At each moment of each day we have a choice of how we’re going to live, which thoughts we’re going to think and which path we’re going to walk. If we choose to live and think the things that are indoctrinated into us by cultural expectations or limited visions of our self we will walk a path of “just getting by.” If we choose to think elevated thoughts, to see ourselves in the divine web of perfect existence and to work towards serving and helping others we will walk on the path to our highest destiny. When we work with the Ether element we are calling up our ability to live our divinely inspired lives. Ether is lighter than air, it is the element that surrounds and infuses our bodies with the spark of life. When we invoke the qualities of Ether we invoke the spark of all creation in propelling us forward towards our own divinity.
All of this is not to say that there is some perfect image of a yogi or a person that you are striving to be. I remember a time, just after I finished teacher training, when I felt all of this pressure to be a “perfect yogi.” I felt like I was letting myself (or, maybe, God?) down by not getting up before the sun and meditating each day. Like I was missing the point of being a yoga teacher if I didn’t grow my hair or take a cold shower each day. One of the most powerful lessons I learned that helped me turn that self-shaming cycle around was this: You are not here to be the best yogi. You are here to be the best YOU. Everyone’s spiritual path is different, the gifts and limitations you bring to this life are different than anyone else’s. But everyone can develop their gifts and become even more in tune with who they really came here to be. Everyone can make the choices in each moment that bring them away from shame, sadness or contraction and bring them towards destiny, fulfillment and radiance.
I’m not saying it’s easy. Choosing a new way of being, thinking and living can be tough. It requires grit. It requires the tenacity to keep at it even if you’ve failed in the past. It required surrender. And (for me, at least) it requires the grace of God/The Universe/The Infinite. The mantra Wahe Guru taps into that ecstasy of surrendering to and allowing the divine to flow through you and bless you with the grit to walk on your highest path with each and every step.
Wahe Guru!
