Author: Alain Herriott

So what is being fully present?  It is the absence of conflict within ourselves. One of the ways to attain this state is by feeling everything that makes you believe you aren’t present.  It sounds complex but it is really very simple.  Let yourself feel each instance of resistance and the rest unfolds all by itself.  ~Alain & Jody Herriott

“The pursuit of truth and beauty is a sphere of activity in which we are permitted to remain children all our lives.” — Albert Einstein

This action awakens wonder at the immensity of being in the moment. It is an unfolding process that we return to as we feel and reintegrate our body and mind.  This simple act opens us to our childlike nature; seeing everything anew and marveling at each grain of sand on the beach of our lives. ~Alain & Jody Herriott

Most of us are constantly trying to achieve.  We strive, we hope and even dream of achieving our goal. But, what we see around us is also our playground and it defines how we live in our world.  This playground often seems limited  but it is only showing us where we are holding; where we are feeling constraint.  This now becomes an opportunity to change the parameters of our playground.  It may seem like a “Catch-22’ that trying and striving to achieve a goal is actually the exact opposite way to achieve it quickly and easily.  By feeling our restrictions instead of striving, we open a door that has been closed to us.  The restrictions unwind, our playground connects to resolution and balance, and we achieve our goal without ever having to compromise who we are. ~Alain & Jody Herriott

sometimes I go about 
in pity for myself
 and all the while
a great wind carries me 
across the sky —Ojibwa

We are in constant motion, connected to everything around us.  Yet the mind will criticize our chosen path and then the drama seems unwieldy.  Yet all the while this connection to everything around is present and we can choose to open to this path feeling our way and be carried by the great wind.  ~Alain & Jody Herriott

Everyone talks about being present.  Actually we are present all the time.  It is just that our focus is on our seeming problems.  Our mind is constantly searching and striving, and while this seems like the right approach to figuring things out, it actually isn’t.  The path of the mind brings about resistance, while the path of feeling creates a state of being.  To realize our true nature we must integrate the two.  This means we will change, but in all the best ways.  Welcome to the path.  ~Alain & Jody Herriott  

Gazing at the perfection of a leaf I pause in my reflection realizing that this leaf is a mirror, a link, to every other leaf.  Just as each part of us is connected to every other part of us, no one piece independent from the rest, we are a holographic whole.  This connection does not end with one of us.  Just like the plant, we are connected to every other person on the planet.  We often forget that we are linked because feeling this level of openness is so foreign, yet it is still true.  One leaf, one being, one planet, one universe.  ~Alain & Jody Herriott

Each week we look for words of inspiration and meaning.  The thing is WE (you and I) are the inspiration.  WE are what makes our life amazing and deeply satisfying.  So again we process our fears, our doubts about whether we can be enough. Inside us, just below the surface, every answer is found, every meaning is given.  We are enough, each and every one of us.   ~Alain & Jody Herriott

Debi: You know what you need?
Marty: What?
Debi: Shakubuku.
Marty: You wanna tell me what that means?
Debi: It’s a swift, spiritual kick to the head that alters your reality forever.
Marty: Oh, that’d be good. I think.  From the Movie Grosse Pointe Blank

We heard this when watching the movie and were struck by how life provides us with answers from so many diverse places.  Some of us will hear the answers we need in the moments of great despair, while others will find it in an experience of ecstasy. Or we may come across it in our everyday life. The great thing is to recognize that it does come and the rest of our life is forever changed.  ~Alain & Jody Herriott

“… the rules of transcendence insist that you will not advance even one inch closer to divinity as long as you cling to even one last seductive thread of blame.” — Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love

Judgement by us or upon us.  This is the mind creating when caught in the squirrel cage of disconnection from the self.  It is a circular creation that winds us up and often feels like it spits us out.  This is getting caught in the drama.  All we need do to free ourselves is feel our feelings vs getting caught in them. The drama unwinds and finally we are free.  ~Alain & Jody Herriott

All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances.  — William Shakespeare

This is life with all its many experiences and often it seems that we have few choices in how the play proceeds.  Ah, but we do have choices and that is what feeling offers us.  It is the golden opportunity to rewrite our play, become whole and live in the ever expanding rich brocade of life.  ~Alain & Jody Herriott