Don’t be afraid to take the leap

Don’t be afraid to take the leap

by | May 21, 2020 | Community Conversations

If you’re like me, times like these make you pensive. I mean, I was already pretty pensive but I’m good at distracting myself so my head doesn’t explode at the end of the day.

Now, with so much slowing down around me, I’m bored with my distractions, and I can’t help but move deeper into my meditation practice. That means buckle up, because we’re about to save the world. Well, mostly my world, but maybe you’ll find something inspiring inside of my inquiry that applies to your world as well!

As Without, So Within

You may find yourself outside your normal or habitual patterns due to physical distancing measures due to the general life disruption caused by COVID-19. When we find ourselves outside a normal behavioral pattern, our frontal lobe kicks into high gear (which is part of what makes this time so exhausting), because it needs to find novel ways to interact with our new environment. 

And while our homes or living spaces themselves may not be new, using one for a home office where previously it was just a hang out and rejuvenate space represents unique challenges to your mental health. Where do you go to decompress if your work is sitting right in the middle of your happy zone? Why bother tidying up if you’re going to be right back at it tomorrow for who knows how long? The purpose of the space we inhabit gets reevaluated, and *spoiler alert* there’s no clear alternative or solution that allows us to go right back ‘to sleep’ living in our old patterns.

If this is happening outside, the Hermeticist is trained to look within as well. In what ways are you currently reevaluating YOUR purpose? In what ways are you re-examining what fulfills you? Those ‘new’ ways that you’re living, how do they challenge your perspective or view you have of yourself? And what new trails are you blazing as a result? Feel free to share in the comments.

Transform by overcoming inertia

When we talk in the context of transformation, one of the forces we are trying to overcome is inertia. This is the tendency to stay the same, because staying the same is almost always easier. 

This tendency is highlighted when we are developing new habits. If something becomes unbearably uncomfortable, we are much more likely to (be motivated to) change it. There are many strategies people use to artificially enhance the pain associated with failing to perform a new habit so that they get over their inertia in changing it. I don’t know if you’ve been paying attention, but that strategy may have been practice for the challenges COVID-19 is throwing our way.

COVID-19 is an opening for transformation. Of course, there are many people suffering and dying as a result of this virus, it’s not just “uncomfortable” for them. That’s why we need to reach out, recognize what is going on, and extend an offer of support if we are stable to assist others who are not. Who have you checked in with recently?

If you are retracting inward, cutting yourself off from others, then you are not serving and expanding the love available. Love is connection and expansion, not retraction. We are not social distancing, we are only physically distancing. Challenge yourself to check in with someone in your network every day.

Upgrade your Consciousness

Remember that your actions are ultimately a result of your consciousness. What you perceive, what you pay attention to, to where your inner compass is leading all are a result of the level of consciousness that you have cultivated in yourself. When was the last time you attended to or took care of your mindset? How do you recognize when your mind is sick and needs care to get better? What is your treatment plan to get you back to a healthy mindspace? 

Your allopathic doctor has nothing to help you with here. Here’s a hint— inquire within and use this time to get past any inertia which has held you back in the past from making important changes in your life patterns, behaviors and goals.

Share with us below in the comments what you are going to do differently!

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Life Activation with Spirit in Transition

Post-COVID-19 outlook: Grim or proper?

Post-COVID-19 outlook: Grim or proper?

by | May 8, 2020 | Community Conversations

“As a Buddhist, I believe in the principle of impermanence. Eventually, this virus will pass, as I have seen wars and other terrible threats pass in my lifetime, and we will have the opportunity to rebuild our global community as we have done many times before. I sincerely hope that everyone can stay safe and stay calm. At this time of uncertainty, it is important that we do not lose hope and confidence in the constructive efforts so many are making.” ~Dalai Lama

These words are inspiring to me not only because I share the Buddhist philosophy of impermanence but also because I believe moving forward with hope and optimism is important to successfully navigating the uncertainty we are in. 

The irony is that I was basically a pessimist when I was a kid. When I read my writing from middle school (thanks for saving that stuff Mom! Geesh…), I’m struck with how little I thought of the future world I’d find myself in today. 

At the time, I would chalk it up to hormonal angst and existential crisis seeking freedom from not only boredom, but also that trapped feeling of living into an almost certain future that I did not like. The idea I’m getting at here is captured well in the movie Dead Poets Society (1989) for those that need a(nother) movie pick to get through COVID-19 quarantine.

Despite the odds, we need to move forward. 

Indeed, to effectively change the odds we need to take action. At any moment in time, we can draw a logical cause and effect line to a dismal future. But we can also do that same exercise, with slightly different inputs, and arrive at a positive future. The difference is in how we act and the decisions we make leading up to that point in time. That’s why I am constantly asking people what they are going to do about it. Essentially, I’m asking “will you choose love?” 

I say, ignore the forecasters!

While there are many people that using this as an opportunity to predict the future, many of us have our heads down and are already getting to work. What will the new environment be like? Who do we want to support and be supported by? Who can we trust to have our best interests in mind? Who will we play the next round of this game with?

Listen, we can fall back into our old patterns and live in the same world we did yesterday, which will almost certainly result (see what I did there?) in another pandemic experience. OR we can make different choices. We can choose to live in alignment with the Will of Nature, which is balance, and the Will of God, which is unity. Through these choices, we will discover peace and love.

I wouldn’t be a process of discovery if we knew for sure what would happen, it would instead be an almost certain future. Which road will you choose?