Observa(SHEN)

In observation of the Declaration of Independence of the United States, I was reminded of a picture of me when I was about three years old and clearly trying to declare my independence!

There I am in all my glory having a meltdown of some sort because no doubt I wanted to do something independently that probably wasn't safe for me to do, as my loving sister Carolyn gently held me. Why it was considered a photo op by one of my relatives is still unknown!

Anyhow, I think most of us can agree that making our declara(SHEN) of independence was not easy, and if you are a parent and had the opportunity to make the observa(SHEN) of your child(ren) declaring their independence it wasn't always easy to watch! Yet, we ALL KNOW it was (is) absolutely necessary!! It's not easy for me to look at that picture of me knowing that there have been many times in my life that I have felt just like I did there, absolutely taken over by my emotions.... but as I grew older I held all that energy inside of my body because it was not appropriate for me to react that way. I'm thinking some of you know exactly what I am talking about!! That is A LOT of issues stored in the tissues!

ANYHOW, each of us has our own declara(SHEN) of independence that we must make as part of our growing process, but what we don't necessarily do is learn how to observe what we have declared.... Why is that? Well, it's not easy to just OBSERVE without trying to label something or judge it. It is an acquired skill. You may have heard or read to just OBSERVE your feelings and sit with them. That's easy to do with feelings of love or other comfortable feelings. It's a completely different ball game when it comes to emotions that are uncomfortable, or worse, fueled by the powerful human ego that loves nothing more than to be right!

So, what to do? I have been shown so many wonderful ways to be still in observa(SHEN), but it wasn't until I made my connect(SHEN) WITH SHEN (higher self, higher consciousness) a priority in my life that the skill of observa(SHEN) started to become second nature.

On this Declaration of Independence, I encourage you to declare the independence of your emotions by taking a step to learn how to observe yourself in ALL your humanness.... it is the way to connect(SHEN).

Close your eyes. Soften your jaw and make sure your teeth are not touching. Hum 3 times. Swallow. Look at what you see behind your closed eyelids and try to just OBSERVE. Enjoy the quiet and any or all emotions and/or sensations comfortable and uncomfortable that come to the surface... knowing you can open your eyes at any moment. If you feel compelled to do so, write down your experience. Practice this regularly to free yourself.