Recently during an esoteric yoga class, the yoga teacher talked of the love from our hearts coming down our arms and coming out of our hands. When she spoke of this, all I could see was myself hugging another. Continue reading “What’s in a Hug?”
Category: Relationships
Walking Life with my Hands in my Pockets
This morning, as I was walking along the beach with my husband and we were having a deep discussion about our relationship, I noticed that I kept my hands in my pockets and was feeling quite tense and reactive.
I then made a conscious choice to take my hands out of my pockets. I allowed them to swing with my body as I walked and was surprised to feel the tension leave my body – I could feel the calming rhythm of my walk. From that place I was able to express more openly and honestly with my husband and our walk became more harmonious. Continue reading “Walking Life with my Hands in my Pockets”
In what Quality do we do Christmas?
There are many beliefs and traditions about the way that Christmas pans out each year and for most it is either one of the most stimulating and looked forward to celebrations, or it is one of the most dreaded times of the year – for many different reasons. The lead-up to Christmas, the actual day and the days that follow can leave us utterly exhausted, emotional, or stressed out!
We need to wonder if this is the quality we really want to be in for our Christmas period? Have we lost sight that some of the reasons for celebrating Christmas could also be to focus on winding down after our year, celebrating family and enjoying quality time connecting together?
Christmas time can mean feeling a lot of pressure & expectations: Continue reading “In what Quality do we do Christmas?”
The Act of Love
One day at work I noticed my colleague handing a spoon to a gentleman he used to work with. The gentleman had just made the comment that he wanted to eat his yoghurt whilst grabbing it from another room, and from that my colleague handed him the spoon without the required “Can I have one please?”
Right now you’re probably like… “So, what’s the big deal?” And really, there is no big deal, it was just beautiful to register the act, and it got me thinking about love and the loving gestures we show one another. He was so natural with it, and it was clear to see that it is a normal part of how we can be with each other – caring for each other. Continue reading “The Act of Love”
We’re All Married to Everyone
Have you ever noticed how couples who have broken up often continue to behave and fight the way they did while married? Even for years or decades after separating or divorcing?
The same could be said for siblings, friends, teachers, students, workmates and business contacts who come into conflict and part company because of it. Or even public figures like politicians and celebrities who we choose to dislike for whatever reason. Sometimes the participants (even the unwitting ones) in these conflicted relationships who have moved apart may not even communicate directly at all, but the hostility, jealousy, frustration, judgment, etc., goes on and on within each person… like a festering splinter… Continue reading “We’re All Married to Everyone”
Trapped in Conditional Love
While we would never want to admit it, conditional love is very much the predominant expression of love in the world today. It is something we have accepted as close enough to love and therefore we have begun to accept, and even expect, this type of love time and time again.
So what is conditional love?
Conditional love has many layers and many forms, all of them designed to show the world just enough of our true self (our essence) so we don’t appear soulless, but not enough that other people might freak out, run away or point and say, ”You’re different,” “We don’t like you” etc.
Conditional love is the voice that says, “Don’t shine quite so bright, don’t say what you actually feel, don’t step on toes.” It is also the voice that says, “You’re better to wallow in your woes, because when you wallow, others leave you alone or give you attention and sympathy.”
The Power of Healing Our Hurts
Growing up as a boy I know the feeling of being judged for something that I am.
From the age of 8, when I first heard of the possibility that two men could live together as a couple and love each other just like Mum and Dad did, it was then I knew that I would one day be living as a gay man. Very innocently I told a friend this. Weeks later I discovered that being ‘gay’ was seen as a bad thing by the majority of people, and that this word could be used as a weapon. I simply couldn’t understand how loving another man could not be right! And how could a word that described such a beautiful thing be used to hurt another? Continue reading “The Power of Healing Our Hurts”
Giving Power back to Love: Making the Choice to not be Dominated by Hurt
This blog has been moved to: Giving Power back to Love: Making the Choice to not be Dominated by Hurt
What I Love about Lighting a Fire
I love sitting around a fire, I love the whole process – the ritual of setting a fire before lighting it, small twigs then larger sticks and then logs. The pop and crackle as the flames take hold and expand, and the warmth that grows with the flames.
I recently had an operation. I now have an extended period of recovery before I am able to return to work. I had planned to spend many hours during my recovery sitting next to a fire enjoying something I don’t often find time to do in the busyness of everyday working life. In preparation I had chopped and stacked a large pile of wood, as I knew I would not be able to do anything too physical for a while after the operation. Continue reading “What I Love about Lighting a Fire”
Learning to Trust Men
All my life I have been frightened to trust men. I was raised with a father who abused alcohol, which made him feel quite frightening to me a lot of the time. I also watched a few too many episodes of ‘Australia’s Most Wanted,’ where men were portrayed as dangerous and appeared to do terrible things to women and children. This was confirmed when an older man tried to kiss me and flashed at me when I was about ten years old.