In My Head
The Potential for Abundance
by Stevan A. Walkowski
Walking Your Path
Labyrinths lead you on a step-by-step journey into your soul
by Mary Maloney
Moving/Being
Gardening as Emergence
by Paul Linden
VerbAsana
An Ever-emerging Heart
by Thatcher Ross
This Moment
Consciousness...Emerging
by Cheryl Rapose
Feng Shui Today
Nature's Lessons for a Career Change
Q&A with Sylvia Watson and Connie Spruill
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VerbAsana
An Ever-emerging Heart
The Big Box of Art |
We are, as a general rule, guided by our wants and desires. However, what we perceive as our desires are not necessarily of our own creation. More often, our parents, peers, institutions or the media instill them in us. We become so focused on achieving assumed goals that we don't even pause to consider the possibility that we may have hidden from ourselves a higher, more fulfilling agenda. It can be uncomfortable to admit to ourselves that we've been moving in the wrong direction and that we have to let spent energy be for naught. Additionally, when we begin to change paths, it can create conflict with others in our lives who have long-held beliefs about who we are and where we're going. The alternative, however, is to ignore our deepest wishes, which will inevitaly lead to a myriad of negative psychological symptoms: anger, depression, fear, resentment, etc. These can then manifest themselves physically as hypertension, illness, arthritis, degrading eyesight or even something as severe as cancer. Those of us who go through our lives with blinders on live with a deep sense that things are not as they should be, but once we've taken a revealing look away from the path laid before us, we find it increasingly uncomfortable to ignore our inner sensibilities.
Dedicating time for deep reflection will give insight into our deepest wishes - our sacred path, if you will. And, learning to hear our inner wisdom will provide us with a reliable compass to guide us through our day-to-day course corrections. The mind has a knack for deceiving us in order to maintain the status quo, so we must be dilliegent to ensure that we're reaching our conclusions, free from the distortion of our ego's influences.
Fortunately, we have many tools available to aid us.
Playing sports, dancing, creating art, teaching a child, cooking or any activity that we feel passionate about can be effective in moving us into a silent space within. We can become so engrossed in the process that time outside of the action disappears. Tai Chi, Ashtanga and other forms of vinyasa yoga work the same. The flow from posture to posture becomes mesmerizing, engulfing the mind. Kripalu, Iyangar or other forms that present long holding times in the postures bring us into the now, through heightenend attunement to the thoughts, feelings and sensations of the moment. Most forms of meditation incorporate a single pointed focus, in which the practitioner occupies the mind with a mantra, image or attention to the breath. In any cae, the goal is to become familiar enough with being in the present moment that we can find it at will. Through this, we gain the ability to act with genuine consciousness rather than leading a life of programmed reactions.
As individuals, we must determine which is the most effective method for us; however, this may change with time. It may initially be easier to find the silence within through a form of continuous movement; but, it may prove easier to enter our inner sactuaries during our daily lives, when we learn to find it in a more settled practice.
It takes only a moment to ask our higher selves what the ideal course might be. Then it becomes a matter of having faith in our own guidance system. The directions we receive present themselves to us more like feelings than thoughts, so our minds must often be willing to yield.
Consider this: A business traveler who flies across the globe on a regular basis one day cannot bring himself to board his flight - the plane later crashes, mid-flight. There are many recorded accounts of people's "instincts" leading them to remarkable acts or insights outside of what their minds could logically foresee. It can be scary to relinquish control to unknown factors, but once we learn to hear our hearts and trust the messages that we receive, our lives can grow more meaningful and fruitful in ways that we had never imagined.
All it takes is desire, willful intent, dedicated action and open honesty with ourselves. Life is a glorious unfolding when viewed through an ever-emerging heart.
Thatcher Ross began meditating at the age of nine and began his yogic pursuits, while still in high school, when introduced to Kundalini yoga. He's explored many philosophical viewpoints and meditative practices as well as Tai Chi and Feldenkrais movement techniques. Certified as a Kripalu yoga teacher, he joyfully weaves these various disciplines into his lighthearted offerings. You can find unabridged versions of his articles and reach him at www.yogateacher.net or contact him by phone at 614-885-3355.
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