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Challenging Situations tend to push us back to square one; we perceive that we haven’t made progress. Don’t lose hope because setbacks often lead to growth. If you recognize that you’re slipping back into those old habits, Congratulations! You’re increasing self-awareness. The challenges can be as simple as waiting in a long line at the store or more complex issues that disturb your peace. If you’ve ever disagreed with a neighbor, you understand that the problem can bring disharmony to the peaceful surroundings around your home. The thoughts flood your mind, and before you know it, you’re back to the dark side of your emotions. When emotions try to take over, it’s not easy to be yogic and detached. That’s when having a friend who is empathetic to your situation can help. I call those friends Ninja Yogis. Not that someone must be there for every situation, but in a crisis, you know those ride-or-die ladies that can help you see through the pain without judging you. They have your back and can help you feel secure. Sometimes, life seems to keep throwing the fast ball at you, and you keep swinging and missing. Can I be honest with you? Yoga is the last thing on my mind when I feel that my family’s safety is threatened. I’m not a Buddhist Monk who can take abuse just standing there. But what I do have is the habit of self-reflection and those Ninja Yogis that help me through challenging situations. While fiercely protective, they listen, suggest alternatives, are present in the moment, and care. If I don’t keep practicing Yoga, those self-reflective moments seem to slip away, and I’m left with more suffering. Do the emotions resurface? Absolutely! But I know that I don’t want to stay in that cycle, so I work on releasing the grip and trusting in my decisions. Try this meditation by Pura Rasa: Release What Does Not Serve You
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Think back to when all was well, and you felt at peace with who you were. We might have those moments periodically or rarely. Through Yoga, we can create those moments regularly and learn more about who we are. In those moments, we can bring joy and happiness to the surface of our minds. In Fairy Tales, we read about a magic wand that can instantly change things for the better. If you use your creativity to wave that wand, you can move towards living life in an improved mindset.
In his book Tibetan Yoga Principles and Practices, Dr. Ian Baker describes Immaculate Perception, in which the yoga practitioner imagines themselves as a Deity. That might not appeal to some of us, but how could we use this thought process to let go and embrace the Sacred within us? If you believe in an afterlife, like Heaven, you probably think that you will experience pure love without sorrow or pain. By picturing yourself as pure love, you can begin to tap into heaven here on Earth. Shedding our ideas of what life on Earth is, we can experience holiness through visualization. This creative practice can unlock potential happiness and free us from the suffering we’ve been conditioned to accept. Visualizing as a Sacred being can help you return to being a better you, your true self. Spending time with the good inside of you is a process of connecting to the Divine. Check out this link to learn more about Ian Baker’s teaching. I like this podcast episode featuring Sarah Blondin titled Heart-Minded Meditation | How to Hold Yourself In Love. As we get older, we must create opportunities to get together with friends from the past. Maybe it’s a friend from high school or college you haven’t seen in decades. You might be excited but hesitant because it’s been a long time, and you’ve changed. Once you meet up with that old friend, it’s like no time has passed, and you’re both laughing, enjoying the moments of reminiscing and catching up. If you haven’t met up with God lately, you might feel like that. Communion with the Divine is a sacred moment we should strive to add to our Spiritual Wellness plan. When I was younger, I found that communion with God came easier. Maybe I let life get in the way or was distracted from the holiness due to modern technology. Before 1996, most of us didn’t have cell phones, laptops, desktops, or the internet. I can remember a time when I had more time. Now, we need to make the time and consciously shut off the influx, so to speak. Maybe that’s why the original Yogis went to the wilderness, mountains, and caves. Yoga can help us prepare for meeting the Sacred. Daily quiet time spent in mediation, reflection, reading sacred texts, and awareness of our body and breath can help us welcome the connection to the Divine. Sacred Geography can help us create those moments. Sacred Geography is the study of how people create spaces to meet with the Divine. Think about the places where you’ve felt connected to God. Maybe it’s a church, a shrine, or a place in your home where you do your spiritual work. Spots in nature, like mountain tops or where ancient trees still live, can also be Sacred Geography. Years ago, I visited a wellness spa where the owner had created her Sacred Geography in front of a window, looking out at the mountains where the sun would set each evening. As I stepped up to the spot, I felt the tingling of the Divine presence like never before. That was the first time I knew I could create a Sacred space of my own. My husband and I recently traveled to Germany and visited St. Peter's Cathedral in Regensburg. The cathedral’s first records date back to 788 AD. I stood before the Altar of Our Lady (picture below), with all the candles burning like prayers ignited by the other visitors. As I lit my prayer candle, I asked the Divine if my life was on the right track. As I started to walk away, I was filled with tremendous joy and love. I got my answer there in that Sacred space! The Cathedral’s website says that those who believe are never alone. I would extend that grace to non-believers, too, because in an instant, you can awaken your connection to the Divine like meeting an old friend. If you’ve ever said you can’t talk to God, the Divine, the Universal Energy, or the Holy Spirit, think again. Then, create your Sacred Geography and make it happen.  I shy away from situations that require secret knowledge to thrive. If I find something that helps me get closer to the Divine, I want to share it with others. Cultivating a relationship with God isn’t difficult; you don’t have to study on a mountaintop or deep in a cave. You can know the joy of the Sacred in everyday life; in an instant, you can awaken to the Divine presence around you. Like other relationships, you need to spend time in communication with God. Have you ever had a friend or family member who only reaches out when they need something? While you want to show support, it may feel like the energy is flowing out and never in. Spending time with others can make a friendship feel more balanced. That’s the benefit of meeting the Sacred regularly. Whether during a sunrise or sunset, walking in nature, reading a Sacred text, or sitting in meditation, if we do these things every day, we can begin to build communication; no secret knowledge is needed. The added benefits of this communion with our spiritual nature include peace, joy, and love. Have you ever looked at the horizon, taking a panoramic view of the sky meeting the earth? Neurologically, softening our gaze and widening our vision creates relaxation. According to Dr. Andrew Huberman, the panoramic gaze stops the nervous system from stressing out. Listen to more about that on The Tim Ferris Show. Seeing the horizon may be complex in a city with tall buildings, but you can use panoramic vision inside a room. Try focusing on the entire room in front and beside you. Notice that your eyes start to relax, and your breathing slows. Ancient Yogis knew this effect and practiced it regularly. You can add panoramic vision to your day by watching a sunrise or sunset; just don’t stare directly into the sun. Take a panoramic view while meditating or during your breath practice; it’s easy and effective. Share what you’ve learned with others.
Can we all agree that giving someone “the middle Finger” can evoke or communicate angry feelings? Does showing your fist to someone have a universal meaning? If we can agree that hand movements and postures have energy connected to them, we can start to understand how they can also bring love, joy, healing, and peace. Bringing palms together to our heart center commonly used across religions. Prayer hands are a widely used emoji to convey a spiritual connection to the Divine. But did you know that hands-to-heart is a mudra? In Yoga, hand positions called mudras move our energy and bring healing. Think about when you’ve put your hands on your heart. Maybe someone said something special to you, or you saw something that made your heart happy. What does touching your hands to your heart do for you? To me, it feels like home; home is comfort, security, and love. In the Chakra System or Energy system of the body, the heart chakra is located at the center of the chest. Opening the heart chakra allows for love and forgiveness to flow from and to you. I’ve tried many mudras, but this one works best for me. You can try it by placing your right hand over your heart and your left hand over your right hand. Relax your shoulders and neck. Then, breathe slowly in and out through your nose if possible. It’s like giving yourself a hug! Here’s another description of what you can do while exploring the hands-to-heart mudra.
Excerpt from 4 Techniques for Practicing Self-Compassion https://health.clevelandclinic.org/self-compassion Take a self-compassion break. Here’s an easy technique to use when you’re getting down on yourself. “Start by putting your hand on your heart,” instructs Duke. “This has been found to release oxytocin, which is a very calming hormone. And as you’re doing that, acknowledge to yourself either out loud or quietly to yourself that you’re going through a really difficult time. And tell yourself that it’s OK to have those difficult feelings, it’s OK to be going through this difficult time and it’s OK if this is hard for you.” You want to focus on breathing during this and allow space for your breathing without trying to change anything. Even five or 10 minutes of deep breathing has benefits. “You also want to take the time to ask yourself what you need,” notes Duke. “What do you need to feel a little bit better right now? What do you need to get back to your equilibrium? Do you need to go for a walk? Do you need to speak to your mom? Do you need to get yourself a coffee? What do you need to even just move the pendulum a little bit?” Then, when you start to feel a bit better, you can start to think about how to problem-solve without criticizing yourself. “You want to start to problem-solve from place of love and kindness,” encourages Duke. Want to learn more about Mudras? Check out 9 hand positions for meditation to add to your practice https://www.calm.com/blog/hand-positions-for-meditation When things are going well, we tend not to think about how we got to that moment. Am I right? Unless we cultivate the practice of meeting the Divine in all our circumstances, it seems like we go to a higher power in times of darkness. Initially, there’s nothing wrong with that because we must start somewhere. But if we want spiritual wealth, we should seek open lines of communication throughout the day. I started a “moment of joy” practice that opened the lines of communication with the sacred presence. I find moments of joy during my workday and then note them. I may notice the sparkling sun on a cold winter day or a soft breeze in the summer. But sometimes, I find joy hidden in the pain where the sacred presence supports me.
I’ve had painful moments where I felt lonely and abandoned, like I could evaporate, and no one would notice. In those dark moments, life felt dismal, and hope seemed lost. I think about the past when I was grasping for comfort in those painful times. Finding the Divine isn’t about making sense of the despair but meeting the opposite energy in the same space. The sacred moments are when our energy collides with the Divine spark, where we can rest and heal. I wasn’t abandoned or lost; I was in the “here and now.” I could find sacred energy and comfort by creating times in my day when I would connect to nature’s beauty, the love of a friend or a loved one, or the wisdom from a sacred text. Some moments are meant for you to experience alone, but others are for the collective community to share. We can find love from the Divine during morning meditation, late-night prayers, at a family gathering, or with a group of trusted friends. When we have shared experiences, we connect to our spiritual community. But the point is we need to grow this connection. Adding this practice to an action that you do every day is an easier way to develop a habit. Think about the times you do the same thing throughout the day, almost like you don’t even know you’re doing it. For me, it’s filling up the water tank for my farm. I fill a 200-gallon tank at least twice a day. While the water flows, I notice my breath and then look around to see what’s happening: Sun, clouds, chickens scratching, flowers in bloom. By opening lines of communication daily, we build Spiritual Wealth that no one can take away from us. It’s a space of joy and love that we can tap into whenever we need to. |
AuthorDr. Lisa Clow Archives
April 2025
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