Dancing With Malas

I dance with malas...

Whether I want to or not...

I do not mean that I am dancing with bracelets, but instead, I am dancing in and out of illusions...

As I sail the ship of my life and navigate turbulent waters unknown to me, I take a moment to reflect on Michelle Berman Marchildon's description of the malas in her book, Finding More on the Mat: How I Grew Better, Wiser, and Stronger Through Yoga...

And I wonder, can I do the same? Can I grow stronger and wiser, when some days I feel as if the bottom fell out of my life?

Nothing seems the same...

And I recall this insight from a Course in Miracles: "Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists."

What is real?

The malas are veils which cloak what is real, hiding the truth from us, and there are three of them...

Anava Mala seeds feelings of unworthiness and not being good enough within us which can lead to both sadness and eventual depression.

Mayiya Mala culminates in feelings of isolation and separation...

Karma Mala arises from our actions and their consequences...

All of these cloud reality - and impede our way of seeing what truly is - and I experience all three - simultaneously...

Nothing seems as it was - everything can be turned upside down...

But it is also an invitation to see things more deeply. It is an invitation to change...

I read this, just this morning:


"When we feel stuck, going nowhere - even starting to slip backward - we may be actually backing up to get a running start." Dan Millman

And also this one:

"Every positive change - every jump to a higher level of energy and awareness - involves a rite of passage. Each time to ascend to a higher rung on the ladder of personal evolution, we must go through a period of discomfort, or initiation. I have never found an exception." Dan Millman

This is a long period of initiation. of wandering through the desert. Of exile. Of not knowing what to do - or where to turn - or to whom...

This is a time of cleansing. Of floating. Of practice. And simply being. It is no longer a time of belonging, but of letting go. And of rending the veils of the malas.

My life is a dance. I do not have to dance with the malas...

But I must fill my dance card. And only I can do it...

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