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Claim Your Destiny

I recently came across a quote from an ancient seeker: “ If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.” We are familiar with the last half of this quote--of being destroyed by those things that we hold onto, those things that ultimately cause us suffering. Yet lately, I've been struck with the importance of the first half of this quote—“what you bring forth will save you.”

There are two sides to change and growth: There is the letting go and dying away of things that no longer serve us; and there is the birth, and ultimately harvest, of the new ideas we embrace and incorporate. When we are consistent and clear in our intentions--for example, to keep bringing our awareness back to the breath despite how often we forget--this process of rebirth becomes much more continuous as we are quicker to recognize when to let go, and when to embrace change and move forward. We more easily accept the vacuum that is created when we must say goodbye in order to allow the next phase to come in. We begin to understand the growth caused by difficulty and learn to work through the trial with less pain. Yet as we begin to learn how to let go, we then must learn how to claim the next stage with its new knowledge and challenges. As Thich Nhat Hahn says in his book Going Home , “As you climb a ladder, you must let go of the bottom rung in order to take hold of the next rung.” Growth can only occur when we let go and when we claim the next step.

Sometimes we never get past the letting go, the death. There have been so many difficulties, so many obstacles on the path, that it seems like the door has closed and that it cannot be pursued any further. There is also safety in this darkness: “We did what we could, but it didn't work out so we just have to deal with it.” “We learned a lot along the way, and we know we are to accept how things are, so no sense fighting anymore. It just is.” But living with acceptance does not mean resignation. It means that we operate out of our truth in the moment, acknowledging that things may not go as we wish, but that we are full and rich and well no matter the circumstance or event.

There is the idea that people don't try because they are afraid of failure, yet what they are really afraid of is success. It's one thing to fail in a small setting without too much attention on us. But if we start stepping out, if our light begins to shine with its full force, there will be quite a few who will notice our shortcomings. So we live in hiding. We've tested our boundaries, we've tried to succeed, but it didn't work out so we accept our place. We may even still push against those walls, but we ultimately succumb to their confinement. Yet what if we didn't? What if we listened to that voice inside asking us to move and seek? What if we believed that we were worthy of our heart's desire--to be a sage, to be a teacher, to be an artist, author or diplomat--and pursued that with the quiet knowing that we've found in our practice? What if we claimed the power of the peaceful warrior and started to stand our ground and live what we know to be true inside: That we are healers, that we are love, that we are manifestations of the divine!

This point was beautifully brought home to me in an acting class I recently began. At our first session, all the participants gave a life synopsis of where they came from and how they ended up in the class. One fellow was deeply passionate about the arts yet decided to study pre-med in college to fulfill his family's wishes. He soon dropped out of the pre-med program and went through several different majors and schools before finally settling into religious studies. During his university years, he suffered deep depression and even became suicidal, yet in looking back on that experience, he said that through that difficulty, he came to realize that the things he loved and wanted to do actually had a purpose in the world. He had originally condemned them thinking them unworthy because he didn't have to “work” at them. But when he finally embraced his talents and interests, he realized that those gifts had a place in the world and were needed. His light began to shine.

I too have begun to embrace a whole other level of living. I've had big dreams ever since I was little, namely to be a successful singer, and I have diligently pursued that path despite its ups and downs. Yet my passions and desires run much deeper than just wanting to perform, and I have lately been awakened to the vital springs that are ready to rush forth and flow into the world. I've looked at these things--being a writer, a teacher, a healer, a communicator--and have realized that there was part of me that did not believe that I was truly ready or capable to be such an instrument in the world. Who was I to think that I might have such an impact in society? What makes me so special to think that I might be a channel for the divine? Yet it is my passion. It calls me. So I must follow. And the more that I let go and work through my fears and doubts, ego trips and false humilities, the more I truly open myself up as a channel for bringing divine light into the world.

So have you claimed your destiny? What are you hiding from? What do you feel you are not worthy of? What are you afraid might happen? What are you not claiming? It is scary to step out and reach for something, to pursue a path without becoming attached to its destination. But it is waiting for you. It is calling. Follow it. Open to it. Breathe it in and feel it. There is so much heartache, suffering and darkness in our world. It is up to us to shine and bring light to our communities. It begins on our yoga mat. It awakens in our meditation. It happens when we are truly being. It is calling, waiting for you. Claim your destiny.

Thrust This Cover

Oh thrust this wretched cover from my head!
I'm tired of its reeking stench
And ripping fibers,
Its woven mess of hate and fears,
Jealousy and lies.
It lives and breathes with its own life
That steals mine.

I claw at its dread threads
Struggling to make a break,
A space to breathe, to see,
To shine.

Too long have I been weighed down
By this stifling cover!
Too long have I fought against
Its squelching protection!

I have succumbed to its
Comforting dark
In my previous resistances;
But now I know:
The blanket must be thrown back,
Upturned. Burned.

This light must shine forth!
This passion must blaze brighter
Than the thousand suns
Burning this night sky!
I must rise from this embroiled snare
And be seen!
This power must blaze through
And burn away the dark coverings
Of so many other blessed souls!

No longer will tears comfort the frustration
Of being overcome by this thickly, matted web!
No longer will the faint pockets of light close over
By the incestuous, re-growing threads.
This cover will burn.
This power will blaze.
This light will be seen!

May all in darkness tremble:
Your freedom is soon coming.

You can write to Heather at heather@yogaisyouth.com

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