For me, one of Life’s great ironies is that we have to practice in order to be fully human. Instead of unfolding our intrinsic perfection naturally and organically like a flower, we must engage in transformational practices (e.g., Yoga, Meditation, Pranayama, Psycho-Therapy) to become healthy, mature, and productive Human Beings with a sense of wholeness and completeness. As I’ve written previously, these practices help us align with what is already Right Here and Right Now. There is Nowhere to go and Nothing to seek, and yet the paradox remains that we must practice in order to recognize and stabilize this perspective in our Minds. Moreover, these practices take commitment, determination, and sustained effort. We cannot merely dabble in them and hope to reap Life-changing benefits.
We have to resolve to fully Show Up, every day, every time, and everywhere; and Showing Up is the most important practice we can undertake.
It is the practice of remembering to actively recognize and engage the best version of ourselves as often as possible. We choose to bring our Openness, Energy, Enthusiasm, Interest, Joy, Gratitude, Wonder, and Love to the task at hand in order to raise our frequency and joyfully resonate with All That Is. When we do this consistently, every day, even for only 15-20 minutes, there is a growing body of research confirming it changes us in all ways positive — physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Of course, this might sound easy to do, but we know it isn’t. We are all programmed by our past experience, with its mental and emotional baggage, and that means we often “Show Down” instead of Show Up. We engage our practices and daily lives from a perspective of — Low Energy, Low Frequency, Flat, Disinterested, Bored, Angry, and/or Frustrated. The bad news here is that the research clearly shows that “neurons which fire together, wire together”, i.e., if “Showing Down” becomes a habit, we will continue to program ourselves to live in a self-limiting way. In order to transform ourselves, grow beyond limiting beliefs and self-doubts, and find true freedom, we must increase our mental and emotional energy Before We Begin the practice.
We Show Up as our imagined Future Self of Intrinsic Perfection, Joy, Love, and Gratitude; and remain completely Open to wondrous possibilities.
How do we accomplish this? We set an intention to begin every practice by taking a few minutes to fully Show Up and Practice As This Imagined Future Self:
- We allow our minds to rest and settle into the Open Ground of Being, and deeply appreciate the stability of our awareness,
- We Generate deep Gratitude for the gift of every moment, given to us freely without any conditions, over and over and over again,
- We Affirm our deepest aspirations for awakening to benefit All Beings;
- We Feel the warmth of intimate wholeness and connection shining from a Golden Sun in the center of our Hearts;
- We Imagine the pure truthful speech of an Awakened Being emanating as our voice,
- We Receive, Accept, and Celebrate the Joyful Bliss of Divine Inspiration
When we practice and live from this perspective, we naturally transform and flower because these Higher Emotions are the very attributes of our True Nature. We willingly embrace the Unknown and participate with trust and faith in a wondrous unfolding and unlocking of our full potential. We become a vehicle for True Nature to express Itself through us — All we have to do is Show Up.