Hitting PAUSE

Hitting the Pause Button enables me to harness my full creative powers to write, draw, speak, and strategize from a neutral space with no over-riding agenda. Pausing also allows me to refine my intentions.  That is, my aims/intentions are preferences and not should’s or have to’s.  I make space for other possibilities to arise.  No attachments.

Before I began to type this blog, I paused and went within.  I cleared the slate and asked “What wants to be shared?  What wants to come through right now?”  Some of the time I have an inkling of what to say; other times, I make the space and see what unfolds.

At the start of the day, my meditation is a “pregnant pause” for the waking hours ahead.  It literally wipes the slate of my mind clean, so I’m in a better state to pose a question and listen: “What is there for me to focus on today? How can I experience the most joy, confidence, carefreeness, or whatever quality I wish?”

After stepping onto my yoga mat, hitting the Pause Button allows me to infuse greater consciousness into my practice.  The consciousness I bring onto the mat is what differentiates a yoga session from a sweaty work-out to a moving meditation that takes me inward. To be clear, there’s no judgement.  Both are welcome. Both have their purpose. Both are satisfying.

Before walking into a thorny conflict, pausing gives me a chance to quickly assess: Am I carrying any pre-conceived notions into this crucial conversation?  How can I expand my perspective to arrive at a mutually agreeable conclusion?  What is our shared pool of meaning I can draw from? hitting the Pause button enables me to empty any baggage and be fully present to engage and respond.

Right before a class, a workshop or a presentation, I  hit Pause before entering the space where I will be (sometimes I duck into the bathroom) and get aligned through deep breathing, grounding and prayer.  It calms my mind, lifts my spirit, and reminds me to focus on the audience and God’s leading rather than focusing on myself, what I want to accomplish, or any other agenda I want to play out.  I need to be present and flow with whatever is NEEDED and be available to go where God directs me to go and to receive what my students need in the moment. Once I commit to the Pause, I can become present and again....respond, not react.

Keep in mind the Pause comes in handy all the time.  It is not just for presentations or teaching.  It is for any conversation we walk into, any interaction we have, anytime our children/significant other/family member come to us.  The pause also allows space where we can heal or grieve the loss of a relationship, a loved one, a job, an idea of what we want, a goal which cannot be achieved, or anything else.  

Hitting Pause gives us a moment to become present within ourself.  In order to heal, we NEED to feel.  We need to be able to listen when our soul speaks, to hear a loved one speak, to hear and see what is happening behind their smile, and especially to hear God’s voice leading us so we can follow. 

For me, I tend to always want an answer or a fix.  Pausing allows me to create a container for whatever the circumstance is and remind myself to let go of my attachment to outcome.  It’s more about the journey, not the destination and sometimes we are just too focused on the destination to notice any part of the journey we are on…..whether its our own journey or being a part of another’s sojourn.  

Hit Pause for presence. Hit Pause to become brilliantly rooted in God-filtered eyes, heart and soul. We are all just travelers in the wilderness of this world and the best we can find in our travels is an honest, soul-level friend who Pauses too….finds their own presence….their own connection to God……and waits for us to speak.

Okay then….best be hitting your PAUSE button....and often.

Onward and upward.