The Harbor Within

We all need an emotional harbor; a place where we can relax our sails of tension, frustration and worry. Needs and definitions vary, and many find sufficient peace and release in the presence of family, friends or others therapeutically. This is a good way to stroke the heart, distract the mind and quell the beast, at least for a while. However, many of us don’t have the option or access to such healing distractions. And for those who do, such interactions may not always be accessible when needed or capable of producing the desired results.

There may be times and reasons when the most effective place of solace and inner peace can only be found deep within you, between your heart and mind; a deeply familiar place that is specific and unique to you. In order to seek and find such a comfortable and comforting place within, where you can relax enough to release excessive negative energy, replenish your heart and invigorate your soul, you will need sufficient inner connectedness, faith and unity. Only then can you know what your true spirit and life force really are, and therefore what they need.

Find some time, without a frame, and a place of comfort and peace. Close your eyes, take several slow, deep breaths and begin to let go of the world. Look without judgment for a place of common ground that defines “self” within you. If need be, think back to a calmer time in your life and embrace the person you were then to assist you in your search. Relax enough so that you can begin to release your thoughts; don’t fight them, just let them go until it is just you in the here and now. As you enter this place, imagine that all negative energies hounding you have been left outside.

Here you are greeted and warmly embraced by an old friend who has always been with you. An entity who knows you better than anyone in the world, but may not have been seen for who and what he or she truly is. For now it is just you asking you what is needed, and listening with all your heart, not to words, but to feelings of calm and comfort.

This is a special place of honor and a classroom where you are both student and teacher. Do not discuss your torments here, merely let this person move through you and comfort your heart; simply you connecting with and focusing on you. Sit as one with your true self, relax and just let yourself be.

If at any time unwanted thoughts do make their way back in, do not give them your energy, for they do not deserve it. Simply imagine walking them back outside, shutting the door gently and smiling from the heart. Enjoy the beauty and familiarity of your completely private sanctum sanctorum; a special place where you can comfortably, deeply and genuinely sit with true peace at center; a home for your heart built with your unique life force.

Once established, your personal, self-contained harbor will be a consistently reliable place of respite, as long as you allow it to be, for it will never be at the mercy of the words or actions of others, over which you have no control. Stay in this place as long as is needed, as long as you are comfortable. There is no immediate schedule or time frame, just you existing within your own space. Stay as you would be there for your best friend, and don’t be afraid to give and heed your best advice from the heart.