You Are One Of A Kind

What experience taught you about your own resilience? Take a moment to expand your vision. Instead of focusing in on something and creating tension, let your peripheral vision expand and relax. You are one of a kind. Help comes in the most mysterious ways. Even when you don’t feel like there is a way out of a situation, you must trust that change is possible. This really applies to anything in your life. We practice because we forget. It can be a hobby, a career path, a belief system, a childhood experience. What is your secret sauce? What experience in your life made you feel the most connected to yourself? How do these experiences enrich your life? Bring to mind the last big decision you had to make and feel the confidence that was present when you made that decision. Imagine being without doubt and let your body relax and sink into the feeling of being in the fluid state of that confidence. Notice what it felt like in your body to just let the flow of confidence in. If any doubt arises, just exhale and return back to your breath and relax your body.

Bite Your Lip

Feel the excitement of making important decisions in your life from a state of confidence and peace. We like straight lines because we can see what’s ahead of us. The unknown can be scary. Sometimes, you have to break something down before you can rebuild it. Breaking down was aggressive and jarring for me, but it doesn’t always have to be that abrupt. We can begin examining our lives by recognizing our obstacles. We can find ways to gain clarity and then practice letting go. I had to believe I was creative enough to make necessary changes. When you become aware of what you are doing, and what is keeping you stuck in the same cycle, you have an opportunity to change. Simply by being aware of it. Awareness is the key agent for making change happen now. Many yogic teachings focus on this very simple yet elusive fact.

As The World Turns

The mind and awareness are two separate things. When you are thinking, your mind is creating thoughts. When you are aware, you focus by observing your senses of sight, touch, taste, smell, and sound. Engaging all of our senses allows you to perceive more clearly and make better choices. I learned growing up that being good meant you obeyed the rules and didn’t make waves. Being bad meant that you broke the rules and made life chaotic. I had way more experience at being bad than being good. Being good was hard. I had to believe I was powerful enough to change my belief that I was never going to amount to anything. After my court experience, everything felt different and I wanted to be different. You can’t go to the problem to find the solution. I wanted to be free from anxiety and fear, and I wanted to stop worrying about what everyone else was doing.

Picture This

She visited on the weekends and was the first person who told me about yoga. I’d been without a spiritual practice ever since I’d been banished from catechism class. When I arrived, I was greeted with warm smiles, and a welcoming guide pointed me to the main building. The scent of lavender emanated, and the air was thick with the smoke of something sacred. I sat on one of the pews, and an Englishwoman took the stage and began a short meditation. As she spoke, I became distracted and scanned the room looking for the guy who would give the actual lecture. After a few minutes, I realized, This lady is the guy. She was talking about how we are not only responsible for our own happiness but we also have the power to change and to live a life with purpose. She said we must let go of what isn’t serving our highest good. I had never felt like I had any power, and now this stranger was telling me that I have power and I can change? This was the first time I had listened to something that felt good and true that didn’t involve hell, especially given the fact that I believed we were already in it. For us to access that power, we must be still and listen. There was a fluidity to what I felt that day. The entire experience felt like it was not by chance. You know those moments? When everything feels perfectly coordinated and real. Some may call this a spiritual awakening. It feels like a flowing river between your fingertips, or a calm breeze against your skin. I went from hearing to listening. You hear something, it is effortless and, at times, involuntary. When you are listening, you are focused and intentional. Meditation is a practice that must be, well, practiced. Meditation gives you vitality and clarity. It provides a deep sense of calm so that you can sort through the mind’s disarray. Meditation is something that you do, as well as something that you are. It’s a direct connection to our higher power. Spiritual awakenings do not have to be dramatic. They don’t have to involve seeing visions, being visited by elite spirit beings, or feeling ecstatic. Your experience of connecting to something bigger can feel as simple as taking a spontaneous deep breath. I didn’t know what I was doing, and I was afraid it wasn’t a place I should venture alone. My eyes reminded me of the dark alleys on my way home. If you ventured out on your own, you’d better be prepared. Carry something that can double as a weapon or travel with a friend. I guessed that bringing a weapon to sit in meditation would be frowned upon. The first time I meditated was a disaster. I sat on the apartment floor and closed my eyes. I didn’t like that, so I tried staring at the carpet, seeing as much detail as I could.