“Loosen your grip a little, and remember: whatever you hold onto is already dead, because it is past. Die to every moment and you will discover the gate to unending life”  – Deepak Chopra

I just concluded a 40-day process. I would meditate every morning with my primordial sound mantra, do my chakra sutra practice, head to the beach with a voice recorder and record my thoughts as I ran for 30 minutes on the beach side path. The reason for this 6 week process is I needed a commitment from myself to finally put down on paper this book that has been swirling around in me for a few years now. I needed to make a commitment to myself to do it everyday and get my husband on board so he could help with the children and with creating the space and time for the process. Just like Julia in Julia and Julia, making a commitment to put your attention to your project every single day really helps in finally birthing, or at least getting the contractions going on your project.

One of the themes of my recordings was detachment. I was seeing the importance of a daily ritual to create a habit for the mind, body and soul to expect, to anticipate a moment of reflection. The first few days, as I sat on the beach before my run, I would express my intentions long and large about my writing and my Dharma on earth. It would take a few minutes for me to feel connected to the archetypes, elements and symbols at play in my creation process. I wanted to feel the presence within of each one before moving on to the next. But after a week or so, I started to notice that all I needed was a subtle intention to “tune in” with the different vibrations and my connection would happen more and more spontaneously. In the second week, I felt the connection happening as I left to house and walked towards the beach. And in this last week, just the thought of going for my daily run would bring forth the connection. My being was responding to the ritual by anticipating what was coming and it would speed up the process and bring a deeper connection. That is why rituals are so important in ancient traditions. They create a space for the amplification of intentions.

On the other hand, I was aware that holding on to the ritual was bringing up the notion of letting go and detachment. If I repeat something every day, doesn’t that stop the new from coming in? If I know what to expect every morning, doesn’t my world become predictable therefore less magical?

I began to realize that even rituals are processes and within them, there should be space for change and growth. Just like I invited the energies to come in and did not resist the changes in how they manifested themselves. Just like my intentions change everyday. Just like everyday has a different vibration and holds a different destiny. My commitment is to my Dharma, which is to live the expansion of consciousness through inspiration. My commitment is to allow for space and time each day and every single day to my Dharma. And where I find myself right now in my evolution, I require inner stillness and centered calmness every day, preferably in the morning, which I get with meditation. I require physical exercise as it ignites the fire of creation within me (especially in a Kapha like me). And I require an inspiring and expansive setting, which the Kauai scenery definitely brings. But I am not attached to the content of these components, or to the components themselves for that matter. I know that when they don’t flow anymore and feel like a struggle, they need to be changed or replaced. Just like the energies that came in faster and deeper everyday, as I kept clear around my intentions, steps of the process will become more spontaneous and therefore leave space for new steps to expand through me.

What an exciting journey!