Attuning to Your Frequency
"Your life is your practice. Your spiritual practice does not occur someplace other than in your life right now, and your life is nowhere other than where you are. You are looking for answers, insight, and wisdom that you already possess. Live the life in front of you, be the life you are, and see what you find out for yourself." ~Karen Maezen Miller
Instead of buying into the constant hustle and grind mentality, I gave myself permission to take the month of July to rest and connect with friends and family. Time to savor life, to ground myself, and to find renewed purpose. July gifted me with beautiful insights and aha moments that only happen when I allow time for deep reflection and meaningful conversations.
The airwaves of life are noisy; deadlines, responsibilities, commitments, culture wars, and global and environmental concerns that wear on us and tax our emotional bandwidth.
Downtime and rest help us attune our lives to the right frequency. It affords us the opportunity to turn our dial to the station of connection - with ourselves and others - and adjust the volume by setting personal boundaries.
July also provided an opportunity to grieve, both fresh losses and old wounds. My default mode of processing is to stay as busy as possible - to distract myself from uncomfortable emotions. You can only do that for so long before you set the stage for physical, mental, and spiritual sickness to take hold.
The simple (but not easy) act of allowing sadness, anger, and fear a safe space to be expressed offers an opportunity to witness and let those emotions move through you. Freedom and peace happen in those expansive moments when we acknowledge the pain.
Enlightenment lives in the duality of recognizing that love and loss are part of the same equation; both humble us.
Finally, July has offered me a moment to immerse myself in nature. Summers in Michigan are pure magic. There’s nothing more appealing than soaking up the warm earth with bare feet, feasting on fresh fruits and vegetables from a farmer’s roadside stand, the joy of watching a crimson sunset or simply listening to the call of the tree frogs from my back patio.
Sensory delights are the crown jewels of our physical bodies. They help us encode our favorite memories and remind us that we’re spiritual beings having a human experience.
What brought you solace, joy, gratitude, or understanding this month?