MMM…feels good.

I’m so excited.  This week we launched our new Dragontree product line and webstore. You might think that this is such an obvious move for our brand, and you’d be right.  But I resisted it for so long.

Employees suggested it, clients asked for it, and still I fought it.  What can I say?  I’m stubborn.

Finally, one of my fantastic managers decided to make it happen, and with a not-so-gentle shove, the ball was rolling.   It’s been a lot of work for me and my team, but it’s felt so right – once I allowed myself to let go of my resistance and be in the flow.

The first spiritual book I ever read was the Tao of Pooh, it was given to me by my step mom when I was 11, and it set the stage for my ongoing evolution.

Daoist philosophy  emphasizes allowing life to unfold in its own way, at its own pace, while choosing the path of least resistance to get where you want to go..  One of my favorite visuals for this is to imagine that I’m floating down a stream in an inner tube (ideally with a cup holder and surround sound), letting the current carry me along.  Now and then, there are forks in the stream representing choices to be made, but all it takes is the softest act of guidance to take one path over another, and the current does most of the work.

When you allow yourself to move this way, you experience ease.  It doesn’t mean you never encounter rocks, but when you do, there is always the option of flowing around them gracefully.   However, if you resist your path (the equivalent of paddling against the current in this analogy) or want to be in someone else’s river, shit gets difficult.  The same goes for trying to impose social norms on a life that clearly defies them.  It’s like insisting that the stream should go east when it’s clearly heading south.  You could take your tube out of the water and start walking, but then you’d be doing all the work, and losing out on the tremendous power of the stream.

Don’t follow culturally dictated steps to a mediocre life. – Tweet it 

After years of living in resistance or blindness to our path, it can be challenging to experience this wisdom and ease, like trying to feel the presence of your liver in your body.  You know it’s there, but it’s hard to get a real sense of it.

Luckily there are things to do to awaken your awareness.

M.antra

I love mantras and even though they can come across a little Stuart Smalley, the truth is: what we tell ourselves every day has a huge impact on how we feel.

When doing mantras one of the most important factors is that whatever mantra you choose is something you can believe, even if it’s a stretch of you.  If when you say it you immediate disqualify it, then it can’t permeate your being.

Here are some ideas of mantras for this practice:

• I allow myself to be in the flow.
• I am willing to accept guidance from my soul.
• I am letting go of the struggle.

M.editation

Quieting your mind so that you can have an experience of the parts of you that are a little softer than your thoughts can stimulate your inner guide.

One of my favorite meditations is a qi gong practice called breathing through the “microcosmic orbit.”  This wakes up your ability to experience energy, and practicing it regularly attunes you to how energy is flowing, and how to be in sync with it.

To do this get comfortable and close your eyes.  Gently squeeze your perineum and touch the tip of your tongue to the back of your upper front teeth. While you inhale, imagine a little ball of light rising from the tip of your tailbone up your spine to the top of your head. It may help to imagine that your spine is a straw and you’re sipping it up.  Then exhale the light ball down the front of your face, neck, chest, and belly to your perineum again.  Repeat, joining your breaths so this energy moves continuously through this circuit.

M.indfulness

While moving through your day doing tasks, tap into how you’re feeling.  If, when you check in, your shoulders are tense, your mind is being negative, or you have a heavy sensation, take a deep breath and see if you can let go of your resistance to what’s happening.  Let go of resistance to the outer world, and let go of resistance to your inner experience.

Don’t use this as an excuse to mentally flog yourself; instead see how light you can make it.  Forgive yourself and chuckle about how silly we humans can be.

The more you allow your current reality, the more you open yourself up to being pulled on your true path.

I’ve found that the more I follow this, the more ease I experience, and the more joy I feel.  When I try to jam myself into another set of standards, or way of living, or expectations for who to be in the world, it feels painful.

When it’s right – it’s so right.