Don’t Fake It Until You Make It, Face It Until You Embrace It!

Parts of me are scared, nervous, and frustrated … and it’s fantastic!  You see, partially by choice, and partially not, my occupational energies are shifting to destinations unknown along paths previously untraveled.  Honestly, it’s scary, thrilling, and paralyzing.

Satya, the yogic practice of truthfulness, invites us to lovingly be honest with and about ourselves, and vulnerably share our inner landscape with others.  While often on social media, at yoga studios, in church, and beyond, there are pressures to be all bliss all the time, “fake it”, and shove aside our inner negativity for the power of positivity, to be joyously whole we must acknowledge, work with, and share both our lightness and darkness.  And we ALL have both!  In truth, to ignore the uncomfortable stuff within us, and/or not embody a safe and welcoming space for others to share her/his messiness with, is to disregard another key Christian and yogic practice, non-harming, or Ahimsa.

Don’t fake it until you make it, face it until you embrace it!  The thing is, the more we’re able to observe what’s going on within us WITHOUT judgment (i.e. labeling it “good” or “bad”) or attachment (i.e. thinking our thoughts and feelings identify or define us), the healthier, more whole, and joyous we become.  I say joyous, because Big Joy is a unified and holistic experience, which INCLUDES sorrow, fear, frustration, uncertainty, etc.  What is more, when, without judgment or attachment, we observe and allow the portions of our inner landscape we’re tempted to name negative or dark, the more easily those energies will process in a therapeutic way.  So, today I invite us to practice Satya, being honest about ourselves.