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cgriggs33

What Are You, Really?

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All fear (and thus suffering) stems from two primary elements: the belief that what I am is subject to, and limited to, time and space.

When I believe that what I am is limited to this body – an object of time (subject to death), and an entity of space (limited to the confines of the skin/body) – then thoughts (images and words/sentences) of fear will arise to support this false premise. All thoughts of fear, lack, anxiety, limitation, death, confusion, etc, are birthed from these two primary false beliefs. So so long as I believe/perceive that what I really am is limited to this body, fear – of death (time) and lack/limitation (space)…and all of its’ cousin thoughts – will be at the root (the lens through which I see the ‘external’ world) of my every day experience.

How do you define yourself? What are you, really? Discover what you really are and watch fear simply disappear.

Carole Griggs, Ph.D. 2014 ©

Overall Conscious Living & Integral Wellness

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Thinking-Mind — Emotional Terrain — Physical Body

….and that which holds them all.

The recognition and embodiment of the physical components, emotional shifts, and the thinking-mind that roll within this human experience is paramount to grounding oneself in lasting harmony and balance in all aspects of our lives.  Chaos in the body often increases chaos in the mind and emotions.  And, chaos in the mind and emotions often increases chaos in the body.  Learning to embrace and navigate the ebb and flow of the tides in all aspects of our humanness can sometimes be a bit of a breath-taking journey.  The more we consciously tune in and really notice what thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations are flowing in and out of each moment, the more we can see and stay conscious to these continuous shifts and changes without getting swept away into old habits and unconscious patterns of living.

Tending to the body with awareness and care supports the settlement and peace in our mind and emotions.  In learning to care for the physical body, there is often a learning curve in weeding through all the myths and misconceptions that society markets regarding healthy ways of living, moving, and eating.  Once you learn how to move your body in a safe and effective way that fits your individual needs and interests, it becomes easier to tune into what your body really has need of in any given moment.  The more in tune you are, the easier it will be to find a graceful balance of strengthening, lengthening, cardiovascular activity, and breathing and relaxation that fit your interests and individual physical body.  The same is true for the foods we choose to consume.  There is a lot of misinformation that can create quite a bit of mental confusion, emotional distress, and physical havoc.  Once you are able to unlearn old beliefs and habits, and relearn (through attentive-awareness and re-education) ways of eating that support our physical needs and preferences, it becomes easier and easier to trust one’s intuition in making choices that support overall well-being with freedom and enjoyment.  Detoxifying the system naturally promotes mental clarity, balanced energy, emotional stability, and physical freedom.  For more information on Holistic Nutrition and Movement/Exercise coaching services, look under the Coaching Services tab at the top.

Intuitive Wellness

Each human being has the capacity to touch deep wisdom that leads one to intuitively ‘take care’ of the body.  This can come with clear direction, a “knowing” of what is needed in the moment.  It may also come through finding just the right professional that can support you with expertise that fit your needs.  In peeling away the layers of false information, it becomes clearer and easier to let into this natural movement.  Tap into the inner wisdom of natural balance – the joy of feeling wholeness in a way that is harmonious, accepting, nurturing, and loving.

“Our bodies communicate to us clearly and specifically, if we are willing to listen.”

S. Gawain, pioneer and international author

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A Deeper Connection

 

Sitting still with the body, listening to the messages being conveyed, and living out from that grounded, quiet place of being, allows for the restoration of balance and acute clarity in knowing what the body truly has need of.  What messages does your body speak?  What has it been trying desperately to tell you?  When we are unwilling to sit with ourselves, we disassociate, disconnect, and become disembodied.  This results in feeling disconnected from ourselves, and others, leaving us feeling alone and astranged.  When we actually allow messages, emotions, and sensations to show forth without turning away, we stay connected, we feel connected, and we feel fully present and vibrantly alive with something much deeper and more substantial.  The more embodied we are, the less the surface stuff controls our experience.  And, the more embodied we are, the clearer and more present we are to live life in the fullest capacity.  In not identifying with what comes up as who we are, we can non-judgmentally see what may need conscious attention.  It’s when we shut off, turn away, and wall off, ignoring aspects of ourselves, that we turn to other alternatives to distract and fill us up – be it alcohol, food, shopping, drugs, excessive sleep, excessive exercise, TV, Internet surfing …you name it, the list goes on.  If we can learn to consciously be with all aspects of ourselves, we won’t get taken by them unconsciously.  Awareness and attention to the natural balance of mind-body-emotions supports your discovery in claiming freedom within your overall well-being.  Discover the healing power of staying connected to your body – not identifying as your body, but staying consciously connected and tuned in to messages being delivered.

“If we can learn to feel our emotions without rushing, they become the offering

that is desperately needing to be expressed in the particular human situation we are just now in,

whatever it may be.” – R.Ray

Carole Griggs, Ph.D, 2012

“Attaining” Happiness

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All longing, seeking, wanting, searching, striving, hoping (ego) is the out-going energy, or expressed desire to find and attain happiness, peace, and/or love, from somewhere other than the fullness of what’s here. Most humans long for this feeling of fulfillment of love, happiness, and peace, and go looking for it through the “attainment” of relationship, money, success, food/drugs, etc. This outgoing seeking, outward energy, is the effort to attain happiness, love, and peace from some thing, some where other than what’s right here. This outward movement is the very birth of unhappiness and dissatisfaction, as it’s the very denial of your present completeness. The belief that I am incomplete, and need something “out there” to fulfill something empty “in here,” is where unhappiness and discontentment lives and breeds. This unhappiness and dissatisfaction is sometimes a deep, subtle gnawing, like “something is not quite right.” Most run like hell to fill this up with the next shiny object (thing, person, activity, consumption of choice, etc), hoping THAT will be the thing to give lasting fulfillment. But alas, it “works” temporarily, only to leave the seeker even more unfulfilled, and back out seeking more and more, or sinking more and more into discontent feelings of lack and incompleteness.

All outward energy (desire, wanting, seeking, striving, hoping) is the very denial of the actual completeness of this moment. This denial, or veiling of completeness (the outward attempt to fill something perceived as missing) is the root of suffering. When longing, wanting, seeking, etc., dissolve back into its’ native nothingness, the presence of inherent happiness is experienced. It’s never anything that needs to be attained. It’s something that is already here to be experienced. By seeking it, there’s a subtle declaration that it’s not inherently here; there’s a declaration that you don’t have it and need to go out and find it. That denial itself is the very core of the suffering cycle. Any attempt to attain happiness, love, or peace externally, is the very energy that veils its’ actual current presence, and pushes it away experientially. Ironic?!

 

Carole Griggs, Ph.D. 2014 ©

Addition or Dissolution?

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There is enormous momentum behind human wanting and needing;

A constant stream of desire to add more and more to the “me” character.

Accumulating an even thicker, denser layer of identification with our illusory self.

Constantly building this “me” that will never be fully complete.

Within this separate little self is a fine thread of lack that lurks.

Nothing you add will fulfill, satisfy, complete, or get rid of this lack.

Nothing.

The “me” that is the wanter, is always looking for more.

Always.

That’s it’s job.  To provide constant commentary discontent with the present moment.

So long as you are identified with this separate, illusory self, there will be a continual desire for more, better, different… for anything other than what is actually right here.

An unavoidable, underlying thread of discomfort, dis-ease, and discontentment moves hand-in-hand with this need to “make a better me”.

The “me” is never satisfied with life as it is.

Those times when the “me” appears satisfied, is not because it got what it wanted per se, but actually for a brief moment there was a lack of seeking.

It’s never external objects, relationships, jobs, experiences, etc that bring or create love, contentment, and satisfaction.

Although it may appear that way, it’s really the lack of seeking love, contentment, and satisfaction that allows space for our natural being-ness to shine through this veil of want, need, and desire.

Chip, chip, chipping away, dissolving the deep grooves of illusion, belief structures, and stories about “me” that fog our clarity and ability to see and experience our true being.

Addition or dissolution?

 

Seeking ….

The seeking to complete myself.

To be completely myself.

When am I going to fully be myself?

Is it when I add more, buy more, do more, be more, accomplish more, make more ..?

Or is it when I stop with seeking, and simply recognize the completeness of what I truly am here and now, beyond this façade of the desiring, separate “me”?

 

Ironically, we are all seeking the dissolution of separation.

Happiness is absolutely, 100% dependent on this.

Identification with this illusion of “me” is the birth of separation.

Separation breeds fear, unhappiness, doubt, unworthiness, insecurity..

The very things that make our experience of life feel challenging.

Abidance in our true nature is the dissolution of this separate self, dissolution of seeking, dissolution of suffering.

 

The intimacy of our own being.

The very ‘thing’ we all seek.

Unshakable abidance in our true Self is the end of seeking.

Unshakable abidance is the recognition of our inherent freedom, peace, and happiness as the very essence of our being.

Feed the separate illusory self by adding, seeking, and building a “better me”?

Or inquire into the false identification and layers of illusory beliefs that make up this “me” and experience true liberation?

Addition or dissolution?

 

 

Carole Griggs, Ph.D./c, 2012

The Mirror Gift

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Those parts of you that you don’t welcome home as a part of you,…
You know, those aspects you push away, ignore, resist, deny, or block out… rejecting in hopes they just go away.
Ever notice that these are the very things you tend to dislike, despise, try to fix, or push away in others?
Interesting isn’t it?
What you do not accept or do not like in ‘another’ can act as an incredible mirror of what is not allowed (by you) to exist in you.
People show up in our lives, providing this beautiful gift of showing us exactly what it is that we are rejecting and not allowing in ourselves.
And what a gift this is.
This is the gift to see where we are asleep.
The gift to see how we are disillusioning ourselves from reality.
Be curious.  Be compassionate.
Open.  And welcome it all home.

Carole Griggs, Ph.C./c, 2012

Spontaneous Living

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Can we really live in and from this very spontaneous moment? …without the unnecessary, anxious need to plan, predict, prepare, manage, or map out?

This doesn’t mean that preparing doesn’t or won’t take place.

Preparing can and does sometimes appear to happen, arising just as it’s necessary to do so – effortlessly and easily, peacefully and fearlessly.

The question is, where is the energy to plan coming from?

Is it coming from the chattering mind trying to control, manage, and “know”?

Or is it naturally and easily arising as something you simply find yourself doing in the moment?

Action will happen or not happen anyway, but our experience of the moment directly correlates to where we are living from.

Are we moving from the influence of the mind, or are we simply living from this new, fresh, free aliveness?

The information that flows out, revealed in this moment, is information that flows with perfect timing – without the anxious push and strenuous strategizing.

Trying to “figure it out” is nothing but a useless game the mind aimlessly plays.

The mind likes to “know”, likes to predict and prepare, in an effort to feel safe, secure, and in control.

The mind likes to control so to “know” what’s going to happen, or to attempt to prevent something from taking place at some “future” point in time.

This is where stress is born – right in the mind’s creation of past and future.

All that is really here is sheer spacious freedom to live from what is in this very moment.

What liberty.  What freedom. What peace.

No more worrying about the past, or predicting or planning a conceptual future.

When attention is aligned with true nature, there is no pressure or need to “cultivate” anything.

There’s no need to try to design ‘your’ life.

Simply being available, as open space, to whatever arises.

Everything blossoms from this spaciousness – not from “your” “doing” anything.

From this clear, free stillness, action just happens.

Organically.

Effortlessly.

Harmoniously.

Relax into the vibrant, still presence of living spontaneously.

Beyond and yet amidst the chattering, suggestive mind.

Live from the only ‘time’ there really is.

Right here in this alive, spontaneous moment.

And this one.

And this one.

 

Carole Griggs, Ph.D/c, 2012

 

 

Alignment with Sweet Integrity

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Integrity is much more than an adherence to moral or ethical principles sprouting from the conditional world.

True ‘integrity’ rises out of inherent Truth.

True ‘integrity’ is beyond an efforting of certain behavior.

When in alignment with true Essence, a sense of ‘integrity’ naturally rises out.

Aligning with integrity feels whole, undiminished, unimpaired, grounded.

Honesty, authenticity, and sweet sincerity spontaneously spring forth from spacious Stillness.

Being in alignment dissolves stress, uncertainty, fear, hatred, and doubt.

Being in alignment dissolves the perceived need to decide or choose.

Being in alignment dissolves ‘shoulds’, ‘aught to’s’, ‘shouldn’t have’s, and ‘need to’s’.

Being in alignment is effortless, natural, solid, pure, open, and free.

When out of alignment, life can seem fast-paced, out of control, and fearfully uncertain.

Society invites and supports innumerable ways in which to move out of alignment – promising satisfaction, contentment, and happiness in places it doesn’t actually reside.

Being in alignment dissolves the conflicted “me”… the “me” that wants, needs, seeks, and strives – discontent with life as it is… the very root of unhappiness.

Harmony is born from aligning with the Heart.

Alignment with the sweet essence of grounded strength brings clarity, harmony, and true freedom.

 

Carole Griggs, Ph.D/c, 2012

Impersonal Thought

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What if the thoughts that pass through your head were completely impersonal… were merely recycled suggestive thinking swimming throughout collective consciousness?

Do these thoughts that pass through your head really have any meaning, aside of the meaning you give it?

The only thoughts that you can be troubled by are those in which you give meaning to and claim to have reality.

Examine the thoughts you believe to be true that cause havoc in your experience …look deeply and see if they really have any truth.

The attention and belief you give to thought(s) provides the very oxygen for these suggestions to stick to you and be the director of your actions.

We are bound by various thoughts when the mask of this personal sense of “me” is in the drivers seat.

Identification with the personal “me” creates a feeling of separation, loneliness, and estrangement – the very core of suffering.

When you give your time and attention to thoughts, you give it life.

When you give it life, there is space for separation, judgment, opinion, blame, you, me, other…

Don’t take any thought seriously.

Thoughts come and go.  None of them are ‘yours’.

Stand in neutrality, be curious, and simply investigate and see what you find.

 

Carole Griggs, Ph.D/c, 2012

Trusting Life

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Trusting Life is the fundamental foundation for “letting go” and noticing that Life really does provide all that is ever needed. If we rely on our thinking mind, and allow this to define who we are, we’re set up for a rocky roller-coaster of ups and downs, false ideas, illusory concepts, and ungrounded beliefs. It’s challenging to let into this deeper Essence of our natural true self, if/when there is a distrust in the very foundation of Life itself. Life is constantly communicating intuitively moment to moment. Life is spontaneous, providing all information we could ever need right when we need it, no sooner, and no later. Trusting that Life is truly caring for, moving, guiding, and tending to each and every moment is paramount to dropping out of the egoic thinking, fear-based mind that is known to create havoc ..and opening into the Heart, where peace, joy, unconditional love, and pure contentment reside. Can you trust Life to provide everything needed to feel at peace, feel connected, and rest in a sweet, calm knowing?

 

Vast Transparency and Causeless Love

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Beyond the conditional

Beyond the limitations of the little me

There’s a love of what is.

No reason, no purpose,

Simply causeless love.

A depth – a depth of loving what is from the very ground of infinity.

Residing in true nature beneath the conditional.

Causeless love, intrinsic to the very fabric of being.

Love without a cause,

Such grand beauty.

 

Tears pour from my eyes

I’ve fallen in love with this ‘stranger’.

It hits me so hard and so deep it hurts.

My heart feels broken, wide open

Not picking and choosing who to love or not,

It’s choiceless, causeless, universal love.

True seeing.

 

Connectedness in a sweetness, beyond words, concepts, reasons.

This is the very foundation of life.

Slicing through personal likes and dislikes

Connected in this sameness, oneness.

How open are you to this free, vast, and open, unconditional love?

Can we be open to this unfathomable love?

Can we stay open to this indescribable love that can sometimes feel unsafe, threatening and vulnerable to the little me?

Can we let this love be so present in its full openness, without the need to close down to protect from the depth of love that explodes?

 

Transparent vastness of spacious love.

Raw emotion flooding through, and flowing out.

Transparent, unstuck, open to come and go.

No place to reside, take root, or call ‘home’ within.

The transparent freedom and availability, to come in, and flow out.

A freshness in each new encounter.

Not bumping into past stories lodged inside.

But the deepest abidance, an expression of what can’t be created

No falling in love, no falling out of love,

Beyond trying to love, trying to be kind, trying to …anything.

That which gives life to love.

This love is the very nature of existence.

 

The root of your very being can’t turn on and off.

Unifying, connective, touching true sameness.

Meeting what you really are.

The root of love.

Open, to the infinite.

Meeting the emptiness of your true being, such vast infinity.

Deeply feel the suffering, the joy, the humanness of the conscious collective –

Rushing in, transparently registering, and rushing out.

Available in each moment, without residual accumulation.

Nothing to guard, nothing to protect, nothing to defend…only availability to come in and roll out.

Our nature is transparent.

Our true nature is open, vast, infinite, transparency.

The depth, limitless, gift of free-flowing infinity.

 

Carole Griggs Ph.D/c, 2012