The Gift in Adversity

THE GIFT IN ADVERSITY

I just returned from being in England over the past few weeks. On a professional level, it was an excellent, full on time performing and teaching, moving my projects forward, meeting great people and finding out more about the world and myself. But what I learned was beyond all of this.

The day after my first show at the Mind Body Spirit Festival in London, I developed severe laryngitis. This may seem like a tragedy for one who uses her voice to perform and teach. But for one who has made a promise to the spiritual path, I know that the universe has an amazing way of keeping us honest and on path. Adversity is nothing other than a gift in disguise.

As I allowed myself to soften into the physical and emotional discomfort I felt having absolutely no voice, I found myself inundated with memories from what seemed to be a past life memory in London dying of consumption (tuberculosis). At that time, my lungs were full of fluid. I could not breathe, and I felt silent in my ability to voice feelings of powerlessness. In the present, what lingered was resentment of having died in a state of sorrow. So I welcomed these feelings as part of healing my laryngitis.

However, my memories did not stop there. As we toured through England, I was also reminded of another time in the UK when water filled my lungs. I had stones tied to my feet and was being drowned for my beliefs, likely when I was a healer, accused of being a witch. In that lifetime, I also died with water-filled lungs, with unspoken beliefs.

As my laryngitis moved into bronchitis, I had every opportunity to meet these emotions and send myself love and understanding so that I could deeply heal. In the bustle of the full on 18 hour a day schedule I had there, there was little room for formal sitting meditation practice, which I believe if I had had, I would not have fallen ill. I needed the inner space to process what was arising. Release through my body was the only way it could be expressed, due to my busy-body schedule. 

Being in England with fever and illness was an opportunity for me to forgive and let go at a deep, soul level. In the present, my business meetings were fruitful, people supportive, shows and workshops excellent (one was even sold out) and products sold. Spiritually, I was being asked to come more fully into the present. The fears I carried from those past experiences were colouring the here and now.

As I walked through the British streets, rode the London tube, watched the people come and go, I consciously had to remind myself it was 2013 and I was physically free and breathing freely and had the freedom to say what and how I felt.

I understand time to be like Russian dolls, each moment inside the other, not linear like we think time to be. There is no past or future, but an eternal now in which all unfolds simultaneously.

Whatever arises for us in the moment, as we practice mindful awareness, is exactly where we need to be. For me, it was in healing the past to be fully present and allow myself to grieve and heal.

Who knows what my next trip to the UK will bring. For that matter, who knows what the next moment will bring. That does not matter. I feel grateful for the opportunities I did experience and am open to what unfolds.

May we each have the courage in each moment to meet it as it is, without reservation, without judgment so that we may shine the eternal light we truly are.

Enjoy each moment,

Parvati

Ask Parvati 32: Gratitude, The Action Of Grace - Part 4: Thanking Adversity

PART 4: THANKING ADVERSITY

(Continued from Thanking Illness)

We would all love our lives to flow. Experiencing green lights along our path feels smooth and effortless and can give us a sense of being on path. Yet we all have bumps along the way at some point. We often tend to see adversity through a black and white lens: seeing obstacles and challenges as a sign of failure, or seeing them as some mysterious blessing we yet have to uncover. We can may hope to learn from our mistakes but feel unsure how. We can also believe that there are no mistakes, that all is good, in denial of our responsibility in our happenings. But what if practicing gratitude for what is, shows us something beyond these polarities?

It is my belief that we are constantly supported by a much greater whole while our consciousness goes through a process of refinement. As I explored in my last blog entries on creating our reality, what we experience is a reflection of our thoughts. So if we do not like our life, we need to change our beliefs and refine our state of consciousness.

Many people can take a downer approach and berate their life and inwardly fight what is, in some frustrated effort to change. That kind of judgemental and tense attitude will create suffering. Others may take what I would call a bit more of a denial approach and say that all that happens is ok. What if what happens is a reflection of our thoughts, and is also grace? What if what we experience mirrors back to us our tendencies - and because of that mirror we have the grace to
see it? So, what is, is both a reflection of our distortions, our erroneous perceptions, and a reflection of the love that there is for us throughout the universe. If we see what is through the lens of gratitude, we can see that we are both learning and fully supported.

When we have this grateful attitude in each moment, we can meet what is as both an opportunity to see ourselves more clearly and full of all the loving guidance we need to help us grow. Both are true. It is not balanced to say that life is a cold mirror that reflects back to us a harsh reality in which we can punitively judge our skills. Nor is it balanced to see life as a gooey, all-accepting playing field. There
is personal responsibility and guidance. There is free will and grace. Grace is always holding our capacity for free will. We must open ourselves to see it. Even when our free will moves us in a direction that causes us pain, we have an opportunity, due to grace, to see that which is as lovingly guiding us to wholeness.

My guru Amma shares a story about a man who is running along a field at full speed. He steps on a thorn and curses it, wondering why God has punished him this way. What the man does not see is the cliff he was heading towards, where he would have come to an untimely death. The thorn he curses saved his life.

When we begin to feel grateful for all that is, we meet life in its fullest expression. We see that everything is part of a greater, loving whole, supporting us both to learn and to grow as we return back to the One state of pure undivided consciousness. We are both guided and personally responsible. We are rooted in our sense of self, vital to mobilize and interact with life, and expansive to meet what is as a reflection of who we are so we may embody our fullest potential.

When we meet adversity with humility and receptivity, we can find gratitude even there. Though our feeling of gratitude, we find an internal freedom that brings us all the wealth, joy and wonder we had been seeking all along.

May your life be full of such abundance, joy and blessings.

May you feel grateful for the life you have and share your unique gifts with the world.

Blessings,
Parvati



PS: Reminder that tomorrow is the last day for question submissions.
Please send yours to ask@parvatidevi.com.

Ask Parvati 26: Follow Your Bliss - Part 4, Facing Adversity

PART 4: FACING ADVERSITY

(Continued from Managing Fear And Doubt)

“Your sacred space is where you can find yourself again and again.” - Joseph Campbell

There is a reason that Star Wars and the Matrix were such popular movies. We can relate to and feel inspired by the power of the characters that felt a calling and overcame obstacles to live their highest good and serve the highest good of all. The story of the hero’s journey is not new, but an ancient archetype that weaves through many cultures around the world. If you wish to live your bliss, this is the journey you must take.

Even when we let go of the voices that keep us small and muster the courage to go for the things that make us feel alive, we inevitably meet challenges along our path to wholeness. It would be great if all we had to do is ‘go for it’ and suddenly all lights were green. Along the path, we meet test and distractions that attempt to pull us away from our journey. But just like the fear and doubt, adversity is not ultimately “bad”. If we are wise and sober, it brings us closer to our soul purpose.

When we first heard the call of our soul, we needed to face the voices of fear and doubt that told us we couldn’t and shouldn’t. As we move more deeply into alignment with our soul voice, sometimes the road gets tougher and darker before it gets easier and lighter. On the hero’s journey, the hero must face his/her shadow to find wholeness. So too, we are tested in the process of becoming our fullest selves.

I do not believe that adversity is a problem or a sign from the universe that we are off path. Sometimes New Age teachings oversimplify life into, “if it’s all fluid, then you are doing well, and if it is challenging, then you are not in alignment.” You may feel challenged when you meet adversity, but I do not believe it is a sign that you have taken a wrong turn. Only when we face our fears will we be free from them. Only when we stop fighting the dark, will we no longer be afraid to be the light we are.

Nor do I believe it is a good idea to passively let adversity steamroll over us and take the wind out of our sails. We wobble. We fall. We get up. We start again. We learn to be both humble and powerful, because we are aligned not to our personal will but to our soul. Through tests, we learn to honour the voice of our soul, which is connected to the divine source of infinite power.

The very love and spark and deep passion that made us start our journey in the first place is the source to which we return again and again. We may feel afraid. That is ok. We may feel challenged and unsure how to make it through. That is ok. Beyond the doubts and the fears, stronger than the power of the obstacles, we learn to touch with confidence the reality that we are guided, that we are not alone, that we are loved. Though the dark may scare us, we know we are beings of light.

Adversity does not make us stronger, in terms of our ability to push at life with more determination. Pushing only leads to a push back, as the universe must maintain balance. Adversity calls us to connect more deeply to our truth and let go of the temptation to get caught up in anger, fear, doubt, shame, rage and despair. Instead, adversity is an invitation from the universe to resource our energies with discernment, to use them wisely so that we may keep focused on our purpose and on our highest good.

Adversity will come. Obstacles will come. Tests will come. But so too will the help, the angels, the mentors, our very own support crew. The universe conspires to support our greatest joy. In this we will learn to believe. We have to put ourselves out there to discover that our dreams are indeed possible.

(Continues tomorrow with Priorities, Focus And The Unexpected)