October 2006

Fueling Your Internal "Woodstove"

Our first major purchase after moving into an old farmhouse in 1998 was a woodstove. The house had been empty for several years and was in desperate need of renovation. Frankly, the condition of it frightened a lot of potential buyers. There was a large stack of realtor business cards on the kitchen counter saying "nice view." The view was (and is) gorgeous. The house scared buyers away.

The woodstove was a deeply symbolic and deeply practical act for us (there was no heat upstairs). We settled on a beautiful Norwegian built model. I remember standing in the showroom as we finalized the details. The salesman asked us what color we wanted. I looked around at the dull black stoves as my husband asked how much color added to the cos. My gaze landed on a green enamel woodstove and I fell in love. It was a stove I could love even in the heat and humidity of July. It was a stove whose flames would dance brilliantly through the cold winter, performing behind the heavy glass door. It was a stove whose color honored the leafy green of summer even in the cold of winter.

This was my first experience using a woodstove and I had a lot to learn. My experience of fires was as entertainment: campfires to sing around and roast marshmallows or fireplaces in the suburban Dallas homes of my childhood. My father used to sprinkle "magic rocks" on the fire and the dancing flames would turn multi-colored—blue, green and pink.

In order to work effectively and efficiently a woodstove needs careful attention. It must be fed good, hard, properly seasoned wood. The fire should burn at a high temperature (a low temperature fire will cause build-up in the chimney—creating the potential for a chimney fire). The doors need to be shut firmly, latched and sealed.

Let's shift our focus for a moment to our bodies and the "woodstove" within. As you read this, sit tall and place your hands on your solar plexus, the area above the belly button and below the chest. This is the area of the third chakra, the body's "woodstove," where the adrenal glands, digestive organs, pancreas and liver reside. When you have a "gut" feeling, you are connecting with this powerful energy center. When you feel the "fight or flight" response, again, this energy center. This center creates the energy for your body, in the same way the woodstove creates the energy to heat a home.

How is your personal woodstove doing? Let's take a few attentive moments to consider its effectiveness and efficiency from physical, mental and emotional perspectives.

What kind of fuel do you use for your internal "woodstove?"

This is the physical level. Most of us go on "autopilot" at least some of the time regarding what we ingest. This lack of awareness can be due to stress or external situations that arise and need our attention. It happen. After you read this article, take a journal or piece of paper and inventory your fuel sources at the physical level. What are the sources of your fuel? What "wood" are you feeding your "woodstove?” Is it good quality whole food, made with care and eaten slowly and consciously? Like the woodstove that needs seasoned, hardwood, we need to be nourished by whole food. If possible, choose food that you share some connection to— food that is locally produced and/or food that you choose consciously.

At what temperature does your internal fire burn?

At the mental level: what information are you taking in during the course of the day? How much external chatter are you taking in aurally and visually? How many times do you find yourself distracted by something you see or read or hear? Like the woodstove, we need to burn hot and bright. As a culture, we are mentally over-stimulated, which prevents us from burning brightly and leads to exhaustion. To burn off the layers of "chatter," please read the September 2006 newsletter. Take an hour or two to note, in writing, when you are drawn off center, when you lose focus because your attention has wandered. Consider letting go of reading the newspaper daily for a while. Put the catalogs that seem to arrive daily into the recycling without being drawn into the fantasy.

Are your "woodstove" doors shut, sealed and latched?

At the emotional level: consider your relationships. Remember the last "rule" for an effective and efficient woodstove: the doors must be shut, latched and sealed. At the emotional level, this energy center is about good boundaries. Consider your relationships: from friendships to volunteer/community relationships to your relationship with yourself. How much time do you devote to the well-being of others? Inventory the relationships in your life—make a list. Then, visualize yourself in each relationship (what are you doing?) and pay attention to your "gut" feelings. Are your doors open or shut? Are you giving too much away or are you in balance, giving and receiving, nurturing others and being nurtured in return?

Sometimes, the quickest, easiest fuel is fear and insecurity. When we rely on fear and insecurity as fuel, shame and anger grow within. We cling to others and look for external approval. We break our connection to our intuitive, gut feelings. The body becomes sluggish. The mind becomes cluttered and confused. The heart is burdened and the spirit—the energy, lifeforce within—is weak.

"We do not have to improve ourselves; we just have to let go of what blocks our heart. When our heart is free from the contractions of fear, anger, grasping and confusion, the spiritual qualities we have tried to cultivate manifest in us naturally."

—Jack Kornfield
A Path with Heart
 

This October is an auspicious time to let go of our personal habitual patterns of drawing energy from fear and insecurity. It is time to draw upon faith and love as our fuel. How is this possible? Sharon Salzberg, insight meditation teacher, has defined faith as "trusting our own deepest experience." The Buddha said, "faith is the beginning of good things." In the Pali, Hebrew and Greek languages, faith is a verb.

It's time to "faith." It is time to connect and respond to our intuitive gut feelings by caring for our internal "woodstove."

Consider your eating habits and make some changes in the way you nourish yourself.

Consider the amount of mental stimulation you are subject to and make changes to bring times of intentional visual and aural silence to your life.

Consider your relationships and make changes or let go of those that are not in balance.