Spiritual Dramamine….But Without the Negative Side Effects
For those of you who follow my blog regularly, (gold star, and thank you) you may have noticed that this post nearly three weeks late, and as a people-pleaser-perfectionist, I am not happy about this. However, it has served as beautiful example that, clearly, I, too, ‘suffer’ from a great amount of imbalance (ironic, as I am a devoted Libra). I continue to juggle, often clumsily, an assortment of responsibilities and some days, and weeks, I fall short of my anticipations. The past few weeks I was willing to temporarily compromise a loyal following of readers for the sanity of my family and the quality of school projects; something my ego did not approve of, but my heart and soul was deeply obliged to. I am the first to admit that I regularly remind my students, fellow colleges, family and friends of the importance of allowing time for Self, and although I KNOW this, I am often a novice with the practice. As many of you know, I teach and write about the experiences in my life that create a catalyst of change and awareness from within me. This month I am devoting my ‘messages’ to the many facets of living that are most often out of harmony and I am providing insight, tools, resources, humor and inspiration to help you navigate through the choppy waters of life’s imbalances… a spiritual Dramamine if you will…..but without the negative side-effects.
Perhaps one of my biggest balance battles is that of EGO and SOUL. How much time do we spend feeding our ego vs. how much time we nourish our soul? I would like to point out that the ego is absolutely a necessary part of life; it has a purpose and a presence which allow things to get done, be organized and managed…if we weren’t supposed to have one, we wouldn’t. I look at my ego as a teacher, a rather cantankerous and critical one when I allow it! The key to maintaining a healthy ego/soul relationship, like anything, is to have our own internal checks and balances. I have come to realize that when I experience great mental tension this is a conflict between my true self and my egoic self. For example, in relation to my absence in writing, for days I had an internal dialogue; Ego whines, manipulates, contorts and distracts: “Robin get it together, Robin you have to…Robin, you should do…Robin, what will they think….Robin, you are unworthy, why bother.” True Self disagrees; “Robin, let it go. Robin, genuine support is unconditional…Robin, trust…Robin, you are tiered…Robin, BE with your family….focus on what you want and need.” One of my simplest measures of imbalance between ego and soul are the above highlighted words. When the words ‘have to’, ‘should’, ‘unworthy’ appear they are candy for the ego, and when the words ‘want’ and ‘need’, ‘trust’, ‘let go’, and ‘BE’ surface they are a calling for the soul. I had the courage to listen to the calling of my soul, and yes, that meant my readers were on hold, BUT I came back with fresh medicine.
We all need to incorporate our own internal soul and ego checks and balances. Explore your own language and see what words or phrases, feelings or sensations correspond to ego and which ones relate to soul. Give consideration to activities, people, or practices that inspire you and invite a hunger for life beyond the mundane. Integrate daily routines that mandate time for SOUL, put it on the calendar, commit to it, the ego will be happy about this, I promise!!
With gratitude and in truth,
Robin Afinowich
Please visit me again on Saturdays for new posts!
