Unleash the dragon within

(Image credit: Orestes de Armas Centeno)

Notice if you have ever travelled anywhere, near or far, chances are you know what its like to take things you never need and later wonder why you did.

Excess baggage echoes our fears, the fear of not having enough, or the right stuff, not meeting our needs. Fears weigh us down. Its common to judge some personal experience as negative. Fear of history repeating can influence how we respond to life, people, situations. Often, the dead weight feels like part of us.

Just like a backpacker carrying stuff that is not needed or serves no real purpose, the universe is nudging us to let go of things, thoughts, emotions, memories. Then true being shines. People in our lives do not see the real us, the best of us, if we hang onto what no longer serves us. Maybe it used to but we can change.

Maybe it is time to do what many travellers end up doing along the way during a long walk. Unpack our overloaded personal backpacks, all that we outgrow yet hang onto 'just in case'. Engage in your own inner inventory. Examine each item honestly. Only as lessons are learned can situations change. Decluttering our lives is a step toward decluttering the mind. Lighten the load.

Turns out, I recall climbing up Kazakhstan mountains with far too much stuff. I had told myself I took what I needed for different purposes on a 6 week trip through different countries. Before long, I gifted 2 of my 3 bags away. Not only was the sky clear to observe stars that night, but my mind got a little clearer. Now the more I travel, the less I take.

Admittedly, letting things go can be hard. Value is so subjective. Sometimes we believe that we are not whole without a given thing, situation, relationship. Once we have the courage to set certain things free, an incredible lightness arises.

The analogy of the alchemist and the dragon's egg rings true. To discover real freedom is about unleashing the inner dragon, the dragon within. The symbolism of a dragon egg is a reminder to acknowledge our inner potential, be open to big change, embrace our spiritual journey. We are each in process of an unforeseen metamophosis and self-discovery. Letting go of what we thought was important at another stage of life is how we navigate challenges and evolve consciousness.

17 Lessons to Enrich your Life

Throughout life, we rise and fall like the ebbs and flows of the tide.  Experiences come and go in cycles. Existence is a continuous opportunity for learning, unlearning and growth. Here are 17 Lessons  or revelations that can enrich your own winding journey.

1. What people tell you is not who you are  (Walk your own path)

2. Thoughts are like boomerangs (thoughts create feelings and then experience) 

3. The only constant in life is change

4. Facing fears is the road to unconditonal love & self-acceptance

5. Savouring every moment loses sight of time 

6. The same energy can be experienced as fear or excitement

7. How you live your life is your message

8.  Courage dismantles your own illusions

9. Generosity and nourishing an open heart are the key to feeling abundant

10. If you do not define your limits/ boundaries, someone else will

11. Humility is the solid foundation on which all truth resides

12. As it dawns life is a mirror, duality (illusion) loses its hold over you

13. Forgiveness benefits two people–the giver and receiver 

14. Reality is constantly being creating by every thought and feeling

15. Only in losing yourself (letting go) do you actually find your true self 

16. Wherever we are is where happiness resides

17. Gratitude is source of true power

Recall the Truth of Yoga

Image: visionary sacred geometry by David Diamondheart

Notice social media leads many people to assume yoga is about challenging postures and physical fitness. As it happens, yoga is not really about bending and twisting the body, holding breath, mudras. Much of yoga images in popular culture overlook the surface is a pointer. Yoga itself is a path, timeless technology. It guides us to a state where reality reveals itself through us. We come to ground what is larger than us, cosmic consciousness, the innate connection of mind, body, spirit. It is not about hiding self-rejection, seeking to be what we are not already. It is a journey of surrender, love, acceptance.

In fact, it dawns, every subatomic particle in the body is always interacting with everything else in the universe. If this cosmic flow stops, we cease to exist. So, yoga is to know the union of existence by direct experience. We gain insight during meditation until existence itself is a state of meditation and altered states are what we experience when we forget or move away from the vibration of yoga. To hear “God is everywhere,” or “Everything is one energy,” is heresay until awakening. We are each a 1000 petal lotus or golden flower opening to the Truth.

As we practice yoga, we start at the point of harmony or disharmony we are vibrating in mind, body and spirit. The breath guides us into presence in this moment. Yoga is the process of moving towards an experiential reality where one knows the ultimate nature of existence, how it forms, shifts, changes, that one is an intricate part. The term 'Yoga' implies a complete path in and of itself. It is like the hero's journey, coming full circle, letting go of beliefs, all you outgrow.

So, some observe yoga is about breaking patterns, cycles, building flexibility, getting fit, liberating ourselves from the limitation of memory. These views certainly have value. People may initially find yoga as it offers health benefits, is a means to reduce stress, balance biochemistry. Its physical and mental benefits are well-known. One can experience remarkable changes, know peace, joy, feel more balanced, even accelerate rehabilitation from injury. And there are many people who miraculously heal from chronic ailments in part from yoga. And yet, none of it is the essential nature of yoga.

The basic point of Yoga is to shift life experience from ego-driven pursuits to an all-inclusive, soul-guided one. Instead of being an individual, we come to feel part of an ongoing universal process. The result of shifts in consciousness blows the mind away.

In the ancient ways of yoga teaching, the physical dimensions of yoga were presented as aligning this human system to cosmic geometry. To be in perfect alignment removes friction. Internal friction means you are working against yourself; you are an issue or in conflict with yourself. So long as inner tug of war exists, peace seems out of reach. Everything is stressful. As you commit to more worldly pursuits, challenges multiply endlessly.

Turns out, comic wisdom echoes our own body, mind, emotions and energy work with us, not against us. As these four aspects are aligned, suddenly this body- mind creates miracles beyond our wildest dreams. What for us is normal, ordinary, appears extraordinary or superhuman. Whether it is business, personal , physical or other endeavours, our level of efficiency, deep understanding and flow magnify based on power of intention. Truth is, the key to everything is aligning with sacred geometry of existence. It all comes back to vibrating in harmony with cosmic symbols.

Decode physical injury

Notice every moment, infinite opportunities exist to ground the soul in this world, to make the unconscious, conscious, reinforce confidence in our abilities. At times, we get bruises from little bumps in life, to our ego/ pride or physical body. Each is a subtle reminder of any lingering self-punishment we are ready to let go.  Recently injured my big toe. Love tuning into intuitive messages.

Almost everyone can relate to unconscious injuries as we cannot consciously self-harm. In life, our feet are on the front line. Sometimes it feels we take two steps forward, three steps back. The spiritual vibe of foot issues refers to current life situation or direction, its like soul reflecting on the nature of the 'right' path.

In the wider world, feet literally carry us through. They support our weight, guide us to find balance, and are the means to ground our soul growth. Physical pain can echo growing pain or resistance to soul growth. If you have ever broken or stubbed toes, twisted an ankle, ripped a ligament, it dawns the physical issue and forced pause is a gift pointing to something else. Level of consciousness echoes what is most relevant to each of us.. There are no accidents, only synchronicities.

As mysterious pain arises, body parts are speaking to us. Our feet allow us to get around. Put one foot in front of the other, and we get somewhere. Physical injury stops us in our tracks, forces us to slow down. If not feet, could be hands, fingers, or another body area. Sometimes we resist changes soul knows are best for us that don’t feel good to ego. Whatever prompts change is a gift. We are invited to savour the blessings in our midst. We may be processing feelings like grief or anger around unwanted change. Maybe you fear not being supported ? Ultimately what matters is trusting, supporting ourselves in our own surrender.

You may wonder if you are asking too much of yourself or pushing self forward when you do not feel ready for something. To question whether we may take on too much responsibility, it may be that we are are ready to redefine responsibility. Such questions we can only answer for ourselves.

Recall the idea that "God never puts us in a situation he doesn't think we cannot handle, though sometimes we wish he didn't trust us so much." The soul and ego are at odds only until it dawns they are both on the path to realize the same thing.

Turns out paradise is not found by resisting discomfort or rejecting unwanted parts of self. We are in process of rewriting eons of false narratives we created and embedded in our bones, muscles, fascia, connective tissue, ligaments, cells. With perfect timing, what are initially viewed as injuries or negative events suddenly echo a healthy energetic recalibration process, so we evolve or rebuild from the inside out, and finally see boundaries and problems only exist in mind.

Listen to the Soul

On the surface, we may appear poor and aspire to get something different, something more. Yet, only a rich person can be poor. This 'rich' is not about money. Material riches are not true wealth. If ambition remains, we are poor. What we have or do not have is not the point. When we have enough, desire and dissatisfaction disappear. The vanishing of desire is the meaning of "enough". An analogy can be made with fears we adopt. The letting go of fears is a way to expand spiritual wealth, which allows other kinds of abundance to flow freely.

Spiritual wealth is an intangible kind of richness. To nourish spiritual richness is not about going to church or adopting a particular faith or religion. Its about living by universal principles. It is about qualities and experiences that nourish love, respect and acceptance, trustworthiness, honesty, truthfulness, peace of mind, compassion, contentment, honour, playfulness, love and spontaneity. If we do not embody a reservoir of spiritual wealth, then no amount of money or material gain can make us happy. Spiritual wealth guides us to live in integrity with intuition, the voice of inner wisdom. It guides us to our own source of happiness which is then mirrored energetically in the external.

In light of global upheavals, many people fear uncertainty, fear losing points of reference, find themselves hesitating to move forward in a soul-guided way. We are taught to doubt ourselves, question our ability to survive, question how we can continue living in the lifestyle we have been even if we give parts of it up. The prospect of stepping outside the familliar triggers deep wounds, issues or patterns of our respective lineages or unseen blocks.

If we choose to listen to the soul, when we put up an emotional wall, this is an soul-guided invitation to decode and dismantle it to grow as a soul. Facing fear is the process of rediscovering true unlimited richness inside ourselves. It is part of taking full and complete responsibility for our role in creating where we are and all our conditions or accepting them. Its knowing all is possible. Making choices that whole-heartedly put inner knowing into practice is art of letting go, creating new Soul guided relationships and conditions as realities