Whakawaatea means to 'clear space' and I don't mean smudging with a sage stick. Although that's highly fashionable and on trend, the real work is clearing space on the inside and liberating all that is clogging you up so you can be in a state of crystal clarity.
Grow beyond New Years resolutions, goals and intentions through inspired action, presence and working on being intentional
So often people want to 'fill their cups' but I've always found that saying to be counterproductive and a little peculiar.
In my experience as a therapist a predominant theme when people come for therapy is that they feel overwhelmed, consumed, stressed and bogged down with too much 'going on'.
We are living in fast paced times 'Te Ao Nukutere' the swift turning of the world. It's unpredictable and everything is operating at lightning speed, shit popping off out of no where, more stuff', more rules and restrictions to keep track of, overthinking and preoccupied with a million and one things to do.
Who should I be? What is my purpose here? what can I offer? Where do I belong and the list goes long. From what I can see it's seriously doing people's heads in and this is causing major anxiety and harmful stress.
We need to slow our roll before we crash hard at the bottom of the hill.
If it's one thing I've learnt over the last two years, it's that the only thing that is certain is change. No matter how much we plan and try to control how life unfolds, there will always be things outside of us that we have no control over.
In saying that, we could all benefit from tapping into the Daoist principle of wu-wei, the path of effortless action, least resistance and stepping into flow state, so that we can become more malleable, adaptable and less 'occupied' with dis-tracktions that take possession of our hearts and minds.
Being adaptable helps us to maintain clear thinking, live more spontaneously from the heart, maintain emotional intelligence and protects our sanity and inner-sanctuary.
We are to be like the bamboo that bends in the wind or the plant that adjusts itself to the shape of a tree. Wu wei involves letting go of ideals that we may otherwise try to force too violently onto things; it invites us instead to respond to the true demands of situations, which tend only to be noticed when we put our own ego-driven plans aside.
Taking time to Whakawaatea and freeing up space in our lives is liberating and healing to say the least. By emptying your cup you lighten up and life becomes more blissful and abundant. This makes room for new possibilities and healthy fresh growth in our lives.
When you think of a cup it is a 'container' and if all we desire is to fill our cup it will eventually overflow into a mess, creating more for us do to. In walks in Counter-productiveness.
Don't get me wrong, because I get it. Filling our cup is an aphorism for feeling content and fulfilled.
But we are living in a world of duality and where there is a positive there will always be a flip-side. The one thing I have noticed is that people who start the year off with a big hiss and roar, tend to fizzle out with burnt chop syndrome not long afterwards, especially when life starts popping off with unexpected events.
Having a full cup is not about the accumulation of more, it has more to do with preservation and conservation of energy, so that we can gift/give to ourselves and others from a place of presence, authenticity and harmonious being.
The Productivity Farce
Productivity does not equate to doing more, being more or having more. Being productive is about functioning from a place of presence and making room for your dreams and passions to grow and blossom naturally and effortlessly. Flow-ering not forcing.
The more energy someone has, the more likely they are to be happy and climb to the top of their primary field of interest
Brendon Burchard
January is not really an ideal time for new beginnings..
January is the New Year of the gregorian calender, but its not in tune with the rhythms of the cosmos and nature. For me it's more like the beginning of the end, where we start to energetically and cyclically wrap up the previous annual cycle.
Usually during this moonth, I gift to myself the time to whakawaatea-to clear space and allow previous energies to detach from my field. A whole moonth dedicated to a wholistic clear out, rest, rejuvenation and energetic recalibration and yes that includes blogging and writing it out.
I've compiled a few ideas below on ways that I do this, but fundamentally I will always follow my bio-energetic rhythms by moving in alignment with my natural energy flow.
It's so easy to get caught up in all the hyped energy and excitement that emanates during January and people are so wired to do what they've always done, which for the majority is to go hard and fast!
But gifting yourself ample and necessary time to whakawaatea and doing things differently is what sparks new neuro-pathways that opens us up to the unknown void of possibilities.
If you do what you've always done you'll get what you've always got. Again counterproductive!
Free the Heavy Mental
Mental clutter is probably the best kept 'secret' when it comes to hoarding. Our mind operates like the hard drive of a computer, its stores and backs up everything we load into it until we run out of space!
If you picture your mind as an altar for spirit to enter, which is the resource that gives you inspiration, guidance, direction and co-creates with your imagination, how on earth will you ever hear it, if your mind is already pre-occupied with future goals, intentions and long to-do lists?
Through journaling or any type of writing we can clear out that excess clutter. We can organise our thoughts and prioritise projects to focus on by using a planner. But most importantly we need to assess who, where and what is taking up the most space in our mindscapes.
Morning pages are three pages of a handwritten stream-of-consciousness. All that angry, whiny, petty stuff that you write down in the morning, stands between you and your creativity...
-Julia Cameron (the artist's way).
Are you living ith past? Is your mind continually thinking about the past? The only way to track this is to analyze our thoughts. A mind that is constantly thinking about the past keeps us stuck and stagnant in the same old cycles, thinking and beliefs.
Are you too consumed by the future, overwhelming yourself with the hustle and grind of expectations and the want more syndrome that comes from a place lack and scarcity
. Are we still invested in what other people are doing and what they think of us? Putting ourselves on the back burner while someone else takes the limelight in our life?
These are great questions to ask ourselves and check in on whether we are here, functioning in the present, where our true power to manifest resides.
Detox the body
Summer for me is always a great time to detox by using the extra heat to sweat it all out and enjoying the summer warmth to take more hikes, nature walks and to swim. There are also lots of yummy fruits and vegetables available to help with this process naturally. No lectures on alcohol consumption here, I enjoy a nice cold beer and the odd wine during summer, all in moderation.
Exorcising Spiritual Dogma
Are you caught up in the glitz and glamour of modern spirituality? Crystals, tarot readings? Spiritual bypassing? This is a good time to exorcise, detach and withdraw your energy from trendy fads and fake spiritual concepts, jargon, dogma, attachments, baggage and capitalist gurus that no longer resonate with your own self-led and lived experience of spirituality.
The essence of practical spirituality is cultivated through your own lived experience.
It's an intimate dance with your own divinity and your personal experience of at-one-ment with the supreme source of life and most of all it is an inner journey.
Declutter your Environment
I dont know about you but 2022 feels like THE year to simplify my life! Starting with all the unwanted clutter of material possessions that are clogging up space. Our external environment reflects and affects our internal space. What can you donate, gift or throw out?
Cutting Draining Relationship ties
I know for a lot people, cutting out others in our life can be difficult and daunting. Trust me, I've been there! But what's even harder is allowing relationships and people to over-stand your boundaries and hinder your growth. I'm talking family, friends, acquaintances, online contacts, work colleagues that all make you feel limited, defensive and powerless. Let them go. They are taking up precious space and energy that could be invested into your evolution.
Tech-tox
There is no denying that tech is a big part of our lives now. But that doesn't mean we let the machine become the master. Cleaning out email boxes, outdated subscriptions and weeding out our social media feed can work wonders for our personal growth, state of mind, energy and time. Always take breaks off of social media, its essential to reconnect to our own frequency and energy. This year I plan on spending at least one consistent day off social media per week.
How we use social media matters. What are we posting, is it worth it, does it offer value to others? what are we consuming, is it adding value to our lives in return? I've never understood the point of using social media if one is just scrolling aimlessly being a side passenger in someone else's life.
Also setting boundaries around how much time we spend on tech is priceless. Maybe you'd like to switch from an unlimited broadband plan to a limited plan to help monitor your internet use and save some cash. You can also put social media on a timer or create a habit where you only use it during a certain time of day. I have a practice where I wont use tech after 8pm, so I don't interrupt my circadian rhythm.
I hope you found this Whakawaatea post helpful! Maybe you'd like to create a personal blog in 2022, that's also a great way to empty your cup and use tech constructively!
Check out this link to find out more. https://shailajav.gumroad.com/l/blogbootcamp
Thank you for your presence!
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