So I've been doing a lot of thinking lately. This post is going to be a random conglomerate of these thoughts, so please bear with me because I think you may get a few warm fuzzies and feel goods out of it!
I've been thinking about our worldly state of affairs and how currently things can be a little grim. In wondering how we can change things, two separate memories come to mind. Both of these relate to my participation in yoga (of course).
1. I read something really astoundingly simple yet profound in my yoga journal a couple of months ago and it's stuck with me since. Every time someone treats me poorly or is disrespectful I can't help but think of it. Think of someone who really hurt your feelings. More specifically think of a person who you think is a horrific excuse for a human being. ANYBODY.
Got it?
Good.
Guess what. That person most likely isn't a bad person.
Now, if you thought of a friend who was just a little nasty to you, of course you will agree that your friend isn't a bad person at all; maybe just having a bad day. If you thought of someone else or someone who hurt you really deeply (I certainly have a specific person in my brain) read on. Well...read on anyway whomever you selected!
Has the suspense built enough? Here we go:
According to this article, in our hearts and souls we are perfect. Imagine that in your core, where the real you dwells, you are a diamond. Now, as things get a little murky and dirt starts to cake on top of that diamond, we get confused. This dirt corresponds with our behavior and suffering. Confused?
Here's the sitch: it's rare that a person behaves badly and doesn't come to the conclusion that he or she behaves that way because he or she is a bad person. It's easy to sink into self pity, self hatred, indulge or overdo that behavior, and it can become a disease (i.e. alcoholism, depression, etc). We judge ourselves so harshly that rather than be our own allies, we jump to the worst possibility to explain what's happening. The problem here is that this behavior is typically an expression of underlying suffering that we may not have isolated. Typically this "bad" behavior (drinking excessively, overeating, bullying) is an outlet for this suffering. Rather than try to search out the suffering and heal it, we blame ourselves and label ourselves as "bad". This isn't to say that the behavior is acceptable, but it helps to know that in helping to heal and treat ourselves with love and respect (i.e. self compassion) that we can stop these feelings of inadequacy, suffering, and problems hiding beneath the surface of our psyche. When we address the real problems, we clean the muck off of the diamond so we can truly shine and succeed.
2. Keep in mind the above concept as we move on. In my yoga class, my teacher Sarah told us about an experiment done in the now playing documentary I Am. Essentially it revolves around experts and geniuses asked why our planet is in such terrible condition and what we can do about it. This experiment took an energy field and hooked this field up to a man and to yogurt. Yes, you did read that correctly. So literally it was a man connected by wire to a big space, and another wire on the other side connected to yogurt. The man was asked questions about love and marriage. He had recently undergone a bad divorce and as his mood grew stormy, his energy shifts affected the yogurt! So the take away? We are able to influence EVERYTHING. Plants are living things. Our energy affects nature, it affects the environment, thereby affecting each other. We are all connected on one huge energy grid. If we took the time to take care of ourselves (hint hint, look back at number one in this post) not only would we heal any underlying suffering but change ourselves, therefore we would change our energies which could in turn change the world. Pretty mind blowing stuff, huh?
So the trick here is using available resources to tweak your mindset so that you move from dark and gloomy to bright and shiny! It's interesting how a change of energy not only influences those around you, but how this change can bring things of the same nature into your natural orbit. For example: I went through a deep depression and I got so used to things being dismal that whenever another bad occurrence would happen, the situation typically ended in me being a hot mess and wondering why yet another issue was rearing its ugly head in my life. It wasn't until I was truly ready to face my issues and work through the suffering that I began to heal, and as I healed and treated myself and my body with respect, I cultivated self awareness and compassion.
Guess what happened.
Good things. Rewarding experiences. New friends and opportunities. Confidence. Drive. My ambition reawakened and I found direction. I started to trust my intuition which led me back to my dreams. Since I moved home, a lot of my dreams have come true through my own work, but I do believe that these things came into my orbit because of the internal shift that happened when I finally allowed myself to thrive.
Does this sound arrogant? I hope not. Selfish? I hope not. But guess what? In order to be SELFish or SELFless we have to locate and support our inner and true selves. This itty-bitty shift in the mind can move internal mountains.
My good friend from high school and I were discussing this earlier, and I will share what she had to say:
"We carry a lot of garbage around with us all the time. That's why I find [Crazy Sexy Diet] so inspiring, because it's about being brave enough to treat yourself well and making sure that you can do that in whatever sustainable fashion works for you... Our culture says that you have to be selfless but you can't help others until you help yourself." -- The Gorgeous Miss Amanda Bauer
Beautiful.
You know how the radio plays all of these gorgeous songs geared towards the romantics out there? They are messages of love and encouragement. Do you find yourself singing along? Try singing the words to yourself. Sometimes it's hard to treat ourselves with the respect we deserve. Think about how wonderful it would/will feel when you actively love and fight for yourself. You are an incredible human being with an enormous capacity for emotion, hopes, dreams, and wonderful things. You are a light. Let it shine.
This one is for you. Sing it for yourself.
Namaste.
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