Fierce Compassion

"These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them." 

Rumi, 1207-1273

I am sending deep love and fierce compassion to each of you. In the midst of this upheaval I know we can awaken our hearts and find courage. A pandemic naturally provokes significant fear and anxiety. I am feeling scared of losing a loved one, financial instability, and not knowing when I will hug friends and family again. I feel deep sadness for so much of the world. Yet Rumi teaches, "These pains you feel are messengers. Listen to them." Can we lean into our fear & sadness and allow the pain to teach us?

We are coming into contact with our vulnerability; something humans prefer to deny. So this is scary on a primal level. Yet, on the flip side of fear you find what you most deeply care about. So hold the fear tenderly, and look beneath. May we feel into deep gratitude to live on this beautiful earth and have the capacity for human connection. May we find and cherish moments we would not otherwise get if this was not happening. Let's contact the gift of simply being alive. In Buddhism they have a term for this: the bodhisattva-warrior. The term warrior is there for a reason! Stripped of our everyday distractions like restaurants and social outings, coupled with fear and uncertainty, requires us to find the peaceful warrior inside. It is a call to surrender to the moment and move through this with an open and loving heart. When we come to terms with impermanence, our ability to savor life expands and resiliency rises.

Easier said than done, I know! To understand this intellectually is easy. Practice - now more than ever - is essential. Evolutionarily vulnerability is dangerous. It causes the fight, flight, freeze response. We tense up and constrict, protecting our vital organs in the front body and closing the heart. Our thinking mind goes bananas - any of this sound familiar?! Building the muscle of awareness increases perspective, returns us to the present moment, and allows for softening. It is about embracing our vulnerability with loving kindness...AND BREATHING. This calms the nervous system, bolsters immunity, and helps us access the decision making part of our brain. Mindfulness & compassion physiologically transforms our stress response into the courage response. 

Will you practice with me? It is truly an honor to offer free 5-10 minute video practices available on Instagram (@headandheartwise) and my Youtube channel.  You can find audio meditations on my website here. It is my mission to support a shift from fear & constriction to compassion & courage. Please join me in spreading this medicine.

I am sending love and light during this difficult time. We are in this together. 

With Compassion,
Ellen Slater, LICSW, RYT
Founder