Akosua Dardaine Edwards's Blog, page 47

Simplicity as a Spiritual Practice

 

What I’m discovering is that spirituality is a practice of simplifying all forms of clutter and noise so that you can be with what arises. Danielle La Porte

I would say to people  "I am a simple but not a simpleton." I took it to mean that I liked simplicity as a way of life.I chose not to fuss over many things, not ask many questions on the "how". I accepted what was in front of me and life went on. Knowing all of the details was not an absolute must.
What I have learnt is that simplicity goes beyond not asking questions and "fussing", simplicity is a way of life. I asked myself how many items do I purchase based on ego, habit or unconscious neediness?How many items do I have in my home and surroundings that clutter up both my living space and my consciousness?How many times do I make life difficult by wanting the details before they are known or available?Living a simple life , I have learnt, is not easy. It takes a level of self trust and the ability to live from a space of uncertainty.Simplicity allows for a flow, it allows for a life of freedom and non attachment. It is not for the faint hearted. We humans love nice things, gadgets, we also live in a time where there is always something to acquire to make us feel more of something - more desirous, more complete, more fit, more spiritual and the list go on. We all can use a little retail therapy! What about a simple life scares us? Are we defined by how much we have, how much we can have, how much we know?Is that a scary concept for you?See what happens when you clear your closets of clothes that you have not worn for years, shoes that no longer fit, purchase consciously.See what happens when you decide that I am enough!Peace

How to use the things that have been given to us?

 the Creator/Universe/Source has already provided us with everything that we need…we just don’t always know how to use the things that have been given to us. Iyanla Vanzant 

I was chatting with a friend of mine yesterday, talented, beautiful, kind person. My friend believes that life is hard, there are many events that have been happening and it seemed that my friend could not catch a break.

I have learnt that life is neutral. Life reflects back us what we must pay attention to, whether it is to go faster, go slower, leave, stay, eat better, exercise, and the list goes on. Life has a way of loving us through it all however we don't always see it as love. Despite the choices that we make to neglect our health, our intuition, our nudges, life continues to provide us with evidence that something requires a shift. It really is up to us to decide when and how we want to make that shift. The qualities of discernment become essential, courage also becomes key as many times, the shift that life is asking us for is so much different to the way we currently live.

I like to think of it as life has provided us with a buffet of food in which to choose from.  Many of us whilst starving look at the buffet and decide, there is nothing that suits our fancy here, although the buffet is limitless. How many of us refuse life's buffet and prefer to starve or go on a hunger strike?

How can we use the things that have been given to us?

Peace

Journey to Acceptance

 Take the time to make peace between the you that longs to be on the other side of this river, on the far side of the thing you want to create, or the change you want to bring about; and the you that is terrified of what will happen to you along the way, or when you get there. Hiro Boga

Confessions on the Journey - I have struggled with accepting "this is where you are at this moment" whether by divine design or conscious choice, accepting where I am came with feelings of doubt and fear. I always thought that there must be more, I have more to offer, more to give, more, more, more.

Having and doing more is not necessarily a problem or a bad thing, the challenge is what is the motivation behind the wanting of more.

I have learned that coming from a space of "not enoughness", from a space of lack, there will usually be feelings of nothing is ever enough. The feeling of lack transfers into ingratitude because nothing is ever enough.

Creating a life, moving towards one's dreams takes not only doing the outer work, it also requires inner work which centres around having patience, self- belief, listening and following the nudges of the Universe, that inner guidance.

Releasing the fear of the unknown is a process. I started small. Doing things that I fear that I feel took minimum risks, I started giving thanks for it all despite what is in front of me, being grateful in advance for what is to come. I started taking on tasks that scared the shits out of me. I started to pay less attention to what others said and thought about me, started to do less people pleasing.

All of those actions took me on the Journey to Acceptance and I give thanks

Peace

Return to Yourself

  true community is when you can be present with others and you do not have the sense of having had to check part of yourself at the door in order to gain access to membership to that community. I would say that that is a club, it’s not community. Rev Angel Kyodo Williams

Are you a part of a community? Do you feel a part of something that allows for your growth, a safe space to make missteps and mistakes, a place where you can feel "at home"? Chances are if the answer is No, It suggests that some self reflection is required. Building a community starts with Self. 

Asking yourself how safe and comfortable you feel in spaces, being completely honest in your response then taking action is the beginning of you creating a community.

Having a community allows for growth and belonging, it must however start with you.

I have been quite fortunate to have a community where I can unfurl - sometimes we have to build it ourselves because our families are not or no longer are places of belonging. I purposefully built mine. With some building there comes demolition. Some people will inevitably drop off, disagree with your forward movement or leave your community - be prepared! It will take some sacrifice - it will be worth it though - trust me!

Start within- return to yourself

Peace

When I allow Flow I experience Sufficiency.

 I identify the blocks to Flow of money, chi and love.

When I hoard, eat poorly, don't move my body, don't clear clutter, don't manage my money, hold  resentments, judgments and anger I am blocked. Today I remove the blocks and allow Flow. 

When I allow Flow I experience Sufficiency. 
Flow denotes to me that there is no blockage in how things are. Living in the flow is not allowing external activities and negative thoughts get in the way of how we live our lives.It is living without resistance and without denial.We block our flow when we resist what life is reflecting to us.We block our flow when we deny the truth.Flow is grace.Flow is sufficiency.Flow is abundance.Flow is a mindset.Have you seen when flowing water get's stagnant? It collects moss, dirt, debris, it starts to smell. This is how our lives become when we do not live in the flow.What are you doing as a ritual that allows flow?Do you meditate? Do you laugh?Do you connect with what you love?Do you share?What are you doing to allow your life to flow?
Peace

Take the Next Simple Step

 The greatest killers of success are: overthinking/over analyzing /over complicating, procrastination, perfectionism and needing the approval of others. So the cure all is: take action NOW based on your gut (even if you aren't 100% clear). Do it messy. Do it afraid. Do it imperfectly. Take the next simple step. Start now, where you are with what you have. Don't live your life for the approval of others, Mastin Kipp

One of the most important lessons I have learnt is to - Just Start! I wrestled with this bit of guidance for a very long time. I wanted it to "be done right" I did not want anyone to ask me questions and I did not have the answers. I wanted to be seen as organized, polished and together. What I  learnt was that many of these wants and feelings were fueled by fear rather than me having an open mind towards learning and growing.

Massive Action became my new mantra- I would commit to myself to take baby steps, to move and be open to feedback and learning as I go. My other mantra was- Mistakes make Masters. I gave myself permission to make mistakes with empathy and compassion - I stopped beating up on myself and accepted that I will not, and cannot know everything - I mean how boring would life be if I did know everything!

As I walk on this journey, I am reminded of these lessons, I am reminded to keep it simple, keep it kind and keep it moving

Life will give us all the guidance, it really is up to us to have the courage and the curiosity to trust the process.

Peace

 

Change is constant. It is in everything

 

Change is constant. It is in everything. Yet, we invest much of our energy on making choices based on the assumption of the permanency of the world around us. We will always have this and we will always be with these people and we will always have security and we will always have flexible bodies. You have your list of “always” and I have mine. We should meet somewhere and burn them in a ritual of release, as they are worthless. Carolyn Myss

Knowing and accepting the impermanence of everything has really transformed how I show up as a person, in my life and in situations. I continue to feel the feelings associated with what occurs, this I will not deny, however, always keeping in mind to expect the unexpected. We were indeed built for unexpected situations. We were built to deal with change. What makes change difficult for us is   we have either built our identity around what we have accumulated, who we are married to, who are our friends, what type of brands we need to be associated, what career we have chosen and on and on, we become fearful of "losing it" or fearful of not being able to get it back or the uncertainty of what is beyond what we have.

I have learnt through nature that seasons come and seasons go, even with the way we treat the Earth, the change remains. Leaves fall off the trees, rainy season comes and goes, the sun sets and rises. None of which we can control. We can respond and act accordingly.

We cause ourselves unnecessary pain and suffering when we resist the changes that happen in our lives by denying, holding on, forcing and wishing for the past.

Life loves us, when change comes, get curious, trust the process and use discernment with divine guidance as there is no stopping change!

Peace

Step Out

 What's currently thought of as safety is really hiding from any influence other than that which is predictable. Predictable feels safe because it's familiar, but the actual core of life denies familiarity. Life's an adventure into the unfamiliar... If you want to grow, your priority cannot be to feel safe.  Guru Singh

Humans love certainly, control, comfort and predictability. I am human, so trust me I know, I also love those qualities as well.

The paradox is that life is not filled with many guarantees. Life is filled with twists, turns, surprises, uncertainly and unpredictability. When we get attached to having a level of certainty and knowing - outside of ourselves, we want proof, to see it, to feel it, to touch it.

It starts within. The external reflects the internal and so if we continue to look outside of ourselves for everything we will continue to remain in a state of looking, of wanting certainty and guarantees.

There is something called inner knowing and clarity- it cannot be seen, touched, explained and justified. However we humans ignore it to find knowing and certainty outside of us. It becomes a cycle of a never ending search resulting in frustration.

What I have learnt is, wanting certainty and safety all the time is a sign of control and fear. There are some things that will just remain a mystery, our responsibility is to trust, have faith and listen to the inner guidance and step out in courage knowing that we have what it takes to navigate the situation in front of us.

Step out.

 Peace

Life will continue to love you anyway

 constantly in a cycle of growing, shedding, starting, ending, loving & evolving

Many say life is hard, life is complicated, life is brutal. I have come to learn that life loves us and continues to give us impersonal signs, clues and guidance. Our responsibility is to pay attention to the guidance given, and have the courage to act when called upon to move, particularly when it seems to be hard, painful, uncomfortable or illogical.

My mantra has been expect the unexpected and handle it- because we can. we were built equipped for handling life's lessons, challenges, opportunities and joy.

Many times life leads us to new and different experiences, when we resist, life continues to lead us there. When we believe that we are not in control we either get scared or we get into denial.

Every single experience is useful, whether we like or dislike, whether it is pleasant or unpleasant, whether it is one time or ten times - our role is to pay attention to the signs, cues and guidance.

It is difficult to pay attention when:

1. There is no time for stillness in your daily schedule

2. Your negative ego is the loudest voice in your mind

3. You compare yourself to others

4. You want external validation

5. You ignore your intuition and look for logic

6. You always want to know the how

7. Your days are packed with tasks, busyness, work, running around

8. You ignore your feelings or react immediately when they surface

Life will continue to love you anyway, and you always get to choose.

Peace

Trusting yourself is a process.

 After so much suppression of your intuition, it will take time to trust yourself. Maryaam Hasna

Trusting yourself is a process.

Start small.

You hear the voice in your head telling you rather than take this route to work today, take the other one. Starting small means you don't question it and its a seemingly harmless choice.

You take the different route and you reach where you were going earlier and bump into someone you haven't seen for ages and wanted to reach out to reconnect.

Be consistent.

Anytime you hear the soft voice, the pull urging you. Listen to it. Plain and simple. You then become consistent in your approach.

Take action

Take action with an open mind. I can tell you, trusting yourself will never lead you astray. Once you trust yourself, you trust others.

Peace