Photo by Pascal Debrunner on Unsplash
Someone once asked buddha, “Are you a God?”
“No, he replied.
Are you a saint?
No
Then what are you, they asked.
Awake.
How many of us are really awake?
We all probably had moments of multi-tasking on the phone, while walking to get lunch and accidentally hitting your head on a low hanging wall, because your eyes were looking down instead of looking forward, or maybe that’s just me.
Or at the dinner table, with our eyes glued to the phone, instead of being with the people who are with us. Or lying in a dark corner of the room, having an anxiety attack, because you are worried about something that has not happened yet or you’re lost in the past. Or being so busy, and being in constant “doing” mode. Or going through life, day in day out, like a robot. Or we indulge in overeating, self-sabotaging or other self-destructive behaviours.
Baron talks about how we are addicted to the “white sugar of the world” - eg stress of work, of trying to conceive, other people’s expectations, social media, reactivity, looking good etc
When we ignore our problems and our bad behaviours. we say to ourselves, “how can I be so weak? Why don’t I have any willpower?” But the truth is Baron says - "it takes a lot of power to sabotage every day of your life.”
All of us are caught up in the limiting beliefs and behaviours, knowing it does not serve us and wonder what will it take for us to let (sh)it go.
The answer to how simply is to get Present.
Staying present is a practice. Yoga is a practice. Meditation is a practice. Life is also a practice or a journey as they call it. It’s not about getting right or perfect; it’s about living in the moment and seeing life as it shows up. And being able to say "hey - okay f*** it. Let’s start again newly."
“My ego screams out that there is so much to do, but I’ve learned that staying present in anything is a practice. As often as I forget and get distracted, I must remember and simply begin again.”
Baron’s 2 Laws of Transformation IS related to Presence:
Law 1: Seek the Truth
The highest form of repentance is self-acceptance.
Law 2: Be Willing to Come Apart
Don’t make things happen, allow them to happen.
“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. ”
In Law 1, he says this "“You can meditate and do yoga until you are you are blue in the face but all you will ever be is blue in the face unless you have the courage to open your heart, face reality, admit your mistakes, and take right action.” And if you “have the courage to face the pure unsweetened truth of yourself, you can move and grow in more honest ways."
I discovered my lie when I did the Baptiste Level 1 program back in 2016. My lie was actually something I believed as true, that “I’m not good enough. I’m a bad girl.” It became my truth and my deepest dark secret.
But I know I’m not my Lie.
When I got present to this truth, when I accepted and acknowledged it, it gave me access to freedom and new discoveries about myself.
“To believe in something and not live it is dishonest.”
When we find the truth, we’re embracing freedom and joy - both for ourselves and others. Seeking the truth or Satya is a moral obligation and a pathway to bliss according to Patanjali’s 8 Limbs of Yoga.
Once we acknowledge the truth - We will then make choices that support our deepest desires.
But to know that, you have to ask yourself a serious question:
What is my purpose, and what do I want out of life?
Finding that, you can then stand powerfully in your real truth and you can let go of the lies you might be telling yourself.
You will become aware of your shortcomings and acknowledge them so it can help you grow.
“No matter how you have done down the wrong road, turn back.”
In Law 2: Be willing to fall apart, Baron says its about “giving up the illusion that everything is okay and that we can control anything."
Because you can’t, you can’t control things to happen the way you want it to be.
Because when you do find out the truth, it may get messy.
Baron says that for “many us we need to get to the point where we are finally willing to give up control so that we can experience the healing we need.”
I think a lot of of people find it hard to “fall apart” because it puts them in a vulnerable position. We have the concern to look good, at the expense of connection, authenticity and change.
Brene Brown talks alot vulnerability in her book “Daring Greatly” and says “Vulnerability sound like truth and feels like courage. Truth and courage aren’t always comfortable, but they’re never weaknesses.”
“Vulnerability is not about winning or losing. It’s having the courage to show up even when you can’t control the outcome.”
Trying to control the uncertainties of life is exhausting and it’s no wonder if you are in depressed, tired, overwhelmed, feeling hopeless and worthless.
Ask yourself truthfully - What are you trying to achieve here? Peace of Mind or Control? What do you need to give up to get a Peace of mind? What will it costs you to be in Control? What do you really want?
Instead of fighting and struggling, can you relax and surrender and let it be? Allow things to happen instead of forcing them to happen.
“When are are willing to give up the fragile hold we have on our illusions and come apart that we can begin to see the truth, surrender and begin anew.”
Photo by Fallon Michael on Unsplash
Presence is the 1st week’s theme for the 40 days to Personal Revolution program.
The 40 Days is not about the practice of yoga or meditation, ticking the boxes and getting it right. It's about getting present to what’s really happening in your life. It awakens you to what is underneath all that negative thoughts, behaviours and patterns. It peels off the layers of our old self to get down to the real us.
If you’re here, you know there’s work to be done. You know that you don't want to get stuck in the drift of nowhere. You want to be alive and living in the present moment.
The work of the 40 days is the work of our life. During the 40 Days, we work on being honest to what’s working and what’s not working and re-commit to what we want to make happen.
The practice is not hard. It’s getting to all through all the resistance of “I can’t”, “I don’t feel like it”, “It’s not me”, “I don’t need to change”, “who am I” - that is hard!
The truth is - WE make it hard! We get in our own way.
How to Be Present
Here’s the real tip to getting present…….
MEDITATE
Meditation gives access to getting present and awakened. (From The 3 practices of Baptiste Yoga)
Simply, presence is a state of becoming aware when you’re not present. At that point when you are aware that you disconnect and get distracted or feel overwhelmed or you’re not feeling calmed is when you’re getting access to presence….
If you are willing and ready. It’s like taking a time out to get clear, and to wake up.
Presence is a way of being, not doing. Just being in the now moment; there's nothing to do and nothing to figure out.
In Baptiste Yoga, we use physical asana to bring you into your body and your breath, Meditation will help you cultivate full awareness of the present moment. And checking our diet, will help understand our relationship to food and what your particular body needs. Journaling, sharing and answering excavating questions will shine a light on the dark corners of your mind, where we store the beliefs and patterns that are holding us back in our life.
Journal
Where in your life are you not present?
Can you create 2 actions steps to be Present this week?
An Invitation
I invite you to create Presence for the next 7 Days.
Write in your journal every morning:
I commit to ……….being Present every moment and every day.
And every time you are aware that you’re not Present, ask yourself what do you need to give up in order to be Present?
Give that up, and re-commit to being Present.