Your life flows in joy, ease and beingness when you get out of your own way. The tighter you hold on to the idea that you are the one doing it all, the more you suffer. When you try to make this moment as your ego would have it, the further you move away from the sweet balance that exists in the now.
When you take pause from this effortful fight, you open to see that you have in fact no control. This is not because you are not powerful, but because beyond the limited sense of a separate “me”, you are powerful beyond belief. You have no need for a finite sense of control. You have been gifted with the immense power of choice in how you will respond to the moment before you. You see that the idea of a separate “me” is a limited lens through which you perceive life, but not the whole picture. You begin to understand that “I am” is more than enough. It is in truth all that is.
Try this exercise to help you embrace the reality that you are not an isolated doer but a vast, interconnected being who is one with all that is.
Find a quiet place to lie on your back, such as a yoga mat, so that you can relax without the risk of falling asleep. Bend your knees and place your feet flat on the floor about hip-width apart so that your breathing is easy, deep and relaxed.
Breathe into your belly, allowing the rhythm of the breath to bring your mind deeper into this moment, into your body, into the feeling of the here and now. Go deeper into yourself and feel the connection your body has with the floor.
Become aware of how your body touches the floor, the floor touches the building, the building touches the earth, the earth touches everyone. Become aware how your skin touches the air, the air touches the sky, the sky touches the stars, the stars touch the cosmos. Feel connected and interconnected.
Go deeper into the connection that your breath has with the outside air and how it flows into your body. Know that the air you breathe is also connected to all of life, all animals, all humans, all things alive. Take a moment to feel that interconnection between you, life and all things. Feel the immense possibility of life itself inside and out. Let the notion of inside and out soften, so that it is more one continuum.
Allow your being to expand, to open to this life force that is in you, around you, everywhere. Stay rooted in your body by still feeling the ground and your breath, while you also feel expansive awareness. Allow yourself to open to receive the possibilities in this moment. Feel them in your breath and in your cells. While maintaining that presence, say to yourself:
“I am.”
Repeat this gently, lovingly, with care and attention.
Avoid any tendency to want to add narrative at the end of that statement. Let it be complete in itself. Allow your sense of “I” to soften. Be open to the possibility that “I am” is the whole truth.
Say it as long as you need to, feeling it resonate inwardly. Repeat it as though you were feeding your cells divine grace. Repeat it until you truly feel it.
Keep your focus within, rather than leaving your body. Focus on the positive possibilities of being you, not on wanting to change. Be present with the possibilities of the now.
Parvati is an award-winning musician (I Am Light, Electro Yog, Yoga In The Nightclub), yogini (YEM: Yoga as Energy Medicine), author (Aonani of Avalon, Confessions from Your Awakened Self) and founder of the not-for-profit Parvati.org. All her work is dedicated to protecting all life on Earth by establishing the Marine Arctic Peace Sanctuary (MAPS).More info: parvati.tv; parvati.org.