For those who are feeling overwhelmed, anxious or tired.
In these tumultuous times, we are faced with an unprecedented barrage of information, which can send our mind spiralling and can thrust us into an unwelcome state of anxiety, fear and overwhelm.
When we constantly absorb information, we are living in a head-centric masculine state of consciousness, which prioritizes intellect over intuition and doing over being. Whenever we polarize too heavily towards the masculine left-brain, we shut off our feminine aspect of being.
Endlessly trying to predict, rationalize and demand answers for everything is a most futile endeavor, which invariably leaves us feeling even more confused and uncertain. Quite often, the answers which we are most desperate to seek out, will not come from mere intellect alone, especially when we force the process, instead of allowing it to unfold in its right time.
When we drop out of the confines of our mind and into the wisdom of the body, we can receive insights that could never be found through the mind alone. Our bodies (which encompass the entire holistic spectrum of our being) have intelligence that far supersedes the conditioned mental inputs which govern the majority of people’s thoughts, beliefs, and actions.
To gain wisdom that is free from the algorithmic programs, grafted upon us since birth, we must reconnect back to our intuitive sense of perceiving (and knowing). Because this embodied state of being/awareness is so greatly overlooked in our modern world, it is no wonder we find ourselves in a great state of chaos and disarray.
Because of the demands of our fast-paced modern life, especially the need to achieve financial security, we have become reliant upon (and in some ways obsessed with) logic and action. We are taught that the pursuit of ‘success’ is contingent upon a sharpened intellect and/or consistent grafting and discipline. This is instilled upon us through a rigid educational establishment, which disregards intuition, in favor of logic and favors discipline over surrender. This is no surprise as mainstream education is designed to breed robotic workers, who are essentially cogs in the wheel of a system, which requires endless ‘productivity’ to stay afloat.
The very notion of ‘success’ (as adopted by society at large) is questionable, as it encourages the pursuit of tangible external results, even when it this comes at the expense of our internal state of being, which invariably suffers when it is not allowed to slow down, rest and simply be (the feminine aspect of being).
We are often so busy trying to achieve, accumulate and acquire, that we forget how to just exist in the beauty of the present moment, exactly as it is; untarnished by ambition and expectation. It is during this time of rest that we can receive some of the greatest and purest of insights, which exist beyond the reaches of the logical mind. This does not however imply that we should negate action, in favor of a kind of new-age passivity, which adopts this state of detachment as its default.
To enter a true state of flow, we must learn to balance our masculine (action/discipline) and feminine (being/surrender). There is a stigma that ‘doing nothing’ is unproductive, but this only applies when there is no complimentary action to make manifest any insights/intuitions received in this state of receptivity and detachment.
Do not feel guilty for taking your foot off the peddle temporarily and giving yourself time to relax. We are often too hard on ourselves and place too heavy demands upon our fragile shoulders. If you are feeling weighed down, then it may be your time to slow down. Allow the currents of life to carry you, rather than constantly trying to make an imprint on the world. This requires trust, patience, and self-love.
Be gentle with yourself. Take the opportunity to honor the true feminine within you. This part of you wants you to soften and surrender completely to the present moment, without anticipation of the future or regret of the past. Relinquishing control in this way gives the relentless mind chatter a much-needed break and allows us to heal through reconnecting to disowned aspects of our being.
It is often the case that ‘less is more, no matter how counter-intuitive this may seem. Make a practice of balancing ‘doing’ with ‘being’ and watch how your life becomes imbued with greater joy, clarity, health, and meaning.
~ Alexander Rice