Awakening Self Blog
The Oak Tree and the Boulder
At a point of internal crisis in myself with my fears and worries, two friends from nature - an oak tree and a boulder - grounded me and brought me back to my Divine Self. It was a particularly intense day at the 5-day silent retreat. A lot of fear arose within me...
Fear: The Onset of Power
The definition of fear is “an unpleasant emotion caused by the belief that someone or something is dangerous, likely to cause pain, or a threat.” I find this definition very helpful because it distinguishes actual threat (which would be true danger of harm) from the belief that something could be dangerous. Anxiety is essentially a repetitive state of fear, a state of awareness focused on what could be fearful. We perpetuate the belief that something could be dangerous, and that arouses a state of anxiety.
Pramada (Carelessness): the Fourth Obstacle of Spiritual Practice
This post, on Pramada (Carelessness), is the fourth of a 9-part series on the obstacles to spiritual practice, from verse 1:30 of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras: vyādhistyānasanśaya pramādālasyāvirati bhrāntidarśanālabdha bhūmikatvānavasthitatvāni cittavikṣēpāstē̕ntarāyāḥ | ...
Living in the Flow
Many of us have heard of “flow” states – where effortlessness and ease move through us and we enter, as many athletes call it, “the zone”.
Living in the Flow is allowing more of the Divine to move through you and as you, as Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith says. It is as much about receiving as it is about doing and giving, just as the tides of the ocean come in and out.
Being Present Enriches Everything
Everything in life is enriched by Presence. We may not always make the time for being fully Present; we might prefer to multitask, believing it will be more efficient. But when we sit down, fully Present, with one thing at a time, we enjoy life more and time, as a result, actually expands.
Doubt (Samshaya): The Third Obstacle to Spiritual Practice
In any worthy endeavor in life, we’re bound to run into some doubt, known as Samshaya in Sanskrit; one of the 9 obstacles to spiritual practice. You may notice it arising in your mind as questions like the ones above.