DIRECTING AND ALLOWING YOUR LIFE
“The art of living does not consist in preserving and clinging to a particular mood of happiness, but in allowing happiness to change its form without being disappointed by the change, for happiness, like a child, must be allowed to grow up” - Unknown author
AUGUST 30TH, 2010. Today my meditation focused on what combination it takes of Directing and Allowing in your life to achieve ordinary happiness. To me it is like Alternate Nostril breathing. The inhale is a directed effort but then we allow the exhale to empty and there is that pause at the end of the out breath that purifies that allowing. You must wait for it to occur for extraordinary change is within that pause. Now at the same time we surrender to the changes that are outside our control we exert effort in directing our lives. This is a nondualistic happening: one not more important than the other. Directing and allowing, allowing and directing. Inhale, exhale.
"One reason so few of us achieve what we truly want is that we never direct our focus; we never concentrate our power. Most people dabble their way through life, never deciding to master anything in particular." -Tony Robbins
The challenge is the constant sensitive adjustment necessary to manage especially the directing side of life. It is too easy to let life be done to us and give up all control of plans for the best life ever. I know this, we get on the treadmill of daily life (work, home, sleep, work, home, sleep) and convince ourselves to not make time to focus our attention. The time on the mat in yoga class or going on retreat is that period of directing our thoughts and processing what we are allowing for in our lives. So today engage more directly with yourself. You are the audience and the actor on the stage of your life and this is on a daily basis the performance of your life! "In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It's not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently." -Tony Robbins
And just like we learn to refine our awareness of breathing we can refine the consistency of how we direct our lives. Go big, dig deep and go for it! Love yourself, love your day, love your life! Silvia