Positive Possibilities: Consequence, the Great Teacher, by Parvati Devi

Image credit: Stuart Anthony

We are constantly held within the perfect whole. An integral part of the fabric of the universe, we are never separate from anything that exists. However much we may feel that life is against us during difficult times, we are always loved by the compassionate and wise presence of life itself.

Consequence is one of life’s best teachers. When we were children, we learned that fire burns when we tried to touch it. The physical pain taught us to never again reach into the flame. As we grow, we learn what burns, we learn what singes, and we learn what feels cooling and refreshing. We try to stay clear of the painful and move towards that which feels good.

Yet, as we mature as spiritual aspirants, we understand that being part of the whole, everything we experience supports our evolution in some way – even the uncomfortable and painful things. Our likes and dislikes have little say in the lessons we are given along the spiritual path. In fact, being attached to likes and dislikes, the idea that something is for or against us, limits the way in which we can meet all of life with fullness and truly grow.

A Capricorn (an astrological sign ruled by Saturn, the great karmic teacher), I know first-hand that perceived limitations, restrictions and painful events are always blessings in disguise. The most immediate example of this in my life is the four months I spent paralyzed from the waist down, immobilized in bed due to a severe spinal cord injury. A mysterious and spontaneous consequence of the prayers and rituals I performed at the North Pole where I went in the fall of 2010 to do healing work on the planet, I woke up on the day of the Japanese tsunami in March 2011 in searing pain and with a severely injured spine. I would remain bedridden until the summer, in agony, in awe, being born into a whole new me.

I had to face the possibility of never being able to walk again, which doctors estimated was a likelihood – even after the spinal surgery they recommended for me. Instead of seeing this experience as against me, I knew somehow deep within that this was an expression of my innate interconnection with the planet. Rather than surgery, I chose to go within and fully meet this as a complete recalibration around a whole new axis – one I knew nothing about.

In surrender, I saw the consequence of my actions as a gift of karmic fast forward. In those months, I burned through deep karmic ties that had limited my ability to perceive the whole with greater clarity and insight. Out of it, a book was born, “Confessions of a Former Yoga Junkie: A Revolutionary Life Makeover for the Sincere Spiritual Seeker”, and a new me was born: freer, happier, wiser, lighter, more rooted, connected and whole than ever before.

Consequences show us that limits are not obstacles but guideposts to actions that support greater health and total well-being. They are never punishments from a judgmental universe, but compassionate guidance from a loving source, and a reflection of our truest nature. They may be seen as strict, even unbending – but never cruel.

Next time you find yourself in a painful situation, do not waste your valuable time feeling somehow judged by the universe, as though you were being punished for your past. Instead, welcome the consequence as a deeply wise and compassionate teacher, one that is showing you how to grow through recalibration and redirection of your energy and release of that which no longer serves. Remember, you are never alone, but always within a loving and wise whole.

Parvati headshotParvati Devi is the editor-in-chief of Parvati Magazine and an internationally recognized Canadian musician, yogi and new thought leader. As a chart-topping touring musician, Parvati spearheads the Post New-Age musical genre with her independent success hit single “Yoga in the Nightclub”. She founded YEM: Yoga as Energy Medicine, a powerful yoga method that combines energy work and yoga poses. Her critically acclaimed self-help debut book “Confessions of a Former Yoga Junkie – A Revolutionary Life Makeover for the Sincere Spiritual Seeker” is currently in its third edition.

For more information on Parvati, please visit www.parvati.tv.