The world opens when you open.
It’s a surprise party when you show up without any expectation.
Nature works with your heart frequency to manifest what is going to be the most inspiring movement next for growth and Self-realization.
Don’t be shy to want what you want, but try to do so without any grasping.
i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any—lifted from the no
of all nothing—human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)
E. E. Cummings “i thank You God for most this amazing”
The truth is that when you live in alignment, honoring your truth, your path will unfold with serendipities that prove with uncanny perfection the righteousness of your every footstep. Every mile of road that you roll over will act as the bottom frame to your personal movie, providing a floor for the scenes of your personal odyssey.
I haven’t been able to compose my Sunday dose of prose Modern Mystic Medicine: Tales from this Wild at Heart yogini, the last few weeks as I was completely absorbed by life without any time or mental space to also document. The eclipse played a powerful role in redirecting my course and the plans I had co-created with a friend for the spring dissolved almost overnight.
Last month, I began abiding in the Ozarks, Arkansas specifically, just walking distance from the Missouri border. Having never spent any ‘real’ time in this part of the country, I surrendered to its embrace, looking to see what it had to teach me.
The Ozarks of my heart were enchanting in a holy hillbilly sort of way. I say, “…of my heart” because the Ozarks I know, may not be the same as the ones you know. We all commune with places differently as that it’s our unique relationship with a place that defines it to us individually.
In “my” Ozarks, I met up with friends and allies who value homesteading and freedom. I jumped into the lakes before and after the eclipse and experienced bites from the local trickster parasites: ticks and chiggers. I hung with hens and shot guns.
I went through major upheaval and handled it gracefully. For the first time, I embraced uncertainty like I have always espoused, but with a calmness that demonstrated a lot of growth.
Resiliency is not just a theory.
How you adapt to the curve balls life throws is the measure of success in my book. Knowing intellectually that nothing is guaranteed and that change is the only constant is one thing. Trusting that unexpected changes can possibly lead you to a better situation is another, much deeper integration.
I have discovered that living by the worldview that everything might actually be happening to further my liberation provides an almost ‘solid’ foundation to go with the flow. It is in the fighting of the inevitable challenges that ironically cause them to increase. If what we focus on is amplified, then it is not wise to stay too long in single-pointed awareness of the issue we are struggling with. I can see now that I have created the same reoccurring fights in my life due to my own ignorance. Believing that I was a victim of certain scenarios and wasting so much time feeding that thought process produced unhappy results. Taking responsibility instead for where one places their attention frees one of the repetitive fight against the reality that is unwanted.
This wisdom comes when one is simply tired of fighting and willing to accept what is occurring and then make plans accordingly. This might be obvious already to you - but in case it’s not - I encourage you to consider simply accepting that perhaps you have far more power over your personal experience than you are able to realize when living in reaction mode.
A yogi trains their mind to understand this through various exercises that develop the capacity to sustain awareness on a certain, chosen object. You might start with your breath, a meaningful symbol, or a quality of something you wish to increase in your awareness. You can attempt to label the Intelligent Creative Force of the universe and invoke it through mental or verbal repetition of a name (*mantra, japa ) or dive instead into the vast sea of self inquiry. There are many ways to develop this and that is where a teacher can be helpful, if they know you well enough, to understand your personality and traumas and guide you to a practice that is compatible with your disposition.
Once you can control where you place your attention, you have begun the journey of mastery.
Proof of success doesn’t lie in how much money you accumulate, necessarily, or what kind of home or partner you are able to manifest. There are too many variables in the equation for it to be demonstrated so simply. There are consequences for previous actions that may still need to play out for you, but don’t despair. The one with mastery is able to use every situation as an opportunity for growth and to redirect their aim.
It’s similar to lifting weights and increasing your strength over time. It’s not an overnight process, but it happens if you stick with it. The mind is like that, a muscle that can be strengthened with focus and perseverance.
As it grows in its ability to stay with the desired object, the slide for the next moment in your movie clears. The subconscious debris is dusted off and a fresh slide moves into the view finder. The lens grows wider with the development of dharana *sanskrit term for the 6th limb of yoga, which means holding with steadfastness your mind to an object.
This is why I love blank signs or unlabeled buildings. They serve as reminders that even old foundations can be redone and relabeled into entirely new visions. In that liminal space between owners, the building exemplifies pure potential. Shuniya as it is labeled in Sanskrit, sometimes translated as Zero Point. The wise ones know the power of resting in Shuniya and resolving to hold to the truth of infinite possibilities in every moment.
But traveling across America, dilapidated dreams are found as temples to abandoned hopes and plans. They are overgrown with weeds, strangled by vines as life always continues. This truth is inescapable even though we may wish to preserve or memorialize a moment of creativity’s spark into a statue or permanent fixture of sorts.
So, as my plans were rewritten, I found myself venturing south to Jasper, AR and exploring the Buffalo River. Wandering along the shore with Cecilia, my trusty dog companion, I was impressed with the bluffs and natural beauty, reminiscent of my homeland in Oregon.
I was contained in my caravan, exploring new terrain, as I am born to do. My genetics predispose me to be a modern Viking; seeking out new places feels deeply rewarding as well as connecting with various demographics. I no longer run from this: why fight what comes most natural?
I am wayfaring through the raw data of this landscape of pure potential. My home in my heart allows me to experience my living room as the entire country. I appreciate your witnessing to my itinerate yogini lifestyle. Maybe our paths will cross someday, and until they do, be boundless my friends. This life offers so much and is so profound as to bring tears of awe when simply experienced courageously.
If you enjoy my writing feel free to leave a tip or if you would like to hire me as an Evolution Ally to witness your journey and assist with your yogic evolution, please email me at tamarastandard@gmail.com
Wonderful reflections... thank you.