the still small voice that said keep going: 20 years of life altering study and practice
“The truth is that you already are what you are seeking.”
- Adyashanti
Heellllloooo Practitioners,
Current classes are oriented around Samana Vayu, the balancing, centering, equalizing wind. Samana is the energy of digesting, assimilating, and absorbing what’s most nourishing while discerning what is not fortifying.
Like we discuss here and here, expand your exploration of the Vayus beyond the physical body. Question your digestion in the mental, emotional, and spiritual field too. Look into your consumption of media and marketing. Cravings for material objects, status or achievement. Acknowledge the nourishment in your work, relationships, environment.
ASK:
What are you digesting?
What’s nourishing?
What’s fortifying?
What’s not settling well or at all?
Here's something I'm digesting: 40.
I just turned 40. I'm assimilating a decade. Feeling fortified by experience. And... and... there is a little indigestion, a hint of heartburn, a tiny twist of urgency when I hear my soul whispering… what's next.
Perhaps more important than my birthday, this time of year is an anniversary. 20 years ago, on a cold and windy day, on the North side of Chicago, I was in Cafe Ennui with my study buddy Liam Gallagher. (Not the Liam Gallagher of Oasis. This is Liam Gallagher of Omaha, Nebraska. And yes, that name and his resemblance to the singer has caused tremendous trouble during international travel... A story for another day)
Liam and I were at a long table stacked with books lugged from the Loyola library. A history exam was looming. He shuffled through my stack and picked up something buried at the bottom. A book on meditation.
He held it up. “Why are you reading this?”
I shrugged. A little embarrassed. “For the anxiety and depression.”
He raised his eyebrows, “You don’t actually think this will help, do you?”
I shrugged again, "can’t hurt.”
This conversation is funny. Now. Because there is consensus and scientific evidence that meditation works wonders for anxiety and depression. But 20 years ago, it was a shot in the dark.
At the time, there was something inside of me, buried under years of conditioning, an inner knowing that said... keep going.
20 years later, following that inner knowing has changed everything. When I take time to digest and reflect, I see how much has been done and overcome.
Practices that expand inner awareness are like being on a speedboat. You're cruising through uncharted waters. The winds of change whip your hair and pull tears from your eyes. You keep your head down. And only over time, with distance, can you appreciate how far you've come.
If you’d like to go far and deep with your practice this year, if you want to hone your inner listening, strengthen your inner knowing, and open up new avenues of practice. There’s a program for you. It’s called Inner Sanctuary.
This is the distillation of decades of learning. And the peak of 15 years of teaching. The next group will begin the first week of February 2023. If you know it’s for you, don’t wait. Learn more and apply here: Inner Sanctuary
May your practice bring nourishment,
Alison
