Creating Sacred Space and Rituals for Transformation
(includes excerpts from Daily Om)
The mind can be a tsunami of routines, activities, conditioned behaviors, commitments, intentions, and desires. Couple this with the unknown, unplanned, and unexpected uncertainties that unfold with every text, email, phone call and conversation and before you know it... you've been carried away on a tidal wave of reactivity and lost track of the dream you set out to manifest. How do you find clarity in the midst of chaos?
All the ancient wisdom traditions teach us that the key to living a life of deep fulfillment comes with a daily ritual that calms our mind, connects us to our inner wisdom, opens our heart, brings us peace, and helps us make good decisions as we move throughout the day.
The key to cultivating this ritual is to take baby steps and slowly, gently grow into our practice. When we proceed in this fashion, it becomes effortless. And each day, these tiny shifts in our consciousness create powerful and long-lasting transformation in all aspects of our life. Scientific studies have validated our ability to transform the world around us by transforming ourselves. By simply showing up and practicing, we can strengthen our mind, heal our body, lessen our anxiety, lower our blood pressure, boost our immune system, and make more enlightened decisions as we move throughout the day.
“What nine months in the womb does for the embryo,
40 mornings of daily practice will do for your life.” - Rumi
We get to choose what fills each moment of the day. The main problem is that we hit the ground running with our daily list of priorities, trying to do what's in our awareness, and as new situations unfold, these become our new priorities. So almost before we begin, we're behind. And all the unplanned interactions, last-minute decisions, breaking news, and life surprises flood in and before we know it, we're overwhelmed. Finding the time to simply breathe becomes challenging and is the root cause for stress, anxiety, foggy thinking, fatigue, and poor decision making.
Meditation: the ability to find the space between your thoughts is a powerful life-tool amidst the wild swirl of day-to-day activity. Just touching that space for a few minutes every day has been proven to have a powerful, life-affirming impact on every part of your life. Regardless of the challenge in your life - whether you are experiencing emotional pain, chronic illness, anxiety, panic attacks, living in fear, feeling stuck, depressed, overwhelmed, coping with change, or simply looking for greater peace of mind - introducing a little break in the non-stop flow of thoughts and actions will give you the lasting transformation you seek.
Wishing you love and light,
Lisa Thorstenson