Sacred Sunday Needed On Thursday!

Ciao Amica Mia,

As I write you today, I’m sitting near an open window listening to the rain, the birds sing and car tires slapping against wet pavement. Every once in a while I pause, take a moment to look up and fill my sight with the glory of the mountains that are a part of my daily view. Their constant majestic presence remains a source of inspiration. Almost instantly my breath becomes more spacious and I feel more grounded; less agitated.
 
Yesterday my Mystic Heart Yoga Retreat partner and I made the difficult decision to cancel our upcoming Hawaii retreat as the number of our participants began dwindling. In the five years we’ve been in business together Denise and I have never cancelled one of our events. It was a decision not made lightly or without the power of our practices supporting and guiding us.
 
Neither one of us aligns with fear mentality or desires to be a part of the mass hysteria that seems to grow hourly. What we responded to and agreed upon was that something bigger and unseen is happening. And as responsible leaders, first and foremost, comes the care of our community. We reached out to our beloved people, listened and moved in a thoughtful manner, not one of reaction.
 
What’s important to understand is that our participants weren’t afraid that they would “get” the virus. They, like me and Denise, live rich and full lives. What I believe is mostly happening is that people are responding to the variable uncertainties. It’s unsettling. We understood that people need to attend to their lives – elderly parents, grandchildren, spouses, businesses, and with the shifting winds of this time most everyone feels more stability in the sacred space of their own home surrounded by loved ones.
 
Often the unknown feels like a big black hole sucking you and all you hold dear into the depths of nothingness. However, the big black hole is actually the realm of the goddess Kali. And yes, if you know anything about Kali, she can be damn frightening in her fierceness. She’s a badass breakaway girl in every sense. Kali has absolutely no time for B.S. – yours, mine or all of humanity. She’s showing up in our world today to shake, rattle and roll us. Kali is beseeching you and me to wake up.
 
No doubt, these are historical wild and wooly times! And that’s exactly when Kali appears. She’s begging us to shift our consciousness. To up-level our vibration. Kali’s role in the goddess archetypes is to stay with us with unconditional love until we get out of our own way. And she’s not afraid to slay the demons that we’ve created in order to expand consciousness.
 
Kali’s demanding that we stop contributing to fearmongering as fear is no longer an option for healthy sustainability. Her tough love demands that we put people before profit as it’s the only way we will not only survive these times but thrive.
Kali is more than nudging us to take a stand in the ways that only we as individuals know how to do. She will continue kicking our butts until we individually and collectively make a shift.
 
For us yogis what does that mean? What does it look like? I want to remind you that you do have choice. We are not controlled by our circumstances no matter how much we believe that to be true. We are controlled by how we think about our circumstances. Please go to the bottom of the page and click on my Legacy Library to find The BREAKaway Rubric. This will support you as you navigate these uncharted waters. The rubric will help you not go down the rabbit hole of rumination and ruin.
 
Now more than ever it’s important to be diligent with your practices and double your efforts. So, what can you do?
 
Here’s a few simple yet effective suggestions.
~Go to your mat.
~If you don’t meditate, start a practice.
~Chant. Pray.
~Breathe! Inhale deeply. Exhale fully.
~Take a walk out in nature.
~Listen to music that inspires and soothes your spirit.
~Dance until you shake off the anxiety.
~Sit with a cup of tea and read poetry.
~Journal and invite your fears to pour out onto the paper and not a loved on.
~Educate yourself. Then shut the TV off for a while and give your nervous system an opportunity to calm down.
 
While this may seem harsh, please monitor how often you’re speaking to others about how afraid you are. It’s called Matrika Shakti; the power of thoughts and speech and how what you say and think not only affects you, but all those you are in communication with. Like does in fact attract like. It’s simple physics.
 
We’re all afraid on some level. It’s actually a basic yoga principle. Whether we admit it or not we are afraid of death. And what we are witnessing in this particular period in history, in one way or another, is the death of the old ways. And that my friend, is underneath the fear that appears out of control in the reality of the situation.
 
I’m not promoting putting rose-colored glasses on and ignoring the world stage. Of course, I believe that each of us needs to be informed. In fact, I believe until we as individuals and a nation feel we are a part of the world stage we will only continue to feel separate and isolated. Which starts the whole hamster wheel going nowhere all over again.
 
I recommend that you commit to your daily practices as they create a foundation and pull you back from the brink of irrational thoughts and fears.
 
Be smart in your choices. Wash your hands and chant Om Namah Shivaya for 20 seconds. And please, be a good neighbor and leave a couple of rolls of toilet paper on the shelves.
 
Finally, what I hope you take away today and remember when the fear begins to creep in through the cracks or feels like a sumo wrestler is sitting on your chest, that in her deep dark vastness Kali Ma holds the potentiality of Love. In her indigo night sky, the brilliance of each of our individual stars has the possibility to shimmer and fill the darkness with Light. As that is what we need most.
 
May you be at peace.
May you remember your true essence.
May you be steady and calm.
 
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With so much love and respect~~
Xoxo, Paulette