Embracing Life's Depths

Did you ever buy a new car and begin seeing all those other cars of the same make and model on the road? Or, out of the myriad of possibilities, you picked-up a book written years earlier, only to find that others are abuzz about it, too.

Having just completed my book, Deep Coaching, earlier this year I have been coming across many ways that the word "deep" is showing up in our awakening culture. The term "deep ecology" was coined in 1973, and has helped pave the way for the ‘new' thinking that has been opening our collective awareness to the depth of our interconnectedness to all of life. I've recently read about "deep teaching," "deep science," "deep play" and "deep caring." (Not to mention "deep cleansing," "and a few other "deeps," but that takes us in another direction!) Last fall, my soulmate, Jim, wrote a moving tribute about a deceased colleague that spoke to this colleague's passion which Jim called "deep recreation."

So, what's up with "Deep???" While each of these terms may refer to slightly differently concepts, they mostly emanate from the fundamental understandings that:
1) life has far more depth than we recognize on any given day unless we're really paying attention;
2) everything we think, do, say, believe, and feel has an impact, not only our ourselves, but on the collective well-being of all living things, and
3) we are intricately connected to that which came ‘before' us and that which will come ‘after.' Indigenous cultures understand and live this idea well.

Thus, "deep experience" is one of the ways we come into contact with the reality that we are not separate—not separate from each other and not separate from spirit. This orientation to life is enough to take my breath away, over and over again.
What about you?

If this depth of connection actually "is," why don't we always experience it? Our beliefs about being separate are the core illusion of life, and those beliefs show up in hundreds of ways. For example, hurried lives leave little room for anything but touching the surface of our existence. Cultural norms often reinforce ego-centric thinking that separate "us" from "them." This illusion is so prevalent, it is easy to carry around internal stories that convince us that there is no other way to live.

But there is. To embrace these depths of life (and thus, connect to your own meaning, truths, joys—to your life!) something has to shift.....and for many, it is shifting. Do you ever get teary or feel a pang in your heart when you simply experience "being" with another person? What about those moments in nature when all about you is still—what happens to you then? Every time you simply remember to slow down and pay attention to what's right here, right now, your experience changes. Every time you remember to ask yourself a simple question, such as "What do I appreciate in this moment?", you move closer to your own depth. We can call these moments of Simplicity. We can call these moments Sacred. We can call these moments Love.

Suggestion: A powerful, yet simple question for raising awareness is based on gratitude: What am I truly grateful for today? Reflecting on this beautiful question in a place of quietude is filled with gifts and often, with a deepened sense of connection.

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