AUTHENTIC RELATIONSHIPS
in a culture of isolation
Do you feel lost or overwhelmed?
Are you longing for connection and community? Do you sometimes feel lonely, even when you are surrounded by people?
These human struggles define our times.
Please know that you are not the only one who feels this way.
It may seem like we are all part of an unending race,
barely having the time to stop and appreciate a drink of water, much less connect with anyone else while we do. It’s as if slowly but surely we humans behave more and more like machines, seemingly detached from one another and from the natural world around us. It feels as if life has become somewhat flat.
You long for something more.
You sense, from the depth of your heart, that there is another way to be, a way that is far more nourishing than simply going through the motions…
You’ve tried to get back into balance.
Maybe you've tried yoga, meditation, therapy, perhaps integrating a gratitude or mindfulness practice into your days. You might have felt deep connection in some moments, but often it doesn’t last.
We can truly return to a place of alignment.
In today’s economy, attention has become a commodity. Endless options coupled with so many demands on our energy often result in our attention being captured by outside forces which can feel authoritative.
One of the first things that we can do is to choose where we put our precious attention. We can gently retrain ourselves. When you decide, with intention, how to direct your energy and where to place your focus, you reclaim your attention.
This will also replace anxiety with calm presence.
How do we do this?
We can do this by integrating a practice of collaboration and gratitude. We simply need to turn our attention again to our relationships — with ourselves, others, community, nature and the sacred.
“Thank you for the experience of togetherness. The realisation that we are connected has such power. I remembered that I know it from ancient times. And it’s beautiful to know it now as well.”
-Hana Novotná
“With honor and respect
to the earth, the fire, the water, the air
to the generations who have walked before us
to the wisdom each carries
and the collective wisdom shared by all.
Thank you for the gift of this life.”
-Naomi
Doing this over time, it will become more and more of a habit. As we support one another in this practice we are on the road together to reclaiming our human culture.
My own journey has shown me how simple and also how challenging it is to reclaim my precious attention. It is an ongoing practice to truly integrate a consciousness of gratitude and collaboration, in the face of a culture which cultivates separation and competition. For the past 25 years, I have been holding spaces for collective healing for young people and adults and have have witnessed hundreds of people reclaim their authentic relations with life.