Make yourself vulnerable & Live fully

Notice we are often conditioned to believe that getting up close and personal, making ourselves vulnerable, can evoke significant discomfort and suffering. The surprising thing is, its precisely doing what evokes discomfort that builds strength and resilience. What we seek is right here within. Its closer than we think. The truth is self-evident. We must simply be willing to step outside our comfort zone to remember what enables us to feel most alive. Marcel Proust reminds us, "The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new lands but seeing with new eyes." 

Nourish unseen potential

(Seascape Photo by Anton Gorlin)

Notice success doesn't come from outside. It comes from our brain. It begins with nourishing the right thoughts, knowing and accepting we are innately successful and capable of doing anything we set our minds to at any life stage. We each have unique talents and are extraordinary being ordinary just as we are in this moment. As awareness grows, we accept and do the best we can with the bodies and gifts we have and know we are always more than enough. As we grow to love and accept ourselves, we resonate confidence, effectively follow soul paths, inspire others to be the best they can be wherever they are on their path.

Consider this : some people have an idea but not the tenacity to think it through and take it to the next level. Each of us can tap into courage and perseverence to develop our mind power. Every idea is like a little seed but we must grow it. Seeds may look small, but they grow into enormous trees. The hidden potential alone in the seed does not make the tree. The seed requires attention, to be put in the ground, cared for, given the right conditions of water, light, nutrients to develop. As the seed sprouts and grows into its full potential, we see how something little can transform into something big and beautiful. Similarly, every thought we nurture is like a budding seed of success. It cannot grow without infusing love and belief in unseen potential. Only then, does the light within the seed and us emerge like joy felt in each new sunrise.

 

Yoga frees all that is false

(Visionary art by Ivan Blažetić Šumski)

Notice the process of yoga is freeing everything that is false. The more we engage in soul yoga, the more layers fall away. At some point, it hits we are not the body or the mind, we are consciousness. From the moment it dawns you are pure consciousness that pre-existed before the body and will continue to exist after the death of the body, you enter a very different state of consciousness. This deeper understanding is free from constraints of death, fear of abandonnment, fear of loneliness, all the psychological defenses of the ego that keep us questioning, doubting, seeking. When ready, it dawns the ego is simply a web of defenses around the heart. Ironically, the ego does not know its own heart. The Self that has realized who we are , that One being is completely free of all illusions and projections that created our suffering. To reach self-realisation is to reach a state where no suffering exists. Illusion creates suffering. As one grows aware of, dismantles false beliefs and ideologies, only then can one know what true freedom is. At this point, one must let go of the ego itself. This is necessary because the egoic concept blocks the infinite nature of consciousness. Truth is, only one consciousness exists, not a multiplicity of egos. We have created a holographic world of worlds but we have never left one consciousness. The world we think we know is maya-illusion. Reading about different levels of reality is not the same as direct experience of this. Its the difference between studying electricity and getting electrocuted,( or feeling biocircuits connect and allow cosmic energy to flow). Read as much about lightning as you like. Its not the same as being hit by lightning. Every upheaval in our lives today is a catalyst for awakening soul consciousness and rediscovering true freedom.

Navigate through what arises

Notice anger and discontent arise. Yet, conditioning teaches us to fear expressing truth, to resist sharing feelings, and to believe expressing anything other than calmness or happiness is bad or wrong. Even within yoga or spiritual circles, emotions that don’t echo only peace, love, gratitude, and joy are often judged as out of place.

Truth is, dishonesty about the ups and downs of life is insincerity. To say one thing directly and yet, express different feelings behind the scenes, suggests what we think, say and feel are incongruent.

Inner well-being comes from the connection and harmony between our inner life and the outer world. As we live from soul, our thoughts, feelings and action naturally align. When something does not feel right, imbalance plays out in our lives to guide us in new directions.

Assuming we must always be happy may misinterpret the sutras, yamas, and niyamas. After all, true transformation involves bringing discomfort to the surface, being honest with ourselves as part of accepting and integrating everything. This is the path to embody wholeness. Each instance we are not open with others, tells us we are not open and honest with ourselves in ways we do not yet recognize. This process of opening the heart to cracks is necessary to guide one into the vibration of true peace and contentment.

Why is it that we tend to overlook mental-emotional afflictions? How is it helpful to run from ourselves? We can only do so for so long. Our emotions or instincts arise as our buttons are being pushed, causing a negative reaction instead of a positive action. It brings us face-to-face with another side of duality before going beyond.

Triggers invite us to face our shadows, to let go of harmful behavioral patterns. Through the lens of svadhyaya, or self-study, we can see shortcomings otherwise invisible to us. The journey inward is a way to dismantle why we react to certain people and ideas, and it helps us explore new directions.

Yoga is about raising awareness. As we grow more aware of our humanity, we naturally feel more comfortable expressing it. Maybe we get angry, frustrated, or upset sometimes because we practice something that stretches us to new levels of awareness and acceptance of who we are. What enters our scope of experience is always the perfect tool to navigate what arises to guide soul growth. We are like invisible air that takes shape through wind, moving clouds and swaying trees and then, blows away.

Midlife unravelling to midlove

Notice midlife is not about the fear of death. Midlife is death--out with the old, in with the new. Tearing down identities, conditions, relationships, we have spent our entire life building, may feel like "death." And yet, shifting out of fear brings rebirth of a phoenix.

Whatever the issue, from people -pleasing and performing to perfectionism and conformism, it seems as if we spend the first half of our lives suppressing, denying or shutting down to resist the root of unconscious pain, and the second half, taking brave steps to open everything up to feel and heal the forgotten hurt.

As life as I knew it falls apart in stages, it appeals to reframe midlife unravelling as midlove. Loving ourselves fully is the most difficult and courageous journey we’ll ever take. The universe offers a finite period of time to tune in and recalibrate to that self-love, and midlife is the halfway point. Being repeatedly shaken up is like a slap in the face yet it invites us to let go of shame, fear, desire, suffering, all thoughts that stands in the way of love.

Rest assured, life unravels at her own pace. The search for self-love and acceptance seems like an endless quest. We think we have it and then we don't. Conscious awareness may arise noticeably in midlife, but we deal with it from that point onward. As we begin to see truth through the lies we tell ourselves, it grows harder to keep up the charade.

Turns out, its easier to ignore the universe in your twenties as the universe simply whispers, “Pay attention,” Then, in your early thirties, she whispers a bit louder, “Slow down.” Trust me though. By midlife, the universe is more persistent and cannot be ignored. She presents in unexpected ways & places so we grow aware we squander gifts, do not live up to our potential. There are penalties for not following through with the Soul contract. We are reminded "You’re halfway to dead. Get a move on!" Much like Scrooge in Charles Dicken's A Christmas Carol, we get a BIG wake up call.

Once the shock of the universe’s visits wears off—and you stop choosing a crisis over alternatives, several options present...

Its always possible to pull the universe closer, embrace her wisdom fully, thank her for opportunity to grow, and calmly ease into the unraveling. Let go of everything, all illusions at once. This however, is not what usually happens.

Another option is to deny midlife unravelling altogether. Scrooge does so iniitially in response to Bob Marley's ghostly visit. Scrooge simply goes back to his soup and scoffs, "Humbug!" The result was visits from three ghosts. Scrooge gets the shake up of his life.

Of course, denial is not so easy at this level. Pretending that all is well when its not requires active denial, like putting your fingers in your ears and humming. After numerous distractions, the only way to maintain denial of the midlife unraveling is to be even more perfect, more certain, more judgmental, even more of what the universe invites you to let go or give up. Some attempt to numb out, to self-isolate, to sleep, but the wake-up calls intensify .

Unfortunately, midlife differs from the other stages we’ve managed to survive because the symptoms don’t improve over time. Attempting to numb the midlife unraveling is attempting to numb out from who you are as the cocoon is opening. In this case, the universe simply steps up its game.

The universe knows exactly how to bring us to our knees, to a pivotal turning point. No matter how hard or far we fall, grace arises to pick us up, push us out into the world for more. Strangely enough, this feels like the best thing that could ever happen. It feels like significant amount of pain and loss, but something amazing happens along the way—self-rediscovery. The real me arises from the ashes. Midlife unraveling has taught me how to be brave, trust intuition fully and welcome whatever uncertainty has on offer. I look deeply into the universe through a telescope and realize profoundly that she, the universe, is me.