Aho Dabbalahimun As-Shaytan,
Ar-Rajim,
Bismillah,
Rachman,
Rahim In the name of the one most compassionate,
Most merciful,
Most kind.
This is Mark Silver with Heart of Business and welcome to the remembrance.
Sometimes when we immerse ourselves in spiritual practice such as in a retreat or another context and our heart is filled and nourished,
We become clear yet again often.
And for the millionth time it seems of how beneficial regular spiritual practice is.
And yet you may also be really challenged keeping spiritual practice consistent.
And you might notice that you fall into what you might call laziness around spiritual practice.
And so just notice for yourself how that feels.
Noticing wanting more spiritual practice,
Wanting to be more consistent with spiritual practice,
Wanting to go deeper,
Wanting your heart to be nourished.
And also noticing the tendency to fall out of spiritual practice to prioritize other things over it.
Just notice it.
Just notice it.
Notice how you feel.
Notice how your heart feels.
Notice what's true for you.
Notice how much space there is to feel exactly how you're feeling without needing to change or fix anything.
And then bringing your attention to your heart high up in your chest,
Beginning to call the name of the Divine through the open doorway of your heart,
Calling and calling,
Letting that calling come from the yearning.
The yearning for depth,
The yearning for love,
The yearning for connection,
Yearning for help,
For guidance,
For surrender,
For nourishment,
For compassion.
All of the things that your heart yearns for,
That you yearn for.
Letting that yearning be the calling as you call through your heart and remember the Divine.
Noticing,
Noticing that your desire for consistent spiritual practice may in some way be your attempt to solve the problem for yourself.
The fact that sometimes your heart doesn't feel so nourished or so connected,
Or sometimes you forget to remember the Divine.
That your mind thinks,
Oh,
The solution is more consistent spiritual practice,
Which that may be true,
But did you ask in your heart for help,
For guidance,
For the solution?
So just noticing that yearning and surrendering what you think might be the solution,
Surrendering the thought of,
I must practice more consistently or I have to keep up with my spiritual practice.
Just putting all of that in the hands of the Divine.
Letting your head bow,
Letting your heart bow,
Feeling the sincerity of your desire to be connected,
Feeling the humility,
The helplessness of not being able to do it yourself.
Feeling the humility of not being able to do it yourself.
And feel the awareness of the all-too-human ego ignorance of what is truly being called for here,
What is being asked for here.
Letting go of my own solutions,
Letting go of my own thoughts and beliefs about what needs to happen.
And instead feeling the yearning for connection.
Letting go of any shame or remorse about how I have or haven't kept up commitments that I made to myself or to the Divine.
And just asking,
What is my heart needing?
What is my being needing?
What is my business,
The heart of my business needing in this yearning for connection?
Just asking,
Just asking.
Willing to be surprised,
Calling the name of the Divine to the open doorway of your heart.
Um.
Um.
Willing to be surprised,
Just asking.
And yet not reaching for an answer,
Settling back into your pelvis,
Into your hips,
Into your shoulders,
Into your belly,
Into your heart.
Letting your shoulders open,
Letting your heart open,
Letting your chest open and just asking.
And then sitting in the silence,
Sitting in the unknowing,
And noticing what arises in your heart in response to the yearning,
In response to the curiosity,
In response to the sincerity and openness and willingness to receive help.
Um.
Um.
Um.
Letting yourself drop deeper,
Letting yourself receive even more.
Just letting your heart and your being rest in the hands of the Divine,
In the arms of the womb of compassion,
The wellspring of love,
The oneness that is not separate from us in any way.
Um.
Um.
Letting yourself drop even more deeply,
Letting go even more.
And continuing to call the name of the Divine through the open doorway of your heart and listening,
Noticing what arises after you call the name and then calling again.
Like the waves of the ocean coming into shore and then receding and coming again.
Um.
Um.
Um.
Um.
Um.
And whatever comes up,
Whatever you notice in response to the yearning,
Even if it's not entirely understandable yet,
Just say yes.
Is there more?
Just say yes.
And embrace it and become intimate with it and notice is there more?
Is there more?
I mean.
.
.
Um.
Noticing what is arising in your heart and what is available there.
And just resting in your heart,
Whatever is arising,
Whatever you're noticing.
Um.
Um.
Um.
Um.
Um.
Um.
And noticing any genuine appreciation,
Authentic gratitude that might arise in response to whatever it is that you've experienced in this remembrance.
And just letting yourself feel it in your heart and letting yourself express it to the divine.
And if you wish,
Staying in remembrance as long as you like.
Being in this expansion,
Being in this space in your heart,
Remembering the divine.
And if this is your moment to return your attention back to the world,
Trusting that the remembrance is available in any moment,
Taking a nice gentle breath and bringing your attention back.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
