Part 1: Just Stop Waiting for Unicorns
Lisa Ash Drackert of Kansas City, MO, USA
“True space is encountered only with the willingness and courage to experience things just as they are.” -Gerald May, The Awakened Heart, p. 99
Soul space is something most of us are missing in our lives. Why? Because making soul space is demanding and messy and uncomfortable and requires just about as much patience as putting a buttoned-down Christmas sweater on a llama.
What I discovered about soul space during my very big emotional inhale the past few months was that it required me to wrestle with suffering and stop waiting around for my present moment to be a magical unicorn-rainbow-puppy parade. Instead, I needed to start making my present moment as free as possible given the present circumstances (with puppies, sans unicorns, naturally).
The head/heart/soul space I lived in last spring was far from content. I was grieving and frightened and nervous and doubtful and overwhelmingly stressed.
Within me clashed momentous emotions: shock, devastation, excitement, determination, grief, anger, disbelief, anguish. Immense suffering.
I did what any sensible person would do: I shut down my soul space, repressed a whole lot of emotion, turned into an efficiency robot, and disconnected from any hope of grace. I filled my hours until I didn’t have to bear the discomfort of my soul space. I told myself I was waiting for life to get back to normal, waiting to feel free again.
And then I read this, about repression of the soul space:
“…the more we repress, suppress, procrastinate, or anesthetize, the more resistant we will be toward space. Conversely, the more true space we give ourselves, the less we will repress. And to the extent that we consecrate our spaciousness, intend it for love, point it toward love’s source, space will be merciful. The unpleasantness of space will never be more than we can bear.” -Gerald May, The Awakened Heart, Harper Collins, 2009, p. 99
And my soul space demanded to be opened back up and directed toward love, immediately. What I needed was not more waiting to feel the right thing or to find the right words to put down on paper about this experience, but more courage to consecrate my soul space toward love so that I could heal from it.
-Adapted from http://lisaashyoga.com. Used with permission. xc2xa9Elizabeth Marie Ash Drackert
Prayer Phrase
I surrender into your love.
Spiritual Practice
Centering Prayer
Set a timer for 20 minutes. (If that feels like too much at first, choose a time that will be comfortable for you as a starting place, committing to expand that time in future prayer.) Allow the rhythm of your breath to draw you deeper and deeper into silence. As you breathe, claim one sacred word (Christ, peace, grace, trust, etc.) emerging in you as an anchor to return you to the intention of your prayer when your thoughts begin to wander. Gently release the thoughts and images that come, making space for presence to the One who is with you here and now. Release, return, “be vulnerable to divine grace” (Doctrine and Covenants 163:10b).
Today’s Prayer for Peace
Engage in a daily practice of praying for peace in our world. Click here to read today’s prayer and be part of this practice of peace.
