Ask Parvati 33: When Are We Being Too Rational?

Dear Parvati,

I'm still having a really hard time thinking outside of the box and thinking about possible experiences. I am not happy in my current work situation but fear taking risks. I know the kind of person I am. I need to feel financially stable before I make a move. I won't throw all my money to the wind and say, "let's travel the world". But I want to travel and take courses but I need to feel like I have an interest in the travel and there is a reason why I'm there (besides just the experience). Am I being too rational about all this? Do I just need to take a plunge? That scares me to no end. Please advise.

ALONG THE SPIRITUAL PATH, WHEN ARE WE BEING TOO RATIONAL?

Being rational is an impediment to the spiritual path when it squelches joy and stops us from expanding and evolving. Joy is expansive. Joy amplifies evolution, as evolution in its very nature is in alignment with the fundamental vibration of the universe, which is love. Joy is one of the things we bring when we pass from this Earth. When our body disintegrates and all matter that we thought was who we were is no longer, our spirit soars and our soul moves on to its next evolutionary phase. What is rooted in the soul are the experiences that have led us to expand. The soul is enriched by how well we have loved, how fully we have lived.

We do not take the contents of our bank account. I love the image of Alexander the Great who realized this at his deathbed and ordered a casket built for him where his hands were left open and visible. That way, during the funeral processional through the village, everyone could see that he did not bring with him any material riches. But experiences, love, laughter, travel, adventure, sharing, caring, openness, joy....  we take all those things with us. Perhaps you have noticed that with painful times, once they have passed, we often look back at them and laugh at what craziness that was. Hindsight is 20/20.

Being rational is important when we need to make practical decisions, like whether we by that new piece of clothing or pay our bills. This is very useful. Yet it sounds to me like the word "rational" may be a way you justify living in fear. Fear comes in many forms. Here it may be the fear of not getting "it right", measuring our life by an external yardstick that acts like a judge that squelches our impulses, joy and soul voice.

When we look more deeply at the "gotta get it right" voice that so many of us have in varying degrees, we can ask, get it "right" according to what? "Right" for whom? Usually this stems back to figures of authority from our childhood, teachers, parents, priests, people whose approval we wanted at the expense of our soul voice. These are the voices that keep up bound to the past and keep us living small and unhappy. We must challenge these voices to live fully.

To me, getting life right is to live it! Yes, of course, if you are 5'6" and wanted to be 6'5", no matter how much you wanted it, it is good to be rational and see that it will not be so. Or if you were to strap wings to your back and jump off a cliff, it would be good to have done all the research to see if those wings will work.

Taking courses and traveling are experiences that add value and riches to our life. They may not pay the bills right away, but they add riches to our life at a soul level which helps us live with greater joy and fulfilment. This may also contribute to bill paying down the road. Experiences help us grow, live, find out who we are. They are the things that make us expand. Hanging back and not trying things out is living in fear. It is not being rational. I have never regretted any course I  have taken. I studied architecture at university. Look at my life now. I have no regrets. Those studies made my life much richer. I feel I use those skills every day in the most creative ways. It is in part those skills that make me a good music producer and producer of shows. It is partly those skills that support me being a good healer, seeing things multidimensionally. Experience makes us richer. In that richness we see opportunities we would not otherwise see.

As an independent artist, I get the money thing. Each day I seek a balance between the rational and the intuitive. My bank account is not yet brimming full. There are months I squeak by. But I am ok with this for now, because I know I am building things that mean the world to me, that add value to my life and to the world. Pursing my music, singing, writing, producing, serving others, bring me infinite amounts of joy that a Prada purse could never in a million years. Or even a regular haircut. I let some of those "normal" priorities go because I have other priorities that to me are way more valuable.

Money does come when we follow our joy. The universe is governed by love, not fear. If you believe in God, God is love! God loves us. God wants us to be happy, fulfilled, full of joy. Or if you don't like the word God - then use the word pure consciousness or the universe or life itself. There is an intelligence that runs through everything. That intelligence is pure compassion. We are loved and supported beyond what we can imagine.

I cannot tell you if a course or traveling is right for you or not. You need to decide that. Just make sure that you do not block yourself with a limited vision of what you can offer life and what life can offer you. There is infinite possibility. What makes life fun is you can choose what you like and life will support you. We are part of a huge infrastructure of loving intelligence that is saying "Go for it! You can do it!" -- what ever it is that brings you joy.

Hope that helps in some way. Keep opening and exploring! Life is so very rich. There is a true abundance of love everywhere always.

Big hug,

Parvati

 

PS: My next blog entry will be next Sunday with a new Ask Parvati question. Please send me your questions (ask@parvatidevi.com) by Thursday, October 27 to have them included in the draw. In the meantime, if you haven't yet checked out the latest issue of Parvati Magazine, please do so!

PPS: My show "Natamba" at the St. Pete Yoga Festival went great!