Knowing what’s right for ourselves as individuals and acting according to that, is these days, a true gift of awareness. There are so many ideas and conflicting beliefs in the world. Out of those, we look to choose a community with people and ideas that resonate – our friends, workplace, groups of interest – these all come with ideas, lifestyle choices, rules. Connecting with like-minded others is surely going to bring joy, however we still need to exercise our choices according to who we are as individuals. There is no ONE WAY and there is no right versus wrong. There is however, harmony versus harm.
First and foremost it’s important to harmonise with our world in a way that feels right for us. We are the leader of our own lives. We are the guardians of our health. One of the main causes of stress in our lives is emotional fatigue due to not tuning in to our true self and what is right for us. The stress comes from a disconnect between you and your true self.
By ignoring the warning signs or doing things that go against the grain of what feels right, we slowly wear ourselves down and we experience fatigue. As we’re carried along with the world, adopting all the ‘shoulds’ and ‘should nots’, it can feel like we’re harmonising and fitting in. However, that often comes with losing control of the management of our personal happiness. With a loss of control, we start to ‘cope’ rather than experience wonderment at the journey. Coping becomes the norm. Living inside our ‘coping stories’ creates stress, pain and sometimes tragedy.
To move out of coping and back to wonderment, practice noticing yourSELF. Strengthen the self sense by feeling into what rings true and what doesn’t. What does your heart say? Make mistakes along the way, but claim control over your choices. Recognise that what’s needed will be different each day. When and where you choose to rest or to take action is dependent on what’s needed in that moment. Watch, listen, learn, test, develop the self-sense. Include all parts of you in your beautiful life. Let the shadow side come out sometimes – it’s part of you and needs to be acknowledged – don’t bury it, get cheeky with it! There are no hard and fast rules, just you, testing and trying, growing and learning.
In Kundalini yoga, we don’t teach postures and philosophy as theory, we teach kriyas as an experience of the self. Knowing and acknowledging yourself creates an attitude of intention. Through the positive mind, we use the power of thought to set an intention. We are walking our personal path. We may not know where we’re going or what will happen next, but we trust in the unknown because we trust in ourselves. This attitude helps develop a sense of responsibility for our choices, providing a sense of control and empowerment in our lives. Within the chaos there is order.
“In the space between chaos and shape there was another chance.” Jeanette Winterson
“Chaos was the law of nature; Order was the dream of man.” Henry Adams