A Spirit of ReInvention

Tags

connection, evaluation, reinvention, renewal

Some say that time is just an illusion. It is something that we humans have ‘created’ so that the world operates in some semblance of order. It is hard to imagine the chaos that would result if we were to abandon the concept of time in the external world…

And that is perhaps why the idea of a “New Year” raises so many possibilities in our heart, mind and spirit…

The New Year is a great opportunity for us, if we choose it to be so, “to wipe the slate clean”. There is a certain sense of “forgiveness in the air” around this time of the year. There is a certain sense of freedom, an allowedness that we give ourselves, to walk the path of reinvention. So, how may one prepare for this “reinvention walk”? What “practices” or “habits” may we need to add, subtract or even reestablish to make our reinventiona walk “successful”? Where may we look for the support and tools that will sustain our reinvention?

The first step is preparation. Preparation can begin with evaluation. Maybe we can make a list, a review, of the top ten “accomplishments” of the past year. Accomplishments would be actions, events or habits that raised our inner energetic vibration, increased our inner state of cleanliness, helped our heart’s light shine brighter. It could be a single action or a group of sustained actions that created a new habit that we can take forward with us. Let us look at ourselves with kind eyes as we evaluate. It is good preparation for the next step. One of my accomplishments this year was to do an end-of-the-year physical exam, and take charge of my health. How about you?

The second step is renewal. As we evaluate, we may become aware of those actions, events and habits that either increase or decrease our heart’s energy level. This awareness can help us identify our “positive” and “negative” energy triggers. In this step, we may also rediscover some of four previously beneficial habits that “fell by the wayside” due to lack of practice. For me, daily walking in nature was one habit from 2016 that suffered in 2017. I am aiming to “renew” this “positive energy” trigger in the upcoming year. How about you? What triggers are you going to reinforce? Which ones are you ready to discard? Which “old” habits are you going to bring back and renew?

The third step is connection. Our first two steps of (self)evaluation and renewal can be energetically facilitated those who are positively vested in our reinvention. The spirit of the sangha, of (re)connection, is elevated within us by our friends, our families, our coaches, our communities. We may posit that we walk the fastest on our reinvention path when we walk alone. That may indeed be true. But even in our solitude, our solitary walk, we are connected.

We are sustained by the earth that holds us gently, the wind that breathes life into us, the waters that grow the seed, the great sky that inspires us, and the light of the suns, moons and stars that guides us. They are our sangha. Connection of the heart, with their heart, through our heart, connects us to the sangha. Will we recommit to create time and space in our daily practice to connect with heart-filling energy? What could be bring forward from our evaluation step to broaden our practice of daily, inner (re)connection? How could we work with our awareness from the renewal step to deepen our (re)connection?

Preparation. Renewal. Connection. In my heart, this adds up to ReInvention. The choice is given us, to avail the simple math, to reinvent ourselves – not just at the threshold of a new year, but at the threshold of every dawn. May we pause, reflect and choose with the freedom that true awareness, mindfulness, kindness and love that flows in our heart in this present moment.

Namaste,

Kumud @AjmaniK

P.S. We will bring in the New Year of 2018 with reinvention in our final chat of 2017 – Sunday, December 31st 2017 at 9amET/2pmUTC on twitter. Please join us! Thank you for all your support of the community, our virtual sangha in 2017. How would you reinvent #SpiritChat in 2018? If you have ideas or suggestions, please share in the comments. Namaste – Kumud.

A full week of vacation in December 2017 gave plenty of opportunity, time and space for rest, renewal and reinvention – particularly at sunrise…

On New Spiritual Beginnings

Tags

evaluation, goals, spiritual practice

There are very few days in the year like New Year’s Day to invoke a sense of a ‘new beginning’ in our hearts and minds. As the previous year ends and the new year begins, a mere flip of the calendar seems to flood many of us with a new hope of starting anew. A clean slate awaits us if we so choose.

Perhaps the greatest freedom of the new year is that we can feel a sense of liberation to let go of the immediate past. In the new year, some of the goals that we may not have fully accomplished in the year gone by have an opportunity to be reevaluated, revised and reset. So, what are some of the (spiritual) goals that you would like to reevaluate, revise and reset for the upcoming year?

“And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been”
― Rainer Maria Rilke

At the outset, I have a confession. I am not much of a goal-setter myself. And you may not be either. And that’s okay. My view is that our goal, in and of itself, is not what is truly important. Perhaps what is more important is the plan that we create to move towards the goal, the action steps we devise to execute the plan, and the resources that we engage to help us with the action steps. Without the proper resources (tools, skills and people), we will struggle with our action steps, and our best laid plans will quickly fall by the wayside. Fear, uncertainty and doubt will then set in and we will wonder why we are struggling to reach our goals.

So, let us evaluate. At the beginning of 2016, did we set any goals? If yes, what plans, action steps and resources did we put into place to give ourselves any realistic chance at reaching those goals? Before we revise our goals for 2017, will we do an honest self-evaluation, or an evaluation with the help of a good friend or trusted advisor?

And, for those (like me) who did not set any ‘measurable’ (spiritual) goals at the beginning of last year, how would we know if we made any forward (spiritual) progress? One way to measure progress is to evaluate the quality of the resources available to me and the change in my daily actions, as compared to a year ago. Another way to measure progress is to ask the question – did I bridge the gap between my lower self and my higher Self over the past year?

Now that we have evaluated, we are ready to revise our goals. The (self) evaluation is perhaps the toughest part. But we need not wait till the end of the year or quarter or the month to evaluate. What if we were to evaluate our action steps on a daily basis? We could then forgive ourselves for our missed actions, cleanse our heart, and step into the next day with a new commitment to our actions. With daily evaluation, we could learn to make the best use of our resources and ask for help in the areas where we need intervention.

A commitment to a daily, personal spiritual practice is perhaps one goal that we can all set for the new year. What will your new (or revised) practice(s) look like? Will they be similar to those of years past or do you feel the need for a major reset? I invite you to share some of your new beginnings and goals with the #SpiritChat community on Sunday, January 1st at 9amET in our weekly twitter chat. The best of 2017 to all of you!

Kumud @AjmaniK

Ready to make a new beginning? Looking for a course of action? Discover the #heartfulness #meditation daily practice that made a quantum difference in my life (and a few who joined us mid-year) in 2016. Join a free, first-time ever offered, three hour Masterclass – one hour online at a time of your choosing, each day on January 2nd, 3rd and 4th. Register at Meditation Masterclass to ‘Relax, Rejuvenate and Connect’. Namaste.

Meditation – (a bridge to) New Spiritual Beginnings

Spiritual Energy – An Evaluation

Tags

balance, energy, evaluation, renewal, spirituality

Energy is a funny thing.

We pay a lot of attention to it when we don’t have it, and we often fritter it away frivolously when we have an abundance of it.

We assume that we will always have enough of it when riding a wave of good health, and we wonder if we will ever be able to fully restore it when we are sick or in chronic pain.

We look at those who seem like supercharged energy bunnies in their actions and wonder why we can’t be like them – whereas they are wondering why they can’t be easy-paced like us?

No matter which way we look at it, energy – or lack of it – runs our lives. In its many forms – physical (P), mental (M), emotional (E), financial (F) and spiritual (S) – the state of health of our energies is vital to our actions and purpose.

So, let us begin by taking inventory of our energies. Some forms of energy like P and F are easy to inventory, while others like M and E may need a bit more of an in-depth exam. As for spiritual energy – how do we inventory it? How may we measure the state of our spiritual health?

Once we have inventoried the various health states, the next step is to discern what actions or inactions – of our own, or of others – leak our energy reservoirs? Conversely, what is it that fills our energy reservoirs? This self-evaluation – or evaluation guided by the gentle, loving assistance of a trusted friend or advisor who can encourage you to explore those energy corners where you would rather not go by yourself – can reveal a lot of hidden strengths and cracks in our energy continuum. Pull out a piece of legal size paper, make two columns, and take inventory. Leaks energy vs Fills energy. Do it once a week for a month. Observe the patterns. What will emerge?

Now that we have an understanding of our energy ‘leaks’ and ‘fills’ (I really want to call it ‘fillers’ but that just sounds ‘wrong’ :)), what next? We may be ready to begin rebalancing and renewing. Or even rebirthing. We are ready to ‘plug’ the leaks because we know where they exist in our energetic life. But know is not enough. We need to take concerted action to plug the holes. But ‘I am too busy to plug these leaks’, you say? Well, small leaks in a garden hose may be okay at low pressure, but a pressure surge or temperature change of life’s waters may leave you without a healthy energy conduit. Result? An unscheduled trip to the nearest garden store’s emergency room for a replacement conduit!

Some may ask. And what if we (or our advisors) deem that the container is so full of holes, that it is beyond repair – unpluggable? Well. That may be the best news of all. For that may mean that we are ready for an energetic transformation. Not just a change. But a complete transformation with a brand new energy container. But, I digress by taking about ‘death of the old energy’.

So, we plug and then we fill the reservoir again, to restore to that level which will support our higher purpose in life. Yes, our old habits will cause us to spring new leaks, so the work is to find new, energy-filling habits for the old, energy-leaking ones! After refilling, there is one more step.

We may need to put some filters in place. We may have worked hard to ensure that our inner and outer worlds are pure and pristine, but the reality is that pollution exists. Filters can ensure that our intakes, thoughts, words and actions retain the level of purity that we desire to establish and maintain. The good news is that we can choose the filter size – coarse, medium or fine – for the different energy components of our life. Now that some filters are in place, what’s next?

How effectively do we use our energy reservoir? Energy efficiency – how much ‘useful’ work does our energy reservoir do for you and for others? What kind of resistance comes into play during energy conversion? How do we balance the feminine and masculine aspects of our energies? What role do tools and practices like meditation play in energy creation and conservation?

These are a few questions that we will answer in our #SpiritChat conversations in the month of June. We kickoff the month on Sunday, June 5th (9amET/1pmUTC on twitter) with the topic of “Spiritual Energy: An Evaluation”. Join us for an energy health check-up!

Kumud @AjmaniK