A few weeks ago, I got the impulse to spend some time reflecting and getting clear on why I am doing what I’m doing.
Why do I teach mindfulness?
On some level I already knew the answer but for whatever reason I was having a hard time putting ‘my why’ into a clear and concise sentence that felt true and impactful.
I took out my notebook and started writing down words and ideas; letting the words just fall on the page without trying to figure out or analyze. I kept playing with it until these words set themselves apart from the rest:
‘To inspire people to go inward so they can experience peace, freedom and the beauty of who they are.’
Simple, clear and when I read these words now, I feel a ‘yes’ and inspiration flowing through my body.
Why am I so passionate about this?
Because I know what’s its like to struggle and search for peace on the outside.
I also know the freedom and fulfillment of connecting to the depth of peace within my soul.
For a lot of my life, I struggled. Always looking on the outside for peace, to feel enough, to feel fulfilled. My mind was racing, my body was stressed. I suffered from anxiety. I had depression off and on. It was painful. But I just wouldn’t stop. I didn’t know how to stop. And the more I searched for the solution on the outside the further away peace was.
Gratefully, one day I had the willingness to stop and go inward. It hasn't always been comfortable or easy, and I have continued to practice to the best of my ability ever since.
Today, I feel a freedom that I only dreamed of before, and it comes from within.
It doesn’t mean life is filled with rainbows and unicorns 24/7.
Life continues to happen.
For me, the freedom lies in having a greater capacity to be present with what arises on a moment-to-moment basis and not having to feel a certain way in order to feel content, at peace and connected to who I am.
We live in a busy, noisy world, going here, there, and everywhere. Sometimes we can be living on autopilot with very little presence. We wake up, the checklist starts running in our head and we don’t stop until we lie down in bed at night. There is no pause, little awareness, no time to connect or be.
All of this busyness comes at a cost – emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually.
Until we stop and take time to be, we will be caught up and controlled by this vicious cycle that is never-ending.
When the focus of who we are is defined by everything we do - the work we do, how we look, our relationships or lack of, the busyness etc. we are forgetting the most important piece – the connection to the boundless beauty of our soul.
There is a longing inside our soul to know more of itself. A deep yearning to rediscover and deepen our connection with our True Nature and life.
Whether we are conscious of it or not this yearning is there.
This longing has been deep for me. However, for most of my life, I listened to my ego and mistook this longing for something I had to acquire on the outside or change about myself to find and know peace.
The ego-mind is never content. It will always be trying to take us away form the moment. It’s not bad. It is simply the way the ego operates.
Knowing this we have a choice – to let the ego conduct our life and lead the way or to stop and live with more intention and greater awareness.
I have many clients who come to me and say, Diane I have a really good life, so I don’t understand why I don’t feel fulfilled, something is missing.
What’s missing is the connection to our true essence.
True peace can not be found on the outside. It is fleeting, impermanent, and conditional.
The peace that resides within is boundless and eternal. It can never be taken away. It is who we are. The only reason we may not know this peace is because our focus is constantly somewhere else. There is too much stress in our mind, in our nervous system, and we are rarely present.
So how about trying something different?
What would happen if we turned our GPS inward?
Stay tuned for more to come on this topic! As I continue to explore my “why” and reinforce the truth behind what I do.
‘To inspire people to go inward so they can experience peace, freedom and the beauty of who they are.’
With loving kindness,
Diane