300x61.png00chrisbhttps://christinabrittain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ChristinaBrittainLogo-300x61.pngchrisb2020-07-22 15:46:112021-12-17 20:51:22My Recent Shamanic Journey and More Thoughts on Avoiding Myself
Hi everyone. I had a couple thoughts today I’d like to share. About avoiding myself. You know me, and of course I do sit down often and go inside. Yet there are also LOTS of times when I avoid it like crazy. I’ll be feeling some uncomfortable feeling and know that if I sat down and went inside, it would benefit me. In any number of ways. And yet I avoid. Basically I do the equivalent of running around with my fingers in my ears, saying “LA LA LA LA LA – I CAN’T HEAR YOU!” I keep myself busy and keep my discomfort from having a chance to rise up and tell me whatever it is that it needs to share.
I know why. Actually, there are lots of reasons. And they’re not new thoughts. But here are two that showed up in a new way for me today. First: Today after I finally sat down and sidled up to myself, consciously curious about why I resist going inside sometimes, a little voice said “Because. You aren’t coming in here to be with me. You’re coming in here to make me feel different, be different. To change me, fix me and whip me into shape. You’re super serious and painful.” It’s true. I’m getting better at sitting inside myself just to feel the joy of it. To be with myself in the awareness of LIFE! To sit down with whatever is in there and celebrate together. Notice the sunset together. To sit side by side, not trying to change whatever is there, but to be with it as I am also in awe of being alive. I’d run too if I knew my life partner was in that mood again and was going to sit me down, give me a lecture, and try to make me change instead of listen to me and be with me.
Second: There is a HUGE part of me that is totally scared of going inside because it thinks all the “okayness” is out there and needs focus entirely on how to get it. Going inside feels like certain disconnection from safety. It feels like it will literally be certain death. I know all the “why’s,” but it still terrifies that part of me.
And that part of me is a perfect example of a part that needs love, not a scolding. It needs me to just show up and be with it in love. To sit with it, listen to anything it wants to say, and NOT TRY TO CHANGE IT, which will only freak it out more. This part of me that’s afraid of listening to the inner authority because it might mean I’ll die from not following “the rules” out there.
Like I said, these aren’t new thoughts. Just more deeply felt today. And from new “aha’s” that landed differently in the body. I just wanted to name this and share it. It’s helping me get even more solid ground about truly allowing every part of me. It’s all good. It’s all God. It’s all some form of love trying to love me. In the end, that’s what all the parts are, after all. Even if some of those parts are working with really confused ideas.
Thank you for reading this. And if you are, I hope you find more kindness and celebration for yourself too. That you can sit with total acceptance of whatever is showing up, rather than try to make any part of you be different. It’s all good. It’s all God. It’s all some form of love trying to love you.
Here are some ideas and resources for those of you who were
interested in the class I did recently called How to Allow When Things Are
Intense. Several folks who couldn’t come
asked me for some helpful suggestions.
The following might help you be with uncomfortable emotions in a way
that feels more allowing, accepting, and peaceful. Try to let any discomfort or anxiety roll
through you without fighting it or thinking you shouldn’t be feeling it. Anxiety is fine, unless we feel anxious about
it. 😉 I know it sounds funny, but it’s true.
Just letting it all come through without thinking it needs to be
different or shouldn’t be happening –
that in itself helps to calm the nervous system down. Much better for our state
of mind and state of body/health.
There are SO MANY things that help, and these are just a few off
the top of my head. So, try these and
see if any resonate with you and help you to relax:
First, the quickies:
GET OUTSIDE!
Connecting with nature is scientifically proven to relax you, calm the
nervous system, help you sleep better, and strengthen your immune system!
BREATHE! Sit
down and breath on purpose! Breathing fully
is also scientifically proven to benefit the body and all its processes,
including calming the nervous system down.
LOOK UP! Physically
looking up changes your posture and literally changes your perspective to a
bigger one. Helps us step out of our closed loop thinking, get out of our heads
and the drama of our stories, and literally opens up new neural networks to
help us realize that the reality between our ears might be just a little made
up (or, a LOT made up!)
LAUGH! Watch
funny movies, stand up, youtube videos that help you laugh out loud!
LIGHTEN UP! Are
you taking things too seriously, by any chance?
Laughter helps, getting outside helps, doing things that you like and
feel fun helps. Do whatever helps you
not to get hooked into the drama and to live a much lighter, freer experience!
BOOKS: There are SO many helpful books! Go with what feels good to you, and know that reading is a great way to keep yourself exposed to/gounded in/fed by the truth of wellbeing! Michael Singer wrote the Untethered Soul, which I also recommend. I think reading The Surrender Experiment first is a good way to go!
The Little Book of Big Change, Dr. Amy Johnson. Try this book. It speaks toward addictions and habits, but truly addresses habitual, repetitive thinking:
Byron Katie’s “The Work” – helps us to question the thoughts
that are taking us for a ride. Helps us
to see that ultimately no thought is true, so we can save ourselves a lot of
trauma by not believing them. This process helps you actually get it that the
thoughts aren’t true: Free worksheets, instructions, videos
There are SO many ways to help ourselves remember the truth, even in
the face of big stress, fear and anxiety. I’d love to hear some of your favorites! Please post!
https://christinabrittain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ChristinaBrittainLogo-300x61.png00chrisbhttps://christinabrittain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ChristinaBrittainLogo-300x61.pngchrisb2020-07-07 16:34:182021-12-17 20:51:35Resources for How To Allow When Things Are Intense
Hi. This one is my favorite so far. Getting more comfortable with being on video, and so I’m enjoying this even more. I’m just enjoying the play and sharing my little ditties. Hugs to you all. Really. I miss hugging as much as I’d like!
https://christinabrittain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ChristinaBrittainLogo-300x61.png00chrisbhttps://christinabrittain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ChristinaBrittainLogo-300x61.pngchrisb2020-05-21 19:36:172021-12-17 20:51:33Reminder Song: I Surrender To Being Who I Am
Here’s a little ditty about the simple joy, power and LOGIC of doing what feels good! Support your body and its flow by doing what feels good – and revel in what feels good just for the joy of it. What we feel equals our experience in the moment and in life. This song reminds us that we can revel in and enjoy on purpose! Loving you, Christina Brittain
https://christinabrittain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ChristinaBrittainLogo-300x61.png00chrisbhttps://christinabrittain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ChristinaBrittainLogo-300x61.pngchrisb2020-05-10 17:59:422021-12-17 20:51:32Reminder Song: I do what feels good!
I love to change the lyrics to songs so I can play with and remind myself about things that feel true to me. Things that feel good in my body and stick happily in my mind. The songs help me give my attention to things that I love to experience (rather than spend time spinning in my mind on unhelpful patterns). This one is a simple, sweet reminder that when we feel love, we radiate it inside and out. It just feels good to do that, and this song is a fun way to! I hope you enjoy!
I forget but thankfully remember over and over again that life happens from the inside out. That how we think about what’s happening in our lives determines what we experience. It determines what we experience because we’re feeling what we are thinking. And knowing that we are the ones who witness our thoughts, feelings and experiences, we have so much more freedom to relate to life differently. The same life, the same “drama” is now a whole new, alive, even beloved experience.
I know I am more than the story that happens between my ears. And the more I expand into this larger me, the more love I have for the storied me. Knowing that I am more than what I am experiencing right now, I’m somehow much more alive to the experience! Alive and free and available to unadulterated LIFE! The ability to hold my smaller identity within the vast truth of myself Has been profoundly healing for me. I feel more acceptance, happiness, freedom, calm, trust and openness. I feel my oneness and connection with All Life, and allow it to Flow through me in a way it can only through me. So I simultaneously have less of an identity and yet honor and cherish the uniqueness of being exactly the person I am. For me, this curiosity about who I am without my story opens up connection to nature, life, oneness, love, spirit and yet deep, true, authentic self. It creates such a relaxation in me. No fighting being who I am. Just a beingness of who/what I am. A bird is just a bird. It goes about its life without a story about itself. And certainly not a story about how it should be OTHER than what it is. If it tried to be a porcupine, it would get in its own way. Seemingly (because we can never really be separate), it would hold itself up out of the natural web. It would go against the Flow of things, and against its natural place and ways of being. But a bird never has a story of needing to be a porcupine, so it is relaxed. Being its bird self, it naturally, effortlessly fits into the scheme of all Life. So, me. So, you. We are all perfect, and held in the larger truth of what we be. No need for story.
And yet, how sweet the story of bird! Of me. Of you. <3
https://christinabrittain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ChristinaBrittainLogo-300x61.png00chrisbhttps://christinabrittain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ChristinaBrittainLogo-300x61.pngchrisb2020-05-10 17:41:292021-12-17 20:52:11You Are More Than Your Story
Hi everybody! This time of great change has been wild and uncertain – but filled with so many possibilities and invitations. One of the tools that I use for myself and teach in my classes is singing! For a long time, I’ve taken popular songs and changed the lyrics to them. Songs stick in our heads, and they are a great way to steep ourselves in loving messages. And in such a light hearted way. As St. Augustine said, “To sing is to pray twice.” So here is one of my many little ditties! I hope it amuses you! I’ll share more as we go!
https://christinabrittain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ChristinaBrittainLogo-300x61.png00chrisbhttps://christinabrittain.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ChristinaBrittainLogo-300x61.pngchrisb2020-04-20 22:39:592021-12-17 20:51:33Reminder Song: I Trust In Every Moment!
Today is the spring equinox, the day exactly in between the winter and summer solstices. Winter solstice has the longest night, and summer solstice has the longest day. Today is the spring equinox, which is the day exactly between the solstices. It has equal amounts of darkness and light, and it’s the first day of the spring season. So today is full of the natural energies of freshness, renewal, and balance.
We ourselves are embodiments of nature. Humans have always celebrated and honored the rhythms of the earth. We feel the shift of seasons within our own psyches and bodies. We ARE life, and we feel the movement of life within us, as us. Life! Spring is the most exuberant, obvious season for the celebration of it. The green-ness grows! The buds come forth! The eggs hatch!
No matter what is going on in the world, life continues, always. Life, unstoppable LIFE, has existed long before even our planet did. It will continue in its eternal, expanding, joyful unfolding long after our beloved planet has passed. Not only does our planet have seasons, but so does the solar system, the cosmos. Nature – on scales smaller and larger than we can fathom. And we are PART OF IT! Alive with our loving, beating, precious hearts!
Life is now! Take a moment to notice the miraculousness of it! Life is now! Even in tax season. Even with the scare of an epidemic. There will always be something. And no matter what, YOUR exquisite moment of aliveness is in full bloom, right now.
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I GIVE UP! What a Relief!
I give up. I give up trying to figure out the rules. I give up trying to figure out what is “true.” Which philosophy, which spiritual approach, which technique is “best?” Which one will tell me THE way things work and what are the clear rules to follow that are “right?” I give up. I’m sick (literally) of having an inner state of frantic reaching for something “out there” that is going to make me safe. I give up trying to know, trying to be right, trying to be “spiritual,” be “enlightened,” and even trying to be loved.
I know that Life IS. I know that Life is unstoppable. Life exists, and has an intelligence about it and it is LIFE that has given rise to all of it. ALL of it. All the expressions, all the possibilities. Human life is one blip in infinity, no matter how long we are present as a species. Life has been, life will be, always, eternally. Rolling on and on and on. As galaxies, universes, INFINITE life forms, infinite ideas expressing. Creation is bottomless, endless, the ceaseless fountain of expression.
I can’t know from my tiny blip of Christina what “the one right Truth” is. There is none. Every moment gives rise to a new way of doing things that is appropriate for each new creation arising. The “right” way of doing things depends on each life form, each moment of that life form, the needs and desires of that life form. Creation can’t be stopped in its curious expansion, evolution, and CHANGE.
I can’t know what The One Truth is, or even what Existence is and how it works. I can’t know what my “purpose” is, or what I “should” be doing.
What I CAN do is FEEL the Living Flood of Life that I am.
What I can do is feel the Living Flood of Life that I am. I can feel that aliveness in me, as me. I can open myself to it and feel what is calling through me. I give up reaching outside of myself for an intellectual answer, and I return to the home of Life inside me. I feel my beingness. I feel the alive, aware Life that animates all things. It has taken care of its Expression and Existence always. It can certainly live me perfectly too. I can rest in that. I can allow myself to give up the trying and BE. In that, I can feel in my body that I am intrinsically rooted, connected to All Life. I am more than fed by it. From most angles, and from a gut-sensing standpoint, I am indistinguishable from the Infinite Ocean Itself.
Except I am also the miraculously unique form that Life has birthed along with all its infinite other unique creations. Life has given rise to this totally inimitable, incomparable “me.” I trust the Life that manages all things to “manage” me too. I trust the Life that moves through me to call itself to the next action, next idea, next word……
And I can FEEL that call. As a relaxing, an opening, an ease in every moment. Even moments when I feel like having an angry tirade! There is an ease in letting it be what it is without trying to fight it and make myself be something else.
So I give up. I surrender to the changing “rightness” of each moment. I let myself be and give up the idea that I need to improve or fix myself to be somehow better than Life has given rise to me.
More and more of the classes I offer are centered in this trust in the aliveness. This trust in our ability to FEEL that life and align with it, allowing ourselves ease. Allowing ourselves to celebrate ourselves just as we are and free ourselves to relax and expand in natural directions. We can feel our uniqueness and stop fighting it, letting the genius that we each are flow unhindered by our interference in trying to be good or right.
The practices, thoughts, philosophies, and techniques I share in sessions and classes all serve that center of FEELING, trusting and aligning with that naturalness of what we are. I hope you’ll join in for this next class I have scheduled on exploring the living truth that you are, and letting go of figuring out what “THE” truth is and what the rules of that truth are. It is my ongoing joy to spend time with you in this freeing, smile-inducing conversation about celebrating exactly what we are, in every changing moment!
My Recent Shamanic Journey and More Thoughts on Avoiding Myself
Last week a dear friend facilitated a shamanic journey for me. She’s such a skilled and intuitive practitioner. The ritual of the journey was simple, powerful and grounded. The intention of the journey was to invite all the knowing and Divine connection I experience on a regular basis to really filter into my physical experience. To explore and soften the illusion of separation from that inner, Bigger Knowing. It was an amazing experience! I won’t bother telling you the visions and feelings. But here is a big part of what came through:
There is a part of me that is terrified to admit that I know my own answers. It doesn’t want me to admit my own authority or inner guidance. To that part of me, listening to or admitting that inner wisdom feels literally life-threatening. There’s been so much conditioning to squelch myself and trust only what the outside “authority“ says. What are the rules of the pack so I can fit in and be accepted? What are my mom’s rules so I can avoid her anger, her painful criticism and terrifying rejection of me? All of that conditioning and rule following is built on the idea that I am not acceptable. That I am not good and my nature cannot be trusted. All of that seeking authority and safety from outside tells me that I am not worthy of love. It might have kept my body safe from harm as a child. But safety does not equal the nourishment of love.
(Give a girl some conditional praise and she feels safe for the moment. Teach her to trust and celebrate herself and life, and she lives securely in love always.)
I share this because sharing helps me ground the wisdom that is coming through me, the wisdom that lives AS me. I also share it because I’ve noticed this in others too. You? Maybe part of you also fears going within for your own wisdom, answers and authority. That universal fear that if we stop connecting to the authority of the tribe, the consensus, the rules that we’ll be cast out. Alone. From the survival/animal brain perspective, that makes perfect sense. I’m not saying we don’t need our kindred animals. Here I am soothing my own animal, letting it know that life is not the dire “either/or“ survival paradigm of its ancient brain. Light has evolved. Life has evolved. The body is so relatively safe in this time of the world. And now we are opening to the Source of Life Itself. Communing with that Divine Intelligence that gives rise to it ALL. And we can FEEL it inside us. It shows up as our own, unique guidance and authority. Each life form knowing exactly what it needs to thrive, evolve, and grow out of the fear. Knows what it needs to open and include so much more light, love, refinement of expression. Oh wow. The perfect exquisite expression of the infinite variety of life! The infinite uniqueness of the forms of Love!
That’s me and you. Unique, perfect forms of the intelligence of life. We ARE Love in distinct celebrations and expressions of its forms. That’s us! And as unique as we are, we are still in this together! We’re still not alone. We’re still ALL ONE. Ironically, I am more aware of that ONE LIGHT when I look inside and honor the prism of unique me. I can let myself know this. I can let myself FEEL this inner connection to Everything, and access that innate Intelligence. I won’t be kicked out for following that. Even if it looks different than you following it. Or my Mom. Or whoever. This is a celebration of how that Light shines through me in a way it can only through me! As it can only through each of us. This awareness of my own authority, animated by a Larger Knowing, lets me see and be in awe of both me and the Life that gives rise to me! Going inside, admitting this inner connection, I am not alone. We are still ALL ONE.
Loving you, and me, and we,
Christina
No wonder I avoid myself…
I know why. Actually, there are lots of reasons. And they’re not new thoughts. But here are two that showed up in a new way for me today.
First: Today after I finally sat down and sidled up to myself, consciously curious about why I resist going inside sometimes, a little voice said “Because. You aren’t coming in here to be with me. You’re coming in here to make me feel different, be different. To change me, fix me and whip me into shape. You’re super serious and painful.” It’s true. I’m getting better at sitting inside myself just to feel the joy of it. To be with myself in the awareness of LIFE! To sit down with whatever is in there and celebrate together. Notice the sunset together. To sit side by side, not trying to change whatever is there, but to be with it as I am also in awe of being alive. I’d run too if I knew my life partner was in that mood again and was going to sit me down, give me a lecture, and try to make me change instead of listen to me and be with me.
Second: There is a HUGE part of me that is totally scared of going inside because it thinks all the “okayness” is out there and needs focus entirely on how to get it. Going inside feels like certain disconnection from safety. It feels like it will literally be certain death. I know all the “why’s,” but it still terrifies that part of me.
And that part of me is a perfect example of a part that needs love, not a scolding. It needs me to just show up and be with it in love. To sit with it, listen to anything it wants to say, and NOT TRY TO CHANGE IT, which will only freak it out more. This part of me that’s afraid of listening to the inner authority because it might mean I’ll die from not following “the rules” out there.
Like I said, these aren’t new thoughts. Just more deeply felt today. And from new “aha’s” that landed differently in the body. I just wanted to name this and share it. It’s helping me get even more solid ground about truly allowing every part of me. It’s all good. It’s all God. It’s all some form of love trying to love me. In the end, that’s what all the parts are, after all. Even if some of those parts are working with really confused ideas.
Thank you for reading this. And if you are, I hope you find more kindness and celebration for yourself too. That you can sit with total acceptance of whatever is showing up, rather than try to make any part of you be different. It’s all good. It’s all God. It’s all some form of love trying to love you.
And everybody, I love you too,
C
Resources for How To Allow When Things Are Intense
How To Allow When Things Are Intense:
Resources
Here are some ideas and resources for those of you who were interested in the class I did recently called How to Allow When Things Are Intense. Several folks who couldn’t come asked me for some helpful suggestions. The following might help you be with uncomfortable emotions in a way that feels more allowing, accepting, and peaceful. Try to let any discomfort or anxiety roll through you without fighting it or thinking you shouldn’t be feeling it. Anxiety is fine, unless we feel anxious about it. 😉 I know it sounds funny, but it’s true. Just letting it all come through without thinking it needs to be different or shouldn’t be happening – that in itself helps to calm the nervous system down. Much better for our state of mind and state of body/health.
There are SO MANY things that help, and these are just a few off the top of my head. So, try these and see if any resonate with you and help you to relax:
First, the quickies:
GET OUTSIDE! Connecting with nature is scientifically proven to relax you, calm the nervous system, help you sleep better, and strengthen your immune system!
BREATHE! Sit down and breath on purpose! Breathing fully is also scientifically proven to benefit the body and all its processes, including calming the nervous system down.
LOOK UP! Physically looking up changes your posture and literally changes your perspective to a bigger one. Helps us step out of our closed loop thinking, get out of our heads and the drama of our stories, and literally opens up new neural networks to help us realize that the reality between our ears might be just a little made up (or, a LOT made up!)
LAUGH! Watch funny movies, stand up, youtube videos that help you laugh out loud!
LIGHTEN UP! Are you taking things too seriously, by any chance? Laughter helps, getting outside helps, doing things that you like and feel fun helps. Do whatever helps you not to get hooked into the drama and to live a much lighter, freer experience!
Dr. Amy Johnson’s blog:
How to ride out unpleasant emotions: https://youtu.be/W3ikxvyg6ls
Sarah Blondin’s guided meditations: https://insig.ht/RSgZlABUF7
BOOKS: There are SO many helpful books! Go with what feels good to you, and know that reading is a great way to keep yourself exposed to/gounded in/fed by the truth of wellbeing! Michael Singer wrote the Untethered Soul, which I also recommend. I think reading The Surrender Experiment first is a good way to go!
The Little Book of Big Change, Dr. Amy Johnson. Try this book. It speaks toward addictions and habits, but truly addresses habitual, repetitive thinking:
Byron Katie’s “The Work” – helps us to question the thoughts that are taking us for a ride. Helps us to see that ultimately no thought is true, so we can save ourselves a lot of trauma by not believing them. This process helps you actually get it that the thoughts aren’t true: Free worksheets, instructions, videos
Breathing to activate vagus nerve and the parasympathetic nervous system: I like this video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QTJOAI0UoU&list=PL77eIgPU1X9_nysxXn0gMhOP4qXh55nl6&index=6&t=368s
My Youtube channel. I have various playlists. All of them offer some kind of upliftment or inspiration. Maybe there will be something there for you!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7AoDFgCJS3ZzhGYUd4gSIA/featured
There are SO many ways to help ourselves remember the truth, even in the face of big stress, fear and anxiety. I’d love to hear some of your favorites! Please post!
Always Love,
Christina
Reminder Song: I Surrender To Being Who I Am
Hi. This one is my favorite so far. Getting more comfortable with being on video, and so I’m enjoying this even more. I’m just enjoying the play and sharing my little ditties. Hugs to you all. Really. I miss hugging as much as I’d like!
Reminder Song: I do what feels good!
Here’s a little ditty about the simple joy, power and LOGIC of doing what feels good! Support your body and its flow by doing what feels good – and revel in what feels good just for the joy of it. What we feel equals our experience in the moment and in life. This song reminds us that we can revel in and enjoy on purpose! Loving you, Christina Brittain
Reminder Song: Hokey-Pokey Love Song!
I love to change the lyrics to songs so I can play with and remind myself about things that feel true to me. Things that feel good in my body and stick happily in my mind. The songs help me give my attention to things that I love to experience (rather than spend time spinning in my mind on unhelpful patterns). This one is a simple, sweet reminder that when we feel love, we radiate it inside and out. It just feels good to do that, and this song is a fun way to! I hope you enjoy!
You Are More Than Your Story
I forget but thankfully remember over and over again that life happens from the inside out. That how we think about what’s happening in our lives determines what we experience. It determines what we experience because we’re feeling what we are thinking. And knowing that we are the ones who witness our thoughts, feelings and experiences, we have so much more freedom to relate to life differently. The same life, the same “drama” is now a whole new, alive, even beloved experience.
I know I am more than the story that happens between my ears. And the more I expand into this larger me, the more love I have for the storied me. Knowing that I am more than what I am experiencing right now, I’m somehow much more alive to the experience! Alive and free and available to unadulterated LIFE! The ability to hold my smaller identity within the vast truth of myself Has been profoundly healing for me. I feel more acceptance, happiness, freedom, calm, trust and openness. I feel my oneness and connection with All Life, and allow it to Flow through me in a way it can only through me. So I simultaneously have less of an identity and yet honor and cherish the uniqueness of being exactly the person I am. For me, this curiosity about who I am without my story opens up connection to nature, life, oneness, love, spirit and yet deep, true, authentic self. It creates such a relaxation in me. No fighting being who I am. Just a beingness of who/what I am. A bird is just a bird. It goes about its life without a story about itself. And certainly not a story about how it should be OTHER than what it is. If it tried to be a porcupine, it would get in its own way. Seemingly (because we can never really be separate), it would hold itself up out of the natural web. It would go against the Flow of things, and against its natural place and ways of being. But a bird never has a story of needing to be a porcupine, so it is relaxed. Being its bird self, it naturally, effortlessly fits into the scheme of all Life. So, me. So, you. We are all perfect, and held in the larger truth of what we be. No need for story.
And yet, how sweet the story of bird! Of me. Of you. <3
Reminder Song: I Trust In Every Moment!
Hi everybody! This time of great change has been wild and uncertain – but filled with so many possibilities and invitations. One of the tools that I use for myself and teach in my classes is singing! For a long time, I’ve taken popular songs and changed the lyrics to them. Songs stick in our heads, and they are a great way to steep ourselves in loving messages. And in such a light hearted way. As St. Augustine said, “To sing is to pray twice.” So here is one of my many little ditties! I hope it amuses you! I’ll share more as we go!
Happy Spring Equinox!
Today is the spring equinox, the day exactly in between the winter and summer solstices. Winter solstice has the longest night, and summer solstice has the longest day. Today is the spring equinox, which is the day exactly between the solstices. It has equal amounts of darkness and light, and it’s the first day of the spring season. So today is full of the natural energies of freshness, renewal, and balance.
We ourselves are embodiments of nature. Humans have always celebrated and honored the rhythms of the earth. We feel the shift of seasons within our own psyches and bodies. We ARE life, and we feel the movement of life within us, as us. Life! Spring is the most exuberant, obvious season for the celebration of it. The green-ness grows! The buds come forth! The eggs hatch!
No matter what is going on in the world, life continues, always. Life, unstoppable LIFE, has existed long before even our planet did. It will continue in its eternal, expanding, joyful unfolding long after our beloved planet has passed. Not only does our planet have seasons, but so does the solar system, the cosmos. Nature – on scales smaller and larger than we can fathom. And we are PART OF IT! Alive with our loving, beating, precious hearts!
Life is now! Take a moment to notice the miraculousness of it! Life is now! Even in tax season. Even with the scare of an epidemic. There will always be something. And no matter what, YOUR exquisite moment of aliveness is in full bloom, right now.
I bloomin’ love you all! (literally, ever-bloomingly!)
Christina
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PS – You might find it of interest: Due to whatever mysteries of nature involved, today’s spring has come earlier than it has for 124 years! The last time spring came this early was in 1896. Read about it here, if you like!
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2020/03/16/first-day-spring-starts-thursday-vernal-equinox-weather/5057610002/