Inspired by the Navajo tradition's 'Beauty Way', this book acts as an exposition on various vital aspects of life, as well as how to uncover and create true beauty within them all. Author Lori Myles-Carullo struggled with chronic illness for many years and, through the depth of her own healing journey, developed a passion for sharing the wisdom she gained in the process. The essence of beauty explored here is neither about personal appearance nor image, but rather the rich, lived experience of the heart awakening to love and letting go of fear. Each one of us has a great capacity for radical honesty, courage, and transformation-and often life provides us with exactly what we need to draw these forth in dramatic and powerful ways. Whether our wake-up calls occur through loss, transition, illness, or relationship struggles, we all have the choice to either contract or expand through our experiences, creating therefore less or more beauty in our lives and the lives of others. Beauty's Way gifts you with practical suggestions, through personal story and anecdote, of how to bring more beauty to your existence and to the greater whole. Each chapter ends with specific exercises that will assist you in gaining greater awareness into key parts of life-some naturally thought of as 'good', such as love and joy, as well as other, more challenging ones that we often do our best to distract ourselves from due to fear, including pain and grief. By offering our heartfelt compassion and love to it all, a greater realization and manifestation of healing beauty is forever possible. Beauty's Way Inspiration on the Path of Awakening By Lori Myles-Carullo Balboa Press Copyright © 2011 Lori Myles-Carullo All right reserved. ISBN: 978-1-4525-3717-7 Contents Preface: The Beginning before Beginning........................1Chapter 1 The Beauty of Awakening..............................17Chapter 2 The Beauty Of Joy....................................27Chapter 3 The Beauty Of Change.................................35Chapter 4 The Beauty of Love...................................47Chapter 5 The Beauty of Friendship.............................65Chapter 6 The Beauty of Freedom................................75Chapter 7 The Beauty of Pain...................................87Chapter 8 The Beauty of Fear...................................97Chapter 9 The Beauty of Gratitude..............................109Chapter 10 The Beauty of Grief.................................119Chapter 11 The Beauty Of Forgiveness...........................135Chapter 12 The Beauty of Peace.................................149Afterword: A New Beginning.....................................165Acknowledgments................................................169 Chapter One The Beauty of Awakening "And the day came when the risk of remaining tight in a bud became more painful than the risk it took to blossom." Anais Nin "God has never been missed. Maybe you have forgotten, that's all. Maybe you have fallen asleep, that's all." Osho "May our heart's garden of awakening bloom with hundreds of flowers." Thich Nhat Hanh Waking up to truth Before exploring the many exquisite facets of our awakening, we must first acknowledge where we have been chronically fast asleep—and I don't mean the kind of sleep we all need in order to regenerate and recharge on a nightly basis. We have become dull sleepwalkers in our collective and personal ignorance of certain key truths, without which we are destined to remain in a state of sadness, loss, despair, craving, and on the whole, suffering. Such a state is gray, cold, lifeless, heavy, and energetically dense. Awakening is all about returning to our natural state of love and joy and following a path that forever puts us back on the perennial course of love when we detour into fear's dead-ends. While walking early one morning along a mountainous road in north central Costa Rica, I was surrounded by lush green hills and cows pondering the abundance of a new day's grass. A light, refreshing rain began washing over me. By the side of the road, were many weeds and dusty plants, thirsting for wetness to soak in and nourish them in their low-to-the-ground lives. In the midst of the weeds, I found, to my delight, a beautiful little pink wildflower, brimming with the simple ecstasy of existence. She was so small that I had to kneel down in order to get a better look at her, and I was awed by how such a tiny part of existence could be so intricate in beauty. I observed the various shades and hues of pink at her bubble-like core, a hundred fragile tendrils making their way up to bright yellow nodules at the tip of each one. This little flower was clearly an exquisite gift of life, beautiful simply for beauty's sake, growing from the weeds and what seemed to be insignificant plant life on the side of the road. What a perfect metaphor for awakening. This gorgeous little sparkle of life speaks brilliantly to how e