Harmony in motion

You’re back! We are so happy to have you here with us. If you haven’t read my Beginner Spirit Guide to Ahimsa, I would recommend reading it and then coming back here! We are about to dive deeper into practical ways you can start working with non-violent thoughts and cultivating a positive internal environment! 

Have you been meditating or nah? Remember, it is a practice and we are laying down the foundations. It’s okay if the answer is NO! It took me many, many years to even get comfortable with the possibility of sitting with myself. We are learning to shift the pressure to perform, do something, be different, aggression to get it right into ease, surrender, grace, and compassion. You are already doing what you need to do at this moment. 

We are learning how to be more compassionate with how we think, feel, and do! We cannot change anything in our lives through shame, guilt, or fear. It may feel effective, because you get a swift kick to the butt, figuratively, but that kind of momentum will only last so long until, whoops! you did it again. 

Then you guilt yourself because you did what you CLAIMED you wouldn't, feel like you’ve somehow failed, and aren’t good at it, then quit. I have got news for you, our practice in the beginning may be all over the place! We have all got our tendencies and habits! Those vices we don’t let others know about or only share with those we really trust! But, don’t give up! You got this. We are in the practice of reshifting how you relate and create yourself in your life.

I have read a lot of great books on the mind. My yearning to understand MY MIND is what led me to Yoga. I had no regard for my emotions, my body, or my spirit. I was all about the complexities of the mind, but as you know or are getting to know, it is all connected.

I am not a psychiatrist or a mental health care provider and do not suggest or offer any medical advice. I think the mind is a very delicate place for some, who may need different approaches to work through life's calamities. 

Although I am pursuing my doctorate in Holistic Medicine and offer alternative approaches to healing, I would recommend doing more of your own research and finding a supportive community to help you, if you need it. Yes, this journey is one of self discovery, but a guide or teacher can go into those dark places with you. They can come as books, articles like this, songs, kind strangers, or nature to spark your remembrance. You are the light. When you are ready, the path continues, you have to be willing to take the first step.

When we are in the process of change and integration we are working with not only the mind, but the subconscious mind that has been programmed its entire existence to exist in the past. Even though we are waking up and becoming more conscious of ourselves there are pieces of us still locked into outdated grooves in mind. 

There was a very dark time in my life where I started to refocus on the density of the world. I allowed the heaviness to begin crushing my excitement for existence and I couldn't get out of bed. I had destroyed everything I had worked so hard to create in my life. I felt such deep soulful depression I ended up cycling back into toxic patterns and a lifestyle. YES! I was practicing Yoga and still ended up going through an existential crisis. I was overwhelmed with responsibilities, ancestral healing, and soulfully existing. I didn’t want to live any more or contribute to the madness I saw around me. 

I prayed for some guidance. The guide that came through for me was Jordan Peterson, 12 Rules for Life: An antidote for Chaos. 

Every word, every sentence, every page, and every day I pulled myself out of depression. I found the courage to keep going. I cried a lot and felt alone in my process but I became the hero of my own story. I was the one who got myself there and I was the one who was going to save myself, again. Sometimes it feels like a dream, even as I write this, I want to cry because no one ever knows where you have been and what you have to do to come back. 

One of my favorite takeaways from that experience was the understanding of “what we do” when we go through our Dark Nights. We journey deep within ourselves to retrieve profound wisdom, insights and epiphanies. We unlock parts of ourselves that have been caged and suppressed. We go into our own inner hell to retrieve parts of our abandoned souls. 

One of my favorite books is Gay Hendricks, The Big Leap. I would recommend listening to the  audio book! He coined the term, the upper limit problem, when we trigger an internal thermostat of happiness and subconsciously self sabotage. 

It was a foreign concept to me until I read the book and when I became aware of it, I was able to catch myself slipping into heavy thoughts a lot quicker and reposition myself into love again. 

Ahimsa to your thoughts. Our subconscious picks up on a million bytes of information. It is in a constant state of receiving and giving. It receives information and gives us a synopsis of what you have deemed the most appropriate based on what you choose to consistently focus on. The ability to create your inner world comes from what you choose to feed your mind. If you are constantly gobbling up junk then the noise in your mind will produce more junk. However, if you’re focusing on self empowerment and inner truth then your results will bring you clarity. This is why meditation is so important, you are going into your temple to deep clean your mind. 

Ahimsa to your emotions. Our feelings are not bad. They are typically produced by stimulants from our sensory intake. When we are triggered by our senses our mind will do a best guess scenario and begin to form a story around what we are feeling and experiencing. If our perspective is limited then we form a limited story around the burst of chemicals cursing through our body. However, our emotions do not define us unless we give them permission to form our reality. Learning how to sit with your emotions, which are normally programmed into fear, lack, or some other form of density gives you the space you need to move out of those dimensions and out of that attached reality. 

Ahimsa to your body. Your body is your temple, it deserves your nourishment. What you feed it is what you become. I am not just talking about food, but your environment and spiritual intake. No one can nourish you the way you can. When we can acknowledge our body as our vessel, temple, or space suit, we can begin shifting our relationship to it. Our bodies are a gift from the Earth to be borrowed and returned once our soul feels complete and ready for the next experience. Learning to love every inch of your body is difficult but not impossible. We have the opportunity to come fully online with the power of our body by simply becoming aware we are in a body. My favorite way to love my body is to move my body through dance and washing my feet with extra love and attention. 

Ahimsa when you rise. The first 15 seconds of your day is the energy that takes life during the day. This is not to say, you won’t be able to change course, it's highlighting the importance of the beginning stages of coming online. I focus on my heart and my family next to me for a few moments before praying for love to move through me and guide me into what needs to be accomplished today. 

Ahimsa when you sleep. One of my favorite practices is at night. The amount we have to do will nevertheless continue onward until we transition into the next life. However, we don’t need to carry yesterday’s energy into the next. Unless we want to continue living the same day over and over because our energy doesn’t shift or change. I like to seal my day by taking time to say a prayer of completion before sleeping. It doesn’t have to be this HUGE or elaborate process but a few words of gratitude to myself for doing my best. I give myself grace for my shortcomings, the time I might have lost my temper, my center or forgotten who I really was. I appreciate everything I did and completed in love. I forgive myself and feel a sense of completion. If there are other emotions that come up from the day, I create space for them and acknowledge them. 

Ahimsa while you eat. Many lineages state that true Ahimsa is a vegan diet. No animal products, ever, because taking an animal's life is violent and harmful. We should not participate in the violence of murder and death.  

 I think that is very noble and potentially accessible to others who were born in different variables and moving parts but if you’re just starting off and aren’t there yet. 

(Where you know the importance of certain food and how to replace nutrients with vegan options or honestly, have the money to go on a healthy vegan diet and lifestyle.) Then don’t take this too seriously. 

I started off small and now have a diet that is harmonized with my current living conditions. I know this is a transitional space and I won’t be here forever. Which makes it an easier transition to get from here to there or align there to here. Rather than staying fixated on the ‘lack’ or ‘what I am not doing’ I focus on what I have done and what I am accomplishing. I can’t help others if I can’t help myself. 

Your body is incredibly intelligent and yes has been conditioned to eat meat. It knows what it is doing. Nutrition is beyond many of our automatic tendencies and going completely vegan costs your research, your effort and your money. It is an investment and there are a lot of things you are investing in right now, be gentle with yourself. 

It takes time to let go of animal products, especially if your life (environment, family, friends, finances, or journey) isn’t there YET. It’s not impossible and by no means should you guilt or bully yourself into a certain lifestyle because a spiritual ‘guru’ tells you that's the way to spiritual enlightenment. You are already enlightened and divine. We hold certain practices because they make us feel good and connected to our higher self, not because something outside of us influences us to change. 

Ahimsa while you drive. If you live in a major city, chances are, you drive. If you work Monday through Friday and drive during peak hours then bless your heart! This is a practice you can take with you no matter how many times or when you drive. I really love blessing my car and my journey before I drive. I pray for my well healed ancestors to be by my side and protect us as we move from one place to another. I remind myself there is no rush and I will get there when I am supposed to get there. It will be the perfect time and all is divine. That everyone around me is going somewhere too and they have their own families, life, and responsibilities. My life and my journey is not more important. 

When I drive and sense other people’s high anxiety or need for speed. I get out of the way or allow them to go ahead of me. There is no need to combat others' unbalanced ego or road rage. I find that hurts my peace more than anything. I also remember to breathe deeply into my heart or even tap my heart when I start to get anxiety. 

Ahimsa with family or friends. There is a saying, wear a bandaid on your finger, and see how many doctors you know. Everyone has their own opinion and ideas about how you should live your life. I remind myself they mean well. The amount of compassion I have cultivated has come from conflict and controversy.  I do  give space for difficult conversations and have developed boundaries on how much I allow into my mind, heart, and body. I can hold space for others to a degree but when or if it starts to get toxic then I am comfortable with protecting my peace and my family's peace. I choose to connect to other’s humanity to uncover what they are really trying to say to me, I peel back the layers of words and tune into the frequency. If I hear a lot of fear or warnings I know what they are meaning to deliver is a message from love. However, if they aren't fully connected to their hearts, their truth, and the message is coming out distorted in the message. We are all on our own journey and different people hold different spaces for us. We are given nothing but angels, and even those who torment us the most are the ones who bring us the most answers and peace. I choose to be thankful for them all. Maybe you too will learn to see how everyone is collectively supporting the journey back into our hearts. 

You can see all these practices are short timed but overall hold great impact. You can sprinkle Ahimsa throughout your entire day from the moment you wake up to the moment you go to sleep. Your practice becomes a moving meditation where you choose to move from self love and awareness. We move from the heart with all we do. 

We explore the mind with an open heart, we hold space for our emotions with wonder and grace, and we learn to accept and cherish our vessel with the same energy. The more we focus on giving love, the more we get to receive love. Our mind will produce more compassionate thoughts for ourselves and for our fellow humanity. Quite literally shifting the fractals of our life into the frequency of love and wholenss.