Spiritual Safety Class 101

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Have you ever uttered the phrases, “My day was a blur!” or “Where did the time go?”  You may feel like every day is in fast forward.  Wouldn’t you like to relish in each passing moment?  A transition is a unique opportunity to capture the inner wisdom and rhythm of your day.  It is a way to acknowledge what has changed and be ready to embrace it.  A single day is filled with many passages that alter your internal body/mind rhythm.   When you feel the blur of your day, it is a sign that your physical and/or mental speed is what needs to be put in first gear.  Honestly ask yourself, “Is this way of living serving my health and happiness?”  Life may be short, but there are ways you can make it feel longer and more connective.

To honor the ebb and flow of each day, I offer this simple phrase: Stop, Drop and Roll.  No, this isn’t fire safety class. It’s spiritual safety class. What is at stake is a body filled with tension as a result of your thoughts and actions.  So few are equipped to fill their calendars while still being able to move with through the day with ease.  Stop, Drop and Roll is an easy to remember phrase that will help you become more sensitive.  It will empower you to make choices for long-term health and happiness.

Your transitions or chapters of the day are unique to your lifestyle, but your environment best dictates them.  If you are on the go, this usually means every time you open a door to the office, gym, or grocery store — you are transitioning.  But if you are someone who spends the majority of your day in one space, then you have a different set of transitions.  In the office, they are dictated by your appointments or agenda. In the home, they are dictated by your routines.  Many transitions are expected but some aren’t.  The key is to invest in the awareness of the ones that are predictable, so that unexpected ones don’t’ throw you off.  After all, this is really what you are working towards, letting go and allowing, since most of life becomes what you never thought it would be anyway.

So here are the spiritual safety guidelines:

• STOP:  Observe the new chapter with all of your senses.  Notice what has changed.  Become sensitive to the lighting, smell, number of people, and noise level.  This is an instinctual process.  Less mental energy is used here as the right brain takes over.  This is an exercise in paying attention and will be the hardest step to implement.   (As an example, go to your public library and then go the mall and you can practice feeling the difference.)
• DROP:  No, please don’t literally fall to the floor…people might stare.  Rather this means “drop your expectations” and thoughts and just be in the new chapter.  Be aware of a few breaths moving in and out of your body.  This will ground you down and bring you into the present moment.
• ROLL:  Or rather “flow” with the moment that is in front of you.  Roll with the truth of the moment.  This step happens as a result of the first two.

Learning to stop, drop and roll will be a gradual awakening.  At first you will forget, but eventually you will start to feel the origins of these shifts in your day and value these transitions with a fresh perspective.  It will stop a bad day from becoming worse.  It will allow your mind to relax and your body to readjust to the ever-shifting movements of a day.  The more you recognize your transitions, the more full a day will feel.  Your blurry day will become more focused, which will give you the chance to live your life to the fullest.

So, what are you waiting for?