Tag Archives: let go

Shining Our Light

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I am always amazed when we discuss a topic on our site, and then I see that same topic addressed somewhere else. I really do believe it’s put out in the forefront of my mind and thoughts, as soon as I share something with all of you.

We ended our discussion last week with the kriya of letting go. I had mentioned that it’s one of those life lessons that continues to show up in my life over and over again. I know it is partly because I continue to struggle with it. When I opened up my “Daily Om” devotion this morning, I came across the topic of Shedding Light on Ourselves. Reading the words of wisdom kind of jolted me. It was on the topic of letting go, but more importantly it gave us insight into the fundamental reason for our resistence to letting go – the idea that “there may be a deep seated part in us that doesn’t want to heal”.

It’s true, many times we just want to look away. It’s easier and less painful. The article woke me up to the idea that holding onto something that no longer serves us is really an illusion we create. The circumstance has usually already shifted by the time our mind catches up to the reality. And, by that time, all we have left to face is the truth. It is certainly a process and we heal in stages, but the first step is to want to heal.

Please click the link above to read this insightful article.

Deepali’s Piece of Wellness: As you begin this week, can you slowly bring to your awareness the anchors in your life that are holding you back? What would it take for you to risk letting go and allowing more light to shine through you?

Going with the Flow

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Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not the kind of person who takes a passive approach to life.  I’m someone who creates a vision, sets goals, and focuses on pressing toward them.  I believe in sitting in the driver’s seat of life.  I believe in never taking “no” from someone who doesn’t have the power to tell you “yes”.  I am one of those people who will keep pressing on and on and, oftentimes, continue holding on during times I know I just need to quit.  I don’t mean quitting on my goals, but knowing when a situation has changed enough and perhaps leading me toward another path.   

Letting go, is one of the kriyas that I have long struggled with.  I’m sure there are many of you, like me, who feel the need to control everything in your life.  In fact, many of us try to manage the outcomes of our lives so much that we actually get in the way and sabotage the good that is flowing toward us.  Sometimes, our peripheral vision has more to show us if we just take our blinders off.  It opens us up to a bigger picture and opportunities that lie in the background. 

So, yes we need to continue to set goals or resolutions in the new year, but remember we always have the choice to re-evaluate and determine what is working for us.  When we know we’ve reached a dead-end, it’s best to back up and take a U-turn.  And an even better strategy other times?  Let go, take the passenger seat, and allow a greater force to guide us toward another destination.  I continue to learn this.

Have a Great Weekend!  

Knowing your Truth

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“The truth shall set you free”.  We have all heard this phrase before.  I wouldn’t say I am a dishonest person, but perhaps I’m not as forthcoming or as open as I want to be.  I tend to be private and keep a lot inside.  I’m like many people who need to process situations before I share. 

Many times we hold things inside, because we’re afraid of being judged – especially by those we respect.  This was my situation.  There had been something I wanted to share with a good friend of mine for some time, but I couldn’t strike up the courage to do so.  Today, after a slow jog and spending a few minutes quieting my mind, I decided I would face it.  I wrote a long email and told her what I needed to tell her.  The result was a sense of freedom.  I felt lighter.  I felt relieved.  More than anything, I felt I was no longer holding a big load on my shoulder.  It was something I wanted to release and finally did. 

What I realized was that I was really holding back the truth from myself.  In order to let go of what I needed to let go of in my mind, I had to face the honest truth.  When I faced it, I was able to accept it.  And when I accepted it, I was able to release it.  Of course, depending on the situation, this can be a long process, and it’s important to take the time you need to process.  Remember, though, that we all judge ourselves harsher than anyone else in the world.  We fear being judged and being deemed unworthy.  When we hold back, we rob people the opportunity to really see the essense of who we are.  And maybe we do that, because we don’t always like who we are.  Or perhaps, we’re not where we want to be in life.  Or maybe, we feel like we’ve let others down. 

The real truth is that we all want to be validated.  We want to be seen, heard, and acknowledged.  I ended up having a great conversation with my friend today.  She was, in fact, able to share with me some similar experiences she had this past year.  Had I not opened up, I’m not sure she would have either.  Facing our truths allowed us both to free our minds today.

Deepali’s Piece of Wellness:  Are there situations in your life that you need to face and accept?  Are you denying what is true for you?  Facing your truth will allow for a deeper connection with yourself and in all of your relationships.

Dreaming a New Dream

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The other day I attempted to console a good friend who questioned the next step to take in her life.  She had recently come short of passing an exam she needed to pass in order to work in her profession.   The reality of the present situation forced her to question her existing vision and life path.  Does she continue to work toward achieving her dream profession?  Does she take the current circumstance as a sign to take a detour and carve a new path?  Does she still feel passion for the profession in the midst of discouragement?  It got me thinking about our vision – not just the picture of our immediate stimuli, but the greater vision we hold for ourselves.  How do we navigate through the maze of life when the things we envisioned for ourselves do not manifest as we thought and hoped they would?  How do we re-create our vision and begin to dream a new dream?

Let’s face it, life is full of challenges.  Things may not always go as planned, but it is important to have a roadmap.  I have always been a big believer in creating dreams or visions for my life.  There is no way to achieve the things you desire unless you first create a mental image of it in your mind.  I think we all do this to some degree.  We do this when we decide on a career path to take, or when we visualize a life partner, or when we imagine our dreamhome.  Many times during our journey, we hit roadblocks – you don’t get the job you want, you go through a divorce, you lose your dream home to another buyer.  What do you do next? 

The thing about creating visions is that they can always be re-created.  Part of our own roadblock is the attachment we hold to the old vision.  It takes a lot of strength to let go and surrender to the idea that another path is not only possible, but it can be greater and more fulfilling than you could have even envisioned for yourself.  You may still achieve all that you desire, but it may not be in the way or in the timeframe you thought.  Perhaps, during the process, you may discover you have a new desire.

Oftentimes, the reality of our situation doesn’t make sense to us.  It’s not supposed to.  Steve Jobs, in a speech he gave to Stanford University Graduates in 2005, states, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever”.

Remember, life doesn’t end when it doesn’t go as planned.  The most successful people will tell you that the times in which they felt lost or as though they had failed, were actually the catalyst for creating, or re-creating a better dream and a brighter future.  Be willing to take the risk in creating and re-creating! 

Deepali’s Piece of Wellness:  Have you given up on your dreams, because life hasn’t turned out as you expected?  Can you start creating a new vision for yourself today?  What does it look like?  **More tomorrow on how to get clarity on a new vision!

Sweet Surrender

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Sometimes, a “sweet surrender is all I have to give”, as per Sarah McLachlan’s hit song.  It is oftentimes, the best gift to offer the universe.  For some reason, we all have this sense that if we hold on to an idea, a person, an emotion,  we will continue to move forward.  I’ve found that actually the reverse is true.  We have to ask ourselves, “what are we really holding onto anyway?”  Often, it is something that has occurred in the past that doesn’t serve us in the present. It is an anchor that holds us back.  I think it is one of the most difficult kriyas that we must implement in our lives in order to fuel our happiness and peace.

I struggle with this concept a lot myself.  It’s a need for control and avoidance of pain.  It’s so much easier to just hold on tightly to something, pretend that the circumstances have not changed, and continue to live in the past.  But the result is that you suck the life out of what you grip onto so tightly, and in that process, end up holding onto something that is long gone.  You say to yourself that you miss the potential of what was and what could have been in your life.  But truthfully, the “potential” of something is different than the “reality” of it.  In order to open yourself to the beauty that awaits you in your life, you must let go of the concepts and people that do not serve you.  There is a gift in remaining present in the moment.  There is a freedom there to go in any direction.  And only then, can all the good in life  come to you and through you.  Dr. Lawrence Wilson of the Center of Development states, “Your future will find you, if you let go of your past”.

Deepali’s piece of wellness: We may have control over our sails, but no control over the direction the wind blows.  Let go and see where it takes you.

My first post…….

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Welcome to my blog!  I’m very excited to begin.  When I thought about the title I would use, I thought about what the word “wellness” meant to me.  It’s certainly the buzzword all over town these days.  Being of East Indian descent, I wanted to use a word from the ancient language of Sanskrit to describe how wellness pertains to all of us.  The word “kriya” fit.  Kriya literally means ‘the action of the soul’.  We are all on this journey to live our fullest potential – from the aspects of mental, physical, and spiritual wellbeing. The soul is always evolving……it is, therefore, always in motion.  In yogic terms, this starts with our breath.  The wellness kriya, to me, is the process by which we all strive to become more of who we truly are…….that perfect, authentic self that  lies deep within us.  We accomplish this by engaging and incorporating 7 actions  – the ingredients that I feel make up, what I call, our wellness quotient.  Those seven kriyas are:  Exercise the Mind & Body, Take a Risk, Feel Gratitude, Be Present, Believe in Spirit, Embrace Change, and Let Go.  Living our lives with these actions in mind will increase our wellness quotient and allow us to follow our truth.  Each week we will look closely at one of these categories.   My purpose is to empower others to believe in themselves and to provide teaching tools for unleashing their true potentials.  Let’s start peeling down the layers and get to the core!