Be the Movement Upward
Living Upward is life’s call to: live with intention, connect with compassion, give with gratitude, and participate in a life greater than our own. Living upward is never a straight line, but rather a spiral pulling us inward to explore deep inside and then thrusting us outward into the world where we practice and learn and grow, causing us to climb and spin on our journey upward.
Our movement along the inward spiral draws us into stillness, and here we practice being in the present moment, accepting and loving who we are without criticism or self-judgment. It is here our busy minds become quiet, allowing us to think less and feel more. And when we do, our hearts surge, open wider, and heighten our self-worth and appreciation for who we truly are.
With greater confidence and awareness, we spiral outward into the everyday rhythms of our lives. And as we do, we discover that every choice we make and every interaction we have is an opportunity to live upward.
It is here on the outer rim of the spiral that our practice expands; we set clear intentions for who we want to be; we fuel our interactions with compassion; we create meaning through gratitude and generosity; and we act with simple kindness, generating greater good will for all. We will always feel challenged by our own uncertainty, fear, and reluctance to change. But these challenges are integral to our practice too. And when we hesitate or even fail, we will practice self-forgiveness and continue on.
We will spiral inward again, re-centering, loving who we are and then follow the spiral outward, expressing our magnificence back out into the world, living more upward, over and over, with every turn we make.
Connect with us to receive periodic information on the movement to Live Upward.
What a beautiful and powerful book. I found myself captivated by words and images on page after page.
I gobbled down the last chapter first, and then the first chapter. After that I could only take in one narrative at a time so I found it necessary to make a space – a time to be calm and present. At the end of each narrative I felt that stillness that comes between words. Or perhaps it is the same stillness experienced when waking from a night’s rest or when breathing into that space just as sleep arrives. I suspect that many others will be as certain as I now am, that these stories were written precisely for “me”.