“When we least expect it, life sets us a challenge to test our courage and willingness to change; at such a moment, there is no point in pretending that nothing has happened or in saying that we are not yet ready. The challenge will not wait. Life does not look back.” Paulo Coelho

Last month I had to take a hard look at the things in my life that were holding me back from where it is that I want to go, who it is I want to become. I was inspired by Liz Gilbert’s post and I wrote “I love you, but I’m letting go”  and explained, as she did, how these were not necessarily situations or activities that I didn’t want to engage in. Quite the opposite, these are things that I love and when my ego gets a hold of them wants more and more and more. Just as Coelho explains, “life had set me a challenge to test my courage”. I saw clearly that I was being asked to listen to my heart, which is often a sweet, soft whisper, rather than ego, that is loud and boisterous and demanding. I knew that I had to say YES to the challenge. So, I amped up the time that I meditate each morning and I took out a few things that were preoccupying a ton of my time and energy. In the process I became aware of a belief I have that is no longer serving me, one I’ve had for much too long, and I am working really hard to practice thoughts and actions to reverse it. I needed to get clear and I tell you what, the fog is lifting and what I’m finding is both surprising and encouraging.

Mystic mamma says the “definition of TRANSITION is: the process or a period of changing from one state or condition to another. It is a move, a passage, a transformation, a leap and an evolution.”

She goes on to explain that “transition” is the astrological theme for the month of December. Which is perfect being that we just came off a November who’s theme was pressure (of course it’s perfect, it’s the Universe we are talking about here).

We’ve gotten to a point where we’ve grown into all of our thoughts/beliefs/habits/relationships/goals, so much so, that they’ve actually become overly comfortable and even a little too tight. There was a day in November when I sat on the floor in my yoga room, totally surrounded by the most amazing things in my life, and yet, I had this nagging feeling that something was missing. Now, I could have shrugged it off because my life IS wonderful, full, abundant and beautiful or because at times I’m really busy and just too tired…...but I knew it was my soul whispering, my heart calling and I knew something amazing was asking me to pay attention to it. I didn’t know what, I still am not entirely sure, but what I do know is that all I can do is; SIT….. and wait….. and watch…..and become still enough to hear.  

In the book The Alchemist, which speaks so beautifully to the whispers of the heart, Coelho says;

“What is wrong with the world, is that people stopped listening to their hearts...

Not everybody stopped listening but enough people did to make a difference. We've got so much in this life that all we know how to do is want more. So we concentrate on the wrong things--things we can see--as being the measure of a person. We think if we can win something big or buy something snazzy it'll make us more than we are. Our hearts know that's not true, but the eyes are powerful. It's easier to fix on what we can see than listen to the still, small voice of a whispering heart.

A heart will say amazing things if it's given half a chance.” 

It’s not always easy to listen to the heart, what it’s often being asked of us is to move beyond what is comfortable and familiar. This process of transformation is very similar to what happens each and every time we show up to a yoga class. First we commit, we have to roll out our mat and put our feet upon just like we have to show up to our life each and every day if we want any change to occur. Then, we see the potential of where it is we are going, we set an intention and visualize the outcome with optimism. Once we see where we are going, despite knowing how we will get there, we fuel the fire in our belly to keep us motivated and to believe we are worthy of our dreams. This fire, this self confidence, illuminates the beauty in our heart, all of our courage, strength, bravery and compassion for our self when the process becomes challenging or difficult. On the mat, similar to everyday life, distractions build, we get bored, tired, frustrated, feel stuck or tight and it is here we need to have faith that we are being guided, held, supported along the way. Faith brings us back to the moment, we remember our breath and the mind quiets. In that still place we begin to hear. We slowly recognize this sound as our own, the sweet, soft whisper our intuition. Slowly, this sound becomes the only one we hear and everything else falls away. Finally, we surrender to the truth. In those final few moments of practice, when we lie back in savasana, we become aware of the most subtle aspect of ourselves. We see that what it is we were looking for was within us all along.