It’s been a while since my last post. My
most recent time away demanded
more engagement in my physical
work than the virtual. I do not apologize
for the absence as the time away was well spent and desperately needed. I used my time away wisely. I enhanced my education, mentored, released, healed, and welcomed. It has provided rich fodder for upcoming
posts. I look forward to sharing it with
you. It is good to take time off the
grid to disassemble, disengage, and disappear to address disarray,
distraction, disassociation, disregard, and
disparagement.
In our world of
convenience, we have come to
expect constant communication, contact, and conveyance. It almost seems unconscionable to remove
yourself for an hour, a day, week, or few
months as we are led to believe we need to be constantly fed or stimulated. Think for a moment. How
much time do you really need or have to actively participate in the daily fast
paced world? Is it more important to be bombarded
daily with shallow vanities or to have meaningful interactions of
substance? When you find yourself
seeking pleasure or gratification from constant electronic connection, time to
take a break. Time to stand still
amidst chaos to regroup and reconnect with the simple beauty of naturalness
that surrounds us each day. Time to go within the simple beauty of silence.
Mauna
In Yoga, the practice of silence is called Mauna. My Daily Yoga Practice describes mauna best:
" Mauna is not just limited to the restriction of speech, but it is also about reducing and restricting the senses, inputs and stimulations of the mind. It is calming down the thought current and free the mind from restlessness. It is not merely practicing silence of speech, but also silence of the mind. It helps to purify the mind to a deeper level."
The practice of Mauna is just what I needed to go inside, to cocoon myself as I set upon the path of metamorphosis.
met-a-mor-pho-sis
a change of the form or nature of a thing or person into a completely different one,
in two or more distinct stages by natural means.
Stage 1 - Cocooning
Funny, your body will talk to you and tell you what you need to do...if you take the time
I started by releasing of a paragraph of a personal writing I had been holding close for a few years. It glimpse of my most intimate and personal work. I shared it with a distant, respected friend. The freedom and exhilaration of revealing a vulnerability felt good. While it opened me up to feel empowered, I questioned why I needed the acceptance in the first place. It was evident that I needed to unplug. So I did. I just went "away" mentally and physically. I made it "real". I stopped everything - writing, practicing, doing, "participating", and producing. I went silent. For eight months, I enveloped myself within the cocoon of Mauna. I made my unplugging tangible.
I challenge each of you to unplug from the electronic world for a moment, Disassociate to take a cleansing breath. Tap in to your true self. Actually look, see and feel what is real and true. You will realize you now have the time to accomplish that what you seek. I used my time away to do just this very thing. Go within. Listen to the "voice" of wisdom. In the short span of these past eight months while I was “away”, I have been able to achieve two of the aspirations which blessed my list. Along the way, I was able to meet new people, with new focus, new agenda, new path facilitating growth and strengthening my “return”. I now do so with eager veracity, void of negative influences, infused with gratitude, and ready to share with a clearer focus of where I am to “go” next.
Stage 2 - Cleansing
Time away cleanses the mental, physical and spiritual
self. It is the foundation of retreats
and vacations. The purpose is to remove
yourself from the very things which took you off track in the first place. Start your cleanse. Address your conflicts, one at a time. Initiate your healing. Jump start your success - purge. Remove negative influences - physical, mental, people, situations and "things". With your new clean slate, during your time away, revisit your one, two, five or even 10 year goals. If you never had one, use this time to create
them. What are your aspirations?
Where do you see yourself within those time bands? What do you need to get there? Is each goal positive to help you be the
best you can be? Does each objective
help you help others with servitude and humility? Do they promote your growth and the growth of
those around you? If you have already pre-established
a few dreams for yourself….where are you in the timeline of
accomplishment? Have you started? Have you procrastinated? Or… have you achieved? Time away from detractors and distraction enables focus on
what is real, what is truth. This cleansing opened me up to acceptance of what I am to BE. I emerged from my cocoon ready to heal my body to embrace my new self.
Stage 3 - BE it. (Embracing)
Yes, with a smile, as I’ve said so many times before, affirm your success. Say it, believe it, do it….BE it. Put your plan in place. Make your dreams come true. Who will you BE when you return from your time away? With positive intention and supportive patience, I bid you happiness as you leave. Enjoy your trip as you revisit your “self”. Rejoice! Upon your return, abundantly and selflessly share the gifts you received during your time away as I freely, now share with you.
Stage 4 - Emerging
With exuberance, I wish you a colorful cocooning and an emergent, freedom-filled Happy New Year!
Yoga: Om Namah Shivah
Om Namah Shivah is a mantra which means to honor and be
true to Shiva or “self”. When distracted, we lose focus of our purpose
and who we are. Taking time away to
discover ourselves awakens the Divine bestowed within us. It initiates the stages of our metamorphosis, reestablishes the purity of our truth, fosters our personal path to growth, and allows us to
use the light of our individual gifts to selflessly give to others.
