Dr. Gail Brenner

Sacred Space for Awakened Living

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The Only Thing That Matters, and It’s Already Alive in You

“Let yourself be silently drawn by the stronger pull of what you really love.”
~Rumi

Sometimes things are so obvious, and so much taken for granted, that we fail to notice their power. You might be asking why you aren’t happy and at peace, why you feel anxious or insecure, stuck in the past, or limited in your creativity.

Well, the answer is right under your nose, closer than you would ever imagine. Isn’t that amazing?  And here it is:

What you are interested in is what is created in your life.

“Interest” – not a particularly sexy word, but its power is huge. When you are interested in something, it attracts you, draws your attention, and arouses your curiosity. You are engaged and involved with it (like my new puppy who keeps stealing my socks).

And interest is always happening. In any moment, your attention is somewhere. What are you interested in – right now?

The Tunnel Vision of Habits

Most of us have developed habits that determine what we are interested in. If you are prone to feeling tense and agitated, you will be interested in fearful thoughts. If personal drama is compelling to you, you will foster these stories through gossip and internal monologues. If you are bent on avoiding painful or challenging feelings, you will be interested in compulsively shopping, drinking, socializing, texting, working – anything but being still.

And if you are convinced that who you are is insufficient, limited, and needing approval, your attention will be squarely on what you lack and need – not on the fullness of wonder and possibility.

If you feed fear, drama, avoidance, or neediness, what will be the result? A life that manifests fear, drama, avoidance, or neediness. Be brave, and check it out in your own experience. What are you interested in?

The Dynamics of Desire

When you take an honest look, you might discover that what you are interested in is not what you really want. You want peace and ease, yet, in reality, you promote conflict and division within yourself and your relationships. You want contentment, but you foster sadness and regret. You want to express yourself fully, yet you actually stunt creative impulses.

Where your interest goes, especially if you are acting out habits, creates an environment that keeps you mired in discontent and limitation, walled off from your deepest heart desire.

What to you really want – and what are you interested in?

If these are not aligned, then something needs to change or things will stay exactly as they are. You are being asked to shake up your familiar ways of being. And if these aren’t working for you anyway, what do you have to lose?

The Sacred Shift

As you realize what you have been focusing your precious attention on, you stand at the precipice of making a sacred choice:

  • Do you want to know your true magnificence?
  • Do you want the pain to stop?
  • Do you want to realize that you are inseparable from peace, love, and fulfillment?

Then lose interest in stories, needs, behaviors, thoughts, emotions, physical sensations – these are all objects that come and go. They arise and pass on, proving they are temporary, unreal, and far from the truth of you.

When you buy into them, they create an illusion of who you think you are. But they lead to false identities that cause suffering and mask the purity and freshness of now.

Instead, become very interested in the space of awareness in which these objects appear. Realize that before any idea, emotion, or event, there is you, aware and alive. How could you perceive any object without first being aware of it?

Be interested in the fact that you are aware, now, right in this moment. As awareness, do you resist anything? Is there a problem? Are you happy?

Let your interest rest in awareness. There is a natural intelligence that will guide you to do exactly what you need to do. You can trust that thoughts will appear when required by the situation. You realize you don’t have to spend your energy trying to figure anything out.

If you are suffering, take a look to see what you are actually interested in. Then refocus to simply being aware. Be willing to let go of familiar ideas of who you are and discover unfathomable peace, intimacy beyond words, and unbounded happiness – right here.

What do you discover when you recognize where your interest is going? What do you really want? I’d love to hear…

 

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How to Relearn Your Loveliness

“Sometimes it is necessary to reteach a thing its loveliness.”
Galway Kinnell

You, at the core of your being, are so incredibly lovely. Have you forgotten? Well, this is your reminder.

Maybe it’s necessary to relearn your loveliness. Just reading these words, can you find it?

Beneath the habits and struggles, beyond the mind-imposed limitations, outside the noise of should’s and have to’s, you are lovely. Take away everything that troubles you – the dramas, disappointments, inadequacies. Regrets of the past, worries about the future. These are figments of the imagination that seem so real.

Always Here

But in truth they are insubstantial. In this moment, you can turn away from them, and they gradually dissolve. Poof! Gone in an instant, just for now, and now, and now.

And you remain, the loveliness that you are. The magnificence of being aware. The awe of what appears right now – this loving breath, these beautiful sounds, the movement of your limbs like a ballet, the aliveness of every physical sensation.

Look into anyone’s eyes deep enough, and there it will be. Beyond perceived separation between you and me, the source is lovely aware presence. No name, no gender, no role or status. It’s where we meet as one in love.

All you need to do to remember your loveliness is to pay attention. The signs are everywhere because everything overflows with it, all parts of the whole that is you, alive with presence in this very moment.

Never Not Lovely

You can pretend you are damaged, fake your unworthiness, masquerade as limited and small. But nothing that has ever happened can touch your loveliness.

You are lovely, free, and alive prior to any disappointments, despite anything you have done, no matter what anyone says.

What do you need to relearn your loveliness? It’s the simple remembering of what is always here.

  • Let your mind and body be spacious and still – just for a moment or two to start.
  • Take a generous breath when you feel stuck.
  • Notice beauty in all things.
  • Stop the madness of incessant activity.
  • Follow what brings you joy,happiness, and peace.

Put your mind on pause with all its complications, and perceive reality with the innocence of a newborn. Let all labels fall away. No difference between space and objects – all part of the totality. No preconceived notions or mindless habits. Try living from here, with your heart open wide.

Aligned in truth – intimate, lovely, and fully alive.

Have you forgotten your loveliness? How do you relearn it? I’d love to hear…
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Listen Up! Your Inner Truth Is Speaking

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”
~Charles R. Swindoll

It’s in there, I know it is. Underneath the mental noise, habits, and distractions, there it is, clear as day…your inner truth.

If you’ve ever been confused or wondered why you got into the same situation again for the millionth time, it might be worth your while to quiet down and listen. Your inner truth is always speaking – guiding you, pointing out the red flags, tapping you on the shoulder with clarity. The real you absolutely knows how to handle things wisely and walk the joyful path. Isn’t that amazing?

It’s simply a matter of listening.

Getting in the Way of Listening

We try way harder than necessary to figure everything out. Do you ruminate endlessly when you need to make a decision? Or get stuck in repetitive patterns that don’t serve you? Are you too busy moving forward to notice what is here now?

Listening to your inner truth is about getting out of your own way. Maybe you complicate matters by:

  • Thinking you have to come up with the answers
  • Moving too fast to be present
  • Letting the past and future consume your attention
  • Leading with should’s and have-to’s
  • Doubting what you know to be true

If you are trying to get to peace, trying to find happiness, trying to make your struggles disappear, there is a simple solution.

But it is a radical one, so you need to be ready.

Discover Yourself

You are being invited to do something you may never have done before. And that is stop. Stop the analyzing, the agitated thinking. Stop spinning in doubt and frustration. Stop doing what doesn’t bring you happiness.

Just for a moment, step away from all of that. You can always pick it up later, if you want.

Take a deep, cleansing breath. Realize that you are still very much alive even though you aren’t caught in your mind. Notice space and silence. Then listen.

Instead, of barreling through at warp speed, put down all the armor, and be one with life. Because you already are. Underneath all the swirling mind activity, the pressures, the confusion is you. Unconditioned. Undisturbed. Infinitely present. Boundlessly intelligent. Vast and spacious. Crystal clear.

How to Listen

From the perspective of aware presence, the rules are different than what you are used to.

Your starting point is to inhabit the space of not knowing. It’s such a relief to say the truth: that you don’t know and you can’t figure it out. Let yourself rest here.

Then be quiet and listen. Don’t worry if your mind goes crazy. Stay as the space in which thoughts appear. Simply be present and available to what arises now.

Notice: What is your body communicating in its own special language? What insights spontaneously appear? What do you realize that you have been ignoring?

Expand in openness and receptivity. Let go of anything you might expect or hope to hear. Allow anything to show itself to you without judging it.

At this point, it’s anyone’s game. Maybe the change you need to make will become clear. Maybe you will see that resting and doing nothing is the wisest path. Maybe your urge to defend will fall away, and the most beautiful heart-filled response will appear.

Let yourself be surprised by the capacity of your natural intelligence. Then bow to it by letting it guide your actions.

It’s so simple. Listen up, and your true magnificence will shine everywhere.

What happens when you listen to your inner truth? What gets in the way? I’d love to hear…

Listen Up! Your Inner Truth Is Speaking

“We are all faced with a series of great opportunities brilliantly disguised as impossible situations.”
~Charles R. Swindoll

It’s in there, I know it is. Underneath the mental noise, habits, and distractions, there it is, clear as day…your inner truth.

If you’ve ever been confused or wondered why you got into the same situation again for the millionth time, it might be worth your while to quiet down and listen. Your inner truth is always speaking – guiding you, pointing out the red flags, tapping you on the shoulder with clarity. The real you absolutely knows how to handle things wisely and walk the joyful path. Isn’t that amazing?

It’s simply a matter of listening.

Getting in the Way of Listening

We try way harder than necessary to figure everything out. Do you ruminate endlessly when you need to make a decision? Or get stuck in repetitive patterns that don’t serve you? Are you too busy moving forward to notice what is here now?

Listening to your inner truth is about getting out of your own way. Maybe you complicate matters by:

  • Thinking you have to come up with the answers
  • Moving too fast to be present
  • Letting the past and future consume your attention
  • Leading with should’s and have-to’s
  • Doubting what you know to be true

If you are trying to get to peace, trying to find happiness, trying to make your struggles disappear, there is a simple solution.

But it is a radical one, so you need to be ready.

Discover Yourself

You are being invited to do something you may never have done before. And that is stop. Stop the analyzing, the agitated thinking. Stop spinning in doubt and frustration. Stop doing what doesn’t bring you happiness.

Just for a moment, step away from all of that. You can always pick it up later, if you want.

Take a deep, cleansing breath. Realize that you are still very much alive even though you aren’t caught in your mind. Notice space and silence. Then listen.

Instead, of barreling through at warp speed, put down all the armor, and be one with life. Because you already are. Underneath all the swirling mind activity, the pressures, the confusion is you. Unconditioned. Undisturbed. Infinitely present. Boundlessly intelligent. Vast and spacious. Crystal clear.

How to Listen

From the perspective of aware presence, the rules are different than what you are used to.

Your starting point is to inhabit the space of not knowing. It’s such a relief to say the truth: that you don’t know and you can’t figure it out. Let yourself rest here.

Then be quiet and listen. Don’t worry if your mind goes crazy. Stay as the space in which thoughts appear. Simply be present and available to what arises now.

Notice: What is your body communicating in its own special language? What insights spontaneously appear? What do you realize that you have been ignoring?

Expand in openness and receptivity. Let go of anything you might expect or hope to hear. Allow anything to show itself to you without judging it.

At this point, it’s anyone’s game. Maybe the change you need to make will become clear. Maybe you will see that resting and doing nothing is the wisest path. Maybe your urge to defend will fall away, and the most beautiful heart-filled response will appear.

Let yourself be surprised by the capacity of your natural intelligence. Then bow to it by letting it guide your actions.

It’s so simple. Listen up, and your true magnificence will shine everywhere.

What happens when you listen to your inner truth? What gets in the way? You are welcome to share…

The End of the Mind-Driven Life

“From where we are there is always a path toward love. What takes discipline is continually choosing that path.”
~Jesse Pender

I have had an epiphany recently, and it was shocking. I realized how much my life has been driven by my mind.

I thought I was free. I thought I had control. But really I had been a slave to my thoughts, just like a puppet on a string.

The Source of the Problem

The signs were evident, but I hadn’t put all the pieces together. I often felt stressed and pressured. I have to do a yoga practice, I have to accept that next client, I have to keep everything in order.

Things looked pretty good on the outside, but I realized how much I had been resisting people and situations, as in, I want him to want what I want, not what he actually wants or I don’t want things to get in my way.

Get the commonality? It was all about me – what I thought should or shouldn’t be happening.

What about a quiet walk on the beach or the space to just be? What about listening and letting life unfold? These are the things that got put on the back burner while my thoughts were leading the show.

It took a week in silence to reveal the problem. And here is what I discovered: I had been living a mind-driven life. All the troubles, the stress, the doubting, wondering, and confusion. The source of all of it was letting thoughts drive my life.

The Lovely Effects

It’s been over for just over a month now (why I haven’t been writing here), and the shift has been dramatic. I don’t believe or give attention to one single thought – not one. And the results are:

  • No more resistance to anything that happens – ever. (It takes a belief or expectation to resist.)
  • No more stress. (Stress is based on should’s, have to’s, and must’s – all thoughts.)
  • No more person who thinks she must be in control. (“Gail” is seen as simply thoughts, preferences, and feelings. There is no real entity that is “me.”)
  • Endless peace.
  • Persistent contentment that never goes away.

This doesn’t mean that thoughts don’t appear – they absolutely do. But my desire for peace is so unwavering that I give them no attention. Like emptying the gas tank, thoughts without attention simply lose their oomph and eventually grind to a halt.

Endless Returning

I am discovering that thoughts can wriggle in almost undetected if I’m not vigilant enough. When I am the least bit off – irritable, nervous, cranky – I need to return to the conviction for peace and determine how a thought has taken hold.

The hidden treasure is always here. Somehow mind has taken charge, but the power of dissociating attention from the thought leaves me simply aware. Not aware of anything in particular, but conscious, alive, and oh, so peaceful.

Which brings me to the core realization of the end of the mind-driven life. And here it is: Your true identity is not the separate you, the man or woman who you think you are, your needs, preferences, history, hopes, relationships.

Who you are is the space in which all of this arises. You are aware presence, conscious and alive.

My friend, Rupert Spira, offers the metaphor of a room full of furniture. Who you are is the space, not the furniture. And the space is undisturbed no matter what is in it.

Anything can appear – beliefs, expectations, strong feelings, illness, pain. You, the space, are at peace with all of it. You are infinitely non-resistant to everything, welcoming completely yet remaining untouched.

Your Turn

If you are interested in the end of your troubles, begin experimenting to make your own discoveries.

  • Take a look to see how much thought controls you and your life.
  • Take some time to be quiet, then see what you experience when you think thoughts and when you lose interest in them.  This exercise helps you understand that you can choose peace, always.
  • Notice that no matter what you think, feel, or do, you are aware. Put your attention on the awareness instead of on the thoughts and feelings. Let life reveal itself without your control.

image: Yes, those are my feet 🙂