Your Mind Works for Your Soul-Preventative Medicine for the Soul #5
If you have been reading this Preventative Medicine for the Soul Series and perhaps have tried the practices of slowing down, silence, letting go, and making powerful and soul empowered choices, we have now reaching the point (in the seasonal wheel) but also the rhythm of these practices to begin bringing our beautiful "minds" into the picture. Now that you have made some choices around where your soul wants to focus its energy, it is time to let your mind do the soulwork by creating structure and taking aligned actions. You may still have a lot of "ideas" and "epiphanies"..that is OK, that is exactly what a clear mind that is tapped into the soul and the Divine does, because you have made the space for the epiphanies to come in. BUT, we also don't want to use all the ideas as distractions for what you are choosing to do in the present. (I have provided a link to a creative practice below that assists you in discerning which ideas to move forward with, and which to save for later).
There has been a lot of distortion of some of the ancient practices of working with the mind, and many people believe the goal is to "think of nothing", or to have no ego, or no concern for the Earthly life. And I suppose for some people that is their goal. But for most of us, we want to live the most joyful, impactful, creative, and grounded life while we are here on Earth. Because that is what real presence is. We really don't know what actually happens in the afterlife, so for me working with my mind as a vehicle to bring what my soul's desire and curriculum is into form in this life as much as possible is what I desire. And that includes honoring all the shadows, all the light, the mystery, the unseen, and above all what I create, even and maybe even especially the stuff that is far from perfect. And I need my mind and my senses in order to do that. The Creator gave us these bodies and minds for a reason.
It is through the previous practices (that never end, but are a consistent set of practices to settle into and witness our minds) and more to come; that we learn to employ the mind for the highest good of what we are here on the planet to express. And it is reciprocal, the more we "create" from that clear, structured and grounded place, the more we can shape our minds to be in service to ourselves, to the greater good, and to our Divine.
And I want to talk about what I mean by structure and aligned actions. Or more importantly, what I DON"T mean. I do not mean now is the time to set up an over-scheduled, rigid structure and calendar with a million to-do list items. That brings us right back to square one of the 3-ring circus filled with squirrels and monkeys. And the purpose of last week's transmission was so you could make some choices...a few choices, around where you want to direct your energy for the cycle. Once some choices are made, you create a container for bringing those things into form, while remaining very present. And choosing "due dates" that are in harmony with what's real in your life and not arbitrary due dates that send you into overwhelm. The invitation is to at the same time begin to hold yourself accountable (or get an accountability partner) to complete your desires AND at the same time look at it from the holistic view of what is happening in every area of your life. I rarely choose projects that are longer than a seasonal cycle and what I can handle in that cycle. OR am realistic that some big dreams make take many, many cycles. And for those I am graceful, try not overthink things too much, as we are truly all in the mystery, and we don't know what will happen that far out into the future. The truth is we don't know what will happen 5 minutes from now. BUT still we set aligned actions to move forward, and then embrace the fact that things may change...without letting our mind play tricks on us and get too rigid.
What I council people when I work 1:1 and we are looking at life and business design is to look at a desire or project and BEFORE coming up with an arbitrary due date, is to look at the aligned actions needed to bring the project to life and out into the world...or to integrate into your life if its a personal goal around physical, emotional or spiritual health. Then look at what is happening in your life holistically over a few cycles of 12 weeks, and at a deeper level your patterns of energy, yearly things like vacations that usually take up more time and space then just the days you are "gone", and then decide how long your aligned actions will realistically take while at the same time making a commitment to spending the time on them, instead of continuing to put them to the bottom of the list, or understanding your distraction and avoidance tactics and gently working to release those. (This is another reason for silence, and witnessing the mind). Then once you are clear, realistic, and yet still stepping into discomfort (which is how you know you are choosing from the soul...its always a little uncomfortable) give yourself a date. BUT then release the outcome to the Divine and let her take the reins.
This is how we begin to use the mind in service to the heart and soul. There will be later articles, on releasing attachment to outcomes, co-shaping with the Divine, and letting go of how things MUST look, embracing the mystery, and taking on a both/and attitude that brings about more flow, while still bringing things into the world.
The link below is to the complementary video workshop on what to do when you are focused on something and suddenly you are flooded with ideas and epiphanies.
Love and Light,
Dina