Last week was full. There were events and deadlines and unexpected twists to my days. As Sunday dawned, I could feel myself craving space. Looking at my calendar last night I knew I wanted to carve out time where I could slow down, get quiet, light a candle and have a cup of tea.

This week I need to find the space in my life.

I’m actively searching out pockets of air where I can breathe more deeply. I’m allowing for moments that are empty of to-do’s and should’s and have to’s. This is a challenge for me as I’m good at keeping lists long and filling quiet moments with Facebook. But space is where magic happens – it’s where creativity and intuition flow. It’s where we hear the messages that come from within.

I invite you to find the space in your own life this week and experience what it’s like to sit in the middle of it, listening.

And if your life feels full of space right now, what is it you need to find this week? I’d love to know.

 

This past weekend I attended Sat Nam Fest, a Kundalini Yoga festival in the California desert. Chanting mantra is a fundamental component of Kundalini Yoga and after almost four years of regular practice, I’m just beginning to scratch the surface of what these beautiful mantras mean. Most of them are in Gurmukhi, the ancient language of the Sikh religion of India (as opposed to Sanskrit, the language of the Hindu tradition, which is used in most other yogic practices according to this article).

On Saturday the last yoga class of the day was with Guru Singh, who had us all laughing and crying as we listened, chanted and sweated in the desert heat. During Shine I invite participants to try on the phrase, “I forgive myself” as they move through their day. Guru Singh had us chant “I forgive you” and guided us to direct it toward our parents, our ancestors, our children and their children, to anyone who had ever hurt us, to ourselves. He warned us that we would continue for longer than we might like but that point of discomfort would take us from simply saying the words to feeling them in our hearts.

It was beautiful, painful, uncomfortable and heart-opening.

We had our hands over our heads for much of our time chanting, which adds another dimension to the discomfort and ultimate release. You don’t have to do that (unless you want to of course), but I do invite you to play with “I forgive you” this week. You can whisper it under your breath to people as you go about your day. You might choose to say it silently to everyone in your life while you interact with them this week. Or you could sit for five, ten or twenty minutes and chant it out loud to see where it takes you.

If this mantra feels hard, or terrifying, or just plain awful, then pick one that feels good to you. “I forgive you” will be here when you’re ready for it.

Sending you love and a reminder that you are beautiful and you are enough, just as you are.

At the risk of putting a certain very popular song from a certain very popular Disney movie in your head all week, this is the phrase that’s been bubbling up in me these last couple of days.

That feeling of failure when things don’t get done.
Let it go.

The memory that surfaces every so often and brings a flush of shame to your cheeks.
Let it go, even for just this moment.

That story that proves you’re not enough, not lovable, not worthy.
Let it go, again & again & again.

Too simple? Maybe.
Worth trying? Definitely.

Breathe. Let it go. Repeat as necessary, with a large dose of compassion and big helping of love.

I keep getting this message from the universe. After a busy weekend away, I’m listening.

“If you’re having difficulty coming up with new ideas, then slow down. For me, slowing down has been a tremendous source of creativity. It has allowed me to open up — to know that there’s life under the earth and that I have to let it come through me in a new way. Creativity exists in the present moment. You can’t find it anywhere else.”
~ Natalie Goldberg

Slow down, you move too fast.
You got to make the morning last.
Just kicking down the cobble stones.
Looking for fun and feelin’ groovy.
~ Simon and Garfunkel

P.S. This 550 ft Ferris wheel is in Las Vegas. It’s brand new and can hold 1100 people. It moves verrrry slowly. I spent a lot of time watching it as I stood in the parking lot below for much of the weekend. Slow can be intimidating (or downright scary). It can also be really, really good.