by Guru Rattana, Ph.D.
The Ram reminds us that every moment is new and that human life is about experimentation and discovery. It is through our experiences that we develop and mature. We are here on planet Earth to advance our soul growth. We are not here to find a static, comfortable situation. We are here to go for the gold and to answer the call of our soul. We are engaged in an on-going process to release our resistance and to transmute all forms of fear into courage and compassion.
As our self-awareness expands, we begin to hear our own inner voice. We realize that we have our own needs, preferences and desires. We also realize that only we can speak for ourselves.
As we learn to trust our inner voice, we can start making more supportive and loving choices for ourselves. The critical point is to listen to our soul voice and not to the voice of our inner critic, which takes its cues from external authorities. It is a very useful exercise to monitor our inner critic and investigate the source of this destructive self-judgment.
Claiming back our free will and establishing an honest relationship with ourselves requires that we investigate how and why we learned to listen and respond to the desires and demands of others above our own needs and guidance. We must become aware of our co-dependent emotional habits in order to change them. The self/relationship dance is an on-going process of self-discovery and empowerment. We reclaim our free will by getting to know, value, listen to and take care of ourselves.
The bottom line is that we have to be totally honest with ourselves. If we lie to ourselves, we are an open target to be manipulated and exploited by others. Both abusive and loving relationships are a dynamic that involve both partners. Our job is to create a relationship with ourselves that makes supportive relationships with others possible. Aries gives us the fire energy to develop inner strength, self love and self-confidence so that we can maintain our own identity in our interactions with others. When we have our own anchor, we can hold steady. When we listen to our own voice, we can follow it. When we define our own path, we find peace and joy within.
SELF-ASSESSMENT
The ability to assess our choices and their consequences is an essential requirement for reclaiming our free will. The problem for most of us is that at some level our self-evaluation process has been usurped by a destructive, overly-critical self-judge. The goal is not to condemn or prosecute ourselves. The goal is to honestly access our desires and figure out how to get them met. Self-evaluation should help us develop self-esteem, not reduce it. We should be empowered by our ability to figure out and evaluate what works for us and what doesn’t.
The trick of course is that we have to be authentic. We have to listen to the messages of our soul, which are communicated through our intuition, emotions and instincts. We also have to be willing to be accountable, i.e. we can’t blame anyone else for our choices or our actions and their consequences.
To make appropriate choices and to evaluate their efficacy, we have to be able to reach far enough inside ourselves to connect with our soul center that knows our original intent for incarnating this lifetime. The more we stick with our original commitment and the less we get distracted, the more our self-evaluation will result in a deep sense of satisfaction.
ARIES TOUCHSTONES
“It is not the life that matters. It is the courage you bring to it.” Yogi Bhajan.
The cornerstone of self-love is to KNOW AND BELIEVE IN YOUR OWN BEING!
MEDITATION ON THE SELF: ACCESS YOUR NEUTRAL CHANNEL
While the Sun is in Aries be with yourself in the following ways.
1. Focus your attention on your breath in your body and your energy in your body.
2. Listen for our own voice.
3. Monitor your inner critic and investigate the source of any destructive self-judgment.
4. Pay attention to your self-assessment process and shift it to constructive evaluation that makes you accountable for your actions and supports you in achieving your goals.
Cultivating your neutral mind is essential for this self-examination. The practice of any Kundalini yoga kriya or meditation shifts your inner space. The important thing is to take the time between exercises and after each set and meditation to be with yourself in this expanded awareness. There are many, many Kundalini yoga exercises and meditations that make it possible to quickly access our neutral mind. [It is both useful and empowering to be able to shift from a stressed to a more relaxed state of being. Life works so much better in neutral!!]All the exercises with the hands out to the sides balance the brain and bring it into a neutral state. Here is one such exercise:
ACCESS YOUR NEUTRAL CHANNEL
Bring your arms out to your sides, elbows straight, palms facing up. Tuck your chin so your spine is straight and your heart open. Also slightly press the shoulder blades down and in so you feel like you are opening your heart from the back. Hold this position with breath of fire for 2-3 minutes. To end, inhale deeply, press the palms out to the sides (fingers up), hold, pull in the navel and then exhale. Sit quietly, hand on the knees, look and listen inside your head. Be present inside your space inside your body. Do this exercise when you need to get into a neutral space. Afterwards notice how your mental state changes. Use this clear space to focus on yourself in the above 4 ways.
Each day conduct your life with the knowing that your soul walks with you and communicates with you every step of the way.
Here are some ways to investigate how we deceive ourselves
They were offered by Ovasoul on the Kundalini Yoga Yahoo list. “What is your lie? That you are unlovable? That you need to be perfect to be loved? That someone perfect will come into your life and make everything inside of you feel alright? That if you love hard enough and sacrifice enough that you will be worthy of love? That being a martyr and sacrificing oneself is an act of ultimate love and goodness?) It is our own desires that make people appear charismatic to us. For example, these abusive people would not appear emotionally attractive to people with a healthier sense of self love, and conversely a healthy loving gentle person will not appear dynamic, exciting, attractive and ‘charismatic’ to someone with a damaged sense of self worth.”