Peace is a practice

Peace - It does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble or hard work. It means to be in the midst of those things and still be calm in your heart.

- unknown

Tonight the Black Moon rises, the second new moon within the same month. The days around the new moon are an auspicious time to plant seeds of intention for a new cycle and new experiences — but to usher in the new, we have to first clear out the old. For many, July has been an intense period of endings, letting go, digging deep into old patterns, being present with fears and doubts. AND it's also created space for breakthroughs, insights, building up the fertile soil to plant seeds for new creations.

The new moon tonight marks the beginning of Leo season, a passage encouraging you access your lion heart, your strength, your most powerful and present self. How do you get there? By accessing the PEACE available to you in each moment.

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to visit my brother's new hot springs project. I was going, only for a day or two, to pick up my son, but ended up staying for 5 days! There was no cell phone service, no internet access. Unless it was 7:30pm when the sun dipped behind the mountain, I had no idea what time was. In that magical spot of nature, soaking in hot springs, watching the river, nowhere to go, nothing to do, I connected to an immense pocket of peace within myself.

The peace arrived in the midst of being with family and challenging dynamics. Doing work around the property to help move projects along. Tending to kids and dogs and bug bites and melting ice in coolers. No electricity. No showers. There were broken pipes and a skunking AND there was peace.

Peace isn't about life being easy breezy. Peace is a practice. A practice of rooting into the present moment. A practice of shifting into the heart when the mind wants to spin and freak out and share every possible worst case scenario.

In each moment of chaos, there is always an opportunity to breathe deep and seek peace. The choice that will allow you to be at peace with yourself. The next step that is aligned with your values. The change you know you need to make despite the unknowns.

During my days off grid, I was finally able to finish a book started months ago, The Isaiah Effect: Decoding the Lost Science of Prayer and Prophecy, by Gregg Braden. It's a great read. He recounts sitting with the abbott of an ancient Tibetan monastery, he'd asked what message the abbott would have him take back and share:

Peace is of the greatest importance in our world today. In the absence of peace, we lose what we have gained. In the presence of peace, all things are possible: love, compassion, and forgiveness. Peace is the source of all things. I would ask the people of the world to find peace in themselves, so that their peace may be mirrored in the world.

What stands out for me is that, In the absence of peace, we lose what we have gained. How often do you have an ah ha moment, only to get swept up in the next task or busyness, later on asking yourself, What WAS that big realization from earlier?

As your awareness expands, so must your practice of connecting to peace. The expansion allows you to harness the insight, the wisdom gained through every day experiences and integrate it into your life in very real and practical ways. Creating a more peaceful existence.

There is no one way to find peace. It's a process of discovering what peace looks like and feels like for you. When was the last time you felt truly peaceful? What did it feel like in your body, emotions, your mind? What were the circumstances that brought you into a state of peace?

When you acknowledge the feeling of peace, even in brief moments, you begin to recognize how it lives inside of you. You can more readily access that place of peace within and begin to explore what helps it grow and become a more frequent part of your experience. As you practice bringing yourself into a state of peace, like anything, you get better at it. Peace is a practice.

We esteem the lion for its strength, presence and power. The lion doesn't live in a state of freak out and chaos. It's attentive, attuned, and connected. The invitation these next weeks is to drop into your heart. Connect to your courage. Discover and cultivate peace inside and out.

May you feel the power of your inner Lion/Lioness as you practice peace and experience your strength.