Monday Mantra :: Stillness
When I moved to Brooklyn from Upstate New York a few years ago, I didn't know what I wanted. In a women's workshop early on during that transitional period in my life, I was instructed to ask my heart what I wanted and I was embarrassed that I had no idea. I also felt frustrated and let down by myself that I didn't know myself.
Then, I began to attend monthly moon circles. Each month, cycle by cycle, new moon by new moon, I would gather with different women around a different theme and slowly but surely, I was reminded of who I was and what I stood for. By taking time each month to check in with my body, my breath, what I was feeling about life around me and IN me, I got more clear and more authentic. I was reminded of how to find my center.
Sometimes I forget and feel stuck in my own muck of confusion or lack of clarity, especially when I find myself in the middle of a transition in my life. But when I come back to stillness on a regular basis, I find my inner guidance.
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With the new moon on Friday, I was again reminded of that period of my life and why I love to gather around this time each month. But you don't need to be with other people or attend a workshop or a class to find your center, to discover what you love, declare what you want, and be your authentic self (although finding and being with your tribe is a lovely way to support all of these things!). This week's mantra is a practice for you to go inward and to listen to your own inner guidance:
Take a deep inhale and a deep exhale.
Close your eyes for a moment and bring your awareness to your core.
Say to yourself: In stillness, I find my center.
This short and simple inward gaze can take two seconds and can be done at any time of the day. Before you hop out of bed, while you brush your teeth, between reps at the gym, before you walk into work, as you finish up your meal, in the shower, walking your dog, on the road stuck in traffic, in a crowd, or in the quiet of your home on your meditation cushion. Stillness. Inward. Oh, there you are, self!
With so much going on in our world right now, there's a lot of pull around ways to act, protest, engage, or not. Our beliefs, opinions, and what we stand for may be called into question, challenged, or engaged in conversation. It's easy to get caught up in the chaotic energy of the internet, the scrolling of the newsfeed, and the speed of information, so use this mantra this week when you need a little reminder, a little pause, a little stillness in the eye of the storm we call life.
This week's mantra :: IN STILLNESS, I FIND MY CENTER.