I’ll be honest. In my daily life I often struggle with consistency. This is obvious with the inconsistency of my posting and it truly is a constant challenge for me to be consistent. I struggle to start things and then I hyper focus when I do, or I’ll start three projects at once! Instead of trying to “fix” this, I am now learning how I can use hyper focus to my advantage. I was relieved to discover in my Human Design chart I’m not actually designed to be consistent, except in one area. Understanding and embracing this has strangely allowed me to be more consistent.
“Success is making the time for Spiritual renewal”
Dr Robert Holden – Success Intelligence
On my six months Meditation training in 2015, I had a programme set out for me which included many hours of eyes closed Meditation and Yoga twice a day. I had social accountability and I didn’t have to think about or plan anything. I saw that with these parameters in place, it was way easier for me to cultivate a consistent daily Spiritual practice. When I came back home to the distractions of “normal” life, my Meditation remained mostly consistent but I’d notice at some point I’d inevitably stop doing my morning Yoga practice. I also noticed the times I wasn’t “Making the time for Spiritual renewal”, in whatever form, the challenges in life I was facing felt a lot harsher. I cannot dispute that the accumulative effects of my practices create an internal strength and buffer. I’ve stopped and started enough now to notice the difference and played enough to see that Yoga and Meditation practiced together get the most consistent results in both.
The point is that I notice when I drift, which means I have a choice to “begin again”. And I do. Lots! Again. And again. And Again. And I suspect it shall be this way until I depart this body. In this “begin again” there is a consistency and a momentum that grows over time and each time it gets easier to start. I learnt in my 6 months training how not to beat mySelf up when my mind perceived it had “failed” to be consistent, not seeing the bigger picture of consistency. This has been very valuable! We call this mind attacking Self-violence. And it is. Ahimsa, the Yogic principle of non-violence, also applies to the mind. You might think you need to stop your thoughts to apply it but this is not so. When we play with applying another Yogic principle Aparigraha, meaning non-grasping, we begin to understand and experience for ourSelves.
There is so much more to Yoga than postures. My Yoga and Meditation practice without a doubt helps me cope with life better and I navigate my daily sensory challenges a lot more Gracefully with a daily Spiritual practice. The physical benefits are a bonus of course but for me Yoga and Meditation are preparing me for my life off the mat. My Shamanic practices help me to feel, be real and not bypass the discomfort of challenges and growth but to welcome them and move through them with more ease. The bridge between these upper and lower worlds is my Heart. This is where, if I do nothing else, I connect into daily. Hand on Heart, deep listening, creating a space for my Soul’s Wisdom to blossom, to be heard and beheld, not by some external Guru or authority but by my own loving conscious awareness. The Heart unifies our still, conscious awareness with the living, breathing, ever growing, healing, evolving, changing vehicle that is our body.
With Heart in mind, I’m creating a virtual studio for those of you who want to build momentum in cultivating a regular Spiritual practice, who want support from someone who’s sharing the journey, who want encouragement to keep going with some social accountability, so you too can live more fully, with more integrity, with Heart in Mind. Let your practices become the soil in which you Spiritually blossom and bloom. Nature does not like to be rushed but she does like to be Appreciated and Nurtured. You’ll blossom in your own sweet time (and many times). You may as well learn to fully enjoy your blooms.
If you’ve been wanting to start a regular Yoga and/or Meditation practice, maybe you’ve tried before then given up because you’re not quite sure what you’re doing, or think you’re doing it wrong, or want more guidance and interaction than you find on you tube videos, please contact me directly for a heads up before I officially launch, or subscribe below to stay updated on events, classes, poems and blogs.
P.S. If you’d like to learn the very easy Heart Centred practice I do every morning and mentioned earlier, you can join me at Back to the Roots, a family friendly, alcohol and drug free festival where I’m sharing it this Sunday 14th August at 10am. Weekend and day tickets are available here. It’s the beginning of “The Silent Revolution”, a little project I’m working on which I’ll share about on Sunday and on here very soon.
The Bendy Witch 