Death is a stripping away of all that is not you. The secret of life is to die before you die – and find that there is no death. – Eckhart Tolle
The year began with a bereavement and a debilitating viral outbreak that brought travel to its knees and life to a near standstill. I have not felt this sense of urgency about mortality.
We can roll out the best laid plans, consult all the planets and galaxies, think we are doing it as sensibly as we know how. But who knows for certainty if the choices and decisions we make are the best ones for us and those we care about. We may never know if the new job, birthing another child, walking away from a relationship that no longer works is the right thing.
Are there right or wrong choices, or are they a matter of opinion and judgment, ours and others. The self-sabotaging beliefs and stories we spin in our heads can keep us stuck in a victim mode.
There have never been wrong decisions. Every single pain and loss expanded, changed and grew me. Part of the practice is to pause, self-observe and purify.
I can only rise every morning before the sun does, rise above my patterns and show up the best I can with a grateful heart. In the quiet of the pre-dawn morning, I say a prayer and listen in. It is an intimate and honest moment with spirit. What needs nurturing. What I ache for. What comes alive for me. The answers that come through at this godly hour are real and true.
A Death meditation I did almost two years ago was a redefining moment. It brought me to the last few minutes where I breathed my last and looked back at a life that went by in a flash. I saw unspoken words that were left hanging in the air, half-carved dreams and too many regrets.
There is really nothing quite like death to clarify, rekindle the courage to step into the journey to deeply drink from the cup of life, and “allow the flow of life as God wants us to flow with it” so to quote Yogi Bhajan.
It is never too late to begin again.
I don’t take anything for granted now. I love the people I love fully and make sure they know it. There is no room in my body to contain unexpressed words and emotions. I share my tender heart openly because the soul knows no division. The knowing that I have danced with life with all my heart and soul brings an incredible sense of liberation and fearlessness.
With yoga, a man can be a goddess and a woman can be a warrior. Our souls are divine; only our bodies have a gender. – Martin Richtsfeld.
Want to know more about the yoga practice that keeps my heart wide open and resilient and my senses sensitive so I can listen to my inner light? I’ll be teaching the highly accessible tools of Kundalini Yoga Saturday mornings in central Singapore in rotation with Joti Akal and Saharra. Together we will move, sweat, chant, sing and pray. It is never too late to begin again. Join us, will you? Get in touch here.
May you rise and shine, make decisions aligned with what is true to you and always remember your divine soul is longing to live your highest you.
