We tend to identify ourselves with our thoughts, emotions and life situations. We say things like:
I am my depression.
I am my heartbreak.
I am my new job situation.
That false cloak of armor we wear keeps us from knowing the pure beings that we are.
To honor our true selves, we must separate ourselves from our thoughts, emotions and life situations.
I don’t mean we should disregard these things. Instead, we can recognize them as the constant ebb and flow of change in our life. They do not define our true selves: the one who stays present through it all.
I’ve shared this quote before from Buddhist Monk Pema Chödrön. It’s one of my favorite analogies for understanding our divine self and separating it from our circumstances.
“You are the sky. Everything else, it’s just the weather.”
Our thoughts, emotions, and life situations are just the weather. Sometimes they are sunny and beautiful, and other times they are dark and gloomy. We never know what we will get, but we do know they are always in flux.
We also know that the sky is there behind all the weather, strong, steady and holding space for whatever needs to pass.
In this case, our divine self is the sky.
Keeping space between our highest self and our thoughts, emotions, and life situations, allows us to have more clarity and awareness around our behaviors and choices. We stop reacting to what we perceive as happening to us. Instead, we find calmness and clarity by seeing ourselves for who we truly are and that life is actually happening for us.
One of the best ways to connect with our highest self is through meditation. I’ve blogged in the past about why meditation is so essential to unlocking inner peace. Today, I want to share a little meditation exercise.
Here is what you can do next time you’re feeling overwhelmed by what is flowing through you.
First, breathe deeply to settle into your body and allow yourself to experience the present moment.
Breathe in fresh, new lifeforce energy, and breathe out the old, spent air that no longer serves you.
Do this a few times to relax.
Then, bring your awareness to focus by getting off any trains of thought you may be riding. Let your awareness sink down through your head, heart, and spine. Let it settle in your pelvic bowl and ground you to the Earth.
Feel the weight that holds you in your seat as you become stable, steady and connected.
Spread some awareness from your connection point (your bum) to the movement of your breath. If you find your awareness getting lost in thought, just gently bring it back to connection and breath which is always anchored in the present moment.
Ask yourself:
What does it feel like to breathe?
What does it feel like to be connected to your seat?
What does it feel like to be in your body in the present moment?
This practice will teach you to have more control over where your awareness is focused.
As soon as you realize your awareness is wandering, bring it back under control by focusing on the current sensations you are experiencing in your body.
Quieting the mind comes with time, but it gives you a greater understanding of who and what you truly are.
You’re not a human thinking.
You’re not a human doing.
You are a human being.
Recognize that you are as solid and unshakeable as the sky, and everything else you experience will pass like the weather.
Need help accessing your awareness? Let’s connect with a FREE 90—minute Jump Start Session to your healing. Every client gets pre-recorded prompts to guide them through meditation practices like these.
