Practice | Bonnie Barnard - Part 6

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Self Soothing Practices

When your emotional body is overstimulated or out-of-whack what actions do you take to soothe yourself? If you aren’t conscious of your behavior, now may be the time to give yourself a look-see. I have my standard practices: Ground, breathe and become present. Meditate. Sit in affirmative prayer. Chant. Take a walk. Call a friend who loves me and reminds me of who I am. And, today I added a new one. Adult coloring. I know, I am late on the coloring train; yet I want to say that there is brain technology that supports my new-found self-soothing practice. Check this out…according to an article by Dr. Nikki Martinez in the Huffington Post there are seven benefits to adult coloring: It works with the subconscious to access information and become more self-aware. By concentrated focus it helps with many mental and emotional disorders. Returns us to a simpler time in our life. It utilizes advanced brain functions like organization and problem solving. Calm down parts of our brain that...

Healing a Culture of Sexual Harassment and Gender Discrimination

I have been riveted to the news about my brother-citizens who have sexually harassed or assaulted women for decades and are now being held responsible for their actions. And, I have witnessed my sisters who are brave and willing to claim their rightful place as equals and valuable contributor/creators in our culture. You and I are undergoing a cultural transformation. Albeit awkward and sometimes painful; extreme emotion exists as part of the process that happens in the middle — in the goo of the chrysalis. When I was in my early thirties I was sexually harassed by a boss in the workplace. My story is a very common one. I have yet to meet a woman who hasn’t been diminished in the workplace, on a date, in their family because of their gender. Isn’t the energy of diminishment interesting? In order to be diminished there needs to be a partner energy of dominance, superiority or entitlement. This polarization is part of the dynamic of psuedo-power. And, isn’t that what is being healed here at the core? So...

Today A Gift Arrived at My Doorstep

Today there was a brown box leaned up against my door. The first thing I noticed was it was not from Amazon. It was from my friend Rhonda. I ran to the miscellaneous drawer, pulled out a pair of scissors and ran the blade down the center seam of tape. Inside the box between plastic air cushions was a beautiful painted sign which read “Pray Big.” My heart leapt. I received a freelance gift (not attached an occasion) and it represented me. A happy dance followed then placement on my kitchen altar. With my heart freshly bursting, I text Rhonda, but this feeling was SO full I wanted to share it with everyone. I opened Facebook and posted the photo. Comments started rolling in and my friend Heather said “I like the sign behind it.” The sign behind it reads “I want someone to spend my life with who will leave me alone most of the time.” This too was a freelance gift from a friend. Glenda saw...

Ash Wednesday Can Be Any Day

I wanted to write about Ash Wednesday yesterday, on its given day, and it didn’t happen. Although I thought about writing often, it just wouldn’t happen. Instead, I woke up with a message today … one day after its ritually assigned time. Which is PERFECT. It seems like a large portion of my life right now refuses to fit into the box or timeline I want to assign to it. How unfortunate it would have been if a blog on Ash Wednesday actually arrived on Ash Wednesday. Why is this? Because there is no time and space in God, The Universe, Our Hearts. Time and space are units of measurement that we humans brilliantly created in order to track and measure. Two very helpful practices for communicating with one another. Also, Ash Wednesday didn’t “feel different” to me than any other day, and it used to when I was steeped into the Lenten practice and I believed God was an external “thing.” Why doesn’t it? Because every day I ask...

Spiritual Dogged Persistence “No Matter What”

This past week I watched two individuals completely devoted to making money “no matter what.” First I met with an acquaintance, Julie, who shared with me her marketing plan and funnel that she has actively worked since the beginning of the year. She spoke of people as “potential sales” and profit margins and monetized everything within our conversation. Her filter through which she saw the world was one of making money. Her schedule, commitments, conversations, and way she walked in the world reeked of exchange. She presented herself as a saleswoman, had the vocabulary of a saleswoman, and did the behaviors of a saleswoman. Within hours of meeting with Julie a friend and I attended a timeshare presentation for a new building in town. We were assigned a young presenter named Brandon who welcomed us, offered us food, and then informed us that in order for him to make his money he had to keep us in the room for 90 minutes after we finished our breakfast. The moment our...

Thank You Mr. President

I have missed you! These past six months I have been traveling and experiencing life without having the compulsion to comment on my experiences or share my internal processes. I am interpreting the “missing” as a call back into my writing. I begin with a big “I miss you.” Each one of you have added a lot to my life and keep the spiritual conversation alive. Thank you. And, I thank Donald Trump. I did not vote for The Donald. I disagree with almost all of his values yet I have been called into deeper love, discernment, and commitment to my awareness of The Life of God operating as me. And, it hasn’t been easy. Deeper Love. I have been called into a state of deeper Love which shows up looking like loving and caring for me, the perceived enemy (President Trump), and those I believe to be impacted by his policies. After decades of regular meditation I can find myself with sleepless nights and surprise surges of adrenaline replicating a panic or...