{"id":169,"date":"2010-11-08T09:12:42","date_gmt":"2010-11-08T09:12:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/mindfulnessmatters\/2010\/11\/metaphor-monday-take-off-your-shoes.html"},"modified":"2010-11-08T09:12:42","modified_gmt":"2010-11-08T09:12:42","slug":"metaphor-monday-take-off-your-shoes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/2010\/11\/metaphor-monday-take-off-your-shoes.html","title":{"rendered":"Metaphor Monday :: Take Off Your Shoes"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n\"AA039759.JPG\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

In the poem “Fire in the Earth,” David Whyte tells us of
\nMoses receiving the command to “take off his shoes” as he approached the
\nburning bush. This act of humility brought him closer to the earth, to the
\nground, and we learn that he “never recovered\/ his complicated way of loving
\nagain,” and that “every step he took\/from there was carefully placed.” <\/p>\n

This
\nimage provides an invitation to approach our life with reverence and likewise
\nhumility. It invites us to treat each moment as sacred; to step on the ground as
\nif stepping into a holy place of worship. And we can partake of this worship
\nregardless of our religious or spiritual beliefs. <\/p>\n

Each place can
\nbecome the “church” of life, and this church knows no denominations and
\nrequires no dogmatic beliefs. It is open to anyone who wants to play. This
\nsacredness can help us to move closer to the divine in our lives, however that
\ndivinity be experienced. <\/p>\n

We can see how mindfulness can be an exercise in values and purpose, what we might call spiritual.
\nMindfulness provides opportunities for us to worship the sacredness of now. It gives us a
\nchance to touch the divine and to embody the divine ourselves. With mindfulness we can approach any activity with this openness to sacred divinity, <\/p>\n

Baba Muktananda admonished his disciples to “Leave Your Shoes with Your Ego at the Door.” Take off your shoes, drop your self-preoccupation and find the truth in this moment. We can bring this deliberateness to everything that we do, especially showing up at work.<\/p>\n

Burt Cooper in Mad Men takes his shoes off at work and asks everyone coming into his office to do the same. The ritual can assist being wakeful. Whether you actually take your shoes off or just embrace the metaphor, the opportunity exists to be awake at work.<\/p>\n

As we cross the threshold into work we can take our shoes off to find the sacredness that our work embodies. No matter what this work is, that opportunity is present when we<\/i> are present. Even when our work is less than ideal, which is almost always the case, we can still bring this sense of spirit to our day. After all, this is<\/i> our life right now. Why not touch the divinity that’s waiting for us?<\/p>\n

Mindfulness meditation practice helps us to establish the skills needed to take our shoes off. First we must know that taking our shoes off is a possibility. Next we must be able to take them off; we must be able to untie the laces and release the knots of self-importance. Then we can feel the ground with our bare feet. We can find ourselves home in the ordinary divinity of now. <\/p>\n

Try practicing mindfulness right now. Go to my website exquisitemind.com<\/a> to listen to and download guided mindfulness meditations. CD1 includes breathing and body scan practices<\/a>; CD2 includes walking, standing, and standing yoga practices<\/a>. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the poem “Fire in the Earth,” David Whyte tells us of Moses receiving the command to “take off his shoes” as he approached the burning bush. 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Dr. Kozak's ability to translate ancient healing traditions into pragmatic applications suitable for modern lifestyles through the use of metaphors have made him a strong voice in healthcare and business. Beginning with a journey to India in the 80\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s where he took the Bodhisattva vows from His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Arnie Dr. Kozak began his lifelong practice in mindfulness meditation. Intent on finding a way to bring the practical healing attributes of mindfulness he began incorporating these techniques in his private practice. In 2002 Dr. Kozak created Exquisite Mind in Burlington, Vermont as a vehicle that could expand his wisdom to larger audiences beyond individual psychotherapy to professionals and corporations, health care providers, public groups and, most recently with Exquisite Mind Golf, amateur and professional golfers. His award-winning new book, Wild Chickens and Petty Tyrants: 108 Metaphors for Mindfulness (Wisdom Publications, 2009) is a thoughtful, funny, and inspiring translation of mindfulness practice through the inventive use of metaphor applicable to our daily lives. In addition to his work with Exquisite Mind, Arnie Kozak, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist\u00e2\u20ac\u201dDoctorate has been a Lecturer in Psychology at the University of Vermont and is a Clinical Instructor in Psychiatry and Medicine, University of Vermont College of Medicine. He has studied and practiced clinical psychology, meditation, and yoga for more than 25 years. He has studied with several meditation masters, including S. N. Goenka, Larry Rosenberg, Gurumayi Chidvilasananda, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. After receiving his bachelors degree with honors from Tufts University, he was awarded a Presidential Fellowship to get his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University at Buffalo. He completed his training as a Psychological Fellow at the Harvard Medical School. Prior to founding the Exquisite Mind in 2002, Arnie worked ten years in the private sector for the PKC Corporation consulting on mental health content for this revolutionary software company.","sameAs":["http:\/\/exquisitemind.com"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/author\/akozak"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/268"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/169\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/mindfulnessmatters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}