The Gifts of Upheaval
One of my favorite columnists to read is Sally Kempton. She has written a column for Yoga Journal for quite some time, and is a highly respected teacher of meditation and philosophy. She also has a newsletter titled, "Awakened Heart." I excerpt the following from her latest posting, which contains some very timely insights for many of us...
"In the tantric traditions, there is a saying, 'That by which you fall is that by which you rise.' Like all deep koanic statements, this one demands to be understood on multiple levels. For me, right now, it's been a useful way of looking at the energetic paradox that so many of us are noticing in our public and private worlds.
Here's the paradox. On the one hand, we see escalating crises...But on the other hand, we see escalating awakenings...
It's no secret that we're in a time...when the energy of change is escalating. We all feel it, and many of us have own interpretive stories about it...
I'd say there are two great gifts of this time of upheaval, and they go together.
One is the deep recognition of impermanence. Things are changing too fast to maintain the kind of tight control over our lives that so many of us confuse with security. The gift of impermanence is the way it teaches us to let go.
The second gift comes when we recognize that if we can set our priorities high - if we can decide to wake up to the deepest truth we're capable of living - that the energy of this time will support us to a degree that may not have been possible at any other moment in history. Simply put, the world needs us to wake up. Where there's a need, there's also a tendency for inspiration to emerge, an impetus towards the new, that we can ride if we know how to catch the wave.
So, this is a fantastic time, an extraordinary time to set priorities. If someone told you that you had a year to live, you'd probably think long and hard about how you wanted to spend that year...doing what seems truly important, moving closer and closer to the heart, to your truest desires, to the source of your love....As you ride the waves of change, you might want to contemplate the same questions: What really matters to me? What have I always sensed I could become, and what does the universe want for me? What would it take for me to live as my most awake Self? Who would I be if I were to be that Self?
Take some time this week and contemplate one or all of these questions. Get down with it. Be truthful with yourself. And welcome the amazing time we're living through, because it can bring you to the fullness of your humanity and your divinity!"
For more information, visit:
www.sallykempton.com
"In the tantric traditions, there is a saying, 'That by which you fall is that by which you rise.' Like all deep koanic statements, this one demands to be understood on multiple levels. For me, right now, it's been a useful way of looking at the energetic paradox that so many of us are noticing in our public and private worlds.
Here's the paradox. On the one hand, we see escalating crises...But on the other hand, we see escalating awakenings...
It's no secret that we're in a time...when the energy of change is escalating. We all feel it, and many of us have own interpretive stories about it...
I'd say there are two great gifts of this time of upheaval, and they go together.
One is the deep recognition of impermanence. Things are changing too fast to maintain the kind of tight control over our lives that so many of us confuse with security. The gift of impermanence is the way it teaches us to let go.
The second gift comes when we recognize that if we can set our priorities high - if we can decide to wake up to the deepest truth we're capable of living - that the energy of this time will support us to a degree that may not have been possible at any other moment in history. Simply put, the world needs us to wake up. Where there's a need, there's also a tendency for inspiration to emerge, an impetus towards the new, that we can ride if we know how to catch the wave.
So, this is a fantastic time, an extraordinary time to set priorities. If someone told you that you had a year to live, you'd probably think long and hard about how you wanted to spend that year...doing what seems truly important, moving closer and closer to the heart, to your truest desires, to the source of your love....As you ride the waves of change, you might want to contemplate the same questions: What really matters to me? What have I always sensed I could become, and what does the universe want for me? What would it take for me to live as my most awake Self? Who would I be if I were to be that Self?
Take some time this week and contemplate one or all of these questions. Get down with it. Be truthful with yourself. And welcome the amazing time we're living through, because it can bring you to the fullness of your humanity and your divinity!"
For more information, visit:
www.sallykempton.com
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