My spiritual practice is my life line.
I just returned from a beautiful and deeply emotional trip to Europe. There were moments of tremendous joy and gratitude, and also moments of deep pain. In the moments of magnificence, I felt my heart blow up and I just wanted to reach out and hug people, especially the children.
In the moments of pain, I felt myself needing to isolate and reconnect with my breath. To contemplate whether the intense feelings I was experiencing were mine or whether I was sensing the history of the land. Was I perhaps tuning in to the the pain and struggle of my European ancestors, passed from one generation to the next via the mysteries of inherited emotional response through epigenetics?
As a small group of friends and I were walking along a narrow Paris cobblestone road, I said aloud, “I am feeling the presence of World War Two”. Before I continued to speak, however, I stopped myself. My reality is a world of emotional vibration. It’s feelings first and, when I am at my best, my heart makes decisions. I often don’t remember the large words, yet I feel it all. I realize that this inner reality is not the norm. Most of us are more attuned to sensing and responding to an external reality. So often I say to myself, “Karena, be vanilla.” That’s what I do in response when I know even my own family are concerned I am going to be extremely me. Following the heart. Dancing when nobody else is dancing. I say, “I know how to be vanilla.” And I breathe. By that I mean I watch my breath. And all is well. Because I am connected though that breath to all who have breathed before, and to the oxygen that carries prana from distant realms of the universe.
The act of bringing awareness to the sacredness of breath is one of the quickest ways to shift perspective from the external to the reality of our own shining spirit. Everyone breathes. But using breath as spiritual practice means first noticing, then working with it daily. Something profound happens when we practice daily. A rhythm becomes established in our nerves and in our psyche. Steady practice creates inner steadiness that sustains our equilibrium through the ups and downs of life.
A spiritual practice can be anything that connects you with the depths of your spirit. For some its breath, others yoga, journaling, prayer, writing, walking, sitting, chanting, singing, or meditating. Whatever it is, doing it consistently will bring incredible benefit.
I am looking forward to sharing some of the ways I connect with the sacred while teaching the workshops and classes listed below. In each of the workshops I will also be sharing a simple yet special spiritual practice for you to bring home. For me, one thing is certain, routine and consistency keep me grounded… and also free. My spiritual practice is my true harmonizer.
