RELATIONSHIP a Spiritual Practice

“Relationship is not the easiest method for finding peace,

but it is the most effective for discovering what blocks it.”

Stephen and Ondrea Levine    ‘Embracing the Beloved’

 

 

 

Hello dear soul

Relationship is a far greater spiritual practice for us than seeking quiet refuge in meditation. By diving in and committing to relationship, our egos go to battle as we try and defend the pain and suffering of our pasts. Human relations cause us to confront our roadmap if you like. It is the blueprint which we have adopted and from which we robotically and unconsciously operate. If we’re brave enough, we have the opportunity to question that which we so self-righteously defend. 

Relationship is an incredible catalyst for growth. It is a journey to the depths of our pleasure and our pain, but it is the pain, rather, that causes us to examine our conditioned thought patterns and challenges us to meet ourselves in a brand new way.

Rumi says: “Your task is not to seek love, but merely to seek and find the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

You see, we should search for the blockages within us that prevent us loving ourselves and receiving love from others. These blockages are the result of previous hurts, and of programming that was indoctrinated into us by well-meaning parents and other role models. 

Our minds are like archives, crammed full of memories of our past experiences and the words, actions and thoughts of others whose paths have crossed ours. These have resulted in judgements, fear, preconceptions, all sorts of expectations and embittered resentments. If we do not examine our subconscious beliefs to which we so easily become enslaved, we will continue to invite conflict and create more of the same in our futures.

 

The good news is, that if we are courageous enough and open our hearts to see ourselves in our partners, colleagues and adversaries, we will confront those aspects of ourselves which no longer serve us. We each have the opportunity to invite our fear, to sit with it, rather than deny it, and to invest ourselves fully in the exploration of it. 

If we listen to our fear and open our hearts to unpack it, we are able to heal our past wounds and forgive ourselves our humanness with mercy and loving kindness. 

In Zen it says “The greater the hindrance, the greater the enlightenment.”

Let’s bring our best selves to our relationships, by weeding out the blockages and barriers within us that hinder our personal wellness. Let your relationships be your Spiritual practice.

I wish you a blessed week of uncovering and releasing what blocks your happiness. Be kind to you. 

All my love

Nicolette