(To borrow a phrase.)
Nayaswamis Jyotish and Devi, the spiritual directors of Ananda Worldwide, were just in Portland for their annual pilgrimage to the Northwest, continuing on to Seattle next.
While they were here, one of the many topics they discussed was that of humor or positivity. And reflecting that humor and levity are a good thing. When used appropriately and with a positive upward flowing energy, this state will encourage a deeper connection with the Divine, ultimately.
Ignoring the Dark Side
Anandians are often accused of ignoring the dark side of things. Only seeing the light, or positive in things.
Nayaswamis Jyotish and Devi talked one evening about the importance, for them, now especially, in not focusing on negative or downward-energy-pulling-things/situations, of which there are many. This negativity comes in many guises, from news to movies, reading to listening. Sometimes it seems more a sense-assault.
How often do we start to listen to something and realize that the state of peace that we were feeling has just disappeared? Or that we are feeling so much more edgy after watching that particular show or movie, then we were before it.
Listening More Deeply
Listening to our intuition is vital and will only get deeper and more clear the more we listen to and work with it. It is this state of being, that deep state of listening to our intuition, our inner guidance, that we can pierce the layers of maya, or delusion, that surround us and connect with the Divine.
Having gone through a bit of personal mucky-muck (as my mom likes to say), these past few weeks, has been an interesting experience for me. And yes, blessed Divine Mother has been handing me lots of opportunities to practice achieving calmness, peace and harmony.
First a broken foot. Then an accident. Yup! A lot of opportunity to practice many of our yogic techniques. Deep breathing being one of the main ones. Along with every centering technique I could think of.
Just Breathe
When standing in these types of situations, or places, in our lives, it can be very hard to remember to breathe. To look for that positive light in the situation. To reign in the temper that’s about to blow!
But try, we should. Accessing the force is vital to our continued well-being. Practice the teachings, we must. (Thank you Yoda and Yogananda!)
Try to plug your energy-extension cord into the positive charges of life, and you may find that when dealing with the intense times, positivity may come a bit more easily, or more quickly in your period of coping.
And even though you’ll be looking for those causes or reasons that explain why something may have happened, it will be from a more peace-filled place. Or possibly, you will access that deeper sense of surrender and acceptance, thus letting go. And moving on.