WEBVTT - Emotional Spring Cleaning: Clear the Clutter, Hit Reset 0:00:00.080 --> 0:00:02.800 Spring is also about planting new seeds. So yes, it's 0:00:02.800 --> 0:00:05.000 about letting go, but then what are we filling that 0:00:05.040 --> 0:00:07.640 space with the new space that has opened up for us? 0:00:08.000 --> 0:00:11.480 So spring is about planting new seeds, literally and emotionally. 0:00:11.880 --> 0:00:14.800 In nature, the soil is soft again, the cold is passed, 0:00:14.880 --> 0:00:18.000 the light is returning. And actually it's so true within 0:00:18.160 --> 0:00:21.360 us as well. When you clear emotional clutter, when you 0:00:21.400 --> 0:00:25.160 release all these stagnant feelings and patterns, you create fertile 0:00:25.200 --> 0:00:28.200 ground in your inner world. You make space, you soften, 0:00:28.800 --> 0:00:31.600 and you become ready to plant something new. I'm rather 0:00:31.800 --> 0:00:34.599 Wukiah and on my podcast A Really Good Cry, we 0:00:34.640 --> 0:00:38.680 embrace the messy and the beautiful, providing a space for raw, 0:00:38.760 --> 0:00:42.880 unfiltered conversations that celebrate vulnerability and allow you to tune 0:00:42.920 --> 0:00:46.760 in to learn, connect and find comfort together. So today's 0:00:46.800 --> 0:00:50.440 been one of those days where honestly I feel like 0:00:51.240 --> 0:00:54.000 punging something, but all I think I really need is 0:00:54.040 --> 0:00:58.720 to go outside for a really long walk. This week's 0:00:58.760 --> 0:01:01.760 episode it's all about spring cleaning, and you know what, 0:01:01.880 --> 0:01:05.399 I have had the itch to clean, whether it's physically, 0:01:05.680 --> 0:01:09.240 mentally emotionally, I just feel like this is the season 0:01:09.680 --> 0:01:12.160 to be light and bright. So people, it is time 0:01:12.200 --> 0:01:14.360 to let go. You have been holding on to all 0:01:14.360 --> 0:01:16.640 the things that do not serve you, that are not 0:01:16.720 --> 0:01:19.559 letting you thrive, and have kept you way down all 0:01:19.600 --> 0:01:23.160 through winter and honestly maybe even longer than that, and 0:01:23.200 --> 0:01:26.760 we need to let that go. Okay, because spring is 0:01:26.760 --> 0:01:29.559 the season of new beginnings. It's the season of fresh 0:01:29.600 --> 0:01:32.399 air or vibrancy, of lightness, And how are you gonna 0:01:32.400 --> 0:01:34.639 have space for any of that if you're still holding 0:01:34.680 --> 0:01:37.520 on to all of that? The Japanese actually call it 0:01:37.640 --> 0:01:41.280 ma it's the space between things. Spring invites us to 0:01:41.319 --> 0:01:45.760 create emotional muh space between people, between thoughts and our 0:01:45.840 --> 0:01:47.200 roles and responsibilities. 0:01:47.480 --> 0:01:49.040 Space is so sacred, it's. 0:01:49.000 --> 0:01:51.440 Kind of a little bit like time, and you cannot 0:01:51.480 --> 0:01:53.520 receive when you are full. You know what, This is 0:01:53.520 --> 0:01:56.120 a pretty heavy topic, and also because of how I 0:01:56.120 --> 0:01:59.120 felt this day, I feel like I need a bit 0:01:59.160 --> 0:02:01.680 of a breath, and I feel like you might too. 0:02:01.800 --> 0:02:04.360 I'm getting that feeling. So before we dive in, why 0:02:04.360 --> 0:02:06.639 don't we take a moment to come into the present 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:10.200 moment wherever you are, whether you're in your car, whether 0:02:10.240 --> 0:02:13.880 you're at home, whether you're laying down Remember that breath 0:02:13.919 --> 0:02:17.000 is your anchor that brings your mind back into alignment 0:02:17.040 --> 0:02:20.560 with your body. So place your hand if you can, 0:02:20.600 --> 0:02:24.720 hand over your heart and one over your belly, and 0:02:24.880 --> 0:02:35.600 take a deep inhale and a slow exhale, feeling your 0:02:35.600 --> 0:02:40.200 body softened with each exhale. Let's take a couple more together, 0:02:40.400 --> 0:02:41.080 take a deep. 0:02:40.880 --> 0:02:47.040 Breath in and exhale. 0:02:49.680 --> 0:02:52.640 If you weren't doing this before, With your next breath, 0:02:52.680 --> 0:02:57.400 breathe out with your mouth instead of your nose. Feel 0:02:57.400 --> 0:02:59.920 your belly fill up with all that new fresh air, 0:03:00.480 --> 0:03:04.239 and as you breathe out, remove all that stagnant, stale 0:03:04.400 --> 0:03:08.639 energy and air that sits within you. One thing I've 0:03:08.639 --> 0:03:12.240 been trying lately is humming. It sounds really random, but 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:15.400 it's actually beautiful. So with your next couple of breath, 0:03:15.520 --> 0:03:17.840 take a deep breath in and have a humming sound 0:03:17.960 --> 0:03:21.320 on the way out, and feel the vibration flow through 0:03:21.360 --> 0:03:26.120 your entire body, feeling all the clean air coming through 0:03:26.240 --> 0:03:57.240 into your body. If you have an eye shut, keep 0:03:57.280 --> 0:03:59.600 them shut for a little bit, feel all the vibrations 0:04:00.160 --> 0:04:06.240 running through your body, and when you're ready, open your eyes. Honestly, 0:04:06.280 --> 0:04:09.640 I needed that so much like I cannot explain to 0:04:09.640 --> 0:04:11.880 you how much I needed that and how much those 0:04:11.920 --> 0:04:17.000 few breaths changed everything for me. Now, let the noise 0:04:17.000 --> 0:04:20.159 settle in your mind and let your body know that 0:04:20.279 --> 0:04:23.239 it is safe and it is time to be open 0:04:23.800 --> 0:04:27.359 to letting go. I don't know about you, but this 0:04:27.480 --> 0:04:29.479 season of my life, I just really wanted to be 0:04:29.520 --> 0:04:33.839 clean and fresh, with clear energy internally and externally, whether 0:04:33.920 --> 0:04:36.160 it is with myself or whether it's with other people. 0:04:36.360 --> 0:04:37.920 And I think that's really important, you know. 0:04:38.160 --> 0:04:41.279 I think about that, whether it's with friendships, relationships with 0:04:41.360 --> 0:04:42.480 people that you don't really know. 0:04:42.920 --> 0:04:44.479 You don't have to be best friends. 0:04:44.600 --> 0:04:48.200 The bare minimum is having clean energy between people and 0:04:48.240 --> 0:04:50.960 clean energy in the things that you do. And so 0:04:51.720 --> 0:04:54.640 in order for that to happen, you need to practice 0:04:54.640 --> 0:04:58.080 creating clean energy. Practice taking things in and out of 0:04:58.120 --> 0:05:02.080 your body regularly in your physical body. When things build 0:05:02.120 --> 0:05:04.160 up in your body, whether it's in your arteries, whether 0:05:04.200 --> 0:05:08.599 it's in your bowl, whether it's in your heart, when 0:05:08.640 --> 0:05:11.560 those things happen, it creates stagnancy, It creates toxins, and 0:05:11.600 --> 0:05:12.440 it creates disease. 0:05:12.600 --> 0:05:14.919 And our mind is no different and our heart is 0:05:14.960 --> 0:05:15.719 no different either. 0:05:16.560 --> 0:05:20.480 You know. Actually, in pretty much every single tradition, the 0:05:20.520 --> 0:05:23.159 season of spring marks a return to life. 0:05:23.160 --> 0:05:25.800 How beautiful is that? The return to life? 0:05:25.920 --> 0:05:29.039 And it always like noticing these little moments that nature 0:05:29.200 --> 0:05:31.880 or God or the earth send me for a reset, 0:05:32.320 --> 0:05:34.520 for a refresh, or a little spruce or a little 0:05:34.560 --> 0:05:37.239 moment of reflection on how I can better live my life. 0:05:37.640 --> 0:05:39.479 And I think if we're looking for them, they always 0:05:39.520 --> 0:05:41.919 show up. Whether it's the season that we're in, whether 0:05:41.960 --> 0:05:45.520 it's the night turning intoday, whether it's the moon cycle. 0:05:45.680 --> 0:05:49.159 There's just so many different moments in time where we 0:05:49.160 --> 0:05:52.159 can decide it is time for a reset or a refresh. 0:05:52.760 --> 0:05:55.599 One perspective that has encouraged me to do this is 0:05:55.760 --> 0:05:59.120 actually constantly seeing my body as a gift. And when 0:05:59.120 --> 0:06:01.560 you start shifting mindset to that, when you see something 0:06:01.600 --> 0:06:03.760 as a gift, you look after it so much more. 0:06:04.120 --> 0:06:06.800 You're more careful with it, you have a deeper appreciation 0:06:07.000 --> 0:06:09.479 for it. And so these little cleanups that we do, 0:06:09.520 --> 0:06:12.599 whether it's mentally, physically, or emotionally, are all part of 0:06:12.640 --> 0:06:15.960 that gratitude gesture back to God, the universe, back to 0:06:16.000 --> 0:06:19.360 your body for doing what it does. In traditional Chinese medicine, 0:06:19.480 --> 0:06:21.919 spring is the season of the liver. That is the 0:06:22.000 --> 0:06:25.520 organ that's actually responsible for emotional detox and energetic flow. 0:06:26.000 --> 0:06:29.200 So when the liver is balanced, there is vision and vitality, 0:06:29.600 --> 0:06:33.279 and when it's blocked, we feel frustrated, irritated, and even hopeless, 0:06:33.600 --> 0:06:37.159 which is also why doing a physical detox during spring 0:06:37.240 --> 0:06:39.560 is really important. I actually spoke about this in a 0:06:39.560 --> 0:06:42.880 newssetter I did recently, and I talk about how spring, 0:06:42.920 --> 0:06:46.120 according to Avada, is known as the season we get 0:06:46.120 --> 0:06:49.000 the most amount of Like, well, the transition between spring 0:06:49.040 --> 0:06:51.640 and winter is the time period where we get the 0:06:51.680 --> 0:06:53.839 most amount of mucus. I'm a bit stuffy at the moment. 0:06:54.400 --> 0:06:56.479 It's a really hard transition for our body to do. 0:06:56.600 --> 0:06:59.000 It's when there's a lot of kafer in our body. Now, 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:02.960 Kafa is essentially a mixture of earth and water. Those 0:07:03.000 --> 0:07:06.200 elements rise in our body during that time, and so 0:07:06.360 --> 0:07:10.960 spring is the end almost of kafer. Season is cool, 0:07:11.040 --> 0:07:13.920 it's moist, it's heavy, and that actually is mirrored in 0:07:13.960 --> 0:07:17.440 the qualities of the emotions that we accumulate, whether it's 0:07:17.520 --> 0:07:21.400 grief or attachment or stagnation, so it will be the antidote. 0:07:21.400 --> 0:07:24.160 In I Rada, it says that the antidote is always 0:07:24.240 --> 0:07:27.480 the opposite. And so if you're feeling stagnant, if you're 0:07:27.480 --> 0:07:33.200 feeling heavy, if you're feeling down, the antidote is movement 0:07:33.400 --> 0:07:36.400 and clarity and release. And so it's really beautiful to 0:07:36.440 --> 0:07:41.040 see how all of these little different cultures, different thought patterns, 0:07:41.080 --> 0:07:43.560 they all kind of come and say exactly the same 0:07:43.600 --> 0:07:45.520 thing in a different way, which. 0:07:45.280 --> 0:07:47.080 Makes me think, you know what, there's something to this. 0:07:47.240 --> 0:07:48.000 It must be real. 0:07:48.320 --> 0:07:50.160 And you know, nature shows us what we're supposed to 0:07:50.200 --> 0:07:52.720 be doing. I always say this that whenever you feel 0:07:52.720 --> 0:07:54.640 lost in life, whenever you don't know what to be doing, 0:07:54.640 --> 0:07:57.000 whenever you're confused, look out in nature or tell you 0:07:57.040 --> 0:08:00.440 what you should be doing, like somewhere somehow it is 0:08:00.520 --> 0:08:04.160 reflecting what we should be doing for ourselfs. And an 0:08:04.160 --> 0:08:06.800 emotional sprinkleen doesn't need to be dramatic, like it doesn't 0:08:06.840 --> 0:08:09.440 have to be extreme, nothing does. It's really about these 0:08:09.480 --> 0:08:13.480 tiny rituals of clarity and asking the questions that are necessary, 0:08:13.520 --> 0:08:16.400 taking time to reflect. We suffer more in our imagination 0:08:16.680 --> 0:08:19.400 than we do in our reality. We carry all these 0:08:19.400 --> 0:08:22.480 conversations that never happen, maybe some that did happen that 0:08:22.480 --> 0:08:25.280 don't need to live in us anymore tension that does 0:08:25.320 --> 0:08:28.560 not belong to us, taking on other people's pain, other 0:08:28.640 --> 0:08:31.600 people's drama, and all these ideas of who we should 0:08:31.680 --> 0:08:33.880 be that actually block who we are trying to become, 0:08:34.240 --> 0:08:36.280 and sometimes we just get used to living in this way. 0:08:36.559 --> 0:08:39.720 We accept the feeling, either because deep down we believe 0:08:39.760 --> 0:08:42.760 that's what we deserve, maybe it's a hint of self sabotage, 0:08:43.200 --> 0:08:45.480 or because that's all we've known for too long and 0:08:45.520 --> 0:08:47.960 it's just become comfortable. It doesn't always have to be 0:08:48.000 --> 0:08:50.320 big things or huge issues, but we go through so 0:08:50.400 --> 0:08:54.400 much on a daily basis, physically, mentally, emotionally, and you know, 0:08:54.480 --> 0:08:57.240 every single thing that we absorb through our senses, whether it's. 0:08:57.160 --> 0:08:59.520 What we see, what we hear, what we taste, what. 0:08:59.480 --> 0:09:02.680 We touch, what we smell, and even what we emotionally feel, 0:09:02.760 --> 0:09:05.040 it leaves an imprint on us. I heard this term 0:09:05.040 --> 0:09:07.400 a while ago in Sanskria and it's always stayed with me. 0:09:07.559 --> 0:09:10.200 It's called some scars, and they are these impressions that 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:13.120 are left through everything we experience. Think of them like 0:09:13.160 --> 0:09:15.560 little footprints that are left behind in the sand of 0:09:15.600 --> 0:09:19.560 your consciousness. Some are light and easily washed away, others 0:09:19.600 --> 0:09:22.320 are deep, and embedded and stay with us for years, 0:09:22.360 --> 0:09:26.160 sometimes lifetimes, as some scara could be a hurtful comment 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:29.079 that you've internalized, a moment of joy that has shaped 0:09:29.120 --> 0:09:32.480 your self worth, or even a recurring passion of fear 0:09:32.559 --> 0:09:36.640 or comparison. The more we feel or think something, the 0:09:36.720 --> 0:09:39.959 deeper that groove becomes. And unless we pause and become 0:09:40.000 --> 0:09:44.559 aware and lovingly tend to them, these impressions quietly influence 0:09:44.960 --> 0:09:47.000 every part of our life, how we see the world, 0:09:47.040 --> 0:09:50.200 how we interact with people, how we relate to other people, 0:09:50.559 --> 0:09:53.439 and even how we respond to ourself. So we're not 0:09:53.559 --> 0:09:55.960 just trying to tidy up the surface level feelings here, 0:09:56.120 --> 0:09:59.640 We're really looking inward and asking these questions. Now, you 0:09:59.720 --> 0:10:01.400 might want to get your journal out or your pen 0:10:01.480 --> 0:10:03.640 and paper out for this. I'm going to share some 0:10:03.679 --> 0:10:06.400 prompts with you that I use when I'm journaling or 0:10:06.400 --> 0:10:10.520 trying to release during this time period. So the first 0:10:10.559 --> 0:10:13.160 one is what impressions am I carrying that are not mine? 0:10:13.440 --> 0:10:16.280 Which ones are outdated? Which ones am I ready to 0:10:16.320 --> 0:10:21.079 soften to rewrite to release. The next one is what thoughts, stories, 0:10:21.160 --> 0:10:24.080 or emotional baggage am I still carrying that I can 0:10:24.160 --> 0:10:27.920 lovingly lay down that I've had in me for far 0:10:28.000 --> 0:10:31.040 too long, and with love I let go of because 0:10:31.080 --> 0:10:33.880 I do not need them anymore. Whose energy am I 0:10:33.920 --> 0:10:36.800 holding that isn't mine to carry anymore? What has been 0:10:36.840 --> 0:10:40.640 taking up unnecessary emotional space in my mind or heart? 0:10:41.320 --> 0:10:44.760 Maybe that is people pleasing, Maybe it's anxiety about things 0:10:44.840 --> 0:10:47.640 outside of your control, or maybe it's old wounds you 0:10:47.760 --> 0:10:50.520 just haven't realized are still bleeding under the surface. 0:10:51.160 --> 0:10:53.560 So I hope you guys wrote those questions down or 0:10:53.559 --> 0:10:55.080 are reflecting on them right now. 0:10:55.160 --> 0:10:57.680 I can repeat them if you want, or I'm assuming 0:10:57.720 --> 0:11:00.640 you can probably rewind and hear them back. But I 0:11:00.640 --> 0:11:02.880 think those are really important ones. Whose energy and my 0:11:02.960 --> 0:11:06.560 holding that isn't mine to carry anymore? What thoughts, stories, 0:11:06.640 --> 0:11:09.400 or emotional baggage am I still carrying that I can 0:11:09.480 --> 0:11:13.720 lovingly let go of? And I say lovingly because nothing 0:11:13.960 --> 0:11:19.280 ever leaves us through fear, anxiety, or anger where we're 0:11:19.320 --> 0:11:22.440 actually in fear. And this actually applies physically too. You 0:11:22.480 --> 0:11:24.400 know sometimes they say that when you're trying to lose weight, 0:11:24.679 --> 0:11:27.880 if you end up dieting too hard, your body goes 0:11:27.960 --> 0:11:30.240 into this panic mode and it actually instead of letting 0:11:30.280 --> 0:11:31.480 go of things, if you go into too much of 0:11:31.520 --> 0:11:35.200 a calorie deficit, it actually starts to hold onto fat 0:11:35.200 --> 0:11:38.079 on your body rather than letting go. And so it's 0:11:38.120 --> 0:11:39.880 kind of the same in our body and as it 0:11:39.920 --> 0:11:41.560 is in our mind. You know, there's such a deep 0:11:41.640 --> 0:11:44.840 relationship between the two. So when you start trying to 0:11:44.920 --> 0:11:48.760 let go of things aggressively, your body actually holds onto 0:11:48.760 --> 0:11:52.240 them tighter. And so with every single thing that we do, 0:11:53.000 --> 0:11:54.880 just as we see our body as a gift, you 0:11:54.960 --> 0:11:57.920 have to think, how can I lovingly put this away? 0:11:58.080 --> 0:12:00.880 How can I lovingly let go of this? Because our 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:03.280 bodies used to holding on our mind could be compared 0:12:03.280 --> 0:12:05.640 to horders. That's what I think that we are sometimes, 0:12:06.040 --> 0:12:08.120 whether it's holding onto things because you think it means 0:12:08.120 --> 0:12:09.400 you when you let go of it, you're letting go 0:12:09.440 --> 0:12:11.760 of the pain, which means that you're letting go of 0:12:11.800 --> 0:12:16.000 that person's responsibility or that accountability for it. Or when 0:12:16.040 --> 0:12:19.439 you let go of something it actually means that you're 0:12:19.440 --> 0:12:21.920 no longer connected to that person or that thing anymore. 0:12:22.160 --> 0:12:24.160 You're letting go of a version of yourself that you 0:12:24.240 --> 0:12:26.480 were before. You know, there's so many reasons why we 0:12:26.520 --> 0:12:29.880 hold onto things, and so really breaking this down, what 0:12:29.920 --> 0:12:32.160 impressions am I carrying that are not mine, which ones 0:12:32.160 --> 0:12:35.040 are outdated, which ones am I ready to rewrite or release? 0:12:35.320 --> 0:12:37.280 And I think free writing is really beautiful for this, 0:12:37.400 --> 0:12:39.959 where you just put pen to paper and you start 0:12:40.000 --> 0:12:42.680 thinking and you start writing. It's been such a beautiful 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:44.720 thing that I've practiced, and it helped me when I 0:12:44.720 --> 0:12:47.680 was trying to get into journaling because I used to think, oh, 0:12:47.720 --> 0:12:49.640 am I going to do dear diary, sitting here writing 0:12:49.679 --> 0:12:53.880 about my life. But actually, free writing is anything and everything. 0:12:53.920 --> 0:12:56.240 You can have a prompt like this, and anything and 0:12:56.280 --> 0:12:57.840 everything that comes into your mind you just put pen 0:12:57.920 --> 0:12:59.640 to paper. It does not even have to make sense. 0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:01.839 You can just keep flowing with the thoughts that come 0:13:01.840 --> 0:13:04.120 into your mind and eventually it should take you to 0:13:04.160 --> 0:13:06.000 where you need to be or what you need to release. 0:13:06.760 --> 0:13:09.520 Spring is also about planting new seeds. So yes, it's 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:11.720 about letting go, But then what are we filling that 0:13:11.760 --> 0:13:14.360 space with the new space that has opened up for us? 0:13:14.720 --> 0:13:18.160 So spring is about planting new seeds literally and emotionally. 0:13:18.559 --> 0:13:21.480 In nature, the soil is soft again, the cold is passed, 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:24.079 the light is returning, and honestly, I'm actually in the 0:13:24.120 --> 0:13:26.520 process right now of planting all my new plants and 0:13:26.559 --> 0:13:30.240 herbs in my herb garden, planting new flowers and every 0:13:30.240 --> 0:13:33.960 single herb under the sun. I've got dill, parsley, cilantro, 0:13:34.840 --> 0:13:36.760 I'm trying to grow some chilies. I've got a lemon 0:13:36.800 --> 0:13:40.200 tree in the back, you know, and all these flowers 0:13:40.200 --> 0:13:43.600 that I use in my temple area as a form 0:13:43.640 --> 0:13:45.880 of devotion, we offer flowers, and so I have all 0:13:45.880 --> 0:13:49.120 these beautiful flowers and also edible flowers. And actually it's 0:13:49.280 --> 0:13:53.040 so true within us as well. When you clear emotional clutter, 0:13:53.080 --> 0:13:56.240 when you release all these stagnant feelings and patterns, you 0:13:56.360 --> 0:13:57.839 create fertile ground in. 0:13:57.800 --> 0:13:58.520 Your inner world. 0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:01.760 You make space, you soft and you become ready to 0:14:01.920 --> 0:14:05.720 plant something new. So ask yourself, what seeds am I 0:14:05.840 --> 0:14:09.040 planting this season? What seeds do I want to plant 0:14:09.080 --> 0:14:10.960 this season? Who do I want to be? 0:14:11.320 --> 0:14:13.800 These seeds can be intentions, they can be new ways 0:14:13.800 --> 0:14:15.319 of thinking. They can be. 0:14:15.360 --> 0:14:19.360 Gentle commitments or emotional qualities that you're inviting in, like 0:14:19.480 --> 0:14:23.800 courage or calm, or creativity or connection. So I guess 0:14:23.840 --> 0:14:25.920 you could think of it as who do I want 0:14:25.960 --> 0:14:28.160 to be? Who do I admire? What qualities do they 0:14:28.200 --> 0:14:30.760 have and how am I going to plant them into 0:14:31.400 --> 0:14:33.840 my being? And what does that look like for me? 0:14:34.200 --> 0:14:37.280 And then usually, you know, with a garden, you can't 0:14:37.280 --> 0:14:39.680 just plant the seeds. You can't just think of something 0:14:39.680 --> 0:14:41.800 you want to be and then not figure out the 0:14:41.880 --> 0:14:44.080 root to it. You can't just plant a seed and 0:14:44.240 --> 0:14:47.880 leave them. Those seeds need tending to. They need attention 0:14:48.120 --> 0:14:50.840 and water and sunlight and a whole lot of love, 0:14:51.040 --> 0:14:53.640 and they need time because please remember that growth is 0:14:53.720 --> 0:14:57.880 quiet before it's visible. Most people, when you see their flowers, 0:14:58.040 --> 0:15:02.800 they've been doing all the gra beforehand to get themselves there. 0:15:03.520 --> 0:15:05.640 So don't be disheartened when you don't see it the 0:15:05.680 --> 0:15:07.680 next day or the next day or the next day. 0:15:07.920 --> 0:15:11.280 Just know that you're taking all these tiny steps towards 0:15:11.480 --> 0:15:15.440 creating that quality or that intention that you are so 0:15:15.560 --> 0:15:20.240 beautifully planting, watering and loving, And so you don't need 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:23.360 to be something new overnight. You just have to prepare 0:15:23.360 --> 0:15:26.080 the ground, make it fertile by removing the things that 0:15:26.120 --> 0:15:29.480 are no longer needed, by removing those weeds, and then 0:15:29.840 --> 0:15:32.560 nourishing that soil, nourishing that seed so that it can 0:15:32.600 --> 0:15:36.160 grow slowly and steady. It's oh can you hear the 0:15:36.160 --> 0:15:39.040 birds in the background so beautiful. So all of this 0:15:39.120 --> 0:15:41.400 is just a beautiful reminder that every flower was once. 0:15:41.320 --> 0:15:41.840 Just a seed. 0:15:42.440 --> 0:15:46.000 Nature teaches us so much if we're watching, and like 0:15:46.040 --> 0:15:48.080 I said before, like whenever you have a dilemma or 0:15:48.080 --> 0:15:50.200 a difficulty in life, take a walk in nature and 0:15:50.200 --> 0:15:52.360 the world will show you the answer in some way. 0:15:52.880 --> 0:15:55.040 And every single time that you choose to do this 0:15:55.120 --> 0:16:00.160 process we're talking about where you're excavating, removing, and then replanting, 0:16:01.080 --> 0:16:03.080 you are making it easier to live a life of 0:16:03.120 --> 0:16:06.520 alignment with your true self. And you know, honestly, I 0:16:06.560 --> 0:16:09.760 was reflecting over these past couple of weeks. I started 0:16:09.760 --> 0:16:11.000 doing a lot of things that were kind of out 0:16:11.040 --> 0:16:14.280 of my character. If I'm completely honest, not out of 0:16:14.320 --> 0:16:16.840 my character, I would just say that weren't taking me 0:16:17.480 --> 0:16:20.840 towards being my higher self, that weren't feeding the seeds, 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:23.600 that weren't nourishing the seeds, but probably nourishing more of 0:16:23.600 --> 0:16:28.120 the weeds. Whether it was staying up too late where 0:16:28.160 --> 0:16:31.600 it wasn't nourishing my physical body, whether it was going 0:16:31.600 --> 0:16:35.080 to environments where it was knowing my consciousness to be honest, 0:16:35.680 --> 0:16:39.040 dark environments, love music, you name it. And it's not 0:16:39.080 --> 0:16:40.800 that I didn't have fun. I had a great time, 0:16:41.160 --> 0:16:44.400 but I was really I really became aware of energy 0:16:44.640 --> 0:16:47.080 and how much it can do, not just to your 0:16:47.120 --> 0:16:49.920 physical body, but to your mental state too. How are 0:16:49.960 --> 0:16:53.880 the people around you acting, how it can really affect you. 0:16:54.440 --> 0:16:57.280 And it really is true. The things you surround yourself with, 0:16:57.360 --> 0:17:01.320 you become, and so I've become. I came out of that. 0:17:01.360 --> 0:17:02.680 I did a couple of days of it, and I 0:17:02.720 --> 0:17:04.080 was like, oh, I think this is enough for me. 0:17:05.119 --> 0:17:07.720 And now I came back into my spiritual practices on 0:17:07.800 --> 0:17:11.840 the weekend on Sunday, and it was just so refreshing, 0:17:12.000 --> 0:17:15.879 Like I slowly felt my consciousness rising, and it was 0:17:15.920 --> 0:17:19.040 simple things like waking up early again, sitting in my 0:17:19.080 --> 0:17:23.760 meditation practice, reading a book that that spoke to my 0:17:23.840 --> 0:17:26.359 higher self and not my lower self, choosing not to 0:17:26.359 --> 0:17:29.720 turn the TV on and instead sitting outside and listening 0:17:29.720 --> 0:17:32.600 to the birds and reading a book like these things 0:17:32.600 --> 0:17:35.280 sound so simple, but when you're stuck in this pattern 0:17:35.440 --> 0:17:38.720 of tending to your lower conscious self, it ends up 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:41.280 feeling like normality when it really shouldn't. And then when 0:17:41.320 --> 0:17:44.399 you start trying things that actually are speaking to your 0:17:44.440 --> 0:17:49.640 higher self. You notice how different it actually feels. And so, yeah, 0:17:50.680 --> 0:17:52.840 tend to your higher self, not do your lower self. 0:17:52.840 --> 0:17:54.240 And if you do, do your lower If you do, 0:17:54.320 --> 0:17:56.879 tend to your lower self. On I said it for 0:17:56.920 --> 0:17:59.200 a couple of days and then brought yourself out of it, 0:17:59.240 --> 0:18:01.199 because you'll go through ups and downs of it, you know. 0:18:01.680 --> 0:18:03.280 And you know, I was thinking about fire rituals. I 0:18:03.320 --> 0:18:05.520 have this practice. Every single morning, we light a candle. 0:18:05.560 --> 0:18:09.000 It's called THEA. So we light Yeah, I guess the candle. 0:18:09.119 --> 0:18:12.160 It's made from cotton wool. You dip it in some 0:18:12.200 --> 0:18:14.800 sort of usually traditionally it's ghee or. 0:18:14.720 --> 0:18:17.760 Other oil or whatever, and you light the wick. 0:18:18.000 --> 0:18:20.960 And these fire rituals have been used for thousands of 0:18:21.040 --> 0:18:25.359 years across every spiritual tradition, whether it's vading fire ceremonies 0:18:25.359 --> 0:18:29.840 in India to indigenous burning ceremonies where fire marks purification 0:18:30.320 --> 0:18:32.840 and the welcoming of new life. And so I actually 0:18:32.840 --> 0:18:35.240 grew up doing this tradition of lighting this THEA. 0:18:35.800 --> 0:18:37.960 And whenever I do like this candle, I have. 0:18:37.880 --> 0:18:40.240 A beautiful thought or I guess a meditation or a 0:18:40.240 --> 0:18:42.640 prayer that goes through my mind where I'm saying Let 0:18:42.640 --> 0:18:46.040 this fire represent burning all the negative qualities, all the 0:18:46.080 --> 0:18:47.639 things I don't need, all the things I do not 0:18:47.800 --> 0:18:50.080 want any longer in my heart, in my life, and 0:18:50.160 --> 0:18:53.280 my body. Let this burn it up, just like this 0:18:53.320 --> 0:18:56.720 flame is burning. Let this purify my body. Let this 0:18:56.760 --> 0:18:59.920 be a representation of my desire to purify my intention, 0:19:00.320 --> 0:19:03.760 my heart, my body, my mind, my soul. And so 0:19:04.720 --> 0:19:08.639 I really enjoy this process of the fire ceremonies. If 0:19:08.680 --> 0:19:11.639 you think about it, fire is transformative. It turns dense 0:19:11.680 --> 0:19:14.840 into light, It turns physical into ether. It turns the 0:19:14.920 --> 0:19:18.240 old into ash and an emotional spring clean. We can 0:19:18.320 --> 0:19:22.119 kind of borrow this wisdom symbolically or physically, and you 0:19:22.119 --> 0:19:23.960 don't need a grand ceremony. But all you need is 0:19:23.960 --> 0:19:26.639 a single candle that can be sacred. Or you can 0:19:26.680 --> 0:19:29.880 write down your emotions or your patterns, or the questions 0:19:29.880 --> 0:19:32.560 that we just spoke about. You could write your answers 0:19:32.600 --> 0:19:35.720 down and when you're ready to release it, you can 0:19:35.760 --> 0:19:39.320 just set it on fire in a safe environment. Whether 0:19:39.359 --> 0:19:42.120 it's the stories that keep you small, the weight you're 0:19:42.160 --> 0:19:45.120 tired of carrying around, you can rip it, you can 0:19:45.160 --> 0:19:47.479 burn it. It does not need to be dramatic. It 0:19:47.480 --> 0:19:49.359 can be if you want it to be, it just 0:19:49.400 --> 0:19:51.360 needs to be done with deep desire to let go 0:19:51.840 --> 0:19:53.800 and give it up to the fire. 0:19:53.920 --> 0:19:54.800 That's all you have to do. 0:19:55.600 --> 0:19:58.800 And actually, when you witness something leaving your life physically, 0:19:59.119 --> 0:20:01.760 it registers and your nervous system as a real release. 0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:03.680 And I kind of guess that's why. 0:20:04.359 --> 0:20:06.600 You know, in our tradition we do cremation, and it 0:20:06.640 --> 0:20:09.159 was part of other traditions too, But I remember my 0:20:09.240 --> 0:20:13.840 mum telling me that when she experienced the cremation of 0:20:13.840 --> 0:20:18.119 her dad, everything felt so heavy. Everything felt so so 0:20:18.359 --> 0:20:21.679 heavy the days going up to it, the cries, the 0:20:21.800 --> 0:20:25.760 intense feelings, and as soon as she saw that fire ceremony, 0:20:26.080 --> 0:20:29.040 it felt like a weight had been lifted. And I 0:20:29.080 --> 0:20:32.399 think that's something for the people who are experiencing the loss. 0:20:32.600 --> 0:20:35.840 But also it says in our practice that when the 0:20:35.840 --> 0:20:40.440 physical body is burnt, it actually releases that person's attachment 0:20:40.480 --> 0:20:43.359 to this physical world so that they can hopefully go 0:20:43.440 --> 0:20:46.840 into the spiritual world. It releases all the last physical attachments, 0:20:47.040 --> 0:20:49.680 and that's what fire does. It tends everything, even the body, 0:20:49.760 --> 0:20:52.199 into ashes. I kind of went off topic there, but 0:20:52.240 --> 0:20:55.560 I thought that was it really symbolizes what it can 0:20:55.600 --> 0:20:57.600